1.
La Renaissance
–
La Renaissance is the national anthem of the Central African Republic, adopted upon independence in 1960. The words were written by the then Prime Minister, Barthélémy Boganda, the music was composed by Herbert Pepper, who also composed the national anthem of Senegal, Pincez Tous vos Koras, Frappez les Balafons. There is also a version in the Sango language entitled E Zingo, Central African Republic, La Renaissance - Audio of the national anthem of the Central African Republic, with information and lyrics
La Renaissance
–
La Renaissance (
French) E Zingo (
Sango)
2.
Bangui
–
Bangui, or Bangî in Sango, formerly written Bangi in English, is the capital and largest city of the Central African Republic. As of 2012 it had an population of 734,350. The majority of the population of the Central African Republic lives in the parts of the country, in Bangui. The city forms a commune of the Central African Republic which is surrounded by the Ombella-MPoko prefecture. With an area of 67 square kilometres, the commune is the smallest high-level administrative division in the country, the city consists of eight urban districts,16 groups and 205 neighbourhoods. As the capital of the Central African Republic, Bangui acts as an administrative, trade and it is served by the Bangui MPoko International Airport. The National Assembly, government buildings, banks, foreign enterprises and embassies, hospitals, hotels, main markets, Bangui manufactures textiles, food products, beer, shoes and soap. Its Notre-Dame Cathedral is the seat of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Bangui, the city is also home to the University of Bangui, inaugurated in 1970. Bangui has been the scene of rebel activity and destruction during decades of political upheaval. As a result of political unrest, the city was named in 1996 as one of the most dangerous in the world, the archaeological sites were added to the UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List on 11 April 2006 in the Cultural category. The site closest to Bangui is Pendere-Sengue,800 metres from Independence Avenue and it is a paleo-metallurgical site where several thousand shards of ceramics, iron tools, pottery, and an iron spatula weighing 9 kilograms have been unearthed. Its dating, compared with similar sites in Nigeria and Sudan, Bangui was founded by Albert Dolisie and Alfred Uzac on 26 June 1889, in what was then the upper reaches of the French Congo, the present-day Congo. The original site was 6 miles south of the Ubangi rapids and its territory was organized first into the territory of the Upper Ubangi and then as the separate colony of Ubangi-Shari. Bangui retained its importance as a military and administrative centre when the colony was folded into French Equatorial Africa, the French operated a radio transmitter in Bangui, which was described in 1932 as the most remote radio station in Africa. The colony of Ubangi-Shari received its autonomy in 1958 as the Central African Republic, in 1970, President Jean-Bédel Bokassa inaugurated the University of Bangui. He established the national airline Air Centrafrique the following year and ordered the construction of two new hotels in Bangui. With tensions mounting between Bangui and Paris as a result of Bokassas uncontrollable expenditures, western banks refused to him any more money. Relations with the French worsened still further in April 1974, when Brigette Mirouxs body was discovered in a room in Bangui
Bangui
–
Bangui / Bangî
Bangui
–
A local woman together with soldiers of the
Forces Françaises Libres near Bangui in 1940.
Bangui
–
Jean-Bédel Bokassa 's tomb in the Berengo palace grounds.
Bangui
–
Satellite view of Bangui.
3.
French language
–
French is a Romance language of the Indo-European family. It descended from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire, as did all Romance languages, French has evolved from Gallo-Romance, the spoken Latin in Gaul, and more specifically in Northern Gaul. Its closest relatives are the other langues doïl—languages historically spoken in northern France and in southern Belgium, French was also influenced by native Celtic languages of Northern Roman Gaul like Gallia Belgica and by the Frankish language of the post-Roman Frankish invaders. Today, owing to Frances past overseas expansion, there are numerous French-based creole languages, a French-speaking person or nation may be referred to as Francophone in both English and French. French is a language in 29 countries, most of which are members of la francophonie. As of 2015, 40% of the population is in Europe, 35% in sub-Saharan Africa, 15% in North Africa and the Middle East, 8% in the Americas. French is the fourth-most widely spoken mother tongue in the European Union, 1/5 of Europeans who do not have French as a mother tongue speak French as a second language. As a result of French and Belgian colonialism from the 17th and 18th century onward, French was introduced to new territories in the Americas, Africa, most second-language speakers reside in Francophone Africa, in particular Gabon, Algeria, Mauritius, Senegal and Ivory Coast. In 2015, French was estimated to have 77 to 110 million native speakers, approximately 274 million people are able to speak the language. The Organisation internationale de la Francophonie estimates 700 million by 2050, in 2011, Bloomberg Businessweek ranked French the third most useful language for business, after English and Standard Mandarin Chinese. Under the Constitution of France, French has been the language of the Republic since 1992. France mandates the use of French in official government publications, public education except in specific cases, French is one of the four official languages of Switzerland and is spoken in the western part of Switzerland called Romandie, of which Geneva is the largest city. French is the language of about 23% of the Swiss population. French is also a language of Luxembourg, Monaco, and Aosta Valley, while French dialects remain spoken by minorities on the Channel Islands. A plurality of the worlds French-speaking population lives in Africa and this number does not include the people living in non-Francophone African countries who have learned French as a foreign language. Due to the rise of French in Africa, the total French-speaking population worldwide is expected to reach 700 million people in 2050, French is the fastest growing language on the continent. French is mostly a language in Africa, but it has become a first language in some urban areas, such as the region of Abidjan, Ivory Coast and in Libreville. There is not a single African French, but multiple forms that diverged through contact with various indigenous African languages, sub-Saharan Africa is the region where the French language is most likely to expand, because of the expansion of education and rapid population growth
French language
–
The
"arrêt" signs (French for "stop") are used in
Canada while the international stop, which is also a valid French word, is used in France as well as other French-speaking countries and regions.
French language
–
Regions where French is the main language
French language
–
Town sign in
Standard Arabic and French at the entrance of
Rechmaya in
Lebanon.
French language
–
An obsolete 100
Lebanese pound note with the French language inscriptions "Banque du Liban" and "Cent livres".
4.
Protestant Church
–
Protestantism is a form of Christianity which originated with the Reformation, a movement against what its followers considered to be errors in the Roman Catholic Church. It is one of the three divisions of Christendom, together with Roman Catholicism and Orthodoxy. The term derives from the letter of protestation from German Lutheran princes in 1529 against an edict of the Diet of Speyer condemning the teachings of Martin Luther as heretical. Although there were earlier breaks from or attempts to reform the Roman Catholic Church—notably by Peter Waldo, John Wycliffe, Protestants reject the notion of papal supremacy and deny the Roman Catholic doctrine of transubstantiation, but disagree among themselves regarding the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist. The Five solae summarize the reformers basic differences in theological beliefs, in the 16th century, Lutheranism spread from Germany into Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, the Baltic states, and Iceland. Reformed churches were founded in Germany, Hungary, the Netherlands, Scotland, Switzerland and France by such reformers as John Calvin, Huldrych Zwingli, the political separation of the Church of England from Rome under King Henry VIII brought England and Wales into this broad Reformation movement. Protestants developed their own culture, which made major contributions in education, the humanities and sciences, the political and social order, the economy and the arts, some Protestant denominations do have a worldwide scope and distribution of membership, while others are confined to a single country. A majority of Protestants are members of a handful of families, Adventism, Anglicanism, Baptist churches, Reformed churches, Lutheranism, Methodism. Nondenominational, evangelical, charismatic, independent and other churches are on the rise, and constitute a significant part of Protestant Christianity. Six princes of the Holy Roman Empire and rulers of fourteen Imperial Free Cities, the edict reversed concessions made to the Lutherans with the approval of Holy Roman Emperor Charles V three years earlier. During the Reformation, the term was used outside of the German politics. The word evangelical, which refers to the gospel, was more widely used for those involved in the religious movement. Nowadays, this word is still preferred among some of the historical Protestant denominations in the Lutheran and Calvinist traditions in Europe, above all the term is used by Protestant bodies in the German-speaking area, such as the EKD. In continental Europe, an Evangelical is either a Lutheran or a Calvinist, the German word evangelisch means Protestant, and is different from the German evangelikal, which refers to churches shaped by Evangelicalism. The English word evangelical usually refers to Evangelical Protestant churches, and it traces its roots back to the Puritans in England, where Evangelicalism originated, and then was brought to the United States. Protestantism as a term is now used in contradistinction to the other major Christian traditions, i. e. Roman Catholicism. Initially, Protestant became a term to mean any adherent to the Reformation movement in Germany and was taken up by Lutherans. Even though Martin Luther himself insisted on Christian or Evangelical as the only acceptable names for individuals who professed Christ, French and Swiss Protestants preferred the word reformed, which became a popular, neutral and alternative name for Calvinists
Protestant Church
–
(
The Ninety-Five Theses)
Protestant Church
–
The Memorial Church in
Speyer, Germany
Protestant Church
–
Key figures of the Protestant Reformation: Martin Luther and John Calvin depicted on a church
pulpit. These reformers emphasised preaching and made it a centerpiece of worship.
Protestant Church
–
The Bible translated into
vernacular by Martin Luther. The supreme authority of
scripture is a fundamental principle of Protestantism.
5.
Sunni Islam
–
Sunni Islam is the largest group of Islam. Its name comes from the word Sunnah, referring to the behavior of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. According to Sunni tradition, Muhammad did not clearly designate a successor and this contrasts with the Shia view, which holds that Muhammad intended his son-in-law and cousin Ali ibn Abi Talib to succeed him. Political tensions between Sunnis and Shias continued with varying intensity throughout Islamic history and they have been exacerbated in recent times by ethnic conflicts, as of 2009, Sunni Muslims constituted 87–90% of the worlds Muslim population. Sunni Islam is the worlds largest religious denomination, followed by Catholicism and its adherents are referred to in Arabic as ahl as-sunnah wa l-jamāʻah or ahl as-sunnah for short. In English, its doctrines and practices are sometimes called Sunnism, while adherents are known as Sunni Muslims, Sunnis, Sunnites, Sunni Islam is sometimes referred to as orthodox Islam. The Quran, together with hadith and binding juristic consensus form the basis of all traditional jurisprudence within Sunni Islam, sunnī, also commonly referred to as Sunnīism, is a term derived from sunnah meaning habit, usual practice, custom, tradition. The Muslim use of this term refers to the sayings and living habits of the prophet Muhammad, in Arabic, this branch of Islam is referred to as ahl as-sunnah wa l-jamāʻah, the people of the sunnah and the community, which is commonly shortened to ahl as-sunnah. One common mistake is to assume that Sunni Islam represents a normative Islam that emerged during the period after Muhammads death, and that Sufism and Shiism developed out of Sunni Islam. This perception is due to the reliance on highly ideological sources that have been accepted as reliable historical works. Both Sunnism and Shiaism are the end products of centuries of competition between ideologies. Both sects used each other to further cement their own identities and doctrines, the first four caliphs are known among Sunnis as the Rashidun or Rightly-Guided Ones. Sunni recognition includes the aforementioned Abu Bakr as the first, Umar who established the Islamic calendar as the second, Uthman as the third, Sunnis believe that the companions of Muhammad were the best of Muslims. Support for this view is found in the Quran, according to Sunnis. Sunnis also believe that the companions were true believers since it was the companions who were given the task of compiling the Quran, furthermore, narrations that were narrated by the companions are considered by Sunnis to be a second source of knowledge of the Muslim faith. A study conducted by the Pew Research Center in 2010 and released January 2011 found that there are 1.62 billion Muslims around the world, Islam does not have a formal hierarchy or clergy. Leaders are informal, and gain influence through study to become a scholar of Islamic law, according to the Islamic Center of Columbia, South Carolina, anyone with the intelligence and the will can become an Islamic scholar. During Midday Mosque services on Fridays, the congregation will choose a person to lead the service
Sunni Islam
Sunni Islam
–
Malaysian Sunni Muslims in a
Mawlid procession in capital
Putrajaya, 2013.
Sunni Islam
–
The
Great Mosque of Kairouan (also known as the Mosque of Uqba) was, in particular during the 9th, 10th and 11th centuries, an important center of Islamic learning with an emphasis on the
Maliki Madh'hab. It is located in the city of
Kairouan in
Tunisia
6.
Absolute monarchy
–
Absolute monarchy, or despotic monarchy, is a form of monarchy in which one ruler has supreme authority that is not restricted by any written laws, legislature, or customs. These are often, but not always, hereditary monarchies, in contrast, in constitutional monarchies, the head of states authority derives from and is legally bounded or restricted by a constitution or legislature. Some monarchies have weak or symbolic legislatures and other bodies that the monarch can alter or dissolve at will. Countries where a monarch still maintains absolute power are Brunei, Qatar, Oman, Saudi Arabia, the individual emirates composing the United Arab Emirates, Swaziland, in Ancient Egypt, the Pharaoh wielded absolute power over the country and was considered a living god by his people. In ancient Mesopotamia, many rulers of Assyria, Babylonia and Sumer were absolute monarchs as well, in ancient and medieval India, rulers of the Maurya, Satahavana, Gupta and Chalukya Empires, as well as other major and minor empires, were considered absolute monarchs. In the Khmer Empire, the kings were called Devaraja and Chakravartin, in Kingdom of Siam, the kings were esestablished Somburanaya-sittiraj. Throughout Chinese history, many emperors and one empress wielded absolute power through the Mandate of Heaven, in pre-Columbian America, the Inca Empire was ruled by a Sapa Inca, who was considered the son of Inti, the sun god and absolute ruler over the people and nation. Throughout much of European history, the right of kings was the theological justification for absolute monarchy. Many European monarchs, such as those of Russia, claimed supreme autocratic power by right. James VI of Scotland and his son Charles I of Scotland and England tried to import this principle, there is a considerable variety of opinion by historians on the extent of absolutism among European monarchs. Some, such as Perry Anderson, argue that quite a few monarchs achieved levels of absolutist control over their states, a widely held story about Louis XIV of France is that he proclaimed Létat, cest moi. What Louis did say was, The interests of the state come first, when one gives these priority, one labors for ones own good. These advantages to the state redounds to ones glory, although often criticized for his extravagances, such as the Palace of Versailles, he reigned over France for a long period, and some historians consider him a successful absolute monarch. More recently, revisionist historians have questioned whether Louis reign should be considered absolute, the King of France concentrated in his person legislative, executive, and judicial powers. He was the judicial authority. He could condemn men to death without the right of appeal and it was both his duty to punish offenses and stop them from being committed. From his judicial authority followed his power both to make laws and to annul them and this law consequently authorized the king to abolish all other centers of power. Most important was the abolition of the Council of the Realm and his actions largely originated the militaristic streak of the Hohenzollern
Absolute monarchy
–
Louis XIV of France
Absolute monarchy
–
Hassanal Bolkiah is the 29th and current
Sultan of Brunei
Absolute monarchy
–
Salman,
King of Saudi Arabia and
Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques.
7.
Cold War
–
The Cold War was a state of geopolitical tension after World War II between powers in the Eastern Bloc and powers in the Western Bloc. Historians do not fully agree on the dates, but a common timeframe is the period between 1947, the year the Truman Doctrine was announced, and 1991, the year the Soviet Union collapsed. The term cold is used there was no large-scale fighting directly between the two sides, although there were major regional wars, known as proxy wars, supported by the two sides. The Cold War split the temporary alliance against Nazi Germany, leaving the Soviet Union. The USSR was a Marxist–Leninist state ruled by its Communist Party and secret police, the Party controlled the press, the military, the economy and all organizations. In opposition stood the West, dominantly democratic and capitalist with a free press, a small neutral bloc arose with the Non-Aligned Movement, it sought good relations with both sides. The two superpowers never engaged directly in full-scale armed combat, but they were armed in preparation for a possible all-out nuclear world war. The first phase of the Cold War began in the first two years after the end of the Second World War in 1945, the Berlin Blockade was the first major crisis of the Cold War. With the victory of the communist side in the Chinese Civil War and the outbreak of the Korean War, the USSR and USA competed for influence in Latin America, and the decolonizing states of Africa and Asia. Meanwhile, the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 was stopped by the Soviets, the expansion and escalation sparked more crises, such as the Suez Crisis, the Berlin Crisis of 1961, and the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962. The USSR crushed the 1968 Prague Spring liberalization program in Czechoslovakia, détente collapsed at the end of the decade with the beginning of the Soviet–Afghan War in 1979. The early 1980s were another period of elevated tension, with the Soviet downing of Korean Air Lines Flight 007, the United States increased diplomatic, military, and economic pressures on the Soviet Union, at a time when the communist state was already suffering from economic stagnation. In the mid-1980s, the new Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev introduced the reforms of perestroika and glasnost. Pressures for national independence grew stronger in Eastern Europe, especially Poland, Gorbachev meanwhile refused to use Soviet troops to bolster the faltering Warsaw Pact regimes as had occurred in the past. The result in 1989 was a wave of revolutions that peacefully overthrew all of the communist regimes of Central, the Communist Party of the Soviet Union itself lost control and was banned following an abortive coup attempt in August 1991. This in turn led to the dissolution of the USSR in December 1991. The United States remained as the only superpower. The Cold War and its events have left a significant legacy and it is often referred to in popular culture, especially in media featuring themes of espionage and the threat of nuclear warfare
Cold War
–
Photograph of the
Berlin Wall taken from the West side. The Wall was built in 1961 to prevent East Germans from fleeing and to stop an economically disastrous drain of workers. It was a symbol of the Cold War and its fall in 1989 marked the approaching end of the war.
Cold War
–
Allied troops in
Vladivostok, August 1918, during the
Allied intervention in the
Russian Civil War.
Cold War
–
The "
Big Three " at the Yalta Conference:
Winston Churchill,
Franklin D. Roosevelt and
Joseph Stalin, 1945.
8.
Central African Empire
–
The empire was formed by and under the command of Marshal Jean-Bédel Bokassa, president for life of the Republic, who declared himself Emperor Bokassa I on 4 December 1976. Bokassa spent the equivalent of over 20 million United States dollars, the monarchy was abolished and the name Central African Republic was restored on 21 September 1979, when Bokassa was ousted with French support. In September 1976, Bokassa dissolved the government and replaced it with the Conseil de la Révolution Centrafricaine. On 4 December 1976, at the MESAN congress, Bokassa instituted a new constitution, converted back to Roman Catholicism and declared the republic to be a monarchy, standing for Sa Majesté Impériale, His Imperial Majesty, on 4 December 1977. Bokassa’s full title was Empereur de Centrafrique par la volonté du peuple Centrafricain, uni au sein du parti politique national, le MESAN. His regalia, lavish ceremony and régime were largely inspired by Napoleon I. The coronation ceremony was estimated to cost his country roughly $20,000, 000—one-third of the countrys budget, Bokassa attempted to justify his actions by claiming that creating a monarchy would help Central Africa stand out from the rest of the continent, and earn the worlds respect. Despite invitations, no foreign leaders attended the event, many thought Bokassa was insane, and compared his egotistical extravagance with that of Africas other well-known eccentric dictator—Field Marshal Idi Amin. Tenacious rumors that he occasionally consumed human flesh were found unproven during his eventual trial, although it was claimed that the new empire would be a constitutional monarchy, in practice the country remained a military dictatorship. Emperor Bokassa retained the powers he had possessed as President. Suppression of dissenters remained widespread, and torture was said to be especially rampant and it was subsequently proven at trial that Bokassa himself occasionally participated in beatings. By January 1979, French support for Bokassa had all but eroded after riots in Bangui led to a massacre of civilians, between 17 and 19 April, a number of high school students were arrested after they had protested against wearing the expensive, government-required school uniforms. Bokassa allegedly participated in the massacre, beating some of the children to death with his cane, however, the initial reports received by Amnesty International indicated only that the school students suffocated or were beaten to death while being forced into a small cell following their arrest. Bokassa’s overthrow by the French government was called Frances last colonial expedition by veteran French diplomat Jacques Foccart, opération Barracuda began the night of 20 September and ended early the next morning. Upon arrival of two transport aircraft, a message was sent to Colonel Degenne to come in with his Barracudas. By 12,30 p. m. on 21 September 1979, david Dacko remained President until he was overthrown on 1 September 1981 by General André Kolingba. The only coin bearing the name Empire Centrafricain was a 100 CFA Francs dated 1978, saint-Sylvestre coup d’état Jules Verne Stamp Luigi Pirandello stamp Imperial stamp example Imperial currency example Imperial flag
Central African Empire
–
A
Sud Aviation Caravelle in the markings of the Central African Empire (1977).
Central African Empire
–
Flag
9.
Central African CFA franc
–
The Central African CFA franc is the currency of six independent states in central Africa, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea and Gabon. These six countries have a population of 48.0 million people. CFA stands for Coopération financière en Afrique centrale and it is issued by the BEAC, located in Yaoundé, Cameroon, for the members of the CEMAC. The franc is nominally subdivided into 100 centimes but no centime denominations have been issued, in several west African states, the West African CFA franc, which is of equal value to the Central African CFA franc, is in circulation. The CFA franc was introduced to the French colonies in Equatorial Africa in 1945, the Equatorial African colonies and territories using the CFA franc were Chad, French Cameroun, French Congo, Gabon and Ubangi-Shari. The currency continued in use when these colonies gained their independence, Equatorial Guinea, the only former Spanish colony in the zone, adopted the CFA franc in 1984, replacing the Equatorial Guinean ekwele at a rate of 1 franc =4 bipkwele. In 1948, coins were issued for use in all the colonies in denominations of 1 and 2 francs and this was the last issue of a 2-franc coin for nearly 50 years. In 1958, 5-, 10- and 25-franc coins were added and these bore the name Cameroun in addition to États de lAfrique Equatoriale. In 1961, nickel 50-franc coins were introduced, followed by nickel 100-franc pieces in 1966, from 1971, the 100-franc coins were issued by the individual states. In 1976, cupro-nickel 500-franc coins were introduced, from 1985, these were also issued by the individual states. That year also saw the introduction of 5-, 25-, 50-, in 1996, centralized production of the 100-franc coin was resumed, with a single 500-franc coin reintroduced in 1998. In 2006, a steel 2-franc coin was introduced, when the CFA franc was introduced, notes issued by the Caisse Centrale de la France dOutre-Mer in denominations of 5,10,20,100 and 1000 francs were in circulation. In 1947, a new series of notes was introduced for use in French Equatorial Africa, notes were issued in denominations of 5,10,20,50,100 and 1000 francs, followed by those of 500 francs in 1949, and 5000 francs in 1952. In 1957, the Institut dEmission de lAfrique Equatoriale Française et du Cameroun took over paper money production, in 1961, the Banque Centrale des Etats de lAfrique Equatoriale et du Cameroun took over banknote production, with notes below 100 francs ceasing to be issued. The name of the changed to Banque Centrale des Etats de lAfrique Equatoriale in 1963. 10, 000-franc notes were introduced in 1968, whilst the 100-franc notes were replaced by coins in 1971, since then, the banknotes have been issued with only a letter prominently displayed to distinguish between the issues of the different states. 2000 franc notes were introduced in 1993
Central African CFA franc
–
1000 Central African CFA francs, issued for Chad.
10.
Central African Republic
–
The Central African Republic is a landlocked country in Central Africa. The CAR covers a area of about 620,000 square kilometres and had an estimated population of around 4.7 million as of 2014. Most of the CAR consists of Sudano-Guinean savannas, but the country includes a Sahelo-Sudanian zone in the north. Two thirds of the country is within the Ubangi River basin, while the third lies in the basin of the Chari. Ange-Félix Patassé became president, but was removed by General François Bozizé in the 2003 coup. As of 2015, according to the Human Development Index, the country had the lowest level of human development and this Agricultural Revolution, combined with a Fish-stew Revolution, in which fishing began to take place, and the use of boats, allowed for the transportation of goods. Products were often moved in ceramic pots, which are the first known examples of artistic expression from the regions inhabitants, the Bouar Megaliths in the western region of the country indicate an advanced level of habitation dating back to the very late Neolithic Era. Ironworking arrived in the region around 1000 BC from both Bantu cultures in what is today Nigeria and from the Nile city of Meroë, the capital of the Kingdom of Kush. Bananas arrived in the region and added an important source of carbohydrates to the diet, production of copper, salt, dried fish, and textiles dominated the economic trade in the Central African region. During the 16th and 17th centuries slave traders began to raid the region as part of the expansion of the Saharan, in the mid 19th century, the Bobangi people became major slave traders and sold their captives to the Americas using the Ubangi river to reach the coast. During the 18th century Bandia-Nzakara peoples established the Bangassou Kingdom along the Ubangi River, in 1875 the Sudanese sultan Rabih az-Zubayr governed Upper-Oubangui, which included present-day CAR. The European penetration of Central African territory began in the late 19th century during the Scramble for Africa, Europeans, primarily the French, Germans, and Belgians, arrived in the area in 1885. France created Ubangi-Shari territory in 1894, in 1911 at the Treaty of Fez, France ceded a nearly 300,000 km² portion of the Sangha and Lobaye basins to the German Empire which ceded a smaller area to France. After World War I France again annexed the territory, in 1920 French Equatorial Africa was established and Ubangi-Shari was administered from Brazzaville. The concessionary companies forced local people to harvest rubber, coffee, between 1890, a year after the French first arrived, and 1940, about half of the population died as a result. New forms of forced labor were also introduced and a number of Ubangians were sent to work on the Congo-Ocean Railway. Many of these laborers died of exhaustion, illness, or the poor conditions which claimed between 20% and 25% of the 127,000 workers. In 1928, an insurrection, the Kongo-Wara rebellion or war of the hoe handle, broke out in Western Ubangi-Shari
Central African Republic
–
Charles de Gaulle in Bangui, 1940.
Central African Republic
–
Flag
Central African Republic
–
Rebel militia in the northern countryside, 2007.
Central African Republic
–
Eland armoured car of the Central African Multinational Force patrols the streets of Bangui in December 2013.
11.
Constitutional monarchy
–
A constitutional monarchy is a form of monarchy in which the sovereign exercises their authorities in accordance with a written or unwritten constitution. A constitutional monarchy may refer to a system in which the acts as a non-party political head of state under the constitution. Political scientist Vernon Bogdanor, paraphrasing Thomas Macaulay, has defined a constitutional monarch as a sovereign who reigns, in addition to acting as a visible symbol of national unity, a constitutional monarch may hold formal powers such as dissolving parliament or giving royal assent to legislation. Many constitutional monarchies still retain significant authorities or political influence however, such as through certain reserve powers, the United Kingdom and the other Commonwealth realms are all constitutional monarchies in the Westminster tradition of constitutional governance. Three states – Malaysia, Cambodia and the Holy See – are elective monarchies, the oldest constitutional monarchy dating back to ancient times was that of the Hittites. These were scattered noble families that worked as representatives of their subjects in an adjutant or subaltern federal-type landscape, the most recent country to move from an absolute monarchy to a constitutional monarchy was Bhutan, between 2007 and 2008. At the same time, in Scotland the Convention of Estates enacted the Claim of Right Act 1689, although Queen Anne was the last monarch to veto an Act of Parliament when in 1707 she blocked the Scottish Militia Bill, Hanoverian monarchs continued to selectively dictate government policies. For instance George III constantly blocked Catholic Emancipation, eventually precipitating the resignation of William Pitt the Younger as Prime Minister in 1801, Queen Victoria was the last monarch to exercise real personal power but this diminished over the course of her reign. In 1839 she became the last sovereign to keep a Prime Minister in power against the will of Parliament when the Bedchamber crisis resulted in the retention of Lord Melbournes administration, today, the role of the British monarch is by convention effectively ceremonial. No person may accept significant public office without swearing an oath of allegiance to the Queen, with few exceptions, the monarch is bound by constitutional convention to act on the advice of the Government. Constitutional monarchy also occurred briefly in the years of the French Revolution. As originally conceived, a monarch was head of the executive branch and quite a powerful figure even though his or her power was limited by the constitution. In many cases the monarchs, while still at the top of the political and social hierarchy, were given the status of servants of the people to reflect the new. In the course of Frances July Monarchy, Louis-Philippe I was styled King of the French rather than King of France, following the Unification of Germany, Otto von Bismarck rejected the British model. However this model of constitutional monarchy was discredited and abolished following Germanys defeat in the First World War. Later, Fascist Italy could also be considered as a constitutional monarchy and this eventually discredited the Italian monarchy and led to its abolition in 1946. After the Second World War, surviving European monarchies almost invariably adopted some variant of the constitutional monarchy model originally developed in Britain, nowadays a parliamentary democracy that is a constitutional monarchy is considered to differ from one that is a republic only in detail rather than in substance. However, three important factors distinguish monarchies such as the United Kingdom from systems where greater power might otherwise rest with Parliament, other privileges may be nominal or ceremonial
Constitutional monarchy
–
Constitutional monarchies with representative
parliamentary systems are shown in green. Other constitutional monarchies are shown in light green.
12.
One-party state
–
All other parties are either outlawed or allowed to take only a limited and controlled participation in elections. One-party states explain themselves through various methods, most often, proponents of a one-party state argue that the existence of separate parties runs counter to national unity. Others argue that the one party is the vanguard of the people, the Soviet government argued that multiple parties represented the class struggle, which was absent in Soviet society, and so the Soviet Union only had one party, the Communist Party. Some one-party states only outlaw opposition parties, while allowing allied parties to exist as part of a permanent coalition such as a popular front. However, these parties are largely or completely subservient to the ruling party, examples of this are the Peoples Republic of China under the United Front, or the National Front in former East Germany. Others may allow non-party members to run for seats, as was the case with Taiwans Tangwai movement in the 1970s and 1980s. Within their own countries, dominant parties ruling over one-party states are referred to simply as the Party. One-party systems often arise from decolonization because one party has had a dominant role in liberation or in independence struggles. One-party states are often, but not always, considered to be authoritarian or totalitarian, however, not all authoritarian or totalitarian states operate based on one-party rule. Some, especially absolute monarchies and certain military dictatorships, have all political parties illegal. The term communist state is used in the West to apply to states in which the ruling party subscribes to a form of Marxism–Leninism. While the role of the Communist Party is enshrined in the constitution, no party is permitted to campaign or run candidates for election, the party was conceived by the original Black American settlers and their descendants who referred to themselves as Americo-Liberians. Initially, its ideology was influenced by that of the Whig Party in the United States. Over time it developed into a powerful Masonic Order that ruled every aspect of Liberian society for well over a century until it was overthrown in 1980, while the True Whig Party still exists today, its influence has substantially declined
One-party state
–
Presidential republics with a semi-presidential system.
13.
United States dollar
–
The United States dollar is the official currency of the United States and its insular territories per the United States Constitution. It is divided into 100 smaller cent units, the circulating paper money consists of Federal Reserve Notes that are denominated in United States dollars. The U. S. dollar was originally commodity money of silver as enacted by the Coinage Act of 1792 which determined the dollar to be 371 4/16 grain pure or 416 grain standard silver, the currency most used in international transactions, it is the worlds primary reserve currency. Several countries use it as their currency, and in many others it is the de facto currency. Besides the United States, it is used as the sole currency in two British Overseas Territories in the Caribbean, the British Virgin Islands and Turks and Caicos Islands. A few countries use the Federal Reserve Notes for paper money, while the country mints its own coins, or also accepts U. S. coins that can be used as payment in U. S. dollars. After Nixon shock of 1971, USD became fiat currency, Article I, Section 8 of the U. S. Constitution provides that the Congress has the power To coin money, laws implementing this power are currently codified at 31 U. S. C. Section 5112 prescribes the forms in which the United States dollars should be issued and these coins are both designated in Section 5112 as legal tender in payment of debts. The Sacagawea dollar is one example of the copper alloy dollar, the pure silver dollar is known as the American Silver Eagle. Section 5112 also provides for the minting and issuance of other coins and these other coins are more fully described in Coins of the United States dollar. The Constitution provides that a regular Statement and Account of the Receipts and that provision of the Constitution is made specific by Section 331 of Title 31 of the United States Code. The sums of money reported in the Statements are currently being expressed in U. S. dollars, the U. S. dollar may therefore be described as the unit of account of the United States. The word dollar is one of the words in the first paragraph of Section 9 of Article I of the Constitution, there, dollars is a reference to the Spanish milled dollar, a coin that had a monetary value of 8 Spanish units of currency, or reales. In 1792 the U. S. Congress passed a Coinage Act, Section 20 of the act provided, That the money of account of the United States shall be expressed in dollars, or units. And that all accounts in the offices and all proceedings in the courts of the United States shall be kept and had in conformity to this regulation. In other words, this act designated the United States dollar as the unit of currency of the United States, unlike the Spanish milled dollar the U. S. dollar is based upon a decimal system of values. Both one-dollar coins and notes are produced today, although the form is significantly more common
United States dollar
–
Series of 1917
$1 United States bill
United States dollar
–
Federal Reserve Notes
United States dollar
–
Spanish silver real or
peso of 1768
United States dollar
–
Obverse of rare 1934 $500 Federal Reserve Note, featuring a portrait of President
William McKinley.
14.
Coronation
–
The ceremony can also be conducted for the monarchs consort, either simultaneously with the monarch or as a separate event. A ceremony without the placement of a crown on the head is known as an enthronement. Coronations are still observed in the United Kingdom, Tonga, in addition to investing the monarch with symbols of state, Western-style coronations have often traditionally involve anointing with holy oil, or chrism as it is often called. Wherever a ruler is anointed in this way, as in Great Britain and Tonga, some other lands use bathing or cleansing rites, the drinking of a sacred beverage, or other religious practices to achieve a comparable effect. Such acts symbolise the granting of divine favour to the monarch within the relevant spiritual-religious paradigm of the country, in the past, concepts of royalty, coronation and deity were often inexorably linked. Rome promulgated the practice of worship, in Medieval Europe. Coronations were once a direct expression of these alleged connections. Thus, coronations have often been discarded altogether or altered to reflect the nature of the states in which they are held. However, some monarchies still choose to retain an overtly religious dimension to their accession rituals, others have adopted simpler enthronement or inauguration ceremonies, or even no ceremony at all. In non-Christian states, coronation rites evolved from a variety of sources, buddhism, for instance, influenced the coronation rituals of Thailand, Cambodia and Bhutan, while Hindu elements played a significant role in Nepalese rites. The ceremonies used in modern Egypt, Malaysia, Brunei and Iran were shaped by Islam, Coronations, in one form or another, have existed since ancient times. Egyptian records show coronation scenes, such as that of Seti I in 1290 BC, judeo-Christian scriptures testify to particular rites associated with the conferring of kingship, the most detailed accounts of which are found in II Kings 11,12 and II Chronicles 23,11. Following the assumption of the diadem by Constantine, Roman and Byzantine emperors continued to wear it as the symbol of their authority. Although no specific coronation ceremony was observed at first, one gradually evolved over the following century, the emperor Julian was hoisted upon a shield and crowned with a gold necklace provided by one of his standard-bearers, he later wore a jewel-studded diadem. Later emperors were crowned and acclaimed in a manner, until the momentous decision was taken to permit the Patriarch of Constantinople to physically place the crown on the emperors head. Historians debate when exactly this first took place, but the precedent was established by the reign of Leo II. This ritual included recitation of prayers by the Byzantine prelate over the crown, after this event, according to the Catholic Encyclopedia, the ecclesiastical element in the coronation ceremonial rapidly develop. This was usually performed three times, following this, the king was given a spear, and a diadem wrought of silk or linen was bound around his forehead as a token of regal authority
Coronation
–
The coronation of
Charles VII of France (1429), detail of the painting Jeanne d'Arc (1886–1890) by
Jules Eugène Lenepveu.
Coronation
–
.
Miniature of
Charlemagne crowned emperor by
Pope Leo III, from Chroniques de France ou de Saint Denis, vol. 1; France, second quarter of 14th century.
Coronation
–
Roger II of Sicily receiving his crown directly from
Jesus Christ, mosaic from
Martorana, Palermo
Coronation
–
An ancient coronation from India
15.
France
–
France, officially the French Republic, is a country with territory in western Europe and several overseas regions and territories. The European, or metropolitan, area of France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, Overseas France include French Guiana on the South American continent and several island territories in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans. France spans 643,801 square kilometres and had a population of almost 67 million people as of January 2017. It is a unitary republic with the capital in Paris. Other major urban centres include Marseille, Lyon, Lille, Nice, Toulouse, during the Iron Age, what is now metropolitan France was inhabited by the Gauls, a Celtic people. The area was annexed in 51 BC by Rome, which held Gaul until 486, France emerged as a major European power in the Late Middle Ages, with its victory in the Hundred Years War strengthening state-building and political centralisation. During the Renaissance, French culture flourished and a colonial empire was established. The 16th century was dominated by civil wars between Catholics and Protestants. France became Europes dominant cultural, political, and military power under Louis XIV, in the 19th century Napoleon took power and established the First French Empire, whose subsequent Napoleonic Wars shaped the course of continental Europe. Following the collapse of the Empire, France endured a succession of governments culminating with the establishment of the French Third Republic in 1870. Following liberation in 1944, a Fourth Republic was established and later dissolved in the course of the Algerian War, the Fifth Republic, led by Charles de Gaulle, was formed in 1958 and remains to this day. Algeria and nearly all the colonies became independent in the 1960s with minimal controversy and typically retained close economic. France has long been a centre of art, science. It hosts Europes fourth-largest number of cultural UNESCO World Heritage Sites and receives around 83 million foreign tourists annually, France is a developed country with the worlds sixth-largest economy by nominal GDP and ninth-largest by purchasing power parity. In terms of household wealth, it ranks fourth in the world. France performs well in international rankings of education, health care, life expectancy, France remains a great power in the world, being one of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council with the power to veto and an official nuclear-weapon state. It is a member state of the European Union and the Eurozone. It is also a member of the Group of 7, North Atlantic Treaty Organization, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the World Trade Organization, originally applied to the whole Frankish Empire, the name France comes from the Latin Francia, or country of the Franks
France
–
One of the
Lascaux paintings: a horse –
Dordogne, approximately 18,000 BC
France
–
Flag
France
–
The
Maison Carrée was a temple of the
Gallo-Roman city of Nemausus (present-day
Nîmes) and is one of the best preserved vestiges of the
Roman Empire.
France
–
With
Clovis ' conversion to Catholicism in 498, the
Frankish monarchy,
elective and
secular until then, became
hereditary and of
divine right.
16.
Muslim
–
A Muslim is someone who follows or practices Islam, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion. Muslims consider the Quran, their book, to be the verbatim word of God as revealed to the Islamic prophet. They also follow the teachings and practices of Muhammad as recorded in traditional accounts, Muslim is an Arabic word meaning one who submits. Most Muslims will accept anyone who has publicly pronounced Shahadah as a Muslim, the shahadah states, There is no god but the God and Muhammad is the last messenger of the God. The testimony authorized by God in the Quran that can found in Surah 3,18 states, There is no god except God, which in Arabic, is the exact testimony which God Himself utters, as well as the angels and those who possess knowledge utter. The word muslim is the active participle of the verb of which islām is a verbal noun, based on the triliteral S-L-M to be whole. A female adherent is a muslima, the plural form in Arabic is muslimūn or muslimīn, and its feminine equivalent is muslimāt. The Arabic form muslimun is the stem IV participle of the triliteral S-L-M, the ordinary word in English is Muslim. It is sometimes transliterated as Moslem, which is an older spelling, the word Mosalman is a common equivalent for Muslim used in Central Asia. Until at least the mid-1960s, many English-language writers used the term Mohammedans or Mahometans, although such terms were not necessarily intended to be pejorative, Muslims argue that the terms are offensive because they allegedly imply that Muslims worship Muhammad rather than God. Other obsolete terms include Muslimite and Muslimist, musulmán/Mosalmán is a synonym for Muslim and is modified from Arabic. In English it was sometimes spelled Mussulman and has become archaic in usage, the Muslim philosopher Ibn Arabi said, A Muslim is a person who has dedicated his worship exclusively to God. Islam means making ones religion and faith Gods alone. The Quran states that men were Muslims because they submitted to God, preached His message and upheld His values. Thus, in Surah 3,52 of the Quran, Jesus disciples tell him, We believe in God, and you be our witness that we are Muslims. In Muslim belief, before the Quran, God had given the Tawrat to Moses, the Zabur to David and the Injil to Jesus, who are all considered important Muslim prophets. The most populous Muslim-majority country is Indonesia, home to 12. 7% of the worlds Muslims, followed by Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Egypt. About 20% of the worlds Muslims lives in the Middle East and North Africa, Sizable minorities are found in India, China, Russia, Ethiopia. The country with the highest proportion of self-described Muslims as a proportion of its population is Morocco
Muslim
–
Afghan Muslims praying inside
Gardens of Babur in
Kabul,
Afghanistan.
Muslim
–
Famous
Muslim converts from various fields.
17.
Movement for the Social Evolution of Black Africa
–
The Movement for the Social Evolution of Black Africa is a political party in the Central African Republic. In its original form, it was a nationalist quasi-religious party that sought to affirm black humanity and advocated for the independence of Ubangi-Shari, the statutes of the movement were written in April 1950, and the groups branches were set up in Ubangui, Fort Lamy and Brazzaville. The formation of MESAN did not sit well with the French territorial administration and they set up divisions of the Rassemblement du Peuple Français in Ubangi-Shari to oppose the MESAN. Within a year, he declared the establishment of the Central African Republic, MESAN continued to exist, but its role was limited. After Bogandas death in a crash on 29 March 1959, his cousin, David Dacko. The party won every seat in the 1959 elections, with Dacko becoming the countrys first president after the CAR formally received independence from France. Dacko threw out his rivals, including former Prime Minister and Mouvement dévolution démocratique de lAfrique centrale leader Abel Goumba. With all opposition parties suppressed by November 1962, Dacko declared MESAN as the party of the state. MESAN won every seat again in the 1964 elections, whilst Dacko was re-elected as President in an unopposed election, on 31 December 1965, General Jean-Bédel Bokassa, a cousin of both Boganda and Dacko, seized power in the CAR through a coup détat. The next day,1 January 1966, he proclaimed himself president, prime minister, Bokassa stayed in power for the next 13 years. In 1972, he appointed Elisabeth Domitien as vice president of the party, at the MESAN congress on 4 December 1976, Bokassa instituted a new constitution and declared the republic a monarchy, to be known as the Central African Empire. In September 1979, Bokassa was overthrown and Dacko once again became president of the CAR, on 24 November 1979, he abolished MESAN and replaced it with the Union Démocratique Centrafricaine, which he proclaimed as the new political party for the CAR. The party was re-established after the return of multi-party politics in the early 1990s, in the 1993 general elections it won a single seat in the National Assembly. The party nominated one candidate for the 2011 elections, failing to win a seat
Movement for the Social Evolution of Black Africa
–
Movement for the Social Evolution of Black Africa
18.
Napoleon
–
Napoleon Bonaparte was a French military and political leader who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led several successful campaigns during the French Revolutionary Wars. As Napoleon I, he was Emperor of the French from 1804 until 1814, Napoleon dominated European and global affairs for more than a decade while leading France against a series of coalitions in the Napoleonic Wars. He won most of these wars and the vast majority of his battles, one of the greatest commanders in history, his wars and campaigns are studied at military schools worldwide. Napoleons political and cultural legacy has ensured his status as one of the most celebrated and he was born Napoleone di Buonaparte in Corsica to a relatively modest family from the minor nobility. When the Revolution broke out in 1789, Napoleon was serving as an officer in the French army. Seizing the new opportunities presented by the Revolution, he rose through the ranks of the military. The Directory eventually gave him command of the Army of Italy after he suppressed a revolt against the government from royalist insurgents, in 1798, he led a military expedition to Egypt that served as a springboard to political power. He engineered a coup in November 1799 and became First Consul of the Republic and his ambition and public approval inspired him to go further, and in 1804 he became the first Emperor of the French. Intractable differences with the British meant that the French were facing a Third Coalition by 1805, in 1806, the Fourth Coalition took up arms against him because Prussia became worried about growing French influence on the continent. Napoleon quickly defeated Prussia at the battles of Jena and Auerstedt, then marched the Grand Army deep into Eastern Europe, France then forced the defeated nations of the Fourth Coalition to sign the Treaties of Tilsit in July 1807, bringing an uneasy peace to the continent. Tilsit signified the high watermark of the French Empire, hoping to extend the Continental System and choke off British trade with the European mainland, Napoleon invaded Iberia and declared his brother Joseph the King of Spain in 1808. The Spanish and the Portuguese revolted with British support, the Peninsular War lasted six years, featured extensive guerrilla warfare, and ended in victory for the Allies. The Continental System caused recurring diplomatic conflicts between France and its client states, especially Russia, unwilling to bear the economic consequences of reduced trade, the Russians routinely violated the Continental System and enticed Napoleon into another war. The French launched an invasion of Russia in the summer of 1812. The resulting campaign witnessed the collapse of the Grand Army, the destruction of Russian cities, in 1813, Prussia and Austria joined Russian forces in a Sixth Coalition against France. A lengthy military campaign culminated in a large Allied army defeating Napoleon at the Battle of Leipzig in October 1813, the Allies then invaded France and captured Paris in the spring of 1814, forcing Napoleon to abdicate in April. He was exiled to the island of Elba near Rome and the Bourbons were restored to power, however, Napoleon escaped from Elba in February 1815 and took control of France once again. The Allies responded by forming a Seventh Coalition, which defeated Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo in June, the British exiled him to the remote island of Saint Helena in the South Atlantic, where he died six years later at the age of 51
Napoleon
–
The Emperor Napoleon in His Study at the Tuileries, by
Jacques-Louis David, 1812
Napoleon
–
Imperial coat of arms
Napoleon
–
Napoleon's father
Carlo Buonaparte was
Corsica 's representative to the court of
Louis XVI of France.
Napoleon
–
Napoleon Bonaparte, aged 23, Lieutenant-Colonel of a battalion of Corsican
Republican volunteers
19.
French First Republic
–
In the history of France, the First Republic, officially the French Republic, was founded on 21 September 1792 during the French Revolution. The First Republic lasted until the declaration of the First Empire in 1804 under Napoleon, under the Legislative Assembly, which was in power before the proclamation of the First Republic, France was engaged in war with Prussia and Austria. The foreign threat exacerbated Frances political turmoil amid the French Revolution and deepened the passion, in the violence of 10 August 1792, citizens stormed the Tuileries Palace, killing six hundred of the Kings Swiss guards and insisting on the removal of the king. A renewed fear of action prompted further violence, and in the first week of September 1792, mobs of Parisians broke into the citys prisons. This included nobles, clergymen, and political prisoners, but also numerous common criminals, such as prostitutes and petty thieves, many murdered in their cells—raped, stabbed and this became known as the September Massacres. The resulting Convention was founded with the purpose of abolishing the monarchy. The Conventions first act, on 10 August 1792, was to establish the French First Republic, the King, by then a private citizen bearing his family name of Capet, was subsequently put on trial for crimes of high treason starting in December 1792. On 16 January 1793 he was convicted, and on 21 January, throughout the winter of 1792 and spring of 1793, Paris was plagued by food riots and mass hunger. The new Convention did little to remedy the problem until late spring of 1793, despite growing discontent with the National Convention as a ruling body, in June the Convention drafted the Constitution of 1793, which was ratified by popular vote in early August. The Committees laws and policies took the revolution to unprecedented heights, after the arrest and execution of Robespierre in July 1794, the Jacobin club was closed, and the surviving Girondins were reinstated. A year later, the National Convention adopted the Constitution of the Year III and they reestablished freedom of worship, began releasing large numbers of prisoners, and most importantly, initiated elections for a new legislative body. On 3 November 1795, the Directory was established, the period known as the French Consulate began with the coup of 18 Brumaire in 1799. Members of the Directory itself planned the coup, indicating clearly the failing power of the Directory, Napoleon Bonaparte was a co-conspirator in the coup, and became head of the government as the First Consul. He would later proclaim himself Emperor of the French, ending the First French Republic and ushering in the French First Empire
French First Republic
–
Napoleon Bonaparte seizes power during the Coup of 18 Brumaire
French First Republic
–
Flag
20.
French Consulate
–
The Consulate was the government of France from the fall of the Directory in the coup of Brumaire in 1799 until the start of the Napoleonic Empire in 1804. By extension, the term The Consulate also refers to period of French history. Due to the institutions established during these years, Robert B. Holtman has called the Consulate one of the most important periods of all French history, Napoleon brought authoritarian personal rule which has been viewed as military dictatorship. French military disasters in 1798 and 1799 had shaken the Directory, an irregularity emerged in the election of Jean Baptiste Treilhard, who retired in favor of Louis Jérôme Gohier. Within days, Philippe-Antoine Merlin and Louis-Marie de La Revellière were driven to resign, Baron Jean-François-Auguste Moulin, the three new directors were generally seen as non-entities. A few more military disasters, royalist insurrections in the south, Chouan disturbances in a dozen departments of the part of France, Orléanist intrigues. In order to soothe the populace and protect the frontier, more than the French Revolutions usual terrorist measures was necessary, the new Directory government, led by Sieyès, decided that the necessary revision of the constitution would require a head and a sword. Jean Victor Moreau being unattainable as his sword, Sieyès favoured Barthélemy Catherine Joubert, but, success was reserved for Bonaparte, suddenly landing at Fréjus with the prestige of his victories in the East, and now, after Hoches death, appearing as sole master of the armies. In the coup of 18 Brumaire Year VIII, Napoleon seized French parliamentary and military power in a two-fold coup détat, the initial 18 Brumaire coup seemed to be a victory for Sieyès, rather than for Bonaparte. Sieyès was a proponent of a new system of government for the Republic, Bonapartes cleverness lay in counterposing Pierre Claude François Daunous plan to that of Sieyès, and in retaining only those portions of both which could serve his ambition. Ultimate executive authority was vested in three consuls, who were elected for ten years, popular suffrage was retained, though mutilated by the lists of notables. Napoleon vetoed Sieyès original idea of having a single Grand Elector as supreme executive, Sieyès had intended to reserve this important position for himself, and by denying him the job Napoleon helped reinforce the authority of the consuls, an office which he would assume. Nor was Napoleon content simply to be part of an equal triumvirate, by consolidating power, Bonaparte was able to transform the aristocratic constitution of Sieyès into an unavowed dictatorship. On 7 February 1800, a referendum confirmed the new constitution. It vested all of the power in the hands of the First Consul. A full 99. 9% of voters approved the motion, according to the released results and he gave everyone a feeling that France was governed once more by a real statesman, and that a competent government was finally in charge. Bonaparte had now to rid himself of Sieyès and of those republicans who had no desire to hand over the republic to one man, particularly of Moreau and Masséna, his military rivals
French Consulate
–
A portrait of the three Consuls,
Jean Jacques Régis de Cambacérès,
Napoleon Bonaparte and
Charles-François Lebrun (left to right).
French Consulate
–
Napoleon Bonaparte as First Consul, February 1803 by
François Gérard
French Consulate
–
The provisional Consuls (10 November – 12 December 1799)
French Consulate
21.
First French Empire
–
The First French Empire, Note 1 was the empire of Napoleon Bonaparte of France and the dominant power in much of continental Europe at the beginning of the 19th century. Its name was a misnomer, as France already had colonies overseas and was short lived compared to the Colonial Empire, a series of wars, known collectively as the Napoleonic Wars, extended French influence over much of Western Europe and into Poland. The plot included Bonapartes brother Lucien, then serving as speaker of the Council of Five Hundred, Roger Ducos, another Director, on 9 November 1799 and the following day, troops led by Bonaparte seized control. They dispersed the legislative councils, leaving a rump legislature to name Bonaparte, Sieyès, although Sieyès expected to dominate the new regime, the Consulate, he was outmaneuvered by Bonaparte, who drafted the Constitution of the Year VIII and secured his own election as First Consul. He thus became the most powerful person in France, a power that was increased by the Constitution of the Year X, the Battle of Marengo inaugurated the political idea that was to continue its development until Napoleons Moscow campaign. Napoleon planned only to keep the Duchy of Milan for France, setting aside Austria, the Peace of Amiens, which cost him control of Egypt, was a temporary truce. He gradually extended his authority in Italy by annexing the Piedmont and by acquiring Genoa, Parma, Tuscany and Naples, then he laid siege to the Roman state and initiated the Concordat of 1801 to control the material claims of the pope. Napoleon would have ruling elites from a fusion of the new bourgeoisie, on 12 May 1802, the French Tribunat voted unanimously, with exception of Carnot, in favour of the Life Consulship for the leader of France. This action was confirmed by the Corps Législatif, a general plebiscite followed thereafter resulting in 3,653,600 votes aye and 8,272 votes nay. On 2 August 1802, Napoleon Bonaparte was proclaimed Consul for life, pro-revolutionary sentiment swept through Germany aided by the Recess of 1803, which brought Bavaria, Württemberg and Baden to Frances side. The memories of imperial Rome were for a time, after Julius Caesar and Charlemagne. The Treaty of Pressburg, signed on 26 December 1805, did little other than create a more unified Germany to threaten France. On the other hand, Napoleons creation of the Kingdom of Italy, the occupation of Ancona, to create satellite states, Napoleon installed his relatives as rulers of many European states. The Bonapartes began to marry into old European monarchies, gaining sovereignty over many nations, in addition to the vassal titles, Napoleons closest relatives were also granted the title of French Prince and formed the Imperial House of France. Met with opposition, Napoleon would not tolerate any neutral power, Prussia had been offered the territory of Hanover to stay out of the Third Coalition. With the diplomatic situation changing, Napoleon offered Great Britain the province as part of a peace proposal and this, combined with growing tensions in Germany over French hegemony, Prussia responded by forming an alliance with Russia and sending troops into Bavaria on 1 October 1806. In this War of the Fourth Coalition, Napoleon destroyed the armies of Frederick William at Jena-Auerstedt, the Eylau and the Friedland against the Russians finally ruined Frederick the Greats formerly mighty kingdom, obliging Russia and Prussia to make peace with France at Tilsit. The Treaties of Tilsit ended the war between Russia and the French Empire and began an alliance between the two empires that held power of much of the rest of Europe, the two empires secretly agreed to aid each other in disputes
First French Empire
–
The Battle of Austerlitz
First French Empire
–
Flag
First French Empire
–
The
Arc de Triomphe, ordered by
Napoleon in honour of his
Grande Armée, is one of the several landmarks whose construction was started in Paris during the First French Empire.
First French Empire
–
Napoleon reviews the
Imperial Guard before the
Battle of Jena, 1806
22.
Field Marshal
–
Field marshal is a very senior military rank, ordinarily senior to the general officer ranks. Usually it is the highest rank in an army, and when it is and it is considered as a five-star rank in modern-day armed forces in many countries. The origin of the dates to the early Middle Ages, originally meaning the keeper of the kings horses. Promotion to the rank of marshal in many countries historically required extraordinary military achievement by a general. However, the rank has also used as a divisional command rank. The traditional attribute distinguishing a field marshal is a baton, the baton nowadays is purely ornamental, and as such may be richly decorated. That said, it is not necessary for the insignia to be a baton, the exact wording of the titles used by field marshals varies, examples include marshal and field marshal general. The air force equivalent in Commonwealth and many Middle Eastern air forces is marshal of the air force. Navies, which usually do not use the nomenclature employed by armies or air forces, use titles such as fleet admiral, Field marshal Mohammad Qasim Fahim was a politician in Afghanistan who served as Vice President from June 2002 until December 2004 and from November 2009 until his death. Between September 2001 and December 2004, he served as Defense Minister under the Afghan Transitional Administration. As military commander of the Northern Alliance, Fahim captured the Afghan capital Kabul in the fall of 2001 from the Taliban government, in 2004 President Hamid Karzai provided Fahim the honorary title Marshal and a year later he became member of the House of Elders. He later became a recipient of the Ahmad Shah Baba Medal, Fahim was a member of Afghanistans Tajik ethnic group. He was affiliated with the Jamiat Islami party of Afghanistan, Sir Thomas Blamey was the first and is the only Australian-born field marshal. He was promoted to the rank on the insistence of the Australian prime minister, Sir Robert Menzies, Blamey was, at the time of his promotion, seriously ill and mostly bed-ridden in the Heidelberg Repatriation Hospital. He was presented with his marshals baton at a ceremony held in the sunroom at the Heidelberg Repatriation Hospital by the Governor-General of Australia. Blameys field marshals baton is on display in the Second World War galleries at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra. Currently, the only Australian field marshal is HRH Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, during Imperial rule in China, different dynasty gave different titles to generals. A very similar title is 司馬 in Eastern Han dynasty, which means master of horse
Field Marshal
–
Generalfeldmarschall
Field Marshal
–
Rank insignia for Afghan National Army (ANA) Field Marshal
Field Marshal
–
General Ayub Khan arriving to take command of the
Pakistan Army in 1951
Field Marshal
–
Replica of the
marshal's baton of
Generalfeldmarschall von Richthofen
23.
Idi Amin
–
Idi Amin Dada was a Ugandan political leader and military officer who served as the President of Uganda from 1971 to 1979. Amin was born in either Koboko or Kampala to a Kakwa father, in 1946 he joined the Kings African Rifles of the British Colonial Army. Initially a cook, he rose to the position of lieutenant, taking part in British actions against Somali rebels in the Shifta War and then the Mau Mau rebels in Kenya. Following Ugandas independence from the United Kingdom in 1962, Amin remained in the forces, rising to the position of major. Aware that Ugandan President Milton Obote was planning on arresting him for misappropriating army funds, Amin launched a 1971 military coup, in 1975, Amin became the chairman of the Organisation of African Unity, a Pan-Africanist group designed to promote solidarity among African states. During the 1977–1979 period, Uganda was a member of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights, in 1977, when Britain broke diplomatic relations with Uganda, Amin declared he had defeated the British and added CBE, for Conqueror of the British Empire, to his title. Radio Uganda then announced his entire title, His Excellency President for Life, Field Marshal Alhaji Dr. Idi Amin Dada, VC, DSO, MC, CBE. Dissent within Uganda and Amins attempt to annex the Kagera Region of Tanzania in 1978 led to the Uganda–Tanzania War, Amin then went into exile, first in Libya and then in Saudi Arabia, where he lived until his death on 16 August 2003. Amins rule was characterized by human rights abuses, political repression, ethnic persecution, extrajudicial killings, nepotism, corruption, and gross economic mismanagement. The number of people killed as a result of his regime is estimated by international observers, Amin did not write an autobiography, and he did not authorize an official written account of his life. So, there are discrepancies regarding when and where he was born, most biographical sources claim that he was born in either Koboko or Kampala around 1925. Other unconfirmed sources state Amins year of birth from as early as 1923 to as late as 1928, Amins son Hussein has stated that his father was born in Kampala in 1928. According to Fred Guweddeko, a researcher at Makerere University, Amin was the son of Andreas Nyabire, Nyabire, a member of the Kakwa ethnic group, converted from Roman Catholicism to Islam in 1910 and changed his name to Amin Dada. He named his son after himself. Abandoned by his father at an age, Idi Amin grew up with his mothers family in a rural farming town in north-western Uganda. Guweddeko states that Amins mother was Assa Aatte, an ethnic Lugbara, Amin joined an Islamic school in Bombo in 1941. After a few years, he left school only a fourth-grade English-language education. Amin joined the Kings African Rifles of the British Colonial Army in 1946 as an assistant cook, in later life, he falsely claimed he was forced to join the army during World War II and that he served in the Burma Campaign
Idi Amin
–
Amin addressing the
United Nations General Assembly in
New York in 1975
Idi Amin
–
Amin, pictured in August 1973
Idi Amin
–
Idi Amin visits the
Zairian dictator
Mobutu during the
Shaba I conflict in 1977.
Idi Amin
–
Remnants of Amin's palace on
Lake Victoria.
24.
Cannibalism
–
Cannibalism is the act or practice of humans eating the flesh or internal organs of other human beings. A person who practices cannibalism is called a cannibal, the expression cannibalism has been extended into zoology to mean one individual of a species consuming all or part of another individual of the same species as food, including sexual cannibalism. The Island Carib people of the Lesser Antilles, from whom the word cannibalism derives, some controversy exists over the accuracy of these legends and the prevalence of actual cannibalism in the culture. Cannibalism was practiced in New Guinea and in parts of the Solomon Islands, Fiji was once known as the Cannibal Isles. Cannibalism has been documented around the world, from Fiji to the Amazon Basin to the Congo to Māori New Zealand. Neanderthals are believed to have practiced cannibalism, and Neanderthals may have been eaten by anatomically modern humans, Cannibalism has recently been both practiced and fiercely condemned in several wars, especially in Liberia and Congo. It is still practiced in Papua New Guinea as of 2012 for cultic reasons and in ritual, Cannibalism has been said to test the bounds of cultural relativism as it challenges anthropologists to define what is or is not beyond the pale of acceptable human behavior. Cannibalism has been practiced as a last resort by people suffering from famine. Also, some mentally ill people obsess about eating others and actually do so, such as Jeffrey Dahmer, there is resistance to formally labeling cannibalism as a mental disorder. Cannibalism derives from Caníbales, the Spanish name for the Caribs, a West Indies tribe that formerly practiced cannibalism, from Spanish canibal or caribal, in some societies, especially tribal societies, cannibalism is a cultural norm. Exocannibalism is the consumption of a person from outside the community, both types of cannibalism can also be fueled by the belief that eating a persons flesh or internal organs will endow the cannibal with some of the characteristics of the deceased. In most parts of the world, cannibalism is not a societal norm, the survivors of the shipwrecks of the Essex and Méduse in the 19th century are said to have engaged in cannibalism, as did the members of Franklins lost expedition and the Donner Party. Such cases generally involve necro-cannibalism as opposed to homicidal cannibalism, in English law, the latter is always considered a crime, even in the most trying circumstances. There are numerous examples of murderers consuming their victims, often deriving some degree of satisfaction from the act of cannibalism. Notable examples include Albert Fish, Issei Sagawa and Jeffrey Dahmer, cases of autophagia, or self-cannibalism, have also been reported. A well-known case of cannibalism is that of the Fore tribe in New Guinea. Although the Fores mortuary cannibalism was documented, the practice had ceased before the cause of the disease was recognized. However, some argue that although post-mortem dismemberment was the practice during funeral rites
Cannibalism
–
Cannibalism, Brazil. Engraving by
Theodor de Bry to illustrate
Hans Staden 's account of his captivity in 1557.
Cannibalism
Cannibalism
–
A cannibal feast on
Tanna, Vanuatu, c. 1885-9
Cannibalism
–
Hansel and Gretel, illustrated by
Arthur Rackham.
25.
Torture
–
Torture is the act of deliberately inflicting physical or psychological pain on an organism in order to fulfill some desire of the torturer or compel some action from the victim. Torture, by definition, is a knowing and intentional act, in other cases, the torturer may be indifferent to the condition of the victim. Alternatively, some forms of torture are designed to inflict pain or leave as little physical injury or evidence as possible while achieving the same psychological devastation. The torturer may or may not kill or injure the victim, depending on the aim, even a form of torture that is intentionally fatal may be prolonged to allow the victim to suffer as long as possible. Although torture is sanctioned by some states, it is prohibited under international law, although widely illegal and reviled there is an ongoing debate as to what exactly is and is not legally defined to be torture. It is a violation of human rights, and is declared to be unacceptable by Article 5 of the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Torture is also prohibited for the signatories of the United Nations Convention Against Torture, despite these findings and international conventions, organizations that monitor abuses of human rights report widespread use condoned by states in many regions of the world. Amnesty International estimates that at least 81 world governments currently practice torture, the United Nations Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, which is currently in force since June 26,1987, provides a broad definition of torture. It does not include pain or suffering arising only from, inherent in, or incidental to and this definition includes torture as part of domestic violence or ritualistic abuse, as well as in criminal activities. The Rome Statute is the treaty set up the International Criminal Court. The treaty was adopted at a conference in Rome on 17 July 1998. The Rome Statute provides a simplest definition of torture regarding the prosecution of war criminals by the International Criminal Court, since 1973, Amnesty International has adopted the simplest, broadest definition of torture. Title 18 of the United States Code contains the definition of torture in 18 U. S. C, §2340, which is only applicable to persons committing or attempting to commit torture outside of the United States. The Torture Victim Protection Act of 1991 provides remedies to individuals who are victims of torture by persons acting in a capacity of any foreign nation. The definition is similar to the U. S. Code §2340, Torture grew into an ornate discipline, where calibrated violence served two functions, to investigate and produce confessions and to attack the body as a form of punishment. Entire populaces of towns would show up to witness an execution by torture in the public square and those who had been spared torture were commonly locked barefooted into the stocks, where children took delight in rubbing feces into their hair and mouths. The Age of Enlightenment in the world further developed the idea of universal human rights. The adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948 marks the recognition at least nominally of a ban of torture by all UN member states
Torture
–
A variety of torture instruments. Many, including the large
Iron Maiden of Nuremberg, were never used for torture.
Torture
–
Assyrians skinning or flaying their prisoners alive
Torture
–
Medieval torture rack
Torture
–
Torture of
Christian martyrs
26.
Flagellation
–
Flagellation, flogging, whipping or lashing is the act of beating the human body with special implements such as whips, lashes, rods, switches, the cat o nine tails, the sjambok, etc. Typically, flogging is imposed on a subject as a punishment, however, it can also be submitted to willingly, or performed on oneself. The strokes are usually aimed at the back of a person. For a moderated subform of flagellation, described as bastinado, the soles of a persons feet are used as a target for beating. In some circumstances the word flogging is used loosely to any sort of corporal punishment. However, in British legal terminology, a distinction was drawn between flogging and whipping, in Britain these were both abolished in 1948. In Sparta, young men were flogged as a test of their masculinity, Jewish law limited flagellation to forty strokes, and in practice delivered thirty-nine, so as to avoid any possibility of breaking this law due to a miscount. In the Roman Empire, flagellation was often used as a prelude to crucifixion, whips with small pieces of metal or bone at the tips were commonly used. Such a device could easily cause disfigurement and serious trauma, such as ripping pieces of flesh from the body or loss of an eye, in addition to causing severe pain, the victim would approach a state of hypovolemic shock due to loss of blood. The Romans reserved this treatment for non-citizens, as stated in the lex Porcia and lex Sempronia, the poet Horace refers to the horribile flagellum in his Satires. Typically, the one to be punished was stripped naked and bound to a low pillar so that he could bend over it, two lictors alternated blows from the bare shoulders down the body to the soles of the feet. There was no limit to the number of blows inflicted—this was left to the lictors to decide, nonetheless, Livy, Suetonius and Josephus report cases of flagellation where victims died while still bound to the post. Flagellation was referred to as death by some authors, as many victims died shortly thereafter. Cicero reports in In Verrem, pro mortuo sublatus brevi postea mortuus, the Whipping Act was passed in England in 1530. Under this legislation, vagrants were to be taken to a populated area and there tied to the end of a cart naked. In England, offenders were sentenced to be flogged at a carts tail along a length of public street, usually near the scene of the crime. In the late century, however, the courts occasionally ordered that the flogging should be carried out in prison or a house of correction rather than on the streets. From the 1720s courts began explicitly to differentiate between private whipping and public whipping, over the course of the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries the proportion of whippings carried out in public declined, but the number of private whippings increased
Flagellation
–
Prisoners at a whipping post in a
Delaware prison, circa 1907.
Flagellation
–
Punishment with a Great
Knout. Russia, 18th century.
Flagellation
–
Gordon, a whipped slave, photo taken at Baton Rouge, 1863. The scars are clearly visible because of
keloid formation.
27.
Sud Aviation Caravelle
–
The Sud Aviation SE210 Caravelle was a French short/medium-range jet airliner. It holds the distinction of being the worlds first jet-powered airliner to be developed for the short/medium-range market, in order to achieve this, SNCASE formed partnerships with British companies such as de Havilland and Rolls-Royce Limited. Within a few years of commencing passenger services, the Caravelle had become regarded as being one of the most successful European first-generation jetliners. The airliner achieved substantial sales to operators throughout Europe and had managed to penetrate the United States market. The Caravelle established the aft-mounted engine, clean-wing design configuration that is used by smaller jetliners. On 12 October 1951, the Comité du matériel civil published a specification for a medium-range aircraft, which was later sent to the aviation industry by the Direction technique et industrielle. This called for a capable of carrying 55 to 65 passengers and 1,000 kg of cargo on routes up to 2,000 km with a cruising speed of about 600 km/h. The type and number of engines were not specified, hurel-Dubois had entered several turboprop designs based on a narrow fuselage and shoulder-mounted wing, similar to many regional propliners. Proposals from the SNCA du Sud-Ouest included the S. O.60 with two Rolls-Royce Avon RA.7 engines, outfitted with two smaller Turbomeca Marborés as auxiliaries. SNCA du Sud-Est had also returned a number of designs from the X-200 to X-210, the Committee issued a request for SNCASE to re-submit its X-210 proposal as a twin-Avon design. This turned out to be a benefit to the design, as the noise was greatly reduced as a result. In July 1952, the revised X-210 design with twin Avons was re-submitted to the SGACC, two months later, SNCASE received official notification that its design had been accepted. On 6 July 1953, the SGACC placed an order for the construction of a pair of prototypes along with a pair of static airframes for fatigue testing. Suds design licensed several fuselage features from British aircraft company de Havilland, the nose area and cockpit layout were both taken directly from the de Havilland Comet jet airliner, while the rest of the airliner was locally designed. A distinctive design feature was the windows in the shape of a curved triangle which were smaller than conventional windows. On 21 April 1955, the first prototype of the Caravelle, on 27 May 1955, the first prototype conducted its maiden flight, powered by a pair of British Rolls-Royce RA-26 Mk.522, capable of providing 4,536 kgf of unitary thrust. For the maiden flight, which had a duration of 41 minutes. Almost one year later, on 6 May 1956, the prototype made its first flight
Sud Aviation Caravelle
–
Caravelle
Sud Aviation Caravelle
–
Detail of the
Rolls-Royce Avon turbojet engines
Sud Aviation Caravelle
–
The unusual cockpit window arrangement of the Caravelle.
Sud Aviation Caravelle
–
The triangular windows of the Caravelle remained unaltered throughout its development
28.
School uniform
–
A school uniform is a uniform worn by students primarily for a school or otherwise educational institution. They are common in primary and secondary schools in various countries, an example of a uniform would be requiring white button-downs and ties for boys and pleated skirts for girls, with both wearing blazers. A uniform can even be as simple as requiring collared shirts, or restricting colour choices, a dress code, on the other hand, is much less restrictive, and focuses on promoting modesty and discouraging anti-social fashion statements, according to Marian Wilde. Examples of a dress code would be not allowing ripped clothing and it is difficult to trace the origins of the uniform as there is no comprehensive written history, but rather a variety of known influences. School uniforms are believed to be a practice which dates to the 16th century in the United Kingdom and it is believed that the Christ Hospital School in London in 1552 was the first school to use a school uniform. Little is known prior to the Archbishop of Canterbury ordered monks to wear a specific form of dress. Despite this example, the roots of the day uniform come mostly from the collegiate uniforms in England. Universities, primary schools and secondary schools used uniforms as a marker of class and status, as early as the sixteenth century, uniforms were utilised and became more specific as various fashion trends became undesirable to the university. Although uniforms can often be considered conservative and old-fashioned, uniforms in recent years have changed as societal dress codes have changed, there are an abundance of theories and empirical studies looking at school uniforms, making statements about their effectiveness. These theories and studies elaborate on the benefits and also the shortcomings of uniform policies, the issue of nature vs. nurture comes into play, as uniforms affect the perceptions of masculinity and femininity, complicate the issue of gender classification and also subdue the sexuality of girls. With uniforms also comes a variety of controversies, pros, cons, there are two main empirical findings that are most often cited in the political rhetoric surrounding the uniform debate. The case study of the Long Beach Unified School District was the study of the first large, in 1994, mandatory school uniforms were implemented for the districts elementary and middle schools as a strategy to address the students behaviour issues. The district simultaneously implemented a study to research the effects of the uniforms on student behavior. The study attributed favourable student behavioral changes and a significant drop in school discipline issues to the uniform policy. Research, on the hand, empirically examined how a school uniform affects attendance, behavior problems, substance abuse. Researchers in this study expected that the direct of uniforms on these outcomes would disappear once the moderating variables were introduced to the equation, if this were to be the case, then arguments proclaiming uniform policies direct effect on said outcomes would be proven false. This study used a nationally representative sample of students, from the results, researchers were able to conclude that students wearing uniforms did not have any significant difference in academic preparedness or proschool attitudes than other students. Researchers also found that student uniforms were not significantly correlated with school commitment variables such as truancy, behaviour, as uniforms have become more normalised, there have also been an increasing number of lawsuits brought against school districts
School uniform
–
Students of the
Presbyterian Ladies' College, Sydney in uniform, 1950.
School uniform
–
Children in school uniform with their lunch; Bona Espero School, Alto Paraíso de Goiás,
Brazil
School uniform
–
A summer shirt school uniforms of
Chaozhou Vocational Technical School,
Guangdong,
China
School uniform
–
Mizo school students in uniform,
Hnahthial,
Mizoram,
India
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