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Chibchan

Chibchan

Chibchan languages (also Chíbchan, Chibchano) are a language family indigenous to Colombia and Central America. The name is derived from the name of an extinct language called Chibcha or Muisca, spoken by the people who lived in the city of Bogotá at the time of European invasion. However, genetic and linguistic data now indicate that the original heart of Chibchan languages and Chibchan-speaking peoples may not have been in Colombia at all, but in Costa Rica and Panama, where one finds the greatest diversity in Chibchan languages. The Costa Rican linguist Adolfo Constenla Umaña (1981, 1991, 1995) has created a detailed classification of Chibchan languages. Most of these fall into the Southern Chibchan subgroupings of Votic, Isthmic, and Magdalenic. The following list is a slight modification of Constenla's groupings. Northern Group
- Pech (Paya, Taya, Tawka, Seco) north-central Honduras Votic Subgroup (named for the extinct Votos of northern Costa Rica)
- Rama southeastern Nicaragua
- Voto Costa Rica, extinct
- Maleku (Guatuso), north-central Costa Rica
- Corobicí northwestern Costa Rica Isthmic Subgroup
- Hüetar (Güetar), Costa Rica, extinct
- Bribri (Talamanca), Costa Rica
- Cabécar (Talamanca), Costa Rica
- Boruca (Brunca, Brunka), Costa Rica, nearly extinct
- Chánguena Costa Rica & Panama, extinct
- Teribe (Térraba, Tiribi, Teribe, Norteño, Quequexque, Naso), Panama and Costa Rica
- Movere (Move), central Panama
- Ngabere (Western - Guaymí, Valiente, Chiriquí, Ngábere; Eastern - Tolé, Chiriquí, Ngobere, Ngäbere'), Costa Rica and Panama
- Buglere (Bokota, Bogotá, Bofota, Bobota, Bukueta, Buglé, Nortenyo, Murire, Sabanero, Veraguas Sabanero), Panama
- Dorasque Panama, endangered
- Kuna (Cuna, San Blás Kuna, Paya-Pucuro Kuna, Caiman Nuevo, Dulegaya), Panama and Colombia Magdalenic Subgroup
- Chibcha (Muisca, Mosca) Colombia, extinct
- Tunebo (U'wa) Colombia
- Guamaca (Guamaka, Malayo, Marocacero, Marocasero, Maracaserro, Sancá, Sanja, Sanka, Arosario, Arsario, Wiwa, Huihua) Colombia
- Damana Colombia
- Atanques Colombia
- Ica (Arahuaco, Aruaco, Bintuk, Bíntukua, Bintucua, Ica, Ijca, Ijka, Ika, Ike, Bíntucua, Bintuk, Bíntukua, Pebu) Colombia
- Cogui (Coghui, Cagaba, Kogi, Kogui, Kaggaba, Kagaba) Colombia
- Malayo (Arsario) Colombia and Venezuela Southeastern Group
- Bari (Motilón, Motilone, Dobocubi), Colombia and Venezuela
- Chimila (Caca Weranos, San Jorge, Shimizya), Colombia Possibly related
- Cueva Panama, extinct
- Zenú (Sinú), northern Colombia
- Cofán (Kofán, Kofane, A'i), Ecuador and Colombia
- Yanomam Venezuela Constenla argues that Cueva, the extinct dominant language of pre-Colombian Panama, was Chocoan, not Chibchan, but there is little evidence to support its classification either way. Constenla also disagrees with Greenberg's (1987) classification of Yanomam as Chibchan. Cofán has been included in Chibchan due to borrowed vocabulary. Bogotá speakers assert that their language is different from Buglere and wish to be seen as a separate people (meeting of the Coordinadora Nacional de Pueblos Indigenas de Panama, 2003). A family called Macro-Chibchan is also hypothesized, which would contain the Misumalpan languages, Lenca languages, Tarascan languages, Xinca languages, Cuitlatec language, and Yanoama languages; it is argued by Joseph Greenberg to fall together with the Paezan languages in what he terms the Chibchan-Paezan subfamily of Amerind. However, many linguists regard the concept of "Macro-Chibchan" (let alone higher-level groupings) as overly hypothetical and therefore of limited value. The most significant neighboring linguistic groups, with which there are important relationships, are Misumalpan languages (to the north) and Choco languages (to the south). Needless to say, most of these indigenous languages are severely endangered and all of them require greater study and documentation.

Bibliography

- Constenla Umaña, A. (1981). Comparative Chibchan Phonology. (Ph.D. dissertation, Department of Linguistics, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia).
- Constenla Umaña, Adolfo. (1991). Las lenguas del Área Intermedia: Introducción a su estudio areal. Editorial de la Universidad de Costa Rica, San José.
- Constenla Umaña, Adolfo. (1995). Sobre el estudio diacrónico de las lenguas chibchenses y su contribución al conocimiento del pasado de sus hablantes. Boletín del Museo del Oro 38-39: 13-56.
- Greenberg, Joseph H. (1987). Language in the Americas. Stanford: Stanford University Press.
- A journal of Chibchan linguistics Estudios de Lingüistica Chibcha is published by the Universidad de Costa Rica.

Enlaces externos

- [http://www.ethnologue.com/show_family.asp?subid=90455 Ethnologue: Chibchan Familily]
- Category:Indigenous languages of the South American Northwest

Language family

Most languages are known to belong to language families. An accurately identified family is a phylogenetic unit; that is, all its members derive from a common ancestor. This ancestor is very seldom known to us directly, since most languages have a very short recorded history. However, it is possible to recover many of its features by applying the comparative method — a reconstructive procedure worked out by 19th-century linguist August Schleicher. This can demonstrate the validity of many of the proposed families listed below. Language families can be divided into smaller phylogenetic units, conventionally referred to as branches of the family, because the history of a language family is often represented as a tree diagram. However, the term family is not restricted to any one level of this "tree"; the Germanic family, for example, is a branch of the Indo-European family. Some taxonomists do restrict the term family to a certain level, but there is little consensus in how to do this. Those who do affix such labels also subdivide branches into groups, and groups into complexes. They also aggregate families into phyla (also known as stocks, or superfamilies). Phyla are often used to aggregate American Indian language families. One method for doing all of this is called glottochronology. The common ancestor of a family is known as its protolanguage. For example, the reconstructible protolanguage of the well-known Indo-European family is called Proto-Indo-European. This is not known from written records, since it was spoken before the invention of writing, but sometimes a protolanguage can be identified with a historically known language. Thus, provincial dialects of Latin ("Vulgar Latin") gave rise to the modern Romance languages, so the Proto-Romance language is more or less identical with Latin (if not exactly with the literary Latin of the Classical writers), and dialects of Old Norse are the protolanguage to Norwegian, Swedish, Danish, Faroese and Icelandic. Languages that cannot be reliably classified into any family are known as language isolates. A language isolated in its own branch within a family, such as Greek within Indo-European, is often also called an isolate, but such cases are usually clarified. For instance, Greek might be referred to as an Indo-European isolate.

Largest families

According to the numbers in Ethnologue[http://www.ethnologue.com/web.asp], the largest language families in terms of number of languages are: # Niger-Congo (1514 languages) # Austronesian (1268 languages) # Trans-New Guinea (564 languages) (validity disputed) # Indo-European (449 languages) # Sino-Tibetan (403 languages) # Afro-Asiatic (375 languages) # Nilo-Saharan (204 languages) # Pama-Nyungan (178 languages) # Oto-Manguean (174 languages) (number disputed; Lyle Campbell includes only 27) # Austro-Asiatic (169 languages) # Sepik-Ramu (100 languages) (validity disputed) # Tai-Kadai (76 languages) # Tupi (76 languages) # Dravidian (73 languages) # Mayan (69 languages)

Language families (spoken)

In the following, each "bulleted" item is a known language family. The geographic headings over them are meant solely as a tool for grouping families into collections more comprehensible than an unstructured list of the dozen or two of independent families. Geographic relationship is convenient for that purpose, but these headings are not a suggestion of any "super-families" phylogenetically relating the families named.

Central America and South America

Language isolates (spoken)

Central & South America

# Aikaná (Brazil: Rondônia) # Alagüilac (Guatemala) # Andoque (Colombia, Peru) # Baenan (Brazil) # Betoi (Columbia) # Camsá (Columbia) # Canichana (Bolivia) # Cayubaba language (Bolivia) # Coahuilteco (US: Texas; northeast Mexico) # Cofán (Colombia, Ecuador) # Cotoname (northeast Mexico; US: Texas) # Cuitlatec (Mexico: Guerrero) # Culle (Peru) # Cunza (Chile, Bolivia, Argentina) # Gamela (Brazil: Maranhão) # Gorgotoqui (Bolivia) # Huamoé (Brazil: Pernambuco) # Huave (Mexico: Oaxaca) # Irantxe (Brazil: Mato Grosso) # Itonama (Bolivia) # Jotí (Venezuela) # Karirí (Brazil: Paraíba, Pernambuco, Ceará) # Koayá (Brazil: Rondônia) # Kukurá (Brazil: Mato Grosso) # Mapudungu (Chile, Argentina) # Maratino (northeastern Mexico) # Movima (Bolivia) # Munichi (Peru) # Nambiquaran (Brazil: Mato Grosso) # Naolan (Mexico: Tamaulipas) # Natú (Brazil: Pernambuco) # Omurano (Peru) # Otí (Brazil: São Paulo) # Pankararú (Brazil: Pernambuco) # Puelche (Chile) # Puinave (Columbia) # Puquina (Bolivia) # Quinigua (northeast Mexico) # Sabela (Ecuador, Peru) # Seri (Mexico: Sonora) # Solano (northeast Mexico; US: Texas) # Tarairiú (Brazil: Rio Grande do Norte) # Tarascan (a.k.a. Purépecha) (Mexico: Michoacán) # Taushiro (Peru) # Tequiraca (Peru) # Ticuna (Colombia, Peru, Brazil) # Tuxá (Brazil: Bahia, Pernambuco) # Warao (Guyana, Surinam, Venezuela) # Xokó (Brazil: Alagoas, Pernambuco) # Xukurú (Brazil: Pernambuco, Paraíba) # Yámana (a.k.a Yagan) (Chile) # Yuracare (Bolivia) # Yuri (Colombia, Brazil) # Yurumanguí (Columbia)
North America
# Adai (US: Louisiana, Texas) # Aranama-Tamique (US: Texas) # (US: Louisiana, Texas) # Beothuk (Canada: Newfoundland) # Calusa (US: Florida) # Cayuse (US: Oregon, Washington) # Chimariko (US: California) # Chitimacha (US: Lousiania) # Coahuilteco (US: Texas; northeast Mexico) # Cotoname (northeast Mexico; US: Texas) # Esselen (US: California) # Haida (Canada: British Columbia; US: Alaska) # Karankawa (US: Texas) # Karok (a.k.a. Karuk) (US: California) # Keres (US: New Mexico) # Konomihu (US: California) # Kootenai (Canada: British Columbia; US: Idaho, Montana) # Natchez (US: Mississippi, Louisiana) # Salinan (US: California) # Siuslaw (US: Oregon) # Solano (northeast Mexico; US: Texas) # Takelma (US: Oregon) # Timucua (US: Florida, Georgia) # Tonkawa (US: Texas) # Tunica (US: Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas) # Washo (US: California, Nevada) # Yana (US: California) # Yuchi (US: Georgia, Oklahoma) # Zuni (a.k.a. Shiwi) (US: New Mexico)
Asia
# Ainu language or languages (Russia, Japan) (like Arabic or Japanese, the diversity within Ainu is large enough that some consider it to be perhaps up to a dozen languages while others consider it a single language with high dialectal diversity) # Burushaski (Pakistan, India) (sometimes linked to Yeniseian) # Kalto or Nahali (India) [sometimes linked to Munda] # Korean (North & South Korea, China, USA) (sometimes linked to Altaic) # Nivkh or Gilyak (Russia) (sometimes linked to Chukchi-Kamchatkan) # Sumerian (Iraq) [extinct] # Elamite (Iran) [extinct] (sometimes linked to Dravidian) # Hattic (Turkiye) [extinct] (sometimes linked to Northwest Caucasian)
Africa
# Hadza (Tanzania) (sometimes included in Khoisan)
Europe
# Basque (Spain, France) # Etruscan (Italy) [extinct] # Iberian (Spain) [extinct] # Pictish (Scotland) [extinct] [disputed - possibly an Indo European Celtic - Brythonic language]
Sign languages
:See also List of sign languages. There has been very little historical linguistic research on sign languages, and few attempts to determine genetic relationships between sign languages, other than simple comparison of lexical data and some discussion about whether certain sign languages are dialects of a language or languages of a family. Auslan, NZSL and BSL are usually considered to belong to a language family known as BANZSL, and Japanese Sign Language, Taiwanese Sign Language and Korean Sign Language are thought to be members of a Japanese Sign Language family. There are a number of sign languages with strong links to French Sign Language, including Quebec Sign Language, American Sign Language, Irish Sign Language, Dutch Sign Language, Flemish Sign Language, and Belgian-French Sign Language. Bolivian Sign Language is sometimes considered a dialect of American Sign Language. Other languages, such as Nicaraguan Sign Language, Al-Sayyid Bedouin Sign Language, and Providence Island Sign Language are known to be isolates.
Creole languages, pidgins, mixed languages, and trade languages

- American Indian Pidgin English
- Basque-Algonquian Pidgin (a.k.a. Micmac-Basque Pidgin, Souriquois)
- Bislamic languages
- Australian Creole (a.k.a. Kriol)
- Bislama
- Pijin
- Tok Pisin
- Torres Strait Creole (a.k.a. Broken, Cape York Creole, Lockhart Creole)
- Broken Oghibbeway (a.k.a. Broken Ojibwa)
- Broken Slavey (a.k.a. Slavey Jargon, Broken Slavé)
- Callahuaya (a.k.a. Machaj-Juyai, Kallawaya)
- Carib Pidgin (a.k.a. Ndjuka-Amerindian Pidgin, Ndjuka-Trio)
- Carib Pidgin-Arawak Mixed Language
- Catalangu
- Chabacano - A Spanish creole spoken in South of the Philippines.
- Chinook Jargon
- Delaware Jargon (a.k.a. Pidgin Delaware)
- Eskimo Trade Jargon (a.k.a. Herschel Island Eskimo Pidgin, Ship's Jargon)
- Greenlandic Eskimo Pidgin
- Guajiro-Spanish
- Güegüence-Nicarao
- Haida Jargon
- Haitian creole
- Hawaiian Creole English
- Hiri Motu
- Hudson Strait Pidgin
- International Sign or Gestuno - constructed language
- Inuktitut-English Pidgin
- Jargonized Powhatan
- Kutenai Jargon
- Labrador Eskimo Pidgin (a.k.a. Labrador Inuit Pidgin)
- Lingua Franca Apalachee
- Lingua Franca Creek
- Lingua franca
- Lingua Geral do Sul (a.k.a. Lingua Geral Paulista, Tupí Austral)
- Loucheux Jargon (a.k.a. Jargon Loucheux)
- Media Lengua
- Mednyj Aleut (a.k.a. Copper Island Aleut, Medniy Aleut, CIA)
- Michif (a.k.a. French Cree, Métis, Metchif, Mitchif, Métchif)
- Mobilian Jargon (a.k.a. Mobilian Trade Jargon, Chickasaw-Chocaw Trade Language, Yamá
- Montagnais Pidgin Basque (a.k.a. Pidgin Basque-Montagnais)
- Nheengatú (a.k.a. Lingua Geral Amazônica, Lingua Boa, Lingua Brasílica, Lingua Geral do Norte)
- Norfuk
- Nootka Jargon
- Ocaneechi
- Pitkern
- Pidgin Massachusett
- Portuguese Creole languages
- Rusnorsk
- Sango
Proposed language stocks

Other natural languages of special interest

- Endangered languages
- Extinct languages
- Constructed languages
External links

- http://www.ethnologue.com/web.asp
- http://gebaren.ugent.be
- http://www.elanguages.info - articles, products, & info about language learning online
- [http://www.nicemice.net/amc/tmp/lang-pop.var Number of speakers by language]
Bibliography

- Boas, Franz. (1911). Handbook of American Indian languages (Vol. 1). Bureau of American Ethnology, Bulletin 40. Washington: Government Print Office (Smithsonian Institution, Bureau of American Ethnology).
- Boas, Franz. (1922). Handbook of American Indian languages (Vol. 2). Bureau of American Ethnology, Bulletin 40. Washington: Government Print Office (Smithsonian Institution, Bureau of American Ethnology).
- Boas, Franz. (1933). Handbook of American Indian languages (Vol. 3). Native American legal materials collection, title 1227. Glückstadt: J.J. Augustin.
- Campbell, Lyle. (1997). American Indian languages: The historical linguistics of Native America. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-509427-1.
- Campbell, Lyle; & Mithun, Marianne (Eds.). (1979). The languages of native America: Historical and comparative assessment. Austin: University of Texas Press.
- Goddard, Ives (Ed.). (1996). Languages. Handbook of North American Indians (W. C. Sturtevant, General Ed.) (Vol. 17). Washington, D. C.: Smithsonian Institution. ISBN 0-1604-8774-9.
- Goddard, Ives. (1999). Native languages and language families of North America (rev. and enlarged ed. with additions and corrections). [Map]. Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press (Smithsonian Institute). (Updated version of the map in Goddard 1996). ISBN 0-8032-9271-6.
- Gordon, Raymond G., Jr. (Ed.). (2005). Ethnologue: Languages of the world (15th ed.). Dallas, TX: SIL International. ISBN 1-55671-159-X. (Online version: http://www.ethnologue.com).
- Greenberg, Joseph H. (1966). The Languages of Africa (2nd ed.). Bloomington: Indiana University.
- Mithun, Marianne. (1999). The languages of Native North America. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-23228-7 (hbk); ISBN 0-521-29875-X.
- Ruhlen, Merritt. (1987). A guide to the world's languages. Stanford: Stanford University Press.
- Sturtevant, William C. (Ed.). (1978-present). Handbook of North American Indians (Vol. 1-20). Washington, D. C.: Smithsonian Institution. (Vols. 1-3, 16, 18-20 not yet published).
- Voegelin, C. F.; & Voegelin, F. M. (1977). Classification and index of the world's languages. New York: Elsevier.
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- ja:言語の分類一覧 ko:어족 simple:Language families and languages th:ตระกูลของภาษา

Central America

Commonly, Central America is the region of North America located between the southern border of Mexico and the northwest border of Colombia, in South America. Some geographers classify Central America as a large isthmus, and in this geographic sense it sometimes includes the portion of Mexico east of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, namely the Mexican states of Chiapas, Tabasco, Campeche, Yucatán and Quintana Roo. However, Central America is much more commonly understood to correspond with the nations between Mexico and Colombia. The UN subregion of Central America includes all mainland states of North America south of the US, including Mexico. US

Countries

In one common definition, Central America consists of the following countries (located between the the northwest border of Colombia and the southern border of Mexico—roughly east to west):
- Panama
- Costa Rica
- Nicaragua
- Honduras
- El Salvador
- Guatemala
- Belize

Geography

Central America thus has an area of about 540,000 km² (208,500 mi²), and a width between the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea ranging from about 560 km to about 50 km (350 to 30 mi). Caribbean Sea.]] The geology of Central America is active, with volcanic eruptions and earthquakes occurring from time to time. In 1931 and 1972 earthquakes devastated Managua, the capital of Nicaragua. Fertile soils from weathered volcanic lavas have made it possible to sustain dense populations in the agriculturally productive highland areas. The Caribbean Plate is a tectonic plate upon which Central America rests. The narrowest part of The Americas, Central America is the site of the Panama Canal as well as the proposed, but never-completed Nicaragua Canal.

History

There was a nation of Central America in the early 19th century, consisting of the present day nations of Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica (and a portion of the modern Mexican state of Chiapas). This was sometimes known as the United Provinces of Central America or the United States of Central America.

External links

- [http://www.fssca.net/ Foundation for Self-Sufficiency in Central America] Category:Americas Category:North America zh-min-nan:Tiong Bí-chiu ko:중앙아메리카 ja:中央アメリカ simple:Central America

Muisca

The Muisca was a South American nation that lived mainly in modern day Cundinamarca and Boyacá highlands. They were farmers, artisans and very skilled goldsmiths. Today sacred places like the lakes of Guatavita, Fuquene, Tota and Iguaque still remain. The Muisca spoke a Chibchan language. In fact the word Muisca is a Chibchan word for "People". Guatavita is one of the many fabled locations of El Dorado, where local legends say a young girl broke a pot, and water flowed and from it and made the lake. It is said further that later, during the Spanish conquest, the locals threw their wealth into the lake to prevent it from being discovered by the conquerors. Other legends locate the famous site in the lakes of the little archaeological site at Pasca (Cundinamarca) near Bogotá, Colombia.

Europe

:This article is about the continent. For other meanings, see Europe (disambiguation). Europe is geologically and geographically a peninsula or subcontinent, forming the westernmost part of Eurasia. It is conventionally considered a continent, which, in this case, is more of a cultural distinction than a geographic one. It is bounded to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the west by the Atlantic Ocean and to the south by the Mediterranean and Black Seas and the Caucasus. Europe's boundary to the east is vague, but has traditionally been given as the Ural Mountains and Caspian Sea to the southeast: the Urals are considered by most to be a geographical and tectonic landmark separating Asia from Europe. :See also Continent, Bicontinental country, and Table of European territories and regions. Table of European territories and regions Table of European territories and regions Europe is the world's second-smallest continent in terms of area, covering around 10,790,000 km² (4,170,000 sq mi) or 2.1% of the Earth's surface, and is only larger than Australia. In terms of population, it is the third-largest continent (Asia and Africa are larger) with a population of more than 700,000,000, or about 11% of the world's population.

Etymology

Africa.]] In Greek mythology, Europa was a Phoenician princess who was abducted by Zeus in bull form and taken to the island of Crete, where she gave birth to Minos. For Homer, Europé (Greek: Ευρωπη; see also List of traditional Greek place names) was a mythological queen of Crete, not a geographical designation. Later Europa stood for mainland Greece, and by 500 BC its meaning had been extended to lands to the north. The Greek term Europe has been derived from Greek words meaning broad (eurys) and face (ops) -- broad having been an epitheton of Earth herself in the reconstructed Proto-Indo-European religion; see Prithvi (Plataia). A minority, however, suggest this Greek popular etymology is really based on a Semitic word such as the Akkadian erebu meaning "sunset" (see also Erebus). From the Middle Eastern vantagepoint, the sun does set over Europe, the lands to the west. Likewise, Asia is sometimes thought to have derived from the Akkadian word asu, meaning "sunrise", and is the land to the east from a Mesopotamian perspective.

History

Europe has a long history of cultural and economic achievement, starting as far back as the Palaeolithic, although this is true for the rest of the Old World as well. The recent discovery at Monte Poggiolo, Italy, of thousands of hand-shaped stones, tentatively carbon-dated to 800,000 years ago, may prove to be of particular importance. The origins of Western democratic and individualistic culture are often attributed to Ancient Greece, though numerous other distinct influences, in particular Christianity, can also be credited with the spread of concepts like egalitarianism and universality of law. The Roman Empire divided the continent along the Rhine and Danube for several centuries. Following the decline of the Roman Empire, Europe entered a long period of changes arising from what is known as the Age of Migrations. That period has been known as the "Dark Ages" to Renaissance thinkers. During this time, isolated monastic communities in Ireland and elsewhere carefully safeguarded and compiled written knowledge accumulated previously. The Renaissance and the New Monarchs marked the start of a period of discovery, exploration, and increase in scientific knowledge. In the 15th century Portugal opened the age of discoveries, soon followed by Spain. They were later joined by France, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom in building large colonial empires with vast holdings in Africa, the Americas, and Asia. After the age of discovery, the ideas of democracy took hold in Europe. Struggles for independence arose, most notably in France during the period known as the French Revolution. This led to vast upheaval in Europe as these revolutionary ideas propagated across the continent. The rise of democracy led to increased tensions within Europe on top of the tensions already existing due to competition within the New World. The most famous of these conflicts was when Napoleon Bonaparte rose to power and set out on a conquest, forming a new French empire that soon collapsed. After these conquests Europe stabilised, but the old foundations were already beginning to crumble. The Industrial Revolution started in the United Kingdom in the late 18th century, leading to a move away from agriculture, much greater general prosperity and a corresponding increase in population. Many of the states in Europe took their present form in the aftermath of World War I. From the end of World War II through the end of the Cold War, Europe was divided into two major political and economic blocks: Communist nations in Eastern Europe and capitalist countries in Western Europe. Around 1990, with the fall of the Berlin Wall, the Eastern bloc disintegrated.

Geography and extent

Eastern bloc Geographically Europe is a part of the larger landmass known as Eurasia. The continent begins at the Ural Mountains in Russia, which define Europe's eastern boundary with Asia. The southeast boundary with Asia isn't universally defined. Most commonly the Ural or, alternatively, the Emba river can serve as possible boundaries. The boundary continues with the Caspian Sea, and then the Araxes river in the Caucasus, and on to the Black Sea; the Bosporus, the Sea of Marmara, and the Dardanelles conclude the Asian boundary. The Mediterranean Sea to the south separates Europe from Africa. The western boundary is the Atlantic Ocean, but Iceland, much farther away than the nearest points of Africa and Asia, is also often included in Europe. There is ongoing debate on where the geographical centre of Europe is. At times "Europe" is defined with greater regard to political, economic, and other cultural considerations. This has led to there being several different Europes that are not always identical in size, including or excluding countries according to the definition of Europe used. Almost all European countries are members of the Council of Europe, the exceptions being Belarus, and the Holy See (Vatican City). The idea of the European continent is not held across all cultures. Some non-European geographical texts refer to the continent of Eurasia, or to the European peninsula, given that Europe is not surrounded by sea. In the past concepts such as Christendom were deemed more important. In another usage, Europe is increasingly being used as a short-form for the European Union (EU) and its members, currently consisting of 25 member states. A number of other European countries are negotiating for membership, and several more are expected to begin negotiations in the future (see Enlargement of the European Union).

Physical features

In terms of shape, Europe is a collection of connected peninsulas. The two largest of these are "mainland" Europe and Scandinavia to the north, divided from each other by the Baltic Sea. Three smaller peninsulas (Iberia, Italy and the Balkans) emerge from the southern margin of the mainland into the Mediterranean Sea, which separates Europe from Africa. Eastward, mainland Europe widens much like the mouth of a funnel, until the boundary with Asia is reached at the Ural Mountains. Land relief in Europe shows great variation within relatively small areas. The southern regions, however, are more mountainous, while moving north the terrain descends from the high Alps, Pyrenees and Carpathians, through hilly uplands, into broad, low northern plains, which are vast in the east. This extended lowland is known as the Great European Plain, and at its heart lies the North German Plain. An arc of uplands also exists along the northwestern seaboard, beginning in the western British Isles and continuing along the mountainous, fjord-cut spine of Norway. This description is simplified. Sub-regions such as Iberia and Italy contain their own complex features, as does mainland Europe itself, where the relief contains many plateaus, river valleys and basins that complicate the general trend. Iceland and the British Isles are special cases. The former is a land unto itself in the northern ocean which is counted as part of Europe, while the latter are upland areas that were once joined to the mainland until rising sea levels cut them off. Due to the few generalisations that can be made about the relief of Europe, it is less than surprising that its many separate regions provided homes for many separate nations throughout history.

Biodiversity

Having lived side-by-side with agricultural peoples for millennia, Europe's animals and plants have been profoundly affected by the presence and activities of man. With the exception of Scandinavia and northern Russia, few areas of untouched wilderness are today to be found in Europe, except for different natural parks. The main natural vegetation cover in Europe is forest. The conditions for growth are very favourable. In the north, the Gulf Stream and North Atlantic Drift warm the continent. Southern Europe could be described as having a warm, but mild climate. There are frequent summer droughts in this region. Mountain ridges also affect the conditions. Some of these (Alps, Pyrenees) are oriented east-west and allow the wind to carry large masses of water from the ocean in the interior. Others are oriented south-north (Scandinavian Mountains, Dinarides, Carpathians, Apennines) and because the rain falls primarily on the side of mountains that is oriented towards sea, forests grow well on this side, while on the other side, the conditions are much less favourable. Few corners of mainland Europe have not been grazed by livestock at some point in time, and the cutting down of the pre-agricultural forest habitat caused disruption to the original plant and animal ecosystems. Eighty to ninety per cent of Europe was once covered by forest. It stretched from the Mediterranean Sea to the Arctic Ocean. Though over half of Europe's original forests disappeared through the centuries of colonisation, Europe still has over one quarter of the world's forests - spruce forests of Scandinavia, vast pine forests in Russia, chestnut rainforests of the Caucasus and the cork oak forests in the Mediterranean. During recent times, deforestation has been stopped and many trees were planted. However, in many cases conifers have been preferred over original deciduous trees, because these grow quicker. The plantations and monocultures now cover vast areas of land and this offers very poor habitats for European forest dwelling species. The amount of original forests in Western Europe is just two to three per cent (in the European part of Russia five to ten per cent). The country with the smallest forest-covered area is Ireland (eight per cent), while the most forested country is Finland (72 per cent). In "mainland" Europe, deciduous forest prevails. The most important species are beech, birch and oak. In the north, where taiga grows, a very common tree species is the birch tree. In the Mediterranean, many olive trees have been planted, which are very well adapted to its arid climate. Another common species in Southern Europe is the cypress. Coniferous forests prevail at higher altitudes up to the forest boundary and as one moves north within Russia and Scandinavia, giving way to tundra as the Arctic is approached. The semi-arid Mediterranean region hosts much scrub forest. A narrow east-west tongue of Eurasian grassland—the steppe—extends eastwards from Ukraine and southern Russia and ends in Hungary and traverses into taiga to the north. Glaciation during the most recent ice age and the presence of man affected the distribution of European fauna. As for the animals, in many parts of Europe most large animals and top predator species have been hunted to extinction. The woolly mammoth and aurochs were extinct before the end of the Neolithic period. Today wolves (carnivores) and bears (omnivores) are endangered. Once they were found in most parts of Europe. However, deforestation caused these animals to withdraw further and further. By the Middle Ages the bears' habitats were limited to more or less inaccessible mountains with sufficient forest cover. Today, the brown bear lives primarily in the Balkan peninsula, in the North and in Russia; a small number also persist in other countries across Europe (Austria, Pyrenees etc.), but in these areas brown bear populations are fragmented and marginalised because of the destruction of their habitat. In the far North of Europe, polar bears can also be found. The wolf, the second largest predator in Europe after the brown bear, can be found primarily in Eastern Europe and in the Balkans. Other important European carnivores are Eurasian lynx, European wild cat, foxes (especially the red fox), jackal and different species of martens, hedgehogs, different species of snakes (vipers, grass snake...), different birds (owls, hawks and other birds of prey) Important European herbivores are snails, amphibians, fish, different birds, and mammals, like rodents, deers and roe deers, boars, and living in the mountains, marmots, steinbocks, chamoises among others. Sea creatures are also an important part of European flora and fauna. The sea flora is mainly phytoplankton. Important animals that live in European seas are zooplankton, molluscs, echinoderms, different crayfish, squids and octopuses, fish, dolphins, and whales. Some animals live in caves, for example proteus and bats.

Demographics

Almost all of Europe was possibly settled before or during the last ice age ca. 10,000 years ago. Neanderthal man and modern man coexisted during at least some of this time. Roman road building helped with the interbreeding of the native Europeans' genetics. In contemporary times Europe has one of the lowest inbreeding rates in the world because of an extensive transport network paired with open borders. Europe passed well over 600 million people before the turn of the 20th century, but now is entering a period of population decline, for a variety of social factors.

Territories and divisions

Political divisions

Independent states

interbreeding on this map.]] :See also: Table of European territories and regions The following independent states have territory in Europe: ² Azerbaijan and Georgia lie partly in Europe according to the usual definition which consider the crest of the Caucasus as the boundary with Asia.
³ Kazakhstan's European territory consists of a portion west of the Ural and Emba Rivers.
⁴ The name of this state is a matter of international dispute. See Republic of Macedonia for details.
⁵ Those territories of Russia lying west of the Ural Mountains are considered as part of Europe.
⁶ State union of Republic of Serbia and the Republic of Montenegro.
⁷ European Turkey comprises territory to the west and north of the Bosporus and the Dardanelles straits.
^{2, 3, 5, 7} See Countries in both Europe and Asia for details.

Dependent territories

The European territories listed below are recognised as being culturally and geographically defined. Most have a degree of autonomy. In the list below, each territory is followed by its legal status.
- Faroe Islands (autonomous region of Denmark)
- Gibraltar (UK overseas territory)
- Guernsey (British crown dependency)
- Jersey (British crown dependency)
- Man, Isle of (British crown dependency)
- Svalbard (autonomous region of Norway) Note that this is not a list of all dependencies of all European countries. Dependencies located on other continents are not listed.

Unilaterally seceded territories

Following are breakaway regions of independent states. These regions have declared and de facto achieved independence, but this is not recognised de jure by their home state or by the other independent states.
- Abkhazia (from Georgia)
- Nagorno-Karabakh (disputed by Armenia and Azerbaijan)
- South Ossetia (from Georgia)
- Transnistria (from Moldova)

Territories under United Nations administration

- Kosovo and Metohia (province of Serbia)

Table of European territories and regions

Notes:
¹ Continental regions as per UN categorisations/map. Depending on definitions, various territories cited below (notes 2-6, 8, 9) may be in one or both of Europe and Asia.
² Armenia is sometimes considered a transcontinental country in Eastern Europe and Western Asia (as per UN categorisations/map).
³ Azerbaijan is often considered a transcontinental country in Western Asia (UN region) and Eastern Europe; population and area figures are for European portion only.
⁴Cyprus is often considered a transcontinental country in Western Asia (UN region) and Southern Europe; population and area figures are for de jure Greek-administered portion only.
⁵Georgia is often considered a transcontinental country in Western Asia (UN region) and Eastern Europe; population and area figures are for European portion only.
⁶Kazakhstan is sometimes considered a transcontinental country in Central Asia (UN region) and Eastern Europe.
⁷Netherlands population for July 2004; Amsterdam is the de facto capital, while The Hague is the country's administrative seat.
⁸Russia is generally considered a transcontinental country in Eastern Europe (UN region) and Asia; population and area figures are for European portion only.
⁹Turkey is generally considered a transcontinental country in Western Asia (UN region) and Southern Europe; population and area figures are for European portion only, including all of Istanbul.

Linguistic and cultural regions

The sub-division in several linguistic and cultural regions is much less subjective than the geographical sub-division, since they correspond to people's cultural connections. There are three main groups:

Germanic Europe

Germanic Europe, where Germanic languages are spoken. This area corresponds more or less to north-western Europe and some parts of central Europe. The main religion of the region is Protestantism, even if there are also some countries with Catholic majority (particularly Austria). This region consists of: United Kingdom, Ireland, Iceland, Germany, Austria, Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Luxembourg, Liechtenstein, the Faroe Islands, German-speaking Switzerland, the Flemish part of Belgium, the Swedish-speaking municipalities of Finland, and the South Tyrol part of Italy.

Latin Europe

Latin Europe, where the Romance languages are spoken. This area corresponds more or less to south-western Europe, with the exception of Romania and Moldova which are situated in Eastern Europe. The major religion is Catholicism, except in Romania and Moldova. This area consists of: Italy, Spain, Portugal, France, Romania, Moldova, French-speaking Belgium and French speaking Switzerland, and Italian and Romansh speaking Switzerland as well.

Slavic Europe

Slavic Europe, where Slavic languages are spoken. This area corresponds, more or less, to Central and Eastern Europe. The main religions are Orthodox Christianity and Catholicism, with large Muslim populations in some parts formerly ruled by the Ottoman Empire. This area consists of: Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, the Republic of Macedonia, Poland, Russia, Serbia and Montenegro, Slovakia, Slovenia and Ukraine.

Others

Outside of these three main groups we can find:
- The Celtic nations: Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, Cornwall (within the United Kingdom); the Isle of Man (a British Crown dependency); the Republic of Ireland; Brittany (within France). These are all nations where a Celtic language is spoken, or was spoken into modern times, and there is a degree of shared culture (see Pan Celticism). Also considered Celtic nations, by some, are both Galicia (Spain) and Asturias, (within Spain), whose own Celtic language died out several hundred years ago.
- Greece, the only country of "Hellenic Europe".In Hellenic Europe we can consider also the Greek Cypriot community It is sometimes associated with the Latin countries, due to the geographical and cultural ties to the Mediterranean Sea, and sometimes to the Slavic-Orthodox part of Europe due to the importance or Orthodoxy in Greece.
- Armenia has a language that constitutes a separate branch of Indo-European family of languages. The Armenian language is spoken in Armenia and other European countries with Armenian communities (such as France, Greece, Belgium, Russia, Germany etc.).
- Ibero-Caucasian, a group that includes ethnic groups throughout the Caucasus region (both North and South). Ibero-Caucasian languages are not linked to the Indo-European languages. This group includes Georgians, Abkhaz, Chechens, Balkars, and a number of other smaller ethnic groups that reside in the Caucasus.
- Turkey, having an Altaic language not of Indo-European origin, and mainly a Muslim country, unlike the main regions' different versions of Christianity.
- Hungary, having a language related to Finnish and Estonian. Due to its location Hungary is normally grouped with Central or Eastern European countries.
- Finland and Estonia, whose languages are related to Hungarian. Despite this connection (not a close one), Finland and Estonia are normally associated with northern European countries (of an even farther connection).

External links

-
- [http://www.democracyineurope.com Democracy in Europe]
- [http://www.holidayhomeseuro.com European holiday homes]
- [http://phoenicia.org/europa.html Europa, the Phoenician Princess] - overwhelmed Zeus with love
- [http://www.europestartpage.com EUROPEstartpage.com, travel and city guide to Europe]
- [http://www.limitlesseurope.com LimitlessEurope.com : information guide to Europe]
- [http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/NewImages/images.php3?img_id=13266 Europe at Night] at NASA Earth Observatory
- [http://www.geog.tamu.edu/~prout/GVmidtermTwo.html Regions of Europe]
- [http://p086.ezboard.com/balbanau Evropa / Europa / Europe]
- [http://www.eufpc.org EUFPC European Foreign Policy Council]
- [http://www.itmaps.com/?modul=map Map of Europe]
- [http://www.freeworldmaps.net/europe/index.html Physical Map of Europe]
- [http://www.parks.it/europa/Eindex.html Parks in Europe] - National parks, nature parks, reserves and other protected areas. Category:Continents als:Europa roa-rup:Evropa zh-min-nan:Europa ko:유럽 ms:Eropah ja:ヨーロッパ simple:Europe th:ทวีปยุโรป

Costa Rica

The Republic of Costa Rica is a country in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, Panama to the south-southeast, the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, and the Caribbean Sea to the east. Costa Rica is seen as an example of political stability in the region, and is sometimes referred to as the "Switzerland of the Americas". Costa Rica was the first country in the world to constitutionally abolish the army.

History of Costa Rica

In Pre-Columbian times the Native Americans in what is now Costa Rica were part of the Intermediate Area located between the Mesoamerican and Andean cultural regions. This has recently been redefined to include the Isthmo-Colombian area, defined by the presence of groups that spoke Chibchan languages. These groups are also believed to have created the Stone spheres of Costa Rica, between 200 BC and AD 1600. The native people of the Mayans and Aztecs were conquered by Spain in the 16th century. Costa Rica was then the southernmost province in the Spanish territory of New Spain. The provincial capital was in Cartago. After briefly joining the Mexican Empire of Agustín de Iturbide (see: History of Mexico and Mexican Empire), Costa Rica became a state in the United Provinces of Central America (see: History of Central America) from 1823 to 1839. In 1824, the capital moved to San José. From the 1840s on, Costa Rica was an independent nation. Costa Rica has avoided the violence that has plagued Central America. Since the late 19th century only two brief periods of violence have marred its democratic development. In 1949, José Figueres Ferrer abolished the army; and since then Costa Rica has been one of the few countries to operate within the democratic system without the assistance of a military. army Costa Rica (Spanish for "Rich Coast"), although still a largely agricultural country, has achieved a relatively high standard of living. Land ownership is widespread and Electronics is a rapidly expanding industry.

Geography

Electronics Electronics Costa Rica is located on the Central American isthmus, 10° North of the equator and 84° West of the Prime Meridian. It borders both the Caribbean Sea (to the east) and the North Pacific Ocean (to the west), with a total of 1,290 km of coastline (212km on the Caribbean coast and 1016 km on the Pacific). Costa Rica also borders Nicaragua to the north (309 km of border) and Panama to the south-southeast (639 km of border). In total, Costa Rica comprises 51,100 km², of which 50,610 km² is land and 440 km² is water, making it slightly smaller than the U.S. state of West Virginia and about half the size of Ireland. The highest point in the country is Cerro Chirripo, with 3,810 m (approximately 12,515 feet), the second highest peak in Central America, after Volcan Tajumulco in Guatemala. The highest volcano in the country is the Irazú Volcano (3,431 m or 11,257 feet). Costa Rica also comprises several islands. Cocos Island stands out because of its distance from continental landmass (24 km², 500 km from Puntarenas coast), but Calero Island is the biggest island of the country (151.6 km²). The largest lake in Costa Rica is Lake Arenal. The country is highly recognized and praised for its national park system: a developed and progressive system which stresses on ecotourism. Costa Rica protects over 25% of its national territory within national parks.

Politics

ecotourism Costa Rica is a democratic republic with a strong system of constitutional checks and balances. Executive responsibilities are vested in a president, who is the country's center of power. There also are two vice presidents and a 15-member cabinet that includes one of the vice presidents. The president and 57 Legislative Assembly deputies are elected for 4-year terms. A constitutional amendment approved in 1969 limited presidents and deputies to one term, although a deputy may run again for an Assembly seat after sitting out a term. An amendment to the constitution to allow second presidential terms was proposed and also the constitutionality of the prohibition against a second presidential term has been challenged in the courts. In April 2003 the prohibition was officially recognized, in a highly polemic resolution, as anti-constitutional allowing Óscar Arias (Nobel Peace Prize, 1987) to run for President a second time in the upcoming 2006 elections. Arias is promoter of free trade and supports the free trade agreement with the United States which is the source of a great controversy that might develop in protests around the country in the upcoming months. Costa Rica uses a form of proportional representation to elect its national legislative body. Governors appointed by the president head the country's seven provinces, but they exercise little power. There are no provincial legislatures. Autonomous state agencies enjoy considerable operational independence; they include the telecommunications and electrical power monopoly, the nationalized commercial banks, the state insurance monopoly, and the social security agency. Costa Rica has no military by constitution and maintains only domestic police and security forces for internal security. See also: Military of Costa Rica

Provinces

Military of Costa Rica Costa Rica consists of seven provinces: # Alajuela (central; north of capital San José) # Cartago # Guanacaste (north-west) # Heredia # Limón # Puntarenas (along most of the Pacific coast, with a large bulge in the south-west and a smaller one at the northern end at both sides of the Golfo de Nicoya, where the homonymous capital is located) # San José (Area around capital)

Economy

Costa Rica's economy is dependent on ,ecotourism, agriculture, and, more recently, electronics exports. Originally having benefited from Nicaraguan expatriates' investment in the early 80's, the economy then emerged from recession in 1997 and has since shown strong growth. Costa Rica's location in the Central American isthmus provides easy access to American markets as it has the same time zone as the central part of the United States and direct ocean access to Europe and Asia. The economy has been booming for Costa Rica because the Government had implemented a seven year plan of expansion in the high tech industry. They have tax exemptions for those who are willing to invest in the country. With their high level of educated residents, they make an attractive investing location. Several global high tech corporations have already started developing in the area exporting goods. The unit of currency is the colón (CRC), which trades around 450-500 to the U.S. dollar; currently about 600 to the euro.

Flora and Fauna

euro Costa Rica is home to a rich variety of plants and animals. While the country has only about 0.1% of the world's land mass, it contains 5% of the world's biodiversity. Costa Rica has no military or navy, but an abundance of wildlife; it has been said that the soldiers are the leaf cutter ants, the pilots are the macaws and the navy ships are the whales. Over 25% of Costa Rica is composed of protected forests and reserves. One national park that is internationally renowned among ecologists for its biodiversity (including big cats and tapirs) and where visitors can expect to see an abundance of wildlife is the Corcovado National Park. Tortuguero National Park is home to spider, howler and White-throated Capuchin monkeys, the Three-toed sloth, 320 species of birds (including eight species of parrots), and a variety of reptiles. The Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve hosts 2,000 plant species including numerous orchids. Over 800 types of bird can be found here, as well as over 100 species of mammal. Also see:
- Wildlife of Costa Rica
- List of Birds of Costa Rica

Demographics

List of Birds of Costa Rica List of Birds of Costa Rica List of Birds of Costa Rica List of Birds of Costa Rica List of Birds of Costa Rica In the central part of the country, most people are of European descent but some are also Mestizos (to varying degrees). Because of little intermarriage, most of the population today retain European complexions. The pure indigenous population today numbers about 29,000, less than one percent of the population. In Guanacaste, most of the population descends from a mix of the Chorotega Indians, Bantu Africans and Spaniards. Descendants of black 19th-century Jamaican immigrant workers constitute an English-speaking minority and at three percent of the population number about 96,000. Costa Ricans of mestizo and European descent account for a combined 94 percent (the vast majority being of Spanish decent). Another one percent is ethnically Chinese. http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/world/A0857591.html In addtion there are many Americans who either come to retire or move to country to live. Today there is a growing number of Amerindians who migrate for seasonal work opportunities as agricultural workers mainly in the south-eastern border region with Panama. The most important group of immigrants in Costa Rica are Nicaraguans, who represent ten percent of the population. Most of them were originally refugees from civil war during the late 1970s and 1980s, but after the Esquipulas Peace Agreement an increasing number of Nicaraguans continue to migrate into Costa Rica due to economic reasons. There is also a growing number of Colombian, Panamanian and Peruvian immigrants.

Culture

In Costa Rica, the locals refer to themselves as tico, maje or mae (sort of "man", actually maje means "dumb") idiom in a very popular and "only with close friends" way, or tica (female). "Tico" comes from the locally popular usage of "tico" diminutive suffixes (eg. 'momentico' instead of 'momentito'). The tico ideal is that of a very friendly, helpful, laid back, unhurried, educated and environmentally aware people, with little worry for deadlines or the "normal" stresses of United States life. Visitors from the United States are often referred to as gringos, which is virtually always congenial in nature. The phrase "Pura Vida" (literally pure life) is a motto ubiquitous in Costa Rica. It encapsulates the pervading ideology of living in peace in a calm, unflustered manner, appreciating a life surrounded by nature and family and friends. Costa Rica boasts a varied history. Costa Rica was the point where the Mesoamerican and South American native cultures met. The north west of the country, Nicoya, was the southernmost point of Nahuatl cultural influence when the Spanish conquerors (conquistadores) came in the 16th century. The center and south portions of the country had Chibcha influences. However the Indian people influenced Costa Rica as a whole very little as much of the Indians died from disease and mistreatment of the Spaniards. The Atlantic coast was populated with African slaves due to the practice of enslavement in the 17th and 18th centuries. In addition, during this 19th century thousands of Chinese and Italian families came to the country to work on the construction of the railroad system connecting the urban populations of the Central Plateau to the port of Limon on the Caribbean.

Famous Costa Ricans

- Óscar Arias Sánchez, Nobel Peace Prize winner (1987) and President of the Republic (1986–1990)
- José Figueres Ferrer, National caudillo and President of the Republic (1948–1949, 1953–1958, and 1970–1974.
- Franklin Chang Díaz, Astronaut
- Clodomiro Picado Twight, Toxicologist
- Claudia Poll. Olympic gold medallist
- Juan Santamaría. National hero
- Chavela Vargas, singer
- Maribel Guardia, singer, actress, model

Reference

- Some of the material in these articles comes from the CIA World Factbook 2000 and the 2003 U.S. Department of State website.

External links

- [http://wikitravel.org/en/Costa_Rica Wikitravel guide to Costa Rica]
- [http://www.visitcostarica.com/ ICT official tourism site (English | Spanish | Deutsch | Français)]
- [http://www.bccr.fi.cr Banco Central de Costa Rica] Central Bank Costa Rica
- [http://www.asamblea.go.cr/proyecto/constitu/const2.htm Constitution of the Republic of Costa Rica (In Spanish)]
- [http://www.costarica-online.com/en/english.htm Costa Rica City Guide] - Message Board and Photo Gallery (free site).
- [http://www.tourism-costarica.com/ Instituto Costarricense de Turismo] Official Costa Rican Tourism Portal
- [http://www.go.cr/enlaces.html Links by the government web site] Category:Central American countries
- zh-min-nan:Costa Rica ko:코스타리카 ms:Costa Rica ja:コスタリカ simple:Costa Rica th:ประเทศคอสตาริกา

Panama

Panama (Spanish: Panamá) is the southernmost country of North America. A transcontinental country, its isthmus constitutes the last part of a natural land bridge between the North American and South American continents. It borders Costa Rica to the west and Colombia to the east, and the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south.

History

Main article: History of Panama Much of Panama's domestic politics and international diplomacy in the 20th century were tied to the Panama Canal and the foreign policy of the United States. At the turn of the 20th century, Theodore Roosevelt pursued United States diplomatic efforts to facilitate a deal with Colombia that would allow it to take over French canal operations started by Ferdinand de Lesseps. In November 1903, a small number of wealthy Panamanian landowners lead by a covert Separatist Junta presided by Dr. Manuel Amador Guerrero, were encouraged to secede from Colombia with support from the United States. On November 3, Panama declared its independence from Colombia after controlling the Colombian army. The President of the Municipal Council, Demetrio H. Brid[http://www.demetriohbrid.com/Biografia.html], highest authority at the time, became its de facto President, appointing on November 4 a Provisional Government to run the affairs of the new republic. The United States was the first country to recognize the new Republic of Panama and sent troops to protect the nation. The 1904 Constituent Assembly elected Dr. Manuel Amador Guerrero, a prominent member of the Conservative political par

Chibchan

Bibliography

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Muisca

See also

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Costa Rica

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Reference

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Panama

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