a little carribbean nation, the brits and french fought over control of this place for over 300 years until the 20th century. apparently, the good sugar and bannana growing areas were a big prize. nowadays, this is just a toruist trap for americans, canadians, and euros. it has the world's biggest drive-up volcano.
by Ben E. Hama February 02, 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 06, 2007
once the home of a great african empire, and later a french colony, mali is a west african nation. it was a single party state for many years, walking an interesting but disasterous line between marxism and islamic fundamentalism. it's a very poor nation, with no economic activities in the barren interior.
bamako is the captial of mali.
by Ben E. Hama February 06, 2007
little tiny carribean country that used to be under british rule. currently, it consists of a pair of islands that seem to exist soley for american, canadian, and european toruist dollars.
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 04, 2007
2 different countries are named congo.
1) the democratic republic of congo-kishaska is the former zaire. it was once a very poorly run belgian colony. for years, it was a dictatorship under joseph motubo. in the 1990s, the nation was in a constant state of civil war. it is currently under the authority of a transitional gov't.
2) the republic of congo, a country in just as bad of a state as the above. a former french colony, it saw multiple coups until a communist government came to power in the late 1960s. civil war occured in the 1990s, and the country is currently a faux democracy. it is known for its vast jungles with their gorillas.
1) the democratic republic of congo-kishaska is the former zaire. it was once a very poorly run belgian colony. for years, it was a dictatorship under joseph motubo. in the 1990s, the nation was in a constant state of civil war. it is currently under the authority of a transitional gov't.
2) the republic of congo, a country in just as bad of a state as the above. a former french colony, it saw multiple coups until a communist government came to power in the late 1960s. civil war occured in the 1990s, and the country is currently a faux democracy. it is known for its vast jungles with their gorillas.
there are two nations called the congo. interesting enough, the former zaire is officially called congo-kishaska, but it is usually refered to as just 'congo', while the republic of congo is usually refered to as 'congo-braza'
by Ben E. Hama January 31, 2007
tunisia is a nation that actually has a pretty grand history, as a powerful outpost during the reigns of the greek, roman, and ottoman empires. the french eventually took over, the place is most famous for the wwii battles fought here. currently, its a single party state that actually has some wealth in the coastal cities, espcially due to oil. in the interior, the famous nomadic berbers still live.
by Ben E. Hama February 04, 2007