1.
Flag of the Republic of Benin (Nigeria)
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The flag of the short-lived Republic of Benin in Nigeria consists of the colours black, and green, with black taking up two-thirds of the flag. It was inspired by the flag of the now-defunct Republic of Biafra, the main difference was that Biafran flag was a tricolour of red, black, and green. As with the Biafran flag, it was charged in the centre with a rising sun. Flag of Biafra WorldStatesmen- Nigeria - shows its flag
2.
Flag of the Benin Empire
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The putative Flag of the Benin Empire is a West African flag that was allegedly brought to Britain by Admiral F. W. Kennedy after the 1897 Benin expedition. The original flag is held by the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich near London. Little is known about the flag, and indeed it has no proper name, the fact surrounding the flag is that it was brought back to Britain by Admiral F. W Kennedy who participated in the 1897 Punitive Expedition in Benin. It is also a fact that the flag was brought back as a War Souvenir by the British soldiers who first engaged the Benin soldiers at the BATTLE OF OLOGBO, a town in the delta region where the Benin Army was garrisoned to await the expected British invasion of 1897. So why would Admiral Kennedy take back to Britain the War-flag of a none existing Itsekhiri Army he never saw or engaged in battle, the Greenwich Museum, to which the flag currently belongs, describes this flag as follows, West African flag probably Itsekri. A red wool bunting flag with a linen hoist, machine sewn with a halyard attached. The design is applied in white fabric with painted details, representing a naked man decapitating another with a sword, the flag was said to have been brought back by Admiral F. W. Kennedy from the 1897 Benin expedition. Kennedy is inscribed on a label attached to the rope. The Itsekri people acted as middle men between the Edo people of Benin in the interior and the Europeans on the coast – the Edo would not cross or travel on waterways. The Benin expedition was launched in reprisal against an attack on a British mission in the service of Niger Coast Protectorate by forces of the Oba of Benin. It was a naval and military operation under the command of Rear-Admiral Harry Holdsworth Rawson C. B. with local troops. The towns of Guato and Sapobar were attacked by detached forces while the part of the expedition marched on Benin. The town was captured and accidentally burnt, Oba Overami was exiled to Calabar where he died in 1914. The famous Benin bronzes were removed as reparations by the British and it is therefore confirmed that the flag was a real African flag that was brought back by the British from their 1897 final expedition against the Empire of Benin. Several sources in the Internet give it as a fact that the flag was indeed the official flag of the Benin Empire, the first of such assertions seems to trace back to now defunct website GreatBenin. org. Pictures of the red, disputed flag, as well as of the three definitely Itsekiri flags, can be seen here, in more recent times the flag has attracted attention for being unusual and gained some popularity on the internet for its highly-distinctive graphic design
3.
Glossary of vexillology
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Flag terminology is the nomenclature, or system of terms, used in vexillology, the study of flags, to describe precisely the parts, patterns, and other attributes of flags and their display. Badge A coat of arms or simple heraldic symbol, canton Any quarter of a flag, but commonly means the upper hoist quarter, such as the field of stars in the flag of the United States or the Union Jack in the Australian Flag. Charge A figure or symbol appearing in the field of a flag, emblem A device often used as a charge on a flag. It may be heraldic in origin or modern, for example the maple leaf on the Canadian Flag, field The background of a flag, the color behind the charges. Fimbriation A narrow edging or border, often in white or gold, for example the white and gold lines of the South African Flag. Fly The half or edge of a flag farthest away from the flagpole and this term also sometimes refers to the horizontal length of a flag. Hoist The half or edge of a flag nearest to the flagpole and this term also sometimes refers to the vertical width of a flag. Length The span of a flag along the side at right angles to the flagpole, width The span of a flag down the side parallel to the flagpole. Flags often inherit traits seen in traditional European heraldry designs and as a result patterns often share names, banderole or bannerol A small flag or streamer carried on the lance of a knight, or a long narrow flag flying from the mast-head of a ship. Banner Generically, a synonym for a flag of any kind, in heraldry, a flag whose design is the same as the shield in a coat of arms, but usually in a square or rectangular shape, also known as a banner of arms. Burgee A distinguishing flag of a recreational boating organisation, Civil ensign, merchant flag or merchant ensign A version of the national flag flown by civil ships to denote nationality. Civil flag A version of the flag flown by civilians on non-government installations or craft. Colour or color The flag of a military unit, courtesy flag or courtesy ensign A flag flown by a visiting ship in foreign waters as a token of respect. Ensign The flag of a ship or military unit, may also be used generically as a synonym for a flag of any kind. Fanion A small flag used by the French military, gonfalon, gonfanon or gonfalone A type of heraldic flag suspended from a crossbar. Guidon A small flag borne by a military unit, in Scots heraldry, a smaller version of the Standard. Pennon or pennant A flag larger at the hoist than at the fly, pipe banner A decorative flag for the Scottish Highland bagpipes. Prayer flag A type of flag found strung along mountain ridges and peaks in the Himalayas, rank flag or distinguishing flag The flag flown by a superior naval officer on his flagship or headquarters
4.
National flag
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A national flag is a flag that symbolizes a country. The flag is flown by the government, but usually can also be flown by citizens of the country, historically, flags originate as military standards, used as field signs. The practice of flying flags indicating the country of origin outside of the context of warfare became common with the flag, introduced during the age of sail. Most countries of Europe adopted a flag in the course of the 19th and early 20th centuries. The specifications of the flag of Denmark were codified in 1748, the flag of Switzerland was introduced in 1889, also based on medieval war flags. The Netherlands introduced two national flags in 1813, the Ottoman flag was adopted in 1844. Other non-European powers followed the trend in the late 19th century, the flag of Japan being introduced in 1870, the Flag of the United States is not defined in the constitution but rather in a separate Flag Resolution passed in 1777. Minor design changes of national flags are passed on a legislative or executive level. A change in national flag is due to a change of regime. In such cases, the origins of the national flag. In such cases national flags acquire the status of a political symbol, the flag of Germany, for instance, was a tricolour of black-white-red under the German Empire, inherited from the North German Confederation. The Weimar Republic that followed adopted a black-red-gold tricolour, nazi Germany went back to black-white-red in 1933, and black-red-gold was reinstituted by the two successor states, West Germany and East Germany following World War II. Similarly the flag of Libya introduced with the creation of the Kingdom of Libya in 1951 was abandoned in 1969 with the coup led by Muammar Gaddafi. It was used again by National Transitional Council and by anti-Gaddafi forces during the Libyan Civil War in 2011 and officially adopted by the Libyan interim Constitutional Declaration. There are three types of national flag for use on land, and three for use at sea, though many countries use identical designs for several of these types of flag. On land, there is a distinction between civil flags, state flags, and war or military flags, state flags are those used officially by government agencies, whereas civil flags may be flown by anyone regardless of whether they are linked to government. War flags are used by organisations such as Armies, Marine Corps. In practice, many countries have identical flags for these three purposes, national flag is used as a vexillological term to refer to such a three-purpose flag
5.
Ensign
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Ensign is the national flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality. The ensign is the largest flag, generally flown at the stern of the ship, the naval ensign, used on warships, may be different from the civil ensign or the yacht ensign. Large versions of naval ensigns called battle ensigns are used when a warship goes into battle, the ensign differs from the jack which is flown from a jackstaff at the bow of a vessel. In its widest sense, an ensign is just a flag or other standard, the European military rank of ensign, once responsible for bearing a units standard derives from it. In contrast, the Arab rank of ensign, liwa, derives from the command of a unit or units with an ensign, not the carrier of such a units ensign, and is a general officer. In Arab armies, ensign is a title equivalent to a Western brigade. In nautical use, the ensign is flown on a ship or boat to indicate its appartenance, while this includes its nationality, it may well indicate more information rather than being the national flag itself. This is particularly common for commonwealth and European countries, ensigns are usually at the stern flagstaff when in port, and may be shifted to a gaff or mast amidships when the ship is under way, becoming known as a steaming ensign. Vexillologists distinguish three varieties of a national flag used as an ensign, A civil ensign is worn by merchant. In some countries the yacht ensign, used on boats or ships instead of merchant vessels. A state ensign or government ensign is worn by government vessels, a naval ensign is used by a countrys navy. Such ensigns are strictly regulated and indicate if the vessel is a warship, a merchant ship, several Commonwealth countries national flags had their origin in the ensigns of their original colonising power, the United Kingdom. Most notable of these flags are those of Australia, New Zealand. It is also likely that the original design from which the flag of the United States developed was strongly influenced by the British Red Ensign or the flag of the East India Company. With the creation of independent air forces and the growth in aviation in the first half of the 20th century. These may be divided into air force ensigns and civil air ensigns, in heraldry, an ensign is the ornament or sign, such as the crown, coronet, or mitre, borne above the charge or arms. Distinguishing mark Maritime flag Znamierowski, Alfred, the world encyclopedia of flags, The definitive guide to international flags, banners, standards and ensigns
6.
Flag
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A flag is a piece of fabric with a distinctive design that is used as a symbol, as a signaling device, or as decoration. National flags are patriotic symbols with varied wide-ranging interpretations, often including strong military associations due to their original, flags are also used in messaging, advertising, or for other decorative purposes. The study of flags is known as vexillology, from the Latin word vexillum, due to the use of flags by military units, flag is also used as the name of some military units. A flag is equivalent to a brigade in Arab countries, and in Spain, in antiquity, field signs or standards were used in warfare that can be categorized as vexilloid or flag-like. During the High Middle Ages flags came to be used primarily as a device in battle. Already during the medieval period, and increasingly during the Late Middle Ages. Regimental flags for individual units became commonplace during the Early Modern period, flags also became the preferred means of communications at sea, resulting in various systems of flag signals, see, International maritime signal flags. One of the most popular uses of a flag is to symbolize a nation or country, some national flags have been particularly inspirational to other nations, countries, or subnational entities in the design of their own flags. Some prominent examples include, The flag of Denmark, the Dannebrog, is attested in 1478, the flag of the Netherlands is the oldest tricolour. Its three colours of red, white and blue go back to Charlemagnes time, the 9th century, the coastal region of what today is the Netherlands was then known for its cloth in these colours. Maps from the early 16th century already put flags in these colours next to this region, a century before that, during the 15th century, the three colours were mentioned as the coastal signals for this area, with the three bands straight or diagonal, single or doubled. As state flag it first appeared around 1572 as the Princes Flag in orange–white–blue, soon the more famous red–white–blue began appearing, becoming the prevalent version from around 1630. Orange made a comeback during the war of the late 18th century. During World War II the pro-Nazi NSB used it, any symbolism has been added later to the three colours, although the orange comes from the House of Orange-Nassau. This use of orange comes from Nassau, which today uses orange-blue, not from Orange, however, the usual way to show the link with the House of Orange-Nassau is the orange pennant above the red-white-blue. It is said that the Dutch Tricolour has inspired many flags but most notably those of Russia, New York City, the national flag of France was designed in 1794. As a forerunner of revolution, Frances tricolour flag style has been adopted by other nations, examples, Italy, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ireland, Haiti, Romania and Mexico. The Union Flag of the United Kingdom is the most commonly used, british colonies typically flew a flag based on one of the ensigns based on this flag, and many former colonies have retained the design to acknowledge their cultural history
7.
Flag of France
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The national flag of France is a tricolour flag featuring three vertical bands coloured blue, white, and red. It is known to English speakers as the French Tricolour or simply the Tricolour, the royal government used many flags, the best known being a blue shield and gold fleur-de-lis on a white background, or state flag. Early in the French Revolution, the Paris militia, which played a prominent role in the storming of the Bastille, wore a cockade of blue and red, the citys traditional colours. According to Lafayette, white, the ancient French colour, was added to the militia cockade to create a tricolour, or national and this cockade became part of the uniform of the National Guard, which succeeded the militia and was commanded by Lafayette. The colours and design of the cockade are the basis of the Tricolour flag, the only difference was that the 1790 flags colours were reversed. A modified design by Jacques-Louis David was adopted in 1794, the royal white flag was used during the Bourbon restoration from 1815 to 1830, the tricolour was brought back after the July Revolution and has been used ever since 1830. The colours adopted by Valéry Giscard dEstaing, which replaced a version of the flag. Currently, the flag is one and a half times wider than its height and, initially, the three stripes of the flag were not equally wide, being in the proportions 30,33 and 37. Blue and red are the colours of Paris, used on the citys coat of arms. Blue is identified with Saint Martin, red with Saint Denis, at the storming of the Bastille in 1789, the Paris militia wore blue and red cockades on their hats. White had long featured prominently on French flags and is described as the ancient French colour by Lafayette, white was added to the revolutionary colours of the militia cockade to nationalise the design, thus creating the tricolour cockade. Although Lafayette identified the white stripe with the nation, other accounts identify it with the monarchy, Lafayette denied that the flag contains any reference to the red-and-white livery of the Duc dOrléans. Despite this, Orléanists adopted the tricolour as their own, blue and red are associated with the Virgin Mary, the patroness of France, and were the colours of the oriflamme. The colours of the French flag may represent the three main estates of the Ancien Régime. Blue, as the symbol of class, comes first and red, representing the nobility, both extreme colours are situated on each side of white referring to a superior order. Lafayettes tricolour cockade was adopted in July 1789, a moment of unity that soon faded. Royalists began wearing white cockades and flying flags, while the Jacobins. The tricolour, which combines royalist white with red, came to be seen as a symbol of moderation
8.
Republic of Dahomey
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The Republic of Dahomey was established on December 11,1958, as a self-governing colony within the French Community. Prior to attaining autonomy it had been French Dahomey, part of the French Union, on August 1,1960, it attained full independence from France. The Republic of Dahomey became independent of France on 1 August 1960, upon independence, Maga became the first president of Dahomey. This compromise, however, was unable to solve Dahomeys problems, and an uprising broke out in October 1963, culminating in a coup détat, and this also failed to bring about stability, and Apithy was removed in another coup, in December 1965. Following the 1965 coup, Colonel Christophe Soglo became president, a veteran of the French Army, he saw himself as a Dahomeyan Charles de Gaulle, banning all political activity with the stated aim of stabilising the country. In October 1972, a coup led by Mathieu Kérékou removed a civilian government, Kérékou would go on to proclaim his support for Marxism-Leninism, declaring the end of the Republic of Dahomey and the establishment of the Peoples Republic of Benin on 30 November 1975. Jacques, Gloria Foster, Zakes Mokae, Paul Ford, Georg Stanford Brown, Peter Ustinov, Douta Seck, the movie is the story of an adulterous affair placed against the backdrop of Haiti during the tumultuous dictatorship of François Duvalier. Dahomey resembled Haiti in many ways, both geographically and culturally, and it was safer to film there than in Haiti
9.
People's Republic of Benin
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The Peoples Republic of Benin was a socialist state located in the Gulf of Guinea on the African continent, which would become present-day Benin. The Peoples Republic was established on 30 November 1975, after the 1972 coup détat in the Republic of Dahomey and it effectively lasted until 1 March 1990, with the adoption of a new constitution, and the abolition of Marxism-Leninism in the nation in 1989. On 26 October 1972, the led by Commander Mathieu Kérékou overthrew the government, suspended the constitution. On 30 November 1972 it released the keynote address of New Politics of National Independence, the territorial administration was reformed, mayors and deputies replacing traditional structures. On 30 November 1974 he declared in the city of Abomey, before an assembly of stunned notables and he soon aligned Dahomey with the Soviet Union. The Peoples Revolutionary Party of Benin, designed as a party, was created on the same day as the countrys only legal party. The first year of the Marxist government was marked by purges in the state apparatus and he was shot, and activists invited to file past his body. On 30 November 1975, with the first anniversary of the speech of Abomey, Kérékou changed the name to Benin. The National Day was set for 30 November referring to three days of 1972,1974, and 1975, dubbed by the regime the Three Glorious. The constitution was adopted on 26 August of that year, Article 4 stating, Peoples Republic of Benin and its philosophical basis is Marxism-Leninism to be applied in a lively and creative manner to the realities of Benin. A basic law established a national assembly. The opposition was muzzled, and political prisoners remained in detention for years without trial, the elections were held under a system of unique applications. Campaigns were conducted for development and improving education. The government also pursued a policy of anti-religious inspiration, in order to root out witchcraft, forces of evil, Benin received only modest support from other communist countries, hosting several teams from cooperating Cuba, East Germany, the USSR, and North Korea. Benin tried to implement extensive programs of economic and social development without getting results, mismanagement and corruption undermined the countrys economy. The industrialization strategy by the market of Benin caused an escalation of foreign debt. Between 1980 and 1985, the service of its external debt raised from 20 to 49 million, while its GNP dropped from 1.402 to 1.024 billion. The three former presidents, Hubert Maga, Sourou Migan Apithy, and Justin Ahomadegbe were released in 1981, a new constitution was adopted in 1978, and the first elections for the National Revolutionary Assembly were held in 1979
10.
Red star
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A red star, five-pointed and filled, is an important symbol often associated with communist ideology, particularly in combination with hammer and sickle. It has been used in flags, state emblems, monuments, ornaments. The five-pointed red star has served since about 1917 as a symbol of communism. One interpretation sees the five points as representing the five fingers of the workers hand, a red star became one of the emblems, symbols and signals representing the Soviet Union under the rule of the Communist Party, along with, for example, the hammer and sickle. In Soviet heraldry, the red star symbolized the Red Army and the service, as opposed to the hammer and sickle. It is most often thought that Russian troops fleeing from the Austrian and German fronts found themselves in Moscow in 1917, to distinguish the Moscow troops from the influx of retreating front-liners, officers gave out tin stars to the Moscow garrison soldiers to wear on their hats. When those troops joined the Red Army and the Bolsheviks they painted their tin stars red, another claimed origin for the red star relates to an alleged encounter between Leon Trotsky and Nikolai Krylenko. Krylenko, an Esperantist, wore a lapel badge, Trotsky enquired as to its meaning. On hearing that, Trotsky specified that soldiers of the Red Army should wear a similar, red and it has also been suggested that the use of the red star might be related to the popular novel called Red star from 1908 by Alexander Bogdanov. Following its adoption as an emblem of the Soviet Union, the red star became a symbol for communism in a larger sense, the symbol became one of the most prominent of the Soviet Union, adorning all official buildings, awards and insignia. Sometimes the hammer and sickle appeared depicted inside or below the star, separatist and socialist movements also sometimes adopted the red star, as on the Estelada flag in the Catalan countries. Titos partisans, often including people with different political views, or even with a religious background, wore the red star as an identification symbol. As the use of the red star spread to communism in East Asia, it was adapted, while some states kept the star as it was, some used a star, particularly on a red field. The Far Eastern Republic of 1920 to 1922 used a star on its military uniforms. The flag of Vietnam also has a star on a red field. In Brazil, however, the red star remained as it was, the Soviet and Russian Federation military newspaper is called the Red Star. Some sports teams from non-communist countries used it, such as French Red Star from Paris, Swiss club FC Red Star Zürich, English Seaham Red Star F. C. the Brazilian leftist Workers Party uses a red star as its symbol with the party acronym inside. Hugo Chávez and his supporters in Venezuela have used the red star in numerous symbols and logos and it was also used throughout 2007 as a symbol of the 5 Engines of the Bolivarian Socialist Revolution
11.
Revolutions of 1989
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The Revolutions of 1989 were part of a revolutionary wave in the late 1980s and early 1990s that resulted in the end of communist rule in Central and Eastern Europe and beyond. The period is called the Autumn of Nations, a play on the term Spring of Nations sometimes used to describe the Revolutions of 1848. Socialism had been gaining momentum among working class citizens of the world since the 19th century and these culminated in the early 20th century, when several states and colonies formed their own communist parties. Many of the countries involved had hierarchical structures with monarchic governments, Socialism was undesirable within the circles of the ruling classes in the late 19th/early 20th century states, as such, communism was repressed. Its champions suffered persecution while people were discouraged from adopting it and this had been the practice even in states which identified as exercising a multi-party system. The Russian Revolution of 1917 saw the first communist state in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, during the period between the world wars, communism had been on the rise in many parts of the world, especially in towns and cities. This led to a series of purges in many countries to stifle the movement, violent resistance to this repression led to a decrease in support for communism in Central and Eastern Europe. In the early stages of World War II, both Nazi Germany and the USSR invaded and occupied the countries of Eastern Europe after the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact, Germany then turned against and invaded the USSR, the battles of this Eastern Front were the largest in history. The USSR joined with the Allies and in conferences at Tehran and Yalta, the USSR fought the Germans to a standstill and finally began driving them back, reaching Berlin before the end of the war. Nazi ideology was violently anti-communist, and the Nazis brutally suppressed communist movements in the countries it occupied, Communists played a large part in the resistance to the Nazis in these countries. As the Soviets forced the Germans back, they assumed control of these devastated areas. After World War II, the Soviets ensured that communists loyal to Moscow took power in the countries it occupied, the Soviets retained troops throughout these territories. The Cold War saw these states, bound together by the Warsaw Pact, have continuing tensions with the capitalist west, the Chinese Revolution established communism in China in 1949. During the Hungarian Revolution of 1956, a spontaneous nationwide anti-authoritarian revolt, similarly in 1968, the USSR repressed the Prague Spring by organizing the Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia. Labour turmoil in Poland during 1980 had led to the formation of the independent trade union, Solidarity, led by Lech Wałęsa, during the mid-1980s, a younger generation of Soviet apparatchiks, led by Gorbachev, began advocating fundamental reform in order to reverse years of Brezhnev stagnation. After decades of growth, the Soviet Union was now facing a period of economic decline and needed Western technology. The costs of maintaining its military, the KGB, subsidies to client states etc. further strained the moribund Soviet economy. The first signs of major reform came in 1986 when Gorbachev launched a policy of glasnost in the Soviet Union, and emphasized the need for perestroika
12.
French colonial empire
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The French colonial empire constituted the overseas colonies, protectorates and mandate territories that came under French rule from the 16th century onward. The second empire came to an end after the loss of bitter wars in Vietnam and Algeria, competing with Spain, Portugal, the United Provinces, and later Britain, France began to establish colonies in North America, the Caribbean, and India in the 17th century. A series of wars with Great Britain and other European major powers during the 18th century, France rebuilt a new empire mostly after 1850, concentrating chiefly in Africa, as well as Indochina and the South Pacific. Republicans, at first hostile to empire, only became supportive when Germany started to build her own colonial empire and it also provided manpower in the World Wars. It became a mission to lift the world up to French standards by bringing Christianity. In 1884 the leading proponent of colonialism, Jules Ferry declared, The higher races have a right over the lower races, full citizenship rights – assimilation – were offered, although in reality assimilation was always receding the colonial populations treated like subjects not citizens. At its apex, it was one of the largest empires in history, including metropolitan France, the total amount of land under French sovereignty reached 11,500,000 km2 in 1920, with a population of 110 million people in 1939. In World War II, Charles de Gaulle and the Free French used the colonies as bases from which they fought to liberate France. However, after 1945 anti-colonial movements began to challenge European authority, the French constitution of October 27,1946, established the French Union which endured until 1958. Newer remnants of the empire were integrated into France as overseas departments. These now total altogether 119,394 km², which amounts to only 1% of the pre-1939 French colonial empires area, by the 1970s, says Robert Aldrich, the last vestiges of empire held little interest for the French. He argues, Except for the decolonization of Algeria, however. During the 16th century, the French colonization of the Americas began, the story of Frances colonial empire truly began on 27 July 1605, with the foundation of Port Royal in the colony of Acadia in North America, in what is now Nova Scotia, Canada. A few years later, in 1608, Samuel De Champlain founded Quebec, which was to become the capital of the enormous, New France had a rather small population, which resulted from more emphasis being placed on the fur trade rather than agricultural settlements. Due to this emphasis, the French relied heavily on creating friendly contacts with the local First Nations community and these became the most enduring alliances between the French and the First Nation community. The French were, however, under pressure from religious orders to them to Catholicism. Through alliances with various Native American tribes, the French were able to exert a loose control over much of the North American continent, areas of French settlement were generally limited to the St. Lawrence River Valley. Prior to the establishment of the 1663 Sovereign Council, the territories of New France were developed as mercantile colonies
13.
French Dahomey
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French Dahomey was a French colony of and a part of French West Africa from 1904 to 1958. After World War II, by the establishment of the French Fourth Republic in 1947, on 11 December 1958, the French Fifth Republic was established and the French Union became the French Community. The colony became the self-governing Republic of Dahomey within the Community, under the dynasty established by Ewuare the Great, the most famous of the obas, Dahoneys territory expanded to cover a region between the Niger River delta and what is now the Nigerian city of Lagos. The obas brought great prosperity and an organized state to Benin. They also established relations and an extensive slave trade with the Portuguese. The decline of the began in the 18th century when a series of internal power struggles began which lasted into the 19th century. Colony The French takeover and colonization of the Kingdom of Dahomey began in 1872, the First Franco-Dahomean War in 1890 further weakened it. The Second Franco-Dahomean War resulted in it becoming a French protectorate in 1894, in 1904, the Dahomey territory was incorporated into French West Africa as Dahomey. Under the French a port was constructed at Cotonou, and railroads were built, school facilities were expanded by Roman Catholic missions. In 1946, Dahomey became a territory with its own parliament. On 4 December 1958, it became the Republic of Dahomey, independence On 1 August 1960, the Republic of Dahomey gained full independence from France. The republics first president was Hubert Maga, who had been the Prime Minister during the territorys last year under French rule. List of the governors of French Dahomey Kingdom of Dahomey French West Africa Chafer. The End of Empire in French West Africa, Frances Successful Decolonization
14.
Decolonisation of Africa
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The Decolonisation of Africa followed World War II, when colonised people agitated for independence and colonial powers withdrew their administrators from Africa. During the Scramble for Africa in the nineteenth century, Western European powers divided Africa. By 1905, control of almost all African soil was claimed by Western European governments, Britain and France had the largest holdings, but Germany, Spain, Italy, Belgium, and Portugal also had colonies. As a result of colonialism and imperialism, a majority of Africa lost sovereignty and control of resources such as gold. The introduction of imperial polices surfacing around local economies into cheap labor, exploitation of resources, following the concept of Rudyard Kiplings poem The White Mans Burden, some Europeans who benefited from colonisation felt that colonialism was needed to civilise Africans. On February 12,1941, United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt, the result was the Atlantic Charter. It was not a treaty and was not submitted to the British Parliament or the Senate of the United States for ratification, one of the provisions, introduced by Roosevelt, was the autonomy of imperial colonies. After World War II, the US and the African colonies put pressure on Britain to abide by the terms of the Atlantic Charter, after the war, some British considered African colonies to be childish and immature, British colonisers introduced democratic government at local levels in the colonies. By the 1930s, the powers had cultivated, sometimes inadvertently. In some cases where the road to independence was fought, settled arrangements with the powers were also being placed. One of the leaders Nkrumah strived towards independence and pan Africanism, under British colonization and influence from indigenous elites Nkrumah endured innumerable amount of challenges towards full liberation. In 1947 the elites established United Gold Coast Convention with the influence of British government, through the UGCC, Nkrumah revealed his opposition towards the British by setting up newspapers, schools, and youth organizations in order to gain support from the community. After verbal and political attack from the UGCC, Nkrumah created his own movement known as the Convention Peoples Party, through his nonviolent movement and his legislative victory in 1951, the British soon realized that Nkrumah will continue to fight towards full decolonization. Through the issues of neocolonialism, the United States suggest for Ghana, in 1972, Nkrumah died of cancer and his plot towards Ghanas full independence withered away as well during his passing. This table is the arranged by the earliest date of independence in this graph,58 countries have seceded, the end of empire in French West Africa, Frances successful decolonization. Decolonization and African society, The labor question in French and British Africa, the Story of Nigeria Faber and Faber, London,1978 Dávila, Jerry. Hotel Tropico, Brazil and the challenge of African Decolonization, 1950–1980, ISBN 978-0822348559 Gordon, April A. and Donald L. Gordon, Lynne Riener. The Routledge companion to decolonization, comprehensive coverage, 365pp*Kevin Shillington History of Africa St. Martins Press, New York,1995 Khapoya
15.
French Community
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The French Community was an association of some states which were once a part of the Second French Empire. During 1958 it replaced the French Union, which had succeeded the French colonial empire during 1946. The constitution of the Fifth Republic, which created the French Community, was a consequence of the war in Algeria, in reality, the colonies had little power, with all power remaining centralized in the French Parliament. This was an attempt to quell the concerns over Algerian independence, however, this did not stop the demands for independence. The 1 million French colonists in Algeria were determined to resist any possible Algerian independence, the trouble, which threatened to become a civil war, provoked a political crisis in France and caused the end of the Fourth Republic. General Charles de Gaulle was recalled to power and a new constitution was written and this attitude was manifest in the new constitution, which provided for the right of the overseas territories to request complete independence. Under this new constitution, the French Union was replaced by the French Community, become a state of the French Community. None of the overseas territories opted to become overseas departments, by early 1959, the members of the French Community were as follows, The French Republic, which was one and indivisible. All the inhabitants were French citizens and participated with the election of the president of the republic and it consisted of, European France, including Corsica. These areas, considered a part of France, were divided into departments,13 in Algeria and 2 in Sahara. All the inhabitants were French citizens, but the Muslims preserved their own juridical status, all sent representatives to the French assemblies and elected municipalities. Their administration and legislation were in principle those of the metropole, the French Southern and Antarctic Territories, with no permanent population, were administered directly from Paris. The member states, which were initially, Central African Republic, although there was only one citizenship of the Community, the territories that became Community member states did not form part of the French Republic, and were granted broad autonomy. They had their own constitutions and could create unions among themselves, agreements of Association could also be made by the Community with other states. Associated with the Community were the United Nations trust territories of French Cameroun and French Togoland, article 91 of the constitution stipulated that the institutions of the Community were to be established by 4 April 1959. These were as follows, The President of the Community was the President of the French Republic, the member states also participated with his election and he was represented in each state by a High Commissioner. During 1958 President de Gaulle was elected by an majority in all the states. To promote autonomy within France, Gaulle gave autonomy to the colonies so that they would stay within the community
16.
Charge (heraldry)
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In heraldry, a charge is any emblem or device occupying the field of an escutcheon. This may be a design or a symbolic representation of a person, animal, plant. In French blazon, the ordinaries are called pièces while other charges are called meubles, while thousands of objects found in nature, mythology or technology have appeared in armory, there are several charges which have contributed to the distinctive flavour of heraldic design. Only these and a few other notable charges are discussed in this article, some heraldic writers distinguish, albeit arbitrarily, between honourable ordinaries and sub-ordinaries. While some authors hold that only nine charges are honourable ordinaries, the remainder are often termed sub-ordinaries, and narrower or smaller versions of the ordinaries are called diminutives. Apparently ceding the point for the moment, Fox-Davies lists the generally agreed-upon honourable ordinaries as the bend, fess, pale, pile, chevron, cross, saltire and chief. Boutell lists the chief, pale, bend, bend sinister, fess, bar, cross, saltire and cheveron as the honourable ordinaries. Thus, the chief, bend, pale, fess, chevron, cross and saltire appear to be the undisputed ordinaries, while authors disagree over the status of the pile, bar, inescutcheon, bordure and others. Several different figures are recognised as honourable ordinaries, each normally occupying about one-fifth to one-third of the field, the chief is the upper portion of the field. The bend runs from the left to the lower right, as \. The bend sinister runs from the right to the lower left. The pale, a stripe in the centre of the field. The fess is a horizontal stripe across the centre of the field. The chevron is a construction shaped like an inverted letter V, the cross is a geometric construction of two perpendicular lines or bands. It has hundreds of variants, most of which are common charges rather than ordinaries, the saltire is a diagonal cross, often called Saint Andrews cross. Most of the ordinaries have corresponding diminutives, narrower versions, most often mentioned when two or more appear in parallel, bendlets, pallets, bars, chevronels, in addition to those mentioned in the above section, other ordinaries exist. Some of these are variously called honourable ordinaries by different authors, the pall or pairle is shaped like the letter Y. The pile is a wedge issuing from the top of the field and its length and width vary widely
17.
Five-pointed star
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A five-pointed star is a common ideogram used throughout the world. If the colinear edges are joined together a pentagram is produced and it has also become a symbol of fame or stardom in Western culture. Five-pointed stars are found on flags, generally in solid form, although some. The pentagram appears on two national flags, those of Ethiopia and Morocco. Five-pointed stars appear on the flag and in the symbolism of the United States. In the U. S. context, the stars allegedly symbolize the heavens, the five-pointed star is known as a symbol of fame or stardom. The Red Star is a star, coloured solidly in red. It is used to symbolize socialism and in particular communism and they live mainly in Syria, Lebanon, and Israel. The five-pointed star is part of the symbol of the Ottoman Empire, in the Baháí Faith a five-pointed star referred to as a haykal represents the Manifestation of God, as described in the Súriy-i-Haykal. Strictly speaking the 5-pointed star is the symbol of our Faith, as used by the Báb, the five pointed star is a Serer religious, and symbolizes the Serer people of West Africa. In the Serer language, it is called Yoonir and it is regarded as symbol of the universe in the Serer creation myth, the Five pointed star has been a Muslim symbol for multiple Muslim works, most notably on flags. This might be a feature as part of the star and crescent to represent the caliphate, Five pointed stars are also used on various elevators to indicate the ground level or lobby of a building. Five pointed stars are used on various police, fire. The five pointed star may also be used to symbolize the human body as well as the five senses of human perception, the symbol of the Italian Marxist-Leninist terrorist group Brigate Rosse is a slightly modified five-pointed star. The Order of the Eastern Star, an organization associated with Freemasonry, employs a downward-pointing star as its symbol, with the five points colored blue, yellow, white, green. This emblem sometimes appears in the form of a pentagram, the Star and Crescent are the official symbols of Kappa Sigma comprising the fraternity badge. A green five-pointed star is a symbol of Esperanto
18.
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
19.
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
20.
Savanna
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A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland grassland ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach the ground to support a herbaceous layer consisting primarily of grasses. Savannas maintain an open canopy despite a high tree density and it is often believed that savannas feature widely spaced, scattered trees. However, in savannas, tree densities are higher and trees are more regularly spaced than in forests. Savanna covers approximately 20% of the Earths land area, the word originally entered English in 1555 as the Latin Zauana, equivalent in the orthography of the times to zavana. Peter Martyr reported it as the name for the plain around Comagre. The accounts are inexact, but this is placed in present-day Madugandí or at points on the nearby Guna Yala coast opposite Ustupo or on Point Mosquitos. These areas are now given over to modern cropland or jungle. The common usage meaning to describe vegetation now conflicts with a simplified yet widespread climatic concept meaning, the divergence has sometimes caused areas such as extensive savannas north and south of the Congo and Amazon Rivers to be excluded from mapped savanna categories. Barrens has been used almost interchangeably with savanna in different parts of North America, sometimes midwestern savanna were described as grassland with trees. Different authors have defined the limits of savanna tree coverage as 5–10%. Two factors common to all environments are rainfall variations from year to year. In the Americas, e. g. in Belize, Central America, savanna vegetation is similar from Mexico to South America, savannas are subject to regular wildfires and the ecosystem appears to be the result of human use of fire. For example, Native Americans created the Pre-Columbian savannas of North America by periodically burning where fire-resistant plants were the dominant species, pine barrens in scattered locations from New Jersey to coastal New England are remnants of these savannas. Aboriginal burning appears to have responsible for the widespread occurrence of savanna in tropical Australia and New Guinea. The maquis shrub savannas of the Mediterranean region were created and maintained by anthropogenic fire. These fires are usually confined to the layer and do little long term damage to mature trees. However, these either kill or suppress tree seedlings, thus preventing the establishment of a continuous tree canopy which would prevent further grass growth
21.
Arecaceae
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The Arecaceae are a botanical family of perennial climbers, shrubs, acaules and trees commonly known as palm trees. They are flowering plants, a family in the monocot order Arecales, currently 181 genera with around 2600 species are known, most of them restricted to tropical, subtropical, and warm temperate climates. Most palms are distinguished by their large, compound, evergreen leaves, known as fronds, however, palms exhibit an enormous diversity in physical characteristics and inhabit nearly every type of habitat within their range, from rainforests to deserts. Palms are among the best known and most extensively cultivated plant families and they have been important to humans throughout much of history. Many common products and foods are derived from palms, and palms are widely used in landscaping, making them one of the most economically important plants. In many historical cultures, palms were symbols for such ideas as victory, peace, for inhabitants of cooler climates today, palms symbolize the tropics and vacations. Whether as shrubs, trees, or vines, palms have two methods of growth, solitary or clustered, the common representation is that of a solitary shoot ending in a crown of leaves. This monopodial character may be exhibited by prostrate, trunkless, some common palms restricted to solitary growth include Washingtonia and Roystonea. Palms may instead grow in sparse though dense clusters, the trunk develops an axillary bud at a leaf node, usually near the base, from which a new shoot emerges. The new shoot, in turn, produces an axillary bud, exclusively sympodial genera include many of the rattans, Guihaia, and Rhapis. Several palm genera have both solitary and clustering members, Palms which are usually solitary may grow in clusters, and vice versa. These aberrations suggest the habit operates on a single gene, Palms have large, evergreen leaves that are either palmately or pinnately compound and spirally arranged at the top of the stem. The leaves have a sheath at the base that usually splits open on one side at maturity. The inflorescence is a spadix or spike surrounded by one or more bracts or spathes that become woody at maturity, the flowers are generally small and white, radially symmetric, and can be either uni- or bisexual. The sepals and petals usually number three each, and may be distinct or joined at the base, the stamens generally number six, with filaments that may be separate, attached to each other, or attached to the pistil at the base. The fruit is usually a single-seeded drupe but some genera may contain two or more seeds in each fruit, like all monocots, palms do not have the ability to increase the width of a stem via the same kind of vascular cambium found in non-monocot woody plants. This explains the shape of the trunk that is often seen in palms. The Arecaceae are notable among monocots for their height and for the size of their seeds, leaves, Ceroxylon quindiuense, Colombias national tree, is the tallest monocot in the world, reaching up to 60 m tall
22.
Pan-Africanism
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Pan-Africanism is a worldwide intellectual movement that aims to encourage and strengthen bonds of solidarity between all people of African descent. It is based on the belief that unity is vital to economic, social, the ideology asserts that the fate of all African peoples and countries are intertwined. At its core Pan-Africanism is a belief that African peoples, both on the continent and in the diaspora, share not merely a common history, but a common destiny. The African Union Commission has its seat in Addis Ababa and the Pan-African Parliament has its seat in Johannesburg, Pan-Africanism stresses the need for collective self-reliance. Pan-Africanism exists as a governmental and grassroots objective, du Bois, and others in the diaspora. Solidarity will enable self-reliance, allowing the potential to independently provide for its people to be fulfilled. Crucially, an alliance would empower African people globally. that would unsettle social and political structures. in the Americas. United, African nations will have the economic, political and social clout to act and compete on the stage as do other large entities, such as the European Union. Pan-Africans or Pan-Africanists—often champion socialist principles and tend to be opposed to external political, critics accuse the ideology of homogenizing the experience of people of African descent. They also point to the difficulties of reconciling current divisions within countries on the continent, as a philosophy, Pan-Africanism represents the aggregation of the historical, cultural, spiritual, artistic, scientific, and philosophical legacies of Africans from past times to the present. Another important political form of a religious Pan-Africanist worldview appeared in the form of Ethiopianism, in London, the Sons of Africa was a political group addressed by Quobna Ottobah Cugoano in the 1791 edition of his book Thoughts and Sentiments on the Evil of Slavery. The group addressed meetings and organised letter-writing campaigns, published campaigning material and they wrote to figures such as Granville Sharp, William Pitt and other members of the white abolition movement, as well as King George III and the Prince of Wales, the future George IV. Modern Pan-Africanism began around the start of the 20th century, the African Association, later renamed the Pan-African Association, was established around 1897 by Henry Sylvester-Williams, who organized the First Pan-African Conference in London in 1900. With the independence of Ghana in March 1957, Kwame Nkrumah was elected as the first Prime Minister, Nkrumah emerged as a major advocate for the unity of Independent Africa. The Ghanaian President embodied a political activist approach to pan-Africanism as he championed the “quest for regional integration of the whole of the African continent”, Nkrumah’s pan-African principles, intended for a union between the Independent African states, upon a recognition their commonality, suppression under imperialism. The Conference invited delegates of political movements and major political leaders, with the exception of South Africa, all Independent States of the Continent attended, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, Liberia, Libya, Morocco, Tunisia and Sudan. The Conference signified a monumental event in the movement, as it revealed a political and social union between the those considered Arabic states and the black African regions. Further, the Conference espoused a common African Nationalist identity, among the States, of unity, frantz Fanon, journalist, freedom fighter and a member of the Algerian, FLN Party attended the conference as a delegate for Algeria
23.
French West Africa
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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
24.
National Assembly (France)
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The National Assembly is the lower house of the bicameral Parliament of France under the Fifth Republic. The upper house is the Senate, the National Assemblys members are known as députés. There are 577 députés, each elected by a constituency through a two-round voting system. Thus,289 seats are required for a majority, the assembly is presided over by a president, normally from the largest party represented, assisted by vice-presidents from across the represented political spectrum. The term of the National Assembly is five years, however and it is guarded by Republican Guards. The Constitution of the French Fifth Republic greatly increased the power of the executive at the expense of Parliament, the President of the Republic can decide to dissolve the National Assembly and call for new legislative elections. This is meant as a way to resolve stalemates where the Assembly cannot decide on a political direction. The National Assembly can overthrow the government by a vote of no confidence. For this reason, the minister and his cabinet are necessarily from the dominant party or coalition in the assembly. The Government used to set the priorities of the agenda for the Assemblys sessions and this, however, was amended on 23 July 2008. Under the amended constitution, the Government sets the priorities for two weeks in a month, another week is designated for the Assemblys control prerogatives. And the fourth one is set by the Assembly, also, one day per month is set by a minority or opposition group. Members of the assembly can ask written or oral questions to ministers, the Wednesday afternoon 3 p. m. session of questions to the Government is broadcast live on television. Like Prime Ministers Questions in Britain, it is largely a show for the viewers, with members of the majority asking flattering questions, while the opposition tries to embarrass the government. Since 1988, the 577 deputies are elected by universal suffrage with a two-round system by constituency, for a five-year mandate. The constituencies each have approximately 100,000 inhabitants, however, districts were not redrawn between 1982 and 2009. As a result of population movements over that period, there were inequalities between the less populous rural districts and the urban districts, the constituencies were redrawn in 2009, but this redistribution was controversial. Among other controversial measures, it created eleven constituencies and seats for French residents overseas, albeit without increasing the overall number of seats beyond 577
25.
Flag of Ethiopia
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The national flag of Ethiopia was adopted on 31 October 1996. It conforms to the specifications set forth in Article 3 of the 1995 Constitution of Ethiopia, however, the diameter of the central disc is increased from that of the flag used from 6 February to 31 October 1996. The three traditional colours of green, yellow and red date back to Iyasu V, the current flag and emblem were adopted after the defeat of Ethiopias Marxist Derg regime. The emblem is intended to represent both the diversity and unity of the country, blue represents peace, the star represents diversity and unity, and the suns rays symbolise prosperity. The green recalls the land, yellow stands for peace and hope, the green, yellow and red were used for the flag of the Ethiopian Empire in 1914. In 1914 the flag was reversed to its todays flag, the flags tri-colour scheme has existed since the early 19th century, and the colours red, yellow, and green have carried special importance since at least the early 17th century. The royal flag often featured the emblem of a Lion of Judah, the flag is understood to be a link between the Ethiopian church, the peoples, and the nation that was united. The processional cross carried by the lion was the flag or symbol of Ethiopia. Whilst red is currently featured at the bottom of the horizontal tricolour, the emblem was added in 1996. What the colours symbolise varies depending on point of view, upon gaining independence from colonial rule, several newly established countries in Africa adopted these three colours in homage to Ethiopias resistance against foreign occupation. When adopted by Pan-Africanist polities and organizations for their activities, the colours are often referred to as the Pan-African colours, prior to 1996 the plain flag was commonly seen across the nation and the world. Previously, especially during the Derg regime, a number of different emblems were experimented with, however, the basic colour schematic has remained constant. Even after declaring itself a Communist regime, the Derg did not dare to tamper with the colours layout, an alternative emblem featuring a five pointed star and rays over a cogwheel surrounded by a wreath of leaves is now the featured emblem. The star is yellow on a disc which overlaps the green. In recent years, the government of Ethiopia has taken a conscious effort to increase the usage of the flag with the emblem, which had been seen far less than the plain tricolour. As the plain tricolour was used and seen far more often than either the flag of the Derg or the Lion of Judah flag and this replaced the 1996 Flag Proclamation, which made no mention of offenses or penalties. Flags of the regions of Ethiopia Peoples Democratic Republic of Ethiopia Proclamation No, 16/1996 – A Proclamation on the Flag and Emblem of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia Proclamation No. 48/1996 – A Proclamation to amend the Flag and Emblem Proclamation Proclamation No, 654/2009 – The Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia Flag Proclamation Ethiopia at Flags of the World Flag of Ethiopia Worldstatesmen - Ethiopia
26.
Liberia
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Liberia /laɪˈbɪəriə/, officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to its west, Guinea to its north and it covers an area of 111,369 square kilometres and has a population of 4,503,000 people. English is the language and over 20 indigenous languages are spoken. The countrys capital and largest city is Monrovia, forests on the coastline are composed mostly of salt-tolerant mangrove trees, while the more sparsely populated inland has forests opening onto a plateau of drier grasslands. The climate is equatorial, with significant rainfall during the May–October rainy season, Liberia possesses about forty percent of the remaining Upper Guinean rainforest. It was an important producer of rubber in the early 20th century, the Republic of Liberia began as a settlement of the American Colonization Society, who believed African Americans would face better chances for freedom in Africa than in the United States. The country declared its independence on July 26,1847, the U. S. did not recognize Liberias independence until during the American Civil War on February 5,1862. The African American settlers carried their culture with them to Liberia, Liberia maintained and kept its independence during the European colonial era. In addition, President William Tubman encouraged economic changes, internationally, Liberia was a founding member of the League of Nations, United Nations and the Organisation of African Unity. Five years of rule by the Peoples Redemption Council and five years of civilian rule by the National Democratic Party of Liberia were followed by the First. These resulted in the deaths and displacement of more than half a million people, a peace agreement in 2003 led to democratic elections in 2005. Recovery proceeds but about 85% of the population live below the poverty line. The Pepper Coast, also known as the Grain Coast, has been inhabited by peoples of Africa at least as far back as the 12th century. Mende-speaking people expanded westward from the Sudan, forcing many smaller ethnic groups southward toward the Atlantic Ocean, the Dei, Bassa, Kru, Gola and Kissi were some of the earliest documented peoples in the area. This influx was compounded by the decline of the Western Sudanic Mali Empire in 1375, additionally, as inland regions underwent desertification, inhabitants moved to the wetter coast. These new inhabitants brought skills such as spinning, cloth weaving, iron smelting, rice and sorghum cultivation. Shortly after the Mane conquered the region, the Vai people of the former Mali Empire immigrated into the Grand Cape Mount County region, the ethnic Kru opposed the influx of Vai, forming an alliance with the Mane to stop further influx of Vai. People along the coast built canoes and traded with other West Africans from Cap-Vert to the Gold Coast, arab traders entered the region from the north, and a long-established slave trade took captives to north and east Africa
27.
Scramble for Africa
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The Scramble for Africa was the invasion, occupation, division, colonization and annexation of African territory by European powers during the period of New Imperialism, between 1881 and 1914. It is also called the Partition of Africa and the Conquest of Africa, in 1870, only 10 percent of Africa was under European control, by 1914 it had increased to 90 percent of the continent, with only Ethiopia, the Dervish state and Liberia still being independent. The Berlin Conference of 1884, which regulated European colonization and trade in Africa, is referred to as the starting point of the scramble for Africa. The latter years of the 19th century saw the transition from informal imperialism, by influence and economic dominance, to direct rule. But Europeans showed comparatively little interest in the interior for some two centuries thereafter, European exploration of the African interior began in earnest at the end of the 18th century. By 1835, Europeans had mapped most of northwestern Africa, in the middle decades of the 19th century, famous European explorers included David Livingstone and H. M. Stanley, each of whom mapped vast areas of Southern Africa and Central Africa. Arduous expeditions in the 1850s and 1860s by Richard Burton, John Speke and James Grant located the central lakes. By the end of the 19th century Europeans had charted the Nile from its source, traced the courses of the Niger, Congo and Zambezi Rivers, and realized the vast resources of Africa. Even as late as the 1870s, European states still controlled only ten percent of the African continent, the most important holdings were Angola and Mozambique, held by Portugal, the Cape Colony, held by the United Kingdom, and Algeria, held by France. By 1914, only Ethiopia and Liberia remained independent of European control, technological advances facilitated European expansion overseas. Industrialisation brought about rapid advancements in transportation and communication, especially in the forms of navigation, railways. Medical advances also played an important role, especially medicines for tropical diseases, the development of quinine, an effective treatment for malaria, made vast expanses of the tropics more accessible for Europeans. Sub-Saharan Africa, one of the last regions of the largely untouched by informal imperialism, was also attractive to Europes ruling elites for economic. In addition, surplus capital was more profitably invested overseas, where cheap materials, limited competition. Additionally, Britain wanted the southern and eastern coasts of Africa for stopover ports on the route to Asia and its empire in India. However, in Africa – excluding the area became the Union of South Africa in 1910 – the amount of capital investment by Europeans was relatively small. Consequently, the involved in tropical African commerce were relatively small. Rhodes had carved out Rhodesia for himself, Léopold II of Belgium later, John A. Hobson argued in Imperialism that this shrinking of continental markets was a key factor of the global New Imperialism period
28.
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
29.
Flags of the World
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Flags of the World is an Internet-based vexillological association and resource. Its principal project is the Internets largest website devoted to vexillology, containing information about all kinds of flags. The mailing list began as a group in about September 1993, while the website was founded by Giuseppe Bottasini in late 1994. FotW became the 56th member of the FIAV in 2001, both the website and the mailing list operate in the English language, though there are members from around the world and as such information from many languages is translated and included. The mailing list is monitored by the FOTW Listmaster, while work on the website is coordinated by the FOTW Editorial Director, the website is updated once a week with fresh material, some mirrors update monthly. Due to the amount of material there is an editing backlog. There are also some mirrors that have not been updated for varying periods of time, the source for material on the FOTW website are contributions to the FOTW mailing list, which has over 1000 members, of which some 100 are active contributors. The mailing list has notable minorities of Portuguese, French, Dutch, a staff of three unpaid volunteers manages and moderates the list. An affiliated Flags of the World Facebook group has established, inaugurated by Edward Mooney. As of November 2016 the group is run and moderated by a team of ten administrators, FOTW displays standardized flag images in GIF format, usually at a height of 216 pixels. While the GIF file format is capable of displaying 256 colours, the organizations flag is a design by Mark Sensen, which was selected over 10 challengers in a poll of FOTW mailing list members and was adopted 8 March 1996. Since then, March 8 has been regarded as FOTWs Flag day, Sensen described its symbolism, White on the hoist stands for peace, blue on the fly for progress. The six colours of the stars are the colours used in flags. The stars help to make one bigger symbol, the way the stars are all connected to each other represents the Internet. The flag is used as a rare representation of the Internet on a flag. List of flags List of flags by country Gallery of country flags Flags of the World Dictionary of Vexillology Flag Days Of The World FOTW mailing list
30.
Benin
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Benin, officially the Republic of Benin and formerly Dahomey, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east, the majority of its population lives on the small southern coastline of the Bight of Benin, part of the Gulf of Guinea in the northernmost tropical portion of the Atlantic Ocean. The capital of Benin is Porto-Novo, but the seat of government is in Cotonou, Benin covers an area of 114,763 square kilometers and its population in 2015 was estimated to be approximately 10.88 million. Benin is a nation, highly dependent on agriculture, with substantial employment. The official language of Benin is French, however, indigenous languages such as Fon and Yoruba are commonly spoken. The largest religious group in Benin is Roman Catholicism, followed closely by Islam, Vodun and this region was referred to as the Slave Coast from as early as the 17th century due to the large number of slaves shipped to the New World during the Trans-Atlantic slave trade. After slavery was abolished, France took over the country and renamed it French Dahomey, in 1960, Dahomey gained full independence from France, and had a tumultuous period with many different democratic governments, many military coups and military governments. A Marxist–Leninist state called the Peoples Republic of Benin existed between 1975 and 1990, in 1991, it was replaced by the current multi-party Republic of Benin. During the colonial period and at independence, the country was known as Dahomey, on 30 November 1975 it was renamed to Benin, after the body of water on which the country lies—the Bight of Benin—which, in turn, had been named after the Benin Empire. The country of Benin has no connection to Benin City in modern Nigeria, the form Benin is the result of a Portuguese corruption of the city of Ubinu. The new name, Benin, was chosen for its neutrality, the current country of Benin combines three areas which had different political and ethnic systems prior to French colonial control. Before 1700, there were a few important city states along the coast, the situation changed in the 1600s and early 1700s as the Kingdom of Dahomey, which was of Fon ethnicity, was founded on the Abomey plateau and began taking over areas along the coast. The Dahomey Kingdom was known for its culture and traditions, young boys were often apprenticed to older soldiers, and taught the kingdoms military customs until they were old enough to join the army. This emphasis on preparation and achievement earned Dahomey the nickname of black Sparta from European observers. The kings of Dahomey sold their war captives into transatlantic slavery, by about 1750, the King of Dahomey was earning an estimated £250,000 per year by selling Africans to the European slave-traders. Court protocols, which demanded that a portion of war captives from the many battles be decapitated, decreased the number of enslaved people exported from the area. The number went from 102,000 people per decade in the 1780s to 24,000 per decade by the 1860s, the decline was partly due to the banning of the trans-Atlantic slave trade by Britain and other countries. This decline continued until 1885, when the last slave ship departed from the coast of the present-day Benin Republic bound for Brazil, a former Portuguese colony, the capitals name Porto-Novo is of Portuguese origin, meaning New Port
31.
First Franco-Dahomean War
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The First Franco-Dahomean War, which raged in 1890, was a conflict between France, led by General Alfred-Amédée Dodds, and the Dahomey under King Béhanzin. The French emerged triumphant after winning the Battle of Abomey, at the close of the 19th century, European powers were busy conquering and colonizing much of Africa. In what is today Benin, the colonial power was the French Third Republic. The French had established ties with the indigenous peoples of the area including one of West Africas most powerful states at the time. In 1851, a Franco-Dahomean friendship treaty was ratified allowing the French to operate commercially, by 1890, the Fon kingdom of Dahomey was at the height of its power. It laid claim to almost all the coast of modern Benin plus much of south-central Benin as far north as Atcheribé, one of Dahomeys most important tributaries was the small kingdom of Porto-Novo near the coast. The kingdom had been at odds with Dahomey on and off since the middle of the 18th century, in 1861, Porto-Novo was attacked by British anti-slaving ships. Porto-Novo asked for and received French protection in 1863, but this was rejected by Dahomey, another issue of contention was the status of Cotonou, a port the French believed was under their control because of a treaty signed by Dahomeys representative in Whydah. Dahomey ignored all French claims there as well and continued to collect customs from the port, in 1874, King Tofa took power in Porto-Novo and re-established French protection over the kingdom after Dahomey attacked it in 1882. Dahomey continued raiding the town, which culminated in an incident that brought the Fon, in March 1889, Dahomey attacked a village on the Ouémé where a village chief under the protection of the French. After remarking that the flag of the tri-color would protect him, then in March of that year, France sent a mission to Dahomeys capital of Abomey to assert its claims to Cotonou and offer an annual payment. The crown prince and later king Béhanzin received the mission but nothing was achieved other than mutual distrust, France responded to these events by building up its force in Cotonou to 359 men,299 of which were Tirailleurs or French trained Senegalese and Gabonese. On February 21, the French arrested the senior Fon officials in Cotonou, skirmishes with local militia also broke out. It wasnt long before word of this got back to Abomey, Dahomey sent a force straight to Cotonou with plans to bring it firmly back under Fon control once and for all. On March 4, a Dahomey army of several thousand charged the log stockade around Cotonou at approximately 5 in the morning and this was usual for the Fon army of Dahomey that almost always marched at night and attacked just before dawn. Prying apart the stakes and shoving their muskets through, the Fon fired into the enclosure, some even managed to surmount the 800-meter perimeter inflicting casualties within the walls. After four hours of fighting, often occurring hand-to-hand despite withering French firepower and even gunboat shells. The French sustained few losses, but the Fon suffered several hundred dead, after regrouping, Dahomey sent another force south, this time toward Porto-Novo
32.
Second Franco-Dahomean War
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The French emerged triumphant and incorporated Dahomey into their growing colonial territory of French West Africa. The Fon ceased hostilities with the French after two defeats, withdrawing their forces and signing a treaty conceding to all of Frances demands. However, Dahomey remained a potent force in the area and quickly re-armed with modern weapons in anticipation of a second, after re-arming and regrouping, the Fon returned to raiding the Ouémé Valley, the same valley fought over in the first war with France. Victor Ballot, the French Resident at Porto-Novo, was sent via gunboat upriver to investigate and his ship was attacked and forced to depart with five men wounded in the incident. King Benhanzin rejected complaints by the French, and war was declared immediately by the French, the French entrusted the war effort against Dahomey to Alfred-Amédée Dodds, an octoroon colonel of the Troupes de marine from Senegal. Colonel Dodds arrived with a force of 2,164 men including Foreign Legionnaires, marines, engineers, artillery and these forces were armed with the new Lebel rifles, which would prove decisive in the coming battle. The French protectorate kingdom of Porto-Novo also added some 2,600 porters to aid in the fight, the Fon, prior to the outbreak of the second war, had stockpiled between 4,000 and 6,000 rifles including Mannlicher and Winchester carbines. These were purchased from German merchants via the port of Whydah, King Béhanzin also bought some machine-guns and Krupp cannons, but it is unknown that these were ever put to use. On June 15,1892, the French blockaded Dahomeys coast to prevent any further arms sales, then, on July 4, the first shots of the war were fired from French gunboats with the shelling of several villages along the lower Ouémé Valley. The carefully organized French army began moving inland in mid-August toward their destination of the Dahomey capital of Abomey. The French invasion force assembled at the village of Dogba on September 14, some 50 miles upriver on the border of Dahomey, at around 5 a. m. on September 19, the French force was attacked by the army of Dahomey. The Fon broke off the attack after three to four hours of fighting, characterized by repeated attempts by the Fon for melee combat. Hundreds of Fon were left dead on the field with the French forces suffering only five dead, the French forces moved another 15 miles upriver before turning west in the direction of Abomey. On October 4, the French column was attacked at Poguessa by Fon forces under the command of King Béhanzin himself, the Fon staged several fierce charges over two to three hours that all failed against the 20-inch bayonets of the French. The Dahomey army left the field in defeat losing some 200 soldiers, the French carried the day with only 42 casualties. The Dahomey Amazons were also conspicuous in the battle, after the hard-fought victory at Poguessa, the Fon resorted to guerilla tactics rather than set-piece engagements. It took the French invasion force a month to march the 25 miles between Poguessa and the last major battle at Cana just outside Abomey, the Fon dug foxholes and trenches in their desperate battle to slow the French invasion. On October 6, the French had another encounter with the Fon at the village of Adégon
33.
Presidential Council (Benin)
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The Presidential Council was a triumvirate system of government in the Republic of Dahomey from 7 May 1970 until 26 October 1972. The Presidential Council included Hubert Maga, Justin Ahomadégbé-Tomêtin, and Sourou-Migan Apithy as equal members of a council which held all legislative and executive power in the state of Dahomey. The result was an unstable system of governance with the leaders of each of these different parties struggling with each other for power. Ahomadégbé was eventually able to gain the support of Maga to gain the hand over Apithy. In the charter of the Presidential Council, each of the three leaders would sit on a Presidential Council which would be tasked with approving all major decisions of the country. At the same time, each would get two years as the President of the able to implement many of the ongoing tasks of managing the military. The various ministerial positions would be divided between the three leaders, however, the Ministry of the Interior and the Minister of the Army would be appointed by the sitting president. It was decided that Maga would be the first President from 1970 until 1972, followed by Ahomadégbé until 1974, one peaceful transition occurred with Hubert Maga giving power to Justin Ahomadégbé-Tomêtin on 7 May 1972. The colony of French Dahomey was created as a part of French West Africa in 1904, the colony was constructed of two coastal kingdoms with a long history of antagonism with one another with a large area to the north controlled by a variety of mostly Mahi and Bariba peoples. After World War II, the colonies of French West Africa began a 15 year process towards independence, French Dahomey, like many other colonies, saw domestic political parties emerge in the mid-1950s. However, in contrast to many of the colonies, political parties in French Dahomey did not become predominant through the whole colony. In the northern part of the country, the Groupement Ethnique du Nord, in the area that was formerly the kingdom of Dahomey, the Union Démocratique du Dahomé led by Justin Ahomadégbé-Tomêtin became the most powerful party. And in Porto-Novo, the Parti des Nationialistes Dahoméens led by Sourou-Migan Apithy was the major party, Apithy was the major political leader in the colony, being elected twice to the French National Assembly in 1946 and 1951. Maga was also elected in 1951 as the second representative to the National Assembly. Apithy won the 1958 election in the colony to select the Premier who would guide the country to independence, following independence in 1960, Dahomey had its first elections in December. Apithy responded to this by making an alliance with Maga which made Maga the first President of Dahomey and made Apithy the first Minister of Finance. To consolidate his power, Maga promoted a number of allies, in addition, he tried to weaken his allys political power by appointing Apithy to be the Ambassador of France while he was still the Vice President. However, the division between these roles and the responsibilities between the two leaders was not clearly defined, during the 1963 coup, Maga and many of his inner circle were arrested and tried for mismanagement of public funds
34.
Geography of Benin
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Benin, a narrow, key-shaped, north-south strip of land in West Africa, lies between the Equator and the Tropic of Cancer. With an area of 112,622 km2, it is bigger than the nation of Bulgaria. Benin extends from the Niger River in the north to the Atlantic Ocean in the south, although the coastline measures 121 km, the country measures about 325 km at its widest point. It is one of the countries in West Africa, about one eighth the size of Nigeria. It is, however, twice as large as Togo, its neighbor to the west, a relief map of Benin shows that it has little variation in elevation, averaging 200 m in elevation. The country can be divided into four areas from the south to the north. The low-lying, sandy, coastal plain which has a highest elevation of 10 m is and it is marshy and dotted with lakes and lagoons connected to the ocean. Then an area of flat lands dotted with rocky hills whose altitude seldom reaches 400 m extends around Nikki, finally, the Atacora mountain range extends along the northwest border and into Togo with the highest point, Mont Sokbaro, at 658 m. Benin has fields lying fallow, mangroves, and remnants of large sacred forests, in the rest of the country, the savanna is covered with thorny scrubs and dotted with huge baobab trees. Some forests line the banks of rivers, in the north and the northwest of Benin the Reserve du W du Niger and Pendjari National Park attract tourists eager to see elephants, lions, antelopes, hippos and monkeys. Previously Benin offered habitat for the painted hunting dog, Lycaon pictus, although this canid is considered to have been extirpated from Benin. Benins climate is hot and humid, annual rainfall in the coastal area averages 1,360 mm, not particularly high for coastal West Africa. Benin has two rainy and two dry seasons, the principal rainy season is from April to late July, with a shorter less intense rainy period from late September to November. The main dry season is from December to April, with a short dry season from late July to early September. Temperatures and humidity are high along the tropical coast, in Cotonou, the average maximum temperature is 31 °C, the minimum is 24 °C. Variations in temperature increase when moving north through a savanna and plateau toward the Sahel, a dry wind from the Sahara called the harmattan blows from December to March. Grass dries up, the vegetation turns reddish brown, and a veil of fine dust hangs over the country and it is also the season when farmers burn brush in the fields. This is a list of the points of Benin, the points that are farther north, south
35.
Communes of Benin
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The departments of Benin are subdivided into 77 communes, which in turn are divided into arrondissements and finally into villages or city districts. Prior to 1999 provinces were broken down into 84 districts, titled either urban or rural, before independence, the six provinces were subdivided into Cercles, cantons, préfectures and villages or towns
36.
Departments of Benin
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Benin is divided into 12 departments, and subdivided into 77 communes. In 1999, the six departments were each split into two halves, forming the current 12. Each of the six new departments was assigned a capital in 2008, communes of Benin Arrondissements of Benin ISO 3166-2, BJ, the ISO codes for the departments of Benin. Http, //www. ambassade-benin. org/article20. html Projections De La Population Du Benin Par Departement
37.
Politics of Benin
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Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the legislature, the Judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature. The current political system is derived from the 1990 Constitution of Benin, from the 17th century until the colonial period, the Kingdom of Dahomey was ruled by an Oba. The French were the power from 1892 to 1960, when independence was finally achieved. Between 1960 and 1972, a series of coups in Benin brought about many changes of government. The last of these brought Major Mathieu Kérékou to power as the head of a regime professing strict Marxist-Leninist principles, the Revolutionary Party of the People of Benin remained in complete power until the beginning of the 1990s. Kérékou, encouraged by France and other powers, convened a National Conference that introduced a new democratic constitution and held presidential. Kérékous principal opponent at the poll, and the ultimate victor, was Prime Minister Nicéphore Soglo. Supporters of Soglo also secured a majority in the National Assembly, thus, Benin was the first African country to successfully complete the transition from dictatorship to a pluralistic political system. In the second round of National Assembly elections held in March 1995, Soglos political vehicle, the Parti de la Renaissance du Benin, was the largest single party, but it lacked an overall majority. These developments have created economic growth in Benin, but some of the ideals of the constitution have yet to be fully realised. Lack of accountability and transparency, failure to separate the judiciary from the political system, additionally, state employees are poorly paid, which makes them susceptible to bribery and corruption. There are unresolved issues with many laws which contradict the constitution. Many of the older laws derive from French legal norms as France was the colonial power. Critics have also complained that the constitution makes no mention of the right to a standard of living. Since being written, the constitution has been translated into eight of the languages of Benin. Broadcasts on local stations, in both in urban and rural areas, have publicised the constitution across the country. The President of Benin is elected for a five-year term, an individual can serve only two terms
38.
Constitution of Benin
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The Constitution of Benin was adopted by referendum on 2 December 1990. The constitution is made up of a preamble, twelve titles, dahomey, proclaimed a Republic on December 4,1958, acceded to international sovereignty August 1,1960. Only the option in favor of the Republic has remained permanent, title I deals with the state and sovereignty. Title II deals with the rights and duties of the individual, title III deals with executive power. Title IV deals with legislative power and it is subdivided into sections on the National Assembly and relations between the assembly and government. Title V deals with the Constitutional Court of Benin, title VI deals with judicial power. It is subdivided into sections on the Supreme Court and the High Court of Justice, title VII deals with the Economic and Social Council of Benin. Title VIII deals with the High Commission of Audio-Visuals and Communications, title IX deals with treaties and international agreements. Title X deals with the divisions of Benin. Title XI deals with revisions to the constitution, title XII deals with final transitional provisions
39.
Foreign relations of Benin
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After seizing power in 1972, Major Mathieu Kérékou declared Dahomey a Marxist-Leninist state and sought financial support from communist governments in Eastern Europe and Asia. To distance the state from its colonial past, the country became the Peoples Republic of Benin in 1975. However, Benin dropped the socialist ideology in 1989 following pressure from creditors, in recent years Benin has strengthened ties with France, the former colonial power, as well as the United States and the main international lending institutions. Despite the occasional recurrence of a conflict over Lete Island in the Niger River, Benin and Niger. Niger relies on the port at Cotonou, and to a lesser degree Lomé, Niger operates a Nigerien Ports Authority station, as well as customs and tax offices in a section of Cotonous port, so that imports and exports can be directly transported between Gaya and the port. French Uranium mines in Arlit, which produce Nigers largest exports by value, Benin enjoys stable relations with Nigeria, the main regional power. In fact Benin is dependent on Nigeria for most of its export and its economy is primarily based on informal trade with Nigeria. Russia has an embassy in Cotonou, and Benin has an embassy in Moscow, establishment of Diplomatic Relations between the Republic of Korea and the Republic of Benin is August 1,1961 and Number of South Koreans living in Benin in,15. The two nations have had an excellent history of relations in the years since Benin embraced democracy, values and national interest in reducing poverty and promoting growth. The bulk of the U. S. effort in support of consolidating democracy in Benin is focused on human resource development through U. S
40.
Human rights in Benin
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The human-rights situation in Benin is considered to be generally above average for sub-Saharan Africa. In addition, the report noted “the government’s slow progress in addressing the worst forms of child labor. ”Benin was formerly a French colony known as Dahomey, which won its independence in 1960. From 1972 to 1990 it was a Marxist–Leninist state that was ruled by dictator Mathieu Kérékou, under Kérékou, the country had no freedom of speech or of the press and a very poor human-rights record. It changed its name to the Peoples Republic of Benin in 1975. ”Under the new constitution, in the elections held that year, Kérékou lost to Nicéphore Soglo and accepted the results of the vote. He was returned to power in the 1996 elections and re-elected in 2001, increasingly since 1991, Benin has been generally regarded as having considerably higher human-rights standards than most other African countries. The following is a chart of Benins ratings since 1972 in the Freedom in the World reports, a rating of 1 is free,7, not free. Although Benins constitution and laws guarantee freedom of speech and of the press, many journalists engage in self-censorship, and a number of them have been sued for libel, although judges tend to choose not to prosecute them. “Abuse” of the freedom of expression is punishable by imprisonment with hard labor, still, there is an active media that is often critical of the government, although its reach is limited, partly owing to illiteracy. The most influential news media are owned by the government, some private media receive government aid. There is a right of access to the Internet. In 2010, the government prohibited several public gatherings, including demonstrations by union members concerned about corruption, although minors require documentation when traveling abroad in order to avoid trafficking, the uneven enforcement of this requirement results in continued trafficking. In accordance with its constitution, Benin is a state in which religious freedom is guaranteed to all. Government report, although there was conflict between Voodoo practitioners and Christians over Voodoo initiation practices, requiring intervention by police. ”Corruption exists in virtually all sectors. There is a government agency called the Watchdog to Combat Corruption, polygamy and forced marriage are illegal but still occur. Enforcement of the law against rape, the punishment for which can be up to five years in prison, is hampered by corruption, ineffective police work, police incompetence results in most sexual offenses being reduced to misdemeanors. Female genital mutilation has been described as “the worst substantial human rights violation in Benin. ”About 13 percent of women and girls have been subjected to it, prostitution, especially child prostitution, is also common, with the clients often being sex tourists. Sexual harassment is common, with many female students being abused by their teachers. Although it is an offense punishable by up to two years in prison, enforcement is slack
41.
Law enforcement in Benin
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As in many other countries with a French colonial heritage, law enforcement in Benin is a responsibility primarily shared by a gendarmerie and a police force. The National Police of Benin is under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of the Interior, Public Security, the country is divided into six directions départementales. Police training is conducted at the police school in Cotonou. The Gendarmerie nationale béninoise has both military and police roles, due to its military status, the gendarmerie answers to the Ministry of Defence. As a police force, it has administrative and judiciary police powers and it operates both in territorial units, responsible for defined areas, and mobile units, which can be dispatched. Overall, it has jurisdiction in nearly 90% of the countrys territory, in addition to the police and gendarmerie, law enforcement is provided by several forces, including customs, game wardens and the Unité mixte de contrôle des conteneurs. The Unité mixte de contrôle des conteneurs includes staff from the Police, Gendarmerie, Douanes, stationed in the harbour of Cotonou, it inspects containers in order to prevent the shipping of prohibited items such as drugs, weapons and counterfeit goods. World Police Encyclopedia, ed. by Dilip K. Das & Michael Palmiotto published by Taylor & Francis,2004, World Encyclopedia of Police Forces and Correctional Systems, second edition, Gale. 2006 Sullivan, Larry E. Encyclopedia of Law Enforcement
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