1.
Spanish language
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Spanish —also called Castilian —is a Romance language that originated in the Castile region of Spain, with hundreds of millions of native speakers around the world. It is usually considered the worlds second-most spoken native language after Mandarin Chinese and it is one of the few languages to use inverted question and exclamation marks. Spanish is a part of the Ibero-Romance group of languages, which evolved from several dialects of Vulgar Latin in Iberia after the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century. Beginning in the early 16th century, Spanish was taken to the colonies of the Spanish Empire, most notably to the Americas, as well as territories in Africa, Oceania, around 75% of modern Spanish is derived from Latin. Greek has also contributed substantially to Spanish vocabulary, especially through Latin, Spanish vocabulary has been in contact from an early date with Arabic, having developed during the Al-Andalus era in the Iberian Peninsula. With around 8% of its vocabulary being Arabic in origin, this language is the second most important influence after Latin and it has also been influenced by Basque as well as by neighboring Ibero-Romance languages. It also adopted words from languages such as Gothic language from the Visigoths in which many Spanish names and surnames have a Visigothic origin. Spanish is one of the six languages of the United Nations. It is the language in the world by the number of people who speak it as a mother tongue, after Mandarin Chinese. It is estimated more than 437 million people speak Spanish as a native language. Spanish is the official or national language in Spain, Equatorial Guinea, speakers in the Americas total some 418 million. In the European Union, Spanish is the tongue of 8% of the population. Spanish is the most popular second language learned in the United States, in 2011 it was estimated by the American Community Survey that of the 55 million Hispanic United States residents who are five years of age and over,38 million speak Spanish at home. The Spanish Constitution of 1978 uses the term castellano to define the language of the whole Spanish State in contrast to las demás lenguas españolas. Article III reads as follows, El castellano es la lengua española oficial del Estado, las demás lenguas españolas serán también oficiales en las respectivas Comunidades Autónomas. Castilian is the official Spanish language of the State, the other Spanish languages as well shall be official in their respective Autonomous Communities. The Spanish Royal Academy, on the hand, currently uses the term español in its publications. Two etymologies for español have been suggested, the Spanish Royal Academy Dictionary derives the term from the Provençal word espaignol, and that in turn from the Medieval Latin word Hispaniolus, from—or pertaining to—Hispania
2.
Che Guevara
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Ernesto Che Guevara was an Argentine Marxist revolutionary, physician, author, guerrilla leader, diplomat, and military theorist. A major figure of the Cuban Revolution, his stylized visage has become a ubiquitous symbol of rebellion. As a young student, Guevara traveled throughout South America and was radicalized by the poverty, hunger. Guevara soon rose to prominence among the insurgents, was promoted to second-in-command, following the Cuban Revolution, Guevara performed a number of key roles in the new government. Additionally, he was a writer and diarist, composing a seminal manual on guerrilla warfare. Guevara left Cuba in 1965 to foment revolution abroad, first unsuccessfully in Congo-Kinshasa and later in Bolivia, Guevara remains both a revered and reviled historical figure, polarized in the collective imagination in a multitude of biographies, memoirs, essays, documentaries, songs, and films. In accordance with the flexibility allowed in Spanish naming customs, his name will sometimes appear with de la Serna and/or Lynch accompanying it. Referring to Ches restless nature, his father declared the first thing to note is that in my sons veins flowed the blood of the Irish rebels, very early on in life, Ernestito developed an affinity for the poor. Growing up in a family with leftist leanings, Guevara was introduced to a spectrum of political perspectives even as a boy. His father, a supporter of Republicans from the Spanish Civil War. He was a rugby union player, and played at fly-half for Club Universitario de Buenos Aires. His rugby playing earned him the nickname Fuser—a contraction of El Furibundo and his mothers surname, Guevara learned chess from his father and began participating in local tournaments by age 12. He could also recite Rudyard Kiplings If— and José Hernándezs Martín Fierro by heart. Additionally, he enjoyed the works of Jawaharlal Nehru, Franz Kafka, Albert Camus, Vladimir Lenin, and Jean-Paul Sartre, as well as Anatole France, Friedrich Engels, H. G. Wells, and Robert Frost. As he grew older, he developed an interest in the Latin American writers Horacio Quiroga, Ciro Alegría, Jorge Icaza, Rubén Darío, many of these authors ideas he cataloged in his own handwritten notebooks of concepts, definitions, and philosophies of influential intellectuals. These included composing analytical sketches of Buddha and Aristotle, along with examining Bertrand Russell on love and patriotism, Jack London on society, sigmund Freuds ideas fascinated him as he quoted him on a variety of topics from dreams and libido to narcissism and the Oedipus complex. His favorite subjects in school included philosophy, mathematics, engineering, political science, sociology, history, in 1948, Guevara entered the University of Buenos Aires to study medicine. The first expedition in 1950 was a 4, 500-kilometer solo trip through the provinces of northern Argentina on a bicycle on which he installed a small engine
3.
ISO 4217
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The ISO4217 code list is used in banking and business globally. ISO4217 codes are used on tickets and international train tickets to remove any ambiguity about the price. The first two letters of the code are the two letters of the ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 country codes and the third is usually the initial of the currency itself, so Japans currency code is JPY—JP for Japan and Y for yen. This eliminates the problem caused by the dollar, franc, peso and pound being used in dozens of different countries. Also, if a currency is revalued, the currency codes last letter is changed to distinguish it from the old currency. Other changes can be seen, however, the Russian ruble, for example, changed from RUR to RUB and these currency units are denominated as one troy ounce of the specified metal as opposed to USD1 or EUR1. The code XTS is reserved for use in testing, the code XXX is used to denote a transaction involving no currency. There are also codes specifying certain monetary instruments used in international finance, the codes for most supranational currencies, such as the East Caribbean dollar, the CFP franc, the CFA franc BEAC and the CFA franc BCEAO. The predecessor to the euro, the European Currency Unit, had the code XEU, the use of an initial letter X for these purposes is facilitated by the ISO3166 rule that no official country code beginning with X will ever be assigned. Because of this rule ISO4217 can use X codes without risk of clashing with a country code. ISO3166 country codes beginning with X are used for private custom use, consequently, ISO4217 can use X codes for non-country-specific currencies without risk of clashing with future country codes. The inclusion of EU in the ISO 3166-1 reserved codes list, the ISO4217 standard includes a crude mechanism for expressing the relationship between a major currency unit and its corresponding minor currency unit. This mechanism is called the exponent and assumes a base of 10. For example, USD is equal to 100 of its currency unit the cent. So the USD has exponent 2, the code JPY is given the exponent 0, because its minor unit, the sen, although nominally valued at 1/100 of a yen, is of such negligible value that it is no longer used. Usually, as with the USD, the currency unit has a value that is 1/100 of the major unit, but in some cases 1/1000 is used. Mauritania does not use a decimal division of units, setting 1 ouguiya equal to 5 khoums, some currencies do not have any minor currency unit at all and these are given an exponent of 0, as with currencies whose minor units are unused due to negligible value. There is also a code number assigned to each currency
4.
Currency symbol
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A currency symbol is a graphic symbol used as a shorthand for a currencys name, especially in reference to amounts of money. The European Commission considers the global recognition of the euro sign € part of its success, in 2009, India launched a public competition to replace the ₨ ligature it shared with neighbouring countries. It finalised its new symbol, ₹ on 15 July 2010. It is a blend of the Latin letter R with the Devanagari letter र, when writing currency amounts the location of the symbol varies by currency. Many currencies in the English-speaking world and Latin America, place it before the amount, the Cape Verdean escudo places its symbol in the decimal separator position. The usage of many European countries, such as France, Germany, the decimal separator also follows local countries standards. For instance, the United Kingdom often uses an interpunct as the point on price stickers. Commas or decimal points are common separators used in other countries, see decimal separator for information on international standards. Older currency symbols have evolved slowly, often from previous currencies, the dollar and peso symbols originated from the mark employed to denote the Spanish real de a ocho, whereas the pound and lira symbols evolved from an L standing for libra, a Roman pound of silver. Newly invented currencies and currencies adopting new symbols have symbolism closer to their adopter, the added center bar in the real sign is meant to symbolize stability. The new Indian rupee symbol, ₹, is a combination of Latin. There are also considerations, such as the perception of the business community. For a new symbol to be used, software to render it needs to be promulgated, the EU was criticized for not considering how the euro symbol would need to be customized to work in different fonts. The original design was exceptionally wide. These two factors have led to most typefaces employing customized, font-specific versions, usually with reduced width, List of currencies List of circulating currencies Currency Symbols
5.
Cuba
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Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is a country comprising the island of Cuba as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located in the northern Caribbean where the Caribbean Sea, the Gulf of Mexico, and it is south of both the U. S. state of Florida and the Bahamas, west of Haiti, and north of Jamaica. Havana is the largest city and capital, other cities include Santiago de Cuba. Cuba is the largest island in the Caribbean, with an area of 109,884 square kilometres, prior to Spanish colonization in the late 15th century, Cuba was inhabited by Amerindian tribes. It remained a colony of Spain until the Spanish–American War of 1898, as a fragile republic, Cuba attempted to strengthen its democratic system, but mounting political radicalization and social strife culminated in the dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista in 1952. Further unrest and instability led to Batistas ousting in January 1959 by the July 26 Movement, since 1965, the state has been governed by the Communist Party of Cuba. A point of contention during the Cold War between the Soviet Union and the United States, a nuclear war broke out during the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962. Culturally, Cuba is considered part of Latin America, Cuba is a Marxist–Leninist one-party republic, where the role of the vanguard Communist Party is enshrined in the Constitution. Independent observers have accused the Cuban government of human rights abuses. It is one of the worlds last planned economies and its economy is dominated by the exports of sugar, tobacco, coffee, according to the Human Development Index, Cuba is described as a country with high human development and is ranked the eighth highest in North America. It also ranks highly in some metrics of national performance, including health care, the name Cuba comes from the Taíno language. The exact meaning of the name is unclear but it may be translated either as where fertile land is abundant, authors who believe that Christopher Columbus was Portuguese state that Cuba was named by Columbus for the town of Cuba in the district of Beja in Portugal. Before the arrival of the Spanish, Cuba was inhabited by three distinct tribes of indigenous peoples of the Americas, the Taíno, the Guanajatabey, and the Ciboney people. The ancestors of the Ciboney migrated from the mainland of South America, the Taíno arrived from Hispanola sometime in the 3rd century A. D. When Columbus arrived they were the dominant culture in Cuba, having a population of 150,000. The name Cuba comes from the native Taíno language and it is derived from either coabana meaning great place, or from cubao meaning where fertile land is abundant. The Taíno were farmers, while the Ciboney were farmers as well as fishers and hunter-gatherers, Columbus claimed the island for the new Kingdom of Spain and named it Isla Juana after Juan, Prince of Asturias. In 1511, the first Spanish settlement was founded by Diego Velázquez de Cuéllar at Baracoa, other towns soon followed, including San Cristobal de la Habana, founded in 1515, which later became the capital
6.
Central bank
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A central bank, reserve bank, or monetary authority is an institution that manages a states currency, money supply, and interest rates. Central banks also usually oversee the commercial banking system of their respective countries, Central banks in most developed nations are institutionally designed to be independent from political interference. Still, limited control by the executive and legislative bodies usually exists, prior to the 17th century most money was commodity money, typically gold or silver. However, promises to pay were widely circulated and accepted as value at least five hundred years earlier in both Europe and Asia. The Song dynasty was the first to issue generally circulating paper currency, in 1455, in an effort to control inflation, the succeeding Ming Dynasty ended the use of paper money and closed much of Chinese trade. The Bank of Amsterdam, established in the Dutch Republic in 1609, is considered to be the forerunner to modern central banks. The Wisselbanks innovations helped lay the foundations for the birth and development of the banking system that now plays a vital role in the worlds economy. Along with a number of local banks, it performed many functions of a central banking system. Lucien Gillard calls it the European guilder, and Adam Smith devotes many pages to explaining how the bank guilder works, the model of the Wisselbank as a state bank was adapted throughout Europe, including the Bank of Sweden and the Bank of England. Established by Dutch-Latvian Johan Palmstruch in 1668, Sveriges Riksbank is often considered by many as the worlds oldest central bank, the lenders would give the government cash and also issue notes against the government bonds, which could be lent again. A Royal Charter was granted on 27 July through the passage of the Tonnage Act 1694, the bank was given exclusive possession of the governments balances, and was the only limited-liability corporation allowed to issue banknotes. The £1. 2M was raised in 12 days, half of this was used to rebuild the Navy and these modern central banking functions evolved slowly through the 18th and 19th centuries. The currency crisis of 1797, caused by panicked depositors withdrawing from the Bank led to the government suspending convertibility of notes into specie payment. The bank was accused by the bullionists of causing the exchange rate to fall from over issuing banknotes. Nevertheless, it was clear that the Bank was being treated as an organ of the state, henry Thornton, a merchant banker and monetary theorist has been described as the father of the modern central bank. An opponent of the real bills doctrine, he was a defender of the bullionist position, thorntons process of monetary expansion anticipated the theories of Knut Wicksell regarding the cumulative process which restates the Quantity Theory in a theoretically coherent form. Until the mid-nineteenth century, commercial banks were able to issue their own banknotes, many consider the origins of the central bank to lie with the passage of the Bank Charter Act of 1844. Under this law, authorisation to issue new banknotes was restricted to the Bank of England, at the same time, the Bank of England was restricted to issue new banknotes only if they were 100% backed by gold or up to £14 million in government debt
7.
Spanish real
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The real was a unit of currency in Spain for several centuries after the mid-14th century, but changed in value relative to other units introduced. In 1864, the real was replaced by a new escudo, then by the peseta in 1868, the first real was introduced by King Pedro I of Castile in the mid 14th century at a value of 3 maravedíes. This rate of exchange increased until 1497, when the real, the famous piece of eight, also known as the Spanish dollar, was issued that same year as a trade coin. It later became widespread in North America and Asia, in 1566, the gold escudo was introduced, worth 16 silver reales. The piece of eight was so-called because the denomination was divided into eight silver reales. In addition to the piece of eight, which was a silver coin, other coins based on it were issued,4 reales,2 reales,1 real. During this period, Spanish trade coinage became popular in trade and commerce. In 1642, two distinct reales were created, the real de plata and the real de vellón, the exchange rate between these two coins was set at 2 reales de vellón =1 real de plata. The maravedí was tied to the real de vellón, causing the real de plata to be worth 68 maravedíes, the gold escudo was worth 16 reales de plata. The real de vellón was issued for use in Spain. The real de plata fuerte was introduced in 1737 at a value of 2 1⁄2 reales de vellón or 85 maravedíes and this real was the standard, issued as coins until the early 19th century. The gold escudo was worth 16 reales de plata fuerte, in 1808, coins were introduced denominated in real de vellón. These coins circulated alongside real de plata fuerte and escudo coins until decimalization, Coins denominated in reales de plata were minted until 1837, whilst maravedí coins were issued until 1850. The real de vellón, now just called the real, was adopted as the unit in Spains first decimal currency. To begin with, subsidiary pieces were issued denominated in decima de real, later they were denominated in céntimo de real. The real replaced the Catalan peseta in 1850, at a rate of 1 peseta =4 reales, in 1864, the real was replaced by a new escudo worth 10 reales. This second escudo was replaced in 1868 by the peseta at a rate of 1 peseta =0.4 escudos =4 reales. Consequently, the real lived on, meaning a quarter of a peseta
8.
Spanish colonial real
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The silver real was the currency of the Spanish colonies in America and the Philippines. In the seventeenth century the real was established at two billon reals or sixty-eight maravedís. A reform in 1737 set the real at two and half billon reals or eighty-five maravedís. This coin, called the real de plata fuerte, became the new standard, the gold escudo was worth 16 reales de plata fuerte. Coins were produced at mints in Bogotá, Caracas, Guatemala City, Lima, Mexico City, Popayán, Potosí, from 1572 to 1773 Spanish colonial silver coins were cobs. Initially cut from a bar and hammer struck on a coin die, they were accurate in weight. However unlike machined coins, they were irregular in shape. After 1732 similar, but better shaped cobs were produced on screw presses, cob denominations were 1/2,1,2,4, and 8 reales. When circulating in New England the larger coins might be cut to give intermediate values, since a real was nicknamed a bit, unlike in Spain, the copper coins were generally not struck by the colonial mints. Most issued silver coins in denominations of ¼, ½,1,2,4 and 8 reales, currency of Spanish America Peso Spanish dollar Spanish escudo Spanish real Viceroyalty
9.
United States dollar
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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
10.
Soviet ruble
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The Soviet ruble was the currency of the Soviet Union. One ruble was divided into 100 kopeks, many of the ruble designs were created by Ivan Dubasov. In 1991, after the breakup of the Soviet Union, the Soviet ruble continued to be used in the Post-Soviet states, forming a ruble zone, the word ruble is derived from the Slavic verb рубить, rubit, i. e. to chop. Historically, ruble was a piece of a certain weight chopped off a silver ingot, the word kopek, kopeck, copeck, or kopeyka is a diminutive form of the Russian kopyo — a spear. The Soviet currency had its own name in all Soviet languages, sometimes different from its Russian designation. All banknotes had the name and their nominal printed in the languages of every Soviet Republic. This naming is preserved in modern Russia, for example, Tatar for ruble and kopek are sum, the current names of several currencies of Central Asia are simply the local names of the ruble. Finnish last appeared on 1947 banknotes since the Karelo-Finnish SSR was dissolved in 1956, moldovan has switched to Latin and is once again referred to as Romanian. The first ruble issued for the Socialist government was an issue still based on the previous issue of the ruble prior to the Russian Revolution of 1917. They are all in form and started their issue in 1919. At this time other issues were made by the white Russian government and other governing bodies. Denominations are as follows,1,2,3,5,10,15,25,50,60,100,250,500,1,000,5,000,10,000,25,000,50,000,100,000. Short term treasury certificate were also issued to supplement banknote issue in 1 million,5 million,10 million rubles. These issue was printed in various fashions, as inflation crept up the security features were few and some were printed on one side, as was the case for the German inflationary notes. In 1918, state notes were introduced by the R. S. F. S. R. for 1,3,5,10,25,50,100,250,500,1,000,5,000 and 10,000 rubles. These were followed in 1919 by currency notes for 1,2,3,15,20,60,100,250,500,1000,5000 and 10,000 rubles. In 1921, currency note denominations of 5,50,25,000,50,000,100,000,1,000,000,5,000,000 and 10,000,000 rubles were added. In 1922, the first of several redenominations took place, at a rate of 1 new ruble for 10,000 old rubles, the chervonets was also introduced in 1922
11.
United States embargo against Cuba
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The United States embargo against Cuba is a commercial, economic, and financial embargo imposed by the United States on Cuba. An embargo was first imposed by the United States on sale of arms to Cuba on March 14,1958, during the Fulgencio Batista regime. Again on October 19,1960 the U. S. placed an embargo on exports to Cuba except for food, on February 7,1962 the embargo was extended to include almost all imports. The stated purpose of the Cuban Democracy Act of 1992 is to maintain sanctions on Cuba so long as the Cuban government refuses to move toward democratization and greater respect for human rights. In 1999, President Bill Clinton expanded the embargo by also disallowing foreign subsidiaries of U. S. companies to trade with Cuba. In 2000, Clinton authorized the sale of humanitarian U. S. products to Cuba, despite the Spanish-language term bloqueo, there has been no physical, naval blockade of the country by the United States after the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962. The United States does not block Cubas trade with third parties, other countries are not under the jurisdiction of U. S. domestic laws, such as the Cuban Democracy Act. Cuba can, and does, conduct trade with many third-party countries. Beyond criticisms of Human rights in Cuba, the United States holds $6 billion worth of financial claims against the Cuban government, the pro-embargo position is that the U. S. embargo is, in part, an appropriate response to these unaddressed claims. The Latin America Working Group argues that pro-embargo Cuban-American exiles, whose votes are crucial in Florida, have swayed many politicians to adopt similar views. The Cuban-American views have been opposed by business leaders who argue that trading freely would be good for Cuba. At present, the embargo, which limits American businesses from conducting business with Cuban interests, is still in effect and is the most enduring trade embargo in modern history, despite the existence of the embargo, the United States is the fifth largest exporter to Cuba. Cuba must, however, pay cash for all imports, as credit is not allowed, Human rights groups including Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights have also been critical of the embargo. Critics of the say that the embargo laws are too harsh. The United States imposed an embargo on Cuba on March 14,1958 during the armed conflict between rebels led by Fidel Castro and the Fulgencio Batista regime. The arms embargo had more of an impact on Batista than the rebels, Congress does not want to lift the embargo. In May 1960, the Cuban government began to purchase regular armaments from the Soviet Union. In July 1960, the United States reduced the Cuban import quota of sugar to 700,000 tons, under the Sugar Act of 1948
12.
Soviet Union
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The Soviet Union, officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was a socialist state in Eurasia that existed from 1922 to 1991. It was nominally a union of national republics, but its government. The Soviet Union had its roots in the October Revolution of 1917 and this established the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic and started the Russian Civil War between the revolutionary Reds and the counter-revolutionary Whites. In 1922, the communists were victorious, forming the Soviet Union with the unification of the Russian, Transcaucasian, Ukrainian, following Lenins death in 1924, a collective leadership and a brief power struggle, Joseph Stalin came to power in the mid-1920s. Stalin suppressed all opposition to his rule, committed the state ideology to Marxism–Leninism. As a result, the country underwent a period of rapid industrialization and collectivization which laid the foundation for its victory in World War II and postwar dominance of Eastern Europe. Shortly before World War II, Stalin signed the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact agreeing to non-aggression with Nazi Germany, in June 1941, the Germans invaded the Soviet Union, opening the largest and bloodiest theater of war in history. Soviet war casualties accounted for the highest proportion of the conflict in the effort of acquiring the upper hand over Axis forces at battles such as Stalingrad. Soviet forces eventually captured Berlin in 1945, the territory overtaken by the Red Army became satellite states of the Eastern Bloc. The Cold War emerged by 1947 as the Soviet bloc confronted the Western states that united in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in 1949. Following Stalins death in 1953, a period of political and economic liberalization, known as de-Stalinization and Khrushchevs Thaw, the country developed rapidly, as millions of peasants were moved into industrialized cities. The USSR took a lead in the Space Race with Sputnik 1, the first ever satellite, and Vostok 1. In the 1970s, there was a brief détente of relations with the United States, the war drained economic resources and was matched by an escalation of American military aid to Mujahideen fighters. In the mid-1980s, the last Soviet leader, Mikhail Gorbachev, sought to reform and liberalize the economy through his policies of glasnost. The goal was to preserve the Communist Party while reversing the economic stagnation, the Cold War ended during his tenure, and in 1989 Soviet satellite countries in Eastern Europe overthrew their respective communist regimes. This led to the rise of strong nationalist and separatist movements inside the USSR as well, in August 1991, a coup détat was attempted by Communist Party hardliners. It failed, with Russian President Boris Yeltsin playing a role in facing down the coup. On 25 December 1991, Gorbachev resigned and the twelve constituent republics emerged from the dissolution of the Soviet Union as independent post-Soviet states
13.
Dissolution of the Soviet Union
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The Soviet Union was dissolved on December 26,1991. It was a result of the declaration number 142-Н of the Soviet of the Republics of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union and that evening at 7,32, the Soviet flag was lowered from the Kremlin for the last time and replaced with the pre-revolutionary Russian flag. Previously, from August to December, all the individual republics, the week before the unions formal dissolution,11 republics signed the Alma-Ata Protocol formally establishing the CIS and declaring that the Soviet Union had ceased to exist. The Revolutions of 1989 and the dissolution of the USSR also signalled the end of the Cold War, on the other hand, only the Baltic states have joined NATO and the European Union. Mikhail Gorbachev was elected General Secretary by the Politburo on March 11,1985, Gorbachev, aged 54, was the youngest member of the Politburo. His initial goal as general secretary was to revive the Soviet economy, the reforms began with personnel changes of senior Brezhnev-era officials who would impede political and economic change. On April 23,1985, Gorbachev brought two protégés, Yegor Ligachev and Nikolai Ryzhkov, into the Politburo as full members. He kept the power ministries happy by promoting KGB Head Viktor Chebrikov from candidate to full member and this liberalisation, however, fostered nationalist movements and ethnic disputes within the Soviet Union. Under Gorbachevs leadership, the Communist Party of the Soviet Union in 1989 introduced limited competitive elections to a new central legislature, in May 1985, Gorbachev delivered a speech in Leningrad advocating reforms and an anti-alcohol campaign to tackle widespread alcoholism. Prices of vodka, wine, and beer were raised in order to make these drinks more expensive and a disincentive to consumers, unlike most forms of rationing intended to conserve scarce goods, this was done to restrict sales with the overt goal of curtailing drunkenness. Gorbachevs plan also included billboards promoting sobriety, increased penalties for public drunkenness, however, Gorbachev soon faced the same adverse economic reaction to his prohibition as did the last Tsar. The disincentivization of alcohol consumption was a blow to the state budget according to Alexander Yakovlev. Alcohol production migrated to the market, or through moonshining as some made bathtub vodka with homegrown potatoes. The purpose of these reforms, however, was to prop up the centrally planned economy, unlike later reforms. The latter, disparaged as Mr Nyet in the West, had served for 28 years as Minister of Foreign Affairs, gromyko was relegated to the largely ceremonial position of Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet, as he was considered an old thinker. In the fall of 1985, Gorbachev continued to bring younger, at the next Central Committee meeting on October 15, Tikhonov retired from the Politburo and Talyzin became a candidate. Finally, on December 23,1985, Gorbachev appointed Yeltsin First Secretary of the Moscow Communist Party replacing Viktor Grishin, Gorbachev continued to press for greater liberalization. The CTAG Helsinki-86 was founded in July 1986 in the Latvian port town of Liepāja by three workers, Linards Grantiņš, Raimonds Bitenieks, and Mārtiņš Bariss and its name refers to the human-rights statements of the Helsinki Accords
14.
Special Period
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The economic depression of the Special Period was at its most severe in the early to mid-1990s before slightly declining in severity towards the end of the decade. People were forced to live without many goods they had used to. The dissolution of the Soviet Union hit the Cuban economy severely, the country lost approximately 80% of its imports, 80% of its exports and its Gross Domestic Product dropped by 34%. Food and medicine imports stopped or severely slowed, the largest immediate impact was the loss of nearly all of the petroleum imports from the USSR, Cubas oil imports dropped to 10% of pre-1990 amounts. Before this, Cuba had been re-exporting any Soviet petroleum it did not consume to other nations for profit, entirely dependent on fossil fuels to operate, the major underpinnings of Cuban society—its transport, industrial and agricultural systems—were paralyzed. The early stages of the Special Period were defined by a breakdown in transportation and agricultural sectors, fertilizer and pesticide stocks. Organic agriculture was soon mandated by the Cuban government, supplanting the old industrialized form of agriculture Cubans had grown accustomed to. Relocalization, permaculture, and innovative modes of mass transit had to be rapidly developed, at the time, United States law allowed humanitarian aid in the form of food and medicine by private groups. Alternative transport, most notably the Cuban camels—immense 18-wheeler tractor trailers retrofitted as passenger buses meant to carry hundreds of Cubans each—flourished, food-wise, meat and dairy products, having been extremely fossil fuel dependent in their former factory farming methods, soon diminished in the Cuban diet. The Cuban government also focused more intensely on cooperation with Venezuela once the socialist Hugo Chávez was elected president in 1998, Cubans had to resort to eating anything they could find. In the Havana zoo, The peacocks, the buffalo and even the rhea were reported to have disappeared, Cuban domestic cats disappeared from streets to dinner tables. Cows in the island were eaten, before 1959, Cuba boasted as many cattle as people. Today meat is so scarce that it is a crime to kill, to combat illegal cow eating, the government established harsh penalties. A person can get more time for killing a cow than killing a human. Those who sell beef without government permission can get three to eight years in prison, eaters of illegal beef can get three months to one year in prison. The Special Periods malnutrition created epidemics, but it had positive effects too, a paper in the American Journal of Epidemiology, says that during 1997-2002, there were declines in deaths attributed to diabetes, coronary heart disease, stroke, and all causes. An outbreak of neuropathy and a modest increase in the death rate among the elderly were also observed. This was caused by how the population tried to reduce the energy store without reducing the value of the food
15.
Cosmetics
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Cosmetics, also known as make-up, are substances or products used to enhance or alter the appearance or fragrance of the body. Many cosmetics are designed for use of applying to the face and they are generally mixtures of chemical compounds, some being derived from natural sources, and some being synthetics. Common cosmetics include lipstick, mascara, eye shadow, foundation, rouge, skin cleansers and skin lotions, shampoo, hairstyling products, perfume and this broad definition includes any material intended for use as a component of a cosmetic product. The FDA specifically excludes soap from this category, Egyptian women and men also used makeup. They were very fond of eyeliner and eyeshadows in dark colors including blue, red, Ancient Sumerian men and women were possibly the first to invent and wear lipstick, about 5,000 years ago. They crushed gemstones and used them to decorate their faces, mainly on the lips, also around 3000 BC to 1500 BC, women in the ancient Indus Valley Civilization applied red tinted lipstick to their lips for face decoration. Ancient Egyptians extracted red dye from fucus-algin,0. 01% iodine, and some bromine mannite, lipsticks with shimmering effects were initially made using a pearlescent substance found in fish scales. Six thousand year old relics of the hollowed out tombs of the Ancient Egyptian pharaohs are discovered, according to one source, early major developments include, Kohl used by ancient Egypt as a protective of the eye kohl Castor oil used by ancient Egypt as a protective balm. Skin creams made of beeswax, olive oil, and rose water, vaseline and lanolin in the nineteenth century. The Ancient Greeks also used cosmetics as the Ancient Romans did, Cosmetics are mentioned in the Old Testament, such as in 2 Kings 9,30, where Jezebel painted her eyelids—approximately 840 BC—and in the book of Esther, where beauty treatments are described. One of the most popular traditional Chinese medicines is the fungus Tremella fuciformis, used as a beauty product by women in China, the fungus reportedly increases moisture retention in the skin and prevents senile degradation of micro-blood vessels in the skin, reducing wrinkles and smoothing fine lines. Cosmetic use was frowned upon at many points in Western history, for example, in the 19th century, Queen Victoria publicly declared make-up improper, vulgar, and acceptable only for use by actors. During the sixteenth century, the attributes of the women who used make-up created a demand for the product among the upper class. As of 2016, the worlds largest cosmetics company is LOréal, the market was developed in the US during the 1910s by Elizabeth Arden, Helena Rubinstein, and Max Factor. These firms were joined by Revlon just before World War II, during the 18th century, there was a high number of incidences of lead-poisoning because of the fashion for red and white lead makeup and powder. This led to swelling and inflammation of the eyes, attacked tooth enamel, heavy use was known to lead to death. Concealer is commonly used by men, Cosmetics brands release products especially tailored for men, and men are increasingly using them. Cosmetics are intended to be applied externally, a subset of cosmetics is called make-up, refers primarily to products containing color pigments that are intended to alter the users appearance
16.
Coat of arms of Cuba
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The Cuban Coat of Arms is the official heraldic symbol of Cuba. It consists of a shield, in front of a Fasces crowned by the Phrygian Cap, all supported by an oak branch on one side, the coat of arms was created by Miguel Teurbe Tolón and was adopted on April 24,1906. The shield is divided into three parts, In the chief, a key charging a blue sea between two rocks, symbolizing Cuba’s geographical position between Florida and the Yucatán Peninsula, a bright rising sun in the background symbolizes the rising of the new republic. A key is a symbol of Cuba as Cuba is the key to the Americas, on the left are the stripes of the flag of Cuba but turned so as they are bendwise. On the right is a common Cuban landscape, Royal Palm tree, the shield is supported by an oak branch on one side and a laurel wreath on the other. The oak branch symbolizes the strength of the nation, and the wreath, honor. These symbols were meant to represent the rights of man, Equality, Liberty and Fraternity, a Phrygian Cap or liberty cap is located at the top, as a crown symbolizing liberty, with a sole star on it standing for independence. The National coat of arms represents our island and it is shaped like a pointed leather shield, and divided into three sections. The blue and white stripes, down the hand side, represent the situation of the island, in terms of its division into states. Down the right side, a Cuban country scene is dominated by a royal palm. Flag of Cuba Media related to Coats of arms of Cuba at Wikimedia Commons
17.
Charles E. Barber
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Charles Edward Barber was the sixth Chief Engraver of the United States Mint from 1879 until his death in 1917. Although Barbers coins were met with mixed reviews, he had a long and fruitful career in coinage, Barber did full coin designs and also reverse designs. Barber was born in London in 1840, the son of William Barber, in 1869, he was an assistant engraver at the United States Mint. In 1879, he succeeded his father, in the position as chief engraver, Barbers best-known designs are the eponymous Barber Barber dime, Barber quarter, and Barber half dollar, as well as the so-called V Liberty Head nickel. Some lesser known pattern coin designs by Barber include the trial copper-nickel cent, trial three-cent piece, and the $4 Stella Flowing Hair pieces. Citing the impracticality of the design, he was critical of Augustus St. Gaudens proposed high relief pattern for a new double eagle in 1908. Barber was succeeded as Chief Engraver by George T. Morgan
18.
Philadelphia Mint
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The Philadelphia Mint was created from the need to establish a national identity and the needs of commerce in the United States. This led the Founding Fathers of the United States to make an establishment of a national mint. The Coinage Act of 1792 was entered into law on April 2 and it proclaimed the creation of the United States Mint. Philadelphia at that time was the capital, therefore the first mint facility was built there. David Rittenhouse, an American scientist, was appointed the first director of the mint by President George Washington, two lots were purchased by Rittenhouse on July 18,1792, at Seventh Street and 631 Filbert Street in Philadelphia for $4,266.67. The next day, demolition of a whiskey distillery on the property began. Foundation work began on July 31, and by September 7, the smelt house was the first public building erected by the United States government. A three-story brick structure facing Seventh Street was constructed a few months later, measuring nearly 37 ft wide on the street, it only extended back 33 ft. The gold and silver for the mint were contained in basement vaults, the first floor housed deposit and weighing rooms, along with the press room, where striking coins took place. Mint official offices were on the floor, and the assay office was located on the third floor. A photograph of the Seventh Street building taken around 1908 show that by then the year 1792, between the smelt house and the building on Seventh Street, a mill house was built. Horses in the basement turned a mill located on the first floor. In January 1816, the smelt and mill houses were destroyed by a fire, the smelt house was never repaired and all smelting was done elsewhere. The mill house, which was destroyed, was soon replaced with a large brick building. It included a new engine in the basement to power the machinery. Until 1833, these three buildings provided the United States with hard currency, operations moved to the second Philadelphia mint in 1833, and the land housing the first mint was sold. In the late 19th or early 20th century, the property was sold to Frank Stewart, with no governmental help, the first mint was demolished between 1907 and 1911. Now, only a plaque remains to memorialize the spot
19.
Coin
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A coin is a small, flat, round piece of metal or plastic used primarily as a medium of exchange or legal tender. They are standardized in weight, and produced in quantities at a mint in order to facilitate trade. They are most often issued by a government, Coins are usually metal or alloy, or sometimes made of synthetic materials. Coins made of metal are stored in large quantities as bullion coins. Other coins are used as money in transactions, circulating alongside banknotes. Usually the highest value coin in circulation is less than the lowest-value note. In the last hundred years, the value of circulation coins has occasionally been lower than the value of the metal they contain. Exceptions to the rule of face value being higher than content value also occur for some bullion coins made of copper, silver, or gold, while the Eagle, Maple Leaf, and Sovereign coins have nominal face values, the Krugerrand does not. The first coins were developed independently in Iron Age Anatolia and Archaic Greece, India, Coins spread rapidly in the 6th and 5th centuries BCE, throughout Greece and Persia, and further to the Balkans. Standardized Roman currency was used throughout the Roman Empire, important Roman gold and silver coins were continued into the Middle Ages. Fiat money first arose in medieval China, with the paper money. Early paper money was introduced in Europe in the later Middle Ages, the penny was minted as a silver coin until the 17th century. The first circulating United States coins were cents, produced in 1793, Coins were an evolution of currency systems of the Late Bronze Age, where standard-sized ingots, and tokens such as knife money, were used to store and transfer value. In the late Chinese Bronze Age, standardized cast tokens were made and these were replicas in bronze of earlier Chinese currency, cowrie shells, so they were named Bronze Shell. According to Aristotle and Pollux, the first issuer of coins was Hermodike of Kyme The earliest coins are associated with Iron Age Anatolia. Early electrum coins were not standardized in weight, and in their earliest stage may have been ritual objects, such as badges or medals, issued by priests. The first Lydian coins were made of electrum, a naturally occurring alloy of silver, most of the early Lydian coins include no writing, only an image of a symbolic animal. Anatolian Artemis was the Πὀτνια Θηρῶν, whose symbol was the stag, a small percentage of early Lydian/Greek coins have a legend
20.
Ten Years' War
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The Ten Years War, also known as the Great War and the War of 68, was part of Cubas fight for independence from Spain. The uprising was led by Cuban-born planters and other wealthy natives, on October 10,1868 sugar mill owner Carlos Manuel de Céspedes and his followers proclaimed independence, beginning the conflict. This was the first of three wars that Cuba fought against Spain, the other two being the Little War and the Cuban War of Independence. The final three months of the last conflict escalated with United States involvement and has become known also as the Spanish–American War, throughout the 1850s and into the 1860s, Cuban planters and business owners demanded fundamental social and economic reforms from Spain, which ruled the colony. Lax enforcement of the trade ban had resulted in a dramatic increase in imports of Africans. This occurred despite a strong abolitionist movement on the island, new technologies and farming techniques made large numbers of slaves unnecessary and prohibitively expensive. In the economic crisis of 1857 many businesses failed, including many sugar plantations, the abolitionist cause gained strength, favoring a gradual emancipation of slaves with financial compensation from Spain for slaveholders. Additionally, some planters preferred hiring Chinese immigrants as indentured workers, before the 1870s, more than 125,000 were recruited to Cuba. The Spanish Parliament at the time was changing, gaining much influence were reactionary, the power of military tribunals was increased, the colonial government imposed a six percent tax increase on the Cuban planters and businesses. Additionally, all opposition and the press were silenced. Dissatisfaction in Cuba spread on a scale as the mechanisms to express it were restricted. This discontent was particularly felt by the planters and hacienda owners in Eastern Cuba. The failure of the latest efforts by the reformist movements, the demise of the Information Board, the colonial administration continued to make huge profits which were not re-invested in the island for the benefit of its residents. It funded military expenditures, colonial governments expenses, and sent some money to the Spanish colony of Fernando Po, the Spaniards, representing 8% of the islands population, were appropriating over 90% of the island’s wealth. In addition, the Cuban-born population still had no political rights, objections to these conditions sparked the first serious independence movement, especially in the eastern part of the island. In July 1867, the Revolutionary Committee of Bayamo was founded under the leadership of Cuba’s wealthiest plantation owner, the conspiracy rapidly spread to Oriente’s larger towns, most of all Manzanillo, where Carlos Manuel de Céspedes became the main protagonist of the uprising in 1868. Originally from Bayamo, Céspedes owned an estate and sugar known as La Demajagua. The Spanish, aware of Céspedes’ anti-colonial intransigence, tried to force him into submission by imprisoning his son Oscar, Céspedes refused to negotiate and Oscar was executed
21.
Silver certificate (Cuba)
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Cuban silver certificates were issued between 1934 and 1949. The first Cuban banknotes were issued in 1857 for El Banco Español De La Habana, beginning in the late 1860s, Cuba contracted the National Bank Note Company for two issues of banknotes in 1869 and 1872. Between 1905 and the introduction of BEP issued Cuban silver certificates in 1934, on 11 December 1933, the Cuban government announced that it planned to issue a total of $17,000,000 in silver certificates. The coining of Cuban silver pesos began pursuant to Decree-Law No.93, Treasury Secretary Henry Morgenthau, Jr. gave initial authorization to the Cuban request to engage the BEP on 23 April 1934. Though not exhaustive, there were several legal changes to Cubas financial infrastructure. Silver certificates could be used to pay duties, taxes and other fees, without limit, on 11 May 1934 the design process began at the Bureau of Engraving and Printing. The physical specifications for the Cuban issue were roughly the size as US notes – printed on the same Crane & Co. 75% linen 25% cotton blend. The seal and serial numbers printed in red,12 notes per sheet, with the signatures of the Secretario de Hacienda. Approval is required at major stages in the design of any currency, BEP procedure at the time required an approval signature on the artists renderings and proof mock-ups. Montoulieu served as a delegate of the Cuban government during the design. In 1915, Montoulieu served as a representative for Cuba during the minting of Cuban coins at the Philadelphia Mint. His approval of the Series 1934 BEP designs can be seen on the background matte, Montoulieu would later become Cuban Treasury Secretary three times during two administrations. Between 1934 and 1949 Cuba’s government was fairly volatile, in the space of 15 years, Cuba had seven leaders, Carlos Mendieta, José Agripino Barnet, Miguel Mariano Gómez, Federico Laredo Brú, Fulgencio Batista, Ramón Grau, and Carlos Prío Socarrás. In the same period of time, Cuba’s Ministry of the Treasury changed leadership at least 20 times, on 25 June 1934, Cuban Secretary of Communications Gabriel Landa replaced outgoing Treasury Secretary Saenz. Four months later, Landa was replaced by Manuel Despaigne and became Secretary of National Defense and he resigned his cabinet position at the end of November, three weeks before an arrest warrant was issued charging him with embezzlement. The BEP received instructions from the Cuban government to replace the Landa signature with Despaigne which was put into effect in December 1934, a small number of one and five peso notes with Landas signature had already been printed but were never issued. Original art and mock-ups for both versions can be seen in the tables below, the Engravers Line – An Encyclopedia of Paper Money & Postage Stamp Art. Cuba Libre 1895 –1958 Resumen Historico, 1934–1949 Silver Certificates of Cuba Made by the U. S. BEP
22.
Bureau of Engraving and Printing
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The BEP does not produce coins, all coinage is produced by the United States Mint. With production facilities in Washington, DC, and Fort Worth, Texas, the Bureau of Engraving and Printing has its origins in legislation enacted to help fund the Civil War. In July 1861, Congress authorized the Secretary of the Treasury to issue currency in lieu of coins due to the lack of funds needed to support the conflict. The paper notes were essentially government IOUs and were called Demand Notes because they were payable on demand in coin at certain Treasury facilities, at this time the government had no facility for the production of paper money so a private firm produced the Demand Notes in sheets of four. These sheets were then sent to the Treasury Department where dozens of clerks signed the notes and scores of workers cut the sheets, initially, the currency processing operations in the Treasury were not formally organized. For years, however, the operations were known by various semi-official labels, such as the Printing Bureau, Small Note Bureau, Currency Department. It was not until 1874 that the Bureau of Engraving and Printing was officially recognized in legislation with a specific allocation of operating funds for fiscal year 1875. From almost the beginning of its operations, the Bureau of Engraving and Printing designed and printed a variety of products in addition to currency. As early as 1864, the offices which would become the BEP made passports for the State Department. Passports are now produced by the Government Publishing Office, other early items produced by the BEP included various government debt instruments, such as interest-bearing notes, refunding certificates, compound interest Treasury notes, and bonds. The production of stamps began in 1894, and for almost the next century the BEP was the sole producer of postage stamps in the country. The Bureau of Engraving and Printing officially took over production of stamps for the United States government in July 1894. Paper currency was produced on hand presses around 1918, utilizing plates capable of printing four notes per sheet. The Bureau of Engraving and Printing officially took over production of stamps for the United States government in July 1894. The first of the works printed by the BEP was placed on sale on July 18,1894, and by the end of the first year of stamp production, the BEP had printed and delivered more than 2.1 billion stamps. The United States Postal Service switched purely to private postage stamp printers in 2005, starting in 2011 the United States Postal Service in housed all postage stamp printing services. Plate capacity on power presses increased from four to eight notes per sheet in 1918 in order to greatly expanded production requirements related to World War I. Due to this reduction in size, the Bureau was able to convert from eight-note printing plates to twelve-note plates, the redesign effort came about for several reasons, chief among them a reduction in paper costs and improved counterfeit deterrence through better public recognition of currency features
23.
Czechoslovakia
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From 1939 to 1945, following its forced division and partial incorporation into Nazi Germany, the state did not de facto exist but its government-in-exile continued to operate. From 1948 to 1990, Czechoslovakia was part of the Soviet bloc with a command economy and its economic status was formalized in membership of Comecon from 1949, and its defense status in the Warsaw Pact of May 1955. A period of liberalization in 1968, known as the Prague Spring, was forcibly ended when the Soviet Union, assisted by several other Warsaw Pact countries. In 1993, Czechoslovakia split into the two states of the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Form of state 1918–1938, A democratic republic, 1938–1939, After annexation of Sudetenland by Nazi Germany in 1938, the region gradually turned into a state with loosened connections among the Czech, Slovak, and Ruthenian parts. A large strip of southern Slovakia and Carpatho-Ukraine was annexed by Hungary, 1939–1945, The region was split into the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia and the Slovak Republic. A government-in-exile continued to exist in London, supported by the United Kingdom, United States and its Allies, after the German invasion of Russia, Czechoslovakia adhered to the Declaration by United Nations and was a founding member of the United Nations. 1946–1948, The country was governed by a government with communist ministers, including the prime minister. Carpathian Ruthenia was ceded to the Soviet Union, 1948–1989, The country became a socialist state under Soviet domination with a centrally planned economy. In 1960, the country became a socialist republic, the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic. It was a state of the Soviet Union. 1989–1990, The federal republic consisted of the Czech Socialist Republic, 1990–1992, Following the Velvet Revolution, the state was renamed the Czech and Slovak Federal Republic, consisting of the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic. Neighbours Austria 1918–1938, 1945–1992 Germany Hungary Poland Romania 1918–1938 Soviet Union 1945–1991 Ukraine 1991–1992 Topography The country was of irregular terrain. The western area was part of the north-central European uplands, the eastern region was composed of the northern reaches of the Carpathian Mountains and lands of the Danube River basin. Climate The weather is mild winters and mild summers, influenced by the Atlantic Ocean from the west, Baltic Sea from the north, and Mediterranean Sea from the south. The area was long a part of the Austro Hungarian Empire until the Empire collapsed at the end of World War I, the new state was founded by Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk, who served as its first president from 14 November 1918 to 14 December 1935. He was succeeded by his ally, Edvard Beneš. The roots of Czech nationalism go back to the 19th century, nationalism became a mass movement in the last half of the 19th century
24.
Banknote
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A banknote is a type of negotiable instrument known as a promissory note, made by a bank, payable to the bearer on demand. Banknotes were originally issued by banks, who were legally required to redeem the notes for legal tender when presented to the chief cashier of the originating bank. These commercial banknotes only traded at face value in the served by the issuing bank. Commercial banknotes have primarily been replaced by national banknotes issued by central banks, national banknotes are generally legal tender, meaning that medium of payment is allowed by law or recognized by a legal system to be valid for meeting a financial obligation. Historically, banks sought to ensure that they could always pay customers in coins when they presented banknotes for payment and this practice of backing notes with something of substance is the basis for the history of central banks backing their currencies in gold or silver. Today, most national currencies have no backing in precious metals or commodities and have value only by fiat, with the exception of non-circulating high-value or precious metal issues, coins are used for lower valued monetary units, while banknotes are used for higher values. The idea of using a durable light-weight substance as evidence of a promise to pay a bearer on demand originated in China during the Han Dynasty in 118 BC, the first known banknote was first developed in China during the Tang and Song dynasties, starting in the 7th century. Its roots were in merchant receipts of deposit during the Tang Dynasty, as merchants, during the Yuan Dynasty, banknotes were adopted by the Mongol Empire. In Europe, the concept of banknotes was first introduced during the 13th century by such as Marco Polo. Counterfeiting, the forgery of banknotes, is an inherent challenge in issuing currency and it is countered by anticounterfeiting measures in the printing of banknotes. Fighting the counterfeiting of banknotes and cheques has been a driver of security printing methods development in recent centuries. Paper currency first developed in the Tang Dynasty China during the 7th century, although true paper money did not appear until the 11th century, the usage of paper currency later spread throughout the Mongol Empire. European explorers like Marco Polo introduced the concept in Europe during the 13th century, napoleon issued paper banknotes in the early 1800s. Paper money originated in two forms, drafts, which are receipts for value held on account, and bills, the perception of banknotes as money has evolved over time. Originally, money was based on precious metals, Banknotes were seen as essentially an I. O. U. or promissory note, a promise to pay someone in precious metal on presentation. With the gradual removal of precious metals from the system, banknotes evolved to represent credit money. Notes or bills were referred to in 18th century novels and were often a key part of the plot such as a note drawn by Lord X for £100 which becomes due in 3 months time. Its roots were in merchant receipts of deposit during the Tang Dynasty, as merchants, before the use of paper, the Chinese used coins that were circular, with a rectangular hole in the middle
25.
Fidel Castro
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Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz was a Cuban revolutionary and politician who governed the Republic of Cuba as Prime Minister from 1959 to 1976 and then as President from 1976 to 2008. Politically a Marxist–Leninist and Cuban nationalist, he served as the First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba from 1961 until 2011. Under his administration, Cuba became a one-party socialist state, industry and business were nationalized, born in Birán, Oriente as the son of a wealthy Spanish farmer, Castro adopted leftist anti-imperialist politics while studying law at the University of Havana. After a years imprisonment, he traveled to Mexico where he formed a revolutionary group, returning to Cuba, Castro took a key role in the Cuban Revolution by leading the Movement in a guerrilla war against Batistas forces from the Sierra Maestra. After Batistas overthrow in 1959, Castro assumed military and political power as Cubas Prime Minister, adopting a Marxist–Leninist model of development, Castro converted Cuba into a one-party, socialist state under Communist Party rule, the first in the Western Hemisphere. Policies introducing central economic planning and expanding healthcare and education were accompanied by control of the press. These actions, coupled with Castros leadership of the Non-Aligned Movement from 1979 to 1983 and Cubas medical internationalism, following the Soviet Unions dissolution in 1991, Castro led Cuba into its Special Period and embraced environmentalist and anti-globalization ideas. In the 2000s he forged alliances in the Latin American pink tide—namely with Hugo Chávezs Venezuela—and signed Cuba up to the Bolivarian Alliance for the Americas, in 2006 he transferred his responsibilities to Vice-President Raúl Castro, who was elected to the presidency by the National Assembly in 2008. Castro is a world figure. His supporters view him as a champion of socialism and anti-imperialism whose revolutionary regime advanced economic, critics view him as a dictator whose administration oversaw human-rights abuses, the exodus of a large number of Cubans, and the impoverishment of the countrys economy. He was decorated with various awards and significantly influenced various individuals. In 1960 Castro was bestowed with the Grand Slam Silver Trophy in the prestigious Ernest Hemingway International Billfishing Tournament after he caught a sailfish, Castro was born out of wedlock at his fathers farm on August 13,1926. His father, Ángel Castro y Argiz, was a migrant to Cuba from Galicia, aged six, Castro was sent to live with his teacher in Santiago de Cuba, before being baptized into the Roman Catholic Church at the age of eight. Being baptized enabled Castro to attend the La Salle boarding school in Santiago, in 1945 he transferred to the more prestigious Jesuit-run El Colegio de Belén in Havana. Although Castro took an interest in history, geography and debating at Belén, he did not excel academically, in 1945, Castro began studying law at the University of Havana. Admitting he was illiterate, he became embroiled in student activism. In 1947, Castro joined the Party of the Cuban People, a charismatic figure, Chibás advocated social justice, honest government, and political freedom, while his party exposed corruption and demanded reform. Though Chibás came third in the 1948 general election, Castro remained committed to working on his behalf, in later years anti-Castro dissidents accused him of committing gang-related assassinations at the time, but these remain unproven
26.
Antonio Maceo Grajales
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Lt. General José Antonio de la Caridad Maceo y Grajales was second-in-command of the Cuban Army of Independence. Fellow Cubans gave Maceo the sobriquet of the Bronze Titan, which was a reference to his color, stature. Spaniards referred to Maceo as the Greater Lion, Maceo was one of the most noteworthy guerrilla leaders in 19th century Latin America, comparable to José Antonio Páez of Venezuela in military acumen. Maceo was the son of a Venezuelan farmer and dealer in agricultural products, Marcos Maceo, and his father when still a young man, fought for the Spanish against the forces for independence led by Simón Bolívar, José Antonio Páez and others. In 1823, he moved from Caracas, Venezuela, to Santiago de Cuba, Cuba, after some of his comrades were exiled from South America. José Antonio Maceo y Grajales was born June 14,1845, in the town of San Luis, in the Oriente Province outside Santiago de Cuba, in a farm known to locals as Jobabo. Although his father taught him skills in the use of arms and management of their properties, it was his mother, Mariana Grajales. This maternal discipline would be important in the development of Maceos character, at the age of sixteen, Maceo went to work for his father, delivering products and supplies by mule. He was an entrepreneur and farmer. As the oldest of the children, he inherited his fathers leadership qualities, Maceo developed an active interest in the political issues of his time and was initiated in the mysteries of Freemasonry. The Cuban Freemasonry movement was influenced by the principles of the French Revolution - Liberty, Equality and Fraternity - as well as the Masons main guidelines, God, Reason, Virtue. Approximately two weeks after the October 10,1868 revolt led by Carlos Manuel de Céspedes against Spain known as The cry of Yara, Maceo, together with his father and brothers joined the war. Mariana Grajales, followed her family members into the manigua in order to support the mambises, the Maceos enlisted as privates when the Ten Years War began. Within five months, Antonio Maceo was promoted to commander, later, a promotion to colonel followed, and five years later he was promoted to the rank of brigadier general because of his bravery and ability to outmaneuver the Spanish Army. Maceo participated in more than 500 battles, men under Maceos command began to name him “The Bronze Titan”, because of his exceptional physical strength and resistance to bullet or blade injuries. He recovered from more than 25 war injuries over the course of some 500 military battles, the use of the machete as a war weapon by Gómez as a substitute for the Spanish sword was rapidly adopted by Maceo and his troops. Antonio Maceo rejected the military seditions of Lagunas de Varona and Santa Rita, divisionism and the imprecise designs of García were plainly rejected by Maceo when the former asked for support to constitute a “New Revolutionary Government”. An officer of honour, he offered peace guarantees, amnesty for revolutionary men and legal reforms, in exchange for a cease of hostilities, at the same time, the Spanish Government continued the concentration of more forces to enclose the diminishing Cuban rebel forces
27.
Camilo Cienfuegos
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Camilo Cienfuegos Gorriarán was a Cuban revolutionary born in Havana. He became one of Castros top guerilla commanders, known as the Hero of Yaguajay after winning a key battle of the Cuban Revolution and he was appointed head of Cubas armed forces shortly after the victory of Castros rebel army in 1959. He was presumed dead when a plane he was traveling in disappeared during a night flight from Camagüey to Havana later that year. Cienfuegos is revered in Cuba as a hero of the Revolution, with monuments, memorials, Camilo Cienfuegos, born on 6 February 1932 in Havanas Lawton district, grew up in a working-class family that had emigrated from Spain prior to the Spanish Civil War of 1936–39. His father, a tailor who worked a small shop in Havana, had left-wing political principles, artistically inclined since early youth, Camilo enrolled in the Escuela Nacional de Bellas Artes San Alejandro in 1950, but left his studies soon after due to financial problems. During this period he started working as an apprentice in El Arte. Around 1948 he became involved in issues, taking part in popular protests against rising bus-fares. In April 1953 Cienfuegos and a friend traveled to the U. S. on 29-day visitors visas in search of work. They spent several months working low-paying jobs in New York City, Chicago, while in New York Cienfuegos became involved with a Cuban political exile group and wrote a few articles for its newspaper, La Voz de Cuba. Rufo López-Fresquet, who served as Minister of the Treasury for the first fourteen months of the regime, described him as a gay, happy-go-lucky. In 1954 Cienfuegos became a member of the underground student movement against autocratic President Fulgencio Batista. He later described this as the moment in which he pledged himself to freeing Cuba from the Batista dictatorship, on arriving in Mexico, Cienfuegos befriended Castro and began training with the rebels. He was one of the 82 revolutionaries who set sail for Cuba aboard the Granma in November 1956, allegedly, Cienfuegos was the last one to board the boat and was only allowed to join because of his slight build. Cienfuegos was not as sophisticated as the Castros or Guevara. He sympathized with socialism, but was not particularly dogmatic, on the question of tactics, he departed from many others in the revolutionary movement in rejecting violence and revenge. We cannot torture and assassinate prisoners in the manner of our opponents, we cannot as men of honor and as dignified Cubans use the low, the Granma arrived in Cuba on 2 December. After a three-day nightmare of swamps and mangroves, the rebels were surprised by Batistas forces at Alegría de Pío, the surviving rebels escaped in small dispersed groups and wandered for weeks in the Sierra Maestra mountains. Cienfuegos was one of the twelve who survived to rejoin Castro a month later, in 1957 he became one of the top leaders of the revolutionary forces, appointed to the rank of Comandante
28.
Havana
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Havana is the capital city, largest city, province, major port, and leading commercial centre of Cuba. The city extends mostly westward and southward from the bay, which is entered through a narrow inlet, the sluggish Almendares River traverses the city from south to north, entering the Straits of Florida a few miles west of the bay. King Philip II of Spain granted Havana the title of City in 1592, walls as well as forts were built to protect the old city. The sinking of the U. S. battleship Maine in Havanas harbor in 1898 was the cause of the Spanish–American War. Contemporary Havana can essentially be described as three cities in one, Old Havana, Vedado and the suburban districts. The city is the center of the Cuban government, and home to various ministries, headquarters of businesses, the current mayor is Marta Hernández of the Communist Party of Cuba. In 2009, the city/province had the third highest income in the country, the city attracts over a million tourists annually, the Official Census for Havana reports that in 2010 the city was visited by 1,176,627 international tourists, a 20% increase from 2005. Old Havana was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1982, the city is also noted for its history, culture, architecture and monuments. As typical of Cuba, Havana also features a tropical climate, in May 2015, Havana was officially recognized as one of the New7Wonders Cities together with Vigan, Doha, La Paz, Durban, Beirut, and Kuala Lumpur. Most native settlements became the site of Spanish colonial cities retaining their original Taíno names, an alternate theory is that Habana is derived from the Middle Dutch word havene, referring to a harbour, etymologically related to the English word haven. All attempts to found a city on Cubas south coast failed, however, an early map of Cuba drawn in 1514 places the town at the mouth of this river. The town that became Havana finally originated adjacent to what was then called Puerto de Carenas, the quality of this natural bay, which now hosts Havanas harbor, warranted this change of location. Pánfilo de Narváez gave Havana – the sixth town founded by the Spanish on Cuba – its name, the name combines San Cristóbal, patron saint of Havana. Shortly after the founding of Cubas first cities, the served as little more than a base for the Conquista of other lands. Havana began as a port, and suffered regular attacks by buccaneers, pirates. The first attack and resultant burning of the city was by the French corsair Jacques de Sores in 1555, ships from all over the New World carried products first to Havana, in order to be taken by the fleet to Spain. The thousands of ships gathered in the bay also fueled Havanas agriculture and manufacture, since they had to be supplied with food, water. On December 20,1592, King Philip II of Spain granted Havana the title of City, later on, the city would be officially designated as Key to the New World and Rampart of the West Indies by the Spanish Crown
29.
Moncada Barracks
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The Moncada Barracks was a military barracks in Santiago de Cuba, named after the General Guillermón Moncada, a hero of the War of Independence. On 26 July 1953, the barracks was the site of an attack by a small group of revolutionaries led by Fidel Castro. This armed attack is widely accepted as the beginning of the Cuban Revolution, the date on which the attack took place,26 July, was adopted by Castro as the name for his revolutionary movement which eventually toppled the dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista in 1959. Almost all of Fidel Castros followers were Partido Ortodoxo Youth rank, only four of the 160 rebels were university graduates and most had only a primary education. Of the 137 insurgents whose ages are known, the age was 26. Nine rebels were in their teens,96 were in their twenties,27 in their thirties, the Afro Cuban composition of the group was limited to 2 blacks and 12 mulattos, partly because most biracial Cubans identified with Batista, who was of mixed blood. Castro avoided recruiting among intellectuals, who were more apt to challenge his ideas, Fidel Castro decided that army uniforms were needed for the Moncada attack. He discussed this with Calabazar cell leader Pedro Trigo Lopez, who suggested approaching his relative Florentino Fernandez Leon, Fernandez agreed and received $200 to purchase surplus uniforms, weapons, and ammunition. He then pilfered from the hospital laundry most of the blue uniforms needed to attire the rebels. The night before the attack, the men gathered at a farm in Siboney, the men left the farm at 4,45 am on 26 July 1953, planning to attack at dawn. The date of the attack was chosen because the fiestas in Santiago are held on 25 July. On 26 July 1953, at 6,00 am, Fidel Castro and his brother Raúl led a group of approximately 135 rebels in an attack on the second largest military garrison, commanded by Col. Alberto del Rio Chaviano. The group formed a sixteen-automobile caravan in order to give the appearance of being a delegation headed by an officer sent from western Cuba. The caravan of automobiles became separated by the time it arrived at the barracks, furthermore, many of the rebels who would have taken part in the attack were left behind for a lack of weapons. In Castros autobiography, he claims that he drove his car into a group of soldiers at the gate who had realized an attack was in progress. The men in the cars behind him jumped out of their cars, believing they were inside the barracks, according to Castro, this was the fatal mistake in the operation. The net result of events was the rebels being outnumbered more than 10 to 1. Fifteen soldiers and three policemen were killed and 23 soldiers and five wounded during the attack
30.
Santiago de Cuba
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Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city of Cuba and capital city of Santiago de Cuba Province in the south-eastern area of the island, some 870 km south-east of the Cuban capital of Havana. Historically Santiago de Cuba has long been the second most important city on the island after Havana and it is on a bay connected to the Caribbean Sea and is an important sea port. In 2004 the city of Santiago de Cuba had a population of about 509,143 people, Santiago de Cuba was the fifth village founded by Spanish conquistador Diego Velázquez de Cuéllar on July 25,1515. In 1516 the settlement was destroyed by fire, and was immediately rebuilt and this was the starting point of the expeditions led by Juan de Grijalba and Hernán Cortés to the coasts of Mexico in 1518, and in 1538 by Hernando de Sotos expedition to Florida. The first cathedral was built in the city in 1528, from 1522 until 1589 Santiago was the capital of the Spanish colony of Cuba. The city was plundered by French forces in 1553, and by British forces under Christopher Myngs in 1662, the city experienced an influx of French and British immigrants in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, many coming from Haiti after the Haitian slave revolt of 1791. This added to the citys cultural mix, already rich with Spanish. It was also the location where Spanish troops faced their main defeat at San Juan Hill on July 1,1898, after capturing the surrounding hills, General William Rufus Shafter laid siege to the city. Spain later surrendered to the United States after Admiral William T. Sampson destroyed the Spanish Atlantic fleet just outside Santiagos harbor on July 3,1898, Cuban poet, writer, and national hero, José Martí, is buried in Cementerio Santa Efigenia. Pope Francis visited Cuba in 2015, Santiago was also the home of the revolutionary hero, Frank País. On July 26,1953, the Cuban Revolution began with an armed attack on the Moncada Barracks by a small contingent of rebels led by Fidel Castro. Shortly after this incident, País began talking with students and young working people informally. This developed into highly organized cells coordinating a large scale urban resistance that became instrumental in the success of the Cuban Revolution, País group prepared carefully, accruing weapons, collecting money, collecting medical supplies. They published a newsletter that reported news that criticized the government. In the summer of 1955, País organization merged with Castros July 26 Movement, País became the leader of the new organization in Oriente province, though two years later he was betrayed to the police and was shot after his capture. On January 1,1959, Fidel Castro proclaimed the victory of the Cuban Revolution from a balcony on Santiago de Cubas city hall, Santiago de Cuba was the hometown of poet José María Heredia. It is the birthplace of the world-famous Bacardi Brand, which was started by Facundo Bacardi Masso in 1862 and it now houses a museum that displays the extensive art collection of the Bacardí family. Santiago de Cuba is well known for its cultural life, some of Cubas most famous musicians, including Compay Segundo, Ibrahim Ferrer and Eliades Ochoa and trova composer Ñico Saquito were born in the city or in one of the villages surrounding it
31.
Ignacio Agramonte
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Ignacio Agramonte y Loynáz was a Cuban revolutionary, who played an important part in the Ten Years War. Born in the province of Puerto Príncipe on December 23,1841 and he went to Barcelona, Madrid, and Havana to study law. On June 11,1865 he graduated as a lawyer and he returned to Puerto Principe and married Amalia Simoni y Argilagos in August 1868, a woman who was the love of his life and whose family had considerably more wealth than his own. He had fine brown hair, pale skin, and was an expert horseman and he had a fine mustache and not thick or bushy like it appears in many portraits. When the war of independence against the Spanish broke out in October 10,1868, Agramonte himself joined the war a week later, on November 11,1868. His wife followed him in the struggle, but was captured on May 26,1870 while pregnant with her second child, in February 1869, he and Antonio Zambrana were elected secretaries, a title equivalent to minister, to the provincial government. He was subsequently elected a member and one of two secretaries - minister - of the Cuban Congress in Arms and he was among the signatories of the act that freed the slaves on the island and was the driving force in the drafting of the first Constitution in Cuban history. The Congressional secretaries - ministers - had to work closely with the president and he went on to become Major General of the Cuban forces for the military district of the province of Camagüey, where he organized the best cavalry troops in the Cuban Liberation Army. Showing great vision, in spite of his lack of military training. The Spaniards knew him to be formidable in battle, and nicknamed him The Young Bolívar, Agramonte capped his impressive list of military achievements when, on October 8,1871, he led a daring rescue. His commander, Julio Sanguily, was prisoner by more than 120 light cavalry while visiting a farm. Agramonte ordered 35 of his troops to mount up and track down the Spaniards. He personally led a charge, successfully rescuing Sanguily and routing the enemy troop, killing 11. Ignacio Agramonte was killed at the Battle of Jimaguayú on May 11,1873, the Spanish soldiers stole his wallet and papers, when their officers realized who they had killed, they went back and took the body with them to the provincial capital. His body was cremated by the Spanish authorities in Camagüey for fear that his troops would assault the city to recover the remnants of his body. Henry Reeve - Brigadier General - an American volunteer, and commander of his Cavalry Corps, named him El Mayor, máximo Gómez succeeded him as Chief Military Commander of the military district of the province of Camagüey. Agramonte used a Colt revolver, Navy model 1851, worked with ivory and he used several machetes and sabres, and was carrying a sabre taken from a Spanish colonel at the time of his death. Both the airport and the park in Camagüey are named after him
32.
Julio Antonio Mella
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Julio Antonio Mella McPartland was a founder of the internationalized Cuban Communist Party. Mella studied law in the University of Havana until he was expelled in 1925 and is considered a hero by the present Cuban government, some Cubans view him as a victim of the Stalin-Trotsky struggle. His biography varies with the source consulted, Mella was born Nicanor McPartland in Havana in 1903. His father was Nicanor Mella Breá, a tailor and son of one of the heroes of the Dominican Republican war of independence, mella’s mother was an Irish woman named Cecilia McPartland, Cecilia was not the wife of Nicanor senior. Mella initially took his name from his father and as a child travelled with his younger brother Cecilio to New Orleans while his mother convalesced from lung troubles, the boys returned to Cuba to live with his father’s wife Mercedes Bermúdez Ferreira. Mella changed his name from Nicanor to Antonio and his brother became Nicasio Mella. Antonio Mella studied secondary studies at Chandler College in Marianao, Havana and his step-mother, Mercedes Bermúdez Ferreira, died in 1915, and after visiting the US again in 1917 Mella returned to Cuba. He prepared for the University of Havana at Academia Newton before being sent to boarding school at the prestigious Escolapios of Guanabacoa, Mella finished his secondary studies at the public Instituto de la Habana and/or Instituto de Segunda Enseñanza of Pinar del Río, in 1921. First arrested during the rule of Alfredo Zayas, Mella attended the University of Havana where his radicalism was further enhanced through his leadership. Mella was soon involved in the struggle against future Cuban president Gerardo Machado, at this time he was linked to women radicals Rosario Guillaume and Sarah Pascual. He was expelled from the University after being arrested and accused of a bomb plot, after being released in late 1925, he eventually fled to Central America in the earlier portion of 1926. Cuba had a number of communist and/or anarchist parties, especially in Havana and in the area of Cuba. Possibly the first was founded in 1906 near Manzanillo by Agustín Martín Veloz, the original internationalized Communist Party of Cuba was formed in the 1920s when Gerardo Machado was president and then dictator. This organization is said to be related to several including the anti-imperialist league. This party was recognized by Moscow in 1925. Contacts with Moscow were said to be made in a restaurant at 687 Compostela street on the corner of Luz street in Havana. Fabio Grobart was born in Bialystok, Poland, in 1905 and he was a member of the Comintern and often considered a covert Moscow-appointed leader of the Communists in the Caribbean area. Mella used the pseudonyms Cuauhtémoc Zapata, Kim, y Lord McPartland in his writing, blas Roca was born Francisco Calderío
33.
University of Havana
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The University of Havana or UH is a university located in the Vedado district of Havana, the capital of the Republic of Cuba. Founded on January 5,1728, the university is the oldest in Cuba, originally a religious institution, today the University of Havana has 15 faculties at its Havana campus and distance learning centers throughout Cuba. It was first called Real y Pontificia Universidad de San Gerónimo de la Habana, during those times, universities needed a royal or papal authorization in order to be created and thus the names Real y Pontificia. The two men who gave that authorization to the university were Pope Innocent XIII and King Philip V of Spain, in 1842, the university changed its status to become a secular, royal and literary institution. Its name became Real y Literaria Universidad de La Habana and later, when Cuba was a free republic, the university had first been established in San Juan de Letrán before it was transferred on May 1,1902 to a hill in the Vedado area of Havana. The interiors of the building were decorated by Armando Menocal y Menocal, the seven frescos represent Medicine, Science, Art, Thought, Liberal Arts, Literature, and Law. At the main university there is a bronze statue of Alma Mater that was created in 1919 by artist Mario Korbel. The model for the face was lovely 16-year-old Feliciana Chana Villalón, the daughter of José Ramón Villalón y Sánchez. Chana later married Juan Manuel Menocal, who went on to become the Dean of the Business School, Juan Manuel Menocal was a professor at the law school when Fidel Castro was a student there in the 1940s. Maria Rosa Menocal, former Director of the Whitney Humanities Center at Yale, was the granddaughter of Chana, the main library Rubén Martínez Villena was established later in 1936. After the government was taken over by Fulgencio Batista in 1952, Batista closed the University in 1956. From January 1,1959, the date on which Fidel Castro seized power in Cuba, until January 1,1962, in 2002, Rutgers University–Camden and the University of Havana signed a Memorandum of Understanding to formalize research and exchange opportunities for students and faculty. The MOU was re-signed in October 2016 with the addition of encompassing all of Rutgers, the University of Havana is made up of 16 faculties and 14 research centers in a variety of fields, including economics, sciences, social science and humanities. In total, up to 25 specialties are taught at the university, now, it has about 60,000 degree students in regular classes. The strongest of all these organisations was the FEU created by Julio Antonio Mella and it was a major participant in the overthrowing of Cuban President Gerardo Machado. The FEU initiated the general strike of 1933, resulting in the imprisonment of many of its members. Batista managed to escape, and many student assailants died in the action, during the months that followed, the police executed many of the students that led the failed coup. President Batista ordered the university to be closed, and it remained so until Batista fled the country, the Castro administration re-opened the university in 1959 and put an end to student demonstrations and political affiliations
34.
Economy of Cuba
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Cuba has a planned economy dominated by state-run enterprises. Most industries are owned and operated by the government and most of the force is employed by the state. Following the fall of the Soviet Union, the Communist Party encouraged the formation of worker co-operatives, in the year 2000, public sector employment was 76% and private sector employment, mainly composed of self-employment, was 23% compared to the 1981 ratio of 91% to 8%. Investment is restricted and requires approval by the government, the government sets most prices and rations goods to citizens. In 2009, Cuba ranked 51st out of 182 countries with a Human Development Index of 0.863, in 2012, the countrys public debt was 35. 3% of GDP, inflation was 5. 5%, and GDP growth was 3%. Housing and transportation costs are low, Cubans receive free education, health care and food subsidies. Corruption is common, although lower than in most of Latin America, the country achieved a more even distribution of income since the Cuban Revolution, which was followed by an economic embargo by the United States. Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, Cubas GDP declined by 33% between 1990 and 1993, partially due to loss of Soviet subsidies and to a crash in prices in the early 1990s. Cuba retains high levels of healthcare and education, although Cuba belonged to the high-income countries of Latin America since the 1870s, income inequality was high, accompanied by capital outflows to foreign investors. The countrys economy had grown rapidly in the part of the century. Its income per capita in 1929 was reportedly 41% of the US, thus higher than in Mississippi and its proximity to the United States made it a familiar holiday destination for wealthy Americans. Their visits for gambling, horse racing and golfing made tourism an important economic sector, tourism magazine Cabaret Quarterly described Havana as a mistress of pleasure, the lush and opulent goddess of delights. According to Perez, Havana was then what Las Vegas has become, the dictator Fulgencio Batista had plans to line the Malecon, Havana’s famous walkway by the water, with hotels and casinos to attract even more tourists. Today Hotel Havana Riviera is the hotel that was built before the revolutionary government took control. Cuba had an economy whose domestic market was constricted. Its population was characterized by unemployment and deep poverty. United States monopolies like Bethlehem Steel Corporation and Speyer gained control over national resources. The banks and the entire financial system, all electric power production
35.
Demurrage (currency)
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Demurrage is the cost associated with owning or holding currency over a given period. It is sometimes referred to as a carrying cost of money, for commodity money such as gold, demurrage is the cost of storing and securing the gold. For paper currency, it can take the form of a tax, such as a stamp tax. Demurrage is sometimes cited as economically advantageous, usually in the context of currency systems. In particular, for investment financing, it affects the dynamics of net present value calculations. Demurrage in a currency system reduces discount rates, and thus increases the present value of a long-term investment, a positive interest rate is a subsidy. Both inflation and demurrage reduce the power of money held over time. Inflation is certainly not always everywhere a monetary phenomenon, inflation is not always easy to predict & it does not stay fixed through time, but the level of demurrage is fixed by the Government. Greshams law that bad money drives out good suggests that demurrage fees would mean that a currency would suffer more rapid circulation than competing forms of currency. This led some such as German-Argentine economist Silvio Gesell to propose demurrage as a means of increasing both the velocity of money and overall economic activity, for such money is not preferred to goods either by the purchaser or the seller. We then part with our goods for money only because we need the money as a means of exchange, so we must make money worse as a commodity if we wish to make it better as a medium of exchange. In earlier real-life experiments, demurrage on money has been demonstrated to increase the velocity of money in circulation forcing people to even pay their taxes in advance. In some instances, the fee is charged by some sort of central authority. The application of this varies widely among both historical and proposed systems. In some cases, it is used to pay the costs of administering the tax, other systems have been proposed which involve redistributing this pool equally to all users of the currency. In mutual credit systems all positive accounts, or those over a threshold, are debited the demurrage fee if there is no trading after a certain period. Typically the fee accrues to the account and so adds to the common credit pool. The Islamic system of zakat is a form of demurrage and it applies to un-utilized assets on a per annum basis, at a rate determined by the nature of the asset
36.
Standard Catalog of World Coins
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The Standard Catalog of World Coins is a series of numismatic catalogs, commonly known as the Krause catalogs. They are published by Krause Publications, a division of F+W Media, the by-century volumes list by date virtually every coin type, most of which are photographed, with mintage and other information, plus market valuations in up to 5 grades. Listings are by denomination rather than series, as in earlier World coin catalogs, the proprietary Krause-Mishler numbers are widely used, for just a few countries earlier systems such as Y and C numbers are given instead. The century format is considered inconvenient and expensive for those who collect geographically. Originally covering 1835 or so to date, the main catalog evolved into an annual 20th century-only work, plus separate 17th, 18th, beginning with the 34th ed, listings covering 2001 to date are included in a separate 21st Century catalog. Data from the volumes are collated together in special editions for Crowns, Gold, German. Fantasies and medallion issues, which do not appear in the catalogs, are covered in a publication called Unusual World Coins. There is also a publication called Collecting World Coins that includes only 20th-, list priced at $73 to $85 they are often discounted, and can be found in many public libraries. Older editions are steeply discounted even though revisions between editions in many areas are minimal, following the appearance of unlicensed DVD versions, DVDs were included with the 1601-1700 4th edition, the 1901-2000 36th edition, and possibly others, but are now sold as a separate product. George S. Cuhaj is the current editor, with Thomas Michael credited as market analyst, although Krause collate contributions from many collecting experts, coin catalog Standard Catalog of World Paper Money A Guide Book of United States Coins Piedfort Vcoins. com Krause Publications Numismaster. com
37.
International Standard Book Number
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The International Standard Book Number is a unique numeric commercial book identifier. An ISBN is assigned to each edition and variation of a book, for example, an e-book, a paperback and a hardcover edition of the same book would each have a different ISBN. The ISBN is 13 digits long if assigned on or after 1 January 2007, the method of assigning an ISBN is nation-based and varies from country to country, often depending on how large the publishing industry is within a country. The initial ISBN configuration of recognition was generated in 1967 based upon the 9-digit Standard Book Numbering created in 1966, the 10-digit ISBN format was developed by the International Organization for Standardization and was published in 1970 as international standard ISO2108. Occasionally, a book may appear without a printed ISBN if it is printed privately or the author does not follow the usual ISBN procedure, however, this can be rectified later. Another identifier, the International Standard Serial Number, identifies periodical publications such as magazines, the ISBN configuration of recognition was generated in 1967 in the United Kingdom by David Whitaker and in 1968 in the US by Emery Koltay. The 10-digit ISBN format was developed by the International Organization for Standardization and was published in 1970 as international standard ISO2108, the United Kingdom continued to use the 9-digit SBN code until 1974. The ISO on-line facility only refers back to 1978, an SBN may be converted to an ISBN by prefixing the digit 0. For example, the edition of Mr. J. G. Reeder Returns, published by Hodder in 1965, has SBN340013818 -340 indicating the publisher,01381 their serial number. This can be converted to ISBN 0-340-01381-8, the check digit does not need to be re-calculated, since 1 January 2007, ISBNs have contained 13 digits, a format that is compatible with Bookland European Article Number EAN-13s. An ISBN is assigned to each edition and variation of a book, for example, an ebook, a paperback, and a hardcover edition of the same book would each have a different ISBN. The ISBN is 13 digits long if assigned on or after 1 January 2007, a 13-digit ISBN can be separated into its parts, and when this is done it is customary to separate the parts with hyphens or spaces. Separating the parts of a 10-digit ISBN is also done with either hyphens or spaces, figuring out how to correctly separate a given ISBN number is complicated, because most of the parts do not use a fixed number of digits. ISBN issuance is country-specific, in that ISBNs are issued by the ISBN registration agency that is responsible for country or territory regardless of the publication language. Some ISBN registration agencies are based in national libraries or within ministries of culture, in other cases, the ISBN registration service is provided by organisations such as bibliographic data providers that are not government funded. In Canada, ISBNs are issued at no cost with the purpose of encouraging Canadian culture. In the United Kingdom, United States, and some countries, where the service is provided by non-government-funded organisations. Australia, ISBNs are issued by the library services agency Thorpe-Bowker
38.
Currency
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A currency in the most specific use of the word refers to money in any form when in actual use or circulation as a medium of exchange, especially circulating banknotes and coins. A more general definition is that a currency is a system of money in common use, under this definition, US dollars, British pounds, Australian dollars, and European euros are examples of currency. These various currencies are recognized stores of value and are traded between nations in exchange markets, which determine the relative values of the different currencies. Currencies in this sense are defined by governments, and each type has limited boundaries of acceptance, other definitions of the term currency are discussed in their respective synonymous articles banknote, coin, and money. The latter definition, pertaining to the systems of nations, is the topic of this article. Currencies can be classified into two systems, fiat money and commodity money, depending on what guarantees the value. Some currencies are legal tender in certain jurisdictions, which means they cannot be refused as payment for debt. Others are simply traded for their economic value, digital currency has arisen with the popularity of computers and the Internet. Currency evolved from two basic innovations, both of which had occurred by 2000 BC, originally money was a form of receipt, representing grain stored in temple granaries in Sumer in ancient Mesopotamia, then Ancient Egypt. In this first stage of currency, metals were used as symbols to represent value stored in the form of commodities and this formed the basis of trade in the Fertile Crescent for over 1500 years. Trade could only reach as far as the credibility of that military and it is not known what was used as a currency for these exchanges, but it is thought that ox-hide shaped ingots of copper, produced in Cyprus, may have functioned as a currency. It is thought that the increase in piracy and raiding associated with the Bronze Age collapse, possibly produced by the Peoples of the Sea, brought the trading system of oxhide ingots to an end. In Africa, many forms of value store have been used, including beads, ingots, ivory, various forms of weapons, livestock, the manilla currency, the manilla rings of West Africa were one of the currencies used from the 15th century onwards to sell slaves. African currency is still notable for its variety, and in many various forms of barter still apply. These factors led to the metal itself being the store of value, first silver, now we have copper coins and other non-precious metals as coins. Metals were mined, weighed, and stamped into coins and this was to assure the individual taking the coin that he was getting a certain known weight of precious metal. Coins could be counterfeited, but they created a new unit of account. Most major economies using coinage had several tiers of coins, using a mix of copper, silver, gold coins were used for large purchases, payment of the military and backing of state activities, they were more often used as measures of account than physical coins
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