38 definitions by Ben E. Hama

a group of islands in the pacific that are a battered nation. surprisingly, the world's colonizing powers left them alone until about 110 years ago, when the british took over. the nation is significant, though forgotten, as being the home of guadalcanal and other brutal wwii battles. since independence, the nation has been involved in periodic civil wars. as a result, the militaries of austrialia and new zealand are the only thing keeping this country afloat right now.

a very wealthy middle eastern nation that is rolling in oil and banking dough. a former british colony, it is made up of 7 emirs, or provinces ruled by sultans. the nation usually known as the uae is the most liberal mid eastern nation, with western culture and products circulating throughout. however, the nation is still for the most part a kingdom. the country's claims to fame are a company from the city of dubai attempting to buy US ports, the comic strip character garfield's constant attempts to send his cousin nermal to the city of abi daubi, and human rights violations of foreign workers and the poor.

a little pacific island company, vanuatu was colonized by the spanish, french, and british over its history. it became independent in 1980, and it has seen coups and countercoups ever since. vanuatu is the ultimate tax haven and it has little business regulations. questionable companies tend to incorporate here.

a nation in south america, the dutch came here to establish massive sugar-producing slave plantations. after the nation won independence, numerous coups occured. it is currently a shaky democracy, resting on the balance of power between 4 seperate parties. most of the nation's money now comes from bauxite production. while most south american nations are primarily populated by people of hispanic and/or indiginous decent, the majority of surinamese are from india, indonesia, or africa- the 3 places where the dutch brought slaves from

a country NOT in the middle east, despite being heavily islamic. this asian nation was one of the soviet republics that became independent in 1990. after it became sovergn, it plunged into civil war. the nation has rich natural resources and is a leading cotton and aluminum producer. unfortunately, it is currently a faux democracy, ruled by a former soviet official.

one of the east african countries known for safaris. a long time german colony, it was highly unstable during this time period. the british eventually took over. since independence, things haven't gone well. the nation has seen a marxist dictatorship and an unstable, mostly for-show, democracy and various wars with neighboring lands.

a middle eastern nation, it's been a kingdom for a long time. it was once a british mandate for a few decades, but this never worked well. the sultan has had absolute power in the country for centuries. oman was able to become extremely wealthy with its nationalized oil company. although it's not something that people generally think of in the middle east, this nation has a pretty high standard of living and doesn't have crazy strict relgious laws.