Conquest

Conquest may refer to:

History

Stage, film and television

Music

Gaming

Columbian Exchange

The Columbian Exchange or Grand Exchange was the widespread transfer of animals, plants, culture, human populations, technology, and ideas between the American and Afro-Eurasian hemispheres in the 15th and 16th centuries, related to European colonization and trade after Christopher Columbus' 1492 voyage. Although unlikely to be intentional at the time, communicable diseases were a byproduct of the Exchange.

The contact between the two areas circulated a wide variety of new crops and livestock, which supported increases in population in both hemispheres, although diseases initially caused precipitous declines in the numbers of indigenous peoples of the Americas. Traders returned to Europe with maize, potatoes, and tomatoes, which became very important crops in Europe by the 18th century. Similarly, Europeans introduced manioc and peanut to tropical Asia and West Africa, where they flourished in soils that otherwise would not produce large yields.

The term was first used in 1972 by American historian Alfred W. Crosby in his environmental history book The Columbian Exchange. It was rapidly adopted by other historians and journalists and has become widely known.

Sierra Leone

Coordinates: 8°30′N 11°30′W / 8.500°N 11.500°W / 8.500; -11.500

Sierra Leone (ⁱ/sɪˈɛərə lɪˈoʊni, -lɪˈoʊn/), officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Guinea on the north, Liberia in the south-east, and the Atlantic Ocean in the south-west. Sierra Leone has a tropical climate, with a diverse environment ranging from savannah to rainforests. Sierra Leone has a total area of 71,740 km² (27,699 sq mi) and an estimated population of 6 million (2011 United Nations estimate).Freetown is the capital, largest city, and its economic and political centre. Bo is the second largest city. The other major cities in the country with a population above 100,000 are Kenema, Makeni and Koidu Town. Sierra Leone is divided into four geographical regions: the Northern Province, Eastern Province, Southern Province and the Western Area, which are further divided into fourteen districts.

About sixteen ethnic groups inhabit Sierra Leone, each with their own language and customs. The two largest and most influential are the Temne and the Mende people. The Temne are predominantly found in the north of the country, while the Mende are predominant in the south-east. Although English is the official language spoken at schools and government administration, the Krio language is the most widely spoken language in the country and unites all the different ethnic groups in the country, especially in their trade and social interaction with each other.

New Zealand

New Zealand (/njuːˈziːlənd/ new-ZEE-lənd, Māori: Aotearoa [aɔˈtɛaɾɔa]) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. The country geographically comprises two main landmasses – that of the North Island, or Te Ika-a-Māui, and the South Island, or Te Waipounamu – and numerous smaller islands. New Zealand is situated some 1,500 kilometres (900 mi) east of Australia across the Tasman Sea and roughly 1,000 kilometres (600 mi) south of the Pacific island areas of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga. Because of its remoteness, it was one of the last lands to be settled by humans. During its long isolation, New Zealand developed a distinctive biodiversity of animal, fungal and plant life. The country's varied topography and its sharp mountain peaks, such as the Southern Alps, owe much to the tectonic uplift of land and volcanic eruptions. New Zealand's capital city is Wellington, while its most populous city is Auckland.

Somewhere between 1250 and 1300 CE, Polynesians settled in the islands that were to become New Zealand, and developed a distinctive Māori culture. In 1642, Abel Tasman, a Dutch explorer, became the first European to sight New Zealand. In 1840, representatives of the British Crown and Māori Chiefs signed the Treaty of Waitangi, making New Zealand a British colony. Today, the majority of New Zealand's population of 4.5 million is of European descent; the indigenous Māori are the largest minority, followed by Asians and Pacific Islanders. Reflecting this, New Zealand's culture is mainly derived from Māori and early British settlers, with recent broadening arising from increased immigration. The official languages are English, Māori and New Zealand Sign Language, with English predominant.

The Columbian

The Columbian is a daily newspaper for Vancouver, Washington and Clark County in Washington State in the United States. The paper was published for its first decade (1890-1900) as a four-page daily that was meant as a counterweight to the local Republican newspaper The Independent. Printer Tom Carolan began publication of The Vancouver Columbian on October 10, 1890. It successfully hedged out daily competition, such as the former Independent, to become the sole daily in the city today. A former weekly The Sun which published for 39 years prior to going daily; was absorbed by the Columbian and for a time the paper was published as The Vancouver Columbian and the Sun. It has been owned by the Campbell family since 1921; current president and publisher Scott Campbell is the third generation of the family to run the paper. It is the newspaper of record for both Vancouver and Washougal.

Members of The Columbian's editorial board are Scott Campbell, Lou Brancaccio, Greg Jayne, Douglas E. Ness and Jody Campbell.