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.
by Ben E. Hama February 02, 2007
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 02, 2007
an asian nation that everyone seemed to trample on throughout history: alexander the great, genghas kahn, the turks, the soviets. the nation finally became independent after soviet collapse, but things got no better. instead, a former communist big shot, a mr. nayazov, took power and created a crazy cult of personality. he recently died, so things are pretty unstable.
in turkmenistan, nayazov's cult of personality forced his picture to be on everything from cereal boxes to watches.
by Ben E. Hama February 02, 2007
one of the carribbean's many tourist countries. a former british colony, it was the last nation in the region to actually attempt to keep its sugar industry. eventually, it succumbed to pressure and is now just a tourist destination for americans, canadians, and euros.
alexander hamilton was born in saint kitts and nevis
by Ben E. Hama January 31, 2007
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.
by Ben E. Hama February 01, 2007
tiny country that is basically just an independent city surrounded by italy. its people are ethnic italians, but when italy was unified in the 1870s, san marino refused to join. it's actually been an independent nation since 301 AD. nowadays, they are famous for producing special coins and postage stamps marketed directly at tourists.
by Ben E. Hama January 31, 2007
tiny country in the pacific made up of hundreds of islands. a british sailor named marshall founded the place for westerners, but the germans gained the islands in the 1800s. japan basically used it as 1 giant military base during wwii, and it became a us mandate after the war. it gained independence only 25 years ago, after the us grew tired of using it as 1 big nuke testing ground.
by Ben E. Hama February 02, 2007