- published: 27 Jan 2013
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- author: MarocRoumanie
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Accra
Accra /əˈkrɑː/ is the capital and largest city of Ghana, with an estimated urban population of 2,291,352 as of 2012[update]. Accra is also the capital of the Greater Accra Region and of the Accra Metropolitan District, with which it is coterminous. Accra is furthermore the anchor of a larger metropolitan area, the Greater Accra Metropolitan Area (GAMA), which is home to about 4 million people, making it the largest metropolitan conglomeration in Ghana by population, and the eleventh-largest metropolitan area in Africa.
Accra stretches along the Ghanaian Atlantic coast and extends north into the country's interior. Originally built around a port, it served as the capital of the British-ruled Gold Coast between 1877 and 1957. Once merely a 19th-century suburb of Victoriaborg, Accra has since transitioned into a modern metropolis; the city's architecture reflects this history, ranging from 19th-century British colonial buildings to modern skyscrapers and apartment blocks.
Accra is Ghana's primate city, serving as the nation's economic and administrative hub. It is furthermore a centre of culture and tourism, sporting a wide range of nightclubs, restaurants and hotels. Since the early 1990s, a number of new buildings have been built, including the multi-storey French-owned Novotel hotel. The city's National Theatre was built with Chinese assistance. In 2010, the GaWC designated Accra a Gamma-minus-level world city, indicating a growing level of international influence and connectedness.
wn.com/Accra -
African Union
The African Union (abbreviated AU in English, and UA in its other official languages) is a union consisting of 54 African states. The only all-African state not in the AU is Morocco. Established on 9 July 2002, the AU was formed as a successor to the Organisation of African Unity (OAU). The most important decisions of the AU are made by the Assembly of the African Union, a semi-annual meeting of the heads of state and government of its member states. The AU's secretariat, the African Union Commission, is based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Among the objectives of the AU's leading institutions are:
The African Union is made up of both political and administrative bodies. The highest decision-making organ is the Assembly of the African Union, made up of all the heads of state or government of member states of the AU. The Assembly is chaired by Yayi Boni, president of Benin, elected at the 18thordinary meeting of the Assembly in January 2012. The AU also has a representative body, the Pan African Parliament, which consists of 265 members elected by the national parliaments of the AU member states. Its president is Idriss Ndele Moussa.
wn.com/African_Union -
Agadir
Agadir (Berber: Agadir, ⴰⴳⴰⴷⵉⵔ, Moroccan Arabic: أڭادير) is a major city in southwest Morocco, capital of the Agadir province (MA-AGD) and the Sous-Massa-Draa economic region. A majority of its inhabitants speak Berber as a mother tongue.
The word Agadir means in Berber "wall, masoned wall enclosing a town, fortress, town".
Agadir has a population of 678,596 (2004; census figures for the agglomeration include the nearby cities of Inezgane and Aït Melloul). The population of the city proper is estimated at 200,000. The mild winter climate (January average midday temperature 20.5°C/69°F) and good beaches have made it a major "winter sun" destination for Northern Europeans. The mayor is Tariq Kabbaj.
The city is located on the shore of the Atlantic Ocean, near the foot of the Atlas Mountains, just north of the point where the Souss River flows into the ocean.
Agadir is an important fishing and commercial port, the first sardine port in the world, (exporting cobalt, manganese, zinc and citrus).It is also a seaside resort with a long sandy beach. Because of its large buildings, wide roads, modern hotels, and European-style cafés, Agadir is not a typical city of traditional Morocco, but it is a modern, busy and dynamic town.
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Algeria
Coordinates: 28°N 2°E / 28°N 2°E / 28; 2
Algeria
i/ælˈdʒɪəriə/ (Arabic: الجزائر, al-Jazā'ir; Berber: ⴷⵣⴰⵢⴻⵔ Dzayer), officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria (الجمهورية الجزائرية الديمقراطية الشعبية, al-Jumhūriyyah al-Jazāʾiriyyah ad-Dīmuqrāṭiyyah ash-Shaʿbiyyah), also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a large country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.
When referring to its land area, Algeria is the largest country in Africa, Maghreb and the Arab World. It is also the largest of the countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea; it is also the tenth-largest country in the world. The country is bordered in the northeast by Tunisia, in the east by Libya, in the west by Morocco, in the southwest by Western Sahara, Mauritania, and Mali, in the southeast by Niger, and in the north by the Mediterranean Sea. Its size is almost 2,400,000 square kilometres (926,645 sq mi) with an estimated population of 37.1 million as of 2012. Algeria is a member of the African Union, the Arab League, OPEC and the United Nations. The country is also a founding member of the Arab Maghreb Union.
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Andorra
Andorra (i/ænˈdɔrə/; Catalan pronunciation: [ənˈdorə], locally: [anˈdɔra]), officially the Principality of Andorra (Catalan: Principat d'Andorra), also called the Principality of the Valleys of Andorra, (Catalan: Principat de les Valls d'Andorra), is a small landlocked country in southwestern Europe, located in the eastern Pyrenees mountains and bordered by Spain and France. It is the sixth smallest nation in Europe having an area of 468 km2 (181 sq mi) and an estimated population of 84,082 in 2009. Its capital, Andorra la Vella, is the highest capital city in Europe, at an elevation of 1,023 metres (3,356 ft) above sea level. The official language is Catalan, although Spanish, Portuguese, and French are also commonly spoken.
The Principality was formed in 1278. The role of monarch is exercised jointly by the two co-princes, the Catalan Bishop of Urgell and the President of France (the whole state is a part of Diocese of Urgell).
Andorra is a prosperous country mainly because of its tourism industry, which services an estimated 10.2 million visitors annually, and also because of its status as a tax haven. It is not a member of the European Union, but the euro is the de facto currency. The people of Andorra have the 4th highest human life expectancy in the world — 82 years at birth.
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Angola
Angola, officially the Republic of Angola (Portuguese: República de Angola, pronounced: [ʁɨˈpublikɐ dɨ ɐ̃ˈɡɔla];Kikongo, Kimbundu, Umbundu: Repubilika ya Ngola), is a country in southern Africa bordered by Namibia on the south, the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the north, and Zambia on the east; its west coast is on the Atlantic Ocean with Luanda as its capital city. The exclave province of Cabinda has borders with the Republic of the Congo and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
The Portuguese were present in some—mostly coastal—points of the territory of what is now Angola, from the 16th to the 19th century, interacting in diverse ways with the peoples that lived there. In the 19th century they slowly and hesitantly began to establish themselves in the interior. Angola as a Portuguese colony encompassing the present territory was not established before the end of the 19th century, and "effective occupation", as required by the Berlin Conference (1884) was achieved only by the 1920s. Independence was achieved in 1975, after a protracted liberation war. After independence, Angola was the scene of an intense civil war from 1975 to 2002. The country has vast mineral and petroleum reserves, and its economy has on average grown at a two-digit pace since the 1990s, especially since the end of the civil war. In spite of this, standards of living remain low for the majority of the population, and life expectancy and infant mortality rates in Angola are among the worst-ranked in the world. At the same time, a minority has reached comfortable life standards, and the dominant stratum has succeeded in accumulating considerable wealth, so that social inequality in Angola is one of the highest in the world.
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Anosy
Anosy is a region of Madagascar located along the south-eastern coast of the country, with the name "Anosy" meaning island(s) in Malagasy.
Due initially to its strategic importance, Anosy has been a crossroads for the Malagasy and the rest of the world over the last 500 years. In the 1500s it served as a stopping point for European ships traveling to and from India, and in the mid-1600s it was the location of an early French colonial port in the Indian Ocean. The region was part of the Merina Kingdom for much of the 1800s and part of the French colony of Madagascar from the late-1800s to 1960. Its exports have included human slaves (shipped to Réunion, Mauritius and the US in the 1700s), live cattle (exported to Réunion for almost 300 years), natural rubber, graphite, uranothorite, lobster, sapphires, and, in the last five years, ilmenite. Due to its biodiversity and natural beauty, efforts commenced in the 1980s to promote environmental conservation and tourism in the region.
Anosy is a region in southeastern Madagascar. It borders Androy region in west, Atsimo-Andrefana in north-west, Ihorombe in north and Atsimo-Atsinanana in north-east. This region, covering 25,731 km2 (9,935 sq mi), about the size of the US State of Vermont, the island of Cyprus or the nation of Israel, runs from approximately Manantenina in the northeast corner of the region, west to Ranomafana, west to the Mandrare river. The distance from Manantenina at the northern edge of Anosy to the Mandrare river at the south is almost 150 km. "Anosy" means island or islands in Malagasy. Some[who?] argue anosy is named after the island in the Fanjahira (now named Efaho) river where the Zafiraminia first settled when they arrived in this region in the 16th century, while others[who?] argue it means "land of the islands" because of the large amount of water in this region. During the rainy season, the Efaho valley floods, creating many temporary islands.
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Argentina
Argentinai/ˌɑrdʒənˈtiːnə/, officially the Argentine Republic (Spanish: República Argentina [reˈpuβlika aɾxenˈtina]), is a country in South America, the continent's second largest by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires. It is the eighth-largest country in the world by land area and the largest among Spanish-speaking nations.
Argentina's continental area is between the Andes mountain range in the west and the Atlantic Ocean in the east. It borders Paraguay and Bolivia to the north, Brazil and Uruguay to the northeast, and Chile to the west and south. Argentine claims over Antarctica, as well as overlapping claims made by Chile and the United Kingdom, are suspended by the Antarctic Treaty of 1961. Argentina also claims the Falkland Islands (Spanish: Islas Malvinas) and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, which are administered by the United Kingdom as British Overseas Territories.
A recognised middle power, Argentina is Latin America's third-largest economy, with a "very high" rating on the Human development index. Within Latin America, Argentina has the fifth highest nominal GDP per capita and the highest in purchasing power terms. Analysts have argued that the country has a "foundation for future growth due to its market size, levels of foreign direct investment, and percentage of high-tech exports as share of total manufactured goods", and it is classed by investors as middle emerging economy. Argentina is a founding member of the United Nations, Mercosur, the Union of South American Nations, the Organization of Ibero-American States, the World Bank Group and the World Trade Organization, and is one of the G-15 and G-20 major economies.
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Arguin
Arguin (Portuguese: Arguim) is an island off the western coast of Mauritania in the Bay of Arguin, at 20° 36' N., 16° 27' W. It is six km long by two broad. Off the island are extensive and dangerous reefs. It is now part of The Banc d'Arguin National Park.
Arguin has long been coveted by seafaring nations for its strategic location, and control over the island has changed hands numerous times. The first European to visit the island was the Portuguese explorer Nuno Tristão in 1443. In 1445, Prince Henry the Navigator set up a trading post on the island, which acquired gum arabic and slaves for Portugal. By 1455, 800 slaves were shipped from Arguin to Portugal every year.
In 1633, during its war against Spain (which then controlled Portugal), the Netherlands seized control of Arguin. It remained under Dutch rule until 1678, although Dutch governance was interrupted by English rule in 1665. France briefly controlled the island in September 1678, but the island was then abandoned until 1685.
wn.com/Arguin -
Asilah
Asilah or Arzila (Arabic: أصيلة، أرزيلة; "authentic") is a fortified town on the northwest tip of the Atlantic coast of Morocco, about 31 km from Tangier. Its ramparts and gateworks remain fully intact. Its history dates back to 1500 B.C., when the Phoenicians used it as a base for trade.
The Portuguese conquered the city in 1471, but John III later decided to abandon it because of an economic crisis in 1549.
In 1692, the town was taken by the Moroccans under the leadership of Moulay Ismail. Asilah served then as a base for pirates in the 19th and 20th centuries.
From 1912-1956 it was part of Spanish Morocco. A major plan to restore the town was undertaken in 1978.
It is now a popular seaside resort, with modern holiday apartment complexes on the coast road leading to the town from Tangier. It hosts annual music and arts festivals, including a murales painting festival: the best paintings remain on the Medina walls for the following years.
Portuguese fortress
Street in Arzila
Portuguese fortress and houses
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Assomada
Assomada (in Cape Verdean Creole: Somada) is the county seat of the municipality of Santa Catarina, which comprises the central western part and much of the interior of the Sotavento (leeward) island of Santiago in Cape Verde. Assomada lies on a high plateau surrounded by mountains, farmland, and hills in the center of Santa Catarina.
Assomada lies at approximately the midpoint on the highway that runs the length of the island of Santiago from Praia (the capital) in the south to the seaside port of Tarrafal in the north. It is also connected by road to São Lourenço dos Orgãos and the eastern port of Pedra Badejo. Assomada is located 64 km N of Praia, NW of São Lourenço dos Orgãos, and south of Tarrafal.
The city of Assomada is home to 14.2% of the area of the municipality of Santa Catarina, whose other main settlement is the town of Picos. Assomada is subdivided into 22 neighborhoods over an urban area of about 213 ha or 2.13 km². In 2010, the city is projected to grow to 550 ha or 5.5 km² with about 12,000 to 13,000 people throughout the municipality. The city has grown considerably since the independence of Cape Verde, and the regional center attracts many people coming from the interior and other parts of the island in search for work.
wn.com/Assomada -
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about 106,400,000 square kilometres (41,100,000 sq mi), it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area. The first part of its name refers to Atlas of Greek mythology, making the Atlantic the "Sea of Atlas".
The oldest known mention of "Atlantic" is in The Histories of Herodotus around 450 BC (Hdt. 1.202.4): Atlantis thalassa (Greek: Ἀτλαντὶς θάλασσα; English: Sea of Atlas); see also: Atlas Mountains. The term Ethiopic Ocean, derived from Ethiopia, was applied to the southern Atlantic ocean as late as the mid-19th century. Before Europeans discovered other oceans, the term "ocean" itself was synonymous with the waters beyond the Strait of Gibraltar that we now know as the Atlantic. The early Greeks believed this ocean to be a gigantic river encircling the world.
The Atlantic Ocean occupies an elongated, S-shaped basin extending longitudinally between Europe and Africa to the east, and the Americas to the west. As one component of the interconnected global ocean, it is connected in the north to the Arctic Ocean (which is sometimes considered a sea of the Atlantic), to the Pacific Ocean in the southwest, the Indian Ocean in the southeast, and the Southern Ocean in the south. (Other definitions describe the Atlantic as extending southward to Antarctica.) The equator subdivides it into the North Atlantic Ocean and South Atlantic Ocean.
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Azawad
Azawad (Tuareg: ⴰⵣⴰⵓⴷ, Azawd; Arabic: أزواد , Azawād; French: Azawad) is an unrecognised state in North Africa unilaterally declared by the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA) in 2012 after a Tuareg rebellion drove the Malian Army from the territory. Azawad, as claimed by the MNLA, comprises the Malian regions of Timbuktu, Kidal, Gao, as well as a part of Mopti region, encompassing about 60 percent of Mali's claimed total land area. Azawad borders Burkina Faso to the south, Mauritania to the west and northwest, Algeria to the north and northeast, and Niger to the east and southeast, with undisputed Mali to its southwest. It straddles a portion of the Sahara and the Sahelian zone. Gao is its largest city and the temporary capital, while Timbuktu is the second largest city, and intended to be the permanent capital.
On 6 April 2012, in a statement posted to its website, the MNLA declared "irrevocably" the independence of Azawad from Mali. In Gao on the same day, Bilal Ag Acherif, the secretary-general of the movement, signed the Azawadi Declaration of Independence, which also declared the MNLA as the interim administrators of Azawad until a "national authority" is formed. The proclamation has yet to be recognised by a foreign entity, and even the MNLA's claim to have de facto control of the Azawad region is disputed. The Economic Community of West African States, which refused to recognise Azawad and called the declaration of its independence "null and void", has said it may send troops into the disputed region in support of the Malian claim. On 26 May, the MNLA and its former co-belligerent Ansar Dine announced a pact in which they would merge to form an Islamist state.
wn.com/Azawad -
Azemmour
Azemmour or Azamor (Arabic: أزمور; from Berber ⴰⵣⵎⵎⵓⵔ azemmur, i.e. "The Olives"; Portuguese: Azamor) is a Moroccan city, on the left bank of the Oum Er-Rbia River, 75 km southwest of Casablanca. Although it was a dependency of the King of Fez, Azemmour had great autonomy. In 1486 its inhabitants became vassals and tributaries of João II of Portugal. Manuel I of Portugal confirmed the treaty in 1497 and the city paid 10 000 savéis every year. Later, unrest started to grow and thus Manuel sent a small fleet commanded by João de Meneses to conquer the city in 1508.
In 1513 Azemmour's governor Moulay Zayam refused to pay the tribute and mustered a powerful, well-equipped army. Manuel responded to this challenge by sending a massive fleet of five hundred ships and fifteen thousand soldiers (Bergreen, 19). James, Duke of Braganza led this army and on 1 September he conquered the city with no resistance from its inhabitants. Ferdinand Magellan, the man famed for leading the first-ever circumnavigation of the earth, was among the Portuguese soldiers there and lost his horse in skirmishes outside the city. However, Portuguese control of the city lasted for a short period as it was abandoned by João III of Portugal in 1541 due to economic difficulties.
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Bahrain
Bahrain (
pronunciation) (Arabic: البحرين, al-Baḥrayn) (Persian: بحرين, Baḥrain), officially the Kingdom of Bahrain (Arabic: مملكة البحرين, Mamlakat al-Baḥrayn), is a small island state near the western shores of the Persian Gulf. It is ruled by the Al Khalifa royal family. The population in 2010 stood at 1,234,571, including 666,172 non-nationals. Formerly an emirate, Bahrain was declared a kingdom in 2002.
Bahrain is an archipelago of 33 islands, the largest being Bahrain Island, at 55 km (34 mi) long by 18 km (11 mi) wide. Saudi Arabia lies to the west and is connected to Bahrain by the King Fahd Causeway. The peninsula of Qatar is to the southeast across the Gulf of Bahrain. The planned Qatar Bahrain Causeway will link Bahrain and Qatar and become the world's longest marine causeway.
Known for its oil and pearls, Bahrain is also home to many large structures, including the Bahrain World Trade Center and the Bahrain Financial Harbour, with a proposal in place to build the 1,022 m (3,353 ft) high Murjan Tower. The Qal'at al-Bahrain (the harbour and capital of the ancient land of Dilmun) was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2005. The Bahrain Formula One Grand Prix takes place at the Bahrain International Circuit.
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Barbados
Coordinates: 13°10′N 59°33′W / 13.167°N 59.55°W / 13.167; -59.55
Barbados (i/bɑrˈbeɪdɒs/ or /bɑrˈbeɪdoʊs/) is a sovereign island country in the Lesser Antilles. It is 34 kilometres (21 mi) in length and up to 23 kilometres (14 mi) in width, covering an area of 431 square kilometres (166 sq mi). It is situated in the western area of the North Atlantic and 100 kilometres (62 mi) east of the Windward Islands and the Caribbean Sea; therein, it is about 168 kilometres (104 mi) east of the islands of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and 400 kilometres (250 mi) north-east of Trinidad and Tobago. Barbados is outside of the principal Atlantic hurricane belt.
Barbados was initially visited by the Spanish around the late 1400s to early 1500s and first appears on a Spanish map from 1511. The Spanish explorers may have plundered the island of whatever native peoples resided therein to become slaves. The Portuguese visited in 1536, but they too left it unclaimed, with their only remnants being an introduction of wild hogs for a good supply of meat whenever the island was visited. The first English ship, the Olive Blossom, arrived in Barbados in 1624. They took possession of it in the name of the British king James I. Two years later in 1627 the first permanent settlers arrived from England and it became an English and later British colony.
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Barlavento Islands
The Barlavento islands (literally, the Windward), is the northern island group of Cape Verde archipelago.
It can be divided in to two groups: Santo Antão, São Vicente, São Nicolau, Santa Luzia islands and Branco and Raso islets lie to the west and are rocky, volcanic, agricultural islands.
Sal and Boa Vista lie to the east and are flat, desert islands with economies once based on salt and now turning to tourism, having more in common with Maio among the Sotavento.
Minor islets include Ilhéu de Sal-Rei and Ilhéu do Baluarte (or Ilhéu do Roque) off Boa Vista, Ilhéu dos Pássaros off São Vicente and Ilhéu Rabo de Junco off Sal.
Coordinates: 17°00′N 24°00′W / 17°N 24°W / 17; -24
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Benin
Benini/bɨˈniːn/ (formerly, Dahomey), officially the Republic of Benin, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Togo to the west, by Nigeria to the east and by Burkina Faso and Niger to the north. A majority of the population live on its small southern coastline on the Bight of Benin. The capital of Benin is Porto-Novo, but the seat of government is in Cotonou, the country's largest city. Benin covers an area of approximately 110,000 square kilometers (42,000 sq mi), with a population of approximately 9.05 million. Benin is a tropical, sub-Saharan nation, highly dependent on agriculture, with substantial employment and income arising from subsistence farming.
The official language of Benin is French, however, indigenous languages such as Fon and Yoruba are commonly spoken. The largest religious group in Benin is Roman Catholicism, followed closely by Islam, Vodun and Protestantism. Benin is a member of the United Nations, the African Union, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, South Atlantic Peace and Cooperation Zone, La Francophonie, the Community of Sahel-Saharan States, the African Petroleum Producers Association and the Niger Basin Authority.
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Beypore
Beypore or Beypur is an ancient port town and part of Calicut municipal corporation in Kozhikode district in the state of Kerala, India. The place was formerly known as Vaypura / Vadaparappanad. Tippu Sultan named the town “Sultan Pattanam”. There is a marina and a beautiful beach. Beypore port is one of the oldest ports in Kerala from where trading was done to the Middle East. Beypore is also famous for building wooden ships, called Dhows or Urus in Malayalam language. These ships are usually bought by Arab merchants for trading, fishing and now used as tourist ships. According to Captain Iwata, founder member of the Association of Sumerian ships in Japan, Sumerian ships might have been built in Beypore. There is evidence to prove that Beypore had direct trade links with Mesopotamia and was a prominent link on the maritime silk route.
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Bidiyah
Bidiyah is the name of a settlement in Fujairah.
The remains of a fort excavated at Bidiyah have been identified as the Portuguese fort of 'Libedia' recorded by Pedro Barreto de Resende in his 1646 map.
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Bioko
Bioko (spelled also Bioco, in Europe traditionally called Fernando Pó) is an island 32 km off the west coast of Africa, specifically Cameroon, in the Gulf of Guinea. It is the northernmost part of Equatorial Guinea with a population of 260,000 and an area of 2,017 km2 (779 sq mi). It is volcanic with its highest peak the Pico Basile at 3,012 m (9,882 ft).
Bioko has a total area of 2,017 km2 (779 sq mi). It is 70 km long from NNE to SSW and about 32 km across. It is volcanic and very mountainous with the highest peak Pico Basile (3,012 m (9,882 ft)). It thus resembles neighbouring islands São Tomé and Príncipe. Like them it lies on the Cameroon Line.
Bioko used to be the end of a peninsula attached to the mainland in what is now Cameroon, but it was cut off when sea levels rose 10,000 years ago at the end of the last ice age.
The island has a population of 260,000 inhabitants (2001), most of whom belong to the Bubi people. The rest of the population are Fernandinos, Spaniards and immigrants from Río Muni, Nigeria and Cameroon.
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Bissau
Bissau is the capital city of Guinea-Bissau. The city's borders are conterminous with the Bissau Autonomous Sector. In 2007, the city had an estimated population of 407,424 according to the Instituto Nacional de Estatística e Censos. The city which is located on the Geba River estuary, off the Atlantic Ocean, is the country's largest city, major port, administrative and military centre.
The city was founded in 1687 by Portugal as a fortified port and trading center. In 1942 it became the capital of Portuguese Guinea. After the declaration of independence by the anti-colonial guerrillas of PAIGC, in 1973, the capital of the de facto independent territories was declared to be Madina do Boe, but Bissau remained as the capital of the Portuguese-occupied regions, and the de jure capital of the entire Portuguese Guinea. When Portugal recognized the independence of Guinea-Bissau and pulled out in 1974 due to the military coup of April 25 in Lisbon, the two territories merged and Bissau became the capital of the new independent state. The city is known for its annual carnival.
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Bolivia
Coordinates: 16°42′43″S 64°39′58″W / 16.712°S 64.666°W / -16.712; -64.666 Bolivia (i/bəˈlɪviə/, Spanish: [boliˈβja]) officially known as Plurinational State of Bolivia (Spanish: Estado Plurinacional de Bolivia, Quechua: Bulivya Mamallaqta, Aymara: Wuliwya Suyu), is a landlocked country in central South America. It is bordered by Brazil to the north and east, Paraguay and Argentina to the south, Chile to the southwest, and Peru to the west.
Prior to European colonization, the Andean region of Bolivia was a part of the Inca Empire – the largest state in Pre-Columbian America. The Spanish Empire conquered the region in the 16th century. During most of the Spanish colonial period, this territory was called Upper Peru and was under the administration of the Viceroyalty of Peru, which included most of Spain's South American colonies. After declaring independence in 1809, 16 years of war followed before the establishment of the Republic, named for Simón Bolívar, on 6 August 1825. Bolivia has struggled through periods of political instability, dictatorships and economic woes.
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Botswana
Botswana, officially the Republic of Botswana (Tswana: Lefatshe la Botswana), is a landlocked country located in Southern Africa. The citizens are properly referred to as "Batswana" (singular: Motswana), but many English-language sources use "Botswanan". Formerly the British protectorate of Bechuanaland, Botswana adopted its new name after becoming independent within the Commonwealth on 30 September 1966. It has held free and fair democratic elections since independence.
Botswana is flat, and up to 70% is covered by the Kalahari Desert. It is bordered by South Africa to the south and southeast, Namibia to the west and north, and Zimbabwe to the northeast. Its border with Zambia to the north near Kazungula, Zambia is poorly defined but at most is a few hundred meters long.
A mid-sized country of just over two million people, Botswana is one of the most sparsely populated countries in the world. Botswana was one of the poorest countries in Africa when it gained independence from the United Kingdom in 1966, with a GDP per capita of about US$70. Botswana has since transformed itself, becoming one of the fastest-growing economies in the world to a GDP (purchasing power parity) per capita of about $14,000. The country also has a strong tradition as a representative democracy.
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Brazil
Brazili/brəˈzɪl/ (Portuguese: Brasil, IPA: [bɾaˈziw]), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: República Federativa do Brasil, listen (help·info)), is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people. It is the only Portuguese-speaking country in the Americas and the largest lusophone country in the world.
Bounded by the Atlantic Ocean on the east, Brazil has a coastline of 7,491 km (4,655 mi). It is bordered on the north by Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname and the French overseas region of French Guiana; on the northwest by Colombia; on the west by Bolivia and Peru; on the southwest by Argentina and Paraguay and on the south by Uruguay. Numerous archipelagos form part of Brazilian territory, such as Fernando de Noronha, Rocas Atoll, Saint Peter and Paul Rocks, and Trindade and Martim Vaz. It borders all other South American countries except Ecuador and Chile.
Brazil was a colony of Portugal from the landing of Pedro Álvares Cabral in 1500 until 1815, when it was elevated to the rank of kingdom and the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves was formed. The colonial bond was in fact broken in 1808, when the capital of the Portuguese colonial empire was transferred from Lisbon to Rio de Janeiro, after Napoleon invaded Portugal.Independence was achieved in 1822 with the formation of the Empire of Brazil, a unitary state governed under a constitutional monarchy and a parliamentary system. The country became a presidential republic in 1889, when a military coup d'état proclaimed the Republic, although the bicameral legislature, now called Congress, dates back to the ratification of the first constitution in 1824. Its current Constitution, formulated in 1988, defines Brazil as a Federal Republic. The Federation is formed by the union of the Federal District, the 26 States, and the 5,564 Municipalities.
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Burkina Faso
Burkina Faso (
i/bərˌkiːnə ˈfɑːsoʊ/ bər-KEE-nə FAH-soh; French: [buʁkina faso]) – also known by its short-form name Burkina – is a landlocked country in west Africa. It is surrounded by six countries: Mali to the north, Niger to the east, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to the south, and Côte d'Ivoire to the southwest. The country's capital is Ouagadougou.
Its size is 274,200 square kilometres (105,900 sq mi) with an estimated population of more than 15,757,000. Formerly called the Republic of Upper Volta, it was renamed on 4 August 1984, by President Thomas Sankara, to mean "the land of upright people" in Mòoré and Dioula, the major native languages of the country. Figuratively, "Burkina" may be translated, "men of integrity", from the Mòoré language, and "Faso" means "fatherland" in Dioula. The inhabitants of Burkina Faso are known as Burkinabè (
/bərˈkiːnəbeɪ/ bər-KEE-nə-bay).
Burkina Faso was populated between 14,000 and 5000 BC by hunter-gatherers in the country's northwestern region. Farm settlements appeared between 3600 and 2600 BC. What is now central Burkina Faso was principally composed of Mossi kingdoms. These Mossi Kingdoms would become a French protectorate in 1896. After gaining independence from France in 1960, the country underwent many governmental changes until arriving at its current form, a semi-presidential republic. The president is Blaise Compaoré.
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Burundi
Burundi (pronounced /bəˈɹʊndɨ/), officially the Republic of Burundi (Kirundi: Republika y'u Burundi, [buˈɾundi]; French: République du Burundi, [byˈʁyndi]), is a landlocked country in the Great Lakes region of Eastern Africa bordered by Rwanda to the north, Tanzania to the east and south, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west. Its capital is Bujumbura. Although the country is landlocked, much of the southwestern border is adjacent to Lake Tanganyika.
The Twa, Tutsi, and Hutu peoples have occupied Burundi since the country's formation five centuries ago. Burundi was ruled as a kingdom by the Tutsi for over two hundred years. However, at the beginning of the twentieth century, Germany and Belgium occupied the region, and Burundi and Rwanda became a European colony known as Ruanda-Urundi.
Political unrest occurred throughout the region, in part, because of social differences between the Tutsi and Hutu, provoking civil war in Burundi throughout the middle twentieth century. Presently, Burundi is governed as a presidential representative democratic republic.
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Cacheu
Cacheu is a town in north western Guinea-Bissau, lying on the Cacheu River. Population 9,849 (2008 est).
The town of Cacheu is situated in territory of the Papel people.
Cacheu was one of the earliest European colonial settlements in sub-saharan Africa, due to its strategic location on the Cacheu river. Cacheu developed a European/Afro-European population from the late fifteenth century through informal settlement of Cape Verdian and Portugues traders, adventurers and outcasts (lancados). The authorities in mainland Portugal also sent to Cacheu degregados - people condemned to exile for a variety of offences.
For most of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, Cacheu was the official slave trading point for the Portuguese in the Upper Guinea region - the point at which duties on all slaves exported had to be paid.
Notable buildings in Cacheu include the Portuguese-built 16th century fort, dating from the period when Cacheu was a centre for the slave trade.
Roads in the town are paved with oil palm kernels. Other attractions in the town include the Tarafes de Cacheu Natural Park mangrove swamp and a regular market.
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Cameroon
Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon (French: République du Cameroun), is a country in west Central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west; Chad to the northeast; the Central African Republic to the east; and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the Republic of the Congo to the south. Cameroon's coastline lies on the Bight of Bonny, part of the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean. The country is called "Africa in miniature" for its geological and cultural diversity. Natural features include beaches, deserts, mountains, rainforests, and savannas. The highest point is Mount Cameroon in the southwest, and the largest cities are Douala, Yaoundé, and Garoua. Cameroon is home to over 200 different linguistic groups. The country is well known for its native styles of music, particularly makossa and bikutsi, and for its successful national football team. French and English are the official languages.
Early inhabitants of the territory included the Sao civilisation around Lake Chad and the Baka hunter-gatherers in the southeastern rainforest. Portuguese explorers reached the coast in the 15th century and named the area Rio dos Camarões ("River of Prawns"), the name from which Cameroon derives. Fulani soldiers founded the Adamawa Emirate in the north in the 19th century, and various ethnic groups of the west and northwest established powerful chiefdoms and fondoms. Cameroon became a German colony in 1884.
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Canary Islands
The Canary Islands (English /kəˈnɛəri ˈaɪləndz/; Spanish: Islas Canarias [ˈizlas kaˈnaɾjas, ˈihlah kaˈnaɾjas]), also known as the Canaries (Spanish: Canarias), is a Spanish archipelago located just off the northwest coast of mainland Africa, 100 km west of the border between Morocco and the Western Sahara. The Canaries are a Spanish autonomous community and an outermost region of the European Union. The islands include (from largest to smallest): Tenerife, Fuerteventura, Gran Canaria, Lanzarote, La Palma, La Gomera, El Hierro, La Graciosa, Alegranza, Isla de Lobos, Montaña Clara, Roque del Este and Roque del Oeste. The Canary Islands are legally recognized as a nationality of Spain. Geographically it is a part of the African Continent.[citation needed]
The archipelago's beaches, climate and important natural attractions, especially Teide National Park and Mount Teide (the third tallest volcano in the world measured from its base on the ocean floor), make it a major tourist destination, with over 12 million visitors per year, especially Tenerife, Gran Canaria and Lanzarote. The islands have a subtropical climate, with long warm summers and moderately warm winters. Due to their location above the temperature inversion layer, these islands are ideal for astronomical observation. For this reason, two professional observatories, Teide Observatory on the island of Tenerife and Roque de los Muchachos Observatory on the island of La Palma, have been built on the islands.
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Cap Vert
Cap-Vert is a peninsula in Senegal, and the westernmost point of the continent of Africa and of the Old World mainland. Originally called Cabo Verde or "Cape Green" by Portuguese explorers, it is not to be confused with the Cape Verde islands, which are some 560 kilometres (350 mi) further west. Dakar, the capital of Senegal, is located near the southern tip.
Cap-Vert is a rocky promontory extending west from the main sandy areas of Senegal. Cap-Vert has an excellent harbor, facing Gorée Island.
Formed by a combination of volcanic offshore islands and a land bridge produced by coastal currents, it projects into the Atlantic Ocean, bending back to the southeast at its tip. Exposure to southwesterly winds contributes to Cape Verde's seasonal verdant appearance, in contrast to the undulating yellow dunes to the north.
The peninsula is shaped like a triangle (about 9 miles (14 km) per side), with the base of the triangle roughly along the north and its apex on the south, near Dakar. Near Pointe des Almadies, the north-western tip of the cape, lies Dakar's international airport, famous as a transatlantic ferrying point during World War II. Twin volcanic cones, the Deux Mamelles ("Two Teats"), dominate the landscape along the coast northwest of Dakar. The peninsula embraces a bay and a natural harbour in the southwest.
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Cape Verde
Cape Verdei/ˌkeɪp ˈvɜrd/ (Portuguese: Cabo Verde, pronounced: [ˈkabu ˈveɾdɨ]), officially the Republic of Cape Verde, is an island country, spanning an archipelago of 10 islands located in the central Atlantic Ocean, 570 kilometres off the coast of Western Africa. The islands, covering a combined area of slightly over 4,000 square kilometres (1,500 sq mi), are of volcanic origin and while three of them (Sal, Boa Vista and Maio) are fairly flat, sandy and dry, the remaining ones are generally rockier and have more vegetation. However, because of the infrequent occurrence of rainfall the overall landscape is not particularly green.
The name of the country stems from the nearby Cap Vert, on the Senegalese coast, which in its turn was originally named "Cabo Verde" when it was sighted by Portuguese explorers in 1444, a few years before the islands were discovered (verde is Portuguese for "green").
The previously uninhabited islands were discovered and colonized by the Portuguese in the 15th Century, and became important in the Atlantic slave trade for their location. The islands' prosperity often attracted privateers and pirates, including Sir Francis Drake, a corsair (privateer) under the authority of the British crown, who twice sacked the (then) capital Ribeira Grande, in the 1580s. The islands were also visited by Charles Darwin's expedition in 1832. The decline in the slave trade in the 19th century resulted in an economic crisis for the islands. With few natural resources, and without strong sustainable investment from the Portuguese, the citizens grew increasingly discontent with the colonial masters, who nevertheless refused to provide the local authorities with more autonomy. This discontent festered and culminated in 1975, when a movement originally led by Amílcar Cabral who was assassinated on 20 January 1973 then passed onto his half-brother Luís Cabral, achieved independence for the archipelago.
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Ceuta
Ceuta (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈθeuta]) is an 18.5-square-kilometre (7.1 sq mi) autonomous city of Spain and an exclave located on the north coast of North Africa surrounded by Morocco. Separated from the Iberian peninsula by the Strait of Gibraltar, Ceuta lies on the border of the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. After Spain returned Ifni to Morocco in 1969, Ceuta and Melilla remained the sole Spanish enclave territories within mainland Africa. Ceuta was deemed a part of Cadiz province prior to 14 March 1995, when the city's Statute of Autonomy was passed.
Ceuta (like Melilla) was a free port before Spain joined the European Union. As of 2011, it has a population of 78,674. Its population consists of Christians, Muslims (chiefly Moroccan Arabic speakers), and small minorities of Jews and Hindus. Spanish is the official language.
Morocco had previously called for negotiations on the future of Ceuta, Melilla and a number of Mediterranean islands and enclaves that border it. The majority of the city's population are ethnic Spanish who are opposed to the idea of being ruled by Morocco. A poll conducted by Instituto Opina found that 87.9% of people from mainland Spain consider the two cities to be Spanish.
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Chad
Chadi/ˈtʃæd/ (French: Tchad, Arabic: تشاد Tšād), officially known as the Republic of Chad, is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to the north, Sudan to the east, the Central African Republic to the south, Cameroon and Nigeria to the southwest, and Niger to the west. Due to its distance from the sea and its largely desert climate, the country is sometimes referred to as the "Dead Heart of Africa".
Chad is divided into multiple regions: a desert zone in the north, an arid Sahelian belt in the centre and a more fertile Sudanese savanna zone in the south. Lake Chad, after which the country is named, is the largest wetland in Chad and the second largest in Africa. Chad's highest peak is the Emi Koussi in the Sahara, and N'Djamena, (formerly Fort-Lamy), the capital, is the largest city. Chad is home to over 200 different ethnic and linguistic groups. Arabic and French are the official languages. Islam and Christianity are the most widely practiced religions.
Beginning in the 7th millennium BC, human populations moved into the Chadian basin in great numbers. By the end of the 1st millennium BC, a series of states and empires rose and fell in Chad's Sahelian strip, each focused on controlling the trans-Saharan trade routes that passed through the region. France conquered the territory by 1920 and incorporated it as part of French Equatorial Africa.
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Chaul
Coordinates: 18°32′46″N 72°55′38″E / 18.5461°N 72.9272°E / 18.5461; 72.9272 Chaul is a former city of Portuguese India, now in ruins. It is located 60 km south of Mumbai, in Raigad District of Maharashtra state in western India.
In 1508, the Egyptian Mamluks, allied with the Gujarat Sultanate vanquished the Portuguese in the Battle of Chaul. The first Portuguese settlement at Chaul took place in 1521 with the construction of the first fort on the south bank of the Kundalika River. In October 1531, the Portuguese erected a new square stone fortress, named Santa Maria do Castello, which contained a church and dwellings for 120 men. A town developed around the fortress, but a 1558 treaty precluded fortifying the town. The town was destroyed in a 1570-71 siege by the Nizam Shahi Sultan of Ahmadnagar, but a treaty was concluded which lifted the siege, and the town was rebuilt and surrounded by walls and bastions. A fort (Korlai fort) was built on the Morro de Chaul, a rocky promontory on the north side of the river opposite the town. The town withstood several further attacks, and its defense works were expanded in 1613.
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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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Chittagong
Chittagong (Bengali: চট্টগ্রাম, Chôţţogram) is a commerce and industry hub, and a port city, in southeastern Bangladesh and the capital of an eponymous district and division. Built on the banks of the Karnaphuli River, the city is home to Bangladesh's busiest seaport and has a population of over 5.5 million, making it the second largest city in the country.
A trading post since the 9th century, Chittagong has a multicultural heritage of Islamic, Hindu and Buddhist traditions, as the result of different waves of settlements throughout the Middle Ages and well into the start of the British Raj. A few parts of Chittagong were developed in the early 20th century under the British to accommodate a railway hub. The city also became a focal point for revolutionary activities against the British, notably the armed uprising led by Surya Sen in 1930. It was also an important military base and supply point for Allied forces during the Burma Campaign in World War II. After the partition of India in 1947, Chittagong became part of East Pakistan. It was then that several key outlying areas were included into the city of Chittagong, including Agrabad, a modern commercial centre today. Chittagong regained prominence as an important investment destination and sea port in the eastern part of a newly independent country. In 1971, as East Pakistanis rebelled against West Pakistan’s refusal to accept results of the 1970 Pakistan General Election, the declaration of East Pakistan's secession into Bangladesh was announced in Chittagong. The city went onto witness atrocities and naval blockades during the liberation war that followed. Chittagong's development has been heavily affected by neglectfulness by the government, and centralization of the capital has taken toll to the cities development and growth.
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Cidade Velha
Cidade Velha (Portuguese for "old city"), or simply Cidadi in Cape Verdean Creole, is a city located 15 km from Praia (Cape Verde's capital) on the island of Santiago. It is the oldest settlement in Cape Verde and used to serve as the capital of Cape Verde. Once called Ribeira Grande, its name was changed to Cidade Velha so to avoid confusion with another Ribeira Grande on another island. It is the seat of the Ribeira Grande de Santiago municipality. Located off of Africa's northwest coast, this city center was the first European colonial settlement in the tropics. Some of the meticulously planned original design of the site is still intact, from a royal fortress to two towering churches to a 16th-century town square. Today, Cidade Velha is an Atlantic shipping stop and center for Creole culture.
After the island was discovered, the city was named Ribeira Grande (Portuguese for large river) by António da Noli, in 1462. In 1466, the settlement became an important port for trading slaves from Guinea-Bissau and Sierra Leone to Brazil and the Caribbean. Transcontinental slavery made Cidade Velha the second richest city in the Portuguese realm.
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Coloane
Coloane is one of the two main islands of the Macau Special Administrative Region, located directly south of Macau's other main island, Taipa (氹仔, Dàngzǎi), and east of Hengqin Island of Zhuhai in Guangdong province.
Coloane was known in Cantonese as Gau Ou Saan (九澳山, lit. "Nine-inlet Mountain", transcribed in Portuguese as Ká-Hó) and Yim Zou Waan (鹽灶灣, lit. "Salt-stove Bay"). The Portuguese name "Coloane" is derived from the Cantonese pronunciation of Gwo Lou Waan (過路環, lit. "Passing-road Ring").
Coloane has an area of 8.07 km² (4-km long) and is 5.6 km from the Macau Peninsula. It is connected to Taipa by a 2.2 km land-fill bridge, the Estrada do Istmo, however land reclamation has physically connected the two islands and a new town called Cotai has been built between Taipa and Coloane, which is home to the Cotai Strip and many other casinos under development.
The narrowest part of Coloane is 300 metres. The highest points in Macau are eastern and central Coloane, with the highest point being the 171-metre Alto de Coloane (Chin.: 疊石塘山, Port.: Alto de Coloane ). The northern shore of the island is 4.5 m deep, and is the site of the Macau Deepwater Port. The eastern Hac Sa Beach (Chin.: 黑沙海灘, Port.: Baía de Hác Sá) and the southern Cheoc Van Bay (Chin.: 竹灣, Port.: Baía de Cheoc Van) are popular swimming beaches. At Baía de Hác Sá there is a Portuguese restaurant called "Fernandos", famous amongst locals in Macau and tourists from Hong Kong.
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Colombia
Colombia ( /kəˈlʌmbiə/ kə-LUM-biə, or /kəˈlɒmbiə/ kə-LOM-biə), officially the Republic of Colombia (Spanish: República de Colombia [reˈpuβlika ðe koˈlombja]), is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the northwest by Panama; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; and to the west by the Pacific Ocean. Colombia has maritime borders with Ecuador, Panama, Venezuela, Jamaica, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Honduras, Nicaragua and Costa Rica. Colombia is the 26th largest country by area and the fourth largest in South America after Brazil, Argentina and Peru. With over 46 million people, Colombia is the 27th largest country in the world by population and has the second largest population of any Spanish-speaking country in the world, after Mexico. Colombia is a middle power, with the fourth largest economy in Latin America, and the third largest in South America. Colombia is famous for the production of coffee, flowers, emeralds, coal, and oil. All of these products make up the primary sector of economy.
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Colonial Brazil
The Viceroyalty of Brazil (Portuguese: Vice-Reino do Brasil) comprises the period from 1500, with the arrival of the Portuguese, until 1815, when Brazil was elevated to kingdom alongside Portugal as the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves.
During the over 300 years of Brazilian colonial history, the economic exploration of the territory was based first on brazilwood extraction (16th century), sugar production (16th–18th centuries), and finally on gold and diamond mining (18th century). Slaves, especially those brought from Africa, provided most of the working force of Brazilian economy.
In contrast to the neighbouring fragmented Spanish possessions, the Portuguese colony, built up by the Portuguese in Latin America, kept its territorial unity and linguistic integrity after the independence, giving rise to the largest country in the region.
Portugal and Spain pioneered the European discovery of sea routes that were the first channels of interaction between all of the World's continents, thus beginning the process of globalization. In addition to the adventurous undertaking of discovery and colonization of far off lands, these years were filled with pronounced advancements in cartography, shipbuilding and navigational instruments, from which the Portuguese and Spanish explorers took advantage.
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Comoros
The Comorosi/ˈkɒməroʊz/ (Arabic: جزر القمر, Ǧuzur al-Qumur/Qamar), officially the Union of the Comoros (Comorian: Udzima wa Komori, French: Union des Comores, Arabic: الاتحاد القمري al-Ittiḥād al-Qumurī/Qamarī) is a sovereign, archipelago island nation in the Indian Ocean, located off the eastern coast of Africa, on the northern end of the Mozambique Channel, between northeastern Mozambique and northwestern Madagascar. Other countries near to the Comoros are Tanzania to the northwest and the Seychelles to the northeast. The capital is Moroni on Grande Comore.
At 1,862 km2 (719 sq mi) (excluding Mayotte), the Comoros is the third-smallest African nation by area. The population (excluding Mayotte) is estimated at 798,000. Its name derives from the Arabic word قمر qamar ("moon"). The archipelago is notable for its diverse culture and history, as a nation formed at the crossroads of many civilizations. It is the southernmost member state of the Arab League. Though in the contested island of Mayotte the sole official language is French, the "Union of the Comoros" has three official languages: Comorian, Arabic, and French.
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Conakry
Conakry (Sosso: Kɔnakiri) is the capital and largest city of Guinea. Conakry is a port city on the Atlantic Ocean and serves as the economic, financial and cultural centre of Guinea with a 2009 population of 1,548,500. Originally situated on Tombo Island, one of the Îles de Los, it has since spread up the neighboring Kaloum Peninsula.
The population of Conakry is difficult to ascertain, although the U.S. Bureau of African Affairs has estimated it at 2 million. Conakry is thought to contain almost a quarter of the population of Guinea.
According to a legend, the name of the city comes from the fusion of the name "Cona", a wine producer of the Baga people, and the word "nakiri", which means in Sosso the other bank or side.
Conakry was originally settled on tiny Tombo Island and later spread to the neighboring Kaloum Peninsula, a 36-kilometer (22 mi) long stretch of land 0.2 to 6 kilometers (660 to 20,000 ft) wide. The city was essentially founded after Britain ceded the island to France in 1887. In 1885, the two island villages of Conakry and Boubinet had fewer than 500 inhabitants. Conakry became the capital of French Guinea in 1904 and prospered as an export port, particularly after a (now closed) railway to Kankan opened the large scale export of groundnut from the interior.
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Costa Rica
Costa Rica is a country in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, Panama to the southeast, the Pacific Ocean to the west, and the Caribbean Sea to the east.
Costa Rica, which means "Rich Coast", constitutionally abolished its army permanently in 1949. It is the only Latin American country included in the list of the world's 22 older democracies. Costa Rica has consistently been among the top Latin American countries in the Human Development Index (HDI), ranked 69th in the world in 2011. Also was cited by the UNDP in 2010 as one of the countries that have attained much higher human development than other countries at the same income levels, and in 2011 was highlighted by UNDP for being a good performer on environmental sustainability, and better record on human development and inequality than the median of their region. It was also the only country to meet all five criteria established to measure environmental sustainability. The country is ranked fifth in the world, and first among the Americas, in terms of the 2012 Environmental Performance Index.
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Croatia
Croatia (i/kroʊˈeɪʃə/ kroh-AY-shə; Croatian: Hrvatska pronounced [xř̩ʋaːtskaː]), officially the Republic of Croatia (Croatian: Republika Hrvatska listen (help·info)), is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of Central Europe, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers 56,594 square kilometres (21,851 square miles) and has diverse, mostly continental and Mediterranean climates. Croatia's Adriatic Sea coast contains more than a thousand islands. The country's population is 4.29 million, most of whom are Croats, with the most common religious denomination being Roman Catholicism.
In the early 7th century the Croats arrived in area of present-day Croatia. They organised the state into two dukedoms by the 9th century. Tomislav became the first king by 925 AD, elevating Croatia to the status of a kingdom. The Kingdom of Croatia retained its sovereignty for nearly two centuries, reaching its peak during the rule of Kings Peter Krešimir IV and Dmitar Zvonimir. Croatia entered a personal union with Hungary in 1102. In 1527, faced with Ottoman conquest the Croatian Parliament elected Ferdinand I of the House of Habsburg to the Croatian throne. In 1918, after World War I, Croatia was included in the short-lived State of Slovenes, Croats, and Serbs that declared independence from Austria–Hungary and co-founded the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. A Croatian state briefly existed during World War II as a fascist puppet state. After the war, Croatia became a founding member and a federal constituent of the Second Yugoslavia, a socialist state. In June 1991, Croatia declared independence, which came into effect on 8 October of the same year. The Croatian War of Independence was fought successfully during the four years following the declaration.
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Cuba
Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, (i/ˈkjuːbə/; Spanish: República de Cuba, pronounced: [reˈpuβlika ðe ˈkuβa] ( listen)) is an island country in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city. To the north of Cuba lies the United States (140 km or 90 mi away) and the Bahamas, Mexico is to the west, the Cayman Islands and Jamaica are to the south, and Haiti and the Dominican Republic are to the southeast.
In 1492, Christopher Columbus landed on and claimed the island now occupied by Cuba, for the Kingdom of Spain. Cuba remained a territory of Spain until the Spanish–American War ended in 1898, and gained formal independence from the U.S. in 1902. A fragile democracy, increasingly dominated by radical politics eventually evolved, solidified by the Cuban Constitution of 1940, but was definitely quashed in 1952 by former president Fulgencio Batista, and an authoritarian regime was set up, intensifying and catalyzing already rampant corruption, political repression and crippling economic regulations.Batista was ousted in January 1959 by the July 26 movement, and a new administration under Fidel Castro established, which had by 1965 evolved into a single-party state under the revived Communist Party of Cuba, which holds power to date.
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Czech Republic
The Czech Republic (i/ˈtʃɛk/ CHEK;Czech: Česká republika, pronounced [ˈtʃɛskaː ˈrɛpuˌblɪka] ( listen), short form Česko Czech pronunciation: [ˈtʃɛskɔ]) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the north, Germany to the west, Austria to the south and Slovakia to the east. Its capital and largest city, with 1.3 million inhabitants, is Prague.
It is a pluralist multi-party parliamentary representative democracy, a member of the European Union, NATO, the OECD, the OSCE, the Council of Europe and the Visegrád Group.
The Czech state, formerly known as Bohemia, was formed in the late 9th century as a small duchy around Prague, at that time under dominance of the powerful Great Moravian Empire (which reached its greatest territorial extent during the reign of Svatopluk I from the House of Mojmír). After the fall of the Empire in 907, the centre of power was transferred from Moravia to Bohemia, under the Přemyslids. During the rule of Přemyslid dukes/kings and their successors, the Luxembourgs, the country reached its greatest territorial extent (13th–14th century). Life in the country was significantly affected by the Hussite wars, during which it faced economic embargo and crusades from all over Europe. Following the Battle of Mohács in 1526, the Crown of Bohemia was gradually integrated into the Habsburg monarchy as one of its three principal parts alongside the Archduchy of Austria and the Kingdom of Hungary. The Bohemian Revolt (1618–20) led to the further centralization of the monarchy including forced recatholization and Germanization. During radical reforms in the 18th century the Bohemian Crown was even de facto abolished (1749). In the 19th century the Czech lands became the industrial powerhouse of the monarchy and the core of the Republic of Czechoslovakia which was formed in 1918, following the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian empire after World War I.
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Daman and Diu
Daman and Diu /dəˈmɑːn/ & /ˈdiːuː/ ( locally (help·info); Hindi: दमन और दीव, Gujarati: દમણ અને દીવ, Marathi: दमण आणि दीव, Portuguese: Damão e Diu) is a union territory in India.
For over 450 years, the coastal enclaves of Daman and Diu on the Arabian Sea coast were part of Portuguese India, along with Goa and Dadra and Nagar Haveli. Goa, Daman, and Diu were incorporated into the Republic of India on 19 December 1961, by military conquest; Portugal did not recognize the Indian annexation of these territories until 1974. Goa, Daman, and Diu were administered as part of a single union territory until 1987, when Goa was granted statehood, leaving Daman and Diu as a separate union territory; each enclave constitutes one of the union territory's two districts.
English, Hindi, Gujarati, Marathi are the official and main languages. The use of Portuguese goes on declining because it is no longer official nor taught at school, though a number of elderly people can still understand it, some even preferring it for discourse at home. In addition to standard Portuguese, there are two also shrinking Portuguese-based creole languages in Daman (known as Língua da Casa, "Home Language") and Diu (Língua dos Velhos, "Elders' Language"). English is increasingly accepted for official purposes.
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Dejima
Dejima (出島?, literally "exit island"; Portuguese: Dejima or Decima, Dutch: Desjima or Deshima or sometimes latinized as Decima or Dezima) was a small fan-shaped artificial island built in the bay of Nagasaki in 1634 by local merchants. This island, which was formed by digging a canal through a small peninsula, remained as the single place of direct trade and exchange between Japan and the outside world during the Edo period. Dejima was built to constrain foreign traders as part of sakoku, the self-imposed isolationist policy. Originally built to house Portuguese traders, it was used by the Dutch as a trading post from 1641 until 1853. Covering an area of 120 m x 75 m (9000 square meters, or 0.9 hectares), it later was integrated into the city.
"Dejima Dutch Trading Post" has been designated a Japanese national historic site.
In 1543 Portuguese traders were the first to land in Japan, on Tanegashima. Six years later the Jesuit missionary Francis Xavier landed in Kagoshima. At first Portuguese traders were based in Hirado, but they moved in search of a better port. In 1570 daimyo Ōmura Sumitada converted to Catholicism (choosing Bartolomeu as his Christian name) and made a deal with the Portuguese to develop Nagasaki; soon the port was open for trade. In 1580 Sumitada gave the jurisdiction of Nagasaki to the Jesuits, and the Portuguese obtained the de facto monopoly on the silk trade with China through Macau.
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Djibouti
Djibouti (Arabic: جيبوتي Jībūtī, French: Djibouti, Somali: Jabuuti, Afar: Gabuuti), officially the Republic of Djibouti (Arabic: جمهورية جيبوتي Jumhūriyyat Jībūtī, French: République de Djibouti, Afar: Gabuutih Ummuuno, Somali: Jamhuuriyadda Jabuuti), is a country in the Horn of Africa. It is bordered by Eritrea in the north, Ethiopia in the west and south, and Somalia in the southeast. The remainder of the border is formed by the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden at the east. Djibouti, which had a population of 818,159 at the 2009 census, is one of the least populous countries in Africa.Islam is the largest religion in the country, practiced by 94% of the population. The land was known as Obock and French Somaliland (Côte française des Somalis) in the 19th century; in 1967, it changed its name to Afars and Issas after new treaties with France. The territory was declared an independent nation in 1977 and changed its name to the "Republic of Djibouti" after its principal city. Djibouti joined the United Nations on September 20, 1977. While Djibouti is an independent sovereign state, it maintains deep French relations, and through various military and economic agreements with France, it receives continued security and economic assistance.
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Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic (i/dəˌmɪnɨkən rɨˈpʌblɪk/; Spanish: República Dominicana [reˈpuβlika ðominiˈkana]) is a nation on the island of Hispaniola, part of the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western third of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two Caribbean islands that are shared by two countries. Both by area and population, the Dominican Republic is the second largest Caribbean nation (after Cuba), with 48,442 square kilometres (18,704 sq mi) and an estimated 10 million people.
Taínos inhabited what is now the Dominican Republic since the 7th century. Christopher Columbus landed on it in 1492, and it became the site of the first permanent European settlement in the Americas, namely Santo Domingo, the country's capital and Spain's first capital in the New World. Santo Domingo can boast of many firsts in the Americas, including the first cathedral, and castle, both in the Ciudad Colonial area, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
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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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Ecuador
Ecuador (i/ˈɛkwədɔr/ E-kwə-dawr), officially the Republic of Ecuador (Spanish: República del Ecuador [reˈpuβlika ðel ekwaˈðor], which literally translates to the "Republic of the Equator") is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, (along with Chile), that do not have a border with Brazil. The country also includes the Galápagos Islands in the Pacific, about 1,000 kilometres (620 mi) west of the mainland.
The main spoken language in Ecuador is Spanish. Ecuador straddles the equator, from which it takes its name, and has an area of 275,830 km2 (106,500 sq mi). Its capital city is Quito, which was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in the 1970s for having the best preserved and least altered historic center in Latin America. The country's largest city is Guayaquil. The historic center of Cuenca, the third largest city in the country, was also declared a World Heritage Site in 1999, for being an outstanding example of a planned inland Spanish style colonial city in the Americas. Ecuador is also home—despite its size—to a great variety of species, many of them endemic, like those of the Galápagos islands. This species diversity makes Ecuador one of the 17 megadiverse countries in the world. The new constitution of 2008 is the first in the world to recognize legally enforceable Rights of Nature, or ecosystem rights.
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Egypt
Egypti/ˈiːdʒɪpt/ (Arabic: مصر, Miṣr, Egyptian Arabic: [mɑsˤɾ] ; Coptic: Ⲭⲏⲙⲓ, Kīmi ; Sahidic Coptic: ⲕⲏⲙⲉ, Kēme), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: جمهوريّة مصر العربيّة (help·info), is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world. Covering an area of about 1,010,000 square kilometers (390,000 sq mi), Egypt is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, the Gaza Strip and Israel to the northeast, the Red Sea to the east, Sudan to the south and Libya to the west.
Egypt is one of the most populous countries in Africa and the Middle East. The great majority of its over 81 million people live near the banks of the Nile River, in an area of about 40,000 square kilometers (15,000 sq mi), where the only arable land is found. The large areas of the Sahara Desert are sparsely inhabited. About half of Egypt's residents live in urban areas, with most spread across the densely populated centres of greater Cairo, Alexandria and other major cities in the Nile Delta.
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El Jadida
El Jadida (Berber: ⵎⴰⵣⵖⴰⵏ Mazghan, Arabic:الجديدة "new") is a port city on the Atlantic coast of Morocco, in the province of El Jadida. It has a population of 144,440 (2004 census). From the sea, El Jadida's old city; has a very "un-Moorish" appearance; it has massive Portuguese walls of hewn stone.
El Jadida, previously known as Mazagan (Portuguese: Mazagão), was seized in 1502 by the Portuguese, and they controlled this city until 1769, when they abandoned Mazagão. Its inhabitants were evacuated to Brazil, where they founded new settlement Nova Mazagão (now in Amapá). El Jadida was then taken over by Sultan Mohammed ben Abdallah.
The Portuguese Fortified City of Mazagan was registered as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2004, on the basis of its status as an "outstanding example of the interchange of influences between European and Moroccan cultures" and as an "early example of the realisation of the Renaissance ideals integrated with Portuguese construction technology".
According to UNESCO, the most important buildings from the Portuguese period are the cistern, and the Manueline Church of the Assumption.
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El Salvador
El Salvadori/ɛl ˈsælvədɔr/ (Spanish: República de El Salvador, literally 'Republic of The Savior') is the smallest and the most densely populated country in Central America. The country's capital city and largest city is San Salvador; Santa Ana and San Miguel are also important cultural and commercial centers in the country as well as Central America. El Salvador borders the Pacific Ocean on the west, and the countries of Guatemala to the north and Honduras to the east. Its easternmost region lies on the coast of the Gulf of Fonseca, opposite Nicaragua. As of 2009, El Salvador had a population of approximately 5,744,113 people, composed predominantly of Mestizos.
The colón was the official currency of El Salvador from 1892 to 2001, when it adopted the U.S. Dollar.
In 2010 El Salvador ranked in the top 10 among Latin American countries in terms of the Human Development Index and in the top 3 in Central America (behind Costa Rica and Panama), due in part to ongoing rapid industrialization. In addition, tropical forests and overall forest cover has expanded by nearly 20 percent from the year 1992 to 2010. Making it one of the few countries experiencing reforestation.
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Elmina
Elmina, is a city and is the capital of Komenda/Edina/Eguafo/Abirem district, a district in the Central Region of Ghana, situated on a south-facing bay on the Atlantic Ocean coast of Ghana, about 12 km west of Cape Coast. The first European settlement in West Africa, it now has a population of around 33,000 people.
The city grew around São Jorge da Mina Castle, built by the Portuguese Diogo de Azambuja in 1482 on the site of a town or village called Amankwakurom or Amankwa. It was Portugal's West African headquarters for trade and exploitation of African wealth. The original Portuguese interest was gold but this later expanded to include tens of thousands of slaves channeled through the trading post of Elmina. The location of Elmina made it a significant site for reprovisioning ships headed south towards the Cape of Good Hope on their way to India. The Dutch West India Company captured it in 1637; in subsequent centuries it was mostly used for the slave trade. The British attacked the city in 1782, but it remained in Dutch hands until 1872, when the Dutch Gold Coast was sold to the British.
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Equatorial Guinea
Equatorial Guinea, officially the Republic of Equatorial Guinea, is a country located in Middle Africa. It has two parts: a Continental Region (Río Muni), including several small offshore islands including Corisco, Elobey Grande and Elobey Chico; and an insular region containing Annobón island and Bioko island (formerly Fernando Po) where the capital Malabo is situated.
Annobón is the southernmost island of Equatorial Guinea and is situated just south of the equator. Bioko island is the northernmost point of Equatorial Guinea. Between the two islands and to the east is the mainland region. Equatorial Guinea is bordered by Cameroon on the north, Gabon on the south and east, and the Gulf of Guinea on the west, where the island nation of São Tomé and Príncipe is located between Bioko and Annobón. Formerly the colony of Spanish Guinea, its post-independence name is suggestive of its location near both the equator and the Gulf of Guinea. Besides the Spanish cities of Ceuta and Melilla on the Mediterranean coast next to Morocco, it is the only territory in mainland Africa with Spanish as the official language.
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Eritrea
Eritrea ( /ˌɛrɨˈtreɪ.ə/ or /ˌɛrɨˈtriːə/;Ge'ez: ኤርትራ ʾErtrā, Arabic: إرتريا Iritrīyā), officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa. Eritrea is the Italian form of the Greek name Ἐρυθραίᾱ (Erythraíā), meaning "red [land]". The capital is Asmara. It is bordered by Sudan in the west, Ethiopia in the south, and Djibouti in the southeast. The northeast and east of the country has an extensive coastline on the Red Sea, directly across from Saudi Arabia and Yemen. The Dahlak Archipelago and several of the Hanish Islands are part of Eritrea. Eritrea's size is approximately 117,600 km2 (45,406 sq mi) with an estimated population of 6 million.
Together with northern Somalia, Ethiopia, Djibouti, and the Red Sea coast of Sudan, Eritrea is considered the most likely location of the land known to the ancient Egyptians as Punt (or "Ta Netjeru", meaning "God's Land"), whose first mention dates to the 25th century BC. The ancient Puntites were a nation of people that had close relations with Pharaonic Egypt during the times of Pharaoh Sahure and Queen Hatshepsut.
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Essaouira
Mogador redirects here, for the hamlet in Surrey see Mogador, Surrey.
Essaouira (Arabic: الصويرة, as-Ṣawīra; Berber Tassort) is a city in the western Moroccan economic region of Marrakech-Tensift-Al Haouz, on the Atlantic coast. Since the 16th century, the city has also been known by its Portuguese name of Mogador or Mogadore. The Berber name means the wall, a reference to the fortress walls that originally enclosed the city.
Archaeological research shows that Essaouira has been occupied since prehistoric times. The bay at Essaouira is partially sheltered by the island of Mogador, making it a peaceful harbor protected against strong marine winds.
Essaouira has long been considered as one of the best anchorages of the Moroccan coast. The Carthaginian navigator Hanno visited the place in the 5th century BC and established the trading post of Arambys.
Around the end of the 1st century BCE or early 1st century CE, Juba II established a Tyrian purple factory, processing the murex and purpura shells found in the intertidal rocks at Essaouira and the Iles Purpuraires. This dye colored the purple stripe in Imperial Roman Senatorial togas.
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Ethiopia
Ethiopia ( /ˌiːθiˈoʊpiə/) (Ge'ez: ኢትዮጵያ ʾĪtyōṗṗyā), officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2. Ethiopia is bordered by Eritrea to the north, Djibouti and Somalia to the east, Sudan and South Sudan to the west, and Kenya to the south. With its capital at Addis Ababa, it is also the most populous landlocked nation in the world.
Ethiopia was a monarchy for most of its history, and the Ethiopian dynasty traces its roots to the 2nd century BC. Ethiopia is also one of the oldest sites of human existence known to scientists today, having yielded some of humanity's oldest traces. It may be the region from which Homo sapiens first set out for the Middle East and points beyond. Alongside Rome, Persia, China and India, the Ethiopian Aksum Empire was considered one of the great world powers of the 3rd century. During the Scramble for Africa, Ethiopia was the only African country beside Liberia that retained its sovereignty as a recognized independent country, and was one of only four African members of the League of Nations. After a brief period of Italian occupation, Ethiopia became a charter member of the United Nations. When other African nations received their independence following World War II, many of them adopted the colors of Ethiopia's flag, and Addis Ababa became the location of several international organizations focused on Africa.
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France
France (Englishi/ˈfræns/ FRANSS or /ˈfrɑːns/ FRAHNSS; French: [fʁɑ̃s] ( listen)), officially the French Republic (French: République française [ʁepyblik fʁɑ̃sɛz]), is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean. It is often referred to as l’Hexagone ("The Hexagon") because of the geometric shape of its territory. It is the largest western European country and it possesses the second-largest exclusive economic zone in the world, covering 11,035,000 km2 (4,260,000 sq mi), just behind that of the United States (11,351,000 km2 / 4,383,000 sq mi).
Over the past 500 years, France has been a major power with strong cultural, economic, military and political influence in Europe and around the world. During the 17th and 18th centuries, France colonised great parts of North America and Southeast Asia; during the 19th and early 20th centuries, France built the second largest colonial empire of the time, including large portions of North, West and Central Africa, Southeast Asia, and many Caribbean and Pacific Islands.
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Gabon
Gabon ( /ɡəˈbɒn/; French pronunciation: [ɡabɔ̃]), officially the Gabonese Republic (French: République Gabonaise) is a state in west central Africa sharing borders with Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the north, and with the Republic of the Congo curving around the east and south. The Gulf of Guinea, an arm of the Atlantic Ocean is to the west. It covers a land area of nearly 270,000 km² and has an estimated population of 1,500,000. Its capital and largest city is Libreville.
Since its independence from France on August 17, 1960, Gabon has been ruled by three presidents. In the early 1990s, Gabon introduced a multi-party system and a new democratic constitution that allowed for a more transparent electoral process and reformed many governmental institutions. Gabon is also a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council for the 2010-2011 term.
Low population density together with abundant natural resources and foreign private investment have helped make Gabon one of the most prosperous countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, with the highest HDI and the third highest GDP per capita (PPP) (after Equatorial Guinea and Botswana) in the region.
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Genoa
Genoa /ˈdʒɛnoʊ.ə/ (Italian: Genova [ˈdʒɛːnova] (
listen); Genoese and Ligurian Zena [ˈzeːna]; Latin and, archaically, English Genua) is the capital of Liguria and the sixth largest city in Italy, with a population of 608,676 within its administrative limits on a land area of 243.6 km2 (94 sq mi). The urban zone of Genoa extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 718,896. The urban area of Genoa has a population of 800,709. In the metropolitan area live between 859,000 and 1.4 million or 1.5 million people. Genoa is one of Europe's largest cities on the Mediterranean Sea and the largest seaport in Italy.
Genoa has been nicknamed la Superba ("the Superb one") due to its glorious past and impressive landmarks. Part of the old town of Genoa was inscribed on the World Heritage List (UNESCO) in 2006 (see below). The city's rich art, music, gastronomy, architecture and history, allowed it to become the 2004's European Capital of Culture. It is the birthplace of Christopher Columbus.
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Ghana
Ghanai/ˈɡɑːnə/ is a country located in West Africa. It is bordered by Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast) to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, Togo to the east, and the Gulf of Guinea to the south. The word Ghana means "Warrior King" and is derived from the ancient Ghana Empire.
Ghana was inhabited in pre-colonial times by a number of ancient predominantly Akan kingdoms, including the inland Ashanti Empire, the Akwamu, the Akyem, the Bonoman, the Denkyira, and the Fante among others. Non-Akan states created by the Ga also existed as did states by the Dagomba. Prior to contact with Europeans trade between the Akan and various African states flourished due to Akan's gold wealth. Trade with European states began after contact with the Portuguese in the 15th century, and the British established the Gold Coast Crown colony in 1874 over parts but not all of the country.
The Gold Coast achieved independence from the United Kingdom in 1957, becoming the First sub-Saharan African nation to do so from European Colonialism. The name Ghana was chosen for the new nation to reflect the ancient Empire of Ghana, which once extended throughout much of west Africa.
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Goa
Goai/ˈɡoʊ.ə/ is India's smallest state by area and the fourth smallest by population. Located in West India in the region known as the Konkan, it is bounded by the state of Maharashtra to the north, and by Karnataka to the east and south, while the Arabian Sea forms its western coast. Goa is India's richest state with a GDP per capita two and a half times that of the country as a whole. It was ranked the best placed state by the Eleventh Finance Commission for its infrastructure and ranked on top for the best quality of life in India by the National Commission on Population based on the 12 Indicators.
Panaji is the state's capital, while Vasco da Gama is the largest city. The historic city of Margao still exhibits the cultural influence of the Portuguese, who first landed in the early 16th century as merchants and conquered it soon thereafter. Goa is a former Portuguese colony, the Portuguese overseas territory of Portuguese India existed for about 450 years until it was annexed by India in 1961.
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Graciosa fortress
The Graciosa fortress was established on the coast of Morocco by the Portuguese in 1489. It was established on a small river island, about three leagues from the sea, at the junction of river Lucus (Wadi Lukkus) and river el-Mekhazen (Oued Makhazine), a few kilometers inland from modern Larache. The island had been yielded to the Portuguese by Mohammed al Saih through a treaty following the Portuguese capture of Arzila.
The fortress was built from February 1489 by Gaspar Jusarte. In May, a second fleet led by D. Pedro de CastelBranco reached the island, and Diego Fernandes d'Almeida was named governor.
Mohammed al Saih attacked the island to dislodge the Portuguese. After the Moroccan had blocked the river with trees, the Portuguese in Graciosa fortress had to capitulate. By the Treaty of Xamez, signed on August 27, 1489, they evaacuated the island. The Portuguese thus did not resist long in Graciosa, and the Moroccans soon founded Larache at the mouth of the river.
Altogether, the Portuguese are documented to have seized 6 Moroccan towns, and built 6 stand-alone fortresses on the Moroccan Atlantic coast, between the river Loukos in the north and the river of Sous in the south. Four of these stand-alone fortresses only had a short duration: Graciosa (1489), São João da Mamora (1515), Castelo Real of Mogador (1506-10) and Aguz (1520-25). Two of them were to become permanent urban settlements: Santa Cruz do Cabo de Gué (Agadir, founded in 1505-06), and Mazagan (Mazagão) founded in 1514-17. The Portuguese had to abandon most of their settlements between 1541 and 1550, although they were able to keep Ceuta, Tangier and Mazagan.
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Guadeloupe
Coordinates: 16°15′N 61°35′W / 16.25°N 61.583°W / 16.25; -61.583
Guadeloupe ( /ɡwɑːdəˈluːp/; French pronunciation: [ɡwadəlup]; Antillean Creole: Gwadloup) is a Caribbean island located in the Leeward Islands, in the Lesser Antilles, with a land area of 1,628 square kilometres (629 sq. mi) and a population of 400,000. It is an overseas region of France, consisting of a single overseas department. Its departmental code is "971". As the other overseas departments, Guadeloupe is also an integral part of the Republic. Besides Guadeloupe island, the smaller islands of Marie-Galante, La Désirade, and the Îles des Saintes are included in Guadeloupe.
As part of France, Guadeloupe is part of the European Union and the Eurozone; hence, as for all Eurozone countries, its currency is the euro. However, Guadeloupe is not part of the Schengen Area. The prefecture and the capital of Guadeloupe is Basse-Terre. Christopher Columbus named the island Santa María de Guadalupe in 1493 after the Virgin Mary, venerated in the Spanish town of Guadalupe, in Extremadura.
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Guatemala
Guatemala (i/ˌɡwɑːtəˈmɑːlə/ GWAH-tə-MAH-lə), officially the Republic of Guatemala (Spanish: República de Guatemala [reˈpuβlika ðe ɣwateˈmala]), is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize to the northeast, the Caribbean to the east, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast. Its area is 108,890 km2 (42,043 mi2) with an estimated population of 13,276,517.
A representative democracy, its capital is Guatemala de la Asunción, also known as Guatemala City. Guatemala's abundance of biologically significant and unique ecosystems contributes to Mesoamerica's designation as a biodiversity hotspot. The former Mayan civilization was a Mesoamerican civilization, which continued throughout the Post-Classic period until the arrival of the Spanish. The Mayas live in Guatemala, Honduras, Belize, the southern part of Mexico and northern parts of El Salvador.
Guatemala became independent from Spain in 1821, joining the Mexican Empire. After it became an independent country in its own right, it was ruled by a series of dictators, assisted by the United Fruit Company. The late 20th century saw Guatemala embroiled in a 36-year-long civil war. Following the war, Guatemala has witnessed both economic growth and successful democratic elections. In the most recent election, held in 2011, Otto Pérez Molina of the Patriotic Party, won the presidency.
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Guinea
Guineai/ˈɡɪni/, officially the Republic of Guinea (French: République de Guinée), is a country in West Africa. Formerly known as French Guinea (Guinée française), it is today sometimes called Guinea-Conakry to distinguish it from its neighbour Guinea-Bissau and the Republic of Equatorial Guinea. Guinea has almost 246,000 square kilometres (94,981 sq mi) and a population of 10,057,975. It forms a crescent by curving from its western border on the Atlantic Ocean toward the east and the south. Its northern border is shared with Guinea-Bissau, Senegal, and Mali, the southern one with Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Côte d'Ivoire. The Niger River's source is in the Guinea Highlands in southeastern Guinea.
Guinea is geographically divided into eight administrative regions and subdivided into thirty-three prefectures. Conakry is the capital, largest city and economic centre. The other major cities in the country include Kankan, Nzérékoré, Kindia, Labe, Guéckédou, Mamou and Boke.
Guinea's 10 million people belong to twenty-four ethnic groups. The largest and most prominent groups are the Fula 40%, Mandingo 30%, and Susu 20%.
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Haiti
Haitii/ˈheɪti/ (French: Haïti [aiti]; Haitian Creole Ayiti [ajiti]), officially the Republic of Haiti (République d'Haïti; Repiblik Ayiti), is a Caribbean country. It occupies the western, smaller portion of the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antillean archipelago, which it shares with the Dominican Republic. Ayiti (land of high mountains) was the indigenous Taíno or Amerindian name for the island. The country's highest point is Pic la Selle, at 2,680 metres (8,793 ft). The total area of Haiti is 27,750 square kilometres (10,714 sq mi) and its capital is Port-au-Prince. Haitian Creole and French are the official languages.
Haiti's regional, historical, and ethno-linguistic position is unique for several reasons. It was the first independent nation of Latin America and the Caribbean, the first black-led republic in the world, and the second republic in the Americas when it gained independence in 1804 as part of a successful slave revolution lasting nearly a decade. In 2012, Haiti announced its intention to seek associate membership status in the African Union. Haiti is the only predominantly Francophone independent nation in the Americas. It is one of only two independent nations in the Americas (along with Canada) to designate French as an official language; the other French-speaking areas are all overseas départements, or collectivités, of France.
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Hengqin New Area
Hengqin Dao is an island in Zhuhai, a prefecture-level city and Special Economic Zone in the Guangdong province of the People's Republic of China. It has a population of about 3,000.
The whole island is designated a special economic district, as Hengqin New Area, similar to Binhai New Area in Tianjin and Pudong New Area in Shanghai.
Hengqin Island is adjacent to Ilha da Taipa and Ilha de Coloane of Macau, and is connected to Macau's Cotai via the Lotus Bridge. The island is the largest among the 146 islands of Zhuhai, being roughly three times the size of Macau. It has broad bays, sandy beaches, strangely shaped jagged rocks, beautiful scenery, fresh air, and natural vegetation cover.
Hengqin was formerly made up of two islands, Xiao Hengqin (Portuguese: D. João) and Da Hengqin (Portuguese: Montanha), which were recently connected as a result of land reclamation. The reclaimed island is 96 square km (37 square miles).
Both Xiao Hengqin and Da Hengqin were claimed by Portugal, along with the larger former island of Wanzai (Portuguese: Lapa) — now a peninsula — to their north, as part of the Província da Macau, because "Portuguese schools are established there." In 1896, Portuguese determined to occupy the two islands of Hengqin, but it was unsuccessful. They were briefly occupied by Portugal before World War II.
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Honduras
Honduras is a republic in Central America. It was at times referred to as Spanish Honduras to differentiate it from British Honduras, which became the modern-day state of Belize. The country is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Ocean at the Gulf of Fonseca, and to the north by the Gulf of Honduras, a large inlet of the Caribbean Sea.
Honduras was home to several important indigenous cultures, most notably the Maya. Much of the country was conquered by Spain who introduced its predominant language and many of its customs in the sixteenth century. It became independent in 1821 and has been a republic since the end of Spanish rule.
Its size is just over 112,492 km² with an estimated population of almost eight million. Its capital is Tegucigalpa. Its northern portions are part of the Western Caribbean Zone.
It is notable for its production of minerals, tropical fruit, and recently for exportation of clothing for the international market.
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India
India (i/ˈɪndiə/), officially the Republic of India (Bhārat Gaṇarājya), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the south-west, and the Bay of Bengal on the south-east, it shares land borders with Pakistan to the west;China, Nepal, and Bhutan to the north-east; and Burma and Bangladesh to the east. In the Indian Ocean, India is in the vicinity of Sri Lanka and the Maldives; in addition, India's Andaman and Nicobar Islands share a maritime border with Thailand and Indonesia.
Home to the ancient Indus Valley Civilisation and a region of historic trade routes and vast empires, the Indian subcontinent was identified with its commercial and cultural wealth for much of its long history. Four of the world's major religions—Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism—originated here, whereas Zoroastrianism, Christianity, and Islam arrived in the 1st millennium CE and also helped shape the region's diverse culture. Gradually annexed by and brought under the administration of the British East India Company from the early 18th century and administered directly by the United Kingdom from the mid-19th century, India became an independent nation in 1947 after a struggle for independence that was marked by non-violent resistance led by Mahatma Gandhi.
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Italy
Italyi/ˈɪtəli/ (Italian: Italia [iˈtaːlja]), officially the Italian Republic or the Republic of Italy (Italian: Repubblica italiana), is a unitary parliamentary republic in south-central Europe. To the north, it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and Slovenia along the Alps. To the south, it consists of the entirety of the Italian Peninsula, Sicily, Sardinia–the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea–and many other smaller islands. The independent states of San Marino and the Vatican City are enclaves within Italy, while Campione d'Italia is an Italian exclave in Switzerland. The territory of Italy covers some 301,338 km2 (116,347 sq mi) and is influenced by a temperate seasonal climate. With 60.6 million inhabitants, it is the fifth most populous country in Europe, and the 23rd most populous in the world.
Rome, the capital of Italy, was for centuries a political and religious centre of Western civilisation as the capital of the Roman Empire and site of the Holy See. After the decline of the Roman Empire, Italy endured numerous invasions by foreign peoples, from Germanic tribes such as the Lombards and Ostrogoths, to the Byzantines and later, the Normans, among others. Centuries later, Italy became the birthplace of Maritime republics and the Renaissance, an immensely fruitful intellectual movement that would prove to be integral in shaping the subsequent course of European thought.
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Kalba
Kalba (Arabic: كلباء) is a city in the United Arab Emirates. It is an exclave of the emirate of Sharjah, Kalba is north of Oman and south of the emirate of Fujairah. Khor Kalba (Kalba Creek), a mangrove swamp, is located further south of the town. The town was captured by the Portuguese Empire in the 16th century and was referred to as Chalba[citation needed].
Khor Kalba is accessible by three roads. The first merges after Wadi al-Haloo (وادي الحلو) tunnel with Maliha Road (شارع مليحة) which finally leads to the Sharjah-Kalba Road (90 km) from Sharjah International Airport. There is also the Fujairah-Kalba road (8 km). The Khor Kalba road extends until the border with Oman, and is one of the exit–entry points between UAE and Oman.
The key tribe that live in Kalba is al-Zaabi.
De facto independence of Kalba from Sharjah in 1903. Britain recognized Kalba on 1936-12-08.
Re-incorporated into Sharjah in 1952
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Kannur
Kannur pronunciation (help·info) (Malayalam: കണ്ണൂര്, Kaṇṇūr ?), also known as Cannanore, is a city in Kannur district in the Indian state of Kerala. It is the administrative headquarters of the District of Kannur and 518 km north of state capital Trivandrum. During British rule in India, Kannur was known by its old name Cannanore(Land of lord Krishna[citation needed]), which is still in fairly common usage. Kannur is the 6th largest city in Kerala, after Thiruvananthapuram, Ernakulam, Kozhikode, Thrissur and Kollam. It is the largest city of North Malabar region. Kannur Municipality was established in 1867 and is one of the oldest municipalities in Kerala.
Kannur is one of the Million Plus urban agglomerations in India with a population of 1,642,892 in 2011. Kannur is known as the Land of Looms and Lores, because of the loom industries functioning in the district and ritualistic folk arts held in temples. Kannur is famous for its pristine beaches; Theyyam, its native performing art, and its handloom industry.
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Kenya
Kenya ( /ˈkɛnjə/ or /ˈkiːnjə/), officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator. With the Indian Ocean to its south-east, it is bordered by Tanzania to the south, Uganda to the west, South Sudan to the north-west, Ethiopia to the north and Somalia to the north-east. Kenya has a land area of 580,000 km2 and a population of nearly 41 million, representing 42 different peoples and cultures. The country is named after Mount Kenya, a significant landmark and second among Africa's highest mountain peaks. Kenya's capital and largest city is Nairobi.
Kenya has a warm and humid climate along its coastline on the Indian Ocean which changes to wildlife-rich savannah grasslands moving inland towards the capital Nairobi. Nairobi has a cool climate that gets colder approaching Mount Kenya, which has three permanently snow-capped peaks. The warm and humid tropical climate reappears further inland towards lake Victoria, before giving way to temperate forested and hilly areas in the western region. The North Eastern regions along the border with Somalia and Ethiopia are arid and semi-arid areas with near-desert landscapes. Lake Victoria, the world's second largest fresh-water lake (after Lake Superior in the US and Canada) and the world's largest tropical lake, is situated to the southwest and is shared with Uganda and Tanzania. Kenya is famous for its safaris and diverse world-famous wildlife reserves such as Tsavo National Park, the Maasai Mara, Nakuru National Park, and Aberdares National Park.
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Khasab
Khasab (Arabic: خصب) is a city in an exclave of Oman. It is the local capital of the Musandam peninsula. Khasab is located 500 kilometers (310 mi) from Muscat and is dubbed the "Norway of Arabia". The Portuguese built Khasab at the beginning of the 17th century at the height of their naval presence in the region. The natural harbor gave shelter from tough seas. Unlike many forts, which were built on high ground for defensive purposes, Khasab was designed as a supply point for dates and water for Portuguese ships sailing through the strait. Today, Khasab is protected from floods by three large dams.
Access to the area by land was virtually impossible until a modern coast road was built, which allows fast access from the United Arab Emirates, making Khasab a popular weekend destination for people living in the Emirates. The new road also allows access to the village of Tawi, where prehistoric drawings of boats, animals and warriors can be seen in the rock face. Khasab also has a number of modern shopping areas with imported Irani goods and locally created pottery, and a few hotels, including the Khasab Hotel and Golden Tulip Hotel, which sits on a cliff overlooking the gulf.
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Khor Fakkan
Khor Fakkan (or Khawr Fakkan) (Arabic: خورفكان) is a town located along the Gulf of Oman on the east coast of the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The town is set on the picturesque bay of Khor Fakkan, which means "Creek of Two Jaws". Khor Fakkan belongs to the emirate of Sharjah but is geographically surrounded by the emirate of Fujairah. It is a natural deep water port that is now a major container terminal.
In 1580 the Venetian jeweler Gasparo Balbi noted "Chorf" in a list of places on the east coast of the United Arab Emirates, which is considered by historians to indicate Khor Fakkan. The Portuguese built a fort at Khor Fakkan that was a ruin by 1666.
The log book of the Dutch vessel the Meerkat mentions this fort and another one, describing "Gorfacan" as place on a small bay, with about 200 small houses built from date branches, near the beach. It refers to a triangular Portuguese fortress on the northern side, in ruins, and a fortress on a hill on the southern side, also in ruins, without garrison or artillery. As well as date palms, the Meerkat's log also mentions fig trees, melons, watermelons and myrrh. It notes several wells with "good and fresh water" used for irrigation.
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Kilwa Kisiwani
Kilwa Kisiwani is a community on an island off the coast of East Africa, in present day Tanzania.
A document written around AD 1200 called al-Maqama al Kilwiyya discovered in Oman, gives details of a mission to reconvert Kilwa to Ibadism, as it had recently been affected by the Ghurabiyya Shia doctrine from southern Iraq.
According to local oral tradition, in the 11th century the island of Kilwa Kisiwani was sold to Ali bin Hasan, son of the "King" of Shiraz, in Persia. Another tradition relates that his mother was African ("Abyssinian"). Ali bin Al-Hasan is credited with founding the island city and with marrying the daughter of the local African king. Tradition also relates that it was the child of this union who founded the Kilwa Sultanate. Archaeological and documentary research has revealed that over the next few centuries, Kilwa grew to be a substantial city and the leading commercial entrepot on the southern half of the Swahili coast (roughly from the present Tanzanian-Kenya border southward to the mouth of the Zambezi River), trading extensively with states of the African hinterland and interior as far as Zimbabwe. Trade was mainly in gold, iron, ivory, and other animal products of the African interior for beads, textiles, jewelry, porcelain, and spices from Asia.
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Kochi
Kochi (Malayalam: കൊച്ചി, Kocci ?[koˈtʃːi] ( listen)), formerly Cochin, is a major port city on the west coast of India by the Arabian Sea. Kochi is part of the district of Ernakulam in the state of Kerala.
Kochi is often called by the name Ernakulam, which refers to the eastern part of the mainland Kochi. The civic body that governs the city is the Corporation of Cochin, which was constituted in the year 1967, and the statutory bodies that oversee its development are the Greater Cochin Development Authority and the Goshree Islands Development Authority.
The city of Kochi (pop. 601,574) is Kerala's largest city and is part of an extended metropolitan region (pop. 2.1 million), which is the largest urban agglomeration in Kerala. It is the most densely populated city in the state. Kochi city is also a part of Greater Cochin region and is classified as a B-1 grade city by the Government of India, making it the highest graded city in the state. Kochi ranks first in the total number of international and domestic tourists in Kerala. Kochi has been ranked the sixth best tourist destination in India according to a survey conducted by the Nielsen Company on behalf of the Outlook Traveller magazine.
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Kodungallur
Kodungallur (Malayalam: കൊടുങ്ങല്ലൂര്, anglicised name: Cranganore) is a municipality located in Thrissur district in the state of Kerala, India on the Malabar Coast. Kodungallur is 29 km northwest of Kochi and 38 km southwest of Thrissur, by National Highway 66.
The location of the ancient seaport Muziris was very close to Kodungallur. Kodungallur was also a part of Mahodayapuram, the capital of the Later Cheras. Being situated in Thrissur district, Corporation of Cochin has drafted a master plan that aims to develop Kodungallur as a satellite township to Kochi city.
The name Kodungallur is derived from Kodi-linga-puram ("the land of 10 million Siva lingas") according to common belief. Kodungallur was perhaps the revenue collection center of Kudakons (the Chera rulers) for the goods coming to the nearby port, hence the name Kudakonallur which later shortened to Kodungallur.
Kodungallur has had many names over the centuries:
During the time of the Chera dynasty, Muziris near present day Kodungallur was an important trade link in Indian maritime history. The region around Kodungallur can claim to have played a significant part in fostering the trade relations between Cheras and the foreign world in the ancient and medieval periods. It also claims to have played an important part in fostering cultural relations and in laying the foundation of a composite culture in this part of the Chera country. Muziris was destroyed by massive flooding of Periyar in 14th century, opening for a new port called Kochi.
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Kollam
Kollam, often anglicized as Quilon, is a city in the Indian state of Kerala. The city lies on the banks of Ashtamudi Lake on the Arabian sea coast and is situated about 71 kilometres (44 mi) north of the state capital, Thiruvananthapuram. It is the headquarters of Kollam district and a prominent trade and commercial city.
Kollam is the fourth-largest city in Kerala, after Thiruvananthapuram, Ernakulam, Kozhikode, {The new population is taken as city agglomeration} in Kerala on the basis of population and the fifth-largest city on the basis of area. It is known for cashew processing and coir manufacturing. It is considered to be the southern gateway to the backwaters of Kerala and is a prominent tourist destination. The Kollam urban area comprises the fast developing suburban towns such as Kottiyam in the south, Kundara in the east, and Chavara in the north of the city. Other important towns in the city suburbs are Paravur, Eravipuram, Kannanalore, and Anchalumoodu. Karunagapally, Chathannoor, and Kottarakkara are major towns within a distance of 25 km from Kollam city centre towards north, south, and east respectively.
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Lakshadweep
Lakshadweep /ləkˈʃɑːdwiːp/ (Malayalam: ലക്ഷദ്വീപ് Lakṣadvīp (help·info), Mahl: ލަކްޝަދީބު Lakshadīb), formerly known as the Laccadive, Minicoy, and Amindivi Islands /ˌlækədaɪv ˌmɪnɨkɔɪ/ & /ˌæmɨnˈdiːvi/, is a group of islands in the Laccadive Sea, 200 to 440 km off the coast of the South West Indian state of Kerala. They were also known as Laccadive Islands, although geographically this is only the name of the central subgroup of the group.
The islands form the smallest Union Territory of India. The total surface area of the islands is just 11 sq mi or 32 km2. However, the lagoon area is about 4,200 square kilometres (1,600 sq mi), the territorial waters area is 20,000 square kilometres (7,700 sq mi) and the exclusive economic zone area is 400,000 square kilometres (150,000 sq mi).
Lakshadweep is the northern part of the erstwhile Lakshadweepa.[clarification needed] The islands are the northernmost among the Lakshadweep-Maldives-Chagos group of islands, which are actually the tops of a vast undersea mountain range, in the Indian Ocean, the Chagos-Laccadive Ridge.
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Latin Union
The Latin Union is an international organization of nations that use Romance languages, with the aim of protecting, projecting, and promoting the common cultural heritage and unifying identities of the Latin, and Latin-influenced, world. It was created in 1954 in Madrid, Spain, and has existed as a functional institution since 1983. Its membership has risen from 12 to 36 states, including countries in Latin America, Europe, Africa, and the Asia-Pacific region.
The official names of the Latin Union are: Unió Llatina in Catalan, Union latine in French, Unione Latina in Italian, União Latina in Portuguese, Uniunea Latină in Romanian, and Unión Latina in Spanish.
According to the Latin Union's website, membership is open to any nation that meets the following criteria:
The official languages of the Latin Union are Spanish, Portuguese, French, Italian, Romanian, and Catalan. Spanish, Portuguese, French and Italian are used as working languages. All the texts of general diffusion are translated into these four languages, with some also going into Romanian and Catalan.
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Lesotho
Lesotho (i/lɨˈsuːtuː/ li-SOO-too), officially the Kingdom of Lesotho, is a landlocked country and enclave, completely surrounded by its only neighboring country, the Republic of South Africa. It is just over 30,000 km2 (11,583 sq mi) in size with a population of approximately 2,067,000. Its capital and largest city is Maseru. Lesotho is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations. The name Lesotho translates roughly into the land of the people who speak Sesotho. About 40% of the population live below the international poverty line of US $1.25 a day.
The earliest known inhabitants of the area were Khoisan hunter-gatherers. They were largely replaced by Wasja-speaking tribes during Bantu migrations. The Sotho-Tswana people colonized the general region of South Africa between the 3rd and 11th centuries.
The present Lesotho (then called Basutoland) emerged as a single polity under king Moshoeshoe I in 1822. Moshoeshoe, a son of Mokhachane, a minor chief of the Bakoteli lineage, formed his own clan and became a chief around 1804. Between 1821 and 1823, he and his followers settled at the Butha-Buthe Mountain, joining with former adversaries in resistance against the Lifaqane associated with the reign of Shaka Zulu from 1818 to 1828.[citation needed]
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Liberia
Liberiai/laɪˈbɪəriə/, officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Sierra Leone on the west, Guinea on the north and Ivory Coast on the east. Liberia's coastline is composed of mostly mangrove forests while the more sparsely populated inland consists of forests that open to a plateau of drier grasslands. The country possesses 40% of the remaining Upper Guinean rainforest. Liberia has a hot equatorial climate, with significant rainfall during the May to October rainy season and harsh harmattan winds the remainder of the year. Liberia covers an area of 111,369 km2 (43,000 sq mi) and is home to about 3.7 million people. English is the official language, while over 30 indigenous languages are spoken within the country.
Along with Ethiopia, Liberia is one of the two modern countries in Sub-Saharan Africa without roots in the European colonization of Africa. Beginning in 1820, the region was colonized by freed American slaves with the help of the American Colonization Society, a private organization that believed ex-slaves would have greater freedom and equality in Africa. Slaves freed from slave ships were also sent there instead of being repatriated to their countries of origin. In 1847, these colonists founded the Republic of Liberia, establishing a government modeled on that of the United States and naming the capital city Monrovia after James Monroe, the fifth president of the United States and a prominent supporter of the colonization. The colonists, known as Americo-Liberians, led the political and economic sectors of the country.
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Libya
Libya (Arabic: ليبيا Lībyā), Berber: ⵍⵉⴱⵢⴰ) is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast, Chad and Niger to the south, and Algeria and Tunisia to the west.
With an area of almost 1.8 million square kilometres (700,000 sq mi), Libya is the third largest country in Africa by area, and the 17th largest in the world. The largest city, Tripoli, is home to 1.7 million of Libya's 6.4 million people. The three traditional parts of the country are Tripolitania, Fezzan and Cyrenaica.
In 2009 Libya had the highest HDI in Africa and the fourth highest GDP (PPP) per capita in Africa, behind Seychelles, Equatorial Guinea and Gabon. Libya has the 10th-largest proven oil reserves of any country in the world and the 17th-highest petroleum production.
As a result of the Libyan civil war, the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, which had at that time been in existence for 34 years, collapsed and Libya entered a period of governance by a transitional administration called the National Transitional Council. The NTC has stated its intention to oversee the first phase of a transition to constitutional democracy, after which it claims it will dissolve in favor of a representative legislature.
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Lithuania
Lithuania (i/ˌlɪθuːˈeɪniə/ or /ˌlɪθjuːˈeɪniə/; Lithuanian: Lietuva), officially the Republic of Lithuania (Lithuanian: Lietuvos Respublika) is a country in Northern Europe, the largest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark. It borders Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, Poland to the south, and a Russian exclave (Kaliningrad Oblast) to the southwest. Lithuania has an estimated population of 3.2 million as of 2011, and its capital and largest city is Vilnius. The Lithuanians are a Baltic people, and the official language, Lithuanian, is one of only two living languages (together with Latvian) in the Baltic branch of the Indo-European language family.
For centuries, the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea was inhabited by various Baltic tribes. In the 1230s the Lithuanian lands were united by Mindaugas, who was crowned as King of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, the first Lithuanian state, on 6 July 1253. During the 14th century, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania was the largest country in Europe: present-day Belarus, Ukraine, and parts of Poland and Russia were territories of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. With the Lublin Union of 1569, Lithuania and Poland formed a voluntary two-state union, the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. The Commonwealth lasted more than two centuries, until neighboring countries systematically dismantled it from 1772 to 1795, with the Russian Empire annexing most of Lithuania's territory.
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Macaronesia
Macaronesia is a modern collective name for several groups of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean near Europe and North Africa belonging to three countries: Portugal, Spain, and Cape Verde.The name (which is often misspelled 'Macronesia') comes from the Greek for "islands of the fortunate" μακάρων νῆσοι makárōn nêsoi, a term used by Ancient Greek geographers for islands to the west of the Straits of Gibraltar.
Macaronesia consists of five archipelagos:
The islands of Macaronesia are volcanic in origin, and are thought to be the product of several geologic hotspots.
The climate of the Macaronesian islands ranges from mediterranean in the Azores and Madeira to arid in Cape Verde. The Portuguese archipelagos of the Azores and Madeira have a generally cooler climate and higher rainfall than the Canaries and Cape Verde. The laurisilva forests of Macaronesia are a type of mountain cloud forest with relicts species of a vegetation type which originally covered much of the Mediterranean Basin when the climate of the region was more humid and evolved to adapt in islanders conditions.
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Macau
Coordinates: 22°10′N 113°33′E / 22.167°N 113.55°E / 22.167; 113.55
Macau (Chinese: 澳門), also spelled Macao ( /məˈkaʊ/), is one of the two special administrative regions of the People's Republic of China, the other being Hong Kong. Macau lies on the western side of the Pearl River Delta across from Hong-Kong which is to the east, bordering Guangdong province to the north and facing the South China Sea to the east and south.
The territory's economy is heavily dependent on gambling and tourism, but also includes manufacturing.
Macau is a former Portuguese colony, and is both the first and last European colony in China. Portuguese traders first settled in Macau in the 16th century and subsequently administered the region until the handover on 20 December 1999. The Sino-Portuguese Joint Declaration and the Basic Law of Macau stipulate that Macau operates with a high degree of autonomy until at least 2049, fifty years after the transfer. Macau was first lent by the Chinese empire as a trading port in the 16th century, and had to administer the city under Chinese authority and sovereignty. In 1887, Macau became a colony of the Portuguese empire and its sovereignty transferred to the Portuguese.
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Machilipatnam
Machilipatnam ( pronunciation (help·info)) known as Masulipatnam under British rule and as Bandar in folklore is a city and a special grade municipality in the Krishna district, Andhra Pradesh, India. It is located 347 kilometres (216 mi) south east of state capital, Hyderabad.
The town has existed since the 3rd century BCE (Satavahana period) when, according to Ptolemy, it was known as Maisolos. The Periplus of the Erythraean Sea calls it Masalia in the 1st century BCE. The port is located on the southeastern, or Coromandel Coast, of India. Situated in the mouth of the River Krishna on the Bay of Bengal, the Masula port saw flourishing sea trade. The naming of the eastern gate of Charminar as Machili-Kaman(literally meaning fish, in this case specifically meaning a gate to the fishing town of Machilipatnam) testifies the symbiotic relationship between port and the capital.The East India Company built its first factory in India in Masulipatnam. It was a 17th-century port for French, British and Dutch trade. The port has a medium-size fishing harbour which can accommodate 350 fishing vessels and an active carpet-weaving industry. The other products from the town include rice, oilseeds and scientific instruments. This town is a railway terminus and an important educational centre.Andhra Bank was established in 1923 at Machilipatnam
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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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Madha
The Omani territory of Madha (Arabic: مدحاء) or Wadi Madha is an exclave of Oman, surrounded by the United Arab Emirates (UAE). It is located halfway between the Musandam Peninsula and the rest of Oman. It forms part of the Musandam Governate.
The exclave is on the Fujairah–Khor Fakkan road in the Emirate of Sharjah of the UAE and covers approximately 75 km² (29 sq mi). There are two exits to Madha on the Fujairah–Khorfakkan road. The boundary was settled in 1969.
Madha is mostly empty, with the developed portion, called "New Madha", containing roads, a school, post office, an 'Eid ground, police station, an Omani bank, electricity and water supply, and an airstrip. There is also a Royal Oman Police patrol.
Inside Madha, there is an exclave of the UAE called Nahwa, which is legally part of the Emirate of Sharjah.
Coordinates: 25°17′4″N 56°19′59″E / 25.28444°N 56.33306°E / 25.28444; 56.33306
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Makassar
Makassar, (Buginese-Makassarese language: ᨀᨚᨈ ᨆᨀᨔᨑ sometimes spelled Macassar, Mangkasara) is the provincial capital of South Sulawesi, Indonesia, and the largest city on Sulawesi Island. From 1971 to 1999, the city was named Ujung Pandang, after a precolonial fort in the city, and the two names are often used interchangeably. The port city is located at 5°8′S 119°25′E / 5.133°S 119.417°E / -5.133; 119.417Coordinates: 5°8′S 119°25′E / 5.133°S 119.417°E / -5.133; 119.417, on the southwest coast of the island of Sulawesi, facing the Makassar Strait.
Its area is 175.77 km2 and has population of around 1.4 million.
Beginning in the sixteenth century, Makassar was the dominant trading center of eastern Indonesia, and soon became one of the largest cities in island Southeast Asia. The Makassarese kings maintained a policy of free trade, insisting on the right of any visitor to do business in the city, and rejecting the attempts of the Dutch to establish a monopoly over the city.
The trade in spices figured prominently in the history of Sulawesi, which involved frequent struggles between rival native and foreign powers for control of the lucrative during the pre-colonial and colonial period, when spices from the region were in high demand in the West. Much of South Sulawesi's early history was written in old texts that can be traced back to the 13th and 14th centuries.
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Malacca
Malacca (Malay: Melaka), (dubbed The Historic State or Negeri Bersejarah among locals) is the third smallest Malaysian state, after Perlis and Penang. It is located in the southern region of the Malay Peninsula, on the Straits of Malacca. It borders Negeri Sembilan to the north and the state of Johor to the south. The capital is Malacca City, which is 148 km south east of Malaysia's capital city Kuala Lumpur, 235 km north west to Johor's largest city Johor Bahru and 95 km north west to Johor's second largest city Batu Pahat. This historical city centre has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 7 July 2008.
Although it was the location of one of the earliest Malay sultanates, the monarchy was abolished when the Portuguese conquered it in 1511. The Yang di-Pertua Negeri or Governor, rather than a Sultan, acts as the head of state now.
Before the arrival of the first Sultan, Malacca was a fishing village inhabited by local Malays. Malacca was founded by Parameswara, also called Iskandar Shah or Sri Majara, the last Raja of Singapura (present day Singapore) following a Majapahit attack in 1377. He found his way to Malacca around 1400 where he found a good port—it was accessible in all seasons and on the strategically located narrowest point of the Malacca Straits.
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Malawi
Malawi ( /məˈlɑːwi/; Chichewa [malaβi][need tone]), officially the Republic of Malawi, is a landlocked country in southeast Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the northwest, Tanzania to the northeast, and Mozambique on the east, south and west. The country is separated from Tanzania and Mozambique by Lake Malawi. Malawi is over 118,000 km2 (45,560 sq mi) with an estimated population of more than 13,900,000. Its capital is Lilongwe, which is also Malawi's largest city; the second largest is Blantyre and the third is Mzuzu. The name Malawi comes from the Maravi, an old name of the Nyanja people that inhabit the area. The country is also nicknamed "The Warm Heart of Africa".
The area of Africa now known as Malawi was colonized by migrating tribes of Bantu around the 10th century. In 1891 the area was colonized again, this time by the British. In 1953 Malawi, then known as Nyasaland, became part of the semi-independent Central African Federation (CAF). The Federation was dissolved in 1963 and in 1964, Nyasaland gained full independence and was renamed Malawi. Upon gaining independence it became a single-party state under the presidency of Hastings Banda, who remained president until 1994, when he was ousted from power. Joyce Banda (no relation) is the current president, raised to that position after president Bingu Mutharika died in 2012. She is the first female leader in Malawi. Malawi has a democratic, multi-party government. Malawi has a small military force that includes an army, a navy and an air wing. Malawi's foreign policy is pro-Western and includes positive diplomatic relations with most countries and participation in several international organizations.
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Maldives
Maldives (i/ˈmɒldaɪvz/ or /ˈmɒldiːvz/), (Dhivehi: ދިވެހިރާއްޖެ, Dhivehi Raa'je), officially Republic of Maldives (Dhivehi: ދިވެހިރާއްޖޭގެ ޖުމްހޫރިއްޔާ, Dhivehi Raa'jeyge Jumhooriyya), also referred to as the Maldive Islands, is an island nation in the Indian Ocean formed by a double chain of twenty-six atolls oriented north-south off India's Lakshadweep Islands, between Minicoy Island and Chagos Archipelago. It stands in the Laccadive Sea, about 700 kilometres (430 mi) south-west of Sri Lanka and 400 kilometres (250 mi) south-west of India. During the colonial era, the Dutch referred to the country as "Maldivische Eilanden" in their documentation, while "Maldive Islands" is the anglicised version of the local name used by the British, which later came to be written "Maldives".
The archipelago is located on top of the Chagos-Maldives-Laccadive Ridge, a vast submarine mountain range in the Indian Ocean. Maldives also form a terrestrial ecoregion together with the Chagos and the Lakshadweep. The atolls of Maldives encompass a territory spread over roughly 90,000 square kilometres (35,000 sq mi), making it one of the world's most geographically dispersed countries. Its population of 328,536 (2012) inhabits 200 of its 1,192 islands. Maldives' capital and largest city Malé had a population of 103,693 in 2006. It is located at the southern edge of North Malé Atoll, in the Kaafu Atoll. It is also one of the Administrative divisions of the Maldives. Traditionally it was the King's Island where the ancient Maldive Royal dynasties were enthroned.
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Mali
Malii/ˈmɑːli/, officially the Republic of Mali (French: République du Mali, French pronunciation: [maˈli]), is a landlocked country in Western Africa. Mali borders Algeria on the north, Niger on the east, Burkina Faso and the Côte d'Ivoire on the south, Guinea on the south-west, and Senegal and Mauritania on the west. Its size is just over 1,240,000 km² with a population of 14.5 million. Its capital is Bamako. Mali consists of eight regions and its borders on the north reach deep into the middle of the Sahara, while the country's southern part, where the majority of inhabitants live, features the Niger and Sénégal rivers. The country's economic structure centers around agriculture and fishing. Some of Mali's natural resources are gold, uranium, livestock, and salt. About half the population live below the international poverty line of US$1.25 a day.
Present-day Mali was once part of three West African empires that controlled trans-Saharan trade: the Ghana Empire, the Mali Empire (from which Mali is named), and the Songhai Empire. In the late 19th century, during the Scramble for Africa, France seized control of Mali making it a part of French Sudan. French Sudan (then known as the Sudanese Republic) joined with Senegal in 1959, achieving independence in 1960 as the Mali Federation. Shortly thereafter, following Senegal's withdrawal from the federation, the Sudanese Republic declared itself the independent Republic of Mali. After a long period of one-party rule, a 1991 coup led to the writing of a new constitution and the establishment of Mali as a democratic, multi-party state. On 22 March, 2012, a group of junior soldiers seized control of the country's presidential palace and declared the government dissolved and its constitution suspended. On 6 April, 2012, rebels from the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA) declared the secession of a new state, Azawad, from Mali.
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Malindi
Malindi (once known as Melinde) is a town on Malindi Bay at the mouth of the Galana River, lying on the Indian Ocean coast of Kenya. It is 120 kilometres northeast of Mombasa. The population of Malindi is 117,735 (in 1999 census). It is the capital of the Malindi District.
Tourism is the major industry in Malindi. The city is exceptionally popular among Italian tourists. Malindi is served with a domestic airport and a highway between Mombasa and Lamu. The nearby Watamu resort and Gedi Ruins (also known as Gede) are south of Malindi. The mouth of the Sabaki River lies in northern Malindi. The Watamu and Malindi Marine National Parks form a continuous protected coastal area south of Malindi. The area shows classic examples of Swahili architecture.
Malindi is home to the Malindi Airport and Broglio Space Centre.
Malindi has been a Swahili settlement since the 14th century. Once rivaled only by Mombasa for dominance in this part of East Africa, Malindi has traditionally been a port city for foreign powers. In 1414, the town was visited by the fleet of the Chinese explorer Zheng He. Malindi's ruler sent a personal envoy with a giraffe as a present to China on that fleet.
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Maluku Islands
The Maluku Islands, also known as the Moluccas /məˈlʌkəz/, are an archipelago within Indonesia. Tectonically they are located on the Halmahera Plate within the Molucca Sea Collision Zone. Geographically they are located east of Sulawesi (Celebes), west of New Guinea, and north and east of Timor. The islands were also historically known as the "Spice Islands" by the Chinese and Europeans, but this term has also been applied to other islands outside Indonesia.
Most of the islands are mountainous, some with active volcanoes, and enjoy a wet climate. The vegetation of the small and narrow islands, encompassed by the sea, is very luxuriant; including rainforests, sago, rice and the famous spices - nutmeg, cloves and mace, among others. Though originally Melanesian, many island populations, especially in the Banda Islands, were killed off in the 17th century during the Spice wars. A second influx of Austronesian immigrants began in the early twentieth century under the Dutch and continues in the Indonesian era.
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Manama
Manama (Arabic: المنامة Al Manāma) is the capital and largest city of Bahrain, with an approximate population of 155,000 people. Long an important trading center in the Persian Gulf, Manama is home to a very diverse population. After periods of Portuguese and Persian control and invasions from the Al Sauds and Oman, Bahrain established itself as an independent nation during the 19th century period of British hegemony. In the 20th century, Bahrain's oil wealth helped spur fast growth and in the 1990s a concerted diversification effort led to expansion in other industries and helped transform Manama into an important financial hub in the Middle East.
Manama was mentioned in Islamic chronicles at least as far back as 1345. It was conquered by Portugal in 1521 and then by the Persians in 1602. Since 1783 it has been under the control of the Al-Khalifa dynasty. Manama was declared a free port in 1958, and in 1971 it became the capital of independent Bahrain.
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Mangalore
Mangalorei/ˈmæŋɡəlɔr/ (also called Kuḍla in Tulu, Maṅgaḷūru in Kannada, Koḍiyāl in Konkani, or Maikāla in Beary bashe) is the chief port city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It is located about 350 kilometres (220 mi) west of the state capital, Bangalore. Mangalore lies between the Arabian Sea and the Western Ghat mountain ranges, and is the administrative headquarters of the Dakshina Kannada (formerly South Canara) district in south western Karnataka.
Mangalore derives its name from the local Hindu Goddess Mangaladevi. It developed as a port on the Arabian Sea—remaining, to this day, a major port of India. Lying on the backwaters of the Netravati and Gurupura rivers, Mangalore is often used as a staging point for sea traffic along the Malabar Coast. The city has a tropical climate and lies in the path of the Arabian Sea branch of the South-West monsoons. Mangalore's port handles 75 per cent of India's coffee exports and the bulk of the nation's cashew exports.
Mangalore was ruled by several major powers, including the Kadambas, Vijayanagar dynasty, Chalukyas, Rashtrakutas, Hoysalas, and the Portuguese. The city was a source of contention between the British and the Mysore rulers, Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan. Eventually annexed by the British in 1799, Mangalore remained part of the Madras Presidency until India's independence in 1947. The city was unified with the state of Mysore (now called Karnataka) in 1956.
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Mascarene Islands
The Mascarene Islands (or Mascarenhas Archipelago) is a group of islands in the Indian Ocean east of Madagascar comprising Mauritius, Réunion, Rodrigues, Cargados Carajos shoals, plus the former islands of the Saya de Malha, Nazareth and Soudan banks. The collective title is derived from the Portuguese navigator Pedro Mascarenhas, who first visited them in the early sixteenth century. The islands share a common geologic origin in the volcanism of the Réunion hotspot beneath the Mascarene Plateau and form a distinct ecoregion with a unique flora and fauna.
The Islands are volcanic in origin; Saya de Malha (35 mya) was the first of the Mascarene islands to rise out of the Indian Ocean due to the Réunion hotspot, followed by Nazareth Bank (some 2,000 yrs later), Soudan Bank and Cargados Carajos. The youngest islands to form were Mauritius (7–10 mya), the oldest of the existing islands, created along with the undersea Rodrigues ridge. The islands of Rodrigues and Réunion were created in the last two million years. Réunion is the largest of the islands (2,500 km²), followed by Mauritius (1,900 km²) and Rodrigues (110 km²). Eventually Saya de Malha, Nazareth and Soudan were completely submerged, Cargados Carajos remaining as a coral atoll. The Réunion hotspot was beginning to cool and Rodrigues came out as a tiny island. Had erosion not taken place, Cargados Carajos would have been a large volcanic island, and the Mascarenes would have been an archipelago of seven or more (counting Saya De Malha, Nazareth and Soudan) large, populated islands, rather than the three (Mauritius, Reunion, Rodrigues) that remain today.
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Mauritania
Mauritaniai/mɔrɪˈteɪniə/ (Arabic: موريتانيا Mūrītānyā; Berber: Muritanya / Agawej; Wolof: Gànnaar; Soninke: Murutaane; Pulaar: Moritani; French: Mauritanie), officially the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, is a country in West Africa and in the Maghreb. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean in the west, by Western Sahara (controlled by Morocco) in the north, by Algeria in the northeast, by Mali in the east and southeast, and by Senegal in the southwest. It is named after the ancient Berber Kingdom of Mauretania, which later became a province of the Roman Empire, even though the modern Mauritania covers a territory far to the south of the old Berber kingdom that had no relation with it. The capital and largest city is Nouakchott, located on the Atlantic coast.
The government of Mauritania was overthrown on 6 August 2008, in a military coup d'état led by General Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz. On 16 April 2009, General Aziz resigned from the military to run for president in the 19 July elections, which he won. In Mauritania about 20% of the population live on less than US$1.25 per day.
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Mauritius
Coordinates: 20°12′S 57°30′E / 20.2°S 57.5°E / -20.2; 57.5
Mauritiusi/məˈrɪʃəs/ (Mauritian Creole: Moris; French: Maurice, pronounced: [mɔˈʁis]), officially the Republic of Mauritius (Mauritian Creole: Republik Moris; French: République de Maurice) is an island nation off the southeast coast of the African continent in the southwest Indian Ocean, about 870 kilometres (540 mi) east of Madagascar. In addition to the island of Mauritius, the Republic includes the islands of Cargados Carajos, Rodrigues, Tromelin and the Agalega Islands. Mauritius Island is part of the Mascarene Islands, with the French island of Réunion 170 km (110 mi) to the southwest and the island of Rodrigues 570 km (350 mi) to the east. The area of Mauritius is 2040 km2; its capital city is Port Louis.
The United Kingdom took control of the islands in 1810, from France during the Napoleonic Wars, and Mauritius became independent from the UK in 1968. It is a parliamentary republic and is a member of the Southern African Development Community, the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa, the African Union, La Francophonie and the Commonwealth of Nations.
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Mayotte
Mayotte (French: Mayotte, pronounced: [majɔt]; Shimaore: Maore, IPA: [maˈore]; Malagasy: Mahori) is an overseas department and region of France consisting of a main island, Grande-Terre (or Mahoré), a smaller island, Petite-Terre (or Pamanzi), and several islets around these two. The archipelago is located in the northern Mozambique Channel in the Indian Ocean, namely between northwestern Madagascar and northeastern Mozambique. Mayotte's area is 374 square kilometres (144 sq mi), and with its estimated 194,000 people is very densely populated (520 /km2 or 1,300 /sq mi). Its biggest city and prefecture is Mamoudzou. The territory is geographically part of the Comoro Islands, but has been politically separate since a 1974 referendum in which it elected to remain under French rule. The territory is also known as Mahoré, the native name of its main island, especially by advocates of its inclusion in the Union of Comoros. In a 2009 referendum, the population overwhelmingly approved accession to status of department (95.2% voted in favour of departmental status). On March 31, 2011, Mayotte became an overseas department.
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Mehdya
Mehdya, also Mehdia or Mehedya, is a town in Kénitra Province, Gharb-Chrarda-Béni Hssen, Morocco. According to the 2004 census it has a population of 16,262. It is located on Sebou River (Oued Sebu).
Mehdya was previously called Al-Ma'mura ("the well-populated") or La Mamora in Europe, and was a harbour on the coast of Morocco. It seems to have been occupied by the Carthaginians since the 5th century BCE.
It was captured by the Portuguese in 1515, and renamed São João da Mamora. Altogether, the Portuguese are documented to have seized 6 Moroccan towns, and built 6 stand-alone fortresses on the Moroccan Atlantic coast, between the river Loukos in the north and the river of Sous in the south. Four of the stand-alone fortresses only had a short duration: Graciosa (1489), Forte de São João de Mamora (pt) (1515), Castelo Real of Mogador (1506–10) and Aguz (1520–25). Two of them were to become permanent urban settlements: Santa Cruz do Cabo de Gué (Agadir, founded in 1505-06), and Mazagan founded in 1514-17. The Portuguese had to abandon most of their settlements between 1541 and 1550, although they were able to keep Ceuta, Tangier and Mazagan.
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Melilla
Melilla (Spanish pronunciation: [meˈliʎa]) is an autonomous city of Spain and an exclave on the north coast of Morocco, with an area of 12.3 square kilometres (4.7 sq mi). Melilla, along with the Spanish exclave Ceuta, is one of the two Spanish territories located in mainland Africa. It was regarded as a part of Málaga province prior to 14 March 1995, when the city's Statute of Autonomy was passed.
Melilla (like Ceuta) was a free port before Spain joined the European Union. As of 2008 it has a population of 73,460. Its population consists of Christians, Muslims (chiefly Riffians), and small minorities of Jews. Both Spanish and Tarifit are widely spoken. Spanish is the only official language, while there have been calls to recognise Tamazight, a standardized version of all Berber languages official in Morocco, as well.
Morocco had previously called for negotiations on the future of Melilla, Ceuta and a number of Mediterranean islands which border it. The majority of the city's population are ethnic Spanish who are opposed to the idea of being a part of Morocco. A poll conducted by Instituto Opina found that 87.9% of people from mainland Spain consider the two cities to be Spanish.
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Mexico
Mexico (i/ˈmɛksɨkoʊ/; Spanish: México, IPA: [ˈmexiko] ( listen)), officially the United Mexican States (Spanish: Estados Unidos Mexicanos (help·info)), is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States of America; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of Mexico. Covering almost two million square kilometres (over 760,000 sq mi), Mexico is the fifth largest country in the Americas by total area and the thirteenth largest independent nation in the world. With an estimated population of over 113 million, it is the eleventh most populous country and the most populous Spanish-speaking country. Mexico is a federation comprising thirty-one states and a Federal District, the capital city.
In Pre-Columbian Mexico many cultures matured into advanced civilizations such as the Olmec, the Toltec, the Teotihuacan, the Zapotec, the Maya and the Aztec before the first contact with Europeans. In 1521, Spain conquered and colonized the territory from its base in México-Tenochtitlan, which was administered as the Viceroyalty of New Spain. This territory would eventually become Mexico as the colony's independence was recognized in 1821. The post-independence period was characterized by economic instability, the Mexican-American War and territorial cession to the United States, a civil war, two empires and a domestic dictatorship. The latter led to the Mexican Revolution in 1910, which culminated with the promulgation of the 1917 Constitution and the emergence of the country's current political system. Elections held in July 2000 marked the first time that an opposition party won the presidency from the Institutional Revolutionary Party.
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Mindelo
For the parish in Portugal, see Mindelo, Portugal
Mindelo (Mindel’ in Cape Verdean Creole), is a port city in the northern part of the island of São Vicente in Cape Verde. Mindelo is also the seat of the parish of Nossa Senhora da Luz, and this island's municipality. The city is home to 92.6% of the entire island's population.
There was a coal station in Mindelo during the times of steam navigation by the British. Mindelo is a cosmopolitan city. The Randall coal company was established at the shipping routes of Europe, South Africa, India, Australia and Africa and South America. In the beginning of 1875, the firm named Cory Brothers plummeted coal prices which increased the number of ships to 669 per year in 1879. When more ports were built in Dakar, Senegal and in the Canary Islands, the number of ships declined but increased to serve about 2,000 ships per year in the 20th century. In 1952, the coal camps were eliminated as boats switched to diesel.
In 1885, Mindelo was the switching station for the first Trans-Atlantic telegraph cable. In 1912, Mindelo became an important cable station in the world.
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Moldova
Moldovai/mɒlˈdoʊvə/, officially the Republic of Moldova (Moldovan/Romanian: Republica Moldova pronounced [reˈpublika molˈdova]) is a landlocked state in Eastern Europe located between Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. It declared itself an independent state with the same boundaries as the Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic in 1991 as part of the dissolution of the Soviet Union. On 29 July 1994, the new constitution of Moldova was adopted. A strip of Moldova's internationally recognized territory on the east bank of the river Dniester has been under the de facto control of the breakaway government of Transnistria since 1990.
The nation is a parliamentary republic with a president as head of state and a prime minister as head of government. Moldova is a member state of the United Nations, Council of Europe, WTO, OSCE, GUAM, CIS, BSEC and other international organizations. Moldova currently aspires to join the European Union, and has implemented the first three-year Action Plan within the framework of the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP).
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Mombasa
Mombasa is the second-largest city in Kenya. Lying next to the Indian Ocean, it has a major port and an international airport. The city also serves as the centre of the coastal tourism industry.
Also known as Mombas in colonial times, its name derives from Manbasa. This was the Arabic name of the former sultanate of Mvita, which had its capital here. In modern times the town is the headquarters of Mombasa District, which, like most other districts in Kenya, is named after its chief town.
The city has a population of 939,370, as per the 2009 census,[citation needed] and is located on Mombasa Island, which is separated from the mainland by two creeks: Tudor Creek and Kilindini Harbour. The island is connected to the mainland to the north by the Nyali Bridge, to the south by the Likoni Ferry and to the west by the Makupa Causeway, alongside which runs the Kenya-Uganda Railway. The port serves both Kenya and countries of the interior, linking them to the Ocean. The city is served by Moi International Airport located in the northwest mainland suburb of Chaani, northwest of Changamwe area.
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Monaco
Monacoi/ˈmɒnəkoʊ/, officially the Principality of Monaco (French: Principauté de Monaco; Monégasque: Principatu de Múnegu; Italian: Principato di Monaco; Occitan: Principat de Mónegue), is a sovereign city state, located on the French Riviera in Western Europe. Bordered by France on three sides, with one side bordering the Mediterranean Sea, its center is about 16 km (9.9 mi) from Italy, and is only 15 km (9.3 mi) north east of Nice, France. It has an area of 1.98 km2 (0.76 sq mi), and a population of 35,986, making Monaco the second smallest and the most densely populated country in the world. Monaco has a land border of only 4.4 km (2.7 mi), a coastline of 4.1 km (2.5 mi), and a width that varies between 1.7 km (1.1 mi) and 349 metres (382 yards). The highest point in the country is a narrow pathway named Chemin des Révoires on the slopes of Mont Agel, in the Les Révoires district, which is 161 metres (528 feet) above sea level. Monaco's most populated Quartier is Monte Carlo, and the most populated Ward is Larvotto/Bas Moulins. After a recent expansion of Port Hercules, Monaco's total area is 2.05 km2 (0.79 sq mi), with new plans to extend the district of Fontvieille, with land reclaimed from the Mediterranean Sea.
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Mongolia
Mongoliai/mɒŋˈɡoʊliə/ (Mongolian: Монгол улс (help·info), literally Mongol country/state) is a landlocked country in East and Central Asia. It is bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south, east and west. Although Mongolia does not share a border with Kazakhstan, its western-most point is only 38 kilometres (24 mi) from Kazakhstan's eastern tip. Ulan Bator, the capital and largest city, is home to about 45% of the population. Mongolia's political system is a parliamentary republic.
The area of what is now Mongolia has been ruled by various nomadic empires, including the Xiongnu, the Xianbei, the Rouran, the Gökturks and others. The Mongol Empire was founded by Genghis Khan in 1206. After the collapse of the Yuan Dynasty, the Mongols returned to their earlier pattern of constant internal conflict and occasional raids on the Chinese borderlands. In the 16th and 17th centuries, Mongolia came under the influence of Tibetan Buddhism. At the end of the 17th century, all of Mongolia had been incorporated into the area ruled by the Qing Dynasty. During the collapse of the Qing Dynasty in 1911, Mongolia declared independence, but had to struggle until 1921 to firmly establish de facto independence from the Republic of China, and until 1945 to gain international recognition.
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Morocco
Morocco (Arabic: المغرب al-Maghrib ; Berber: ⵍⵎⴻⵖⵔⵉⴱ / ⴰⵎⴻⵔⵔⵓⴽElmeɣrib / Amerruk), officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of about 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², including the disputed region of the Western Sahara, seen by and mostly administered by Morocco as the Southern Provinces. Morocco is part of the Maghreb region, in addition to Tunisia, Algeria, Mauritania, and Libya, with which it shares cultural, historical and linguistic ties.
Morocco is a constitutional monarchy with an elected parliament. The King of Morocco holds vast executive powers, including the power to dissolve the parliament. Executive power is exercised by the government but more importantly by the king himself. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the two chambers of parliament, the Assembly of Representatives and the Assembly of Councillors. The king can also issue decrees called dahirs which have the force of law. The latest Parliamentary elections were held in November 25, 2011, and were considered by some neutral observers to be mostly free and fair. Voter turnout in these elections was estimated to be 43% of registered voters, but only about 25% of Moroccan adult citizens actually voted. The rest either chose not to vote or they were not registered as voters. The political capital is Rabat, but the largest city is Casablanca; other main cities include Marrakesh, Tetouan, Tangier, Salé, Fes, Agadir, Meknes, Oujda, Kenitra, and Nador.
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Mozambique
Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique (Portuguese: Moçambique or República de Moçambique, pronounced: [ʁɛˈpublikɐ di musɐ̃ˈbiki]), is a country in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west and Swaziland and South Africa to the southwest. The capital city is Maputo, formerly known as Lourenço Marques.
Between the 1st and 5th centuries AD, Bantu-speaking peoples migrated from farther north and west. Swahili, and later also Arab, commercial ports existed along the coasts until the arrival of Europeans. The area was explored by Vasco da Gama in 1498 and colonized by Portugal in 1505. Mozambique became independent in 1975, and became the People's Republic of Mozambique shortly thereafter. It was the scene of an intense civil war lasting from 1977 to 1992.
Mozambique is endowed with rich and extensive natural resources. The country's economy is based largely on agriculture, but with industry, mainly food and beverages, chemical manufacturing, aluminium and petroleum production, is growing fast. The country's tourism sector is also growing. South Africa is Mozambique's main trading partner and source of foreign direct investment. Portugal, Spain, and Belgium are also among the country's most important partners. Since 2001 Mozambique is one of the world's top ten for annual average GDP growth. However, Mozambique still has one of the lowest GDP per capita, one of the worst human development index and one of the highest inequality in the world, as well as having the world's lowest life expectancy.
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Muharraq
Muharraq (Arabic: المحرق; lit. "place of ashes") is Bahrain's third largest city and served as its capital until 1923 when it was replaced by Manama.
The city is located on Muharraq Island and has long been a centre of religiosity. Bahrain International Airport is also located on the island. Adjacent to Muharraq are the man-made Amwaj Islands, known for their large buildings, hotels and beaches. Muharraq is home to Muharraq Club, which is Bahrain's most successful football club. The city is also known for its souq (traditional market) and as a home of traditional arts and music; Ali Bahar, a popular and successful Bahraini singer is from Muharraq.
Muharraq's origins are ancient, going back to the time of Dilmun some 5,000 years ago, but it came to prominence in the historical records during the era of Tylos when Bahrain came under domination of the Selucid Greeks, and Muharraq was the centre of a pagan cult dedicated to the shark god, Awal. The city's inhabitants, who depended upon seafaring and trade for their livelihood, worshipped Awal in the form of a large statue of a shark located in the city.
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Mumbai
Mumbai /mʊmˈbaɪ/, also known as Bombay /bɒmˈbeɪ/, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million. Along with the neighbouring urban areas, including the cities of Navi Mumbai and Thane, it is one of the most populous urban regions in the world. Mumbai lies on the west coast of India and has a deep natural harbour. In 2009, Mumbai was named an Alpha world city. Mumbai is also the richest city in India, and has the highest GDP of any city in South, West or Central Asia.
The seven islands that came to constitute Mumbai were home to communities of fishing colonies. For centuries, the islands were under the control of successive indigenous empires before being ceded to the Portuguese and subsequently to the British East India Company. During the mid-18th century, Mumbai was reshaped by the Hornby Vellard project, which undertook the reclamation of the area between the seven constituent islands from the sea. Completed by 1845, the project along with construction of major roads and railways transformed Bombay into a major seaport on the Arabian Sea. Economic and educational development characterised the city during the 19th century. It became a strong base for the Indian independence movement during the early 20th century. When India became independent in 1947, the city was incorporated into Bombay State. In 1960, following the Samyukta Maharashtra movement, a new state of Maharashtra was created with Bombay as capital. The city was renamed Mumbai in 1996.
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Muttrah
Muttrah, (Arabic: مطرح) population 150,000 (2003), is a city located in the Muscat province of Oman. Before the discovery of oil, Muttrah was the center of commerce in Oman. It is still a center of commerce as one of largest sea ports of the region is located there. Other landmarks include Souq Muttrah, a traditional bazaar and Sour Al-Lawatiah, a small community of houses surrounded by an old wall.
Muttrah is also a map in a popular Battlefield 2 mod, Project Reality. It was also featured in the Amazing Race in its 17th season (Episode 8).
Al Dhalam (Darkness in Arabic) Souq is the local name for the Muttrah Souq. The Muttrah Souq is perhaps one of the oldest marketplaces in the Arab world, owing to the fact that Muscat is the world's largest natural harbor and has seen immense trade in the age of sail, being strategically located on the way to India and China. It has been named after darkness because of the crowded stalls and lanes where the sunrays do not infiltrate during the day and the shoppers need lamps to know their destinations. The name of the market has been drawn specifically from the part that extends from Al Lawatiya Mosque to Khour Bimba where the place is really full of stores and stalls and the narrow area of lanes does not allow the sunlight to enter. The market was a source of supply for Omanis where they can buy their needs in the 1960s when life requirements were simpler than today. Most of the goods were imported, in addition to local products like textiles, fruit, vegetables and dates.
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Mylapore
Mylapore (Tamil: மயிலாப்பூர் Mayilāppūr) is a cultural hub and neighborhood in the southern part of the city of Chennai, the capital of Tamil Nadu, India. Earlier, Mylapore used to be called Vedapuri.
Mylapore is a major commercial center, and one of the oldest residential parts of the city. It is well-connected by roads and Metro railway network, MRTS. It is famous for its tree-lined avenues, the famous 7th century Kapaleeshwarar Temple, its katcheri season and Ramakrishna Math. Mylapore is regarded in history as the birthplace of Tamil poet and saint, Thiruvalluvar. The Bollywood Actor of yesteryears Mr. Ranjan (Chandralekha fame) was born in this part of Chennai. Probably, he was the first actor from Tamil Nadu to succeed in the North of India.
The word Mylapore is expanded as "Mayil arparikum oor" which means 'Land of the peacock scream'. The word mayil, meaning peacock, which was the traditional vehicle of the Hindu god Muruga. Earlier Peacocks used to thrive here, it is evident as the Portuguese preachers who built the Santhome Church embraced the peacock in the church's emblem. This part of Chennai is also called Thirumayilai (திருமயிலை) embracing religious sanctity.
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Namibia
Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia (Afrikaans: Republiek van Namibië, German: Republik Namibia (help·info)), is a country in southern Africa whose western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and east. It gained independence from South Africa on 21 March 1990, following the Namibian War of Independence. Its capital and largest city is Windhoek. Namibia is a member state of the United Nations (UN), the Southern African Development Community (SADC), the African Union (AU), and the Commonwealth of Nations.
The dry lands of Namibia were inhabited since early times by Bushmen, Damara, and Namaqua, and since about the 14th century AD by immigrating Bantu who came with the Bantu expansion. It became a German Imperial protectorate in 1884 and remained a German colony until the end of World War I. In 1920, the League of Nations mandated the country to South Africa, which imposed its laws and, from 1948, its apartheid policy.
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Nauru
Coordinates: 0°31′38″S 166°56′12″E / 0.527288°S 166.936724°E / -0.527288; 166.936724
Nauru (Englishi/nɑːˈuːruː/ nah-OO-roo), officially the Republic of Nauru and formerly known as Pleasant Island, is an island country in Micronesia in the South Pacific. Its nearest neighbour is Banaba Island in Kiribati, 300 kilometres (186 mi) to the east. Nauru is the world's smallest republic, covering just 21 square kilometres (8.1 sq mi). With just over 9,322 residents, it is the second least-populated country after Vatican City.
Settled by Micronesian and Polynesian people, Nauru was annexed and claimed as a colony by the German Empire in the late 19th century. After World War I, Nauru became a League of Nations mandate administered by Australia, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. During World War II, Nauru was occupied by Japanese troops, who were bypassed by the Allied advance across the Pacific. After the war ended, it entered into trusteeship again. Nauru gained its independence in 1968.
Throughout the first half of the 20th century, Nauru was a "rentier state". Nauru is a phosphate rock island, with rich deposits close to the surface, which allow for simple strip mining operations; moreover, it has some phosphate reserves which are presently (as of 2011) not economically viable for extraction. Nevertheless, this island was a major exporter of phosphate starting in 1907, when the Pacific Phosphate Company began mining there, through the formation of the British Phosphate Commission in 1919, and continuing after independence. This returned to Nauru full control of its minerals under the Nauru Phosphate Corporation, until the deposits ran out during the 1980s. For this reason, Nauru briefly boasted the highest per-capita income enjoyed by any sovereign state in the world during the late 1960s and early 1970s.
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New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut. New England is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean, Canada (the Canadian Maritimes and Quebec) and the state of New York.
In one of the earliest English settlements in North America, Pilgrims from England first settled in New England in 1620, to form Plymouth Colony. Ten years later, the Puritans settled north of Plymouth Colony in Boston, thus forming Massachusetts Bay Colony. Over the next 130 years, New England fought in four French and Indian Wars, until the British defeated the French and their native allies in North America. In the late 18th century, the New England Colonies initiated the resistance to the British Parliament's efforts to impose new taxes without the consent of the colonists. The Boston Tea Party was a protest that angered Great Britain, which responded with the "Intolerable Acts", stripping the colonies of self-government. The confrontation led to open warfare in 1775, the expulsion of the British from New England in spring 1776, and the Declaration of Independence in July 1776.
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Nicaragua
Nicaragua (i/ˌnɪkəˈrɑːɡwə/ nik-ə-RAH-gwə), officially the Republic of Nicaragua (Spanish: República de Nicaragua [reˈpuβlika ðe nikaˈɾaɣwa] ( listen)), is the largest country in the Central American isthmus, bordered by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. The country is situated between 11 and 14 degrees north of the Equator in the Northern Hemisphere, which places it entirely within the tropics. The Pacific Ocean lies to the west, and the Caribbean Sea to the east. The country's physical geography divides it into three major zones: Pacific lowlands; wet, cooler central highlands; and the Caribbean lowlands. On the Pacific side of the country are the two largest fresh water lakes in Central America—Lake Managua and Lake Nicaragua. Surrounding these lakes and extending to their northwest along the rift valley of the Gulf of Fonseca are fertile lowland plains, with soil highly enriched by ash from nearby volcanoes of the central highlands. Nicaragua's abundance of biologically significant and unique ecosystems contribute to Mesoamerica's designation as a biodiversity hotspot.
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Niger
Niger (French pronunciation: [niʒɛʁ], but occasionally pronounced as /niːˈʒɛər/ ori/ˈnaɪdʒər/), officially the Republic of Niger, is a landlocked country in Western Africa, named after the Niger River. It borders Nigeria and Benin to the south, Burkina Faso and Mali to the west, Algeria and Libya to the north and Chad to the east. Niger covers a land area of almost 1,270,000 km2, making it the largest nation in West Africa, with over 80 percent of its land area covered by the Sahara desert. The country's predominantly Islamic population of just above 15,000,000 is mostly clustered in the far south and west of the nation. The capital city is Niamey, located in the far southwest corner of Niger.
Niger is a developing country, and consistently ranks as one of the lowest ranks of the United Nations' Human Development Index (HDI), 186th of 187 countries in 2011. Much of the non-desert portions of the country are threatened by periodic drought and desertification. The economy is concentrated around subsistence and some export agriculture clustered in the more fertile south, and the export of raw materials, especially uranium ore. Niger remains handicapped by its landlocked position, desert terrain, poor education and poverty of its people, lack of infrastructure, poor health care, and environmental degradation.
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Nigeria
Nigeriai/naɪˈdʒɪəriə/, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in the north. Its coast in the south lies on the Gulf of Guinea on the Atlantic Ocean. The three largest and most influential ethnic groups in Nigeria are the Hausa, Igbo and Yoruba.
In terms of religion Nigeria is roughly split half and half between Muslims in the North and Christians in the South; a very small minority practice traditional religion. Since 2002 there have been a spate of clashes, particularly in the North of the country, between government forces and the Islamists Boko Haram, militant jihadists who seek to establish sharia law.
The people of Nigeria have an extensive history. Archaeological evidence shows that human habitation of the area dates back to at least 9000 BCE. The area around the Benue and Cross River is thought to be the original homeland of the Bantu migrants who spread across most of central and southern Africa in waves between the 1st millennium BC and the 2nd millennium.
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Nova Scotia
Coordinates: 45°13′N 62°42′W / 45.217°N 62.7°W / 45.217; -62.7 (Nova Scotia)
Nova Scotia (pronounced /ˌnoʊvə ˈskoʊʃə/; French: Nouvelle-Écosse; Scottish Gaelic: Alba Nuadh) is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province of the four in Atlantic Canada. Located almost exactly halfway between the Equator and the North Pole (44º 39' N Longitude), its provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the second-smallest province in Canada with an area of 55,284 square kilometres (21,300 sq mi), including Cape Breton and some 3,800 coastal islands. As of 2011, the population was 921,727, making Nova Scotia the second-most-densely populated province in Canada.
Nova Scotia was already home to the Mi'kmaq people when French colonists established Port Royal, Nova Scotia, the first permanent European settlement in North America north of Florida in 1605. Almost one hundred and fifty years later, the first English and German settlers arrived with the founding of Halifax (1749). The first Scottish migration was on the Hector (1773) and then the first Black migration happened after the American Revolution (1783). Despite the diversity of the cultural heritage of Nova Scotia, much of the twentieth-century tourism efforts focused primarily on all things Scottish. Many recent tourism efforts embrace and showcase Nova Scotia's diversity.
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Nova Sintra
Nova Sintra (English: New Sintra) is a city in the central part of the island of Brava in southwestern and western Cape Verde and also serves as the seat of the Brava Municipality. With a population of about 1,800, the city is the nineteenth largest community in Cape Verde after Sal Rei. It is named after the Portuguese town of Sintra.
Nova Sintra is linked with roads to the northern, the eastern, the southcentral and the western parts of the island as well as to the former airfield. The "aluguer" buses to the other villages start from Praça Eugénio Tavares. A few taxis are available as well.
Agriculture is the predominant source of income on Brava. Tourism is less developed, but there are a few small hotels and guest houses. Industry is rare to find. The GDP for the town is between low and middle range. A part of the population lives in poverty and living standards are between low and moderate.
A part of the population has moved to mainly North America and Europe and to the other islands especially in the 1900s.
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Ormus
The Kingdom of Ormus (also known as Ohrmuzd, Hormuz, and Ohrmazd; Portuguese Ormuz) was a 10th to 17th century kingdom located within the Persian Gulf and extending as far as the Strait of Hormuz. The Kingdom was established by Arab princes in the 10th century who in 1262 came under the suzerainty of Persia, before becoming a client state of the Portuguese Empire.
The kingdom received its name from the fortified port city which served as its capital. It was one of the most important ports in the Middle East at the time as it controlled seaway trading routes through the Persian Gulf to India and East Africa. This port was probably located on Hormuz Island[citation needed], which is located near the modern city of Bandar-e Abbas.
The name of the port, the island, and the kingdom is Iranian and ultimately derives from that of the Zoroastrian deity, Ahura Mazda, which becomes Ohrmazd in Pahlavi, Hirmiz in Manichaean Middle Persian, and Hormoz in New-Persian.
The Strait of Hormuz (Arabic: مضيق هرمز - Madīq Hurmuz, Persian: تنگه هرمز - Tangeh-ye Hormoz,) is a narrow, strategically important waterway between the Gulf of Oman in the southeast and the Persian Gulf in the southwest. On the north coast is Iran and on the south coast is the United Arab Emirates and Musandam, an exclave of Oman.
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Ouadane
Ouadane or Wadan (Arabic: وادان) is a small town in the desert region of central Mauritania, situated on the southern edge of the Adrar Plateau, 93 km northeast of Chinguetti. The town was a staging post in the trans-Saharan trade and for caravans transporting slabs of salt from the mines at Idjil. A Portuguese trading post was established in 1487, but was probably soon abandoned. The town declined from the sixteenth century and most of the town now lies in ruins.
The old town, a World Heritage Site, though in ruins, is still substantially intact, while a small modern settlement lies outside its gate.
Ouadane is the closest town to the Richat Structure, a massive circular landmark visible from space.
The early history of the Ouadane is uncertain but it is possible that the town prospered from the trans-Saharan gold trade. In the middle of the 11th century, the Arabic geographer al-Bakri described a trans-Saharan route that ran between Tamdoult near Akka in Morocco to Aoudaghost on the southern edge of the Sahara. This route was used for the transport of gold during the time of the Ghana Empire. In his account al-Bakri mentioned a series of place names but these have not been identified and historians have suggested several possible routes. Raymond Mauny proposed a route that passed through Ouadane but Suzanne Daveau later argued in favour of a more direct route that crossed the Adrar escarpment to the east of the town. The volume of caravan traffic would have declined from the beginning of the 13th century when the oasis town of Oualata located 360 km to the east replaced Aoudaghost as the southern terminus of the trade route.
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Panama
Panama (i/ˈpænəmɑː/ PAN-ə-mah; Spanish: Panamá), officially the Republic of Panama (Spanish: República de Panamá [reˈpuβlika ðe panaˈma]), is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The capital is Panama City. Explored and settled by the Spanish in the 16th century, Panama broke with Spain in 1821 and joined a union of Nueva Granada, Ecuador, and Venezuela, named the Republic of Gran Colombia.When Gran Colombia the dissolved in 1831, Panama and Nueva Granada remained joined. Nueva Granada later became the Republic of Colombia.
With the backing of the United States, Panama seceded from Colombia in 1903, allowing the Panama Canal to be built by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers between 1904 and 1914. In 1977, an agreement was signed for the complete transfer of the Canal from the United States to Panama by the end of the century.
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Pantelleria
Pantelleria (Sicilian: Pantiddirìa), the ancient Cossyra, is an Italian island in the Strait of Sicily in the Mediterranean Sea, 100 km (62.1 mi) southwest of Sicily and just 60 km (37.3 mi) east of the Tunisian coast. Administratively Pantelleria is a comune belonging to the Sicilian province of Trapani. With an area of 83 km2 (32 sq mi), it is the largest volcanic satellite island of Sicily.
The island of Pantelleria is located above a drowned continental rift in the Strait of Sicily and has been the locus of intensive volcano-tectonic activity. The 15-km-long (9.3 mi) island is the emergent summit of a largely submarine edifice. Two large Pleistocene calderas dominate the island, the older of the two formed about 114,000 years ago and the younger, Cinque Denti caldera formed about 45,000 years ago. The eruption that formed the Cinque Denti caldera produced the distinctive Green Tuff deposit that covers much of the island, and is found across the Mediterranean, as far away as the island of Lesbos in the Aegean.Holocene eruptions have constructed pumice cones, lava domes, and short, blocky lava flows. Post Green Tuff activity constructed the cone of Monte Gibele, part of which was subsequently uplifted to form Montagna Grande. Several vents are located on three sides of the uplifted Montagna Grande block on the southeast side of the island. A submarine eruption in 1891 from a vent off the northwest coast is the only confirmed historical activity.
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Paraguay
Paraguay (i/ˈpɛərəɡwaɪ/, PAIR-ə-gwy), officially the Republic of Paraguay (Spanish: República del Paraguay [reˈpuβlika ðel paɾaˈɣwai], Guaraní: Tetã Paraguái [teˈtã paɾaˈɣwaj]), is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to the east and northeast, and Bolivia to the northwest. Paraguay lies on both banks of the Paraguay River, which runs through the center of the country from north to south. Due to its central location in South America, it is sometimes referred to as Corazón de América, or the Heart of America.
The Guaraní have been living in Paraguay since before the arrival of Europeans in the 16th century, when Paraguay became part of the Spanish colonial empire. Following independence from Spain in 1811, Paraguay was ruled by a series of dictators who followed isolationist and protectionist policies. This development was truncated by the disastrous Paraguayan War (1864–1870) in which the country lost 60% to 70% of its population and large amounts of territory. During a large part of the 20th century, Paraguay was ruled by Alfredo Stroessner, who led one of South America's longest lived military dictatorships. In 1989 Stroessner was toppled and free elections were celebrated in 1993. In 1994 Paraguay joined Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay to found Mercosur.
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Pedra Badejo
Pedra Badejo is a city (about 10,000 inh.) located on the eastern coast of Santiago in Cape Verde. It is the seat of Santa Cruz municipality.
There are a lot of shops in Main Street and in the Market Place where a sightworthy monument of a local musician is to be seen. Many daytrippers from Praia visit the beach which is close to the center of the city. A former health center close to the beach was transformed into a hotel.
Pedra Badejo has at least five churches: The modern Catholic Church is in the new, upper part of the city, and the smaller New Apostolic Church is in Main Street. A Presbyterian Church, a Nazarene Church, and a Baptist Church (meeting at the Baptist Theological Seminary facility at 53 Achada Fátima) also serve the community.
The city was called "Santiago Mayor" until 1975. This name is still common today.
The city is surrounded by irrigated land. An artificial lake (Barragem de Poilão) was laid out between the villages Poilão and Lavada dos Orgãos with a fill dam which was completed in 2006 . The reservoir has a capacity of 1.7 million cubic meters making the drip irrigation of 64 ha of land corresponding to about 100 farms possible. The construction of the first concrete dam of Cape Verde was paid and planned by China. There is an information pavilion in the South of the artificial lake where some rare birds can be observed.
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Pedra de Lume
Pedra de Lume (Capeverdean Crioulo, ALUPEC or ALUPEK: Pedra di Lumi, also in the Sal Crioulo) is a village in the eastern part of the island of Sal. The village is about 5 km east of Espargos and is linked with a road linking to the island capital as well as other villages on the island. Pedra de Lume has been famous for its salt mines which began around the 18th century and is the most ancient, and the home of the first salt workers. Today it is only a small village with very few inhabitants.
There is little vegetation within the village and around it, with the surrounding area featuring a few green spots in sporadic areas. Fruits and vegetables and meat are mainly imported from other parts of Cape Verde that have better climate. The area has no farmlands. There is a small beach, and the rest of the coastline are jagged.
The Pedra de Lume crater is around 500 m in radius and is an extinct volcano. The area features salt evaporation ponds built over a natural salt lake that formed through infiltration of water from the sea, since the base of the crater is below the sea level. There is a cable car which used to carry the salt to the factory which is located by the shoreline where it had been shipping to other parts of the world, mainly Africa. The salt extraction is currently inactive.
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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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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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Poland
Polandi/ˈpoʊlənd/ (Polish: Polska), officially the Republic of Poland (Polish: Rzeczpospolita Polska; Kashubian: Pòlskô Repùblika; Silesian: Polsko Republika), is a country in Central Europe, bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north. The total area of Poland is 312,679 square kilometres (120,726 sq mi), making it the 69th largest country in the world and the 9th largest in Europe. Poland has a population of over 38 million people, which makes it the 34th most populous country in the world and the sixth most populous member of the European Union, being its most populous post-communist member. Poland is a unitary state made up of 16 voivodeships. Poland is a member of the European Union, NATO, the United Nations, the World Trade Organization, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), European Economic Area, International Energy Agency, Council of Europe, Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, International Atomic Energy Agency, G6, Council of the Baltic Sea States, Visegrád Group, Weimar Triangle and Schengen Agreement.
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Ponnani
Ponnani (Malayalam: പൊന്നാനി, formerly Ponani, Paniyani) is a coastal municipality and an important fishing center in Malappuram district in the Indian state of Kerala, spread over an area of 9.32 km2. It is a tidal port, mainly used by the fishing industry. It is situated at the mouth of Ponnani river, the second longest river of Kerala and is bounded by the Arabian Sea on the west.
Ponnani is often regarded one of the oldest ports in southern India and is sometimes roughly identified with the port Tyndis of the Roman accounts.[citation needed]
Ponnani taluk is the smallest taluk in Malappuram district.
Located in Malappuram District of Kerala state in India, Ponnani is a small town at the mouth of the Bharathapuzha. It is a port used primarily as a fishing harbour. Ponnani is a "town of mosques". Though described as the "place of 231/2 masjids", there are nearly 50 mosques. Ponnani has a population which is a blend of almost equal percentage of Hindus and Muslims and has set an example for tolerant and peaceful religious co-existence its history. Malik Ibnu Dinar, the legendary first Islamic missionary who came to Kerala, is believed to have visited Ponnani.
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Portas do Cerco
Portas do Cerco is an area on the Macau Peninsula (built in 1849) [1], in the former Portuguese colony of Macau, now a Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China, near the border checkpoint with the rest of the People's Republic of China (PRC) at Gongbei, Zhuhai, Guangdong Province. The new Posto Fronteiriço das Portas do Cerco (border gate border building) was opened on January 15, 2004.
Transmac
TCM
Coordinates: 22°12′53″N 113°32′56″E / 22.2147°N 113.5488°E / 22.2147; 113.5488
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Porto Novo
Porto-Novo (also known as Hogbonou and Adjacé) is the official capital of the West African nation of Benin, and was the capital of French Dahomey. The commune covers an area of 110 square kilometres and as of 2002 had a population of 223,552 people.
Porto-Novo is a port on an inlet of the Gulf of Guinea, in the southeastern portion of the country. It is Benin's second-largest city, and although Porto-Novo is the official capital, the city of Cotonou is not only larger but also more important, culturally and politically: Cotonou is the seat of government. The region around Porto-Novo produces palm oil, cotton and kapok. Petroleum was discovered off the coast of the city in the 1990s, and has become an important export.
Porto-Novo was once a tributary of the Yoruba kingdom of Oyo and there continues to be a sizable Yoruba community in Porto Novo today. The city's name is of Portuguese origin, meaning "New Port." It was originally developed as a port for the slave trade.
In 1863, the British, who were active in nearby Nigeria, bombarded the city, which persuaded the Kingdom of Porto-Novo to accept French protection. The neighboring Kingdom of Abomey objected to French involvement in the region and war broke out between the two states. In 1883, Porto-Novo was incorporated into the French "colony of Dahomey and its dependencies." In 1900, it became Dahomey's capital city.
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Portugal
Portugali/ˈpɔrtʃʉɡəl/ (Portuguese: Portugal, IPA: [puɾtuˈɣaɫ]), officially the Portuguese Republic (Portuguese: República Portuguesa) is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula . Portugal is the westernmost country of mainland Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the Azores and Madeira are part of Portugal. The country is named after its second largest city, Porto, whose Latin name was Portus Cale.
The land within the borders of the current Portuguese Republic has been continuously settled since prehistoric times: occupied by Celts like the Gallaeci and the Lusitanians, integrated into the Roman Republic and later settled by Germanic peoples such as the Suebi, Swabians, Vandals and the Visigoths. In the 8th century most of the Iberian Peninsula was conquered by Moorish invaders professing Islam, which were later expelled by the Knights Templar under the Order of Christ. During the Christian Reconquista, Portugal established itself as an independent kingdom from León in 1139, claiming to be the oldest European nation state.
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Portuguese Empire
The Portuguese Empire (Portuguese: Império Português), also known as the Portuguese Overseas Empire (Ultramar Português) or the Portuguese Colonial Empire (Império Colonial Português), was the first global empire in history. In addition, it was the longest-lived of the modern European colonial empires, spanning almost six centuries, from the capture of Ceuta in 1415 to the handover of Macau in 1999 or the grant of sovereignty to East Timor in 2002. The empire spread throughout a vast number of territories that are now part of 53 different sovereign states.
Portuguese sailors began exploring the coast of Africa in 1419, using recent developments in navigation, cartography and maritime technology such as the caravel, in order that they might find a sea route to the source of the lucrative spice trade. In 1488, Bartolomeu Dias rounded the Cape of Good Hope, and in 1498, Vasco da Gama reached India. In 1500, either by an accidental landfall or by the crown's secret design, Pedro Álvares Cabral discovered Brazil on the South American coast. Over the following decades, Portuguese sailors continued to explore the coasts and islands of East Asia, establishing forts and factories as they went. By 1571, a string of outposts connected Lisbon to Nagasaki along the coasts of Africa, the Middle East, India, and Asia. This commercial network brought great wealth to Portugal.
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Portuguese Guinea
Portuguese Guinea (also Guinea or the Overseas Province of Guinea) was the name for what is today Guinea-Bissau from 1446 to September 10, 1974.
Though the Kingdom of Portugal had claimed the area four years earlier, Portuguese explorer Nuno Tristão sailed around the coast of West Africa, reaching the Guinea area in about 1450, searching for the source of gold and other valuable commodities that had slowly been trickling up into Europe via land routes for the preceding half century. Sometime later, slaves were also added to the list. Portuguese Guinea had been part of the Sahel Empire, and the local Landurna and Naula tribes traded in salt and grew rice. Like in many other regions across Africa, powerful indigenous kingdoms along the Bight of Benin relied heavily on a long established slave trade. The Ashanti exploited their military predominance to bring slaves to coastal forts established first by Portugal after 1480, and then soon afterwards by the Dutch, Danish, and English. The slaving network quickly expanded deep into the Sahel, where the Mossi diverted an ancient slaving trade away from the Mediterranean towards the Gold Coast. With the help of local tribes in about 1600, the Portuguese, and numerous other European powers, including France, Britain and Sweden, set up a thriving slave trade along the West African coast. However, the local black African rulers in Guinea, who prospered greatly from the slave trade, had no interest in allowing the white Europeans any further inland than the fortified coastal settlements where the trading took place. The Portuguese presence in Guinea was therefore largely limited to the port of Bissau and Cacheu. For a brief period in the 1790s the British attempt to establish a rival foothold on an offshore island, at Bolama. But by the 19th century the Portuguese were sufficiently secure in Bissau to regard the neighbouring coastline as their own special territory, also in part of present southern Senegal.
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Portuguese India
The Portuguese Viceroyalty of India (Portuguese: Vice-Reino da Índia Portuguesa), later the Portuguese State of India (Portuguese: Estado Português da Índia), was the aggregate of Portugal's colonial holdings in India.
The government started in 1505, six years after the discovery of a sea route to India by Vasco da Gama, with the nomination of the first Viceroy Francisco de Almeida, then settled at Cochin. Until 1752, the "State of India" included all Portuguese possessions in the Indian Ocean, from southern Africa to Southeast Asia, governed by either a Viceroy or a Governor from headquarters established in Goa since 1510. In 1752 Mozambique got its own government and in 1844 the Portuguese Government of India stopped administering the territory of Macau, Solor and Timor, being then confined to Malabar.
At the time of British India's independence in 1947, Portuguese India included a number of enclaves on India's western coast, including Goa proper, as well as the coastal enclaves of Daman (Port: Damão) and Diu, and the enclaves of Dadra and Nagar Haveli, which lie inland from Daman. The territories of Portuguese India were sometimes referred to collectively as Goa. Portugal lost the last two enclaves in 1954, and finally the remaining three in December 1961, when they were taken back by India after military action (although Portugal only recognized Indian control in 1975, after the Carnation Revolution and the fall of the Estado Novo regime).
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Portuguese Malacca
Portuguese Malacca was the territory of Malacca that, for 130 years (1511–1641), was a Portuguese colony.
According to the Portuguese historian Emanuel Godinho de Erédia in the middle of the 16th century, the site of the old city of Malacca was named after the Myrobalans, fruit-bearing trees along the banks of a river called Airlele (Ayer Leleh). The Airlele river was said to originate from Buquet China (present-day Bukit Cina). Eredia cited that the city was founded by Permicuri (i.e. Parameswara) the first King of Malacca in 1411.
The news of Malacca's wealth attracted the attention of Manuel I, King of Portugal and he sent Admiral Diogo Lopes de Sequeira to find Malacca, to make a trade compact with its ruler as Portugal's representative east of India. The first European to reach Malacca and Southeast Asia, Sequeira arrived in Malacca in 1509. Although he was initially well-received by Sultan Mahmud Shah trouble however quickly ensued. The general feeling of rivalry between Islam and Christianity was invoked by a group of Goa Muslims in the sultan's court after the Portuguese had captured Goa. The international Muslim trading community convinced Mahmud that the Portuguese were a grave threat. Mahmud subsequently captured several of his men, killed others and attempted to attack the four Portuguese ships, although they escaped. As the Portuguese had found in India, conquest would be the only way they could establish themselves in Malacca.
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Portuguese Timor
Portuguese Timor was the name of East Timor when it was under Portuguese control. During this period, Portugal shared the island of Timor with the Netherlands East Indies, and later with Indonesia.
The first Europeans to arrive in the region were Portuguese in 1515.[citation needed]Dominican friars established a presence on the island in 1556, and the territory was declared a Portuguese colony in 1702. Following a Lisbon-instigated decolonisation process in 1974, Indonesia invaded the territory in 1975 ending Portuguese rule. The invasion was never accepted by other countries so Portuguese Timor existed officially until independence of Timor-Leste in 2002.
Prior to the arrival of European colonial powers, the island of Timor was part of the trading networks that stretched between India and China and incorporating Maritime Southeast Asia. The island's large stands of fragrant sandalwood were its main commodity. The first European powers to arrive in the area were the Portuguese in the early sixteenth century followed by the Dutch in the late sixteenth century. Both came in search of the fabled Spice Islands of Maluku. Portuguese first landed near modern Pante Macassar,[citation needed] and in 1556 a group of Dominican friars established the village of Lifau.
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Praia
Praia (pronounced Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈpɾajɐ], meaning "beach", in both Portuguese and Cape Verdean Creole), is the capital and largest city of Cape Verde, an island nation in the Atlantic Ocean west of Senegal. It lies on the southern coast of Santiago island in the Sotavento Islands group. It is the island's ferry port and is home to one of the nation’s four international airports. The city centre is known as Plateau due to its location on a small plateau.
Praia is Cape Verde's largest city, a commercial centre, and a port that ships coffee, sugar cane, and tropical fruits. Praia also has a fishing industry and there are resort beaches nearby. It is the seat of the municipality of the same name.
The town of Praia de Santa Maria appeared in 1615 when it took the place of the previous settlement on the plateau, which was originally favored because the nearby port (Santa Maria beach) offered good conditions for ships. Initially used as a clandestine harbor (in order to avoid customs fees at the then capital Ribeira Grande), the settlement gradually acquired the characteristics of a town after much of the population from Ribeira Grande fled there during its decline in the midst of frequent pirate attacks. The official transfer of capital status from Ribeira Grande to Praia took place in 1770.
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Pulicat
Pulicat (Pazhaverkadu) is a historic seashore town in Thiruvallur District, of Tamil Nadu state, South India. It is about 60 km north of Chennai and 3 km from Elavur, on the barrier island of Sriharikota, which separates Pulicat Lake from the Bay of Bengal. Pulicat lake is a shallow salt water lagoon which stretches about 60 kilometers (37 mi) km along the coast. With lakeside and seashore development as well as several SEZs including a US $1 billion Medical SEZ, coming up in nearby Elavur, the land prices in the area are in the upswing.
The Portuguese established a trading post in Pulicat in 1502 with the help of the Vijayanagar rulers. They built a fort there and held this fort until 1609 when they were defeated by the Dutch. The Dutch occupied Pulicat fort in 1609. Pulicat was till 1690 the capital of Dutch Coromandel. It repeatedly changed possession, until finally occupied by the British in 1825. It became part of the Madras Presidency, which later became Madras state in independent India and renamed Tamil Nadu in 1968. The Dutch church has been built over several times and is rather dilapidated today, and the Dutch fort has fallen into ruin. The old lighthouse still stands at the opposite bank of the lake. The cemetery dating to 1622 has been taken under the wing of the Archeological Survey of India and so has survived the passage of time. The grand, Dutch inscribed tombs and graves, carved with skeletons rather than the cross, have been quite well preserved. The cemetery lies behind the market and visitors often don't know that it is there. Many thousands of visitors per year come to the area which is renowned for its history and natural beauty.
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Qalhat
The ancient city of Qalhat, or Galhat, is located just over 20 km north of Sur, in the Ash Sharqiyah Region of northeastern Oman.
Very little remains of the ancient city of Qalhat, save for the now dome-less mausoleum of Bibi Maryam. The city served as an important stop in the wider Indian Ocean trade network, and was also the second city of the Kingdom of Ormus. Covering more than 60 acres (240,000 m2), the ancient city was surrounded by fortified walls that contained houses and shops. Artifacts from as far away as Persia and China were found on-site.
This site was added to the UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List on July 4, 1988 in the Cultural category.
The Oman LNG LLC S.A.O.C. owned Qalhat LNG Terminal is situated at the Port of Qalhat .
The Ancient City of Galhat - UNESCO World Heritage Centre Retrieved 2009-03-03.
Coordinates: 22°42′N 59°22′E / 22.7°N 59.367°E / 22.7; 59.367
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Qatif
Qatif or Al-Qatif (Arabic: القطيف Al-Qaṭīf) is a governorate and urban area located in Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia. It extends from Ras Tanura and Jubail in the north to Dammam in the south, and from the Persian Gulf in the east to King Fahd International Airport in the west. This region has its own municipality and includes the Qatif downtown and many other smaller cities and towns.
Qatif is one of the oldest settlements in the eastern side of the Arabian peninsula, its history going back to 3500 BC. Qatifi people used to work as merchants, farmers, and fishers. However, in recent years,[when?] after the discovery of oil and establishment of Jubail Industrial City, most of Qatifi's people are working in oil, industry, public services, education and health care sectors.
The historic oasis area shows its first archeological evidence of settlement beginning about 3500 BC. It was known by other names, such as Al-Khatt (Arabic: الخَطّ), immortalized in the poetry of `Antara ibn Shaddad, Tarafa ibn Al-`Abd, Bashar ibn Burd (in his famous Ba'yya), and others. The word "Khatty" became the preferred "kenning" for "spear" in traditional poetic writing until the dawn of the modern era, supposedly because the region was famous for spear making, just as "muhannad" ("of India") was the preferred kenning for "sword". The older name also survives as the eponym of several well-known local families ("Al-Khatti", spelled variously in English).[citation needed]
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Qeshm
Coordinates: 26°41′43″N 55°37′06″E / 26.69528°N 55.61833°E / 26.69528; 55.61833
Qeshm (Persian: قشم - pronounced kē´shm) is an Iranian island situated in the Strait of Hormuz, and separated from the mainland by the Clarence Strait/Khuran in the Persian Gulf (26°50′N 56°0′E / 26.833°N 56°E / 26.833; 56).
Qeshm Island is located a few kilometers off the southern coast of Iran (Persian Gulf), opposite the port cities of Bandar Abbas and Bandar Khamir. The island, which hosts a 300 square kilometer free zone jurisdiction, is 135 km long, and lies strategically in the Strait of Hormuz, just 60 kilometers from the Omani port of Khasab, and about 180 kilometers from the UAE Port Rashid. The island, at its widest point, located near the center of the island, spans 40 kilometers. Similarly, at it narrowest point, the island spans 9.4 kilometers. The island has a surface area of 1491 square kilometers and is 2.5 times the size of Bahrain. Qeshm city, located at the easternmost point of the island, is 22 kilometers from Bandar Abbas while the closest point of the island is but two kilometers from the mainland.
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Rabil Airport
The Aristides Pereira Airport (Portuguese Aeroporto Internacional Aristides Pereira) (IATA: BVC, ICAO: GVBA) is an airport in Cape Verde located in the island of Boa Vista, about 5 km southeast of the island capital Sal Rei. Its IATA code means Boa Vista, Cape Verde, and the last two letters of the ICAO code is Boa Vista. The airport was inaugurated in the late-20th century. It was later paved. Aristides Pereira airport has started international operations in July, with a new runway (2,100m), which made it the newest international airport in Cape Verde[citation needed].
On October 13, 2007, TACV made a test flight from Amílcar Cabral International Airport to Rabil Airport with the purpose of the concluding the operational certification of the new airport. On October 31, 2007, TACV officially became the first airline to operate a jet aircraft (Boeing 757-200 [D4-CBG]) to Rabil Airport, an inaugural flight from Praia Airport.
On December 19, 2007, a Livingston Airlines Airbus A321-200 (EI-LVA) made the first international arrival to Rabil from Verona, Italy. The passengers were greeted with "morabeza" by Cape Verdeans.
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Romania
Romania (i/roʊˈmeɪniə/ roh-MAY-nee-ə; dated: Roumania; or Rumania;Romanian: România [romɨˈni.a] ( listen)) is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea. Romania shares a border with Hungary and Serbia to the west, Ukraine and Moldova to the northeast and east, and Bulgaria to the south.
At 238,400 square kilometers (92,000 sq mi), Romania is the ninth largest country of the European Union by area, and has the seventh largest population of the European Union with over 19 million people. Its capital and largest city is Bucharest, the tenth largest city in the EU with about two million people.
The Kingdom of Romania emerged when the principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia were united under Prince Alexander Ioan Cuza in 1859. Independence from the Ottoman Empire was declared on 9 May 1877, and was internationally recognized the following year. At the end of World War I, Transylvania, Bukovina and Bessarabia united with the Kingdom of Romania. Greater Romania emerged into an era of progression and prosperity that would continue until World War II. By the end of the War, many north-eastern areas of Romania's territories were occupied by the Soviet Union, and Romania forcibly became a socialist republic and a member of the Warsaw Pact.
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Rotterdam
Rotterdam ( /ˈrɒtərdæm/; Dutch [ˌrɔ.tər.ˈdɑm] ( listen)) is the second-largest city in the Netherlands and one of the largest ports in the world. Starting as a dam constructed in 1270 on the Rotte River, Rotterdam has grown into a major international commercial centre. Its strategic location at the Rhine-Meuse-Scheldt delta on the North Sea and at the heart of a massive rail, road, air and inland waterway distribution system extending throughout Europe is the reason that Rotterdam is often called the "Gateway to Europe".
Located in the Province of South Holland, Rotterdam is found in the west of the Netherlands and at the south end of the Randstad. The population of the city proper was 616,250 on February 1st 2012. The population of the greater Rotterdam area, called "Rotterdam-Rijnmond" or just "Rijnmond", is around 1.3 million people. Rotterdam is one of Europe's most vibrant, multicultural cities. The city is known for its university (Erasmus), its cutting-edge architecture, its lively cultural life, its striking riverside setting, its maritime heritage and the Rotterdam Blitz.
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Rwanda
Rwanda /ruːˈɑːndə/ or /ruːˈændə/, officially the Republic of Rwanda (Kinyarwanda: Repubulika y'u Rwanda; French: République du Rwanda), is a country in central and eastern Africa with a population of approximately 11.7 million (2012). Located a few degrees south of the Equator, Rwanda is bordered by Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. All of Rwanda is at high elevation, with a geography dominated by mountains in the west, savanna in the east, and numerous lakes throughout the country. The climate is temperate, with two rainy seasons and two dry seasons every year.
The population is young and predominantly rural, with a density among the highest in Africa. Rwandans form three groups: the Hutu, Tutsi, and Twa. The Twa are a pygmy people who descend from Rwanda's earliest inhabitants, but scholars disagree on the origins of and differences between the Hutu and Tutsi; some believe that they are derived from former social castes, while others view them as being races or tribes. Christianity is the largest religion in the country, and the principal language is Kinyarwanda, which is spoken by most Rwandans. Rwanda has a presidential system of government. The President is Paul Kagame of the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF). Rwanda has low corruption compared with neighbouring countries, but human rights organisations allege suppression of opposition groups, intimidation, and restrictions on freedom of speech. The country has been governed by a strict administrative hierarchy since precolonial times; there are currently five provinces, which are delineated by borders drawn in 2006.
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Réunion
Réunion (French: La Réunion, IPA: [la 'ʁeynjɔ̃] ( listen); previously Île Bourbon) is a French island with a population of about 800,000 located in the Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar, about 200 kilometres (120 mi) south west of Mauritius, the nearest island.
Administratively, Réunion is one of the overseas departments of France. Like the other overseas departments, Réunion is also one of the 27 regions of France (being an overseas region) and an integral part of the Republic with the same status as those situated on the European mainland.
Réunion is an outermost region of the European Union and, as an overseas department of France, is part of the Eurozone.
Before the arrival of the Portuguese in the early sixteenth century, there is little to Réunion's recorded history. Arab traders were familiar with it by the name Dina Morgabin,. The island possibly features on a map from 1153 AD by Al Sharif el-Edrisi. The island may also have been visited by Swahili or Malay sailors.
The first European discovery of the area was made around 1507 by Portuguese explorers, but the specifics are unclear. The uninhabited island may have been first sighted by the expedition led by Don Pedro Mascarenhas, who gave his name to the island group around Réunion, the Mascarenes. Réunion itself was dubbed Santa Apolonia after a favorite saint, which suggests that the date of the Portuguese discovery may have been February 9, her saint day. Diego Lopes de Sequeira is claimed to have landed on the island in 1509.
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Saint Helena
Saint Helena ( /ˌseɪnt həˈliːnə/ SAYNT-hə-LEE-nə), named after Saint Helena of Constantinople, is an island of volcanic origin in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is part of the British overseas territory of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha which also includes Ascension Island and the islands of Tristan da Cunha. Saint Helena measures about 16 by 8 kilometres (10 by 5 mi) and has a population of 4,255 (2008 census).
The island was uninhabited when discovered by the Portuguese in 1502. It is one of the most isolated islands in the world. For centuries, it was an important stopover for ships sailing to Europe from Asia and South Africa. The British also used the island as a place of exile, most notably for Napoleon I, Dinuzulu kaCetshwayo and more than 5,000 Boer prisoners. Saint Helena is Britain's second oldest remaining colony (now termed overseas territory), after Bermuda.
Most historical accounts state that the island was discovered on 21 May 1502 by the Galician navigator João da Nova sailing at the service of the Portuguese Crown, and that he named it "Santa Helena" after Helena of Constantinople. Another theory holds that the island found by De Nova was actually Tristan da Cunha 2,430 kilometres (1,510 mi) to its south, and that Saint Helena was discovered by some of the ships attached to the squadron of Estêvão da Gama expedition on 30 July 1503 (as reported in the account of clerk Thomé Lopes).
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Salsette Island
Salsette Island is an island in Maharashtra state on India's west coast. The metropolis of Mumbai (formerly Bombay), the city of Thane and Mira-Bhayandar lie on this island, making it a very populous island and one of the most densely populated island in the world. It has about 15.1 million inhabitants living on an area of about 619 km².
Salsette is bounded on the north by Vasai Creek, on the northeast by the Ulhas River, on the east by Thane Creek and Bombay Harbour, and on the south and west by the Arabian Sea. The original seven islands of Bombay, which were merged by land reclamation during the 19th and early 20th centuries to form the city of Mumbai is now practically a southward protruding peninsula of the much larger Salsette Island. The island of Trombay that lay to the southeast of Salsette is today part of Salsette as much of the intervening swamps have been reclaimed. The island contains Borivali National Park, also known as Sanjay Gandhi National Park. The city of Thane lies at the island's north-eastern corner, on Thane Creek. Politically, the Mumbai City district covers the peninsula south of Mahim and Sion while most of the original island constitutes the Mumbai Suburban District. The northern portion of the island lies within Thane District, which extends across Vasai and Thane creeks onto the mainland.
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San Marino
San Marino, officially the Republic of San Marino (i/sæn məˈriːnoʊ/ san-mə-REE-noh; Italian: Repubblica di San Marino) and also known as the Most Serene Republic of San Marino (Italian: Serenissima Repubblica di San Marino), is a state situated on the Italian Peninsula on the eastern side of the Apennine Mountains. It is an enclave surrounded by Italy. Its size is just over 61 km2 (24 sq mi) with an estimated population of over 30,000. Its capital is the City of San Marino. San Marino has the smallest population of all the members of the Council of Europe.
San Marino is the oldest surviving sovereign state and constitutional republic in the world, as the continuation of the monastic community founded on 3 September 301, by stonecutter Marinus of Rab. Legend has it that Marinus left Rab, then the Roman colony of Arba, in 257 when the future emperor, Diocletian, issued a decree calling for the reconstruction of the city walls of Rimini, which had been destroyed by Liburnian pirates.
The constitution of San Marino, enacted in 1600, is the world's oldest constitution still in effect. The country's economy mainly relies on finance, industry, services and tourism. It is one of the wealthiest countries in the world in terms of GDP (per capita), with a figure comparable to some of the more developed Italian regions, such as Lombardy and Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol. San Marino is considered to have a highly stable economy, with one of the lowest unemployment rates in Europe, no national debt and a budget surplus.
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Senegal
Senegali/ˌsɛnɨˈɡɔːl/ (French: le Sénégal), officially the Republic of Senegal (République du Sénégal, IPA: [ʁepyblik dy seneɡal]), is a country in western Africa. It owes its name to the Sénégal River that borders it to the east and north. Senegal is externally bounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Mauritania to the north, Mali to the east, and Guinea and Guinea-Bissau to the south; internally it almost completely surrounds The Gambia, namely on the north, east and south, exempting Gambia's short Atlantic Ocean coastline. Senegal covers a land area of almost 197,000 square kilometres (76,000 sq mi), and has an estimated population of about 13 million. The climate is tropical with two seasons: the dry season and the rainy season.
Dakar, the capital city of Senegal, is located at the westernmost tip of the country on the Cap-Vert peninsula. About 500 kilometres (300 mi) off the coast, in the Atlantic Ocean, lie the Cape Verde Islands. During the 17th and 18th centuries, numerous trading posts, belonging to various colonial empires, were established along the coast. The town of St. Louis became the capital of French West Africa (Afrique occidentale française, or AOF) before it was moved to Dakar in 1902. Dakar later became its capital in 1960 at the time of independence from France.
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Seychelles
Seychelles (i/seɪˈʃɛlz/ say-SHELZ; French: [sɛʃɛl]), officially the Republic of Seychelles (French: République des Seychelles; Creole: Repiblik Sesel), is an island country spanning an archipelago of 115 islands in the Indian Ocean, some 1,500 kilometres (932 mi) east of mainland Africa, northeast of the island of Madagascar.
Other nearby island countries and territories include Zanzibar to the west, Mauritius, Rodrigues, Agalega and Réunion to the south, Comoros and Mayotte to the southwest. Seychelles, with an estimated population of 86,525, has the smallest population of any African state. It also has the highest Human Development Index in Africa.
Scholars assume that Austronesian seafarers, and later Maldivian and Arab traders were the first to visit the uninhabited Seychelles. Remains of Maldivian mariner presence from the 12th century were found in Silhouette Island. The earliest recorded sighting by Europeans took place in 1502 by the Portuguese Admiral Vasco da Gama, who passed through the Amirantes and named them after himself (islands of the Admiral).
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Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone (i/siːˌɛrə liːˈoʊn/), officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Guinea to the northeast, Liberia to the southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean to the southwest. Sierra Leone is a constitutional representative democratic republic and covers a total area of 71,740 km2 (27,699 sq mi) Sierra Leone has a tropical climate, with a diverse environment ranging from savannah to rainforests. As of 2011, Sierra Leone has an estimated population of 6 million[1] (2011 United Nations estimte). Freetown is the capital, largest city as well as its economic, commercial, educational, cultural and political centre. Bo is the country's second largest city and the second major economic and commercial centre.
Sierra Leone is divided into four geographical regions: the Northern Province, Eastern Province, Southern Province and the Western Area; which are subdivided into fourteen districts. The districts have their own directly elected local government known as district council, headed by a council chairman. The country's six municipalities of Freetown, Bo, Kenema, Makeni, Koidu Town and the coastal town of Bonthe have their own directly elected city councils headed by mayors.
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Sohar
Sohar (Arabic: صحار) is the most developed city in Sultanate of Oman outside the capital Muscat. It is about 200 kilometers north of Muscat. Sohar was an ancient capital of Oman and many believe it to be the birthplace of Sinbad the Sailor . Having a rich sailing history, Sohar was traditionally a fishing town, but is more recently known as Oman's industrial hub due to the massive developments in the Sohar Industrial Port.
Sohar is the fifth most populated city in Oman with a population of 140,006 according to the results of the 2010 census.
As the largest town in the region, Sohar has been supposed to be identical with the Omana mentioned by Pliny the Elder in his Natural History, which settlement seems to have given Oman its name.
Sohar is currently experiencing significant investment and economic shifts making it the focus of attention of many local and international investors and businessmen. This change is due to a series of investment projects and economic giant in Sohar industrial area where Port of Sohar is located. Established in 2002, the port has a strategic importance due to its nearness to the Strait of Hormuz. It is operated by Sohar Industrial Port Company (SIPC)and it is considered a world class port. With current investments exceeding $12 billion, it is one of the world’s largest port development projects.
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Somalia
Somalia ( /soʊˈmɑːliə/ soh-MAH-lee-ə; Somali: Soomaaliya; Arabic: الصومال aṣ-Ṣūmāl), officially the Somali Republic (Somali: Jamhuuriyadda Soomaaliya, Arabic: جمهورية الصومال Jumhūriyyat aṣ-Ṣūmāl) and formerly known as the Somali Democratic Republic under Socialist rule, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. Since the outbreak of the Somali Civil War in 1991 there has been no central government control over most of the country's territory. The internationally recognized Transitional Federal Government controls only a small part of the country. Somalia has been characterized as a failed state and is one of the poorest and most violent states in the world.
Somalia lies in the easternmost part of Africa. It is bordered by Djibouti to the northwest, Kenya to the southwest, the Gulf of Aden with Yemen to the north, the Indian Ocean to the east, and Ethiopia to the west. It has the longest coastline on the continent, and its terrain consists mainly of plateaus, plains and highlands. Hot conditions prevail year-round, along with periodic monsoon winds and irregular rainfall.
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Somaliland
Somaliland (Somali: Soomaaliland, Arabic: صوماللاند Ṣūmālilānd or أرض الصومال Arḍ aṣ-Ṣūmāl) is an unrecognised self-declared de facto sovereign state that is internationally recognised as an autonomous region of Somalia. The government of Somaliland regards itself as the successor state to the British Somaliland protectorate, which was independent on June 26, 1960 as the State of Somaliland, before uniting with the Trust Territory of Somalia (the former Italian Somaliland) on July 1, 1960 to form the Somali Republic.
Somaliland is bordered by Ethiopia in the south and west, Djibouti in the northwest, the Gulf of Aden in the north, and the autonomous Puntland region of Somalia to the east.
In 1988, the Siad Barre regime committed massacres against the people of Somaliland, which were among the events that led to the Somali Civil War. The war left the economic and military infrastructure severely damaged. After the collapse of the central government in 1991, the local government, led by the Somali National Movement (SNM), declared independence from the rest of Somalia on May 18 of the same year.
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Sotavento Islands
The Sotavento islands (literally, the Leeward), is the southern island group of Cape Verde archipelago.
There are four main islands: Brava, Fogo and Santiago are rocky and volcanic agricultural islands, with the longest histories of human inhabitance and densest populations in the Cape Verdes. Maio lies to the east and is a flat desert island whose economy was primarily based on salt, giving it more in common with Sal and Boa Vista among the Barlavento.
The islets Ilhéu Grande, Ilhéu de Cima, and the minor islets Ilhéu do Rei, Ilhéu Sapado and Ilhéu Luís Carneiro make up the Ilhéus Secos (or Ilhéus do Rombo) islets group north of Brava. The little Ilhéu de Santa Maria lies off Santiago.
Coordinates: 15°00′N 24°00′W / 15°N 24°W / 15; -24
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Souira Guedima
Souira Guedima, formerly known as Aguz, is a Moroccan town 36 km south of Safi, at the mouth of the Tensift River on the Atlantic seacoast. Guedima may also be spelt Kadima, Kdima, Qadima (best English transliteration), or Qdima. Aguz may also be spelt Agouz, Gouz or Couz.
The town was an important port in the 11th century, serving the city of Aghmat which was inland 3 days journey to the east.
Between 1506 and 1525 the stronghold of Aguz was an enclave under Portuguese colonial rule, as were various other Moroccan towns, such as Safim (Safi) (1488–1541) .
It was governed by the following Portuguese Captains :
Coordinates: 32°02′N 9°20′W / 32.033°N 9.333°W / 32.033; -9.333
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South Africa
Coordinates: 30°S 25°E / 30°S 25°E / -30; 25
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa, is a country located at the southern tip of Africa. It is divided into nine provinces and has 2,798 kilometres (1,739 mi) of coastline. To the north of the country lie the neighbouring territories of Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe; to the east are Mozambique and Swaziland; while Lesotho is an enclave surrounded by South African territory.
South Africa is multi-ethnic and has diverse cultures and languages. Eleven official languages are recognised in the constitution. Two of these languages are of European origin: South African English and Afrikaans, a language which originated mainly from Dutch that is spoken by the majority of white and Coloured South Africans. Though English is commonly used in public and commercial life, it is only the fifth most-spoken home language. All ethnic and language groups have political representation in the country's constitutional democracy comprising a parliamentary republic; unlike most parliamentary republics, the positions of head of state and head of government are merged in a parliament-dependent President.
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South Korea
South Korea ( listen), officially the Republic of Korea (Hangul: 대한민국; Hanja: 大韓民國; Daehan Minguk listen), is a sovereign state in the southern part of the Korean Peninsula. The name "Korea" is derived from Goryeo, a dynasty which ruled in the Middle Ages (an initial "G" in Korean is pronounced like an English "K").
Its neighbors are China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the Korea Strait to the south. South Korea lies in the north temperate zone with a predominantly mountainous terrain. It covers a total area of 99,392 square kilometers and has a population of almost 50 million. The capital and largest city is Seoul, with a population of 9,794,304.
Archaeological findings show that the Korean Peninsula was occupied by the Lower Paleolithic period.Korean history begins with the founding of Gojoseon in 2333 BC by the legendary Dan-gun. Following the unification of the Three Kingdoms of Korea under Silla 668 AD, Korea went through the Goryeo Dynasty and Joseon Dynasty as one nation until the end of the Korean Empire in 1910, when it was annexed by Japan. After liberation and occupation by Soviet and U.S. forces at the end of World War II, the nation was divided into North and South Korea. The latter was established in 1948 as a democracy, though political turmoil and times of military rule and martial law characterized much of the period until the foundation of the Sixth Republic in 1987.
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South Sudan
South Sudan (i/ˌsaʊθ suːˈdæn/ or /suːˈdɑːn/), officially the Republic of South Sudan, is a landlocked country in the east-central African region of northeastern Africa. It is also part of the North Africa UN subregion. Its current capital is Juba, which is also its largest city; the capital city is planned to be moved to the more centrally located Ramciel in the future. South Sudan is bordered by Ethiopia to the east, Kenya to the southeast, Uganda to the south, the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the southwest, the Central African Republic to the west, and Sudan to the north. South Sudan includes the vast swamp region of the Sudd formed by the White Nile, locally called the Bahr al Jabal.
The modern states of South Sudan and Sudan were part of Egypt under the Muhammad Ali Dynasty, later being governed as an Anglo-Egyptian condominium until Sudanese independence was achieved in 1956. Following the First Sudanese Civil War, the Southern Sudan Autonomous Region was formed in 1972 and lasted until 1983. A second Sudanese civil war soon developed and ended with the Comprehensive Peace Agreement of 2005. Later that year, southern autonomy was restored when an Autonomous Government of Southern Sudan was formed.
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Spain
Spain (i/ˈspeɪn/ SPAYN; Spanish: España, pronounced: [esˈpaɲa] ( listen)), officially the Kingdom of Spain (Spanish: Reino de España), is a sovereign state and a member of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Its mainland is bordered to the south and east by the Mediterranean Sea except for a small land boundary with the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar; to the north and north east by France, Andorra, and the Bay of Biscay; and to the northwest and west by the Atlantic Ocean and Portugal.
Spanish territory also includes the Balearic Islands in the Mediterranean, the Canary Islands in the Atlantic Ocean off the African coast, and two autonomous cities in North Africa, Ceuta and Melilla, that border Morocco. Furthermore, the town of Llívia is a Spanish exclave situated inside French territory. With an area of 504,030 square kilometres (194,610 sq mi), it is the second largest country in Western Europe and the European Union after France, and the fourth largest country in Europe after Russia, Ukraine and France.
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Sudan
Sudan (i/suːˈdæn/ or /suːˈdɑːn/;Arabic: السودان, as-Sūdān), officially the Republic of the Sudan (Arabic: جمهورية السودان, Jumhūrīyat as-Sūdān), sometimes called North Sudan, is an Arab state in North Africa (sometimes also considered to be part of the Middle East). It is bordered by Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the northeast, Eritrea and Ethiopia to the east, South Sudan to the south, the Central African Republic to the southwest, Chad to the west, and Libya to the northwest. The population of Sudan is a combination of indigenous inhabitants of Nile Valley, and descendants of migrants from the Arabian Peninsula. Due to the process of Arabisation common throughout the rest of the Arab World, today Arab culture predominates in Sudan. The majority of the population of Sudan adheres to Islam. The Nile divides the country between east and west sides.
The people of Sudan have a long history extending from antiquity which is intertwined with the history of Egypt. Sudan suffered seventeen years of civil war during the First Sudanese Civil War (1955–1972) followed by ethnic, religious and economic conflicts between the Muslim Arab northern Sudanese and the mostly animist and Christian Nilotes of Southern Sudan. This led to the Second Sudanese Civil War in 1983. Because of continuing political and military struggles, Sudan was seized in a bloodless coup d'état by colonel Omar al-Bashir in 1989, who thereafter proclaimed himself President of Sudan. The civil war ended with the signing of a Comprehensive Peace Agreement which granted autonomy to what was then the southern region of the country. Following a referendum held in January 2011, South Sudan seceded on 9 July 2011 with the consent of Sudan's President al-Bashir.
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Surat
Surat, previously known as Suryapur, is a commercial city of the Indian state of Gujarat. It is also administrative capital of Surat district and one of the fastest growing cities in India. The city proper is the third cleanest city in India. Surat is Gujarat's second largest city and India's 8th most populated city (in terms of Population in Municipal Corporation area of the City) with a population of 4.5 million. Surat ranks fourth in a global study of fastest developing cities conducted by The City Mayors Foundation, an international think tank on urban affairs. It is the fastest growing Indian city in terms of economic prosperity. The city registered an annualised GDP growth rate of 11.5 per cent over the seven fiscal years between 2001 and 2008, according to data compiled by the economic research firm Indicus Analytics. UK-based charity, The Ecological Sequestration Trust (TEST), has selected Surat as one of the three cities in the world, to be developed as "global cities."
The city is located 306 km south of state capital Gandhinagar, and is situated on the left bank of the Tapti River (Tapi), the centre being around 22 km (14 mi) from its mouth. A moat divides the older parts of the city, with its narrow streets and handsome houses, and the newer suburbs. The city is largely recognised for its textile and diamond businesses. It is also known as the diamond capital of the world and the textile capital/Manchester textile city of India, a distinction it took over from Ahmedabad. It is also known as the "Embroidery capital of India" with the highest number of embroidery machines than any other city. 92% of the world's diamonds are cut and polished in Surat. It has one of the highest GDP growth rates in India at 11.5% as of 2008. Surat was the primary port of India during the Mughal period, a distinction it lost to Bombay during the late 17th century as the East India Company grew.
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Swaziland
Swaziland, officially the Kingdom of Swaziland (Umbuso weSwatini), and sometimes called Ngwane or Swatini, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa, bordered to the north, south and west by South Africa, and to the east by Mozambique. The nation, as well as its people, are named after the 19th century king Mswati II.
Swaziland is a small country, no more than 200 kilometres (120 mi) north to south and 130 kilometres (81 mi) east to west. The western half is mountainous, descending to a lowveld region to the east. The eastern border with Mozambique and South Africa is dominated by the escarpment of the Lebombo Mountains. The climate is temperate in the west, but may reach 40 °C (104 °F) in summer in the lowveld. Rainfall occurs mainly in the summer and may reach 2 metres (6.6 ft) in the west.
The area that Swaziland now covers has been continuously inhabited since prehistory. Today, the population is primarily ethnic Swazis whose language is siSwati, though English is spoken as a second language. The Swazi people descend from the southern Bantu who migrated from Central Africa in the 15th and 16th centuries. The Anglo-Boer War saw the United Kingdom make Swaziland a protectorate under its direct control. Swaziland gained independence in 1968. Swaziland is a member of the Southern African Development Community, the African Union, and the Commonwealth of Nations. The head of state is the king, who appoints the prime minister and a small number of representatives for both chambers of parliament. Elections are held every five years to determine the majority of the representatives. A new constitution was adopted in 2005.
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São Tomé Island
São Tomé Island, at 854 km2 (330 sq mi), is the largest island of São Tomé and Príncipe and is home in 2009 to about 157,000 or 96% of the nation's population. This island and smaller nearby islets make up São Tomé Province, which is divided into six districts. The main island is located 2 km (1¼ miles) north of the equator. It is about 48 km (30 mi) long (North-South) by 32 km (20 mi) wide (east-west). It rises to 2,024 m (6,639 ft) at Pico de São Tomé and includes the capital city, São Tomé, on the northeast coast. The nearest city on mainland Africa is the port city of Port Gentil in Gabon located 240 km (150 mi) to the east.
The main language is Portuguese, but there are many speakers of Forro and Angolar (Ngola), two Portuguese-based creole languages.
The entire island of São Tomé is a massive shield volcano which rises from the floor of the Atlantic Ocean, over 3,000 m (10,000 ft) below sea level. It formed along the Cameroon line, a line of volcanoes extending from Cameroon southwest into the Atlantic Ocean. Most of the lava erupted on São Tomé over the last million years has been basalt. The youngest dated rock on the island is about 100,000 years old, but numerous more recent cinder cones are found on the southeast side of the island.
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Taipa
Taipa is the smaller of the two islands in the Chinese special administrative region of Macao (formerly a Portuguese colony).
It is 2.5 kilometres from Macau Peninsula and east of the Lesser Hengqin Island of Zhuhai, Guangdong Province. Macau International Airport, University of Macau, Macau Jockey Club and Macau Stadium are situated in Taipa, and three bridges connect the island to Macau Peninsula.
Most Chinese settlement of Taipa occurred during the Southern Song Dynasty, while the Portuguese occupied the island in 1851. Prior to land reclamation, Taipa consisted of two islands: Greater Taipa and Lesser Taipa.
The 159.1-metre Big Taipa Hill (大氹山) is to the east, and Small Taipa Hill (小氹山) to the west. Central Taipa is a plain as a result of siltation and land reclamation. Initially Taipa was connected to Coloane Island only by the Estrada do Istmo (路氹連貫公路); but the area called Cotai, built on reclaimed land from 2004 and which is home to mega-resorts, casinos, and convention and exhibition centers, has now essentially connected the two islands into one piece of land. Taipa is connected to peninsular Macau by Governador Nobre de Carvalho Bridge, Friendship Bridge and the Sai Van Bridge.
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Tangier
Tangier, also Tangiers (Berber: Tanja, ⵜⴰⵏⵊⴰ, archaic Berber name: Tingi, Arabic: طنجة Ṭanjah, Spanish: Tánger, French: Tanger), is a city in northern Morocco with a population of about 700,000 (2012 estimates). It lies on the North African coast at the western entrance to the Strait of Gibraltar where the Mediterranean meets the Atlantic Ocean off Cape Spartel. It is the capital of the Tangier-Tetouan Region and of the Tangier-Asilah prefecture of Morocco.
The history of Tangier is very rich due to the historical presence of many civilizations and cultures starting from the 5th century BC. Between the period of being a Berber settlement and then a Phoenician town to the independence era around the 1950s, Tangier was a refuge for many cultures. In 1923, Tangier was considered as an international status by foreign colonial powers, and became a destination for many European and American diplomats, spies, writers and businessmen.
The city is currently undergoing rapid development and modernization. Projects include new 5-star hotels along the bay, a modern business district called Tangier City Center, a new airport terminal and a new football stadium. Tangier's economy is also set to benefit greatly from the new Tanger-Med port.
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Tanzania
Coordinates: 6°18′25″S 34°51′14″E / 6.307°S 34.854°E / -6.307; 34.854 Tanzania, officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( /ˌtænzəˈniːə/ Swahili: Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa bordered by Kenya and Uganda to the north, Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west, and Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique to the south. The country's eastern border lies on the Indian Ocean.
Tanzania is a state composed of 26 regions (mikoa), including those of the semi-autonomous region of Zanzibar. The head of state is President Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete, elected in 2005. Since 1996, the official capital of Tanzania has been Dodoma, where Parliament and some government offices are located. Between independence and 1996, the main coastal city of Dar es Salaam served as the country's political capital. Today, Dar es Salaam remains the principal commercial city of Tanzania and the de facto seat of most government institutions. It is the major seaport for the country and its landlocked neighbours.
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The Gambia
The Republic of The Gambia, commonly referred to as The Gambia, or Gambiai/ˈɡæmbiə/, is a country in West Africa. Gambia is the smallest country on mainland Africa, surrounded by Senegal except for a short coastline on the Atlantic Ocean in the west.
The country is situated around the Gambia River, the nation's namesake, which flows through the country's centre and empties into the Atlantic Ocean. Its area is 11,295 km² with an estimated population of 1.7 million.
On 18 February 1965, Gambia gained independence from the United Kingdom and joined the Commonwealth of Nations. Banjul is Gambia's capital, but the largest cities are Serekunda and Brikama.
Gambia shares historical roots with many other West African nations in the slave trade, which was the key factor in the placing and keeping of a colony on the Gambia River, first by the Portuguese and later by the British. Since gaining independence in 1965, Gambia has enjoyed relative political stability, with the exception of a brief period of military rule in 1994.
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Thoothukudi
Thoothukudi, also known as Tuticorin, is a port city and a Municipal Corporation in Thoothukudi district of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Thoothukudi is the headquarters of Thoothukudi District.
Thoothukudi is also known as "Pearl City". It is a commercial seaport which serves the inland cities of Southern India and is one of the sea gateways of Tamil Nadu. It is also one of the major seaports in India with a history dating back to the 6th century AD. It is located about 190 kilometres (118 mi) northeast of Thiruvananthapuram (Trivandrum) and 590 kilometres (367 mi) south of Chennai.
Thoothukudi is part of the Pearl Fishery Coast, and is known for its pearl fishing and shipbuilding industries. Freedom fighter Vanchinathan killed the then Tirunelveli District Collector Ash during the freedom struggle in Maniyachi. To honour him, Maniyachi Railway station is called Vanchi Maniyachi Junction.
The major harbour of Thoothukudi is well known as a pearl diving and fishing centre. It is one of the oldest seaports in the world and was the seaport of the Pandyan kingdom after Korkai, near Palayakayal. It was later taken over by the Portuguese in 1548, captured by the Dutch in 1658, and ceded to the British in 1825. The lighthouse built in 1842 marked the beginning of the history of harbour development in the city. Thoothukudi was established as a Municipality in 1866 with Roche Victoria as its first chairman. It attained the status of Corporation on August 5, 2008 after 142 years of being a municipality.
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Tidore
Tidore is a city, island, and archipelago in the Maluku Islands of eastern Indonesia, west of the larger island of Halmahera. In the pre-colonial era, the kingdom of Tidore was a major regional political and economic power, and a fierce rival of nearby Ternate, just to the north.
Tidor Island consists of a large stratovolcano which rises from the seafloor to an elevation of 1,730 m (5,676 ft) above sea level at the conical Kiematabu Peak on the south end of the island. The northern side of the island contains a caldera, Sabale, with two smaller volcanic cones within it.
Soasio is Tidore's capital. It has its own port, Goto, and it lies on the eastern edge of the island. It has a mini bus terminal and a market. The sultan's palace was rebuilt with completion in 2010.
Tidore was a spice-funded sultanate that was founded in 1109, and spent much of its history in the shadow of Ternate, another sultanate.
The sultans of Tidore ruled most of southern Halmahera, and, at times, controlled Buru, Ambon and many of the islands off the coast of New Guinea. Tidore established an alliance with the Spanish in the sixteenth century, and Spain had several forts on the island. There was mutual distrust between the Tidorese and the Spaniards but for the Tidorese the Spanish presence was helpful in resisting the incursions of the Ternateans and their ally, the Dutch, who had a fort on Ternate. For the Spanish, backing the Tidore state helped check the expansion of Dutch power that threatened their nearby Asia-Pacific interests, provided a useful base right next to the centre of Dutch power in the region and was a source of spices for trade.
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Togo
Togo, officially the Togolese Republici/ˈtoʊɡoʊ/, is a country in West Africa bordered by Ghana to the west, Benin to the east, and Burkina Faso to the north. It extends south to the Gulf of Guinea, on which the capital Lomé is located. Togo covers an area of approximately 57,000 square kilometres (22,000 sq mi) with a population of approximately 6.7 million.
Togo is a tropical, sub-Saharan nation, highly dependent on agriculture, with a climate that provides good growing seasons. The official language is French, with many other languages spoken in Togo, particularly those of the Gbe family. The largest religious group in Togo are those with indigenous beliefs, and there are significant Christian and Muslim minorities. Togo is a member of the United Nations, African Union, Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, South Atlantic Peace and Cooperation Zone, La Francophonie and Economic Community of West African States.
From the 11th to the 16th century, various tribes entered the region from all directions. From the 16th century to the 18th century, the coastal region was a major trading centre for Europeans in search of slaves, earning Togo and the surrounding region the name "The Slave Coast". In 1884, Germany declared Togoland a protectorate. After World War I, rule over Togo was transferred to France. Togo gained its independence from France in 1960.
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Tunisia
Tunisia (USi/tuːˈniːʒə/ two-NEE-zhə or UK /tjuːˈnɪziə/ tew-NIZ-iə; Arabic: تونس Tūnis pronounced [ˈtuːnɪs]), officially the Republic of Tunisia (Arabic: الجمهورية التونسية al-Jumhūriyyah at-Tūnisiyyah), is the northernmost country in Africa. It is an Arab Maghreb country and is bordered by Algeria to the west, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Its area is almost 165,000 square kilometres (64,000 sq mi), with an estimated population of just under 10.7 million. Its name is derived from the capital Tunis located in the northeast.
Tunisia is the smallest country in North Africa. The south of the country is composed of the Sahara desert, with much of the remainder consisting of particularly fertile soil and 1,300 kilometres (810 mi) of coastline.
Tunisia has relations with both the European Union—with whom it has an association agreement—and the Arab world. Tunisia is also a member of the Arab Maghreb Union, the Arab League, and the African Union. Tunisia has established close relations with France in particular, through economic cooperation, industrial modernization, and privatisation programs.
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Uganda
Coordinates: 1°17′N 32°23′E / 1.28°N 32.39°E / 1.28; 32.39
Uganda ( /juːˈɡændə/ yew-GAN-də or /juːˈɡɑːndə/ yew-GAHN-də), officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. Uganda is bordered on the east by Kenya, on the north by South Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the southwest by Rwanda, and on the south by Tanzania. The southern part of the country includes a substantial portion of Lake Victoria, which is also shared by Kenya and Tanzania.
Uganda takes its name from the Buganda kingdom, which encompasses a large portion of the south of the country including the capital Kampala.
The people of Uganda were hunter-gatherers until 1,700 to 2,300 years ago, when Bantu-speaking populations migrated to the southern parts of the country. Uganda gained independence from Britain on 9 October 1962.
The official languages are English and Swahili, although multiple other languages are spoken in the country.
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Ukraine
Ukraine (i/juːˈkreɪn/ yew-KRAYN; Ukrainian: Україна, transliterated: Ukrayina, [ukrɑˈjinɑ]; Russian: Украина; Crimean Tatar: Ukraina) is a country in Central and Eastern Europe. Ukraine borders the Russian Federation to the east and northeast, Belarus to the northwest, Poland, Slovakia and Hungary to the west, Romania and Moldova to the southwest, and the Black Sea and Sea of Azov to the south and southeast, respectively. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after the Russian Federation.
According to a popular and well established theory, the medieval state of Kievan Rus was established by the Varangians in the 9th century as the first historically recorded East Slavic state which emerged as a powerful nation in the Middle Ages until it disintegrated in the 12th century. By the middle of the 14th century, Ukrainian territories were under the rule of three external powers—the Golden Horde, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and the Kingdom of Poland. After the Great Northern War (1700–1721) Ukraine was divided between a number of regional powers and, by the 19th century, the largest part of Ukraine was integrated into the Russian Empire with the rest under Austro-Hungarian control. A chaotic period of incessant warfare ensued, with several internationally recognized attempts at independence from 1917 to 1921, following World War I and the Russian Civil War. Ukraine emerged from its own civil war, and on December 30, 1922 Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic became one of the founding republics of the Soviet Union. The Ukrainian SSR's territory was enlarged westward during the civil war shortly before, and after World War II, and further south in 1954 with the Crimea transfer. In 1945, the Ukrainian SSR became one of the founding members of the United Nations.
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United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK, or Britain) is a sovereign state located off the north-western coast of continental Europe. The country includes the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands. Northern Ireland is the only part of the UK that shares a land border with another sovereign state—the Republic of Ireland. Apart from this land border the UK is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, the North Sea, the English Channel and the Irish Sea.
The United Kingdom is a unitary state governed under a constitutional monarchy and a parliamentary system, with its seat of government in the capital city of London. It is a country in its own right and consists of four countries: England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. There are three devolved administrations, each with varying powers, based in Belfast, Edinburgh and Cardiff, the capitals of Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. Associated with the UK, but not constitutionally part of it, are three Crown Dependencies. The United Kingdom has fourteen overseas territories. These are remnants of the British Empire which, at its height in 1922, encompassed almost a quarter of the world's land surface and was the largest empire in history. British influence can still be observed in the language, culture and legal systems of many of its former territories.
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United States
The United States of America (commonly abbreviated to the United States, the U.S., the USA, America, and the States) is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its forty-eight contiguous states and Washington, D.C., the capital district, lie between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, bordered by Canada to the north and Mexico to the south. The state of Alaska is in the northwest of the continent, with Canada to the east and Russia to the west, across the Bering Strait. The state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific. The country also possesses several territories in the Pacific and Caribbean.
At 3.79 million square miles (9.83 million km2) and with over 312 million people, the United States is the third or fourth largest country by total area, and the third largest by both land area and population. It is one of the world's most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, the product of large-scale immigration from many countries. The U.S. economy is the world's largest national economy, with an estimated 2011 GDP of $15.1 trillion (22% of nominal global GDP and over 19% of global GDP at purchasing-power parity). Per capita income is the world's sixth-highest.
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Uruguay
Uruguayi/ˈjʊərəɡwaɪ/, officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, sometimes the Eastern Republic of Uruguay; (Spanish: República Oriental del Uruguay pronounced: [re̞ˈpuβ̞lika o̞ɾje̞n̪ˈt̪al̪ d̪e̞l uɾuˈɰwai̯]) is a country in the southeastern part of South America. It is home to 3.3 million people, of whom 1.8 million live in the capital Montevideo and its metropolitan area. An estimated 88% of the population are of European ancestry.
Except for the recent union of Timoteo Domínguez Island and Argentina's Martín García Island, Uruguay's only land border is with Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, to the north. To the west lies the Uruguay River and the estuary of the Río de la Plata to the southwest. To the southeast lies the southern part of the Atlantic Ocean. With an area of approximately 176,000 square kilometres (68,000 sq mi), Uruguay is the second-smallest nation in South America by area, after Suriname.
Colonia del Sacramento, one of the oldest European settlements in the country, was founded by the Portuguese in 1680. Montevideo was founded by the Spanish in the early 18th century as a military stronghold. Uruguay won its independence in 1811–28 following a three-way struggle between the claims of Spain, Argentina and Brazil. It is a constitutional democracy, with a president who is both the head of state and the head of government.
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Venezuela
Venezuela (i/ˌvɛnɨˈzweɪlə/ VEN-ə-ZWAY-lə), officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela (Spanish: República Bolivariana de Venezuela [repuˈβlika βoliβaˈɾjana ðe βeneˈswela]), is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south. Its northern coastline of roughly 2,800 kilometres (1,700 mi) includes numerous islands in the Caribbean Sea, and in the north east borders the northern Atlantic Ocean. Caribbean islands such as Trinidad and Tobago, Grenada, Curaçao, Bonaire, Aruba and the Leeward Antilles lie near the Venezuelan coast. Venezuela's territory covers around 916,445 square kilometres (353,841 sq mi) with an estimated population of 29,105,632. Venezuela is considered a state with extremely high biodiversity, with habitats ranging from the Andes mountains in the west to the Amazon Basin rainforest in the south, via extensive llanos plains and Caribbean coast in the center and the Orinoco River Delta in the east.
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Western Sahara
Coordinates: 25°N 13°W / 25°N 13°W / 25; -13
Western Sahara (USi/ˌwɛstərn səˈhærə/, UK /ˌwɛstən səˈhɑrə/; Arabic: الصحراء الغربية Aṣ-Ṣaḥrā’ al-Gharbīyah; Spanish: Sahara Occidental), is a disputed territory in North Africa, bordered by Morocco to the north, Algeria to the northeast, Mauritania to the east and south, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west. Its surface area amounts to 266,000 square kilometres (103,000 sq mi). It is one of the most sparsely populated territories in the world, mainly consisting of desert flatlands. The population is estimated at just over 500,000, many of whom live in El Aaiún (also called Laâyoune), the largest city in Western Sahara.
A colony of Spain since the late 19th century, the Western Sahara has been on the United Nations list of non-self-governing territories since 1963. In 1965, the UN General Assembly adopted its first resolution on Western Sahara, asking Spain to decolonise the territory. One year later, a new resolution was passed by the General Assembly requesting that a referendum be held by Spain on self-determination. In 1975, Spain relinquished the administrative control of the territory to a joint administration by Morocco, which had formally claimed the territory since 1957, and Mauritania. A war erupted between those countries and the Sahrawi national liberation movement Polisario Front, which proclaimed the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) (exiled government in Tindouf, Algeria). Mauritania withdrew in 1979 and Morocco eventually secured effective control of most of the territory, including all the major cities and natural resources.
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Yemen
The Republic of Yemen (Arabic: الجمهورية اليمنية al-Jumhūrīyah al-Yamanīyah), commonly known as Yemeni/ˈjɛmən/ (Arabic: اليَمَن al-Yaman), is a country located in Western Asia, occupying the southwestern to southern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the north, the Red Sea to the west, and Oman to the east. Yemen is considered one of the poorest countries in the Arab world. Its capital and largest city is Sana'a. Yemen's territory includes over 200 islands, the largest of which is Socotra, about 415 km (258 mi) to the south of mainland Yemen, off the coast of Somalia. It is the only state in the Arabian Peninsula to have a purely republican form of government. Approximately 53% of Yemenis are Sunnis, while 45% are Zaydi Shias.
One etymology derives Yemen from yamin, meaning "on the right side", as the south is on the right when facing the sunrise. Another derives Yemen from yumn, meaning "felicity", as the region is fertile. The Romans called it Arabia Felix (Happy Arabia) as opposed to Arabia Deserta (Deserted Arabia), which was their term for northern Arabia.
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Zambia
Zambia ( /ˈzæmbiə/), officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. The neighbouring countries are the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the north, Tanzania to the north-east, Malawi to the east, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Namibia to the south, and Angola to the west. The capital city is Lusaka, located in the south-central part of the country. The population is concentrated mainly around Lusaka in the south and the Copperbelt Province to the northwest.
Originally inhabited by Khoisan peoples, the region which comprises modern Zambia was colonised during the Bantu expansion of the thirteenth century. After visits by European explorers in the eighteenth century, Zambia became the British colony of Northern Rhodesia towards the end of the nineteenth century. For most of the colonial period, the country was governed by an administration appointed from London with the advice of the British South Africa Company.
On 24 October 1964, the country declared independence from the United Kingdom and then-prime minister Kenneth Kaunda became the inaugural president. Kaunda's socialist United National Independence Party (UNIP) maintained power from the 1964 until 1991. From 1972 to 1991 Zambia was a single-party state with the UNIP as the sole-legal political party, with the goal of uniting the nation under the banner of 'One Zambia, One Nation'. Kaunda was succeeded by Frederick Chiluba of the social-democratic Movement for Multi-Party Democracy in 1991, during which the country saw a rise in social-economic growth and increased decentralisation of government.
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Zanzibar
Zanzibar ( /ˈzænzɨbɑr/; from Arabic: زنجبار Zanjibār, from Persian: زنگبار Zangibār "Coast of Blacks"; zangi [black-skinned] + bār [coast]) is a semi-autonomous part of Tanzania, in East Africa. It comprises the Zanzibar Archipelago in the Indian Ocean, 25–50 kilometres (16–31 mi) off the coast of the mainland, and consists of numerous small islands and two large ones: Unguja (the main island, informally referred to as Zanzibar), and Pemba. Other nearby island countries and territories include Comoros and Mayotte to the south, Mauritius and Réunion to the far southeast, and the Seychelles Islands about 1,500 km to the east. Arab and Portuguese traders visited the region in early times, and it was controlled by Omanis in the 18th and 19th centuries. Britain established a protectorate (1890) that became an independent sultanate in December 1963 and a republic after an uprising in January 1964. In April 1964 it joined Tanganyika to form a new republic that was renamed Tanzania in October 1964. The capital of Zanzibar, located on the island of Unguja, is Zanzibar City, and its historic centre, known as Stone Town, is a World Heritage Site.
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Ziguinchor
Ziguinchor (also called Zinguinchor) is the capital of the Ziguinchor Region, and the chief town of the Casamance area of Senegal, lying at the mouth of the Casamance River. It has a population of over 230,000 (2007 estimate). It is the second city of Senegal, but largely separated from the north of the country by The Gambia.
The first European settlement in the area was founded by the Portuguese in 1645. According to tradition, Ziguinchor's name and meaning comes from the time when Portuguese traders and explorers came to the region to form a trading post, and derives from Portuguese Cheguei e choram, "I came and they cry". The local people, seeing the Europeans, began crying, thinking they were to be enslaved. Ziguinchor was in fact a Slave port during much of the Portuguese occupation.
The spot was not chosen at random. While a Jola village predated the town, it was situated to trade with the Jola kingdom of Kasso, which dates back to the Mali Empire, when Mandinke people moved into the area from the south and east.
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Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe (/zɪmˈbɑːbweɪ/ zim-BAHB-way; officially the Republic of Zimbabwe) is a landlocked country of southern Africa. It shares a 125-mile (200-kilometre) border on the south with the Republic of South Africa and is bounded on the southwest and west by Botswana, on the north by Zambia, and on the northeast and east by Mozambique. The capital is Harare (formerly called Salisbury). Zimbabwe achieved majority rule and internationally recognised independence in April 1980 following a long period of colonial rule and a 15-year period of white-dominated minority rule, instituted after the minority regime’s so-called Unilateral Declaration of Independence (UDI) in 1965.
Zimbabwe has three official languages: English, Shona and Ndebele. Zimbabwe began as the British self-governing colony of Southern Rhodesia, created from land held by the British South Africa Company. President Robert Mugabe is the head of State and Commander in Chief of the armed forces. Morgan Tsvangirai is the Prime Minister. Mugabe has been in power since the country's internationally recognised independence in 1980.
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Afonso V of Portugal
Afonso V (Portuguese pronunciation: [ɐˈfõsu], originally Affonso) KG (15 January 1432 – 28 August 1481), called the African (Portuguese: o Africano), was King of Portugal and the Algarves. His sobriquet refers to his conquests in Northern Africa.
Afonso was born in Sintra, the eldest son of King Edward of Portugal by his wife, Eleanor of Aragon. Afonso V was only six years old when he succeeded his father in 1438.
During his minority, Afonso V was placed under the regency of his mother in accordance with a will of his late father. As both a foreigner and a woman, the queen was not a popular choice for regent. Opposition rose and without any important ally among the Portuguese aristocracy other than Afonso, Count of Barcelos, the illegitimate half brother of King Edward and count of Barcelos, the queen's position was untenable. In 1439, the Portuguese Cortes (assembly of the kingdom) decided to replace the queen with Infante Peter, Duke of Coimbra, the young king's oldest uncle. His main policies were concerned with avoiding the development of great noble houses, kingdoms inside the kingdom, and concentrating power in the person of the king. The country prospered under his rule, but not peacefully, as his laws interfered with the ambition of powerful nobles. The count of Barcelos, a personal enemy of the Duke of Coimbra (despite being half-brothers) eventually became the king's favourite uncle and began a constant struggle for power. In 1442, the king made Afonso the first Duke of Braganza. With this title and its lands, he became the most powerful man in Portugal and one of the richest men in Europe. To secure his position as regent, Peter had Afonso marry his daughter, Isabella of Coimbra, in 1445.
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Alvise Cadamosto
Alvise Cadamosto or Alvide da Ca' da Mosto (Portuguese pronunciation: [aɫˈviz(ɨ) kɐðaˈmoʃtu], also known in Portuguese as Luís Cadamosto; c. 1432 – July 16, 1483) was a Venetian slave trader and explorer, who was hired by the Portuguese prince Henry the Navigator and undertook two known journeys to West Africa in 1455 and 1456, accompanied by the Genoese captain Antoniotto Usodimare. Cadamosto and his companions are credited with the discovery of the Cape Verde Islands and the points along the Guinea coast, from the Gambia River to the Geba River (in Guinea-Bissau), the greatest leap in the Henrican discoveries since 1446. Cadamosto's accounts of his journeys, including his detailed observations of west African societies, have proven invaluable to historians.
Alvise was born at the Ca' da Mosto, a palace on the Grand Canal of Venice from which his name derives. His father was Giovanni da Mosto, a Venetian civil servant and merchant, and his mother Elizabeth Querini, from a leading patrician family of Venice. Alvise was the eldest of three sons, having younger brothers Petro and Antonio.
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Amílcar Cabral
Amílcar Lopes da Costa Cabral (Portuguese pronunciation: [ɐˈmilkaɾ ˈlɔpɨʃ kɐˈbɾal]; (1924-09-12)12 September 1924 – 20 January 1973(1973-01-20)) was a Guinea-Bissauan and Cape Verdean agricultural engineer, writer, and a nationalist thinker and politician. Also known by his nom de guerre Abel Djassi, Cabral led the nationalist movement of Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde Islands and the ensuing war of independence in Guinea-Bissau. He was assassinated on 20 January 1973, about 8 months before Guinea-Bissau's unilateral declaration of independence.
He was born on September 12, 1924 in Bafatá, Portuguese Guinea, to Cape Verdean parents, Juvenal Lopes da Costa Cabral and Iva Pinhel Évora. Cabral was educated at Licéu (Secondary School) Gil Eanes in the town of Mindelo, Cape Verde, and later at the Instituto Superior de Agronomia, in Lisbon (the capital of Portugal, which was then the colonial power ruling over Portuguese Guinea and Cape Verde ). While an Agronomy student in Lisbon, he founded student movements dedicated to the cause of liberation of the Portuguese colonies in Africa.
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Carlos Veiga
Carlos Alberto Wahnon de Carvalho Veiga (Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈkaɾluʃ alˈbɛɾtu vaˈnõ dɨ kɐɾˈvaʎu ˈvɐjɡɐ]; born October 21, 1949 in Mindelo) is a Cape Verdean politician. He was Prime Minister of Cape Verde from April 4, 1991 to July 29, 2000, and he unsuccessfully ran for President as the candidate of the Movement for Democracy (MpD) in 2001 and 2006.
Veiga served as Prime Minister under President António Mascarenhas Monteiro, and resigned in July 2000 in order to stand as the MpD's candidate in the February 2001 presidential election. He was succeeded as Prime Minister by Gualberto do Rosário.
In the 2001 presidential election, Veiga lost by 17 votes to Pedro Pires of the African Party for the Independence of Cape Verde (PAICV) in the second round of voting. He ran again in the February 2006 presidential election, but lost again to Pires.
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Cesária Évora
Cesária Évora (Portuguese pronunciation: [sɨˈzaɾiɐ ˈɛvuɾɐ]; 27 August 1941 – 17 December 2011) was a Cape Verdean popular singer. Nicknamed the "Barefoot Diva" for performing without shoes, she was also the "Queen of Morna".
Cise (as her friends used to call her) was born on August 27, 1941 in Mindelo, São Vicente, Cape Verde. When she was seven years old her father (who was a part-time musician ) died, and at age ten she was placed in an orphanage, as her mother could not raise all six children. At the age of 16, she was persuaded by a friend to sing in a sailors' tavern.
In the 1960s, she started singing on Portuguese cruise ships stopping at Mindelo as well as on the local radio. It was only in 1985 when at the invitation of Cape Verdean singer Bana she went to perform in Portugal. In Lisbon she was discovered by the musician José da Silva and invited to record in Paris.
Évora's international success came only in 1988 with the release of her first album La Diva Aux Pieds Nus recorded in France. Her 1992 album Miss Perfumado sold over 300,000 copies worldwide, and included one of her most celebrated songs, "Sodade", composed by Bonga Kuenda (Angola 74).
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Charles Darwin
Charles Robert Darwin, FRS (12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English naturalist. He established that all species of life have descended over time from common ancestors, and proposed the scientific theory that this branching pattern of evolution resulted from a process that he called natural selection.
Darwin published his theory with compelling evidence for evolution in his 1859 book On the Origin of Species, overcoming scientific rejection of earlier concepts of transmutation of species. By the 1870s the scientific community and much of the general public had accepted evolution as a fact. However, many favoured competing explanations and it was not until the emergence of the modern evolutionary synthesis from the 1930s to the 1950s that a broad consensus developed in which natural selection was the basic mechanism of evolution. In modified form, Darwin's scientific discovery is the unifying theory of the life sciences, explaining the diversity of life.
Darwin's early interest in nature led him to neglect his medical education at the University of Edinburgh; instead, he helped to investigate marine invertebrates. Studies at the University of Cambridge encouraged his passion for natural science. His five-year voyage on HMS Beagle established him as an eminent geologist whose observations and theories supported Charles Lyell's uniformitarian ideas, and publication of his journal of the voyage made him famous as a popular author.
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Creole peoples
The term Creole and its cognates in other languages — such as crioulo, criollo, creolo, créole, kriolu, criol, kreyol, kreol, kriulo, kriol, krio, etc. — have been applied to people in different countries and epochs, with rather different meanings. Those terms are almost always used in the general area of present or former colonies in other continents, and originally referred to locally born people with foreign ancestry.
People of mixed Alaska Native American and Russian ancestry. The intermingling of promyshlenniki men with Aleut and Alutiiq women in the late 19th century gave rise to a people who assumed a prominent position in the economy of Russian Alaska and the north Pacific rim.
During the early settlement of the colonies, children born of immigrants in the colonies were often referred to as creole. This is found more often in the Chesapeake Colonies
In the United States, the word "Creole" refers to people of any race or mixture thereof who are descended from settlers in colonial French Louisiana before it became part of the United States in 1803 with the Louisiana Purchase. Some writers from other parts of the country have mistakenly assumed the term to refer only to people of mixed racial descent, but this is not the traditional Louisiana usage. Originally it referred to people of French and then Spanish descent who were born in Louisiana, to distinguish them from immigrants. Later Creole was sometimes used as well to refer to people of African descent born in Louisiana. Later the terms were differentiated, by French Creole (European ancestry) and Louisiana Creole (meaning someone of mixed racial ancestry).
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Diogo Dias
Diogo Dias, also known as Diogo Gomes, was a 15th-century Portuguese explorer. He was the brother of Bartolomeu Dias and discovered some of the Cape Verde islands together with António Noli.
In the first expedition to India in 1497, Diogo Dias served as escrivão (clerk) aboard Vasco da Gama's flagship São Gabriel. Dias was one of the main conduits between Gama and the Zamorin of Calicut, and was briefly taken prisoner by the Zamorin when negotiations got hairy.[clarification needed]
In 1500, Diogo Dias accompanied the 2nd armada of Pedro Álvares Cabral as one of the captains of the fleet, with a commission to open trade at Sofala. Diogo Dias was one of the first to go ashore in the discovery of Brazil in April 1500. Famously, Dias is credited for breaking the ice with the wary Tupiniquim on the beach by jumping into an impromptu joyful dance to the accompaniment of Tupi pipes.
During an expedition along the Cape of Good Hope (Diogo may have originally called it the Cape of Storms) with Pedro Álvares Cabral and his brother, Dias's ship got separated from the main fleet during the crossing of Cape of Good Hope (his brother's ship was lost during that crossing). Having struck a route too far east, Dias was the first European to sight the island of Madagascar and is often credited with naming the island of São Lourenço, on account of it being found on St. Lawrence's day (August 10, 1500). [Although the island was not unknown; its existence and Arabic name, "Island of the Moon", was already reported by Pêro da Covilhã back in 1490).
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Diogo Gomes
Diogo Gomes (c. 1420 – c. 1500), was a Portuguese navigator, explorer and writer. Diogo Gomes was a servant and explorer of Portuguese prince Henry the Navigator. His memoirs were dictated late in his life to Martin Behaim. They are an invaluable (if sometimes inconsistent) account of the Portuguese discoveries under Henry the Navigator, and one of the principal sources upon which historians of the era have drawn.
Probably a native of Lagos, Portugal, Diogo Gomes started out as page in the household of Prince Henry the Navigator, and subsequently rose to the rank of cavaleiro (knight) by 1440. Diogo Gomes participated in the 1445 slave raid led by Lançarote de Freitas of Lagos on the Arguin banks, and claims to have personally captured 22 Berber slaves singlehandedly. (Chronicler Zurara, who relates the raids in some detail, does not seem to make notice of Diogo Gomes, although he does mention a 'Picanço', which later João de Barros suggests was actually the ship and nickname of a "Gomes Pires", possibly a reference to Diogo Gomes).
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Duke Ellington
Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American composer, pianist, and big-band leader. Ellington wrote over 1,000 compositions. In the opinion of Bob Blumenthal of The Boston Globe "In the century since his birth, there has been no greater composer, American or otherwise, than Edward Kennedy Ellington." A major figure in the history of jazz, Ellington's music stretched into various other genres, including blues, gospel, film scores, popular, and classical. His career spanned more than 50 years and included leading his orchestra, composing an inexhaustible songbook, scoring for movies, composing stage musicals, and world tours. Several of his instrumental works were adapted into songs that became standards. Due to his inventive use of the orchestra, or big band, and thanks to his eloquence and extraordinary charisma, he is generally considered to have elevated the perception of jazz to an art form on a par with other traditional genres of music. His reputation increased after his death and the Pulitzer Prize Board bestowed on him a special posthumous honor in 1999.
wn.com/Duke_Ellington -
Gelson Fernandes
Gelson Tavares Fernandes (born 2 September 1986 in Praia) is a Swiss footballer, who currently plays as a Defensive Midfielder for Udinese Calcio on loan from AS Saint Etienne. He also plays for the Swiss national team.
Feranandes started his football career at Sion and was promoted to the first team in 2004 after being called by manager Gilbert Gress. In 2005/06 season proved to be the breakout year for Fernandes as he got more playing time for Sion. Fernandes play in central midfielder position for Sion. On 23 July 2005, Fernandes made his professional league debut for Sion in a 2-1 loss against Lausanne. On 20 November 2005, Fernandes received his first yellow card in his career on a 64th minutes as Sion went on lose 1-0 to La Chaux-de-Fonds In his first season, Fernandes made 22 league appearance and acoring none. In 2006/7 season with Sion, Fernandes able to get more playing time when he made 35 league appearance for Sion. In the first round of UEFA Cup, Fernandes made his European Cup debut for Sion in a 0-0 draw against Bayer Leverkusen and In the second round of UEFA Cup, Fernandes scored his first professional league goal and first European Cup goal against Leverkusen which Sion lost 3-1 on aggregate. On 14 October 2006, Fernandes scored his first goal for Sion in a 1-1 draw against Luzern. Fernandes also led his team win the Swiss Cup in a penalty shootout (5-3) against Young Boys. On the final game of the league 2006/7 season, Fernades received a second bookable offense on a 90th minutes after receiving a yellow card in a first half which turns out to be Fernandes last appearance for Sion as Sion won 3-0 against St. Gallen.
wn.com/Gelson_Fernandes -
Germano Almeida
Germano Almeida (Portuguese pronunciation: [ʒɨɾˈmɐnu alˈmejdɐ]; born 1945) is a Cape Verde author and lawyer. Born on the Cape island Boa Vista, Almeida studied law in Lisbon and currently practices in Mindelo. His novels have been translated into several languages. Married Sam Stewart in 1970.
In 1989 he founded the Ilhéu Editora publishing house and has since published 13 books (nine novels) which are detailed below.
wn.com/Germano_Almeida -
Henrik Larsson
Henrik Edward Larsson MBE (Swedish pronunciation: [ˈhɛnrɪk ˈlɑːʂɔn]; born 20 September 1971) is a retired Swedish footballer and current manager of Landskrona BoIS. He was a striker whose main attributes were good pace and the ability to turn and shoot in tight areas.
Larsson began his career with Högaborgs BK. He moved to Helsingborg, where he was one of the key players when they won promotion to the Allsvenskan in 1993. Larsson then moved to Feyenoord for four years before leaving for Celtic in 1997. He won four league titles in seven years with Celtic, scoring 242 goals in 315 competitive matches, before moving to FC Barcelona in 2004, where he won two league titles and the 2006 Champions League. Following the expiration of his contract at Barcelona, Larsson returned to his hometown club of Helsingborg, and joined Manchester United on a brief loan spell between January and March 2007. He announced his retirement from football on 20 October 2009.
Larsson played for Sweden in three World Cups and three European Championships and is a former captain of the national team. Larsson ended his international career with 37 goals in 106 matches.
wn.com/Henrik_Larsson -
Horace Silver
Horace Silver (born September 2, 1928), born Horace Ward Martin Tavares Silva in Norwalk, Connecticut, is an American jazz pianist and composer.
Silver is known for his distinctive humorous and funky playing style and for his pioneering compositional contributions to hard bop. He was influenced by a wide range of musical styles, notably gospel music, African music, and Latin American music and sometimes ventured into the soul jazz genre.
His father, who was known as John Tavares Silva, was from the island of Maio in Cape Verde. His mother was born in New Canaan, Connecticut, and was of Irish-African descent.
Silver began his career as a tenor saxophonist but later switched to piano. His tenor saxophone playing was highly influenced by Lester Young, and his piano style by Bud Powell. Silver was discovered in the Sundown Club in Hartford, Connecticut. in 1950 by saxophonist Stan Getz. Getz was playing at the club with Silver’s trio backing him up. Getz liked Silver’s band and brought them on the road, eventually recording three of Silver’s compositions. It was with Getz that Silver made his recording debut.
wn.com/Horace_Silver -
Ildo Lobo
Ildo Lobo (November 25, 1953 – October 20, 2004) was a famous Cape Verdean singer. His versatile and melodic voice, commanding stage presence and trademark beret hats made him one of the all time great performers of Cape Verde. Always well-known throughout the Cape Verde Islands, Lobo rose to international fame with his first solo work, “Nôs Morna”, following it with another album “Intelectual”.
Lobo was born on the island of Sal in the town of Pedra de Lume, where he worked alongside his family in the local salt mines during his youth. When the Cape Verdian salt industry died down, Lobo was forced to find other means of work. Luckily for Lobo, music was his first love. His voice would put him in constant demand at local bars and music festivals.
Lobo's musical talent would eventually place the island of Sal permanently on the Cape Verdian musical map to rival the islands of Santiago, São Vicente and São Nicolau as bonafide origins of Cape Verdian talent[citation needed].
Lobo consummately mastered most styles of Cape Verdian music, but he was best known on stage for his effortless, soul-stirring mornas. He could also arouse the crowd with his hard-hitting coladeras. Lobo, as an adult, moved to Praia, Santiago Island (Cape Verde's capital) where he began his career as vocalist of the band Os Tubarões ("The Sharks"). After his stellar multi-album career with Os Tubarões, Lobo launched his solo career with his acclaimed album Nôs Morna.
wn.com/Ildo_Lobo -
Jorge Andrade
Jorge Manuel Almeida Gomes de Andrade, OIH (Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈʒɔɾʒ(ɨ) ɐ̃ˈdɾad(ɨ)]; born 9 April 1978) is a Portuguese retired footballer who played as a central defender.
After playing two years with Porto, he went on to represent Deportivo de La Coruña (which would be his main club - nearly 175 official appearances in five seasons) and Juventus, appearing rarely for the latter due to injury.
Andrade gained more than 50 caps for Portugal, representing the nation in one World Cup and one European Championship, and helping it finish second in Euro 2004.
Born in Lisbon, Andrade made his professional debuts with hometown club C.F. Estrela da Amadora in 1997, helping it to two consecutive eighth first division places. He immediately caught the eye, and after that was on the move north, to F.C. Porto, being the club's most-used player in the 2001–02 UEFA Champions League, playing 12 times as the team reached the second group phase in the competition.
After Portugal’s unsuccessful 2002 World Cup campaign, Andrade was snapped up by Spain's Deportivo de La Coruña, in a move that cost the Galicians €12 million with the possibility of being increased to €13M (goalkeeper Nuno Espírito Santo was also part of the deal, for €3M). He appeared in only 11 La Liga games in his debut season, barred by César Martín and Moroccan Noureddine Naybet, but was an undisputed first-choice (when healthy) in the following years.
wn.com/Jorge_Andrade -
Jorge Carlos Fonseca
Jorge Carlos de Almeida Fonseca (Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈʒɔɾʒɨ ˈkaɾluʒ dɨ alˈmejdɐ fõˈsekɐ]; born 20 October 1950) is a Cape Verdean politician, lawyer, and university professor who has been President of Cape Verde since 2011. He served as Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1991 to 1993. Supported by the Movement for Democracy (MpD), he won the 2011 presidential election in a second round of voting.
Jorge Fonseca completed primary and secondary education between Praia and Mindelo, and later, his higher education in Lisbon, Portugal. He graduated in Law and a Master in Legal Sciences Faculty of Law, University of Lisbon.
He was Director General of Emigration in Cape Verde from 1975 to 1977 and Secretary General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Cape Verde from 1977 to 1979.
He was a graduate teaching assistant at the Faculty of Law, University of Lisbon between 1982 and 1990, invited Professor of Criminal Law at the Institute of Forensic Medicine of Lisbon in 1987 and a resident director and invited associate professor at the Law Course and Public Administration at the University of Asia Oriental, Macau in 1989 and 1990.
wn.com/Jorge_Carlos_Fonseca -
José Maria Neves
José Maria Pereira Neves (Portuguese pronunciation: [ʒuˈzɛ mɐˈɾiɐ pɨˈɾejɾɐ ˈnɛvɨʃ]; born March 28, 1960) on the island of Santiago , is the Prime Minister of Cape Verde. He is a member of the African Party for the Independence of Cape Verde (PAICV).
“José Maria Neves became interested in the politics and government of Cape Verde as a teen-ager.” “He was the leader of a nationalist youth organization during the country’s transition from Portuguese rule to independence and democracy in 1975.” Part of his superior education was in the Getúlio Vargas Foundation in Brazil.
As a candidate for the party leadership at PAICV's September 1997 congress, he faced Pedro Pires; Pires defeated Neves in the leadership election, winning 68% of the vote. In May 2000, Neves—then serving as President of the Santa Catarina Town Council—announced that he would seek the PAICV presidency again at the June 2000 party congress; Pires was leaving the PAICV presidency in anticipation of his candidacy in the next year's national presidential election.
wn.com/José_Maria_Neves -
Luís Cabral
Luís Severino de Almeida Cabral (11 April 1931 – 30 May 2009) was the first President of Guinea-Bissau. He served from 1974 to 1980, when a military coup d'état led by João Bernardo "Nino" Vieira deposed him. Luís Cabral was a half-brother of Amílcar Cabral, with whom he co-founded the African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde (PAIGC) in 1956.
Luís Cabral was born in the city of Bissau, Portuguese Guinea, on April 11, 1931. He completed his primary school studies in the Cape Verde archipelago, which was also a Portuguese territory at that time. Later on he would receive training in accountancy.
In the early 1960s, the African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde (PAIGC) launched an anti-colonial guerrilla war against the Portuguese authorities. Luís Cabral's rise to leadership began in 1973, after the assassination in Conakry, Guinea, of his half-brother Amílcar Cabral, the noted Pan-African intellectual and founder of the PAIGC. Leadership of the party, then engaged in fighting for independence from Portuguese rule for both Guinea-Bissau (then known as Portuguese Guinea) and for Cape Verde, fell to Aristides Pereira, who later became the president of Cape Verde. The Guinea-Bissau branch of the party, however, followed Luís Cabral.
wn.com/Luís_Cabral -
Manuel Lopes
Manuel António de Sousa Lopes (December 23, 1907 in Mindelo - January 25, 2005) was a Cape Verdean novelist, poet and essayist and a founder of modern Cape Verdean literature.[citation needed] With Baltasar Lopes da Silva and Jorge Barbosa he was a creator of the paper named Claridade.[citation needed] Manuel Lopes wrote texts in Portuguese, and utilized several works expressed in Cape Verdean Creole.
Manuel Lopes was born on December 23, 1907 in Mindelo on the island of São Vicente, Cape Verde, which was then a territory of Portugal. He moved along with his family to Coimbra in Mainland Portugal in 1908 to attend a lyceum. Four years later, he returned to Cape Verde and he functioned at an English company. In 1936, with Baltasar Lobes, he wrote the paper Claridade. (Nine numbered issues appeared between 1936 and 1960.) In 1944, he transferred to the island of Faial in the Azores, he later lived in Lisbon in 1959 until his death.
Os Flagelados do Vento Leste was adapted into a movie directed by António Faria in 1987.
wn.com/Manuel_Lopes -
Nani
Luís Carlos Almeida da Cunha (born 17 November 1986), commonly known as Nani, is a Portuguese footballer currently playing as a winger for English club Manchester United in the Premier League and the Portugal national team. Although predominantly right-footed, he has been utilised on the left-wing on many occasions.
Nani was born in Cape Verde and emigrated to Europe with his family at an early age. He was raised in Portugal and began his football career playing for local side Real Massamá. At the age of 16, he began training with Sporting Clube de Portugal and S.L. Benfica on alternate days, eventually joining Sporting's youth squad after they offered him pre-season training. In 2005, he made his professional debut with the club and won the Portuguese Cup during his second season with them. Nani was named the SJPF Young Player of the Month for May 2007 and his performances with Sporting culminated into a move to English club side Manchester United in July 2007 for a fee of €25 million. Nani won the Community Shield on his competitive debut at the club and has since added a number of trophies which included the Premier League and Champions League during his debut season at the club. He has established himself as first-choice winger at Manchester United and has won a further Premier League title, the Football League Cup, one FIFA Club World Cup, and three Community Shield titles. Individually, Nani has been included into the Professional Footballers' Association (PFA) Premier League Team of the Year on one occasion and was a nominee for the PFA Young Player of the Year in 2011.
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Nélson Marcos
Nélson Augusto Tomar Marcos (born 10 June 1983 in Ilha do Sal, Cape Verde), simply Nélson, is a Portuguese footballer of Cape Verdean descent who plays for Real Betis in Spain, as a right defender.
Nélson started his professional career with Vilanovense FC. He began making a name in the Portuguese first division with Boavista FC, having joined from soon-to-be-extinct side of S.C. Salgueiros, also in Porto.
In May 2005, he was involved in a car crash along with fellow Portuguese footballer and former Boavista player José Bosingwa, which represented F.C. Porto at the time. Bosingwa, behind the wheel of his jeep at the time of the accident, was travelling too quickly and due to wet conditions he crashed the car into an embankment which was followed by the car bursting into flames. One passenger required his foot to be amputated; the other three were unharmed.
Nélson joined S.L. Benfica from Boavista for €1.5 million in 2005, on a five-year contract. He made the right-back spot his own upon his arrival, making twenty-five appearances during his first season. In the 2006–07, he was equally impressive.
wn.com/Nélson_Marcos -
Orlanda Amarílis
Orlanda Amarílis Lopes Rodrigues Fernandes Ferreira, known as Orlanda Amarílis (Assomada, Santa Catarina, Cape Verde, 1924), is a Cape Verdean writer. She is considered to be a noteworthy writer of fiction whose main literary themes include perspectives on women’s writing, with depictions of various aspects of the lives of Cape Verdean women as well as depictions of the Cape Verdean diaspora.
Amarílis is the daughter of Armando Napoleão Roiz Fernandes and Alice Lopes da Silva Fernandes. In 1945, she married Cape Verdean writer Manuel Ferreira, and the couple have two sons, Sérgio Manuel Napoleão Ferreira (born in Cape Verde) e Hernâni Donaldo Napoleão Ferreira (born in Goa). Amarílis belongs to a family of literary figures, including Baltazar Lopes da Silva and her father, Armando Napoleão Roiz Fernandes, who published the first Cape Verdean Creole dictionary in Cape Verde.
In the city of Mindelo, São Vicente island, Cape Verde, Amarílis completed her primary studies, as well as her secondary studies (high school) in the Liceu Gil Eanes school. She then moved to Goa, and lived in the capital, Panaji (Pangim) for six years where she completed her primary teacher training (Magistério Primário). Years later, she finished two courses in Lisbon: Pedagogical Sciences (Curso de Ciências Pedagógicas) as well as a course of elementary education supervision (inspector do ensino básico.)
wn.com/Orlanda_Amarílis -
Patrick Vieira
Patrick Vieira (born 23 June 1976 in Dakar, Senegal) is a retired French footballer of Senegalese descent who is the Football Development Executive at Manchester City in the English Premier League.
He rose to prominence during his time at Arsenal from 1996 to 2005, where he won three Premier League titles – one unbeaten – and four FA Cups, eventually becoming club captain. After leaving Arsenal in 2005, he spent one season at Juventus before joining Internazionale in 2006, following Juventus' relegation for their part in a match-fixing scandal. He has 107 caps for France, and was part of their 1998 World Cup and Euro 2000-winning sides.
In May 2010, Vieira was nominated Goodwill Ambassador of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. He announced his retirement from professional football on 14 July 2011. Vieira is currently Football Development Executive at Manchester City with a role to oversee aspects such as youth development, commercial partners and the club's social responsibility programme, "City in the Community".
wn.com/Patrick_Vieira -
Paul Gonsalves
Paul Gonsalves, ((1920-07-12)July 12, 1920 – May 15, 1974(1974-05-15)) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist best known for his association with Duke Ellington. At the 1956 Newport Jazz Festival, Gonsalves played a 27-chorus solo in the middle of Ellington's "Diminuendo and Crescendo in Blue". That performance is credited with revitalizing Ellington's waning career in the 50's.
Born in Brockton, Massachusetts to Cape Verdean parents, Gonsalves' first instrument was the guitar, and as a child he was regularly asked to play Cape Verdean folk songs for his family. He grew up in New Bedford, Massachusetts and played as a member of the Sabby Lewis Orchestra. His first professional engagement in Boston was with the same group on tenor saxophone, in which he played before and after his military service during World War II. Before joining Duke Ellington's orchestra in 1950, he had also played with the big bands of Count Basie (1947–1949) and Dizzy Gillespie (1949–1950).
At the 1956 Newport Jazz Festival, Gonsalves' solo in Ellington's song "Diminuendo and Crescendo in Blue" contained 27 choruses; the publicity from which is credited with reviving Ellington's career. This performance is captured on the album Ellington at Newport. Gonsalves was a featured soloist in numerous Ellingtonian settings. He received the nickname "The Strolling Violins" from Ellington for playing solos while walking through the crowd.
wn.com/Paul_Gonsalves -
Paul Pena
Paul Pena (January 26, 1950 – October 1, 2005) was an American singer, songwriter and guitarist of Cape Verdean descent.
His music from the first half of his career touched on Delta blues, jazz, morna, flamenco, folk and rock and roll. Pena is probably best known for writing the song "Jet Airliner," a major 1977 hit for the Steve Miller Band and a staple of classic rock radio; and for appearing in the 1999 documentary film Genghis Blues, wherein he displayed his abilities in the field of Tuvan throat singing.
Pena was born in Hyannis, Massachusetts. His grandparents were from the islands of Brava and Fogo in the Cape Verde islands off the western coast of Africa, and emigrated to the United States in 1919. Pena spoke Cape Verdean Creole with his family while growing up. His grandfather, Francisco Pena, and father, Joaquim "Jack" Pena, were both professional musicians, and taught Paul to play Cape Verdean music, including Morna. Pena performed professionally with his father, including a summer spent in Spain and Portugal, where he studied flamenco music.
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Pedro Pires
Pedro Verona Rodrigues Pires (Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈpedɾu vɨˈɾonɐ ʁuˈdɾiɡɨʃ ˈpiɾɨʃ]; born 29 April 1934) was the President of Cape Verde from March 2001 to September 2011. Before becoming President, he was Prime Minister from 1975 to 1991.
After the ruling African Party for the Independence of Cape Verde (PAICV) decided to institute multiparty democracy in February 1990, Pires replaced President Aristides Pereira as General Secretary of PAICV in August 1990. The PAICV lost the multiparty parliamentary and presidential elections held in early 1991 and was left in opposition. At a party congress in August 1993, Pires was replaced as General Secretary by Aristides Lima and was instead elected as President of PAICV. As a candidate for the party presidency at PAICV's September 1997 congress, he faced José Maria Neves and prevailed with 68% of the vote. He stepped down as PAICV President in 2000 in preparation for a presidential bid in the next year's election and he was succeeded by Neves. He officially announced his candidacy for the Presidency of Cape Verde on September 5, 2000.
wn.com/Pedro_Pires
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Cap Vert 2-1 Angola / Cape Verde 2-1 Angola
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 0:34
- Updated: 28 Jan 2013
Cap Vert 2-1 Angola Cape Verde 2-1 Angola
http://wn.com/Cap_Vert_2-1_Angola_Cape_Verde_2-1_Angola
Victorious Cape Verde burst into press conference-1
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 0:33
- Updated: 28 Jan 2013
http://wn.com/Victorious_Cape_Verde_burst_into_press_conference-1
Cape Verde Promo
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 4:29
- Updated: 27 Jan 2013
Travel and places to visit in Cabo Verde.
http://wn.com/Cape_Verde_Promo
RIU Karamboa Hotel , Boa Vista, Cape Verde Islands
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 7:11
- Updated: 27 Jan 2013
Our holiday in the RIU Karamboa Hotel , Boa Vista, Cape Verde Islands, Feb - March 2011
http://wn.com/RIU_Karamboa_Hotel_,_Boa_Vista,_Cape_Verde_Islands
Our holiday in the RIU Karamboa Hotel , Boa Vista, Cape Verde Islands, Feb - March 2011
- published: 13 Mar 2011
- views: 81965
- author: bankieland
South Africa - Cape Verde | CAN Orange 2013 | 19.01.2013
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 2:34
- Updated: 27 Jan 2013
South Africa 0 - 0 Cape Verde | Match highlights - Group A Orange Africa Cup of Nations, SOUTH AFRICA 2013 Matchday 1 - 19.01.2013 National Stadium - Johannesburg For more videos of the Orange AFCON 2013, visit : youtube.com Download Orange AFCON 2013 application for iOS: bit.ly Download Orange AFCON2013 application for Android : bit.ly Orange AFCON 2013 on Facebook : www.facebook.com Follow us on Twitter : twitter.com
http://wn.com/South_Africa_Cape_Verde_|_CAN_Orange_2013_|_19012013
South Africa 0 - 0 Cape Verde | Match highlights - Group A Orange Africa Cup of Nations, SOUTH AFRICA 2013 Matchday 1 - 19.01.2013 National Stadium - Johannesburg For more videos of the Orange AFCON 2013, visit : youtube.com Download Orange AFCON 2013 application for iOS: bit.ly Download Orange AFCON2013 application for Android : bit.ly Orange AFCON 2013 on Facebook : www.facebook.com Follow us on Twitter : twitter.com
- published: 19 Jan 2013
- views: 26025
- author: MyAfricanFootball
Cape Verde Islands - Cape Verde Holidays
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 5:30
- Updated: 23 Jan 2013
capeverdeholidaysguide.com ... The Cape Verde Islands are located in the North Atlantic, 570 km off the coast of West Africa. The ten islands of Cape Verde, nine of which are inhabited, offer its visitors, miles and miles of golden sandy beaches, mountainous landscapes and even an active volcano. The Cape Verde Weather is very warm all year round, ideal for those who seek sun filled holidays and there are lots of flights to Cape Verde from many countries in Europe, as well as from the USA, Brazil and some African countries. Cape Verdeans are very friendly and laid back people who welcome tourists to their island country. So go ahead and try the Cape Verde Experience. that includes their food, music, the many water sports and hiking trails or just lay out in the beaches and soak up the sun. For more detailed information about Cape Verde, please visit our website by clicking the link above.
http://wn.com/Cape_Verde_Islands_Cape_Verde_Holidays
capeverdeholidaysguide.com ... The Cape Verde Islands are located in the North Atlantic, 570 km off the coast of West Africa. The ten islands of Cape Verde, nine of which are inhabited, offer its visitors, miles and miles of golden sandy beaches, mountainous landscapes and even an active volcano. The Cape Verde Weather is very warm all year round, ideal for those who seek sun filled holidays and there are lots of flights to Cape Verde from many countries in Europe, as well as from the USA, Brazil and some African countries. Cape Verdeans are very friendly and laid back people who welcome tourists to their island country. So go ahead and try the Cape Verde Experience. that includes their food, music, the many water sports and hiking trails or just lay out in the beaches and soak up the sun. For more detailed information about Cape Verde, please visit our website by clicking the link above.
- published: 07 Apr 2012
- views: 13728
- author: GILSAN123
West Africa Women ( Cabo Verde island) 1
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 12:58
- Updated: 27 Jan 2013
Cabo verde people has different shades of skin color, eyes color and hair types. Girls from S.vicente and Fogo.
http://wn.com/West_Africa_Women_Cabo_Verde_island_1
Cabo verde people has different shades of skin color, eyes color and hair types. Girls from S.vicente and Fogo.
- published: 05 Jun 2012
- views: 12481
- author: Cv Belezas
Cape Verde 2-0 Cameroon: 2013 African Cup of Nations
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 3:27
- Updated: 27 Jan 2013
Cape Verde 2-0 Cameroon: 2013 African Cup of Nations
http://wn.com/Cape_Verde_2-0_Cameroon_2013_African_Cup_of_Nations
Cape Verde 2-0 Cameroon: 2013 African Cup of Nations
- published: 09 Sep 2012
- views: 49077
- author: nchindaen
Nigeria vs. Cape Verde Pre-AFCON 2013
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 14:58
- Updated: 28 Jan 2013
Pre-AFCON 2013
http://wn.com/Nigeria_vs_Cape_Verde_Pre-AFCON_2013
Cape Verde - Angola | CAN Orange 2013 | 27.01.2013
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 2:40
- Updated: 28 Jan 2013
Cape Verde 2-1 Angola | Match highlights - Group A Orange Africa Cup of Nations, SOUTH AFRICA 2013 Matchday 3 27/01/2013 Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium Strikers : Heldon, Varela, Nando Neves For more videos of the Orange AFCON 2013, visit : youtube.com Download Orange AFCON 2013 application for iOS: bit.ly Download Orange AFCON2013 application for Android : bit.ly Orange AFCON 2013 on Facebook : www.facebook.com Follow us on Twitter : twitter.com
http://wn.com/Cape_Verde_Angola_|_CAN_Orange_2013_|_27012013
Cape Verde 2-1 Angola | Match highlights - Group A Orange Africa Cup of Nations, SOUTH AFRICA 2013 Matchday 3 27/01/2013 Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium Strikers : Heldon, Varela, Nando Neves For more videos of the Orange AFCON 2013, visit : youtube.com Download Orange AFCON 2013 application for iOS: bit.ly Download Orange AFCON2013 application for Android : bit.ly Orange AFCON 2013 on Facebook : www.facebook.com Follow us on Twitter : twitter.com
- published: 27 Jan 2013
- views: 1790
- author: MyAfricanFootball
Hello Cabo Verde Expo - Turismo
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 10:00
- Updated: 17 Jan 2013
Cabo Verde Turismo
http://wn.com/Hello_Cabo_Verde_Expo_Turismo
Cape Verde 1
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 8:03
- Updated: 26 Jan 2013
A trip to visit my daughter in the Peace Corps.
http://wn.com/Cape_Verde_1
A trip to visit my daughter in the Peace Corps.
- published: 27 Aug 2006
- views: 80560
- author: stanfordcreative
Cape Verde vs Angola 2-1 All Goals & Full Match Highlights - Africa Cup of Nations (27/01/2013)
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 1:13
- Updated: 28 Jan 2013
Debutants Cape Verde made history when they came from a goal down to beat Angola 2-1 on Sunday in their last Africa Cup of Nations Group A fixture. The Blue Sharks were trailing the 2010 Afcon hosts in the first half, but tactical changes in the second half by coach Luis Antunes did the trick for them to overturn the results to qualify to the knockout stages for the first time in their football history. Substitute Heldon Ramos was the hero of the night as he capitalised on a Lama fumble and struck powerfully with his left from close range. That was the long-awaited moment for the country of 10 islands with a population of less than 600000 to erupt into long lasting ecstasy. The Blue Sharks had hosts South Africa to thank for drawing 2-2 with Morocco in the other group fixture. The debutants conceded in the first half when captain Nando Neves mistakenly put the goal in his own goal. He will never forget this game for being a bitter-sweet moment as he deflected a teasing low cross from Djalma towards Amaro, who mounted pressure on the defender on the left, and eventually flicked the ball into his own post. In a matter of two minutes, the Blue Sharks almost drew parity as Babanco curled in a wonderful free-kick, but Julio Tavares' flicked header whistled narrowly past the post. The first half saw more of the 2010 quarter-finalists dominating the exchanges with the debutants leaving most of the work to the ever-busy Platini to do, but his sole efforts could not yield any ...
http://wn.com/Cape_Verde_vs_Angola_2-1_All_Goals_Full_Match_Highlights_Africa_Cup_of_Nations_27_01_2013
Debutants Cape Verde made history when they came from a goal down to beat Angola 2-1 on Sunday in their last Africa Cup of Nations Group A fixture. The Blue Sharks were trailing the 2010 Afcon hosts in the first half, but tactical changes in the second half by coach Luis Antunes did the trick for them to overturn the results to qualify to the knockout stages for the first time in their football history. Substitute Heldon Ramos was the hero of the night as he capitalised on a Lama fumble and struck powerfully with his left from close range. That was the long-awaited moment for the country of 10 islands with a population of less than 600000 to erupt into long lasting ecstasy. The Blue Sharks had hosts South Africa to thank for drawing 2-2 with Morocco in the other group fixture. The debutants conceded in the first half when captain Nando Neves mistakenly put the goal in his own goal. He will never forget this game for being a bitter-sweet moment as he deflected a teasing low cross from Djalma towards Amaro, who mounted pressure on the defender on the left, and eventually flicked the ball into his own post. In a matter of two minutes, the Blue Sharks almost drew parity as Babanco curled in a wonderful free-kick, but Julio Tavares' flicked header whistled narrowly past the post. The first half saw more of the 2010 quarter-finalists dominating the exchanges with the debutants leaving most of the work to the ever-busy Platini to do, but his sole efforts could not yield any ...
- published: 27 Jan 2013
- views: 5198
- author: GhanaAfcon2013
BURRITO TALK: What is a Cape Verdean?
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 5:44
- Updated: 22 Jan 2013
A lot of people ask so I figured they need to learn. If you have anything to include about the Cape Verdean ethnicity then please feel free to add. Any rude comments or insults will immediately be followed by a post removal, please keep it clean & welcoming :)
http://wn.com/BURRITO_TALK_What_is_a_Cape_Verdean?
A lot of people ask so I figured they need to learn. If you have anything to include about the Cape Verdean ethnicity then please feel free to add. Any rude comments or insults will immediately be followed by a post removal, please keep it clean & welcoming :)
- published: 15 Apr 2011
- views: 6838
- author: cheapburritos
The Undiscovered Cape Verde Islands
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 2:55
- Updated: 17 Jan 2013
The Cape Verde Islands aren't precisely a big secret destination waiting to be plundered by the beach-hungry west, but there is something of the undiscovered about them being as they are floating way out on the broad Atlantic... In truth they've been quietly going about their business for centuries now. And this is a major part of their charm - a culture and landscape of stunning quality that lies in wait, ready to enliven the most jaded of traveller. See more here: www.capeveredeexperience.co.uk
http://wn.com/The_Undiscovered_Cape_Verde_Islands
The Cape Verde Islands aren't precisely a big secret destination waiting to be plundered by the beach-hungry west, but there is something of the undiscovered about them being as they are floating way out on the broad Atlantic... In truth they've been quietly going about their business for centuries now. And this is a major part of their charm - a culture and landscape of stunning quality that lies in wait, ready to enliven the most jaded of traveller. See more here: www.capeveredeexperience.co.uk
- published: 03 Oct 2007
- views: 56730
- author: serenityholidays
TONY FIKA feat LIJEMEA Boa. YOUTUBE FUNANA.YOUTUBE CAPE VERDE MUSIC. AFRICAN MUSIC TV
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 4:40
- Updated: 26 Jan 2013
africanmusictv.weebly.com Sexy Funana by Tony Fika and Lilemea in their hit single "Boa". This is a Cape Verdean music Video. All copy rights belongs to the artist and her production management. . Follow our website at www.africanmusictv.weebly.com and enjoy a variety of African entertainers from different parts of the world. Portuguese music, Portuguese songs, Mozambique music, Mozambique dance, Kuduro, Kizomba, Zouk love, Zouk mix, Kuduro mis, kwasakwasa, Ndombolo, Latinos Music, Latinos music, African dance, Afro jazz, Cape Verdean dance, Cape Verdean songs, Nigerian music, Cameroon music East African music, dancehall queen, dancehall reggae, P-Square, Wizkid, Iyanya, lynnsha ft fally ipupa, lynnsha ft kalash, lynsha ft kaysha, Kassav, bikutsi Cameroon, and many more. africanmusictv.weebly.com
http://wn.com/TONY_FIKA_feat_LIJEMEA_Boa_YOUTUBE_FUNANAYOUTUBE_CAPE_VERDE_MUSIC_AFRICAN_MUSIC_TV
africanmusictv.weebly.com Sexy Funana by Tony Fika and Lilemea in their hit single "Boa". This is a Cape Verdean music Video. All copy rights belongs to the artist and her production management. . Follow our website at www.africanmusictv.weebly.com and enjoy a variety of African entertainers from different parts of the world. Portuguese music, Portuguese songs, Mozambique music, Mozambique dance, Kuduro, Kizomba, Zouk love, Zouk mix, Kuduro mis, kwasakwasa, Ndombolo, Latinos Music, Latinos music, African dance, Afro jazz, Cape Verdean dance, Cape Verdean songs, Nigerian music, Cameroon music East African music, dancehall queen, dancehall reggae, P-Square, Wizkid, Iyanya, lynnsha ft fally ipupa, lynnsha ft kalash, lynsha ft kaysha, Kassav, bikutsi Cameroon, and many more. africanmusictv.weebly.com
- published: 15 Oct 2012
- views: 36277
- author: TheAfricanmusictv
Holiday Cabo Verde - São Vicente and Santo Antão (HQ)
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 9:47
- Updated: 27 Jan 2013
Compilation video of the highlights of the beautiful islands of São Vicente and Santo Antão in Cape Verde, including the three day musical festival on Baia das Gatas with a performance of Cesaria Evora in August 2009.
http://wn.com/Holiday_Cabo_Verde_São_Vicente_and_Santo_Antão_HQ
Compilation video of the highlights of the beautiful islands of São Vicente and Santo Antão in Cape Verde, including the three day musical festival on Baia das Gatas with a performance of Cesaria Evora in August 2009.
- published: 21 Oct 2009
- views: 87402
- author: Val81
Ceça Branka Isa Nha Adolecencia 2013 Youtube Funana, Cape Verde, African Music TV
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 4:17
- Updated: 27 Jan 2013
africanmusictv.weebly.com TheAfricanmusictv is proud to promote exclusive, sexy funana by Ceca Branca from Cape Verde which is popularly known as cabo verde. All credits to this video goes to the artist. This video is a must watch. follow our website at www.africanmusictv.weebly.com . All copy rights belongs to the artist and her production management. . Follow our website at www.africanmusictv.weebly.com and enjoy a variety of African entertainers from different parts of the world. Portuguese music, Portuguese songs, Mozambique music, Mozambique dance, Kuduro, Kizomba, Zouk love, Zouk mix, Kuduro mis, kwasakwasa, Ndombolo, Latinos Music, Latinos music, African dance, Afro jazz, Cape Verdean dance, Cape Verdean songs, Nigerian music, Cameroon music East African music, dancehall queen, dancehall reggae, P-Square, Wizkid, Iyanya, lynnsha ft fally ipupa, lynnsha ft kalash, lynsha ft kaysha, Kassav, bikutsi Cameroon, and many more. africanmusictv.weebly.com
http://wn.com/Ceça_Branka_Isa_Nha_Adolecencia_2013_Youtube_Funana,_Cape_Verde,_African_Music_TV
africanmusictv.weebly.com TheAfricanmusictv is proud to promote exclusive, sexy funana by Ceca Branca from Cape Verde which is popularly known as cabo verde. All credits to this video goes to the artist. This video is a must watch. follow our website at www.africanmusictv.weebly.com . All copy rights belongs to the artist and her production management. . Follow our website at www.africanmusictv.weebly.com and enjoy a variety of African entertainers from different parts of the world. Portuguese music, Portuguese songs, Mozambique music, Mozambique dance, Kuduro, Kizomba, Zouk love, Zouk mix, Kuduro mis, kwasakwasa, Ndombolo, Latinos Music, Latinos music, African dance, Afro jazz, Cape Verdean dance, Cape Verdean songs, Nigerian music, Cameroon music East African music, dancehall queen, dancehall reggae, P-Square, Wizkid, Iyanya, lynnsha ft fally ipupa, lynnsha ft kalash, lynsha ft kaysha, Kassav, bikutsi Cameroon, and many more. africanmusictv.weebly.com
- published: 27 Jan 2013
- author: TheAfricanmusictv
Cape Verde vs Angola 2013 Africa Cup of Nations Highlights 2-1 Neves OG Varela Heldon Goals Video
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 3:43
- Updated: 28 Jan 2013
Cape Verde vs Angola 2013 Africa Cup of Nations Highlights 2-1 Neves og Varela Heldon Goals VideoCape Verde vs Angola 2013 Africa Cup of Nations Highlights 2-1 Neves og Varela Heldon Goals VideoCape Verde vs Angola 2013 Africa Cup of Nations Highlights 2-1 Neves og Varela Heldon Goals...
http://wn.com/Cape_Verde_vs_Angola_2013_Africa_Cup_of_Nations_Highlights_2-1_Neves_OG_Varela_Heldon_Goals_Video
Cape Verde vs Angola 2013 Africa Cup of Nations Highlights 2-1 Neves og Varela Heldon Goals VideoCape Verde vs Angola 2013 Africa Cup of Nations Highlights 2-1 Neves og Varela Heldon Goals VideoCape Verde vs Angola 2013 Africa Cup of Nations Highlights 2-1 Neves og Varela Heldon Goals...
- published: 27 Jan 2013
- views: 3664
- author: GoalGoalVSGoalGoal
Maroc Vs Cape verde 1-1 Goals & Highlights | 23/01/2013 |
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 3:00
- Updated: 27 Jan 2013
Feel free to visit, like and share our page for updated videos and football matches www.facebook.com
http://wn.com/Maroc_Vs_Cape_verde_1-1_Goals_Highlights_|_23_01_2013_|
Feel free to visit, like and share our page for updated videos and football matches www.facebook.com
- published: 23 Jan 2013
- views: 4261
- author: mywarring10
VARELA MONTEIRO BODINHO, VIZINHO, FUNANA, COUPE DECALE, CAPE VERDE, POWER BOYZ, AFRICAN MUSIC TV
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 5:12
- Updated: 21 Jan 2013
africanmusictv.weebly.com TheAfricanmusictv is proud to promote Varela Monteiro who is one of the best funana star from Cape Verde which is popularly known as cabo verde. All credits to this video goes to the artist we are promoting. This video is a must watch. follow our website at www.africanmusictv.weebly.com
http://wn.com/VARELA_MONTEIRO_BODINHO,_VIZINHO,_FUNANA,_COUPE_DECALE,_CAPE_VERDE,_POWER_BOYZ,_AFRICAN_MUSIC_TV
africanmusictv.weebly.com TheAfricanmusictv is proud to promote Varela Monteiro who is one of the best funana star from Cape Verde which is popularly known as cabo verde. All credits to this video goes to the artist we are promoting. This video is a must watch. follow our website at www.africanmusictv.weebly.com
- published: 11 Aug 2012
- views: 22405
- author: TheAfricanmusictv
Tiger Shark Cape Verde
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 1:19
- Updated: 05 Jan 2013
Check out: BProudAction.com Boa Vista, Cape Verde 2011. Fun Dive at Shark Point. Visibility was not very good. Shark spotted at 21 meters in an Open Cave. Amazing dive with Amanda and Larry from the UK Thanks for this great moment !!!
http://wn.com/Tiger_Shark_Cape_Verde
Check out: BProudAction.com Boa Vista, Cape Verde 2011. Fun Dive at Shark Point. Visibility was not very good. Shark spotted at 21 meters in an Open Cave. Amazing dive with Amanda and Larry from the UK Thanks for this great moment !!!
- published: 30 Jun 2012
- views: 2550
- author: Bproudaction
SHIT CAPE VERDEAN MOMS SAY & DO
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 7:18
- Updated: 27 Jan 2013
Since everyone is making videos of shit people say, we decided to clown our Cape Verdean mothers out there. LMAO.
http://wn.com/SHIT_CAPE_VERDEAN_MOMS_SAY_DO
Since everyone is making videos of shit people say, we decided to clown our Cape Verdean mothers out there. LMAO.
- published: 14 Jan 2012
- views: 38119
- author: GeeEntertainment
photo: AP / Ronald Mendes-Agencia RBS
27 Jan 2013
Tweet. Police say at least 232 people have died in a fire that swept through a crowded nightclub in southern Brazil. Around 117 others were injured after the blaze broke out while a band was performing at the Kiss club in the southern city of Santa Maria at about 2am (local time). Police earlier said more than 245 people had died in the fire. It is thought pyrotechnics being used for the concert may have caused the blaze ... ....(size: 2.6Kb)
photo: AP / Hossam Ali
26 Jan 2013
An Egyptian court has handed down 21 death sentences in connection with the deadly riot last year at a football stadium in Port Said located along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea. The defendants sentenced on Saturday are mostly members of the "Ultras," die-hard football fans who support Port Said's al-Masry squad ... Al-Masry fans stormed the pitch after their team won, throwing stones, bottles and fireworks at al-Ahly supporters....(size: 17.2Kb)
photo: UN / Martine Perret
25 Jan 2013
At least one in five people, including half of schoolchildren, were infected with swine flu during the first year of the pandemic in 2009, according to data from 19 countries. It is thought the virus killed 200,000 people around the world. A World Health Organization-led study looked for evidence of the body's immune system fighting the virus ... Anti-bodies ... ....(size: 2.1Kb)
photo: AP / Mohammad Hannon
25 Jan 2013
Republicans wanted nothing more than to summon Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to Capitol Hill and grill her about the tragic fiasco in Benghazi. Sadly for them, they got their wish. Clinton’s smooth and confident performance at Wednesday’s Senate and House committee hearings was fun to watch. When her would-be inquisitors asked serious questions, she gave serious answers. But when Sen ... Fat chance ... Benghazi ... Perhaps not ... ....(size: 4.8Kb)
Sowetan Live
28 Jan 2013
Angola had found the back of the net in the 33rd minute when Mateus broke the deadlock, but his strike was credited as an own goal from Cape Verde skipper Nando ... Bafana stay in Durban for their quarterfinal match, while Cape Verde will now reside here in the Friendly City and could take on either Ghana, Mali or the Democratic Republic of Congo....(size: 1.7Kb)
Jamaica Observer
28 Jan 2013
PORT ELIZABETH, South Africa (AFP) — Cape Verde's fairy tale run in the Africa Cup of Nations continued yesterday when they qualified for the quarter-finals thanks to a 2-1 win over Angola in a final-round Group A match. Cape Verde finished on five points to advance along with hosts South Africa, who drew 2-2 with Morocco in Durban, and topped the table thanks to a better goal difference....(size: 3.1Kb)
The Independent
28 Jan 2013
African Cup of Nations debutants Cape Verde came from behind to score an injury-time winner and beat Angola 2-1 to reach the quarter-finals ... South Africa's result meant that Cape Verde qualified in second place with Morocco finishing third and missing out. Cape Verde captain Fernando Neves's own-goal in the 33rd minute had his team trailing and on the verge of being eliminated....(size: 2.6Kb)
noodls
28 Jan 2013
Cape Verde booked a historic place at the quarters of the 2013 Orange Africa Cup of Nations beating Angola 2-1 on Thursday in Port Elizabeth ... The first ever meeting between two Portuguese in the history of the Africa Cup of Nations got off to a good start with Cape Verde having a first chance at goal ... Angolan tested the Cape Verde defence on 12 minutes, and Gilberto's free-kick met Manucho's header, but it went off ... Cape Verde-....(size: 4.0Kb)
Joy Online
28 Jan 2013
Cape Verde joined hosts South Africa in the quarterfinals of the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations after a come-from-behind 2-1 victory over Angola at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium on Sunday evening ... Gilberto whipped in a low cross from the left flank that was sliced into his own net by Cape Verde defender Nando ... Cape Verde (0) 2 (Fernando Varela 81, Heldon 90) ... Cape Verde....(size: 2.7Kb)
All Africa
28 Jan 2013
All Africa
28 Jan 2013
CNN
28 Jan 2013
Cape Verde coach Luis Antunes celebrates his side's qualification for the last eight of the Africa Cup of Nations. (CNN) -- Its coach, Luis Antunes, is an air-traffic controller, but not even he would have predicted that the tiny island of Cape Verde would soar into the quarterfinals of the Africa Cup of Nations Sunday ... There are 10 islands -- with a population of just half a million -- which make up Cape Verde's archipelago....(size: 9.3Kb)
BBC News
28 Jan 2013
Spare a thought for Portuguese football fans who follow the fortunes of Cape Verde and Angola ... all born in Cape Verde. On Sunday, French-Portuguese TV commentator Olivier Bonamici summed up the mood in Portugal as Cape Verde and Angola locked horns in Port Elizabeth ... Win dedicated to Cape Verdeans 27 Jan 2013 African Football Cape Verde 2-1 Angola 27 Jan 2013 African Football Cape Verde team profile 17 Jan 2013 African Football....(size: 4.6Kb)
noodls
28 Jan 2013
(Source ... Bafana Bafana collected five points in their three matches, tied with debutants Cape Verde Islands on the same number of points but the host nation has a better goal difference ... Cape Verde Islands came from behind to defeat Angola 2-1 in Port Elizabeth ... Kick-off is at 20h30 ... Cape Verde Islands will take on Group B winners in the quarter-finals in an earlier kickoff of 17h00 in Port Elizabeth ... South Africa. ... Pos ... Cape Verde Islands....(size: 8.4Kb)
Irish Times
28 Jan 2013
Defender Siyabonga Sangweni levelled four minutes from time as they edged out underdogs Cape Verde Islands for a spot in the last eight ... Cape Verde beat Angola 2-1 in the other Group A match in Port Elizabeth ... ....(size: 1.1Kb)
This article is about the country. For the surface feature on Mars, see Cape Verde (Mars). For the weather pattern, see Cape Verde-type hurricane.
| Republic of Cape Verde
República de Cabo Verde (Portuguese)
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| Anthem: Cântico da Liberdade (Portuguese) Song of Freedom |
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.svg) Location of Cape Verde in the globe
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 Topographic map of Cape Verde
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| Capital (and largest city) |
Praia 14°55′N 23°31′W / 14.917°N 23.517°W / 14.917; -23.517 |
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| Official language(s) | Portuguese | |||||
| Recognised regional languages | Cape Verdean Creole | |||||
| Ethnic groups | Creole (mulatto) 71% African 10% European 20% |
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| Demonym | Cape Verdean | |||||
| Government | Parliamentary republic | |||||
| - | President | Jorge Carlos Fonseca | ||||
| - | Prime Minister | José Maria Neves | ||||
| Legislature | National Assembly | |||||
| Independence | ||||||
| - | from Portugal | July 5, 1975 | ||||
| Area | ||||||
| - | Total | 4,033 km2 (172nd) 1,557 sq mi |
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| - | Water (%) | negligible | ||||
| Population | ||||||
| - | 2010 estimate | 567,000[1] (165th) | ||||
| - | 2009 census | 509,000[2] | ||||
| - | Density | 125.5/km2 (89th) 325.0/sq mi |
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| GDP (PPP) | 2012 estimate | |||||
| - | Total | $2.167 billion[3] | ||||
| - | Per capita | $4,112.256[3] | ||||
| GDP (nominal) | 2012 estimate | |||||
| - | Total | $1.941 billion[3] | ||||
| - | Per capita | $3,682.006[3] | ||||
| HDI (2011) |  0.568[4] (medium) (133rd) |
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| Currency | Cape Verdean escudo (CVE) |
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| Time zone | CVT (UTC-1) | |||||
| - | Summer (DST) | not observed (UTC-1) | ||||
| Drives on the | right | |||||
| ISO 3166 code | CV | |||||
| Internet TLD | .cv | |||||
| Calling code | +238 | |||||
Cape Verde i/ˌkeɪp ˈvɜrd/ (Portuguese: Cabo Verde, pronounced: [ˈkabu ˈveɾdɨ]), officially the Republic of Cape Verde, is an island country, spanning an archipelago of 10 islands located in the central Atlantic Ocean, 570 kilometres off the coast of Western Africa. The islands, covering a combined area of slightly over 4,000 square kilometres (1,500 sq mi), are of volcanic origin and while three of them (Sal, Boa Vista and Maio) are fairly flat, sandy and dry, the remaining ones are generally rockier and have more vegetation. However, because of the infrequent occurrence of rainfall the overall landscape is not particularly green.
The name of the country stems from the nearby Cap Vert, on the Senegalese coast,[5] which in its turn was originally named "Cabo Verde" when it was sighted by Portuguese explorers in 1444, a few years before the islands were discovered (verde is Portuguese for "green").
The previously uninhabited islands were discovered and colonized by the Portuguese in the 15th Century, and became important in the Atlantic slave trade for their location. The islands' prosperity often attracted privateers and pirates, including Sir Francis Drake, a corsair (privateer) under the authority of the British crown, who twice sacked the (then) capital Ribeira Grande, in the 1580s. The islands were also visited by Charles Darwin's expedition in 1832. The decline in the slave trade in the 19th century resulted in an economic crisis for the islands. With few natural resources, and without strong sustainable investment from the Portuguese, the citizens grew increasingly discontent with the colonial masters, who nevertheless refused to provide the local authorities with more autonomy. This discontent festered and culminated in 1975, when a movement originally led by Amílcar Cabral who was assassinated on 20 January 1973 then passed onto his half-brother Luís Cabral, achieved independence for the archipelago.
The country has an estimated population (most of creole ethnicity) of about 500,000, with its capital city Praia accounting for a quarter of its citizens. Nearly 38% of the population lives in rural areas according to the 2010 Cape Verdean census; about 20% lives below the poverty threshold,[6] and the literacy rate is around 85%. Politically, the country is a very stable democracy, with notable economic growth and improvements of living conditions despite its lack of natural resources, and has garnered international recognition by other countries and international organizations, which often provide development aid. Since 2007, Cape Verde has been classified as a developing nation.
Tough economic times during the last decades of its colonization and the first years of Cape Verde's independence led many to migrate to Europe, the Americas and other African countries. This migration was so significant that the number of Cape Verdeans and their descendants living abroad currently exceeds the population of Cape Verde itself. Historically, the influx of remittances from these immigrant communities to their families has provided a substantial contribution to help strengthen the country's economy. Currently, the Cape Verdean economy is mostly service-oriented with a growing focus on tourism and foreign investment, which benefits from the islands' warm climate throughout the year, diverse landscape, welcoming people[citation needed] and cultural richness, especially in music.
Contents |
History[link]
Main article: History of Cape Verde
Before the arrival of Europeans, the Cape Verde Islands were uninhabited. The islands of the Cape Verde archipelago were discovered by Italian and Portuguese navigators around 1456. According to Portuguese official records [7] the first discoveries were made by Genoese born Antonio de Noli, who was afterwards appointed governor of Cape Verde by Portuguese King Afonso V. Other navigators mentioned as contributing with discoveries in the Cape Verde archipelago are Diogo Gomes, Diogo Dias, Diogo Afonso and the Italian Alvise Cadamosto.
In 1462, Portuguese settlers arrived at Santiago and founded a settlement they called Ribeira Grande (now called Cidade Velha, to avoid being confused with the town of Ribeira Grande on the Santo Antão island). Ribeira Grande was the first permanent European settlement in the tropics.[8]
In the 16th century, the archipelago prospered from the transatlantic slave trade.[8] Pirates occasionally attacked the Portuguese settlements. Sir Francis Drake, a British corsair, sacked Ribeira Grande in 1585.[8] After a French attack in 1712, the town declined in importance relative to nearby Praia, which became the capital in 1770.[8]
With the decline in the slave trade, Cape Verde's early prosperity slowly vanished. However, the islands' position astride mid-Atlantic shipping lanes made Cape Verde an ideal location for re-supplying ships. Because of its excellent harbour, Mindelo (on the island of São Vicente) became an important commercial centre during the 19th century.[8]
In 1951, Portugal changed Cape Verde's status from a colony to an overseas province in an attempt to blunt growing nationalism. In 1956, Amilcar Cabral, and a group of fellow Cape Verdeans and Guineans organised (in Portuguese Guinea) the clandestine African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde (PAIGC), which demanded improvement in economic, social and political conditions in Cape Verde and Portuguese Guinea and formed the basis of the two nations' independence movement. Moving its headquarters to Conakry, Guinea in 1960, the PAIGC began an armed rebellion against Portugal in 1961. Acts of sabotage eventually grew into a war in Portuguese Guinea that pitted 10,000 Soviet bloc-supported PAIGC soldiers against 35,000 Portuguese and African troops.[8]
By 1972, the PAIGC controlled much of Portuguese Guinea despite the presence of the Portuguese troops, but the organization did not attempt to disrupt Portuguese control in Cape Verde. Portuguese Guinea declared independence in 1973 and was granted de jure independence in 1974. Following the April 1974 revolution in Portugal, the PAIGC became an active political movement in Cape Verde. In December 1974, the PAIGC and Portugal signed an agreement providing for a transitional government composed of Portuguese and Cape Verdeans. On June 30, 1975, Cape Verdeans elected a National Assembly which received the instruments of independence from Portugal on July 5, 1975.[8]
Immediately following the November 1980 coup in Guinea-Bissau, relations between Cape Verde and Guinea-Bissau became strained. Cape Verde abandoned its hope for unity with Guinea-Bissau and formed the African Party for the Independence of Cape Verde (PAICV). Problems have since been resolved and relations between the countries are good. The PAICV and its predecessor established a one-party system and ruled Cape Verde from independence until 1990.[8]
Responding to growing pressure for pluralistic democracy, the PAICV called an emergency congress in February 1990 to discuss proposed constitutional changes to end one-party rule. Opposition groups came together to form the Movement for Democracy (MPD) in Praia in April 1990. Together, they campaigned for the right to contest the presidential election scheduled for December 1990.
The one-party state was abolished September 28, 1990, and the first multi-party elections were held in January 1991. The MPD won a majority of the seats in the National Assembly, and MPD presidential candidate António Mascarenhas Monteiro defeated the PAICV's candidate with 73.5% of the votes. Legislative elections in December 1995 increased the MPD majority in the National Assembly. The party won 50 of the National Assembly's 72 seats.
A February 1996 presidential election returned President Monteiro to office. Legislative elections in January 2001 returned power to the PAICV, with the PAICV holding 40 of the National Assembly seats, MPD 30, and Party for Democratic Convergence (PCD) and Party for Labor and Solidarity (PTS) 1 each. In February 2001, the PAICV-supported presidential candidate Pedro Pires defeated former MPD leader Carlos Veiga by only 13 votes.[8]
Geography[link]
Main article: Geography of Cape Verde
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The Cape Verde archipelago is located in the Atlantic Ocean, approximately 570 kilometres (350 mi) off the coast of West Africa, near Mauritania and Senegal, and is part of the Macaronesia ecoregion. It lies between latitudes 14° and 18°N, and longitudes 22° and 26°W.
The country is a horseshoe-shaped cluster of ten islands (nine inhabited) and eight islets,[10] that constitute an area of 4033 km².[10]
The islands are spatially divided into two groups:
- The Ilhas de Barlavento (English: windward islands): Santo Antão, São Vicente, Santa Luzia, São Nicolau, Sal, Boa Vista;[10] and
- The Ilhas de Sotavento (English: leeward islands): Maio, Santiago, Fogo, Brava.[10]
The largest island, both in size and population, is Santiago, which hosts the nation's capital, Praia, the principal agglomeration in the archipelago.[10]
Physical geography[link]
Magnetic anomalies identified in the vicinity of the archipelago indicate that the structures forming the islands date back 125-150 million years: the islands themselves date from 8 million (in the west) to 20 million years (in the east).[11] The oldest exposed rocks occurred on Maio and northern peninsula of Santiago and are 128-131 million year old pillow lavas. The first stage of volcanism in the islands began in the early Miocene, and reached its peak at the end of this period, when the islands reached their maximum sizes. Historical volcanism (within human settlement) has been restricted to the island of Fogo.
The origin of the islands' volcanism has been attributed to a hotspot, associated with bathymetric swell that formed the Cape Verde Rise.[12] The Rise is one of the largest protuberances in the world's oceans, rising 2.2 kilometers in a semi-circular region of 1200 km², associated with a rise of the geoid and elevated surface heat flow.[11]
Though Cape Verde's islands are all volcanic in origin, they vary widely in terrain.[10]
Most recently erupting in 1995, Pico do Fogo is the largest active volcano in the region. It has a 8 km (5 mi) diameter caldera, whose rim is 1,600 m (5,249 ft) altitude and an interior cone that rises to 2,829 m (9,281 ft) above sea level. The caldera resulted from subsidence, following the partial evacuation (eruption) of the magma chamber, along a cylindrical column from within magma chamber (at a depth of 8 km (5 mi)).
Geologically, the islands are principally composed of igneous rocks, with volcanic structures and pyroclastic debris comprising the majority of the archipelago's total volume. The volcanic and plutonic rocks are distinctly basic; the archipelago is a soda-alkaline petrographic province, with a petrologic succession which is similar to that found in other Macaronesian islands.
Extensive salt flats are found on Sal and Maio.[10] On Santiago, Santo Antão, and São Nicolau, arid slopes give way in places to sugarcane fields or banana plantations spread along the base of towering mountains.[10]
Ocean cliffs have been formed by catastrophic debris avalanches. [13]
According to the president of Nauru, Cape Verde has been ranked the eighth most endangered nation due to flooding from climate change.[14]
Climate[link]
Main article: Climate of Cape Verde
Cape Verde's climate is milder than that of the African mainland because the surrounding sea moderates temperatures on the islands.[10] Average daily high temperatures range from 25 °C (77 °F) in January to 29 °C (84.2 °F) in September.[9] Cape Verde is part of the Sahelian arid belt, with nothing like the rainfall levels of nearby West Africa.[10] It does rain irregularly between August and October, with frequent brief-but-heavy downpours.[10] A desert is usually defined as terrain which receives less than 250 mm (9.8 in) of annual rainfall. Cape Verde's total (261 mm/10.3 in) is slightly above this criterion, which makes the area climate semi-desert.
The islands, covering a combined area of slightly over 4,000 square kilometres (1,500 sq mi), are of volcanic origin and while three of them (Sal, Boa Vista and Maio) are fairly flat, sandy and dry, the remaining ones are generally rockier and have more vegetation. However, because of the infrequent occurrence of rainfall the overall landscape is not particularly green. The archipelago can be divided into four broad ecological zones: arid, semiarid, subhumid and humid, according to altitude and average annual rainfall ranging from 200 mm in the arid areas of the coast to more than 1000 mm in the humid mountain. Mostly rainfall precipitation is due to condensation of the ocean mist.
In some islands, as Santiago, the wetter climate of the interior and the eastern coast contrasts with the dryer one in the south/southwest coast. Praia, located on the southeast coast, is the largest city of the island, and also the largest city and capital of the country.
Because of their proximity to the Sahara, most of the Cape Verde islands are dry, but on islands with high mountains and farther away from the coast, by orography, the humidity is much higher, providing a rainforest habitat, although much affected by the human presence. Northeastern slopes of high mountains often receive a lot of rain while southwest slopes do not. This umbria areas are identified with cool and moisture. Some islands, with steep mountains, are covered with vegetation where the dense ocean moisture condenses and soaks the plants, rocks, soil, logs, moss etc.
Hurricanes that form near the Cape Verde Islands are sometimes referred to as Cape Verde-type hurricanes. These hurricanes can become very intense as they cross warm Atlantic waters.
Biome[link]
Cape Verde's isolation has resulted in the islands having a number of endemic species, particularly bird and reptiles, many of which are endangered by human development. Endemic birds include Alexander's Swift (Apus alexandri), Bourne's Heron (Ardea purpurea bournei), the Raso Lark (Alauda razae), the Cape Verde Warbler (Acrocephalus brevipennis), and the Iago Sparrow (Passer iagoensis).[15] The islands are also an important breeding area for seabirds including the Cape Verde Shearwater. Reptiles include the Cape Verde Giant Gecko (Tarentola gigas).
Human geography[link]
Main article: Administrative divisions of Cape Verde
Cape Verde is divided into 22 municipalities (concelhos) and subdivided into 32 parishes (freguesias), based on the religious parishes that existed during the colonial period:
Demographics[link]
Main article: Demographics of Cape Verde
Most of the population is of creole ethnicity, mixed from Sephardic Jewish people, African, and European descent.
A genetic study revealed that the ancestry of the population in Cape Verde is 15.9% African and 84.1% European-Middle Eastern in the male line and more than 90% West African in the female line; counted together the percentage is 57% African and 43% European. [16]
Around 95% of the population is Christian (more than 85 percent of the population is nominally Roman Catholic,[17] though for a minority of the population Catholicism is syncretized with African influences).[2] The largest Protestant denomination is the Church of the Nazarene; other groups include the Seventh-day Adventist Church, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the Assemblies of God, the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God, and various other Pentecostal and evangelical groups.)[17] There are a small Muslim community.[17] The number of atheists is estimated at less than 1 percent of the population.[17]
Cape Verde's official language is Portuguese. It is the language of instruction and government. However, the Cape Verdean Creole is used colloquially and is the mother tongue of virtually all Cape Verdeans. Cape Verdean Creole or Kriolu is a dialect continuum of a Portuguese-based creole, which varies from island to island. There is a substantial body of literature in Creole, especially in the Santiago Creole and the São Vicente Creole. Creole has been gaining prestige since the nation's independence from Portugal. However, the differences between the varied forms of the language within the islands have been a major obstacle in the way of standardization of the language. Some people have advocated the development of two standards: a North (Barlavento) standard, centered on the São Vicente Creole, and a South (Sotavento) standard, centered on the Santiago Creole. Manuel Veiga, PhD, a linguist by training, and Minister of Culture of Cape Verde, is the premier proponent of Kriolu's officialization and standardization. The demographic statistics site ESA says Cape Verde has a population of 567,000 in 2010.
Largest cities[link]
|
Largest cities or towns of Cape Verde GeoNames |
|||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | City name | Municipality | Pop.
|
||||||
 Praia |
1 | Praia | Praia | 127 832 | |||||
| 2 | Mindelo | São Vicente | 70 611 | ||||||
| 3 | Santa Maria | Sal | 25 779 | ||||||
| 4 | Assomada | Santa Catarina | 12 026 | ||||||
| 5 | São Filipe | São Filipe | 9 550 | ||||||
| 6 | Pedra Badejo | Santa Cruz | 9 488 | ||||||
| 7 | Tarrafal | Tarrafal | 6 463 | ||||||
| 8 | Porto Novo | Porto Novo | 5 580 | ||||||
| 9 | Ribeira Brava | Ribeira Brava | 5 324 | ||||||
| 10 | Ponta do Sol | Ribeira Grande | 4 064 | ||||||
Emigration[link]
Main article: Cape Verdean diaspora
Today, more Cape Verdeans live abroad than in Cape Verde itself, with significant emigrant[18] Cape Verdean communities in the United States (500,000 Cape Verdeans descent, with a major concentration on the New England coast from Providence, Rhode Island, to New Bedford, Massachusetts). There are also significant Cape Verde populations in Portugal (150,000), Angola (45,000), São Tomé and Príncipe (25,000), Senegal (25,000), the Netherlands (20,000, of which 15,000 are concentrated in Rotterdam), France (25,000), Scandinavia (7,000), Italy (10,000) and Spain (12,500). There is also a Cape Verdean community in Argentina numbering 8,000. A large number of Cape Verdeans and people of Cape Verdean descent that emigrated before 1975 are not included in these statistics, because all the Cape Verdeans had Portuguese passports before 1975.
There are approximately 3,000 Chinese immigrants in Cape Verde, as well as citizens of the African mainland (most of these immigrants hail from West Africa), there are also a significant number of citizens of Europe and South America (Brazil) residing in the country. There are an estimated 20,000 immigrants in Cape Verde of which 14,373 are legal residents.
In the USA, the children and grandchildren of the first immigrant waves became involved in the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s. This led them to make links with other US black groups. Cape-Verdean Americans have also been involved in the US Army for centuries; in the Revolutionary War, Civil War, the First and Second World Wars, as well as the Korean and Vietnam Wars.[19] Cape Verdeans moved to places all over the world, from Macau to Haiti to Argentina to northern Europe.[20]
Politics[link]
Main article: Politics of Cape Verde
Cape Verde is a stable representative Parliamentary republic.[21] The constitution —adopted in 1980 and revised in 1992, 1995 and 1999— defines the basic principles of its government. The president is the head of state and is elected by popular vote for a 5-year term. The prime minister is the head of government and proposes other ministers and secretaries of state. The prime minister is nominated by the National Assembly and appointed by the president. Members of the National Assembly are elected by popular vote for 5-year terms. Three parties now hold seats in the National Assembly—PAICV 40, MPD 30, and Cape Verdean Independent Democratic Union (UCID) 2.[8]
The judicial system consists of a Supreme Court of Justice — whose members are appointed by the president, the National Assembly, and the Board of the Judiciary — and regional courts. Separate courts hear civil, constitutional, and criminal cases. Appeal is to the Supreme Court.[8]
Cape Verde follows a policy of nonalignment and seeks cooperative relations with all friendly states.[8] Angola, Brazil, the People's Republic of China, Cuba, France, Germany, Portugal, Spain, Senegal, Russia and the United States maintain embassies in Praia.[8] Cape Verde is actively interested in foreign affairs, especially in Africa.[8] It has bilateral relations with some Lusophone nations and holds membership in a number of international organisations.[8] It also participates in most international conferences on economic and political issues.[8] Since 2007, Cape Verde has a special partnership status[22] with the EU, under the Cotonou Agreement, and might apply for special membership.[23]
The military of Cape Verde consists of a coast guard and an army; 0.7% of the country's GDP was spent on the military in 2005.
International recognition[link]
Cape Verde is often praised as an example among African nations, for its stability and developmental growth despite its lack of natural resources. Among others, it has been recognized with the following assessments:
| Index | Score | PALOP rank | CPLP rank | African rank | World rank | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Human Development Index | 0.568 | &100000000000000010000001 (top 17%) | &100000000000000030000003 (top 38%) | &1000000000000001000000010 (top 19%)[note 1] | &10000000000000133000000133 (top 66%) | 2011[4] |
| Ibrahim Index of African Governance | 75.5 | &100000000000000010000001 (top 17%) | N/A | &100000000000000020000002 (top 4%) | N/A | 2011[24] |
| Freedom of the Press | 28 (Free) | &100000000000000010000001 (top 17%) | &100000000000000020000002 (top 25%) | &100000000000000040000004 (top 8%) | &1000000000000006000000060 (top 30%) | 2009 |
| Freedom in the World | 1/1[note 2] | &100000000000000010000001 (top 17%) | &100000000000000010000001 (top 13%)[note 3] | &100000000000000010000001 (top 2%)[note 4] | &100000000000000010000001 (top 1%)[note 5] | 2011 |
| Press Freedom Index | 6,00 | &100000000000000010000001 (top 17%) | &100000000000000010000001 (top 13%) | &100000000000000010000001 (top 2%) | &100000000000000090000009 (top 5%) | 2011 |
| Democracy Index | 7.92 (Flawed democracy) | &100000000000000010000001 (top 17%) | &100000000000000010000001 (top 13%) | &100000000000000020000002 (top 4%) | &1000000000000002600000026 (top 13%) | 2011 |
| Corruption Perceptions Index | 5.5 | &100000000000000010000001 (top 17%) | &100000000000000020000002 (top 25%) | &100000000000000020000002 (top 4%) | &1000000000000004100000041 (top 21%) | 2011 |
| Index of Economic Freedom[25] | 63.5 | &100000000000000010000001 (top 17%) | &100000000000000010000001 (top 13%) | &100000000000000040000004 (top 8%) | &1000000000000006600000066 (top 33%) | 2012 |
| e-Government Readiness Index | 0.4054 | &100000000000000010000001 (top 17%) | &100000000000000030000003 (top 38%) | &100000000000000060000006 (top 12%) | &10000000000000108000000108 (top 53%) | 2010 |
| Failed States Index | 77.2 | &100000000000000020000002 (top 34%) | &100000000000000030000003 (top 38%) | &1000000000000001400000014 (top 26%) | &1000000000000008900000089 (top 44%)[note 6] | 2010 |
| Networked Readiness Index | 3.57 | &100000000000000010000001 (top 17%) | &100000000000000030000003 (top 38%) | &1000000000000001000000010 (top 19%) | &1000000000000008400000084 (top 42%) | 2011[26] |
- ^ See List of countries by Human Development Index#Africa
- ^ 1/1 is the highest possible rating.
- ^ With the maximum score, Cape Verde shares the first place with Portugal.
- ^ Cape Verde was the only African country to reach the maximum rating.
- ^ With the maximum score, Cape Verde shares the first place with 48 other countries.
- ^ The rank on this list is expressed in reverse order. To be comparable with the other rankings on this table, the actual rank of 88 was inverted, by subtracting it from the number of countries on the list, currently 177.
Moreover, on 10 October 2011 Cape Verde became the 119th state which ratified the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (Cape Verde becomes the 119th State to Join the Rome Statute System).
Economy[link]
Main article: Economy of Cape Verde
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Cape Verde has few natural resources, scant rainfall and limited supplies of fresh water.[citation needed] Only four of the ten main islands (Santiago, Santo Antão, Fogo, and Brava) normally support significant agricultural production,[32] and over 90% of all food consumed in Cape Verde is imported. Mineral resources include salt, pozzolana (a volcanic rock used in cement production), and limestone.[8] Its small number of wineries making Portuguese-style wines have traditionally focused on the domestic market, but have recently met with some international acclaim. A number of wine tours of Cape Verde's various microclimates began to be offered in spring 2010 and can be arranged through the tourism office.[33]
The economy of Cape Verde is service-oriented, with commerce, transport, and public services accounting for more than 70% of GDP.[citation needed] Although nearly 38% of the population lives in rural areas, agriculture and fishing contribute only about 9% of GDP. Light manufacturing accounts for most of the remainder. Fish and shellfish are plentiful, and small quantities are exported. Cape Verde has cold storage and freezing facilities and fish processing plants in Mindelo, Praia, and on Sal. Expatriate Cape Verdeans contribute an amount estimated at about 20% of GDP to the domestic economy through remittances.[8]
Since 1991, the government has pursued market-oriented economic policies, including an open welcome to foreign investors and a far-reaching privatization programme. It established as top development priorities the promotion of a market economy and of the private sector; the development of tourism, light manufacturing industries, and fisheries; and the development of transport, communications, and energy facilities. From 1994 to 2000 about $407 million in foreign investments were made or planned, of which 58% were in tourism,[34] 17% in industry, 4% in infrastructure, and 21% in fisheries and services.[8]
In 2011, on 4 islands a windfarm was built, that in total supplies about 25% of the electricity of the country. With this amount it is one of the top countries for renewable energy.[35]
Between 2000 and 2009, real GDP increased on average by over 7 percent a year, well above the average for Sub-Saharan countries and faster than most small island economies in the region. Strong economic performance was bolstered by one of the fastest growing tourism industries in the world, as well as by substantial capital inflows that allowed Cape Verde to build up national currency reserves to the current 3.5 months of imports. Unemployment has been falling rapidly, and the country is on track to achieve most of the UN Millenium Development Goals – including halving its 1990 poverty level.
In 2007, Cape Verde joined the World Trade Organization (WTO) and in 2008 the country graduated from Least Developed Country (LDC) to Middle Income Country (MIC) status.[36][37]
Cape Verde has significant cooperation with Portugal at every level of the economy, which has led it to link its currency first to the Portuguese escudo and, in 1999, to the euro. On June 23, 2008 Cape Verde became the 153rd member of the WTO.[38]
Development[link]
The European Commission's total allocation for the period of 2008–2013 foreseen for Cape Verde to address "poverty reduction, in particular in rural and periurban areas where women are heading the households, as well as good governance" amounts to €54.1 million.[39]
Wildlife[link]
Main article: Wildlife of Cape Verde
Tourism[link]
Main article: Tourism in Cape Verde
Cape Verde's strategic location at the crossroads of mid-Atlantic air and sea lanes has been enhanced by significant improvements at Mindelo's harbour (Porto Grande) and at Sal's and Praia's international airports. A new international airport was opened in Boa Vista in December 2007, and on the island of Sao Vicente, the newest international airport (Sao Pedro Airport) in Cape Verde, was opened in late 2009. Ship repair facilities at Mindelo were opened in 1983. The major ports are Mindelo and Praia, but all other islands have smaller port facilities. In addition to the international airport on Sal, airports have been built on all of the inhabited islands. All but the airport on Brava enjoy scheduled air service. The archipelago has 3,050 km (1,895 mi) of roads, of which 1,010 km (628 mi) are paved, most using cobblestone.[8]
The country's future economic prospects depend heavily on the maintenance of aid flows, the encouragement of tourism, remittances, outsourcing labour to neighbouring African countries, and the momentum of the government's development programme.[8]
Tourism has increased in recent years. Large hotels have been built across the country in an effort to boost tourism. In particular, on the islands of Boa Vista (Club Hotel Riu Karamboa (750 rooms)), and Sal (Club Hotel Riu Funana/Garopa (1000 rooms)--the largest hotel in all of West Africa). The Cape Verde islands have a relatively low crime rate and beautiful beaches, as well as having engaging local people. Tourists and leisure seekers from across Europe and the world are coming to the country in larger numbers.
In 2011, about 475,294 tourists visited the archipelago.
Transport[link]
Main article: Transport in Cape Verde
Culture[link]
Main articles: Culture of Cape Verde and Music of Cape Verde
Cape Verdean social and cultural patterns are similar to those of rural Portugal and Africa.[10] Football (Futebol) games and church activities are typical sources of social interaction and entertainment.[10] The traditional walk around the praça (town square) to meet friends is practiced regularly in Cape Verde towns.[10] In towns with electricity, television is available on two channels (Cape Verdean and Portuguese).[10]
Cape Verde music incorporates Portuguese, Caribbean, African, and Brazilian influences.[40] Cape Verde's quintessential national music is the morna, a melancholy and lyrical song form typically sung in Cape Verdean Creole. The most popular music genre after morna is the coladeira followed by funaná and batuque music. Amongst the most worldwide known Cape Verdean singers, are the singers Ildo Lobo and Cesária Évora whose songs became a hallmark of the country and its culture. There are also well known artists born to Cape Verdean parents who excelled themselves in the international music scene. Amongst these artists are jazz pianist Horace Silver, Duke Ellington's saxophonist Paul Gonsalves, Paul Pena, the Tavares brothers and singer Lura.
Dance forms include the soft dance morna, the extreme sensuality of coladeira including the modernized version called passada (similar to the zouk from Guadeloupe), the Funaná (a sensual mixed Portuguese and African dance), and the Batuque dance.
Cape Verdean literature is one of the richest of Lusophone Africa. Famous poets include Paulino Vieira, Manuel de Novas, Sergio Frusoni, Eugénio Tavares, and B. Léza, and famous authors include Baltasar Lopes da Silva, António Aurélio Gonçalves, Manuel Lopes, Orlanda Amarílis, Henrique Teixeira de Sousa, and Germano Almeida.
Cuisine[link]
The Cape Verde diet is mostly based on fish and staple foods like corn and rice. Vegetables available during most of the year are potatoes, onions, tomatoes, manioc, cabbage, kale, and dried beans. Fruits such as banana and papayas are available year-round, while others like mangos and avocados are seasonal.[10] A popular dish served in Cape Verde is Cachupa, a slow cooked stew of corn (hominy), beans, and fish or meat.
Health[link]
Main article: Health in Cape Verde
The infant mortality rate in Cape Verde is 21 per 1,000 live births. The AIDS prevalence rate is 0.8%. The mean years of schooling of adults over 25 years is 7. Life expectancy in Cape Verde is 70.5 years for males and 77.7 years for females according to the country's official statistics [1]. Cape Verde's population is among the healthiest in Africa. Since its independence, it has greatly improved its health indicators, and besides having been promoted to the group of "medium development" countries in 2007, leaving the Least Developed Countries category (which is only the second time it has happened to a country[41]), is currently the 10th best ranked country in Africa in terms of Human Development Index.
Education[link]
Main article: Education in Cape Verde
Primary school education in Cape Verde is mandatory between the ages of 6 and 14 years and free for children ages 6 to 12.[42] In 2008, the net enrollment ratio for primary school was 84%.[43] While enrollment rates indicate a level of commitment to education, they do not always reflect children's participation in school.[42] Approximately 85% of the total population over 15 years of age is literate.[44] Textbooks have been made available to 90 percent of school children, and 83 percent of the teachers have attended in-service teacher training.[42] Although most children have access to education, some problems remain.[42] For example, many students and some teachers speak Creole at home and have a poor command of Portuguese (the language of instruction); there is insufficient spending on school materials, lunches, and books; and there is a high repetition rate for certain grades.[42]
Football[link]
Although the Cape Verde national football team represents Cape Verde abroad, many internationally known football players were born in Cape Verde, or were descendants of Cape Verdeans, and play for other nation's teams. Several currently play, or have played, in the Portuguese league or national team, such as Nani, Jorge Andrade, Rolando or Nélson Marcos. Henrik Larsson (whose father is Cape Verdean) played for Sweden, Patrick Vieira (whose mother is Cape Verdean) played for France, while Gelson Fernandes (who was born in Praia) plays for Switzerland.
Windsports[link]
Cape Verde is famous for wavesailing (a type of windsurfing) and kiteboarding. Josh Angulo, a Hawaiian and 2009 PWA Wave World Champion, has done much to promote the archipelago as a windsurfing destination. Cape Verde is now his adopted country.
Mitu Monteiro, a local kitesurfer, was the 2008 Kite Surfing World Champion in the wave discipline. The lives of Mitu and his 2 lifelong friends Titik and Djo and their unique exposure to windsurfing and kitesurfing is chronicled in a short film by Thierry Albert and Marcus Werner Hed called "The Boys from Ponta Preta"
See also[link]
References[link]
- Notes
- ^ "World Gazetteer Population Figures". World-gazetteer.com. http://world-gazetteer.com/wg.php?geo=-58&men=gpro. Retrieved 2010-06-26.
- ^ a b "Background Note: Cape Verde". State.gov. 2010-06-15. http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/2835.htm. Retrieved 2010-06-26.
- ^ a b c d "Cape Verde". International Monetary Fund. http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2012/04/weodata/weorept.aspx?pr.x=42&pr.y=15&sy=2009&ey=2012&scsm=1&ssd=1&sort=country&ds=.&br=1&c=624&s=NGDPD%2CNGDPDPC%2CPPPGDP%2CPPPPC%2CLP&grp=0&a=. Retrieved 2012-04-18.
- ^ a b "Human Development Report 2011 - Summary". The United Nations. p. 19. http://hdr.undp.org/en/media/HDR_2011_EN_Summary.pdf. Retrieved 2011-11-03.
- ^ Lobban, p. 4.
- ^ "UNDP.org" (PDF). http://hdr.undp.org/en/media/HDI_2008_EN_Tables.pdf. Retrieved 2010-06-26.
- ^ Carta regia (royal letter) of 19 September 1462
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u Cape Verde background note. U.S. Department of State (July 2008).
- ^ a b "BBC". BBC. http://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/world/city_guides/results.shtml?tt=TT004750. Retrieved 2010-06-26.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p The Peace Corps Welcomes You to Cape Verde. Peace Corps (April 2006). This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain
- ^ a b Pim et al., 2008, p.422
- ^ R. Ramalho et.al., 2010
- ^ Le Bas, T.P. (2007), "Slope Failures on the Flanks of Southern Cape Verde Islands", in Lykousis, Vasilios, Submarine mass movements and their consequences: 3rd international symposium, Springer, ISBN 978-1-4020-6511-8
- ^ http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0BUE/is_5-6_144/ai_n58473630
- ^ "Endemic Bird Areas: Cape Verde Islands". Birdlife.org. http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/ebas/index.html?action=EbaHTMDetails.asp&sid=79&m=0. Retrieved 2010-06-26.
- ^ "Actualidade". Asemana.sapo.cv. http://asemana.sapo.cv/spip.php?article53126&ak=1. Retrieved 2011-01-31.
- ^ a b c d "State.gov". State.gov. 2007-09-14. http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2007/90087.htm. Retrieved 2010-06-26.
- ^ Jorgen Carling, 2004, p.113-132
- ^ "Cape Verdeans: Cape Verdean Veterans". Sites.google.com. http://sites.google.com/site/capeverdeanveterans/Home/Cape-Verdean-Veterans. Retrieved 2010-06-26.
- ^ "Everydculture.com". Everyculture.com. http://www.everyculture.com/multi/Bu-Dr/Cape-Verdean-Americans.html. Retrieved 2010-06-26.
- ^ "Constitution of Cape Verde". 1992. http://confinder.richmond.edu/admin/docs/CapeVerde.pdf. Retrieved 2011-03-20.
- ^ Percival, Debra, "Cape Verde-EU ‘Special Partnership’ takes shape", "The Courier", Commission of the European Communities publication, May 25, 2008
- ^ "Cape Verde could seek EU membership this year". Eubusiness.com. http://www.eubusiness.com/Portugal/050507114923.9ivv9852/. Retrieved 2010-06-26.
- ^ "2010 Ibrahim Index". http://www.moibrahimfoundation.org/en/media/get/20101020_2010-ibrahim-index.xls. Retrieved 2011-01-31.
- ^ "Cape Verde | 2010 Index of Economic Freedom". Heritage.org. http://www.heritage.org/index/country/CapeVerde. Retrieved 2011-01-31.
- ^ http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_GITR_Report_2011.pdf
- ^ See Carlos Ferreira Couto, Incerteza, adaptabilidade e inovação na sociedade rural da Ilha de Santiago de Cabo Verde, Lisbon: Fundação Galouste Gulbenkian, 2010
- ^ Tourism in Cape Verde
- ^ See now Brígida Rocha Brito and others, Turismo em Meio Insular Africano: Potencialidades, constrangimentos e impactos, Lisbon: Gerpress, 2010
- ^ http://www.infracoafrica.com/news.asp?id=11
- ^ "MFW4A". MFW4A. http://www.mfw4a.org/cape-verde/cape-verde-financial-sector-profile.html. Retrieved 2011-01-31.
- ^ "Data on Cape Verde", The World Bank
- ^ "Cape Verde to join WTO on 23 July 2008". WTO News. http://www.wto.org/english/news_e/news08_e/acc_capverde_june08_e.htm.
- ^ European Commission
- ^ Manuel, p. 95-97.
- ^ "UN advocate salutes Cape Verde’s graduation from category of poorest States", UN News Centre, 14 June 2007.
- ^ a b c d e "Cape Verde". Findings on the Worst Forms of Child Labor (2001). Bureau of International Labor Affairs, U.S. Department of Labor (2002). This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
- ^ "World Development Indicators | Data". Data.worldbank.org. http://data.worldbank.org/data-catalog/world-development-indicators. Retrieved 2011-01-31.
- ^ CIA World Factbook: Cape Verde
- Sources
- J.Pim, C. Pierce, A.B.Watts, I. Grevemeyer, A. Krabbenhoeft (5 May 2008). "Crustal structure and origin of the Cape Verde Rise". Earth and Planetary Science Letters. Elesiever. pp. 422–428. http://www.earth.ox.ac.uk/~tony/watts/downloads/Pim_etal_2008.pdf.
- Carling, Jorgen; Ball, R; Ranieri, WF; Beck, AT (2004). Emigration, Return and Development in Cape Verde: The Impact of Closing Borders. "Population, Space and Place". Journal of clinical psychology (John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.) 55 (10): 113–132. DOI:10.1002/(SICI)1097-4679(199901)55:1<117::AID-JCLP12>3.0.CO;2-A. PMID 10100838. http://www.prio.no/sptrans/-1578661404/2004jc002.pdf.
- Ramalho, R.; Helffrich, G.; Schmidt, D.; Vance, D. (2010). Tracers of Uplift and Subsidence in the Cape Verde Archipelago. "Journal of the Geological Society". Journal of the Geological Society (London, England: Geological Society of London) 167 (3): 519–538. DOI:10.1144/0016-76492009-056. http://www.geolsoc.org.uk/webdav/site/GSL/shared/Sup_pubs/2010/18390SupPub.pdf.
External links[link]
- Official website of the Government of Cape Verde
- Official website of the President of Cape Verde
- Cape Verde at the Open Directory Project
- Cape Verde entry at The World Factbook
- Wikimedia Atlas of Cape Verde
- Cape Verde travel guide from Wikitravel
- Cape Verde from State.gov
- Country Profile from BBC News
- Cape Verde entry on Encyclopædia Britannica
- Cape Verde from UCB Libraries GovPubs
- Key Development Forecasts for Cape Verde from International Futures
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Coordinates: 15°06′40″N 23°37′00″W / 15.11111°N 23.6166667°W / 15.11111; -23.6166667
http://wn.com/Cape_Verde
Related pages:
http://de.wn.com/Kap Verde
http://es.wn.com/Cabo Verde
http://ru.wn.com/Кабо-Верде
http://cs.wn.com/Kapverdy
http://pt.wn.com/Cabo Verde
http://pl.wn.com/Republika Zielonego Przylądka
http://hi.wn.com/केप वर्दे
http://it.wn.com/Capo Verde
http://id.wn.com/Tanjung Verde
http://nl.wn.com/Kaapverdië
http://fr.wn.com/Cap-Vert
This page contains text from Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cape_Verde
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This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License, which means that you can copy and modify it as long as the entire work (including additions) remains under this license.
