1.
United States dollar
–
The United States dollar is the official currency of the United States and its insular territories per the United States Constitution. It is divided into 100 smaller cent units, the circulating paper money consists of Federal Reserve Notes that are denominated in United States dollars. The U. S. dollar was originally commodity money of silver as enacted by the Coinage Act of 1792 which determined the dollar to be 371 4/16 grain pure or 416 grain standard silver, the currency most used in international transactions, it is the worlds primary reserve currency. Several countries use it as their currency, and in many others it is the de facto currency. Besides the United States, it is used as the sole currency in two British Overseas Territories in the Caribbean, the British Virgin Islands and Turks and Caicos Islands. A few countries use the Federal Reserve Notes for paper money, while the country mints its own coins, or also accepts U. S. coins that can be used as payment in U. S. dollars. After Nixon shock of 1971, USD became fiat currency, Article I, Section 8 of the U. S. Constitution provides that the Congress has the power To coin money, laws implementing this power are currently codified at 31 U. S. C. Section 5112 prescribes the forms in which the United States dollars should be issued and these coins are both designated in Section 5112 as legal tender in payment of debts. The Sacagawea dollar is one example of the copper alloy dollar, the pure silver dollar is known as the American Silver Eagle. Section 5112 also provides for the minting and issuance of other coins and these other coins are more fully described in Coins of the United States dollar. The Constitution provides that a regular Statement and Account of the Receipts and that provision of the Constitution is made specific by Section 331 of Title 31 of the United States Code. The sums of money reported in the Statements are currently being expressed in U. S. dollars, the U. S. dollar may therefore be described as the unit of account of the United States. The word dollar is one of the words in the first paragraph of Section 9 of Article I of the Constitution, there, dollars is a reference to the Spanish milled dollar, a coin that had a monetary value of 8 Spanish units of currency, or reales. In 1792 the U. S. Congress passed a Coinage Act, Section 20 of the act provided, That the money of account of the United States shall be expressed in dollars, or units. And that all accounts in the offices and all proceedings in the courts of the United States shall be kept and had in conformity to this regulation. In other words, this act designated the United States dollar as the unit of currency of the United States, unlike the Spanish milled dollar the U. S. dollar is based upon a decimal system of values. Both one-dollar coins and notes are produced today, although the form is significantly more common
United States dollar
–
Series of 1917
$1 United States bill
United States dollar
–
Federal Reserve Notes
United States dollar
–
Spanish silver real or
peso of 1768
United States dollar
–
Obverse of rare 1934 $500 Federal Reserve Note, featuring a portrait of President
William McKinley.
2.
Richard Toll
–
Richard Toll is a town in northern Senegal, lying on the south bank of the River Senegal, just east of Rosso. Originally a colonial town, it was named for the park of the Chateau de Baron Roger, a rice growing scheme was originally initiated by Frances colonial development organisation, FIDES, in 1949 with an initial cultivated area of 6,000 hectares. The towns main industry is sugar, marie Laforêt has a song about Richard Toll. Before Colonization there were two villages Ndiangué, and Xhouma, which were inhabited by the Mbodi people descendants of Brack. In 1817 the governor under colonial rule Schmaltz created L’Escale community on the Senegal River, in 1822, the new governor the Baron Roger sent a botanist and pépiniériste named Michelle Claude Richard to work in L’Escale and named it Richard’s Toll, meaning Richards Farm in local language. At this time there were 28 residents, and 1148 nomadic workers living in Toll, the size of toll then grew greatly in 1945 with the creation of the Mission Agricole du Senegal, which also brought other institutions such as a hospital, and chapel, and a school. By 1980 Richard Toll had six quartiers, Escale, Ndaingué, Ndiaw, Khouma Wolof, Khouma Peul, since then the city has grown and evolved into what it is today with the addition of quartiers such as Campement, Thiaback, GAE2, and Taouey. The latest estimate of the available at the mayors office with was from 2005 which was at 46,547. Women constituted 52. 01% of the population, and men 47. 99%, there are two markets in Toll, the Richard Toll market, and the Xhouma Market. The Richard Toll market is a larger than the Xhouma market. It is located in the part of the city, and encompasses about 3 square city blocks although it is hard to tell where the market ends. I would estimate that there are over 50 established stores, the Xhouma market is located on the eastern side of town in a primarily Pulaar area. It is located off the road, as opposed to the Richard Toll market which is in more of a city grid. The main economic activities in Richard Toll are agriculture, fishing, animal husbandry, less popular economic activities are transportation, tourism, and artisanal goods. Richard Toll is most known for its refinery, which is French owned
Richard Toll
–
Richard Toll
Richard Toll
–
The Chateau de Baron Roger.
3.
Touba, Senegal
–
Touba is a city in central Senegal, part of Diourbel Region and Mbacké district. With a population of 529,176 in 2010, it is the second most populated Senegalese city after Dakar and it is the holy city of Mouridism and the burial place of its founder, Shaikh Aamadu Bàmba Mbàkke. Next to his tomb lies a mosque, completed in 1963. Shaikh Aamadu Bàmba Mbàkke, commonly known as Cheikh Amadou Bamba, is said to have founded Touba under a tree when, in a moment of transcendence. In Arabic, ṭūbā means felicity or bliss and evokes the sweet pleasures of life in the hereafter. In Islamic tradition, Ṭūbā is also the name of the tree of Paradise, in Sufism, this symbolic tree represents an aspiration for spiritual perfection and closeness to God. Aamadu Bàmba founded Touba in 1887, the holy site remained a tiny, isolated place in the wilderness until his death and burial at the site of the Great Mosque,40 years later. Along with the town of Mbacké, the Mouride conurbation is Senegals second largest urban area. Located in central Senegal, Touba forms an agglomeration with the contiguous city of Mbacké. Köppen-Geiger climate classification system classifies its climate as wet and dry or hot semi-arid. Touba is the city of Mouridism. The city of Touba played a role in both these endeavors. Life in Touba is dominated by Muslim practice and Islamic scholarship, a major annual pilgrimage, called the Grand Magal, attracts between one and two million people from all over Senegal and beyond, from as far away as Europe and America. Other, minor pilgrimages occur throughout the year, for Mourides, Touba is a sacred place. Forbidden in the city are all illicit and frivolous pursuits, such as the consumption of alcohol and tobacco. The Mouride order maintains absolute control over its capital to the exclusion of usual state-run civil, the city constitutes an administratively autonomous zone with special legal status within Senegal. At the heart of the Mouride holy city lies its Great Mosque, since its completion in 1963 it has been continuously enlarged and embellished. The mosque has five minarets and three domes and is the place where Amadou Bamba, founder of the Mouride brotherhood
Touba, Senegal
–
The Great
Mosque at Touba
4.
Mouride
–
The Mouride brotherhood is a large tariqa most prominent in Senegal and the Gambia with headquarters in the city of Touba, Senegal, which is a holy city for the order. Adherents are called Mourides, from the Arabic word murīd, a term used generally in Sufism to designate a disciple of a spiritual guide. The beliefs, the Mouride make up around 40 percent of the total population in Senegal. Their influence over everyday life can be seen throughout Senegal, the Mouride brotherhood was founded in 1883 in Senegal by Shaykh Aḥmadu Bàmba Mbàkke, commonly known as Amadou Bamba. In Arabic, he is known as Aḥmad ibn Muhammad ibn Habīb Allāh or by the nickname Khadīmu r-Rasūl, in Wolof he is called Sëriñ Tuubaa. He was born in the village of Mbacké in Baol, the son of a marabout from the Qadiriyya, Amadou Bamba was a Muslim mystic and ascetic marabout, a spiritual leader who wrote tracts on meditation, rituals, work, and tafsir. He is perhaps best known for his emphasis on work, although he did not support the French conquest of West Africa, he did not wage outright war on them, as several prominent Tijani marabouts had done. He taught, instead, what he called the jihād al-akbar or greater struggle, Bambas followers call him a mujaddid. Bambas fame spread through his followers, and people joined him to receive the salvation that he promised, salvation, he said, comes through submission to the marabout and hard work, a departure from conventional Islamic teaching. There is only one surviving photograph of Amadou Bamba, in which he wears a white robe. This picture is venerated and reproduced in paintings on walls, buses, taxis, at the time of the foundation of the Mouride brotherhood in 1883, the French were in control of Senegal as well as most of West and North Africa. Senegal enjoying small measures of self-rule in many areas, at the end of the 19th century, French colonial authorities began to worry about the growing power of the Mouride brotherhood and its potential to resist French colonialism. Bamba, who had converted various kings and their followers, could probably have raised an army against the French had he wanted, fearful of his power, the French sentenced Bamba to exile in Gabon and later Mauritania. However, Bambas exile fueled legends about his miraculous ability to survive torture, deprivation, and attempted executions, in addition, when the French put him in a furnace, he is said to have simply sat down and had tea with Muhammad. In a den of lions, it is said the lions slept beside him. By 1910, the French realized that Bamba was not waging war against them and was in fact quite cooperative, the Mouride doctrine of hard work served French economic interests, as addressed below. After World War I, the Mouride brotherhood was allowed to grow, Amadou Bamba was buried in 1927 at the great mosque in Touba, the holy city of Mouridism and the heart of the Mouride movement. After his death Bamba has been succeeded by his descendants as leaders of the brotherhood with absolute authority over the followers. The caliph of the Mouride brotherhood is known as the Grand Marabout and has his seat in Touba, the Grand Marabout is a direct descendant of Amadou Bamba himself and is considered the spiritual leader of all Mourides
Mouride
Mouride
–
Amadou Bamba.
Mouride
–
The
Great Mosque of Touba,
Senegal.
Mouride
–
Ibra Fall.
5.
Rock phosphate
–
Phosphorite, phosphate rock or rock phosphate is a non-detrital sedimentary rock which contains high amounts of phosphate minerals. The phosphate content of phosphorite varies strongly, from 4% to 20% phosphorus pentoxide, marketed phosphate rock is enriched to at least 28%, often more than 30% P2O5. This occurs through washing, screening, de-liming, magnetic separation or flotation, by comparison, the average phosphorus content of sedimentary rocks is less than 0. 2%. The phosphate is present as fluorapatite Ca53F typically in cryptocrystalline masses referred to as collophane-sedimentary apatite deposits of uncertain origin and it is also present as hydroxyapatite Ca53OH or Ca1062, which is often dissolved from vertebrate bones and teeth, whereas fluorapatite can originate from hydrothermal veins. Other sources also include chemically dissolved phosphate minerals from igneous and metamorphic rocks, phosphorite deposits often occur in extensive layers, which cumulatively cover tens of thousands of square kilometres of the Earths crust. Limestones and mudstones are common phosphate-bearing rocks, phosphate rich sedimentary rocks can occur in dark brown to black beds, ranging from centimeter sized laminae to beds that are several meters in thickness. Although these thick beds can exist they are only composed of phosphatic sedimentary rocks. Phosphatic sedimentary rocks are commonly accompanied by or interbedded with shales, cherts, limestone and these layers contain the same textures and structures as fine-grained limestones and may represent diagenetic replacements of carbonate minerals by phosphates. They also can be composed of peloids, ooids, fossils, there are some phosphorites that are very small and have no distinctive granular textures. This means that their textures are similar to that of collophane, Phosphatic grains may be accompanied by organic matter, clay minerals, silt sized detrital grains, and pyrite. Peloidal or pelletal phosphorites occur normally, whereas oolitic phosphorites are not common, phosphorites are known from Proterozoic banded iron formations in Australia, but are more common from Paleozoic and Cenozoic sediments. The Permian Phosphoria Formation of the western United States represents some 15 million years of sedimentation and it reaches a thickness of 420 metres and covers an area of 350,000 km2. Commercially mined phosphorites occur in France, Belgium, Spain, Morocco, in the United States phosphorites have been mined in Florida, Tennessee, Wyoming, Utah, Idaho and Kansas. Pristine, Phosphates that are in pristine conditions have not undergone bioturbation, in other words, the word pristine is used when phosphatic sediment, phosphatized stromatolites and phosphate hardgrounds have not been disturbed. Condensed, Phosphatic particles, laminae and beds are considered condensed when they have been concentrated and this is helped by the extracting and reworking processes of phosphatic particles or bioturbation. Allochthonous, Phosphatic particles that were moved by turbulent or gravity-driven flows, the heaviest accumulation of phosphorus is mainly on the ocean floor. Phosphorus accumulation occurs from atmospheric precipitation, dust, glacial runoff, cosmic activity, underground hydrothermal volcanic activity, however, the primary inflow of dissolved phosphorus is from continental weathering, brought out by rivers to the ocean. It is then processed by both micro- and macro-organisms, diatomaceous plankton, phytoplankton, and zooplankton process and dissolve phosphorus in the water
Rock phosphate
–
Guano mining in the Central Chinchua Islands.
Rock phosphate
–
Peloidal phosphorite,
Phosphoria Formation, Simplot Mine, Idaho. 4.6 cm wide.
Rock phosphate
–
Fossiliferous peloidal phosphorite, (4.7 cm across),
Yunnan Province, China.
Rock phosphate
–
Phosphorite mine near Oron, Negev, Israel.
6.
Surface mining
–
Surface mining, including strip mining, open-pit mining and mountaintop removal mining, is a broad category of mining in which soil and rock overlying the mineral deposit are removed. In contrast to mining, in which the overlying rock is left in place. Surface mining began in the century and is practiced throughout the world. It gained popularity throughout the 20th century, and surface mines now produce most of the coal mined in the United States, in most forms of surface mining, heavy equipment, such as earthmovers, first remove the overburden. Next, huge machines, such as dragline excavators or Bucket wheel excavators, there are five main forms of surface mining, detailed below. Strip mining is the practice of mining a seam of mineral, by first removing a strip of overlying soil. It is most commonly used to mine coal and lignite, strip mining is only practical when the ore body to be excavated is relatively near the surface. This type of mining uses some of the largest machines on earth, there are two forms of strip mining. The more common method is area stripping, which is used on flat terrain. As each long strip is excavated, the overburden is placed in the produced by the previous strip. Contour stripping involves removing the overburden above the seam near the outcrop in hilly terrain. Contour stripping is often followed by auger mining into the hillside and this method commonly leaves behind terraces in mountainsides. Open-pit mining refers to a method of extracting rock or minerals from the earth through their removal from a pit or borrow. Although open-pit mining is sometimes referred to as strip mining. Mountaintop removal mining is a form of mining that mines coal seams beneath mountaintops by first removing the mountaintop overlying the coal seam. Explosives are used to break up the layers above the seam. Excess mining waste or overburden is dumped by large trucks into fills in nearby hollow or valley fills, MTR involves the mass restructuring of earth in order to reach the coal seam as deep as 400 feet below the surface. Mountaintop removal replaces the original steep landscape with a flatter topography
Surface mining
–
Coal strip mine in
Wyoming
Surface mining
–
The
Bagger 288 is a
bucket-wheel excavator used in strip mining.
Surface mining
–
Strip mining at
Garzweiler,
Germany. The
lignite being extracted is at left, the removed overburden being placed at right. Note that it is a largely flat mine for a horizontal mineral.
Surface mining
–
The
El Chino mine located near
Silver City, New Mexico is an open-pit copper mine.
7.
Commercial fishing
–
Commercial fishing is the activity of catching fish and other seafood for commercial profit, mostly from wild fisheries. It provides a large quantity of food to many countries around the earth, large-scale commercial fishing is also known as industrial fishing. This profession has gained in popularity with the development of such as Deadliest Catch, Swords. The major fishing industries are not only owned by major corporations, the industry has had to adapt through the years in order to keep earning a profit. A study taken on some small family-owned commercial fishing companies showed that they adapted to continue to earn a living but not necessarily make a large profit. Commercial fishermen harvest a variety of animals, ranging from tuna, cod, carp, and salmon to shrimp, krill, lobster, clams, squid. There are large and important fisheries worldwide for species of fish, mollusks, crustaceans. However, a small number of species support the majority of the worlds fisheries. Some of these species are herring, cod, anchovy, tuna, flounder, mullet, squid, shrimp, salmon, crab, lobster, oyster and scallops. All except these last four provided a catch of well over a million tonnes in 1999, with herring. Many other species are fished in smaller numbers, commercial fishing may offer an abundance of jobs, but the pay varies from boat to boat, season to season. That may be true, but there are also the boats who dont do well, a 2009 paper in Science estimates, for the first time, the total world fish biomass as somewhere between 0.8 and 2.0 billion tonnes. Sustainability of fisheries is improved by using equipment that eliminates or minimizes catching non-targeted species. Fishing methods vary according to the region, the species being fished for, a commercial fishing enterprise may vary from one man with a small boat with hand-casting nets or a few pot traps, to a huge fleet of trawlers processing tons of fish every day. Billions of dollars are spent each year in researching/developing new techniques to reduce the injury, in fact, there was a study taken in 2000 on different deterrents and how effective they are at deterring the target species. The study showed that most auditory deterrents helped prevent whales from being caught while more physical barriers helped prevent birds from getting tangled within the net. During 2000–2006, commercial fishing was one of the most dangerous occupations in the United States, falling overboard specifically killed 182 fishermen in the period between 2000 and 2010. This fatality rate is 3 times that of the next most dangerous job in the U. S. also, between the years of 1919 and 2005,4111 fishermen died in fishing related accidents in the United Kingdom industry alone
Commercial fishing
–
Commercial
crab fishing
Commercial fishing
–
Seabirds with longline
fishing vessel
Commercial fishing
–
Trawl fishermen wearing personal flotation devices
Commercial fishing
–
Wild
8.
Peanut
–
The peanut, also known as the groundnut and the goober and taxonomically classified as Arachis hypogaea, is a legume crop grown mainly for its edible seeds. It is widely grown in the tropics and subtropics, being important to small and large commercial producers. It is classified as both a grain legume and, because of its oil content, an oil crop. World annual production of shelled peanuts was 42 million tonnes in 2014, atypically among crop plants, peanut pods develop underground rather than aboveground. It is this characteristic that the botanist Linnaeus used to assign the specific name hypogaea, as a legume, the peanut belongs to the botanical family Fabaceae, this is also known as Leguminosae, and commonly known as the bean, or pea, family. Like most other legumes, peanuts harbor symbiotic nitrogen-fixing bacteria in root nodules and this capacity to fix nitrogen means peanuts require less nitrogen-containing fertilizer and improve soil fertility, making them valuable in crop rotations. Peanuts are similar in taste and nutritional profile to tree nuts such as walnuts and almonds, the botanical definition of a nut is a fruit whose ovary wall becomes very hard at maturity. Using this criterion, the peanut is not a true nut, however, for culinary purposes and in common English language usage, peanuts are usually referred to as nuts. Cultivated peanut arose from a hybrid between two species of peanut, thought to be A. duranensis and A. ipaensis. The initial hybrid would have been sterile, but spontaneous chromosome doubling restored its fertility, the process of domestication through artificial selection made A. hypogaea dramatically different from its wild relatives. The domesticated plants are bushier and more compact, and have a different pod structure, the initial domestication may have taken place in northwestern Argentina, or in southeastern Bolivia, where the peanut landraces with the most wild-like features are grown today. From this primary center of origin, cultivation spread and formed secondary and tertiary centers of diversity in Peru, Ecuador, Brazil, Paraguay, over time, thousands of peanut landraces evolved, these are classified into six botanical varieties and two subspecies. Subspecies A. h. fastigiata types are more upright in their habit and have shorter crop cycles. Subspecies A. h. hypogaea types spread more on the ground and have longer crop cycles, the oldest known archeological remains of pods have been dated at about 7,600 years old. These may be pods from a species that was in cultivation. They were found in Peru, where dry conditions are favorable to the preservation of organic material. Almost certainly, peanut cultivation antedated this at the center of origin where the climate is moister, many pre-Columbian cultures, such as the Moche, depicted peanuts in their art. Cultivation was well established in Mesoamerica before the Spanish arrived, there, the conquistadors found the tlalcacahuatl being offered for sale in the marketplace of Tenochtitlan
Peanut
–
Peanut
Peanut
–
Opened peanut
Peanut
–
Peanut pegs growing into the soil. The tip of the peg, once buried, swells and develops into a peanut fruit.
Peanut
–
Cultivation of peanut crop at
Directorate of Groundnut Research,
Junagadh region of Western
India
9.
Tourist industry
–
Tourism is travel for pleasure or business, also the theory and practice of touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tours. Tourism may be international, or within the travellers country, Tourism can be domestic or international, and international tourism has both incoming and outgoing implications on a countrys balance of payments. Today, tourism is a source of income for many countries. International tourism receipts grew to US$1.03 trillion in 2011, the ITB Berlin is the worlds leading tourism trade fair. The word tourist was used by 1772 and tourism by 1811. It is formed from the tour, which is derived from Old English turian, from Old French torner, from Latin tornare, to turn on a lathe. Tourism is an important, even vital, source of income for many regions and it also creates opportunities for employment in the service sector of the economy associated with tourism. This is in addition to goods bought by tourists, including souvenirs, in 1936, the League of Nations defined a foreign tourist as someone traveling abroad for at least twenty-four hours. Its successor, the United Nations, amended this definition in 1945 and it includes movements for all purposes. In 1981, the International Association of Scientific Experts in Tourism defined tourism in terms of particular activities chosen and undertaken outside the home, in this context, travel has a similar definition to tourism, but implies a more purposeful journey. The terms tourism and tourist are sometimes used pejoratively, to imply a shallow interest in the cultures or locations visited, by contrast, traveler is often used as a sign of distinction. The sociology of tourism has studied the values underpinning these distinctions. International tourist arrivals reached 1.035 billion in 2012, up from over 996 million in 2011, the World Tourism Organization reports the following ten destinations as the most visited in terms of the number of international travellers in 2016. International tourism receipts grew to US$1.2 trillion in 2014, based upon air traffic, the MasterCard Global Destination Cities Index reports the following cities as the top ten most popular destinations of international tourism worldwide. MasterCard reports the following cities as the top ten biggest earners on international tourism worldwide in 2015, as early as Shulgi, however, kings praised themselves for protecting roads and building waystations for travelers. During the Roman Republic, spas and coastal resorts such as Baiae were popular among the rich, pausanias wrote his Description of Greece in the 2nd century AD. In ancient China, nobles sometimes made a point of visiting Mount Tai and, on occasion, the Islamic hajj is still central to its faith and Chaucers Canterbury Tales and Wu Chengens Journey to the West remain classics of English and Chinese literature. The 10th- to 13th-century Song dynasty also saw secular travel writers such as Su Shi, under the Ming, Xu Xiake continued the practice
Tourist industry
–
A tourist taking photographs and video at archaeological site
Tourist industry
–
Backpacking tourists in Vienna
Tourist industry
–
1922 postcard of tourists in the
High Tatras,
Slovakia.
Tourist industry
–
Strandkorb chairs on
Usedom Island, Germany. Not only the service sector grows thanks to tourism, but also local
manufacturers (like those producing the strandkorb),
retailers, the
real estate sector and the general
image of a location can benefit a lot.
10.
Agriculture
–
Agriculture is the cultivation and breeding of animals, plants and fungi for food, fiber, biofuel, medicinal plants and other products used to sustain and enhance human life. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of human civilization. The study of agriculture is known as agricultural science, the history of agriculture dates back thousands of years, and its development has been driven and defined by greatly different climates, cultures, and technologies. Industrial agriculture based on large-scale monoculture farming has become the dominant agricultural methodology, genetically modified organisms are an increasing component of agriculture, although they are banned in several countries. Agricultural food production and water management are increasingly becoming global issues that are fostering debate on a number of fronts, the major agricultural products can be broadly grouped into foods, fibers, fuels, and raw materials. Specific foods include cereals, vegetables, fruits, oils, meats, fibers include cotton, wool, hemp, silk and flax. Raw materials include lumber and bamboo, other useful materials are also produced by plants, such as resins, dyes, drugs, perfumes, biofuels and ornamental products such as cut flowers and nursery plants. The word agriculture is a late Middle English adaptation of Latin agricultūra, from ager, field, Agriculture usually refers to human activities, although it is also observed in certain species of ant, termite and ambrosia beetle. To practice agriculture means to use resources to produce commodities which maintain life, including food, fiber, forest products, horticultural crops. This definition includes arable farming or agronomy, and horticulture, all terms for the growing of plants, even then, it is acknowledged that there is a large amount of knowledge transfer and overlap between silviculture and agriculture. In traditional farming, the two are often combined even on small landholdings, leading to the term agroforestry, Agriculture began independently in different parts of the globe, and included a diverse range of taxa. At least 11 separate regions of the Old and New World were involved as independent centers of origin, wild grains were collected and eaten from at least 105,000 years ago. Pigs were domesticated in Mesopotamia around 15,000 years ago, rice was domesticated in China between 13,500 and 8,200 years ago, followed by mung, soy and azuki beans. Sheep were domesticated in Mesopotamia between 13,000 and 11,000 years ago. From around 11,500 years ago, the eight Neolithic founder crops, emmer and einkorn wheat, hulled barley, peas, lentils, bitter vetch, chick peas and flax were cultivated in the Levant. Cattle were domesticated from the aurochs in the areas of modern Turkey. In the Andes of South America, the potato was domesticated between 10,000 and 7,000 years ago, along with beans, coca, llamas, alpacas, sugarcane and some root vegetables were domesticated in New Guinea around 9,000 years ago. Sorghum was domesticated in the Sahel region of Africa by 7,000 years ago, cotton was domesticated in Peru by 5,600 years ago, and was independently domesticated in Eurasia at an unknown time
Agriculture
–
Agriculture
Agriculture
–
Fields in
Záhorie (
Slovakia) - a typical Central European agricultural region.
Agriculture
–
Domestic sheep and a
cow (heifer) pastured together in
South Africa.
Agriculture
–
A
Sumerian harvester's sickle made from baked clay (ca. 3000 BC).
11.
Senegal
–
Senegal, officially the Republic of Senegal, is a country in West Africa. Senegal is bordered by Mauritania in the north, Mali to the east, Guinea to the southeast, and Guinea-Bissau to the southwest. Senegal also borders The Gambia, a country occupying a narrow sliver of land along the banks of the Gambia River, Senegal also shares a maritime border with Cape Verde. Senegals economic and political capital is Dakar and it is the westernmost country in the mainland of the Old World, or Afro-Eurasia, and owes its name to the Senegal River, which borders it to the east and north. The name Senegal comes from the Wolof Sunuu Gaal, which means Our Boat, Senegal covers a land area of almost 197,000 square kilometres and has an estimated population of about 15 million. The climate is Sahelian, but there is a rainy season, the territory of modern Senegal has been inhabited by various ethnic groups since prehistory. Organized kingdoms emerged around the century, and parts of the country were ruled by prominent regional empires such as the Jolof Empire. The present state of Senegal has its roots in European colonialism, which began during the mid-15th century, the establishment of coastal trading posts gradually led to control of the mainland, culminating in French rule of the area by the 19th century, albeit amid much local resistance. Senegal peacefully attained independence from France in 1960, and has since been among the politically stable countries in Africa. Senegals economy is centered mostly on commodities and natural resources, major industries are fish processing, phosphate mining, fertilizer production, petroleum refining, construction materials, and ship construction and repair. As in most African nations, agriculture is a sector, with Senegal producing several important cash crops, including peanuts, sugarcane, cotton, green beans, tomatoes, melons. Owing to its stability, tourism and hospitality are also burgeoning sectors. A multiethnic and secular nation, Senegal is predominantly Sunni Muslim with Sufi, French is the official language, although many native languages are spoken and recognized. Since April 2012 Senegals president has been Macky Sall, Senegal has been a member of the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie since 1970. Senegal is named after the Senegal River, the etymology of which is contested, one popular theory is that it stems from the Wolof phrase sunu gaal, which means our canoe, resulting from a miscommunication between 15th-century Portuguese sailors and Wolof fishermen. The our canoe theory has been embraced in modern Senegal for its charm. It is frequently used in appeals to national solidarity, frequently heard in the media, modern historians believe the name probably refers to the Sanhaja, Berbers who lived on the northern side of the river. A competing theory is that it derives from the town of Sanghana
Senegal
–
Slave traders in
Gorée, 18th century.
Senegal
–
Flag
Senegal
–
Colonial
Saint Louis c. 1900. Europeans and Africans on the Rue Lebon.
Senegal
–
Macky Sall, current president of Senegal (2012 until now)
12.
Commodity market
–
A commodity market is a market that trades in primary economic sector rather than manufactured products. Soft commodities are products such as wheat, coffee, cocoa. Hard commodities are mined, such as gold and oil, Investors access about 50 major commodity markets worldwide with purely financial transactions increasingly outnumbering physical trades in which goods are delivered. Futures contracts are the oldest way of investing in commodities, Futures are secured by physical assets. Commodity markets can include physical trading and derivatives trading using spot prices, forwards, futures, farmers have used a simple form of derivative trading in the commodity market for centuries for price risk management. A financial derivative is an instrument whose value is derived from a commodity termed an underlier. Derivatives are either exchange-traded or over-the-counter, derivatives such as futures contracts, Swaps, Exchange-traded Commodities, forward contracts have become the primary trading instruments in commodity markets. Futures are traded on regulated commodities exchanges, Over-the-counter contracts are privately negotiated bilateral contracts entered into between the contracting parties directly. Exchange-traded funds began to feature commodities in 2003, Gold ETFs are based on electronic gold that does not entail the ownership of physical bullion, with its added costs of insurance and storage in repositories such as the London bullion market. According to the World Gold Council, ETFs allow investors to be exposed to the market without the risk of price volatility associated with gold as a physical commodity. Commodity-based money and commodity markets in an early form are believed to have originated in Sumer between 4500 BC and 4000 BC. Sumerians first used clay tokens sealed in a vessel, then clay writing tablets to represent the amount—for example. These promises of time and date of delivery resemble futures contract, early civilizations variously used pigs, rare seashells, or other items as commodity money. Since that time traders have sought ways to simplify and standardize trade contracts, Gold and silver markets evolved in classical civilizations. At first the precious metals were valued for their beauty and intrinsic worth and were associated with royalty, in time, they were used for trading and were exchanged for other goods and commodities, or for payments of labor. Gold, measured out, then became money, golds scarcity, unique density and the way it could be easily melted, shaped, and measured made it a natural trading asset. Beginning in the late 10th century, commodity markets grew as a mechanism for allocating goods, labor, land, indeed, the Amsterdam Stock Exchange, often cited as the first stock exchange, originated as a market for the exchange of commodities. Early trading on the Amsterdam Stock Exchange often involved the use of sophisticated contracts, including short sales, forward contracts
Commodity market
–
Financial markets
Commodity market
–
Chicago Board of Trade Futures market
13.
French West Africa
–
French West Africa was a federation of eight French colonial territories in Africa, Mauritania, Senegal, French Sudan, French Guinea, Ivory Coast, Upper Volta, Dahomey and Niger. The capital of the federation was Dakar, the federation existed from 1895 until 1960. Until after the Second World War almost all the Africans living in the colonies of France were not citizens of France, rather, they were French Subjects, lacking rights before the law, property ownership rights, rights to travel, dissent, or vote. Anyone able to prove they were born in these towns was legally French and they could vote in parliamentary elections, which had been previously dominated by white and Métis residents of Senegal. The Four Communes of Senegal were entitled to elect a Deputy to represent them in the French Parliament in the years 1848–1852, 1871–1876, in 1914, the first African, Blaise Diagne, was elected as the Deputy for Senegal in the French Parliament. In 1916, Diagne pushed through the National Assembly a law granting citizenship to all residents of the so-called Four Communes. In return, he had promised to help millions of Africans to fight in World War I. Thereafter, all black Africans of Dakar, Gorée, Saint-Louis and these conquered areas were usually governed by French Army officers, and dubbed Military Territories. The first Governor General of Senegal was named in 1895, and in 1904, Gabon would later become the seat of its own federation French Equatorial Africa, which was to border its western neighbor on the modern boundary between Niger and Chad. While the latter fell to Free France already after the Battle of Gabon in November 1940, following World War II, the French government began a process of extending limited political rights in its colonies. In 1945 the French Provisional Government allocated ten seats to French West Africa in the new Constituent Assembly called to write a new French Constitution, of these five would be elected by citizens and five by African subjects. The elections brought to prominence a new generation of French-educated Africans and they were all re-elected to the 2nd Constituent Assembly on 2 June 1946. In 1946, the Loi Lamine Guèye granted some limited rights to natives of the African colonies. The French Empire was renamed the French Union on 27 October 1946, in late 1946 under this new constitution each territory was for the first time able elect local representatives, albeit on a limited franchise, to newly established General Councils. These elected bodies had only limited powers, although they did approve local budgets. The Loi Cadre of 23 June 1956 brought universal suffrage to elections held after that date in all French African colonies, the first elections under universal suffrage in French West Africa were the municipal elections of late 1956. On 31 March 1957, under universal suffrage, territorial Assembly elections were held in each of the eight colonies, the leaders of the winning parties were appointed to the newly instituted positions of Vice-Presidents of the respective Governing Councils — French Colonial Governors remained as Presidents. The Constitution of the French Fifth Republic of 1958 again changed the structure of the colonies from the French Union to the French Community, each territory was to become a Protectorate, with the consultative assembly named a National Assembly
French West Africa
–
Afrique occidentale française Commercial Relations Report, showing the profile of a
Fula woman. January–March 1938.
French West Africa
–
Flag
French West Africa
–
Map of the seven colonies of the AOF 1936. Note that the eighth colony,
French Upper Volta was in this period parceled between its neighbors. French Sudan also contains a large portion of what is today the eastern half of Mauritania.
French West Africa
–
The former Governor's palace on
Gorée Island, Dakar, Senegal
14.
West African CFA franc
–
The West African CFA franc is the currency of eight independent states in West Africa, Benin, Burkina Faso, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Mali, Niger, Senegal and Togo. These eight countries have a population of 105.7 million people. The acronym CFA stands for Communauté Financière dAfrique or Communauté Financière Africaine, the currency is issued by the BCEAO, located in Dakar, Senegal, for the members of the UEMOA. The franc is nominally subdivided into 100 centimes but no centime denominations have been issued, the Central African CFA franc is of equal value to the West African CFA franc, and is in circulation in several central African states. They are both the CFA franc, the CFA franc was introduced to the French colonies in West Africa in 1945, replacing the French West African franc. The West African colonies and territories using the CFA franc were Ivory Coast, Dahomey, French Sudan, Mauritania, Niger, Sénégal, Togo and Upper Volta. The currency continued in use when these colonies gained their independence, except in Mali, in 1973, Mauritania replaced the CFA franc with the ouguiya at a rate of 1 ouguiya =5 francs. Mali readopted the CFA franc in 1984, at a rate of 1 CFA franc =2 Malian francs, the former Portuguese colony of Guinea-Bissau adopted the CFA franc in 1997, replacing the Guinea Bissau peso at a rate of 1 CFA franc =65 pesos. In 1948, aluminium 1- and 2-franc coins were introduced and these were followed in 1956 by aluminium-bronze 5,10 and 25 francs. All carried the name Afrique Occidentale Française, in 1957, 10- and 25-franc coins were issued with the name of Togo added. From 1959, coins have been issued by the BCEAO, nickel 100-franc coins were introduced in 1967, followed by the cupro-nickel 50-franc coins in 1972. Small, steel 1-franc coins were introduced in 1976, followed by bimetallic 250 francs in 1992, in 2003, bimetallic 200- and 500-franc coins were introduced. When the CFA franc was introduced, notes issued by the Banque Centrale des États de lAfrique Occidentale in denominations of 5,10,25,50,100 and 1000 francs were in circulation. 500-franc notes were added in 1946, followed by those of 5,000 francs in 1948, in 1955, the Institut dEmission de lA. O. F. Et du Togo took over the production of money, issuing notes for 50,100,500 and 1000 francs. In 1959, the BCEAO took over the issuance of money and reintroduced a 5. With the exception of a few issues, the notes of the BCEAO carry a letter to indicate the country of issuance. 50-franc notes were last issued in 1959, with 100 francs not issued since 1965, the newer notes contain updated security features and are more modern in design
West African CFA franc
–
Current coins of the West African CFA franc.
15.
World Trade Organization
–
The World Trade Organization is an intergovernmental organization which regulates international trade. The WTO officially commenced on 1 January 1995 under the Marrakesh Agreement, signed by 123 nations on 15 April 1994, replacing the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, most of the issues that the WTO focuses on derive from previous trade negotiations, especially from the Uruguay Round. The WTO is attempting to complete negotiations on the Doha Development Round, as of June 2012, the future of the Doha Round remained uncertain, the work programme lists 21 subjects in which the original deadline of 1 January 2005 was missed, and the round is still incomplete. This impasse has made it impossible to launch new WTO negotiations beyond the Doha Development Round, as a result, there have been an increasing number of bilateral free trade agreements between governments. As of July 2012, there were various groups in the WTO system for the current agricultural trade negotiation which is in the condition of stalemate. The WTOs current Director-General is Roberto Azevêdo, who leads a staff of over 600 people in Geneva, a trade facilitation agreement, part of the Bali Package of decisions, was agreed by all members on 7 December 2013, the first comprehensive agreement in the organizations history. Seven rounds of negotiations occurred under GATT, the first real GATT trade rounds concentrated on further reducing tariffs. Then, the Kennedy Round in the mid-sixties brought about a GATT anti-dumping Agreement, because these plurilateral agreements were not accepted by the full GATT membership, they were often informally called codes. Several of these codes were amended in the Uruguay Round, only four remained plurilateral, but in 1997 WTO members agreed to terminate the bovine meat and dairy agreements, leaving only two. Well before GATTs 40th anniversary, its members concluded that the GATT system was straining to adapt to a new globalizing world economy. In response to the problems identified in the 1982 Ministerial Declaration, the GATT still exists as the WTOs umbrella treaty for trade in goods, updated as a result of the Uruguay Round negotiations. GATT1994 is not however the only legally binding agreement included via the Final Act at Marrakesh, the highest decision-making body of the WTO is the Ministerial Conference, which usually meets every two years. It brings together all members of the WTO, all of which are countries or customs unions, the Ministerial Conference can take decisions on all matters under any of the multilateral trade agreements. When agricultural export subsidies were agreed to be phased out and adoption of the European Unions Everything, the WTO launched the current round of negotiations, the Doha Development Round, at the fourth ministerial conference in Doha, Qatar in November 2001. This was to be an effort to make globalization more inclusive and help the worlds poor, particularly by slashing barriers. The initial agenda comprised both further trade liberalization and new rule-making, underpinned by commitments to strengthen substantial assistance to developing countries. Among the various functions of the WTO, these are regarded by analysts as the most important and it provides a forum for negotiations and for settling disputes. Another priority of the WTO is the assistance of developing, least-developed and low-income countries in transition to adjust to WTO rules and disciplines through technical cooperation and training
World Trade Organization
–
The economists
Harry White (left) and
John Maynard Keynes at the
Bretton Woods Conference. Both had been strong advocates of a central-controlled international trade environment and recommended the establishment of three institutions: the
IMF (for fiscal and monetary issues); the
World Bank (for financial and structural issues); and the
ITO (for international economic cooperation).
World Trade Organization
–
Members
World Trade Organization
–
During the
Doha Round, the
US government blamed
Brazil and
India for being inflexible and the EU for impeding agricultural imports. The then-
President of Brazil,
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (above right), responded to the criticisms by arguing that progress would only be achieved if the richest countries (especially the US and countries in the EU) made deeper cuts in
agricultural subsidies and further opened their markets for agricultural goods.
World Trade Organization
–
The
World Trade Organization Ministerial Conference of 1998, in the
Palace of Nations (
Geneva,
Switzerland).
16.
GDP per capita
–
The world sorted by their gross domestic product per capita at nominal values. Such fluctuations may change a countrys ranking from one year to the next, therefore, these figures should be used with caution. GDP per capita is often considered an indicator of a standard of living. Comparisons of national income are also made on the basis of purchasing power parity. PPP largely removes the exchange rate problem but not others, it does not reflect the value of output in international trade. On the whole, PPP per capita figures are more spread than nominal GDP per capita figures. Non-sovereign entities are included in the list because they appear in the sources and these economies are not ranked in the charts here, but are listed in sequence by GDP for comparison. All data are in current United States dollars
GDP per capita
–
> $129,696
17.
International Monetary Fund
–
The International Monetary Fund is an international organization headquartered in Washington, D. C. It now plays a role in the management of balance of payments difficulties. Countries contribute funds to a pool through a system from which countries experiencing balance of payments problems can borrow money. As of 2016, the fund had SDR477 billion, the rationale for this is that private international capital markets function imperfectly and many countries have limited access to financial markets. The IMF provides alternate sources of financing and this assistance was meant to prevent the spread of international economic crises. The IMF was also intended to help mend the pieces of the economy after the Great Depression. As well, to provide investments for economic growth and projects such as infrastructure. The IMFs role was altered by the floating exchange rates post-1971. It shifted to examining the economic policies of countries with IMF loan agreements to determine if a shortage of capital was due to economic fluctuations or economic policy, the IMF also researched what types of government policy would ensure economic recovery. Rather than maintaining a position of oversight of only exchange rates and their role became a lot more active because the IMF now manages economic policy rather than just exchange rates. In addition, the IMF negotiates conditions on lending and loans under their policy of conditionality, nonconcessional loans, which include interest rates, are provided mainly through Stand-By Arrangements, the Flexible Credit Line, the Precautionary and Liquidity Line, and the Extended Fund Facility. The IMF provides emergency assistance via the Rapid Financing Instrument to members facing urgent balance-of-payments needs, the IMF is mandated to oversee the international monetary and financial system and monitor the economic and financial policies of its member countries. This activity is known as surveillance and facilitates international cooperation, the responsibilities changed from those of guardian to those of overseer of members’ policies. In 1995 the International Monetary Fund began work on data dissemination standards with the view of guiding IMF member countries to disseminate their economic and financial data to the public. The executive board approved the SDDS and GDDS in 1996 and 1997 respectively, the system is aimed primarily at statisticians and aims to improve many aspects of statistical systems in a country. It is also part of the World Bank Millennium Development Goals, some countries initially used the GDDS, but later upgraded to SDDS. The IMF does require collateral from countries for loans but also requires the government seeking assistance to correct its macroeconomic imbalances in the form of policy reform, if the conditions are not met, the funds are withheld. The concept of conditionality was introduced in a 1952 Executive Board decision, conditionality is associated with economic theory as well as an enforcement mechanism for repayment
International Monetary Fund
–
IMF "Headquarters 1" in Washington, D.C.
International Monetary Fund
–
Coat of arms
International Monetary Fund
–
The Gold Room within the
Mount Washington Hotel where the
Bretton Woods Conference attendees signed the agreements creating the IMF and
World Bank
International Monetary Fund
–
First page of the Articles of Agreement of the International Monetary Fund, 1 March 1946. Finnish Ministry of Foreign Affairs archives
18.
World Bank
–
The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans to countries of the world for capital programs. It comprises two institutions, the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, and the International Development Association, the World Bank is a component of the World Bank Group, which is part of the United Nations system. The World Banks stated official goal is the reduction of poverty, the president of the World Bank is, traditionally, an American. The World Bank and the IMF are both based in Washington, D. C. and work closely with each other, although many countries were represented at the Bretton Woods Conference, the United States and United Kingdom were the most powerful in attendance and dominated the negotiations. Before 1974 the reconstruction and development loans provided by the World Bank were relatively small, the Banks staff were aware of the need to instill confidence in the bank. Fiscal conservatism ruled, and loan applications had to meet strict criteria, the first country to receive a World Bank loan was France. The Banks president at the time, John McCloy, chose France over two other applicants, Poland and Chile, the loan was for US$250 million, half the amount requested, and it came with strict conditions. France had to agree to produce a budget and give priority of debt repayment to the World Bank over other governments. World Bank staff closely monitored the use of the funds to ensure that the French government met the conditions. In addition, before the loan was approved, the United States State Department told the French government that its members associated with the Communist Party would first have to be removed, the French government complied with this diktat and removed the Communist coalition government - the so-called tripartisme. Within hours, the loan to France was approved, when the Marshall Plan went into effect in 1947, many European countries began receiving aid from other sources. Faced with this competition, the World Bank shifted its focus to non-European countries, in 1960, the International Development Association was formed, providing soft loans to developing countries. From 1974 to 1980 the bank concentrated on meeting the needs of people in the developing world. The size and number of loans to borrowers was greatly increased as loan targets expanded from infrastructure into social services and these changes can be attributed to Robert McNamara, who was appointed to the presidency in 1968 by Lyndon B. Johnson. McNamara implored bank treasurer Eugene Rotberg to seek out new sources of capital outside of the banks that had been the primary sources of funding. Rotberg used the bond market to increase the capital available to the bank. One consequence of the period of poverty alleviation lending was the rise of third world debt. From 1976 to 1980 developing world debt rose at an annual rate of 20%
World Bank
–
John Maynard Keynes (right) and
Harry Dexter White, the "founding fathers" of both the World Bank and the
International Monetary Fund (IMF).
World Bank
–
The Gold Room at the
Mount Washington Hotel where the IMF and World Bank were established
World Bank
–
The
World Bank Group headquarters bldg. in
Washington, D.C.
World Bank
–
Jim Yong Kim, the current President of the World Bank Group
19.
French franc
–
The franc, also commonly distinguished as the French franc, was a currency of France. Between 1450 and 1999, it was the name of coins worth 1 livre tournois and it was revalued in 1960, with each new franc being worth 100 old francs. The French franc was a commonly held reserve currency of reference in the 19th and 20th centuries. The first franc was a gold coin introduced in 1360 to pay the Ransom of King John II of France and this coin secured the kings freedom and showed him on a richly decorated horse earning it the name franc à cheval. The obverse legend, like other French coins, gives the title as Francorum Rex. Its value was set as one livre tournois, john’s son, Charles V, continued this type. It was copied exactly at Brabant and Cambrai and, with the arms on the horse cloth changed, conquests led by Joan of Arc allowed Charles VII to return to sound coinage and he revived the franc à cheval. John II, however, was not able to strike enough francs to pay his ransom, John II died as a prisoner in England and his son, Charles V was left to pick up the pieces. Charles V pursued a policy of reform, including stable coinage, an edict dated 20 April 1365 established the centerpiece of this policy, a gold coin officially called the denier d’or aux fleurs de lis which had a standing figure of the king on its obverse. Its value in money of account was one livre tournois, just like the franc à cheval, in accordance with the theories of the mathematician, economist and royal advisor Nicolas Oresme, Charles struck fewer coins of better gold than his predecessors. In the accompanying deflation both prices and wages fell, but wages fell faster and debtors had to settle up in better money than they had borrowed, the Mayor of Paris, Etienne Marcel, exploited their discontent to lead a revolt which forced Charles V out of the city. The States General which met at Blois in 1577 added to the pressure to stop currency manipulation. Henry III agreed to do this and he revived the franc and this coin and its fractions circulated until 1641 when Louis XIII of France replaced it with the silver Écu. Nevertheless, the franc continued in accounting as a synonym for the livre tournois. The decimal franc was established as the currency by the French Revolutionary Convention in 1795 as a decimal unit of 4.5 g of fine silver. This was slightly less than the livre of 4.505 g, silver coins now had their denomination clearly marked as “5 FRANCS” and it was made obligatory to quote prices in francs. e. Coinage with explicit denominations in decimal fractions of the franc also began in 1795, decimalization of the franc was mandated by an act of 7 April 1795, which also dealt with of weights and measures. France’s first decimal coinage used allegorical figures symbolizing revolutionary principles, like the designs the United States had adopted in 1793
French franc
–
Franc à cheval
French franc
–
Franc à pied
French franc
–
1795 five centimes, the first year of decimal fractions for the franc.
French franc
–
1799 two-decimes
essai coin
20.
GDP
–
Gross Domestic Product is a monetary measure of the market value of all final goods and services produced in a period. Nominal GDP estimates are used to determine the economic performance of a whole country or region. The OECD defines GDP as a measure of production equal to the sum of the gross values added of all resident and institutional units engaged in production. ”An IMF publication states that GDP measures the monetary value of final goods and services - that is. Total GDP can also be broken down into the contribution of industry or sector of the economy. The ratio of GDP to the population of the region is the per capita GDP. William Petty came up with a concept of GDP to defend landlords against unfair taxation during warfare between the Dutch and the English between 1652 and 1674. Charles Davenant developed the method further in 1695, the modern concept of GDP was first developed by Simon Kuznets for a US Congress report in 1934. In this report, Kuznets warned against its use as a measure of welfare, after the Bretton Woods conference in 1944, GDP became the main tool for measuring a countrys economy. The switch from GNP to GDP in the US was in 1991, the history of the concept of GDP should be distinguished from the history of changes in ways of estimating it. The value added by firms is relatively easy to calculate from their accounts, but the value added by the sector, by financial industries. GDP can be determined in three ways, all of which should, in principle, give the same result and they are the production approach, the income approach, or the expenditure approach. The most direct of the three is the approach, which sums the outputs of every class of enterprise to arrive at the total. The income approach works on the principle that the incomes of the factors must be equal to the value of their product. This approach mirrors the OECD definition given above, deduct intermediate consumption from gross value to obtain the gross value added. Gross value added = gross value of output – value of intermediate consumption, value of output = value of the total sales of goods and services plus value of changes in the inventories. The sum of the value added in the various economic activities is known as GDP at factor cost. GDP at factor cost plus indirect taxes less subsidies on products = GDP at producer price, for measuring output of domestic product, economic activities are classified into various sectors. Subtracting each sectors intermediate consumption from gross output gives the GDP at factor cost, adding indirect tax minus subsidies in GDP at factor cost gives the GDP at producer prices
GDP
–
A map of world economies by size of GDP (nominal) in USD,
World Bank, 2014.
21.
Inflation
–
In economics, inflation is a sustained increase in the general price level of goods and services in an economy over a period of time resulting in a loss of value of currency. When the price rises, each unit of currency buys fewer goods. Consequently, inflation reflects a reduction in the power per unit of money – a loss of real value in the medium of exchange. A chief measure of inflation is the inflation rate, the annualized percentage change in a general price index, usually the consumer price index. The opposite of inflation is deflation, Inflation affects economies in various positive and negative ways. Economists generally believe that high rates of inflation and hyperinflation are caused by a growth of the money supply. However, money supply growth does not necessarily cause inflation, some economists maintain that under the conditions of a liquidity trap, large monetary injections are like pushing on a string. Views on which factors determine low to moderate rates of inflation are more varied, low or moderate inflation may be attributed to fluctuations in real demand for goods and services, or changes in available supplies such as during scarcities. However, the view is that a long sustained period of inflation is caused by money supply growing faster than the rate of economic growth. Today, most economists favor a low and steady rate of inflation, the task of keeping the rate of inflation low and stable is usually given to monetary authorities. Rapid increases in quantity of the money or in the money supply have occurred in many different societies throughout history. By diluting the gold with other metals, the government could issue more coins without also needing to increase the amount of used to make them. When the cost of each coin is lowered in this way and this practice would increase the money supply but at the same time the relative value of each coin would be lowered. As the relative value of the coins becomes lower, consumers would need to give more coins in exchange for the same goods and these goods and services would experience a price increase as the value of each coin is reduced. Song Dynasty China introduced the practice of printing paper money in order to create fiat currency, during the Mongol Yuan Dynasty, the government spent a great deal of money fighting costly wars, and reacted by printing more money, leading to inflation. Fearing the inflation that plagued the Yuan dynasty, the Ming Dynasty initially rejected the use of paper money, historically, large infusions of gold or silver into an economy also led to inflation. This was largely caused by the influx of gold and silver from the New World into Habsburg Spain. The silver spread throughout a previously cash-starved Europe and caused widespread inflation, demographic factors also contributed to upward pressure on prices, with European population growth after depopulation caused by the Black Death pandemic
Inflation
–
Two 20 kr gold coins from the
Scandinavian Monetary Union, a historical example of an international gold standard.
Inflation
–
Annual inflation rates in the United States from 1666 to 2004.
22.
Highly Indebted Poor Countries
–
The HIPC Initiative was initiated by the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank in 1996, following extensive lobbying by NGOs and other bodies. It provides debt relief and low-interest loans to cancel or reduce external debt repayments to sustainable levels, to be considered for the initiative, countries must face an unsustainable debt burden which cannot be managed with traditional means. Assistance is conditional on the governments of these countries meeting a range of economic management and performance targets and undertaking economic. As of January 2012, the HIPC Initiative had identified 39 countries as being eligible to receive debt relief. An additional three countries are being considered for entry into the program, to receive debt relief under HIPC, a country must first meet HIPCs threshold requirements. At HIPCs inception in 1996, the threshold requirement was that the countrys debt remains at unsustainable levels despite full application of traditional, bilateral debt relief. At the time, HIPC considered debt unsustainable when the ratio of debt-to-exports exceeded 200-250% or when the ratio of debt-to-government revenues exceeded 280%, the IMF estimates that the total cost of providing debt relief to the 40 countries currently eligible for the HIPC program would be around $71 billion. Half of the funding is provided by the IMF, World Bank, critics soon began to attack HIPCs scope and its structure. First, they criticized HIPCs definition of sustainability, arguing that the debt-to-export and debt-to-government-revenues criteria were arbitrary. As evidence, critics highlighted that, by 1999, only four countries had received any debt relief under HIPC, second, the six-year program was too long and too inflexible to meet the individual needs of debtor nations. Third, the IMF and the World Bank did not cancel any debt until the completion point, fourth, the ESAF conditions often undermined poverty-reduction efforts. For example, privatization of utilities tended to raise the cost of services beyond the ability to pay. Finally, critics attacked HIPC as a designed by creditors to protect creditor interests. Inadequate debt relief for such means that they will need to spend more on servicing debts. HIPC addressed its shortcomings by expanding its definition of unsustainable debts, making relief available to more countries. Since 1996, the IMF has modified HIPC in several ways, the IMF first restructured HIPC in 1999. These revisions modified HIPCs threshold requirements, today, HIPC defines three minimum requirements for participation in the program. Lastly, the country must establish a record of reforms to help prevent future debt crises
Highly Indebted Poor Countries
–
Countries qualifying for full HIPC relief.
23.
Tuna
–
A tuna is a saltwater fish that belongs to the tribe Thunnini, a sub-grouping of the mackerel family – which together with the tunas, also includes the bonitos, mackerels, and Spanish mackerels. Thunnini comprises fifteen species across five genera, the sizes of which vary greatly, the bluefin averages 2 m, and is believed to live for up to 50 years. Tuna and mackerel sharks are the species of fish that can maintain a body temperature higher than that of the surrounding water. An active and agile predator, the tuna has a sleek, streamlined body, found in warm seas, it is extensively fished commercially, and is popular as a game fish. As a result of over-fishing, stocks of tuna species such as the southern bluefin tuna have been reduced dangerously close to the point of extinction. The term tuna ultimately derives from Thunnus, the Middle Latin form of the Ancient Greek, θύννος tunny-fish – which is in turn derived from θύνω, rush, the following cladogram illustrates the relationship between the tunas and other tribes of the family Scombridae. The true tunas are those that belong to the genus Thunnus, until recently, it was thought that there were seven Thunnus species, and that Atlantic bluefin tuna and Pacific bluefin tuna were subspecies of a single species. In 1999, Collette established that based on molecular and morphological considerations, they are in fact distinct species. The genus Thunnus is further classified into two subgenera, Thunnus, and Thunnus, the Thunnini tribe also includes seven additional species of tuna across four genera. They are, The tuna is a sleek and streamlined fish and it has two closely spaced dorsal fins on its back, The first is depressible – it can be laid down, flush, in a groove that runs along its back. Seven to ten yellow finlets run from the fins to the tail. The caudal peduncle, to which the tail is attached, is quite thin, the tunas dorsal side is generally a metallic dark blue, while the ventral side, or underside, is silvery or whitish, for camouflage. Thunnus are widely but sparsely distributed throughout the oceans of the world, generally in tropical, all tunas are able to maintain the temperature of certain parts of their body above the temperature of ambient seawater. For example, bluefin can maintain a body temperature of 25–33 °C. However, unlike typical endothermic creatures such as mammals and birds, tunas achieve endothermy by conserving the heat generated through normal metabolism. In all tunas, the heart operates at ambient temperature, as it receives cooled blood, also unlike most fish, which have white flesh, the muscle tissue of tuna ranges from pink to dark red. The red myotomal muscles derive their color from myoglobin, an oxygen-binding molecule, the oxygen-rich blood further enables energy delivery to their muscles. For powerful swimming animals like dolphins and tuna, cavitation may be detrimental, even if they have the power to swim faster, dolphins may have to restrict their speed, because collapsing cavitation bubbles on their tail are too painful
Tuna
Tuna
–
Tuna
Tuna
–
Relative sizes of various tunas, with the
Atlantic bluefin tuna (top) at about 8 ft (2.4 m) in this sample
Tuna
–
Tuna being weighed on Greek quay-side
24.
France
–
France, officially the French Republic, is a country with territory in western Europe and several overseas regions and territories. The European, or metropolitan, area of France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, Overseas France include French Guiana on the South American continent and several island territories in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans. France spans 643,801 square kilometres and had a population of almost 67 million people as of January 2017. It is a unitary republic with the capital in Paris. Other major urban centres include Marseille, Lyon, Lille, Nice, Toulouse, during the Iron Age, what is now metropolitan France was inhabited by the Gauls, a Celtic people. The area was annexed in 51 BC by Rome, which held Gaul until 486, France emerged as a major European power in the Late Middle Ages, with its victory in the Hundred Years War strengthening state-building and political centralisation. During the Renaissance, French culture flourished and a colonial empire was established. The 16th century was dominated by civil wars between Catholics and Protestants. France became Europes dominant cultural, political, and military power under Louis XIV, in the 19th century Napoleon took power and established the First French Empire, whose subsequent Napoleonic Wars shaped the course of continental Europe. Following the collapse of the Empire, France endured a succession of governments culminating with the establishment of the French Third Republic in 1870. Following liberation in 1944, a Fourth Republic was established and later dissolved in the course of the Algerian War, the Fifth Republic, led by Charles de Gaulle, was formed in 1958 and remains to this day. Algeria and nearly all the colonies became independent in the 1960s with minimal controversy and typically retained close economic. France has long been a centre of art, science. It hosts Europes fourth-largest number of cultural UNESCO World Heritage Sites and receives around 83 million foreign tourists annually, France is a developed country with the worlds sixth-largest economy by nominal GDP and ninth-largest by purchasing power parity. In terms of household wealth, it ranks fourth in the world. France performs well in international rankings of education, health care, life expectancy, France remains a great power in the world, being one of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council with the power to veto and an official nuclear-weapon state. It is a member state of the European Union and the Eurozone. It is also a member of the Group of 7, North Atlantic Treaty Organization, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the World Trade Organization, originally applied to the whole Frankish Empire, the name France comes from the Latin Francia, or country of the Franks
France
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One of the
Lascaux paintings: a horse –
Dordogne, approximately 18,000 BC
France
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Flag
France
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The
Maison Carrée was a temple of the
Gallo-Roman city of Nemausus (present-day
Nîmes) and is one of the best preserved vestiges of the
Roman Empire.
France
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With
Clovis ' conversion to Catholicism in 498, the
Frankish monarchy,
elective and
secular until then, became
hereditary and of
divine right.
25.
United States
–
Forty-eight of the fifty states and the federal district are contiguous and located in North America between Canada and Mexico. The state of Alaska is in the northwest corner of North America, bordered by Canada to the east, the state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific Ocean. The U. S. territories are scattered about the Pacific Ocean, the geography, climate and wildlife of the country are extremely diverse. At 3.8 million square miles and with over 324 million people, the United States is the worlds third- or fourth-largest country by area, third-largest by land area. It is one of the worlds most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, paleo-Indians migrated from Asia to the North American mainland at least 15,000 years ago. European colonization began in the 16th century, the United States emerged from 13 British colonies along the East Coast. Numerous disputes between Great Britain and the following the Seven Years War led to the American Revolution. On July 4,1776, during the course of the American Revolutionary War, the war ended in 1783 with recognition of the independence of the United States by Great Britain, representing the first successful war of independence against a European power. The current constitution was adopted in 1788, after the Articles of Confederation, the first ten amendments, collectively named the Bill of Rights, were ratified in 1791 and designed to guarantee many fundamental civil liberties. During the second half of the 19th century, the American Civil War led to the end of slavery in the country. By the end of century, the United States extended into the Pacific Ocean. The Spanish–American War and World War I confirmed the status as a global military power. The end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 left the United States as the sole superpower. The U. S. is a member of the United Nations, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Organization of American States. The United States is a developed country, with the worlds largest economy by nominal GDP. It ranks highly in several measures of performance, including average wage, human development, per capita GDP. While the U. S. economy is considered post-industrial, characterized by the dominance of services and knowledge economy, the United States is a prominent political and cultural force internationally, and a leader in scientific research and technological innovations. In 1507, the German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller produced a map on which he named the lands of the Western Hemisphere America after the Italian explorer and cartographer Amerigo Vespucci
United States
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Native Americans meeting with Europeans, 1764
United States
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Flag
United States
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The signing of the
Mayflower Compact, 1620.
United States
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The
Declaration of Independence: the
Committee of Five presenting their draft to the
Second Continental Congress in 1776
26.
Italy
–
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a unitary parliamentary republic in Europe. Located in the heart of the Mediterranean Sea, Italy shares open land borders with France, Switzerland, Austria, Slovenia, San Marino, Italy covers an area of 301,338 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal and Mediterranean climate. Due to its shape, it is referred to in Italy as lo Stivale. With 61 million inhabitants, it is the fourth most populous EU member state, the Italic tribe known as the Latins formed the Roman Kingdom, which eventually became a republic that conquered and assimilated other nearby civilisations. The legacy of the Roman Empire is widespread and can be observed in the distribution of civilian law, republican governments, Christianity. The Renaissance began in Italy and spread to the rest of Europe, bringing a renewed interest in humanism, science, exploration, Italian culture flourished at this time, producing famous scholars, artists and polymaths such as Leonardo da Vinci, Galileo, Michelangelo and Machiavelli. The weakened sovereigns soon fell victim to conquest by European powers such as France, Spain and Austria. Despite being one of the victors in World War I, Italy entered a period of economic crisis and social turmoil. The subsequent participation in World War II on the Axis side ended in defeat, economic destruction. Today, Italy has the third largest economy in the Eurozone and it has a very high level of human development and is ranked sixth in the world for life expectancy. The country plays a prominent role in regional and global economic, military, cultural and diplomatic affairs, as a reflection of its cultural wealth, Italy is home to 51 World Heritage Sites, the most in the world, and is the fifth most visited country. The assumptions on the etymology of the name Italia are very numerous, according to one of the more common explanations, the term Italia, from Latin, Italia, was borrowed through Greek from the Oscan Víteliú, meaning land of young cattle. The bull was a symbol of the southern Italic tribes and was often depicted goring the Roman wolf as a defiant symbol of free Italy during the Social War. Greek historian Dionysius of Halicarnassus states this account together with the legend that Italy was named after Italus, mentioned also by Aristotle and Thucydides. The name Italia originally applied only to a part of what is now Southern Italy – according to Antiochus of Syracuse, but by his time Oenotria and Italy had become synonymous, and the name also applied to most of Lucania as well. The Greeks gradually came to apply the name Italia to a larger region, excavations throughout Italy revealed a Neanderthal presence dating back to the Palaeolithic period, some 200,000 years ago, modern Humans arrived about 40,000 years ago. Other ancient Italian peoples of undetermined language families but of possible origins include the Rhaetian people and Cammuni. Also the Phoenicians established colonies on the coasts of Sardinia and Sicily, the Roman legacy has deeply influenced the Western civilisation, shaping most of the modern world
Italy
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The
Colosseum in Rome, built c. 70 – 80 AD, is considered one of the greatest works of
architecture and
engineering of ancient history.
Italy
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Flag
Italy
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The
Iron Crown of Lombardy, for centuries symbol of the
Kings of Italy.
Italy
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Castel del Monte, built by German Emperor
Frederick II,
UNESCO World Heritage site
27.
Japan
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Japan is a sovereign island nation in Eastern Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies off the eastern coast of the Asia Mainland and stretches from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea, the kanji that make up Japans name mean sun origin. 日 can be read as ni and means sun while 本 can be read as hon, or pon, Japan is often referred to by the famous epithet Land of the Rising Sun in reference to its Japanese name. Japan is an archipelago consisting of about 6,852 islands. The four largest are Honshu, Hokkaido, Kyushu and Shikoku, the country is divided into 47 prefectures in eight regions. Hokkaido being the northernmost prefecture and Okinawa being the southernmost one, the population of 127 million is the worlds tenth largest. Japanese people make up 98. 5% of Japans total population, approximately 9.1 million people live in the city of Tokyo, the capital of Japan. Archaeological research indicates that Japan was inhabited as early as the Upper Paleolithic period, the first written mention of Japan is in Chinese history texts from the 1st century AD. Influence from other regions, mainly China, followed by periods of isolation, from the 12th century until 1868, Japan was ruled by successive feudal military shoguns who ruled in the name of the Emperor. Japan entered into a period of isolation in the early 17th century. The Second Sino-Japanese War of 1937 expanded into part of World War II in 1941, which came to an end in 1945 following the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Japan is a member of the UN, the OECD, the G7, the G8, the country has the worlds third-largest economy by nominal GDP and the worlds fourth-largest economy by purchasing power parity. It is also the worlds fourth-largest exporter and fourth-largest importer, although Japan has officially renounced its right to declare war, it maintains a modern military with the worlds eighth-largest military budget, used for self-defense and peacekeeping roles. Japan is a country with a very high standard of living. Its population enjoys the highest life expectancy and the third lowest infant mortality rate in the world, in ancient China, Japan was called Wo 倭. It was mentioned in the third century Chinese historical text Records of the Three Kingdoms in the section for the Wei kingdom, Wa became disliked because it has the connotation of the character 矮, meaning dwarf. The 倭 kanji has been replaced with the homophone Wa, meaning harmony, the Japanese word for Japan is 日本, which is pronounced Nippon or Nihon and literally means the origin of the sun. The earliest record of the name Nihon appears in the Chinese historical records of the Tang dynasty, at the start of the seventh century, a delegation from Japan introduced their country as Nihon
Japan
–
The
Golden Hall and
five-storey pagoda of
Hōryū-ji, among the oldest wooden buildings in the world,
National Treasures, and a
UNESCO World Heritage Site
Japan
Japan
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Samurai warriors face Mongols, during the
Mongol invasions of Japan. The
Kamikaze, two storms, are said to have saved Japan from Mongol fleets.
Japan
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Samurai could
kill a commoner for the slightest insult and were widely feared by the Japanese population.
Edo period, 1798
28.
Germany
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Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a federal parliamentary republic in central-western Europe. It includes 16 constituent states, covers an area of 357,021 square kilometres, with about 82 million inhabitants, Germany is the most populous member state of the European Union. After the United States, it is the second most popular destination in the world. Germanys capital and largest metropolis is Berlin, while its largest conurbation is the Ruhr, other major cities include Hamburg, Munich, Cologne, Frankfurt, Stuttgart, Düsseldorf and Leipzig. Various Germanic tribes have inhabited the northern parts of modern Germany since classical antiquity, a region named Germania was documented before 100 AD. During the Migration Period the Germanic tribes expanded southward, beginning in the 10th century, German territories formed a central part of the Holy Roman Empire. During the 16th century, northern German regions became the centre of the Protestant Reformation, in 1871, Germany became a nation state when most of the German states unified into the Prussian-dominated German Empire. After World War I and the German Revolution of 1918–1919, the Empire was replaced by the parliamentary Weimar Republic, the establishment of the national socialist dictatorship in 1933 led to World War II and the Holocaust. After a period of Allied occupation, two German states were founded, the Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic, in 1990, the country was reunified. In the 21st century, Germany is a power and has the worlds fourth-largest economy by nominal GDP. As a global leader in industrial and technological sectors, it is both the worlds third-largest exporter and importer of goods. Germany is a country with a very high standard of living sustained by a skilled. It upholds a social security and universal health system, environmental protection. Germany was a member of the European Economic Community in 1957. It is part of the Schengen Area, and became a co-founder of the Eurozone in 1999, Germany is a member of the United Nations, NATO, the G8, the G20, and the OECD. The national military expenditure is the 9th highest in the world, the English word Germany derives from the Latin Germania, which came into use after Julius Caesar adopted it for the peoples east of the Rhine. This in turn descends from Proto-Germanic *þiudiskaz popular, derived from *þeudō, descended from Proto-Indo-European *tewtéh₂- people, the discovery of the Mauer 1 mandible shows that ancient humans were present in Germany at least 600,000 years ago. The oldest complete hunting weapons found anywhere in the world were discovered in a mine in Schöningen where three 380, 000-year-old wooden javelins were unearthed
Germany
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The
Nebra sky disk is dated to c. 1600 BC.
Germany
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Flag
Germany
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Martin Luther (1483–1546) initiated the
Protestant Reformation.
Germany
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Foundation of the
German Empire in
Versailles, 1871.
Bismarck is at the center in a white uniform.
29.
Telecommunications
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Telecommunication is the transmission of signs, signals, messages, writings, images and sounds or intelligence of any nature by wire, radio, optical or other electromagnetic systems. Telecommunication occurs when the exchange of information between communication participants includes the use of technology and it is transmitted either electrically over physical media, such as cables, or via electromagnetic radiation. Such transmission paths are divided into communication channels which afford the advantages of multiplexing. The term is used in its plural form, telecommunications. Early means of communicating over a distance included visual signals, such as beacons, smoke signals, semaphore telegraphs, signal flags, other examples of pre-modern long-distance communication included audio messages such as coded drumbeats, lung-blown horns, and loud whistles. Zworykin, John Logie Baird and Philo Farnsworth, the word telecommunication is a compound of the Greek prefix tele, meaning distant, far off, or afar, and the Latin communicare, meaning to share. Its modern use is adapted from the French, because its use was recorded in 1904 by the French engineer. Communication was first used as an English word in the late 14th century, in the Middle Ages, chains of beacons were commonly used on hilltops as a means of relaying a signal. Beacon chains suffered the drawback that they could pass a single bit of information. One notable instance of their use was during the Spanish Armada, in 1792, Claude Chappe, a French engineer, built the first fixed visual telegraphy system between Lille and Paris. However semaphore suffered from the need for skilled operators and expensive towers at intervals of ten to thirty kilometres, as a result of competition from the electrical telegraph, the last commercial line was abandoned in 1880. Homing pigeons have occasionally used throughout history by different cultures. Pigeon post is thought to have Persians roots and was used by the Romans to aid their military, frontinus said that Julius Caesar used pigeons as messengers in his conquest of Gaul. The Greeks also conveyed the names of the victors at the Olympic Games to various cities using homing pigeons, in the early 19th century, the Dutch government used the system in Java and Sumatra. And in 1849, Paul Julius Reuter started a service to fly stock prices between Aachen and Brussels, a service that operated for a year until the gap in the telegraph link was closed. Sir Charles Wheatstone and Sir William Fothergill Cooke invented the telegraph in 1837. Also, the first commercial electrical telegraph is purported to have constructed by Wheatstone and Cooke. Both inventors viewed their device as an improvement to the electromagnetic telegraph not as a new device, samuel Morse independently developed a version of the electrical telegraph that he unsuccessfully demonstrated on 2 September 1837
Telecommunications
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A satellite communication antenna at the biggest facility for satellite communication in Raisting, Bavaria, Germany
Telecommunications
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Visualization from the
Opte Project of the various routes through a portion of the Internet.
Telecommunications
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A replica of one of
Chappe's semaphore towers.
Telecommunications
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Optical fiber provides cheaper bandwidth for long distance communication.
This article incorporates public domain material from the CIA World Factbook document "2014 edition".
This article incorporates 
