AcharyaChanakya/simple-wikipedia huggingface dataset:
The Cape Verde Islands only have two seasons: The "Tempo das Brisas" ("Time of the winds") from October to mid-July and the "Tempo das chuvas" ("Rainy season") from August to September, when there may be heavy tropical rainfall. The coolest months are January and February (average temperature of 21 °C), where temperatures can drop down to 16 °C; the warmest is the month of September (up to 36 °C) with an average temperature of 27 °C.
Otherwise, the islands of Barlavento (Santo Antão, São Vicente, São Nicolao, Boa Vista, Sal, Santa Luzia, Branco and Razo) are always somewhat cooler than those of the Sotavento (Maio, Santiago, Fogo and Brava), where summers can be quite hot.
The Köppen climate classification subtype for this climate of Praia (Cabo Verde) is Bwh (Tropical and Subtropical Desert Climate).
Cape Verde's isolation has resulted in the islands having a number of endemic species, particularly birds 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"). The islands are also an important breeding area for seabirds including the Cape Verde Shearwater. Reptiles include the Cape Verde Giant Gecko ("Tarentola gigas").
Cape Verde is divided into 22 municipalities ("concelhos") and subdivided into 32 parishes ("freguesias").
Cape Verde is a representative parliamentary republic. 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 for a 5-year term; the Prime Minister is the head of government. The Prime Minister is nominated by the National Assembly and appointed by the President.
The economic resources of Cape Verde are largely dependent on agriculture and fishing. Agriculture frequently suffers the effects of droughts. The most important crops are coffee, bananas, sugar cane, tropical fruits, corn, beans, sweet potato, and cassava. The industrial sector is incipient but is based on the production of “aguardente” (spirits from sugar cane), clothing and footwear, paints and varnishes, tourism, fishing and canned fish, and salt extraction. Banana, canned fish, frozen fish, lobsters, salt, and clothes are the main exports. The national currency is the Cape Verdean escudo. Remittances from emigration are another important source of resources for the State of Cape Verde.
In Cape Verde, the annual rate of population growth and mortality are low, compared to average rates of other middle-income countries. The average life expectancy is 66 years and 71 years respectively for men and women. The resident population in the country is estimated at 500,000 inhabitants. There are an estimated additional one million Cape Verdeans living abroad, mainly in the United States, Western Europe, and Africa. Cape Verde has a young population with an average age of 23 years.
Cape Verdean culture is a unique mixture of European and African elements. Corn is the staple food of Cape Verde. The national or traditional dish is "cachupa", which is a stew of hominy (dried maize kernals), beans, and whatever meat or vegetables may be available. Other common foods include rice, beans, fish, potatoes and manioc. A traditional breakfast is a steamed cornbread, eaten with honey and milk or coffee. Grogue, or sugar cane liquor, is manufactured on the islands and is a popular drink, particularly among the men. Cape Verdean music incorporates Portuguese, Caribbean, and African influences. Popular genres include morna, funaná, batuque, coladeira, and cola san jon.
In Cape Verde, other than private clinics, the government guarantees a public health system which comprises several healthcare centers and three central hospitals (Hospital Agostinho Neto, in Praia, Hospital Baptista de Sousa, in São Vicente, and Hospital Regional de Santiago Norte, in Assomada). The cost of public health is supported by the government, but users must pay a fee which varies in accordance with the capacity of the user to afford it.
After independence, the different governments of Cape Verde invested massively in education and illiteracy has been reduced drastically. Today almost one hundred percent of school-age children attend school. Attendance to primary schooling, which comprises 6 years, is compulsory and free of any charge. Education is guaranteed by a network of public schools that span from nursery school to university. There are also several private schools in all levels of education.
Madeira Islands
Madeira is a Portuguese archipelago that lies between and , just under north of Tenerife, Canary Islands, in the north Atlantic Ocean and an outermost region of the European Union.
The archipelago comprises the major part of one of the two autonomous regions of Portugal (the other being the Azores located to the northwest), that includes the islands of Madeira, Porto Santo, and the Desertas, administered together with the separate archipelago of the Savage Islands.
The name Madeira could be used for the autonomous region, the geographical group of islands or just the island of Madeira. These islands are part of the Macaronesia.
Madeira's official written history began in 1418, when two captains under service to Prince Henry the Navigator, João Gonçalves Zarco and Tristão Vaz Teixeira, were pushed by a storm to an island which they named Porto Santo (English: "holy harbour"). The following year, an organised expedition was sent to this new land to take possession of the island on behalf of the Portuguese crown. Later, the new settlers saw an island to the southwest, and so the larger island of Madeira was discovered.
The islands were found to be completely uninhabited, and their colonization by the Portuguese began around 1420 or 1425. To get the minimum conditions for the development of agriculture, they had to cut part of the dense forest and to construct a large number of canals ("levadas") to carry water, since in some parts of the island there was excess water, while in others water was scarce. During this period, fish constituted about half of the settlers' diet, together with vegetables and fruits cultivated from small pieces of land. Initially, these colonists produced wheat for their own subsistence, but later the quantity cultivated was sufficient to begin sending wheat to continental Portugal.
On the 23 September of 1433, the name "Ilha da Madeira" (English: "Madeira Island", or literally "island of wood") began to appear in the first documents and maps. The name given to the islands corresponded to the large dense forests of native trees that covered the island.
However, when wheat production began to fall, the crisis forced to plant other commercial crops. They brought from Sicily plants of sugarcane to produce sugar. After the 17th century, as sugar production went to Brazil, São Tomé and Príncipe and elsewhere, Madeira's most important product became its wine.
As other islands of the Macaronesia, the Madeira islands are of volcanic origin and with a subtropical climate.
The archipelago is in the African plate, in the Atlantic Ocean between the latitudes 30° and 33° north, southwest of Lisbon and, about west of the African coast, almost at the same latitude as Casablanca.
The Madeira islands have a total area of . Their individual areas vary between of the largest island (Madeira) to of the Savage Islands.
Of the eight islands, only the two largest (Madeira and Porto Santo) are inhabited, having as main accesses, the Madeira Airport in Funchal and the one in Porto Santo. By sea, Funchal has a port that receives different ships, especially cruise ships. The remaining islands are nature reserves.
The territory of the archipelago contains two main islands: the islands of Madeira and Porto Santo; besides these, there are two groups of uninhabited islands, the Desertas and Savages.
The island of Madeira has a very irregular and uneven terrain, being the highest points the peaks "Pico Ruivo" (1862 m), "Pico das Torres" (1851 m), "Pico do Ariero" (1818 m) and "Pico do Juncal" (1800 m). The northern coast is dominated by high cliffs.
The island of Porto Santo, on the other hand, has a completely different geomorphological formation of the island of Madeira. It is very flat where only small plants grow and the soils are poor and not very good for agriculture. This island has some peaks, particularly in the north, and the " Pico do Facho" (517 m) is the highest point of elevation in the island, followed by "Pico Branco" (450 m).
The highest point of Desertas Islands is "Pedregal" (442 m) in Deserta Grande, and of Selvagens Islands is "Pico da Atalaia" (153 m), in Selvagem Grande.
The average temperature for the year in Funchal, Madeira island, is 19°C (66.2°F). The warmest month, on average, is August with an average temperature of 22.6°C (72.7°F). The coolest month on average is February, with an average temperature of 16.1°C (61.0°F).
The average amount of precipitation for the year in Funchal is 596.9 mm (23.5"). The month with the most precipitation on average is December with 109.2 mm (4.3") of precipitation. The month with the least precipitation on average is July with an average of 2.5 mm (0.1"). There are an average of 87 days of precipitation, with the most precipitation occurring in December with 13 days and the least precipitation occurring in July with 1 days.
For the Villa de Porto Santo, Porto Santo island, the average temperature for the year is 17.8°C (64.0°F). The warmest month, on average, is August with an average temperature of 21.7°C (71.0°F). The coolest month on average is January, with an average temperature of 15°C (59.0°F).
The average amount of precipitation for the year in Villa de Porto Santo is 375.9 mm (14.8"). The month with the most precipitation on average is January with 61 mm (2.4") of precipitation. The month with the least precipitation on average is July with an average of 2.5 mm (0.1").
The Köppen climate classification subtype for this climate of Funchal (Madeira) and Villa de Porto Santo (Porto Santo) is Csb (Mediterran Climate).
The climate of Desertas islands and partes of Porto Santo is semi-arid (Bs) and in the Savage islands is a desert climate (Bw).
In 1976 Madeira became one of the two autonomous regions of the Republic of Portugal (Azores is the other) under the Portuguese name "Região Autónoma da Madeira", with its own executive and a regional legislature. The current president of the regional government is Alberto João Jardim. The main offices of the regional government are in Funchal, making this city the capital of the region.
Administratively, the Autonomous Region of Madeira (with a population of 267,785 inhabitants in 2011 and covering an area of ) is organised into 11 "municípios", of which 10 are in the island of Madeira and one in Porto Santo. Municipalities are further divided into 54 "freguesias", 53 in Madeira and 1 in Porto Santo.
According to the 2011 Census, the total population in the Autonomous Region of Madeira was 267,785: 126,268 men and 141,517 women. The density for the whole region is persons/km; calculating the density taking in account only the inhabited islands (Madeira and Porto Santo), the density would be inhabitants/km.
The region of Madeira is home to a great and important biodiversity, with an estimated 7,571 terrestrial species for the whole archipelago. The total number of endemic species and subspecies is about 1,419 (1,286 species and 182 sub-species), which represents 19% of the overall species diversity.
The most known environment of the archipelago is its Laurel forest (laurisilva) which still extends over 15,000 hectares or 20% of the archipelago. These forests, very rich in biodiversity, are the largest and best-preserved Laurel forests in the entire Macaronesia region. They are home to unique plant and animal species, including the famous Trocaz Pigeon or Madeira Laurel Pigeon ("Columba trocaz"), and the Madeira Kinglet ("Regulus madeirensis"). The most threatened bird of Europe, the Madeiran or Zino’s Petrel ("Pterodroma madeira") inhabits the highest cliffs in the Central Mountainous Massif of the Madeira island.
In the sea around Madeira there are numerous species of marine mammals, including 28 species of cetaceans and the critically endangered Mediterranean Monk Seal ("Monachus monachus").
There are 6 protected areas in the Madeira Archipelago, including the Madeira Natural Park. This park, which covers over 2/3 of Madeira Island and includes the entire Laurel forest, is a European Council Biogenetic Reserve since 1992, and a UNESCO World Natural Heritage Site since 1999. Additionally, 11 sites in the whole archipelago are part of the Natura 2000 network and 11 other sites are designated Important Bird Areas.
The local economy is based mainly on agriculture and tourism, the main resource. Agriculture produces bananas, flowers, and Madeira wine which is exported. The industrial area is not very diverse and they are relationated with food, beverages, tobacco and construction.
Cameroon (officially called the Republic of Cameroon) is a country in west Africa. Its capital is Yaoundé. The largest city in Cameroon is Douala. The population of Cameroon is about 20 million. Cameroon's president is Paul Biya. They speak nearly 250 languages in Cameroon. French and English are the official languages.
At , Cameroon is the world's 53rd-largest country. It is about the size of Papua New Guinea. The country is in Central and West Africa on the Bight of Bonny, part of the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean. The country's neighbours are 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.
The constitution divides Cameroon into 10 regions. On 12 November 2008, the President changed the divisions from provinces to regions. Each region is headed by a presidentially appointed governor.
The regions are divided into 58 divisions. These are headed by presidentially appointed divisional officers.
Some of the largest cities in Cameroon are:
The official languages of Cameroon are French and English. It is part of both the British Commonwealth and La Francophonie. Most people speak French.
Guinea-Bissau is a country in Africa. It borders Senegal to the north, Guinea to the south. The official language is Portuguese, and the capital is Bissau. About 1,442,000 people live in Guinea-Bissau as of 2006. The country was a Portuguese colony in the 19th century. At that time is was called Portuguese Guinea. It became independent in 1973. In 1974, the name of the country's capital was added so that it would not be confused with the neighboring country Guinea.
Guinea-Bissau is divided into 8 regions and one autonomous sector. These are divided into thirty-seven sectors. The regions are:
The Republic of Mauritius is an island nation in the Mascarene Islands. It includes Rodrigues, Agaléga and St. Brandon as well as Mauritius. It was formerly ruled by the European countries Portugal, France and the United Kingdom, but is now independent.
Port Louis is its capital. In the 2000 census, the country had a population of 1,178,848 people. The country is prosperous, and trades mainly with South Africa and India.
The island of Mauritius was the home of the dodo.
The island is in the southwest Indian Ocean. It is about east of Madagascar. The country includes the island of Mauritius as well as the islands of St. Brandon, Rodrigues and the Agalega Islands. Mauritius is part of the Mascarene Islands along with the French island of Réunion to the southwest.
The Mauritian flag is made up of four colours of equal width.
The colours represent the following:
Mauritius, an island of volcanic origin sheltered by barriers of coral reefs forming natural, safe, crystal clear lagoons, has long been a dream destination. Known to the Arabs as early as the 10th century, but officially explored by the Portuguese in the 16th century and subsequently settled by the Dutch in the 17th century. The Dutch were the ones who named the island in honor of Prince Maurits van NASSAU.
Mauritius was occupied successively by the Dutch (1598-1712) and later by the French (1715-1810). The French assumed control in 1715, developing the island into an important naval base overseeing the Indian Ocean trade, and establishing a plantation economy of sugar cane.
The British captured the island in 1810, during the Napoleonic Wars through the Treaty of Paris. Mauritius remained a strategically important British naval base, and later on, an air station playing an important role during World War II for anti-submarine and convoy operations, as well as the collection of signals intelligence. On 12 March 1968, Mauritius became Independent.
Djibouti (officially called the Republic of Djibouti) is a country on the eastern coast of Africa. The capital city is also called Djibouti.
Djibouti gained its independence from France on June 27, 1977. The country was created out of the French Somaliland (later called the French Territory of the Afars and Issas), which was created in the 1800s as a result of French colonialism in Africa.
In 2020, about 920,000 people lived there. It is one of the least populous countries in Africa. Two ethnic groups, the Somali and the Afar people, account for most of the people living in the country.
Djibouti joined the United Nations on September 20, 1977. It is also a member of the Arab League, as well as the African Union and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD).
The history of Djibouti goes back thousands of years when it was part of the Sabean Empire (Ethiopia) to a time when Djiboutians traded hides and skins for the perfumes and spices of ancient Egypt, Pakistan, and China. Through close contacts with the Arabian peninsula for more than 1,000 years, the Somali and Afar tribes in this region became among the first on the African continent to accept Islam. Djibouti is a Muslim country which regularly takes part in Islamic as well as Arab meetings.
The country is close to a narrow part of the Red Sea so it is considered an important area from a military viewpoint.
Djibouti is near to the Horn of Africa. It is bordered by Eritrea in the north, Ethiopia in the west and south, and Awdal of Somalia in the southeast. The remainder of the border is formed by the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden at the east.
In the Great Rift Valley the rift between the African Plate and the Somali Plate meet the Arabian Plate. This makes a geologic tripoint that is the lowest place in Africa.
Djibouti has eight mountain ranges with peaks of over 1,000 m (3,281 ft). The Mousa Ali range is the country's highest mountain range.
The Grand Bara desert covers parts of southern Djibouti.
Most species of wildlife are found in the northern part of the country, in the ecosystem of the Day Forest National Park. This forest area is the main habitat of the endangered and endemic Djibouti francolin (a bird).
Djibouti is divided into six administrative regions, with Djibouti city representing one of the official regions. It is further subdivided into twenty districts.
The people of Djibouti are mostly Muslim. Islam is observed by 94% of Djibouti's population (about 740,000) (2010 estimate). The remaining six percent follow Christianity.
The Republic of Djibouti names Islam as the only state religion. The Constitution of 1992 provides for the equality of citizens of all faiths as well as the freedom to practise any religion.
Association football is the most popular sport in Djibouti. The country became a member of FIFA in 1994. They have only played in qualifying rounds for both the African Cup of Nations and FIFA World Cup.
The country is linked to Ethiopia by way of the Addis Ababa–Djibouti Railway.
Mauritania is a country in northwest Africa. The capital city, which is also the biggest city in the country, is Nouakchott. It is on the Atlantic coast. Its president is General Mohamed Oueld Abdel-Aziz.
At 1,030,700 km² (397,929 mi²), Mauritania is the world's 29th-largest country (after Bolivia). It is similar in size to Egypt. The land is flat in most places.
Lake Huron
Lake Huron is one of North America's five Great Lakes. It is the third one up from the mouth. Like Lake Ontario, Lake Erie, and Lake Superior, it is also part of the boundary between the USA and Canada. The Huronian glaciation, billions of years ago, is named for the lake.
Lake Huron is more than 200 miles (325 km) long and is as much as 750 feet (230 m) deep. Many boats and ships go back and forth on Lake Huron, carrying useful things such as iron ore.
Lake Huron borders the Canadian province of Ontario and the American state of Michigan. There are no large cities on Lake Huron, but there are some small cities such as Sarnia, Ontario and Bay City, Michigan.
The water that flows out of Lake Huron goes through a river that flows past Detroit, Michigan. The water then flows into Lake Erie on its way to the ocean.
On 1996 an hurricane-like storm appeared on Lake Huron, while the National Hurricane Center was not sure to call it a hurricane or not. Because the storm formed over Lake Huron and that it did not get a name from the NHC, many people nicknamed the storm, "Hurricane Huron".
Reunion could mean:
Réunion () is an island of France. It is also a region of France and an overseas department of France, meaning France owns the island nation. It is in the Indian Ocean east of Madagascar, about 200 km (125 miles) southwest of Mauritius. Its capital is Saint-Denis. The highest point in La Reunion is La piton des neiges. The island is also famous for its black beaches, even though people think that there are white beaches. The island is 63 kilometres (39 mi) long; 45 kilometres (28 mi) wide; and covers 2,512 square kilometres (970 sq mi). It is similar to the island Hawaii as both are above hotspots in the Earth's crust.
The Piton de la Fournaise, a shield volcano on the eastern end of Réunion Island, rises more than 2,631 metres (8,632 ft) above sea level and is sometimes called a sister to Hawaiian volcanoes because of the similarity of climate and volcanic nature. It has erupted more than 100 times since 1640 and is under constant monitoring. It most recently erupted on 2 January 2010. Before that, the most noticeable was during April 2007, when the lava flow was estimated at 3,000,000 cubic metres (3,900,000 cu yd) per day. The Piton de la Fournaise is created by a hotspot volcano, which also created the Piton des Neiges and the islands of Mauritius and Rodrigues.
The Piton des Neiges volcano, the highest point on the island at 3,070 metres (10,070 ft) above sea level, is northwest of the Piton de la Fournaise. Collapsed calderas and canyons are southwest of the mountain. Like Kohala on the Big Island of Hawaii, the Piton des Neiges is an extinct volcano. Despite its name, snow (French: neige) practically never falls on the summit.
Lake Erie
Lake Erie is one of the Great Lakes in North America. It is the second to the last in the Great Lake system before water flows into the St. Lawrence River. Like Lake Superior, Lake Huron, and Lake Ontario, Lake Erie is part of the boundary between the USA and Canada. In 1813 a naval battle was fought on the lake.
Most of the water that flows into Lake Erie flows through a small river, the Detroit River, that moves water down from Lake St. Clair past Detroit, Michigan. Some more water flows into Lake Erie from other rivers, including the Maumee and the Cuyahoga. At the foot of the Maumee is Toledo, Ohio. At the bend of the Cuyahoga is Cleveland, Ohio.
Water that flows out of Lake Erie flows past Buffalo, New York, and into the Niagara River. The river pours over Niagara Falls, one of the largest waterfalls in North America, and then into the lowest of all the Great Lakes, Lake Ontario.
Mali is a landlocked country (a country entirely surrounded by land) in West Africa. Mali is bordered by 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. Physical features of Mali include the Sahara desert in the north, with the Niger River and Sénégal River in the southern part of the country. As of a July 2011 estimate, Mali has a population of approximately 14,000,000 people. Mali has a total area of . Most of the people live in the southern part of the country, with Mali's capital and most populated city being Bamako.
The Mandé people founded several kingdoms in the Sahel. This was a big area that included Mali. These kingdoms included the Ghana Empire, the Mali Empire, and the Songhai Empire. Timbuktu was an important city in these empires because a lot of trade across the Sahara Desert went there. Timbuktu was also a good place for learning. The Songhai Empire became much smaller after a Moroccan attack in 1591.
France invaded Mali in 1880. After that, France owned Mali. France gave Mali the names "French Sudan" and the "Sudanese Republic". At some times it also included other nearby countries. In early 1959, Mali and Senegal united and they became the Mali Federation. They became independent from France on June 20, 1960. Senegal left the Mali Federation a few months later. The Republic of Mali, with Modibo Keïta as the first president, left the French Community on September 22, 1960.
There was a coup in Mali in 1968. Modibo Keïta lost his job and was put in prison. Mali was then ruled by Moussa Traoré until 1991. He treated the country badly, and so there was another coup in 1991 after protests against the government, and a new constitution was made. The leader of the country was then Amadou Toumani Touré.
In 1992, Alpha Oumar Konaré won Mali's first democratic election. President Konaré won again in 1997 and he made big political and economic changes. In 2002, Amadou Toumani Touré won the election and he started his second term as head of state. He was a retired general and was the military leader of the 1991 coup. Today, Mali is one of the least stable countries in Africa.
Mali is divided into 8 regions and 1 district. The country is further divided into 49 cercles, containing 288 "arrondissements" and 703 communes.
The regions and district are:
Mali is the world's 24th-largest country. The area of the country is 1,240,000 km² (478,734 mi²). Mali and South Africa are about the same size. It is two times bigger than Texas.
Most of Mali is part of the Sahara Desert. Mali is does not have any sea coast. It is landlocked. Mali does not have many mountains. Flat areas in the north are covered by sand. Savanna is around the Niger River in the south. The climate is dry. The dry season is hot and dusty. There are many natural resources in Mali, including gold, uranium, phosphates, kaolinite, salt, and limestone.
Mali is one of the poorest countries in the world. 65% of its land area is desert or something similar. There have been several long droughts over the last hundred years. Therefore, most economic activity is near the Niger River.
About 10% of the people are nomads and 80% of workers have jobs in farming and fishing. Industry is mainly to process farm products. Women also do pottery and the pots are bought and taken to markets. Many foreign tourists like the traditional methods which the women use to make the pots.
Mali's main export is cotton, so if the price of cotton changes, Mali's economy is affected a lot. Mali also receives a lot of financial help from other countries.
In 1997, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) recommended a programme for changing the economy and the government followed this. Several international companies started exploring for larger amounts of gold in 1996-1998, and the Malian government thinks that Mali will become an important gold exporter soon.
There are several ethnic and religious groups in Mali.
These religions are common in Mali.
About 90% of people from Mali follow Sunni Islam, but they do not always forget their traditional religions. Muslims have their own schooling system. The number of Muslims from Mali who go to Mecca is increasing and some study in Arab countries. About 1% of the people are Christians. When Mali was under French control, Christian teachers were sent to Islamic areas.
The language of Mali under French rule was French, but now not many people outside towns can read or write this language. However, about 60% of the people use other languages well. Many people can read and write in Bamanakan (the most popular spoken language). This language has its own alphabet, called N'Ko. Other people can read and write in Arabic, after going to an Islamic school. One of the oldest universities in the world is Sankore University in Timbuktu. It began in the 1400s.
Famous musicians from Mali include kora player Toumani Diabaté, and the guitarist Ali Farka Touré, who has died.
Chief Joseph
Chief Joseph (1840 – September 21, 1904; whose real name was Hinmaton-Yalaktit) was the chief of the Nez Perce Native Americans, a tribe that lived in what is now the Pacific Northwest of the United States.
His father was the leader of the Nez-Perce before him, and his mother was a member of this tribe too.
When Joseph was young, his father always told him not to trust white men, he actually had problems with settlers. When his father died, Joseph became chief of the tribe, who resided in plateaus in Northeast Oregon, Southeast Washington and Western Idaho.
The turning point in their relationship to white men was the gold rush in 1863. It gave the US Government the opportunity to reduce their reservation to a small area in Idaho. Then, with the new waves of white men settling in the West, the Government wanted to drive Nez-Perces away from their territory.
Chief Joseph was extremely sad: this place was the tribe's territory where their ancestors were buried. In spite of that, he wanted to avoid conflict and remain in peace. In 1873 he decided to negotiate with the US Government. He travelled all the way to Washington D.C. and spoke to President Ulysses S. Grant. But he only got mean looks and little attention.
So a war began in 1877. The living conditions of Chief Joseph's tribe were awful: they had no food and no blankets. Some people were freezing to death. But the Nez-Perces impressed their enemy thanks to all the battles they won. Many men died on both sides. That's why Joseph decided to surrender. He gave up fighting in 1877.
He was destroyed by the death of his people, and also extremely disappointed: he felt betrayed by white people. He knew he could not trust them anymore. He was tired of being considered a savage. He felt it was not fair for people who were born on the same land to be treated differently. He delivered a lot of speeches on this subject, which are still really good examples of eloquence. But he did not feel listened to, and when he died in his reservation in 1904, the doctor said he "died from sadness". He was buried in Colville Native American Burial Ground, in Washington State.
Seychelles is an African country in the Indian Ocean. Its capital city is Victoria. The official languages are Creole, English, and French. It is a republic is made up of 115 islands.
Seychelles and the islands to the south, Madagascar and Mauritius, all had legal slavery and were part of the slave trade. Most of the people are descendants of freed slaves, who make up about 90% of the population. Many of them also are descended from slave owners who abused their ancestors. There are small minorities of immigrants from Europe, China and India. Most people are Roman Catholics, about 90% of them. About 8% are Protestants.
Other nearby island countries and territories include Zanzibar to the west, Mauritius, Rodrigues, Agalega and Réunion to the south, and Comoros and Mayotte to the southwest. Seychelles has an estimated population of 86,525. It is the smallest population of any African state.
Seychelles is to the northeast of Madagascar and about east of Kenya. The number of islands in the archipelago is often given as 115 but the Constitution of the Republic of Seychelles lists 155.
According to the president of Nauru, the Seychelles has been ranked the ninth most endangered nation due to flooding from climate change.
Some of the districts in Seychelles include: Anse Boileau, Takamaka and Cote D’Or.
Seychelles is divided into twenty-five administrative regions. Eight of the districts make up the capital of Seychelles. They are called Greater Victoria. Another 14 districts are considered the rural part of the main island of Mahé. There are two districts on Praslin and one on La Digue which also include satellite islands. The rest of the Outer Islands are not considered part of any district.
During the plantation era, cinnamon, vanilla, and copra were the main exports. In the 1960s, about 33% of the working population worked at plantations, and 20% worked in the public or government sector. In 1971, with the opening of Seychelles International Airport, tourism became a serious industry.
Like many fragile island ecosystems, the Seychelles had loss of biodiversity during early human history. This included the disappearance of most of the giant tortoises from the granitic islands. There was also the extinction of species such as the chestnut flanked white eye, the Seychelles Parakeet, the Seychelles Black Terrapin and the saltwater crocodile. However, extinctions were far fewer than on islands such as Mauritius or Hawaii. This was partly due to a shorter period of human occupation being only since 1770. The Seychelles today is known for success stories in protecting its flora and fauna. The rare Seychelles Black Parrot, the national bird of the country, is now protected.
The granitic islands of Seychelles are home to about 75 endemic plant species. There are a further 25 or so species in the Aldabra group. Particularly well-known is the Coco de Mer, a species of palm that grows only on the islands of Praslin and neighbouring Curieuse. The jellyfish tree is to be found in only a few locations on Mahe. This strange and ancient plant is in a genus of its own (Medusagynaceae). Other unique plant species include the Wright's Gardenia "Rothmannia annae" found only on Aride Island Special Reserve.
The freshwater crab genus "Seychellum" is endemic to the granitic Seychelles. There are a further 26 species of crabs and 5 species of hermit crabs that live on the islands.
The Aldabra Giant Tortoise now lives on many of the islands of the Seychelles. The Aldabra population is the largest in the world. These unique reptiles can be found even in captive herds.
There are several unique varieties of orchids on the Islands.
The marine life around the islands, especially the more remote coral islands, can be spectacular. More than 1,000 species of fish have been recorded. Since the use of spearguns and dynamite for fishing was banned in the 1960s, the wildlife is unafraid of snorkelers and divers. Coral bleaching in 1998 has damaged most reefs, but some reefs show healthy recovery.
The main natural resources of the Seychelles are fish, copra, cinnamon, coconuts, salt and iron.
Square mile
A square mile (sometimes written "mi²" ) is an American unit of measurement of area. It is the area inside a square that has each side equal to one statute mile (5,280 feet or 1,760 yards). This way of talking about area is often used to say how much land there is on a farm, or in a city or country, for example.
One square mile is just less than 2.6 square kilometres.
Regions of Peru
A Region is the name for one of 25 areas into which the land is divided in Peru.
Provinces of Peru
*     Lima Province (Lima)
Ica Region
Togo is a small country in West Africa. It is bordered by Ghana to the west, Benin to the east and Burkina Faso to the north. The capital city Lomé is located along the Gulf of Guinea. In 2016, about 7.5 million people lived there. The official language is French. Togo was a hub of the Atlantic slave trade for Europeans. Togo was a part of the Slave Coast. Many Togolese descendants live in the Americas. The country is known for Voodoo. Togo is also known for its various flora and fauna. Monkeys, snakes, and lizards are numerous in many areas in Togo.
From the 11th century to the 16th century, various tribes entered the region from all directions: the Ewé from the east, and the Mina and Guin from the west; most of them settled in coastal areas. The Portuguese explored the area in the late 15th century. As Togoland, it became a protectorate of Germany in 1884. After World War I, Togo was ceded to the French. Togo gained independence from French rule in the 1960s. General Gnassingbé Eyadéma became the military leader in 1967. When Eyadéma resigned in 2002 and later died in 2005, his son, Faure Gnassingbe became president.
The economy of this small African country is based on agriculture. Agriculture provides jobs for 65% of the labor force according to the CIA Factbook. Agricultural products include coffee, cocoa, cotton, yams, cassava (tapioca), corn, beans, rice, millet, and sorghum. Industries include phosphate mining, agricultural processing, cement, handicrafts, textiles, and beverages.
The president of Togo is elected for 5 years. The president is also the commander of the armed forces. The president also has the right to begin legislation and dissolve parliament.
After Togo's independence from France, General Gnassingbé Eyadéma became the military leader. When Eyadéma died in 2005, his son Faure Gnassingbe became president. During his re-election campaign, he helped get port concessions in Lomé extended for Bolloré Groupe from 10 to 35 years in exchange for help from the group's public relations subsidiary Havas. In a 26 Feb 2021 civil hearing at the Paris judicial court, French billionaire Vincent Bolloré, along with associates Gilles Alix and Jean-Philippe Dorent, pleaded guilty to corrupt practices in Togo. The President of the court rejected the negotiated plea bargain and ordered that the three be tried in criminal court. In the same trial, Bolloré SE was fined $12 million.
Togo is divided into 5 regions. The regions are divided into 30 prefectures and 1 commune. From north to south the regions are Savanes, Kara, Centrale, Plateaux and Maritime.
The largest cities in Togo are:
About 51% of the population has local beliefs, 29% is Christian, and 20% Muslim.
The Togolese enjoy many foods including tropical fruits, pastries, and many different products made from peanuts. Major drinks include tea, coffee, and wine. Togolese often snack on plantains and French donuts or beignets.
Bad Religion is an American band that plays punk rock music. They were created in Southern California in 1979 by Jay Bentley (bass), Greg Graffin (vocals), Brett Gurewitz (guitars) and Jay Ziskrout (drums). People think that they brought back punk rock and helped pop-punk bands during the late 1980s. Since they were created 30 years ago, Bad Religion has had a lot of members come and go. Greg Graffin is the only person that's been in the band the whole time but today there are three of the four members that were in the group when it started.
Today, Bad Religion has fourteen studio albums, two EPs, three compilation albums, one live recording, and two DVDs. Some critics think that their 1988 album "Suffer" is one of the most important punk rock albums of all time. People began to notice Bad Religion after their 1993 album "Recipe for Hate", which was number 14 on Billboard's Heatseekers chart. Their next album, "Stranger Than Fiction", had the band's well-known hits "21st Century (Digital Boy)" and "Infected", did well and was the only Bad Religion album to get gold status in the US. Brett Gurewitz left in 1994. Bad Religion was not as well known after that and did not sell many albums until "The Process of Belief" in 2002. Brett Gurewitz came back in 2001, and worked with them on their four most recent albums. The band is planning to make another album in 2012.
They are known for their smart use of style, comparisons, word choice, imagery, and voice harmonies (which they call "oozin aahs.) Lyrics sometimes have to do with their emotions or their opinion of society.
Most of Bad Religion's lyrics are written by Greg Graffin or Brett Gurewitz. Sometimes, but often, they will co-write a song. Other band members, such as Jay Bentley, also write songs, but very rarely.
Brett Gurewitz says he tried to copy The Germs singer Darby Crash early on in Bad Religion's career. "He wrote some intelligent stuff, and didn't shy away from the vocabulary, which I thought was cool." Bad Religion also uses voice harmonies. The Adolescents influenced them with their three-part voice harmonies. Bassist Jay Bentley says, "Seeing The Adolescents live, it was so brilliant. So, in a way, the Adolescents influenced us into saying we can do it too, because look, they're doing it."
Many of Bad Religion's songs are about what they think are social problems, but they do not blame causes of these problems to any single person or group. Greg Graffin thinks that the politics in the United States can make it hard to talk about the problems.
The band is sometimes direct about the things they want to say. Brett Gurewitz said he was angry at former U.S. president George W. Bush and that "The Empire Strikes First" is about him. "Our whole album is dedicated to getting Bush out of office. I'm not a presidential scholar but I don't think you'll find a worse president in the history of the United States. He's probably one of the worst leaders in the history of world leaders. I just hate the guy."
Despite the name of the band, the members say they are not anti-religious. Greg Graffin says that more often than not, the band likes to use religion to represent anything that does not let a person be free. Their songs are more about being against everyone being the same than against religion or God. But Greg Graffin is an atheist. He helped write the book 'Is Belief in God Good, Bad or Irrelevant?' The band's bassist Jay Bentley has stated that he has spiritual beliefs. Brett Gurewitz is a "provisional deist."
The Meat Puppets are an alternative/punk rock group from Scottsdale, Arizona, USA. They were formed in 1980 by Curt Kirkwood (vocals, guitars), his brother Cris (bass) and Derrick Bostrom (drums). The band is probably best known for their 1994 radio hit "Backwater".
The band went on indefinite hiatus in 2001 as Curt formed two band projects Eyes Adrift (with Nirvana bassist Krist Novoselic and Sublime drummer Bud Gaugh) and Volcano (also with Sublime drummer Bud Gaugh). He also released a solo album. His brother Cris was in prison from August 2004 to 21 months.
In 2006, the Meat Puppets reformed and released a new album, "Rise to Your Knees" in 2007.
As of November 2009, Shandon Sahm is back as the drummer in the Meat Puppets. He replaces Ted Marcus, who was a member from 2006.
The band was chosen by Animal Collective to perform their album "Up on the Sun" live at the All Tomorrow's Parties music festival in May 2011.
Theodore Robert "Ted" Bundy (November 24, 1946 - January 24, 1989) was an American serial killer, kidnapper, and rapist. He confessed to killing 30 women, although the actual number of murders committed is unknown.
Ted Bundy was born in 1946 in Burlington, Vermont, USA. He lived with his mother Louise Cowell and grandfather Sam Cowell when he was a child. Bundy and his mother moved to Washington where she married a man named John Culpepper Bundy. As a child in Washington, Bundy was a good student and went to church often, yet he found it hard to make friends and he began stealing. As a young man, Bundy became involved in politics and got together with a woman named Diane Edwards, known better by the pseudonym Stephanie Brooks. She later left him, and he went on his own for a while. After seeing that he had improved, she got back together with him; but he proposed and then left her a few days later. This is when the murders began. The people that Bundy would murder were much like this lady: young, white skinned (Caucasian) and with long dark hair parted in the middle.
Bundy's first known murders were in 1974 with his first known violent attack on January 4 when he crept into the room of an 18-year-old girl called Joni Lenz and beat her with a crowbar while she was asleep. He then sexually assaulted (raped) her with a metal rod that he took from the bed. She was found the next morning in a pool of blood. She was not killed but would remain in a coma and suffered brain damage (damage to the brain that stop the body from working properly). A few weeks later on January 31, Bundy broke into another woman's basement and beat her over the head. He then dressed her, wrapped her in blankets, and carried her away. She was found a year later in Seattle, Washington with no head. In between this time and June 1974,he killed eight more women in Washington. In June, he kidnapped Janice Ott and Denise Naslund from a park near Seattle. These attacks, unlike the attacks before, were in 'broad daylight' in front of other people.
That autumn, Bundy moved to Utah to begin studying law at the University of Utah. He began killing again in October 1999. Bundy kidnapped and killed three girls in October of 1974, one of them being the daughter of a police officer. On November 8, Bundy told a girl that he was a police officer and he told her to get in his car. She did, believing he really was a police officer. He then tried to handcuff her but she would not let him and she jumped out of the car and escaped. Bundy was angry that she had got away and later kidnapped another girl and killed her. Her body was never found. Bundy was still living in Utah in 1975 and was still attending law school but he began only killing people in Colorado. Bundy kidnapped and killed four women from Colorado and one more from Utah in the first half of 1975 (January to June).
On August 16, 1975 Bundy was arrested for not stopping his car when ordered to by a police officer. When they searched his car they found a ski mask, a crowbar, handcuffs, trash bags and other items that they thought he must have been using to burglarize houses. The police then noticed that his car was the car the girl who escaped had told them about. Bundy was sentenced on March 1, 1976, to fifteen years in prison for kidnapping her. Bundy escaped from the police twice in 1977 before he could be sentenced for the murders he had committed. By early 1978 he had made his way to Florida where he killed two more women and injured three others. After that he murdered a 12-year-old girl called Kimberley Leach. She was the last girl murdered by Bundy before he was stopped by a police officer on February 15, 1978.
Bundy had antisocial personality disorder. He went on trial from June 25 to July 31 for the murders he had committed. He was sentenced to death by the electric chair. In the time he was in prison and waiting to be executed, he helped the police investigate other murders and in 1988 he admitted to having killed eight more women than he was tried for. Bundy was executed by electric chair in Florida State Prison on January 24, 1989. He was 42 years old.
Longboarding
Longboarding is a form of skateboarding. Instead of using a "normal"-sized board, the longboarder uses a board that is generally longer than a skateboard, hence the name; longboards can range from 33.5" all the way up to 42" (there are some cases in which boards can be a lot longer all the way up to 60+"). Longboarding was invented by Milterz.Instead of skating on ramps and half-pipes, the longboarder can skate down long and steep hills, turning ("carving") back and forth across the hill's face to slow down, as a skier would. The longboard is also much more efficient for "cruising", or, simply getting around, as longboards typically are faster, more stable, and less tiring to propel than short ("freestyle", i.e., trick) boards. Unlike a bicycle, a longboard is less vulnerable to theft, as one's board may be carried under one's arm, or stashed in a coat closet at work.