a very poor west african country. a former portuguese and later french colony. a bright spot in africa over the last few years, as its economy is growing (although not substantually) and it's actually becoming a true democracy. the most interesting fact about it to most people is its shape.
by Ben E. Hama January 31, 2007
Get the benin mug.africa's only wealthy country, it's made up of a number of tiny islands spread out over the indian ocean. the portuguese, british, and french all came here to trade (and conquer). in the 1970s, it became independent and drew up a constitution guaranteeing a one party state. 15 years later, a coup changed that. now this nation is doing ok because of tourism and fishing. and it's a good tax haven too. the swiss love to put their money here.
seychelles has a pretty big divide between rich and poor, but for an african country, it's doing damn good.
by Ben E. Hama February 04, 2007
Get the seychelles mug.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.
by Ben E. Hama February 04, 2007
Get the tanzania mug.poorest country in the world, sitting in a very rural and rugged part of africa. nobody from the outside world knew the region existed til the mid-1800s. the french exploited this place until the 1950s. since then it's been extremely unstable.
by Ben E. Hama February 04, 2007
Get the central african republic mug.mauritania is a former french colony in africa that has turned into a pretty disasterous country. it's history is summed up in the bloody battle between the moorish islamic minority and the black christian/amenist minority. ruled for years as a one party state, it had a decade long experiment with democracy, before a 2005 coup turned this into a military junta.
by Ben E. Hama February 06, 2007
Get the mauritania mug.an african country located along the great rift valley. it's a former british colony. very densely populated, but with one of the world's lowest life expectacies. it was a single party state until democracy came recently. 30% of the population is currently suffering from famine.
by Ben E. Hama February 06, 2007
Get the malawai mug.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.
by Ben E. Hama February 04, 2007
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