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Tuesday, December 29, 2009

HISTORY OF NIGERIA

Historic regions: 5th century BC - 20th century AD

Nigeria contains more historic cultures and empires than any other other nation in Africa. They date back as far as the 5th century BC, when communities living around the southern slopes of the Jos plateau make wonderfully expressive terracotta figures - in a tradition known now as the Nok culture, from the Nigerian village where these sculptures are first unearthed. The Nok people are neolithic tribes who have recently acquired the iron technology spreading southwards through Africa.

The Jos plateau is in the centre of Nigeria, but the first extensive kingdoms of the region - more than a millennium after the Nok people - are in the north and northeast, deriving their wealth from trade north through the Sahara and east into the Sudan.

During the 9th century AD a trading empire grows up around Lake Chad. Its original centre is east of the lake, in the Kanem region, but it soon extends to Bornu on the western side. In the 11th century the ruler of Kanem-Bornu converts to Islam.

West of Bornu, along the northern frontier of Nigeria, is the land of the Hausa people. Well placed to control trade with the forest regions to the south, the Hausa develop a number of small but stable kingdoms, each ruled from a strong walled city. They are often threatened by larger neighbours (Mali and Gao to the west, Bornu to the east). But the Hausa traders benefit also from being on the route between these empires. By the 14th century they too are Muslim.

In the savanna grasslands and the forest regions west of the Niger, between the Hausa kingdoms and the coast, the Yoruba people are the dominant tribes. Here they establish two powerful states.

The first is Ife, on the border between forest and savanna. Famous now for its sculpture, Ife flourishes from the 11th to 15th century. In the 16th century a larger Yoruba empire develops, based slightly further from the forest at Oyo. Using the profits of trade to develop a forceful cavalry, Oyo grows in strength during the 16th century. By the end of the 18th century the rulers of Oyo are controlling a region from the Niger to the west of Dahomey.

Meanwhile, firmly within the forest, the best known of all the Nigerian kingdoms establishes itself in the 15th century (from small beginnings in the 13th). Benin becomes a name internationally known for its cast-metal sculpture, in a tradition inherited from the Ife (see Sculpture of Ife and Benin).

In terms of extent Benin is no match for Oyo, its contemporary to the north. In the 15th century the region brought under central control is a mere seventy-miles across (people and places being harder to subdue in the tropical forest than on the savanna), though a century later Benin stretches from the Niger delta in the east to Lagos in the west.

But Benin's fame is based on factors other than power. This is the coastal kingdom which the Portuguese discover when they reach the mouth of the Niger in the 1470s, bringing back to Europe the first news of superb African artefacts and of the ceremonial splendour of Benin's oba or king.

The kings of Benin are a story in themselves. In the 19th century they scandalize the west by their use of human sacrifice in court rituals. And they have stamina. At the end of the 20th century the original dynasty is still in place, though without political power. All in all, among Nigeria's many historic kingdoms, Benin has earned its widespread renown.

The Fulani and Sokoto: AD 1804-1903

Living among the Hausa in the northern regions of Nigeria are a tribe, the Fulani, whose leaders in the early 19th century become passionate advocates of strict Islam. From 1804 sheikh Usman dan Fodio and his two sons lead the Fulani in an immensely successful holy war against the lax Muslim rulers of the Hausa kingdoms.

The result is the establishment in 1809 of a Fulani capital at Sokoto, from which the centre and north of Nigeria is effectively ruled for the rest of the 19th century. But during this same period there has been steady encroachment on the region by British interests.

British explorers: AD 1806-1830

From the death of Mungo Park near Bussa in 1806 to the end of the century, there is continuing interest in Nigeria on the part of British explorers, anti-slavery activists, missionaries and traders.

In 1821 the British government sponsors an expedition south through the Sahara to reach the kingdom of Bornu. Its members become the first Europeans to reach Lake Chad, in 1823. One of the group, Hugh Clapperton, explores further west through Kano and the Hausa territory to reach Sokoto. Clapperton is only back in England for a few months, in 1825, before he sets off again for the Nigerian coast at Lagos.

On this expedition, with his servant Richard Lander, he travels on trade routes north from the coast to Kano and then west again to Sokoto. Here Clapperton dies. But Lander makes his way back to London, where he is commissioned by the government to explore the lower reaches of the Niger.

Accompanied in 1830 by his brother John, Lander makes his way north from the coast near Lagos to reach the great river at Bussa - the furthest point of Mungo Park's journey downstream. With considerable difficulty the brothers make a canoe trip downstream, among hostile Ibo tribesmen, to reach the sea at the Niger delta. This region has long been familiar to European traders, but its link to the interior is now charted. All seems set for serious trade.

SS Alburkah: AD 1832-1834

After Lander's second return to England a company is formed by a group of Liverpool merchants, including Macgregor Laird, to trade on the lower Niger. Laird is also a pioneer in the shipping industry. For the present purpose, an expedition to the Niger, he designs an iron paddle-steamer, the 55-ton Alburkah.

Laird himself leads the expedition, with Richard Lander as his expert guide.

The Alburkah steams south from Milford Haven in July 1832 with forty-eight on board. She reaches the mouth of the Niger three months later, entering history as the first ocean-going iron ship.

After making her way up one of the many streams of the Niger delta, the Alburkah progresses upstream on the main river as far as Lokoja, the junction with the Benue. The expedition demonstrates that the Niger offers a highway into the continent for ocean vessels. And the performance of the iron steamer is a triumph. But medicine is not yet as far advanced as technology. When the Alburkah returns to Liverpool, in 1834, only nine of the original crew of forty-eight are alive. They include a much weakened Macgregor Laird.

Trade and anti-slavery: AD 1841-1900

The next British expedition to the Niger is almost equally disastrous in terms of loss of life. Four ships under naval command are sent out in 1841, with instructions to steam up the Niger and make treaties with local kings to prevent the slave trade. The enterprise is abandoned when 48 of the 145 Europeans in the crews die of fever.

Malaria is the cause of the trouble, but major progress is made when a doctor, William Baikie, leads an expedition up the Niger in 1854. He administers quinine to his men and suffers no loss of life. Extracted from the bark of the cinchona tree, quinine has long been used in medicine. But its proven efficacy against malaria is a turning point in the European penetration of Africa.

The British anti-slavery policy in the region involves boosting the trade in palm oil (a valuable product which gives the name Oil Rivers to the Niger delta) to replace the dependence on income from the slave trade. It transpires later that this is somewhat counter-productive, causing the upriver chieftains to acquire more slaves to meet the increased demand for palm oil. But it is nevertheless the philanthropic principle behind much of the effort to set up trading stations.

At the same time the British navy patrols the coast to liberate captives from slave ships of other nations and to settle them at Freetown in Sierra Leone.

From 1849 the British government accepts a more direct involvement. A consul, based in Fernando Po, is appointed to take responsibility for the Bights of Biafra and Benin. He undertakes direct negotiations with the king of Lagos, the principal port from which slaves are shipped. When these break down, in 1851, Lagos is attacked and captured by a British force.

Another member of the Lagos royal family is placed on the throne, after guaranteeing to put an end to the slave trade and to human sacrifice (a feature of this region). When he and his successor fail to fulfil these terms, Lagos is annexed in 1861 as a British colony.

During the remainder of the century the consolidation of British trade and British political control goes hand in hand. In 1879 George Goldie persuades the British trading enterprises on the Niger to merge their interests in a single United African Company, later granted a charter as the Royal Niger Company.

In 1893 the delta region is organized as the Niger Coast Protectorate. In 1897 the campaign against unacceptable local practices reaches a climax in Benin - notorious by this time both for slave trading and for human sacrifice. The members of a British delegation to the oba of Benin are massacred in this year. In the reprisals Benin City is partly burnt by British troops.

The difficulty of administering the vast and complex region of Nigeria persuades the government that the upriver territories, thus far entrusted to the Royal Niger Company, also need to be brought under central control.

In 1900 the company's charter is revoked. Britain assumes direct responsibility for the region from the coast to Sokoto and Bornu in the north. Given the existing degree of British involvement, this entire area has been readily accepted at the Berlin conference in 1884 as falling to Britain in the scramble for Africa - though in the late 1890s there remains dangerous tension between Britain and France, the colonial power in neighbouring Dahomey, over drawing Nigeria's western boundary.

British colonial rule: AD 1900-1960

The sixty years of Britain's colonial rule in Nigeria are characterized by frequent reclassifying of different regions for administrative purposes. They are symptomatic of the problem of uniting the country as a single state.

In the early years the Niger Coast Protectorate is expanded to become Southern Nigeria, with its seat of government at Lagos. At this time the rulers in the north (the emir of Kano and the sultan of Sokoto) are very far from accepting British rule. To deal with the situation Frederick Lugard is appointed high commissioner and commander-in-chief of the protectorate of northern Nigeria.

Lugard has already been much involved in the colony, commanding troops from 1894 on behalf of the Royal Niger Company to oppose French claims on Borgu (a border region, divided in 1898 between Nigeria and Dahomey). Between 1903 and 1906 he subdues Kano and Sokoto and finally puts an end to their rulers' slave-raiding expeditions.

Lugard pacifies northern Nigeria by ensuring that in each territory, however small, the throne is won and retained by a chief willing to cooperate. Lugard then allows these client rulers considerable power - in the technique, soon to be known as 'indirect rule', which in Africa is particularly associated with his name (though it has been a familiar aspect of British colonial policy in India).

In 1912 Lugard is appointed governor of both northern and southern Nigeria and is given the task of merging them. He does so by 1914, when the entire region becomes the Colony and Protectorate of Nigeria.

The First World War brings a combined British and French invasion of German Cameroon (a campaign not completed until early in 1916). In 1922 the League of Nations grants mandates to the two nations to administer the former German colony. The British mandate consists of two thin strips on the eastern border of Nigeria.

The rival claims of Nigeria's various regions become most evident after World War II when Britain is attempting to find a structure to meet African demands for political power. By 1951 the country has been divided into Northern, Eastern and Western regions, each with its own house of assembly. In addition there is a separate house of chiefs for the Northern province, to reflect the strong tradition there of tribal authority. And there is an overall legislative council for the whole of Nigeria.

But even this is not enough to reflect the complexity of the situation. In 1954 a new constitution (the third in eight years) establishes the Federation of Nigeria and adds the Federal Territory of Lagos.

During the later 1950s an African political structure is gradually achieved. From 1957 there is a federal prime minister. In the same year the Western and Eastern regions are granted internal self-government, to be followed by the Northern region in 1959.

Full independence follows rapidly, in October 1960. The tensions between the country's communities now become Nigeria's own concern.

Independence and secession: AD 1960-1970

Regional hostilities are a feature of independent Nigeria from the start, partly due to an imbalance of population. More than half the nation's people are in the Fulani and Hausa territories of the Northern region. Northerners therefore control not only their own regional assembly but also the federal government in Lagos.

From 1962 to 1964 there is almost continuous anti-northern unrest elsewhere in the nation, coming to a climax in a rebellion in 1966 by officers from the Eastern region, the homeland of the Ibo. They assassinate both the federal prime minister and the premiers of the Northern and Western regions.

In the ensuing chaos many Ibos living in the north are massacred. In July a northern officer, Yakubu Gowon, emerges as the country's leader. His response to Nigeria's warring tribal factions is to subdivide the four regions (the Mid-West has been added in 1963), rearranging them into twelve states.

This device further inflames Ibo hostility, for one of the new states cuts their territory off from the sea. The senior Ibo officer, Odumegwu Ojukwu, takes the drastic step in May 1967 of declaring the Eastern region an independent nation, calling it the republic of Biafra.

The result is bitter and intense civil war, with the federal army (increasing during the conflict from 10,000 to 200,000 men) meeting powerful resistance from the secessionist region. The issue splits the west, where it is the first post-independence African war to receive widespread coverage. The US and Britain supply arms to the federal government. France extends the same facilities to Biafra.

In any civil war ordinary people suffer most, and in small land-locked Biafra this is even more true than usual. By January 1970 they are starving. Biafra surrenders and ceases to exist. Ojukwu escapes across the border and is granted asylum in the Ivory Coast.

From oil wealth to disaster: AD 1970-1999

General Gowon achieves an impressive degree of reconciliation in the country after the traumas of 1967-70. Nigeria now becomes one of the wealthiest countries in Africa thanks to its large reserves of oil (petroleum now, rather than the palm oil of the previous century). In the mid-1970s the output is more than two million barrels a day, the value of which is boosted by the high prices achieved during the oil crisis of 1973-4.

But with this wealth goes corruption, which Gowon fails to control. When he is abroad, in 1975, his government is toppled in a military coup. Gowon retires to Britain.

In the second half of the 1970s oil prices plummet. Nigeria rapidly suffers economic crisis and political disorder. Within a period of five years the average income per head slumps by 75%, from over $1000 a year to a mere $250.

Neither brief cilivian governments nor frequent military intervention prove able to rescue the situation. A regular response is to subdivide regional Nigeria into ever smaller parcels. The number of states is increased to nineteen in 1979 and to twenty-nine in 1991. By the end of the century it stands at thirty-six. Meanwhile the nation's foreign debt has been increasing in parallel, to reach $36 billion by 1994.

In 1993 the military ruler (Ibrahim Babangida, in power from 1985) yields to international pressure and holds a presidential election. When it appears to have been conclusively won by Moshood Abiola, a chief of the western Yoruba tribe, Babangida cancels the election by decree.

This blatant act prompts Nigeria's first energetic movement for democracy, which comes to international attention when one of its leaders - the playwright Ken Saro-Wiwa - is among a group hanged in 1995 for the alleged murder of four rivals at a political rally in 1994. Saro-Wiwa has also been a campaigner for the rights of his Ogoni people, whose territory is ravaged - to no benefit to themselves - by the international companies extracting Nigeria's oil.

The world-wide outcry at Saro-Wiwa's death, without any pretence of a fair trial, prompts Nigeria's generals to offer new elections in 1999. The presidential election is won by Olusegun Obasanjo, by now a civilian but for three years from 1976 the military ruler of the country - and therefore widely assumed to be the army's preferred candidate. His People's Democratic Party wins a majority of seats in both the house of representatives and the senate.

Early reports suggest that under Obasanjo's government a ruthless disregard of civil liberties continues in Nigeria, with outbreaks of minority ethnic protest being brutally suppressed.

The election of Obasanjo, a Christian from the south, brings new tensions. As if in response, in November 1999, the predominantly Muslim northern state of Zamfara introduces strict Islamic law, the sharia. Other northern states discuss similar action. Local Christians take alarm. Violent street battles between the two communities are a feature of the early months of 2000.

The future of Nigeria is problematic but of considerable importance to Africa. The nation's potential remains vast. With at least 115 million people (comprising some 200 tribes) it is the continent's most populous country. And as the world's fifth largest oil producer, it has the wherewithal to be one of the richest.

Tuesday, December 22, 2009

History of Nepal

Before Nepal's emergence as a nation in the latter half of the 18th century, the designation 'Nepal' was largely applied only to the Kathmandu Valley. Thus up until the unification of the country, Nepal's history is largely the history of the Kathmandu Valley. References to Nepal in famous Hindu epics such as the Mahabharata, Puranas and also Buddhist and Jain scriptures, establish the country's antiquity as an independent political and territorial entity. The Vamshavalis or chronicles, the oldest of which was written during the 14th century, are the only fairly reliable basis for Nepal's ancient history. The Vamshavalis mention the rule of several dynasties the Gopalas, the Abhiras and the Kiratas -- over a stretch of centuries. However, no extant historical evidence has yet authenticated the rule of these legendary dynasties. The documented history of Nepal begins with the Changu Narayan temple inscription of King Manadeva I (C 464-505 A.D.) of the Lichavi dynasty.

Lichavi Dynasty

The Lichavis are said to have migrated into Nepal from north India in around 250 A.D. The first Lichavi king of historical importance was Manadeva 1. Another important Lichavi monarch was Anshuverma who opened trade routes to Tibet. One of his daughters, Bhrikuti, who was married to Tibetan ruler Tsrong-tsong Gompo, was instrumental in spreading the Gospel of the Buddha in Tibet and China. Anshuverma has been referred to as a man of many talents in the accounts of the Chinese traveler Huen Tsang, who had visited India in the 7th century AD.

Narendradeval another Lichavi king, initiated friendly relations with China and his successors laid the foundations of friendship with India by entering into matrimonial alliances with the Indian royal families. The Lichchhavi rule spanned over a period of about 630 years, the last ruler being Jayakamadeva.

Malla Dynasty

After the fall of the Lichchhavis came the Malla period during which the foundation of the city of Kantipur (later Kathmandu) was laid. The early Malla rule started with Ari Malla in the 12th century and over the next two centuries grew into a large empire before disintegrating into small principalities which later became known as the Baisi (i.e. the twenty-two principalities). This was more or less coincidental with the emergence of the Chaubisi (i.e. twenty-four principalities). The history of these principalities remains shrouded up until the time when they joined other kingdoms, both large and small, to form the unified Kingdom of Nepal.

Jayasthiti Malla, with whom commences the later Malla period in the Kathmandu Valley, reigned towards the end of the 14th century. Though his rule was rather short, his place among the rulers in the Valley is eminent for the various social and economic reforms such as the 'Sanskritization' of the Valley people, new methods of land measurement and allocation etc. Yakshya Malla, the grandson of Jayasthiti Malla, ruled the Kathmandu Valley until almost the end of the 15th century. After his demise, the Valley was divided into three independent Valley kingdoms -- Kathmandu, Bhaktapur and Patan -- in about 1484 A.D. This division led the Malla rulers into internecine wars for territorial and commercial gains. Mutually debilitating wars gradually weakened them and by the time of King Prithvi Narayan ShahÕs invasion of the Valley, they had by themselves reached the brink of political extinction. The last rulers were Jaya Prakash Malla, Tej Narsingh Malla and Ranjit Malla of Kathmandu, Patan and Bhaktapur respectively.

Shah Dynasty, Unification of Nepal

Prithvi Narayan Shah (c 1769-1775), with whom we move into the modern period of Nepal's history, was the ninth generation descendant of Dravya Shah (1559-1570), the founder of the ruling house of Gorkha. Prithvi Narayan Shah succeeded his father King Nara Bhupal Shah to the throne of Gorkha in 1743 AD. King Prithvi Narayan Shah was quite aware of the political situation of the Valley kingdoms as well as of the Barsi and Chaubisi principalities. He foresaw the need for unifying the small principalities as an urgent condition for survival in the future and set him self to the task accordingly.

His assessment of the situation among the hill principalities was correct, and the principalities were subjugated fairly easily. King Prithvi Narayan Shah's victory march began with the conquest of Nuwakot, which lies between Kathmandu and Gorkha, in 1744. After Nuwakot, he occupied strategic points in the hills surrounding the Kathmandu Valley. The ValleyÕs communications with the outside world were thus cut off. The occupation of the Kuti Pass in about 1756 stopped the ValleyÕs trade with Tibet. Finally, King Prithvi Narayan Shah entered the Valley. After the victory of Kirtipur. King Jaya Prakash Malla of Kathmandu sought help from the British and so the East India Company sent a contingent of soldiers under Captain Kinloch in 1767. The British force was defeated at Sindhuli by King Prithvi Narayan ShahÕs army. This defeat of the British completely shattered the hopes of King Jaya Prakash Malla. The capture of Kathmandu (September 25. 1768) was dramatic. As the people of Kathmandu were celebrating the festival of Indrajatra, Prithvi Narayan Shah and his men marched into the city. A throne was put on the palace courtyard for the king of Kathmandu. Prithvi Narayan Shah sat on the throne and was hailed by the people as the king of Kathmandu. Jaya Prakash Malla managed to escape with his life and took asylum in Patan. When Patan was captured a few weeks later, both Jaya Prakash Malla and the king of Patan, Tej Narsingh Mallal took refuge in Bhaktapur, which was also captured after some time. Thus the Kathmandu Valley was conquered by King Prithvi Narayan Shah and Kathmandu became the capital of the modern Nepal by 1769.

King Prithvi Narayan Shah was successful in bringing together diverse religio-ethnic groups under one national. He was a true nationalist in his outlook and was in favor of adopting a closed-door policy with regard to the British. Not only his social and economic views guided the country's socio-economic course for a long time, his use of the imagery, 'a yam between two bouldersÕ in Nepal's geopolitical context, formed the principal guideline of the country`s foreign policy for future centuries.

The War with British - The Nepalese had differences of opinion with the East India Company regarding the ownership of the land strip of the western Terai, particularly Butwal and Seoraj. The outcome of the conflict was a war with the British. The British launched their attack on the Nepali forces at Nalapani, the western most point of Nepal's frontier at the close of 1814. Though the Nepalese were able to inflict heavy losses to the British army on various fronts, the larger army and the superior weapons of the British proved too strong. The Nepali army evacuated the areas west of the Mahakali river and ultimately the treaty of Sugauli was signed with the British in 1816. Among other things, this treaty took away a large chunk of the Terai from Nepal and the rivers Mahakali and Mechi were fixed as the country's western and eastern boundaries. At this time, King Girvana Yuddha Biktram Shah was on the throne of Nepal, and the power of state was in the hands of Prime Minister Bhimsen Thapa who wielded enormous power during the rule of King Girvana Yuddha Bikram Shah and his son King Rajendra Bikram Shah.

Monday, December 14, 2009

History of Sweden

War, peace and progress

Fourteen thousand years ago, present-day Sweden was covered by a thick ice cap. As the ice retreated, humans came to Sweden. Their first known dwelling place, which was found in southern Sweden, dates from around 12000 BC.

From the period 8000 BC to 6000 BC, the country as a whole began to be populated by peoples who lived by hunting and fishing, and used simple stone tools. Dwelling places and graves dating from the Stone Age, lasting until about 1800 BC, are being found in increasing numbers. The Bronze Age was marked in the Nordic region, especially in Denmark but also in Sweden, by a high level of culture, as is shown by the artifacts found in graves. After 500 BC, such artifacts become increasingly rare as iron came into more general use. During the early Iron Age, the population of Sweden became settled, and agriculture came to form the basis of the economy and society.

The Viking Age and early Christianity

The Viking Age (800–1050) was characterized by a significant expansion, which in the case of Sweden was largely toward the east. Many Viking expeditions set off from Sweden with the dual purpose of plunder and trade along the coasts of the Baltic Sea and the rivers that stretched deep into present-day Russia. The Vikings traveled as far as the Black and Caspian Seas, where they developed trading links with the Byzantine Empire and the Arab kingdoms. Christianity first reached Sweden with a mission led by Ansgar, who visited the country from the Carolingian Empire in the 9th century. However, it was not until the 11th century that Sweden was Christianized.

The founding of the kingdom

The various provinces of Sweden were absorbed around year 1000 into a single unit. But it was only during the late 13th century that the crown gained any significant measure of influence. In 1280 King Magnus Ladulås (1275–90) issued a statute authorizing the establishment of a temporal nobility and the organization of society on the feudal model.

The Hansa period

Trade grew during the 14th century, especially with the German towns grouped under the leadership of Lübeck in the Hanseatic League. Until the mid-16th century the Hansa dominated Swedish trade, and many towns were founded as a result of lively commercial activity connected with the Hansa. However, the Black Death, which reached Sweden in 1350, led to a long period of economic decline marked by a smaller population.

The Kalmar Union

In 1389, through inheritance and family ties, the crowns of Denmark, Norway and Sweden were united under the rule of the Danish Queen Margareta. In 1397, the Kalmar Union was formed. It entailed a pledge by the three Scandinavian countries to have one and the same monarch. However, the union (1397–1521) was scarred by internal conflicts that culminated in the “Stockholm Bloodbath” in 1520, when 80 Swedish nobles were executed at the instigation of the Danish union king, Kristian II. The act provoked a rebellion, which in 1521 led to the deposition of Kristian II and the seizure of power by a Swedish nobleman, Gustav Vasa, who was elected king of Sweden in 1523.

The Vasa period

The foundations of the Swedish state were laid during the reign of Gustav Vasa (1523–60). The church was turned into a national institution, its estates were confiscated by the crown, and the Protestant Reformation was introduced. Power was concentrated in the hands of the king and in 1544 hereditary monarchy came into force.

Since the dissolution of the Kalmar Union, Swedish foreign policy had been aimed at gaining domination of the Baltic Sea, and this led to repeated wars with Denmark from the 1560s onward. After Sweden intervened in 1630 with great success in the Thirty Years’ War on the side of the German Protestants and Gustav II Adolf became one of Europe’s most powerful monarchs, Sweden defeated Denmark in the two wars of 1643–45 and 1657–58. Finland, as well as a number of provinces in northern Germany and the present-day Baltic republics, also belonged to Sweden, and after the Peace of Westphalia in 1648 and the Peace of Roskilde with Denmark in 1658, Sweden was a great power in northern Europe. The country even founded a short-lived colony in what is now Delaware in North America. However, Sweden was an agrarian-based country and lacked the resources to maintain its position as a great power in the long run.

After its defeat in the Great Northern War (1700–21) against the combined forces of Denmark, Poland and Russia, Sweden lost most of its provinces on the other side of the Baltic Sea and was reduced to essentially the same frontiers as present-day Sweden and Finland. During the Napoleonic Wars, Finland was surrendered to Russia. As compensation the French marshal Jean Baptiste Bernadotte, who had been elected heir to the Swedish throne in 1810, succeeded in obtaining Norway, which was forced into a union with Sweden in 1814. This union was peacefully dissolved in 1905 after many internal disputes.

18th- and 19th-century Sweden

After the death of the warrior king Karl XII in 1718 and Sweden’s defeat in the Great Northern War, the Swedish parliament (Riksdag) and council were strong enough to introduce a new constitution that abolished royal absolutism and put power in the hands of parliament.

Eighteenth-century Sweden was characterized by rapid cultural development, partly through close contact with France. Overseas trade was hard hit by the Napoleonic Wars, which led to general stagnation and economic crisis in Sweden during the early 19th century. In the late 19th century, 90 percent of the people still earned their livelihood from agriculture. One consequence was emigration, mainly to North America. From the mid-19th century to 1930, about 1.5 million Swedes emigrated, out of a population of 3.5 million in 1850 and slightly more than 6 million in 1930. Industry did not begin to grow until the 1890s, although it then developed rapidly between 1900 and 1930 and transformed Sweden into one of Europe’s leading industrial nations after World War II.

The 20th century – a century of reforms

Late 19th-century Sweden was marked by the emergence of strong popular movements that included the free churches, the temperance and women’s movements, and above all the labor movement.

The labor movement, whose growth kept pace with industrialization in the late 19th century, was reformist in outlook after the turn of the 20th century.

The first Social Democrats entered government in 1917. Universal suffrage was introduced for men in 1909 and for women in 1921. Plans for a welfare state were drawn up during the 1930s after the Social Democrats rose to power and put into effect after World War II.

The postwar era

During World War II, a coalition government of Sweden’s four “democratic” parties (excluding the Communists) was formed. After the war ended, a purely Social Democratic government resumed office under Per Albin Hansson. Under Social Democratic leadership, but in close cooperation with the other democratic parties, a number of reforms were carried out in the 1940s and 1950s that together laid the foundations of the Swedish welfare state.

At the same time, there were calls for a modernization of the 1809 constitution. A new Instrument of Government was adopted in 1974. First and foremost, all public power is derived from the people, who are to select the members of parliament in free elections. The king is still the head of state, but in name only. In 1980, an amendment to the order of succession gave male and female heirs an equal claim to the throne. Accordingly, Princess Victoria is next in line to the throne not her younger brother, Carl Philip.

Foreign policy

Since the short war against Norway in 1814 in conjunction with the creation of the union, Sweden has not been involved in any war. Since World War I, Sweden has pursued a foreign policy of nonalignment in peacetime and neutrality in wartime, basing its security on a strong national defense. Nonetheless, Sweden joined the League of Nations in 1920 and the United Nations in 1946. Within the framework of these organizations, Sweden has been involved in numerous international peacekeeping missions. In 1995, Sweden became a member of the European Union.

New governments

The economic crisis of the early 1970s broke the long hegemony of the Social Democrats and since the parliamentary elections of 1976 power has changed hands more often.

  • 1976 Non-socialist coalition government under the leadership of Center Party chairman Thorbjörn Fälldin.
  • 1982 Social Democratic Party, with Olof Palme as prime minister. The murder of Olof Palme on February 28, 1986, came as a shock to the Swedish people, who had been spared this kind of political violence for almost 200 years. Palme’s successor as prime minister was Ingvar Carlsson.
  • 1991 Non-socialist coalition government, with Moderate Party leader Carl Bildt as prime minister.
  • 1994 A minority government was formed with Social Democrat Ingvar Carlsson as prime minister. In 1996, Carlsson stepped down and was replaced by his finance minister, Göran Persson, who kept the position as prime minister for 10 years.
  • 2006 The Moderate Party emerged as the main victor. Together with the Center Party, the Liberal Party and the Christian Democrats, it formed a coalition government headed by Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt.

EU presidency

Sweden’s role in the European Union has been identified as an important issue for the country’s future by the center-right coalition government. Sweden has held the EU presidency on two occasions: January 1 – June 30, 2001, and June 30 – December 31, 2009. During the second presidency, priority was given to economic, unemployment and climate issues.

Tuesday, December 8, 2009

History of Georgia

Middle Paleolithic cave sites along the Black Sea Coast of Georgia prove the presence of an indigenous people sometime between 100,000 - 50,000 B.C. A great deal of archeological evidence attests to a flourishing Neolithic culture in Georgia in the fifth and fourth millennia B.C. Pottery and metallurgy of the Early Bronze Age was renown. This period is marked by a highly developed culture. At the end of the 2nd and the beginning of the 1st millennium B.C., two major tribal unions arose: those of the Diakhi (Taokhi, Tao) and the Qolha (Colchis). The wealth and power of Colchis were reflected in the ancient Greek myth of the Argonauts. Their union disintegrated in the mid-8th century B.C. In the 8th-7th centuries B.C., the Karts, Mengrels, Chans and Svans came to the fore among the Georgian tribes, and as a result of their consolidation, a two-state confederation took shape in the 6th-4th centuries. In the west, the Kingdom of Colchis was formed (now referred to as the Kingdom of Egrisi). This kingdom minted its own silver coins as "white Colchians coins".

The advanced economy and favorable geographic and natural conditions of Colchis attracted the Greeks; they colonized the Black Sea coast, setting up their settlements: Phasis (in the vicinity of present-day Poti), Gyenos (Ochamchire), Dioscuras (Sukhumi), Anakopia (Akhali Atoni) and Pityus (Bichvinta). The same historical period was the time of intensive consolidation of the Kartlian tribes largerly inhabiting eastern and southern Georgia. Meskhian tribes came to the fore, gradually moving north-easterly and forming their settlements in the very heart of Kartli. Mtskheta was one such settlements, deriving its name from the ethnonym "Meskhians". The kingdom of Kartli is linked to the name of King Parnavaz (the founder of the Parnavazi dynasty), who expelled invaders from Georgia and began to reign over a liberated country. During his reign Armazistsiche, the citadel of the capital, and an idol representing the god Armazi, were erected. According to Kartlis Tskhovreba (History of Georgia), Parnavaz I created the Georgian script. The kingdoms of Kartli and of Colchis waged incessant wars against foreign conquerors who strove to subjugate them, especially in the 1st century B.C. Here, the Romans should be mentioned first.

In 66 B.C., having defeated the kingdom of Pontus, the Romans, led by Pompey, started military operations against Armenia, Albania and Kartli. After subjugating Armenia, Pompey marched into Kartli and Albania in 65 B.C. King Artag of Kartli was forced to surrender. From here, Pompey crossed into western Georgia and reached the city of Phasis. In the first half of the 2nd century A.D., the kingdom of Kartli grew strong, especially under Parsman II (130s-150s A.D.). The Roman Emperor Hadrian (117-138) sought to improve relations with Kartli, but Parsman refused to compromise. Under Hadrian's successor, the Emperor Antoninus Pius (138-161), relations between the Roman Empire and Kartli improved. King Parsman II, accompanied by a large retinue, arrived in Rome to a royal welcome, and the Georgians were granted the right to offer sacrifice in the Capitol. According to Dio Cassius, a statue of King Parsman was erected in Rome. The Emperor recognized Kartli in his now broadly-extended borders. Kartli had sufficiently detached ifself from Roman rule to be considered an ally rather than a subject state that had to pay taxes. While the Romans and the Parthians (the great Iranian dynasty of circa 240 BC-AD 226) fought with each other, the Georgians remained firmly allied with Rome for nearly three centuries of fighting. In AD 298, the Sassanids (a new Iranian dynasty) signed the Peace of Nisibis with Rome. This peace acknowledged Roman jurisdiction over Kartli but recognized Mirian III (284-361 A.D.) as the King of Eastern Georgia. With Mirian III began a new era, for he was the first to adopt Christianity in Georgia.

Christianity started to spread in Georgia from the 1st century, and became established as a state religion of Kartli in the 330s and about the same time in West Georgia as well. It meant an orientation toward Rome and Byzantium that would prove a decisive factor in the evolution of the national consciousness and culture. By the mid 400s, 30 bishops were in Kartli. The leader of an anti-Iranian struggle, King of Kartli Vakhtang Gorgasali further strengthened the Kartlian church by making it autocephalic, having secured permission from Constantinopole to elevate the status of the bishop of Mtskheta to that of Catholicos. Christianity destroyed the old Georgian literature and began to create a literature of its own, mostly translations.

Georgian writing was first seen in the 5th century. The first examples include inscriptions in the Georgian monastery of the Holy Cross in Palestine, in the Bethlehem desert (Bir-ell-Katt), as well as those in the Sioni Church of Bolnisi, south of Tbilisi. The source of the Georgian script is a controversial problem. Some scholars believe that it appeared long before the Christian epoch, while others relate its appearance to the establishment of the Christian religion. They do not deny the possible existence of a certain original writing in the pre-Christian era. The oldest books translated then were the Gospels and the Old Testament. The Passion of St. Shushanik was written in the 5th century. Another such work by an anonymous author, The Martyrdom of Evstate Mtskheteli is from the 6th century.

The basilica-type churches of Bolnisi and Urbnisi, dating from the 5th century, and the unique cruciform-domed Jvari church of the end of 6th and the beginning of the 7th century near Mtskheta are the most significant monuments of architecture. In the mid-5th century, Vakhtang Gorgasali I became King of Kartli, leading the struggle against the Persians. He is known also as a founder of Tbilisi and he prepared the way for transferring the capital of Georgia from Mtskheta to Tbilisi. Gorgasali recaptured the Georgian lands to the south-west as well as east (Hereti). The initial success achieved in the struggle against Persia came to naught by the resistance of the Eristavs, the highest feudal nobility and their alliance with the Iranians. The struggle against both enemies ended in King Vakhtang's defeat and his death on the battlefield in 502. In 523, having subdued Kartli, the Persians moved into the Kingdom of Egrisi (also known as Lazica) in western Georgia. Lazica was still dependent on Byzantium, but this dependence was growing weaker and the kings of Lazica gained more independence. The rulers of Lazica tried to use the hostility between Byzantium and Iran to their own advantage, but the war ended with a fifty year long peace treaty (562 A.D.), and West Georgia finally found herself subjugated by Byzantium.

In 572, the Kartlians rose in arms and expelled the Persians. A local administrative state government or saerismtavro was instituted in Kartli. This early feudal state actually served as the basis for the creation of the future united Georgian monarchy. In the 7th-8th centuries, important sociopolitical changes took place in Georgia. The principalities (samtavros) of Kakheti, Hereti and Tao-Klarjeti, as well as the western Georgian Kingdom of Abkhazia, took shape in this period. A new force, the Arabs, appeared on the international scene in the 730s and 740s. They defeated the Persians and reached the Caucasus as well. In 645 they captured Tbilisi and installed an Arab Emir there, but they could not conquer West Georgia. Their presence there was only sporadic, and their power did not spread to the outlying mountainous provinces of Georgia, but embraced only the central area of Kartli. At the same time, thanks to Arab trade activity, Tbilisi flourished. It actually became an international center at the crossroads of several important trade routes. Soon, however, an anti-Arab liberation struggle started all over Georgia. At the end of the 8th century, the archon of Abuzgia--the Eristavi of Abkhazia (Abuzgia was the designation of the territory to the north of the Kodori River populated by the Abkhaz-Adyghe tribes, the ancestors of the present-day Abkhazians, as well as the Georgian-Megrel and Svan tribes; the Georgian term "Abkhazeti" had a similar meaning, while the ethnonym "Abkhaz" began from this time on, to be applied to the whole population of West Georgia)--Leon rose in rebellion against Byzantium and declared himself "King of the Abkhazians." He also liberated Lazica (Egrisi) and founded an independent Egrisi-Abkhazian Kingdom with the capital Kutaisi, in the centre of West Georgia.

Though this political unity had the official name of the Abkhazian Kingdom, the overhelming majority of its population, its political orientation and its culture were essentially Georgian. Later on, in the 9th century the Abkhazian Kingdom also was severed of its last link with Byzantium by leaving the jurisdiction of the Patriarch of Constantinopole. Soon the West Georgian Church came under the Catholicos of Mtskheta. Thus the ecclessiastic unity of East and West Georgia was effected and created the final establishment of the Georgian language in the Abkhazian Kingdom in church service, public administration and cultural life. Another independent feudal state, the Tao-Klarjeti Principality appeared in southwest Georgia in the early 9th century, founded by the Erismtavari of Kartli, Ashot Bagrationi. Rising against the Arabs, Ashot withdrew into his hereditary province of Klarjeti, liberated the neighbouring provinces of Tao, Kola, Artvani, Shavsheti, and others from the Arabs, and firmly established himself there with the help of the Byzantine emperor, receiving from the latter the title of "Kuropalate."

The most important events in Tao-Klarjeti are connected with name of David III who ruled in the second part of the 10th century. He freed more Georgian provinces from the Arabs. David III rendered effective assistance to the Byzantine emperors Basil and Constantine in quelling the rebellion of the grand feudal Bardas Sclerus in 979, receiving in recognition of his service a number of provinces up to Lake Van. Using his power and authority and supported by the Kartlian Eristavi Ioanne Marushidze, David III began the unification of the Georgian lands. David III raised his adopted son Bagrat Bagrationi to the throne of Kartli (975) and Abkhazia (978). After the death of David III, Bagrat added Tao-Klarjeti to Kartli, inherited the title of King of the Kartvels, and in 1110 added Kakheti and Hereti to his Kingdom, completing the unification of the Georgian territories into one state, with the exeption of the Tbilisi Emirate. The first king of unified Georgia bore the title of "King of the Abkhazians, Kartvels, Hers and Kakhs". Kutaisi was the capital of the kingdom. Under his successor, Bagrat IV (1027-1072), Georgia found itself to be one of the major powers in Caucasia.

But the relative stability established in the region came to an end with the arrival of the Seljuk Turks, who captured most of Persia, and drove westward in the 1060s. They captured Armenia, raided the Georgian province of Javakheti, destroying the town of Akhalkalaki, and devastated Kartli in 1068. The so-called "Great Turkish Conquests" of Georgia started in 1080. Being nomads, the Seljuks turned the lands they captured into pastures, thus depriving the feudal economy of its basis and jeopardizing the very existence of Georgia. Only a small part of West Georgia escaped the constant invasions and devastions. King Giorgi II (1072- 1089) had to pay annual tribute to the Sultan. The Georgian people suffered severe losses but managed to preserve their state organization. Unable to deal effectively with the constant onslaught of the Turks, the throne was passed to Giorgi II's 16-year-old son David, known as David the Builder (1089-1125), possibly the greatest monarch in Georgian history. Personally leading his loyal forces, he attacked the Seljuks and, routing them, allowed the peasants who had fled to the mountains to return to their land. He gradually expelled the Turks from Kartli. David's war against the Turks fortunately corresponded with the arrival of the Crusaders in Asia Minor and Syria, considerably weakening the Turks and distracting their attention from the Caucasus. After winning several victories in 1099, he stopped paying tributes. However, the final liberation of all Georgian lands required an efficient army and further centralized power. The first item on the agenda was the Church reform.

In 1033 by the decision of the all-Georgian Church Council, held in two neighboring dioceses of Ruisi and Urbnisi, the unfit Church officials were deposed and supporters of the King's policy were elected. David IV actually subordinated the Church to the state. It was a heavy blow to the unloyal nobility and provided his rule with a powerful ideological support. At the same time David IV created a regular army by drafting the aznaurs (the gentry) and the peasantry. By the early 12th century, regular troops grew to 40,000 strong. In 1004 he drove the Turks from Kartli and Kakheti. In 1005, he defeated a large Turkish army in the Ertsukhi battle. During 1110-1118, he liberated the towns of Samshvilde, Rustavi, Gishi, Kubala, and Lore. Tbilisi, the capital, was still occupied by the invaders and part of the Georgian army still depended upon big feudal lords, who not always were loyal to the king. At the same time, incessant wars kept the most productive part of the population away from home and farming. To solve this problem David IV added to his army 40,000 Kipchak mercenaries from the north Caucasian steppes, whom he settled in Georgia with their families. Feeling uneasy at the prospect of losing the Caucusus, the Seljuk Sultan Mahmud sent to Georgia, at the head of the Turkish coalition forces, one of his best generals: Radjin Al-Din Ilguzi, famous for his battles against the Crusaders. On August 12, 1121, near Didgori, King David IV won a decisive victory over the enemy's numerous army. After this victory, he took Tbilisi in 1122 and moved the capital from Kutaisi to Tbilisi. Humane treatment of the Muslim population, as well as the representatives of other religions and cultures in the capital, set a standard for tolerance in his multiethnic kingdom. It was a hallmark not only for his enlightened reign, but for all of Georgian history and culture. In 1123, King David IV liberated the city of Dmanisi ,the last stronghold of the invaders in Georgia. In 1124, David the Builder, at the request of the citizens of the Armenian city of Ani, also liberated Ani, expanding the southern borders of the Georgian Kingdom up to the Araks basin. King David IV, died on January 24, 1125.

GelatiDuring the reigns of his succesors, the borders of the Georgian Kingdom expanded still wider from Nicopsia (a city between modern Sokhi and Tuapse) to Derbent (on the Caspian Sea) and from Ossetia (North Caucasus) to Mt. Ararat in Armenia. During the reign of Queen Tamar (1184-1213) , the great grandaughter of King David IV, the Georgian Kingdom reached the apex of its political might. The official title of Queen Tamar reflects her power: Tamar Bagrationi, by the will of our Lord, Queen of the Abkhazians, Kartvels, Rans, Kakhs and the Armenians, Shirvan-Shah and Shah-in-Shah and ruler of all East and West. A unique Georgian Christian Culture flourished in this multinational state. This was the era of great building projects such as Gelati and Vardzia and the flourishing of a literary tradition revered to this day. It was to Queen Tamar that Shota Rustaveli dedicated his great epic poem, "the Knight in the Tiger's Skin," a poem exemplifing all the virtues of chivalry and honor that were celebrated throughout the expanded Georgian Kingdom during her reign. Queen Tamar left to her heir, Giorgi IV Lasha (1212-1223), a kingdom surrounded by tribute-paying states that filled the royal coffers to overflowing. King Giorgi was planning to join the Crusaders to Palestine when the Mongols invaded Georgia. The Mongols were unstoppable and even King Giorgi's 90,000 horsemen were no match for them. Giorgi Lasha himself was killed in battle against the Mongols in 1223.

It was the beginning of the end of the Golden Age. The more than a century long Mongol domination of Georgia caused both the fragmentation of the kingdom and its gradual decline by the heavy burden of taxation levied upon it. Only in the 14th century was there any relief from Mongol rule. Giorgi V (1314-1346), called the Brilliant, stopped paying tribute and drove the Mongols out. He united Georgia once again, centralized royal power, revived the economy, and established close international commercial ties, mainly with Byzantium, but also with Venice and Genoa.

The first of Tamerlane's eight invasions of Georgia occurred in 1386, which, following the horror of the Black Death (decimating Georgia in 1366), destroyed any hopes for a second Golden Age that Giorgi V might have initiated. In 1453 the Ottoman Turks captured Constantinopole. This, and a change of trade routes from Europe to the Far East, seriously weakened Georgia politically and economically. At the end of the 15th century, the rise of the Safarids in Iran, further threatened Georgia, which now found itself caught once again between two expanding empires. As a consequence of constant invasions, economic decline and feudal strife, Georgia began to disintegrate, and by the end of the 15th century three independent kingdoms of Kakheti, Kartli, and Imereti, and the principality of Samtskhe emerged on its territory. The Peace of Amasia in 1555, between Ottoman Turks and the Safarid Persians, divided Georgia into spheres of influence, giving the west to Turkey and the east to Iran. Turkish and Iranian invasions became almost permanent. The kingdom of Kartli, situated in the center of the Caucasus, was of special strategic significance. For that reason, it became the main target of foreign aggression. We should make special mention of two kings of Kartli: King Luarsab I (1527-1556) and his son King Simon I (1556-1600). Neither the enormous numerical superiority of the enemy, nor their betrayals by the nobility and even by their own brothers, nor the losses of their soldiers and the devastation of the country, could force these heroes to submit to the invaders. Terrible ordeals befell the kingdom of Kakheti, as its king began secretly but actively to seek ties with the Russian state. From 1614-1617, Kakheti was overrun several times by Iranian troops under Shah Abass I. About 100,000 Kakhetians were killed and about 200,000 were resettled in Iran. Soon Kartli shared the fate of Kakheti. But in 1625 an insurrection, headed by eminent Georgian general Giorgi Saakadze, broke out in Kartli and Kakheti. In the Battle of Martqopi the great Iranian army was routed. Later the same year the Georgians suffered defeat in the battle of Marabda. This selfless resistance frustrated the Shah's plans to annihilate the Georgian people, eliminate their statehood and set up Iranian Khanates on Georgian territory. Iran was forced to compromise. From 1632 to 1744 the shahs of Iran set Islamized Bagrationis on the throne of Kartli. In 1659, the Kakhetians rose against the invaders and defeated their garrisons in Kakheti. The Shah had to abandon his plan of exterminating the kingdom. An uneasy peace settled in East Georgia in the early 18th century. Owing to King Vakhtang VI (1703-1724) and his wise policy, the country was back on the road to economic, political and cultural progress. But his attempts to cooperate with Russia failed, and retribution followed at once.

Kartli was ravaged once again. In 1723, Turkish troops invaded Kartli. Vakhtang left for Russsia to get military aid, but did not receive it, and died on his way back. Not until the 18th century were rulers King Teimuraz II and his son Erekle II able to rebuld Georgia in its own, and not Iran's, image. Surmounting numerous obstacles created in the North Caucasus, and by Muslim khans in East Caucasia, father and son ruled from 1744 to 1762 over Kartli and Kakheti. After the death of Teimuraz II in 1762, Erekle II declared himself King of Kartli and Kakheti. The unification of East Georgia favored its further strengthening and progress. All this time the struggle against the Turks never stopped in West Georgia: Achara, Abkhazia, Odishi, Guria and Imereti repeatedly rose against the conquerors. Beginning in 1752 the energetic and prudent King Solomon I reigned in the Imereti Kingdom. Having strengthened royal power and defeated the Turks in a number of battles, he banned slave trade and raised the standard of living of his subjects. The attempts of Irakli II and Solomon I to use Russian forces during the Russo-Turkish war of 1768-1774 in order to free themselves completely from Turkish and Iranian control failed, largely owing to the treacherous actions of the Russian General Totleben. Nevertheless, following the Kacak-Kainadji Peace between Russia and Turkey, the international legal situation of the Georgian kingdoms improved to some extent. Convinced that his isolated Christian kingdom could not hold out indefinitely against its assorted Muslim enemies, Irakli II decided to attempt an alliance with Catherine the Great of Russia. On July 24, 1783, Russia and Georgia signed the Treaty of Georgievsk, which made Kartli-Kakheti a protectorate of Russia. Russia did not live up to the conditions of that treaty when Catherine withdrew her troops from Georgia at the outbreak of the second Russo-Turkish war in 1787. King Irakli was forced to face a vastly superior force led by Shah Agha Mohamed Khan, who demanded the denunciation of the Georgievsk Treaty, when the Persians invaded Kartli-Kakheti in 1795. On the battlefields at Krtsanisi, 5,000 Georgians were defeated by 35,000 Iranians. Tbilisi was destroyed and the population ruthlessly massacred. The situation grew critical after King Irakli's death in 1798. His son and heir Giorgi XII (1798-1800) proved unable to rule the country. Various feudal and political groups supported King Giorgi XII s brothers and sons in their claims to the throne, launched a see-saw war. The country was constantly devastated by the raids of the Dagestanis. Looming ahead was threat of another Iranian invasion. Giorgi XII desperately called on St. Petersburg to stand by its commitments of the Georgievsk treaty. But the terms of the treaty no longer satisfied the Russian goverment.

In January of 1801, Paul I signed a manifesto which annexed East Georgia to Russia, in violation of the 1783 treaty. The Crown Prince was taken away to St. Petersburg. On September 12, 1801, the abolition of the Kartli-Kakhetian Kingdom was confirmed by the Manifesto of Emperor Alexander I. In 1810 the King of Imereti was forced by the Russians to flee to Turkey, and Imereti came under Russian rule. Although Mengrelia, Guria, Abkhazia and Svaneti initially preserved certain autonomy, the Russian goverment later abolished these principalities and their territories were included into the system of Russian gubernias. The annexation of Georgia by the Russian Empire put an end to the independent existence of the Georgian Kingdoms and principalities and Georgia lost her age-old statehood. Under Russian rule the Georgian church lost its autocephaly and was turned into a exarchate of the Russian synod. This event accounts for numerous uprisings which took place in the first half of the 19th century in various parts of Georgia. On the other hand, in spite of the colonial policy of Russia, Georgia found herself protected against constant invasions. Conditions became favorable for population growth and economic progress. Ranks of nobility were redefined. New systems of taxation were instituted. Russian education and culture were introduced. The second half of the 19th century shows the abolition of serfdom in Georgia (1864) and an ever-increasing Russification policy that touched every aspect of Georgian society.

As a reaction, one group of Georgians including the poets Alexander Chavchavadze (1786-1846) and Grigol Orbeliani (1800-1883), plotted to break free. The conspiracy of 1832 ended in their arrest. They led a romantic school of literature concerning itself largely with the loss of Georgians former glory. Ilia Chavchavadze (1837-1907) and Akaki Tsereteli (1840-1915), known as the "Men of the 60s," came back from Russian universities with a new spirit of social activism and democratic idealism reflected in their writings. Ilia Chavchavadze became the recognized leader and spiritual father of the nation. One can hardly recall any project or event in the social and cultural life of Georgia of this period, that was not either initiated and led by him or in which he did not participate. In the 1890s a group of Georgian intellectuals returned to their homeland, having imbibed the new doctrine of Marxism while studying abroad. Georgians actively participated in the revolutionary events of 1905-1907.

On October 25 (November 7), 1917, the Bolshevik party staged a coup in Russia and established Soviet power. The leading political parties of the Transcaucasus refused to recognize the new power and on November 17, set up a local administration--the Transcaucasian Commissariat. Soon the Transcaucasian Federation was established, but it was short-lived. On May 26, 1918, the National Council of Georgia declared Georgia s independence. Georgian statehood, lost 117 years ago, was restored. The leading political force at that time was the Social Democratic (Menshevik) party, which had a majority in the government. After the first year of economic and political obstacles, the situation in Georgia became more and more stabilized, uprisinges ceased, and the international conflicts were more or less mended. The Bolsheviks failed to provoke the population to rebel. Soviet Russia and Georgia signed a treaty on May 7, 1920, according to which Russia recognised the independence and sovereignity of the Georgian Democratic Republic. Free Georgia grew stronger and stronger, and it seemed that hopes of Georgian people were at last to be realized, but the Bolsheviks were already at the borders. After the so-called Sovietization of Azerbaijan and Armenia in February of 1921, the Bolshevik armies invaded Georgia. The forces were unequal and on February 25, 1921, units of the Red Army entered Tbilisi. In Moscow, Lenin received the congratulations of his commissars--"The red banner blows over Tbilisi."

Under Communist hegemony, the beleagured nation once again became the realm of foreign power. In 1924, after an attempted uprising led by Georgian Mensheviks, more then 5,000 patriots were executed. Despite the fact that Stalin and his chief of secret police, Beria, were both Georgians, the Georgian people were given no reprieve under their oppressive regime. Georgia had to pass through the ordeal of industrialization and collectivization, suffering severely during the depressions of the 1930s. Three-hundred thousand Georgian soldiers fell in the Second World War. But covertly, latently, the struggle for independence never stopped. This struggle assumed the form of a widespread national-liberation movement and brought victory to the freedom-loving, patriotic forces. In 1990, multi-party elections were held and, on the 9th of April, Parliament declared the independence of Georgia. On the wave of anti-Communist sentiments, the well-know dissident of the Breshnev era, Zviad Gamsakhurdia, was elected president. But he was unable to rule the country at that crucial juncture. Although earlier a victim of totalitarianism, as president he tried to build a chauvanist, totalitarian regime. His unpredictable international policy almost completely isolated Georgia. He showed no desire or ability to maintain a dialogue with the growing opposition. Chauvanism, instead of patriotism and the traditional tolerance of other nationalities; totalitarianism, instead of the much-expected democracy; corruption and incompetence of the majority of his ministers, instead of creative work to build a new independent state all combined to cause an overwhelming growth of opposition in every strata of Georgian society.

In the winter of 1991-1992, a military rebellion by the opposition forced Gamsakhurdia to leave Georgia. Unable to cope with many international, economic and other domestic problems the rebel Military Council formed a State Council inviting Eduard Shevardnadze, the former secretary of the Georgia Communist Party and former Soviet Foreign Minister, well-known for his political acumen, personal courage and international publicity, to Georgia. In July 1992, Georgia became the 179th member of the United Nations. Eduard Shevardnadze obtained an overhelming majority of votes in the elections that followed in October of 1992, and was confirmed as chairman of the Parliament of the Republic of Georgia. On August 24, 1995, a new Constitution was adopted. On November 5, 1995, presidential elections were held in Georgia. On November 26, Eduard Shevardnadze was installed as President of Georgia.

Tuesday, December 1, 2009

HISTORY OF LIBYA

The Barbary coast: 16th - 20th century AD

With the decline of the local Berber dynasties in the 15th and 16th centuries, the valuable coastal strip of north Africa (known because of the Berbers as the Barbary coast) attracts the attention of the two most powerful Mediterranean states of the time - Spain in the west, Turkey in the east.

The Spanish-Turkish rivalry lasts for much of the 16th century, but it is gradually won - in a somewhat unorthodox manner - by the Turks. Their successful device is to allow Turkish pirates, or corsairs, to establish themselves along the coast. The territories seized by the corsairs are then given a formal status as protectorates of the Ottoman empire.

The first such pirate establishes himself on the coast of Algeria in 1512. Two others are firmly based in Libya by 1551. Tunisia is briefly taken in 1534 by the most famous corsair of them all, Khair ed-Din (known to the Europeans as Barbarossa). Recovered for Spain in 1535, Tunisia is finally brought under Ottoman control in 1574.

Piracy remains the chief purpose and main source of income of all these Turkish settlements along the Barbary coast. And the depredations of piracy, after three centuries, at last prompt French intervention in Algeria. This, at any rate, is stated by the French at the time to be the cause of their intervention. The reality is somewhat less glorious.

Algiers is occupied by the French in 1830, but it is not until 1847 that the French conquest of Algeria is complete - after prolonged resistance from the Berber hinterland, which has never been effectively controlled by the Turks on the coast.

It is in the European interest to police this entire troublesome Barbary region. Tunisia becomes a French protectorate in 1881, and Morocco (which has maintained a shaky independence, under its own local sultans, since the end of the Marinid dynasty) follows in 1912. Italy takes Libya from the Turks in 1912. The regions of the Barbary coast thus enter their last colonial phase before independence.

Italo-Turkish War: AD 1911-1912

Turkish control over over the region of modern Libya has been little more than nominal during much of the Ottoman period. In the western region, Tripolitania, the descendants of an Ottoman governor, Ahmad Karamanli, win hereditary rights as pashas in 1711 and retain them until 1832. In the eastern district of Cyrenaica real power resides with the Senussi, followers of a 19th-century religious reformer (al-Senussi al-Kabir), whose creed of a strict and simple Sunni life proves popular with the Bedouin tribesmen.

But the eventual removal of the Turks from the region is not the result of local antagonism. It derives from the wish of Italy, a latecomer in the imperial scramble, to increase her stake in Africa while there is time.

By the first decade of the 20th century Algeria and Tunisia are French. Egypt is British. Libya, situated between these French and British regions, is a part of north Africa in which Italy has been developing extensive commercial interests. In 1900 the French and Italian governments come to a cool-headed secret agreement. France has designs on Morocco, Italy on Libya. Each will allow the other a free hand.

In 1911 Italy finds a trumped-up reason to send a 24-hour-ultimatum to Istanbul, demanding the presence of Italian troops in Tripolitania and Cyrenaica to protect the local Italian population. This is followed a day later by a declaration of war and almost immediate invasion of north Africa.

The Italians make relatively little headway, partly because of a spirited resistance by the Sennusi tribesmen on behalf of their imperial masters, who at least are fellow Muslims. But by the autumn of 1912 Turkey, beset by troubles elsewhere, is ready to concede. Under the terms of a treaty signed in October at Ouchy (the lakeside district of Lausanne), Tripolitania and Cyrenaica are ceded to Italy.

The new imperial power soon also occupies Fezzan, a region to the southwest under Sennusi control. With the annexation of Fezzan, modern Libya takes shape - though as yet only as a broad area suffering and greatly resenting Italian occupation.

World Wars and Fascism: AD 1914-1945

In its short span of existence the Italian colony of Libya sees two world wars and the rise of fascism. These events have profound and differing effects in the region.

The demands of World War I cause Italian troops to be withdrawn until only the coastal towns of Libya are safely held. Elsewhere control returns to the network of local Senussi zawiya (fortified outposts around a mosque). After the war the Senussi leader, Mohammed Idris, attempts to achieve a compromise with the Italians. In 1920 he acknowledges their sovereignty over coastal Cyrenaica. In return he is granted the title of emir. But this uneasy relationship crumbles with the onset of fascism.

Idris flees in 1923 to Egypt, while fascist governors in Libya take strong measures - including the use of concentration camps - to subdue resistance in Tripolitania and Cyrenaica. (The two provinces are united in 1934 to form the colony of Libya.)

World War II at last brings the Senussi into a winning team. As enemies of Italy, they are natural allies of Britain and the USA. They play their part in the all-important campaign of 1942-3 which drives the Italian and German armies out of north Africa.

During the later stages of the war and in the immediate postwar years Tripolitania and Cyrenaica are adminstered by the British, while Fezzan is under the control of the French. But it is agreed that the future of Libya shall be referred to the United Nations.

The result is a resolution for Libyan independence. In December 1950 a national assembly representing all three provinces elects Mohammed Idris to be Libya's king. As Idris I, he formally declares the independence of the new state on 24 December 1951.

Royal Libya: AD 1951-1969

Idris rules as an old-fashioned monarch, with scant regard for any democratic ideals. For the first eight years his realm is similarly backward, an impoverished region in which a subsistence economy is boosted only by revenues from British and US airbases and by international aid.

This situation is transformed in 1959 by the discovery of major oil reserves. Idris, with the luxury now of a massive national revenue, begins to assert Libya's new independence. Negotiations are begun to secure the withdrawal of foreign troops from Libyan soil. But the king's leisurely pace is suddenly trumped. In 1969, when absent on a visit to Turkey, he is deposed in a bloodless coup led by a 27-year old captain, Moamar al-Gaddafi.

The Gaddafi regime: from AD 1969

Gaddafi immediately becomes commander-in-chief of the armed forces and chairman of the Revolutionary Command Council which now governs Libya. From 1979 he is known simply as Leader of the Revolution, ruling with a firm grip which means that Libya's policies are entirely his own.

Gaddafi soon acquires a reputation as one of the world's more eccentric and unpredicable dictators. The various roots of his political philosophy - Islam, Arab nationalism, socialism - are combined in his personal manifesto The Green Book (published in two volumes, in 1976 and 1980).

An extra element is added in a new name of the country, introduced in 1977. It is now to be known as the People's Socialist Libyan Arab Jamahiriya. The phrase Jamahiriya ('government through the masses') implies that power is transferred to some 1500 local committees. But the reality remains very much a personal rule by one man.

Gaddafi's unpopularity on the international stage derives from his use of Libya's oil wealth to meddle in the affairs of other nations. Locally this means often tense relationships with Egypt and Chad. Further afield it brings international condemnation, as assassination squads eliminate Libyan opponents living abroad and Libyan funds support terrorist activities in far-flung parts of the world.

In 1972 Gaddafi announces that he is supporting the IRA in northern Ireland. Libyan cash is also believed to lie behind Black Panther and Nation of Islam activities in the USA, as well as funding terrorist acts by extremist Palestinian groups.

To demonstrate US commitment against international terrorism, President Reagan launches in April 1986 an air strike (in bombers flying from Britain) against what are said to be terrorist targets in Tripoli and Benghazi. Various members of Gaddafi's family are killed or wounded, and he himself narrowly escapes.

A new escalation in Libya's status as an international pariah follows the Lockerbie air disaster of 1988. A Pan Am airliner explodes over Lockerbie in Scotland, killing all 259 people on board and another eleven on the ground. Evidence later suggests that two Libyans may have been responsible for planting a bomb on board in Paris. But Gaddafi resolutely refuses to hand over the two suspects for trial.

This refusal leads to UN-approved sanctions from 1993. An embargo is placed on trade and air contact with Libya, followed by a ban on the sale of equipment needed for Gaddafi's oil industry.

Libya in the 1990s is a place increasingly isolated by the vagaries of one man (by now one of the world's longest established rulers). Almost immediately after taking power, Gaddafi expels in 1970 nearly all the Italians and Jews living in Libya. In 1995 he even throws Palestinians out of his Muslim state, along with citizens of neighbouring north African nations. He doubts their loyalty to Libya.

Thus Libyans, at the end of the century, are in a very real sense on their own in a hostile world. However isolation begins to end early in the new milliennium after Gaddafi allows the Lockerbie suspects to stand trial in the Netherlands. The UN sanctions are suspended, and Libya starts trying to attract tourists to its famous archaeological sites.

Monday, November 23, 2009

History of Holland

Holland is a region in the western part of the Netherlands. The term Holland is also frequently used as a pars pro toto to refer to the whole of the Netherlands. This usage is generally accepted but disliked by Dutch people in the other parts of the Netherlands.

From the 10th century to the 16th century, Holland proper was a unified political region, a county ruled by the Counts of Holland. By the 17th century, Holland had risen to become a maritime and economic power, dominating the other provinces of the Dutch Republic.

Today, the former County of Holland consists of the two Dutch provinces of North Holland and South Holland, which together include the Netherlands' three largest cities: country capital Amsterdam; seat of government The Hague; and Rotterdam, home of Europe's largest port.

Etymology

Pliny the Elder (AD 23–79) referred to this region as the land between the Helinium and Flevo ("inter Helinium ac Flevum"), the names of the mouths into which the Rhine divided itself, the first discharging its waters in the Mosa in the neighbourhood of Brielle and the second into "the lakes of the north" (present IJsselmeer). The name Holland first appeared in sources in 866 for the region around Haarlem, and by 1064 was being used as the name of the entire county. By this time, the inhabitants of Holland were referring to themselves as "Hollanders". Holland is derived from the Middle Dutch term holtland ("wooded land").[citation needed] This spelling variation remained in use until around the 14th century, at which time the name stabilised as Holland (alternative spellings at the time were Hollant and Hollandt). Popular, but incorrect etymology holds that Holland is derived from hol land ("hollow land") and was inspired by the low-lying geography of Holland.

Usage

The proper name of the area in both Dutch and English is "Holland". "Holland" is a part of the Netherlands. "Holland" is informally used in English and other languages, including sometimes the Dutch language itself, to mean the whole of the modern country of the Netherlands. (This example of pars pro toto or synecdoche is similar to the tendency to refer to the United Kingdom as "England".)

The people of Holland are referred to as "Hollanders" in both Dutch and English. Today this refers specifically to people from the current provinces of North Holland and South Holland. Strictly speaking, the term "Hollanders" does not refer to people from the other provinces in the Netherlands, but colloquially "Hollanders" is sometimes mistakenly used in this wider sense.

In Dutch, the Dutch word "Hollands" is the adjectival form for "Holland". The Dutch word "Hollands" is also colloquially and occasionally used by some Dutch people in the sense of "Nederlands" (Dutch), but then often with the intention of contrasting with other types of Dutch people or language, for example Limburgish, the Belgian form of the Dutch language ("Flemish"), or even any southern variety of Dutch within the Netherlands itself.

However, in English there is no commonly used adjective for "Holland". "Dutch" refers to the Netherlands as a whole, not just the region of Holland. "Hollands" is ordinarily expressed in English in two ways:

  • a possessive construction (e.g. "Holland's economic power"); or an "of Holland" or "from Holland" construction (e.g. "the Maid of Holland"; "a girl from Holland").
  • The following usages apply in certain limited situations but do not ordinarily serve as the English equivalent of the commonly used Dutch adjective "Hollands".
  • Occasionally, the noun "Holland" is used in apposition (e.g. "the Holland Society").
  • The adjective "Hollandic" is occasionally used by some historians and other academic writers as an adjective for Holland. Historians who use the word tend to reserve it to pre-Napoleonic Holland. Hollandic is also the name linguists give to the dialect spoken in Holland.
  • The adjective "Hollandish" is a word in English but is no longer in use.

Geography

Further information: Geography of the Netherlands

Holland is situated in the west of the Netherlands. A maritime region, Holland lies on the North Sea at the mouths of the Rhine and the Meuse (Maas). It has numerous rivers and lakes and an extensive inland canal and waterway system. To the south is Zealand. The region is bordered on the east by the IJsselmeer and four different provinces of the Netherlands.

Holland is protected from the sea by a long line of coastal dunes. Most of the land area behind the dunes consists of polder landscape lying well below sea level. At present the lowest point in Holland is a polder near Rotterdam, which is about seven meters below sea level. Continuous drainage is necessary to keep Holland from flooding. In earlier centuries windmills were used for this task. The landscape was (and in places still is) dotted with windmills, which have become a symbol of Holland.

Holland is 7,494 square kilometres (land and water included), making it roughly 13% of the area of the Netherlands. Looking at land alone, it is 5,488 square kilometres in size. The combined population is 6.1 million.

The main cities in Holland are Amsterdam, Rotterdam and The Hague. Amsterdam is formally the capital of the Netherlands and its largest city. The Port of Rotterdam is Europe's largest and most important harbour and port. The Hague is the seat of government of the Netherlands. These cities, combined with Utrecht and other smaller municipalities, effectively form a single city—a conurbation called Randstad.

The Randstad area is one of the most densely populated regions of Europe, but still relatively free of urban sprawl. There are strict zoning laws. Population pressures are enormous, property values are high, and new housing is constantly under development on the edges of the built-up areas. Surprisingly, much of the province still has a rural character. The remaining agricultural land and natural areas are highly valued and protected. Most of the arable land is used for intensive agriculture, including horticulture and greenhouse agri-businesses.

Language

Main article: Dutch language

The predominant language spoken in the Holland is Dutch. Hollanders sometimes refer to the Dutch language as "Hollands", instead of the standard term Nederlands. Inhabitants of Belgium and other provinces of the Netherlands refer to "Hollands" to indicate someone speaking in a Hollandic dialect, or strong accent.

Standard Dutch was historically largely based on the dialect of the County of Holland, incorporating many traits derived from the dialects of the previously more powerful Duchy of Brabant and County of Flanders. Strong dialectal variation still exists throughout the Low Countries. Today, Holland-proper is the region where the original dialects are least spoken, in many areas having been completely replaced by standard Dutch, and the Randstad has the largest influence on the developments of the standard language—with the exception of the Dutch spoken in Belgium.

Despite this correspondence between standard Dutch and the Dutch spoken in the Randstad, there are local variations within Holland itself that differ from standard Dutch. The main cities each have their own modern urban dialect, that can be considered a sociolect. A small number of people, especially in the area north of Amsterdam, still speak the original dialect of the county, Hollandic. The Hollandic dialect is present in the north: Volendam and Marken and the area around there, West Friesland and the Zaanstreek; and in a south-eastern fringe bordering on the provinces of North Brabant and Utrecht. In the south on the island of Goeree-Overflakkee, Zealandic is spoken.

History

Each of the provinces in the Netherlands has a history that deserves full attention on its own. However, to a certain extent at least, the history of Holland is the history of the Netherlands, and vice versa. See the article on "History of the Netherlands" for a more detailed history. The article here focuses on those points that are specific to Holland itself or that highlight the nature of the role played by Holland in the Netherlands as a whole.

Reclamation of the land

The land that is now Holland had never been stable. Over the millennia the geography of the region had been dynamic. The western coastline shifted up to thirty kilometres to the east and storm surges regularly broke through the row of coastal dunes. The Frisian Isles, originally joined to the mainland, became detached islands in the north. The main rivers, the Rhine and the Meuse (Maas), flooded regularly and changed course repeatedly and dramatically.

The people of Holland found themselves living in an unstable, watery environment. Behind the dunes on the coast of the Netherlands a high peat plateau had grown, forming a natural protection against the sea. Much of the area was marsh and bog. By the tenth century the inhabitants set about cultivating this land by draining it. However, the drainage resulted in extreme soil shrinkage, lowering the surface of the land by up to fifteen metres.

Benthuizen polder, seen from a dike

To the south of Holland, in Zeeland, and to the north, in Frisia, this development led to catastrophic storm floods literally washing away entire regions, as the peat layer disintegrated or became detached and was carried away by the flood water. From the Frisian side the sea even flooded the area to the east, gradually hollowing Holland out from behind and forming the Zuiderzee (the present IJsselmeer). This inland sea threatened to link up with the "drowned lands" of Zealand in the south, reducing Holland to a series of narrow dune barrier islands in front of a lagoon. Only drastic administrative intervention saved the county from utter destruction. The counts and large monasteries took the lead in these efforts, building the first heavy emergency dikes to bolster critical points. Later special autonomous administrative bodies were formed, the waterschappen ("water control boards"), which had the legal power to enforce their regulations and decisions on water management. As the centuries went by, they eventually constructed an extensive dike system that covered the coastline and the polders, thus protecting the land from further incursions by the sea.

However, the Hollanders did not stop there. Starting around the 16th century, they took the offensive and began land reclamation projects, converting lakes, marshy areas and adjoining mudflats into polders. This continued right into the 20th century. As a result, historical maps of mediaeval and early modern Holland bear little resemblance to the maps of today.

This ongoing struggle to master the water played an important role in the development of Holland as a maritime and economic power and in the development of the character of the people of Holland.

County of Holland

Further information: County of Holland

Until the 9th century, the inhabitants of the area that became Holland were Frisians. The area was part of Frisia. At the end of the 9th century, Holland became a separate county in the Holy Roman Empire. The first Count of Holland known about with certainty was Dirk I, who ruled from 896 to 931. He was succeeded by a long line of counts in the House of Holland (who were in fact known as counts of Frisia until 1101). When John I, count of Holland, died childless in 1299, the county was inherited by John II of Avesnes, count of Hainaut. By the time of William V (House of Wittelsbach; 1354–1388) the count of Holland was also the count of Hainaut, Flanders and Zealand.

In this time a part of Frisia, West Friesland, was conquered (as a result, most provincial institutions, including the States of Holland and West Frisia, would for centuries refer to "Holland and West Frisia" as a unit). The Hook and Cod wars started around this time and ended when the countess of Holland, Jacoba or Jacqueline was forced to give up Holland to the Burgundian Philip III, known as Philip the Good, in 1432.

The last count of Holland was Philip III, better known as Philip II king of Spain. He was abolished in 1581 by the so-called Act of Abjuration, although the kings of Spain continued to carry the titular appellation of count of Holland until the Peace of Münster signed in 1648.

Holland's prominence in the United Provinces and Dutch Republic

In 1432, Holland became part of the Burgundian Netherlands and since 1477 of the Habsburg Seventeen Provinces. In the 16th century the county became the most densely urbanised region in Europe, with the majority of the population living in cities. Within the Burgundian Netherlands, Holland was the dominant province in the north; the political influence of Holland largely determined the extent of Burgundian dominion in that area.

Comitatus Hollandiae (1682)

In the Dutch Rebellion against the Habsburgs during the Eighty Years' War, the naval forces of the rebels, the Watergeuzen, established their first permanent base in 1572 in the town of Brill. In this way, Holland, now a sovereign state in a larger Dutch confederation, became the centre of the rebellion. It became the cultural, political and economic centre of the United Provinces, in the 17th century, the Dutch Golden Age, the wealthiest nation in the world. After the King of Spain was deposed as the count of Holland, the executive and legislative power rested with the States of Holland, which was led by a political figure who held the office of Grand Pensionary.

The largest cities in the Dutch Republic were in the province of Holland, such as Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Leiden, Alkmaar, The Hague, Delft, Dordrecht and Haarlem. From the great ports of Holland, Hollandic merchants sailed to and from destinations all over Europe, and merchants from all over Europe gathered to trade in the warehouses of Amsterdam and other trading cities of Holland.

Many Europeans thought of the United Provinces first as "Holland" rather than as the "Republic of the Seven United Provinces of the Netherlands". A strong impression of "Holland" was planted in the minds of other Europeans, which then was projected back onto the Republic as a whole. Within the provinces themselves, a gradual slow process of cultural expansion took place, leading to a "Hollandification" of the other provinces and a more uniform culture for the whole of the Republic. The dialect of urban Holland became the standard language.

Kingdom of Holland

Further information: Kingdom of Holland

The formation of the Batavian Republic, inspired by the French revolution, led to a more centralised government. Holland became a province of a unitary state. Its independence was further reduced by an administrative reform in 1798, in which its territory was divided into several departments called Amstel, Delf, Texel, and part of Schelde en Maas.

From 1806 to 1810 Napoleon styled his vassal state, governed by his brother Louis Napoleon and shortly by the son of Louis, Napoleon Louis Bonaparte, as the "Kingdom of Holland". This kingdom encompassed much of what would become the modern Netherlands. The name reflects how natural at the time it had become to equate Holland with the non-Belgian Netherlands as a whole.

During the period the Low Countries were annexed by the French Empire and actually incorporated into France (from 1810 to 1813), Holland was divided into the départements Zuyderzée and Bouches-de-la-Meuse.

Provinces like any other

After 1813, Holland was restored as a province of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands.

Holland was divided into the present provinces North Holland and South Holland in 1840, after the Belgian Revolution of 1830. This reflected an historical division of Holland along the IJ into a Southern Quarter (Zuiderkwartier) and a Northern Quarter (Noorderkwartier). But the actual division is different from the old division.

From 1850 a strong process of nation formation took place, the Netherlands being culturally unified and economically integrated by a modernisation process, with the cities of Holland as its centre. Image of Holland at home and abroad

The predominance of Holland in the Netherlands has resulted in regionalism on the part of the other provinces. This is a reaction to the perceived threat that Holland poses to the identities and local cultures of the other provinces. The other provinces have a strong, and often negative, image of Holland and the Hollanders, to whom certain qualities are ascribed within a mental geography, a conceptual mapping of spaces and their inhabitants. On the other hand, some Hollanders take Holland's cultural dominance for granted and treat the concepts of "Holland" and the "Netherlands" as coincidental. Consequently, they see themselves not primarily as "Hollanders", but simply as "Dutch" (Nederlanders). This phenomenon has been called "hollandocentrism".

Holland tends to be associated with a particular image. The stereotypical image of Holland is an artificial amalgam of tulips, windmills, clogs, cheese and traditional dress (klederdracht). As is the case with many stereotypes, this is far from the truth and reality of life in Holland. This can at least in part be explained by the active exploitation of these stereotypes in promotions of Holland and the Netherlands. In fact only in a few of the more traditional villages, such as Volendam and locations in the Zaan area, are the different costumes with wooden shoes still worn by some inhabitants.

New Holland

The province of Holland gave its name to a number of colonial settlements and discovered regions that were called Nieuw Holland or New Holland. The most extensive of these was the island continent presently known as Australia: New Holland was first applied to Australia in 1644 by the Dutch seafarer Abel Tasman as a Latin Nova Hollandia, and remained in international use for 190 years. On the same voyage he named New Zealand after the Dutch province of Zeeland. In the Netherlands Nieuw Holland would remain the usual name of the continent until the end of the 19th century; it is now no longer in use there, the Dutch name today being Australië.

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