Definitions by Ben E. Hama
Guinea
besides the racist slur, it's also an african country. the slur doesn't make sense actually, since guinea means "woman" in it's native tounge. anyway, it's a former french colony that actually won its independence through refurendum, not revolution. howwever, it's been failed coup after fail coup for the last 15 years due to terrible gov't. it's now considered a failed state.
Guinea by Ben E. Hama February 5, 2007
são tome and principe
são tome and principe is an island nation off the coast of africa. modern slavery unfortunately began on these islands, as portuguese merchants in the 1400s brought thousands of african mainlanders to these once uninhabited islands. the result was a successful sugar colony and later equally profitable coffee and cocoa plantations. the island received independence in the 1970s and since the late 1980s have had a stable and real democracy, with only one failed coup attempt.
são tome and principe by Ben E. Hama February 4, 2007
seychelles
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.
seychelles by Ben E. Hama February 4, 2007
solomon islands
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.
solomon islands by Ben E. Hama February 4, 2007
suriname
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
suriname by Ben E. Hama February 4, 2007
tajikistan
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.
tajikistan by Ben E. Hama February 4, 2007
tanzania
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.
tanzania by Ben E. Hama February 4, 2007