1.
Belgian Congo
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The Belgian Congo was a Belgian colony in Central Africa between 1908 and 1960 in what is now the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Colonial rule in the Congo began in the late 19th century, King Leopold II of the Belgians persuaded the government to support colonial expansion around the then-largely unexplored Congo Basin. Their ambivalence resulted in Leopolds creating a colony on his own account, with support from a number of Western countries, Leopold achieved international recognition for a personal colony, the Congo Free State, in 1885. Belgian rule in the Congo was based on the trinity of state, missionary. The privileging of Belgian commercial interests meant that large amounts of capital flowed into the Congo, the country was split into nesting, hierarchically organised administrative subdivisions, and run uniformly according to a set native policy. This was in contrast to the British and the French, who favoured the system of indirect rule whereby traditional leaders were retained in positions of authority under colonial oversight. The Congo had a degree of racial segregation. The large numbers of immigrants who moved to the Congo after the end of World War II came from across the social spectrum. During the 1940s and 1950s, the Congo had extensive urbanisation, one of the results was the development of a new middle class of Europeanised African évolués in the cities. By the 1950s the Congo had a labour force twice as large as that in any other African colony. This ended with the seizure of power by Joseph-Désiré Mobutu, until the later part of the 19th century, few Europeans had ventured into the Congo basin. The rainforest, swamps and accompanying malaria and other diseases, such as sleeping sickness. After Henry Morton Stanley had explored the region in a journey that ended in 1878, Leopold courted the explorer, Leopold II had been keen to acquire a colony for Belgium even before he ascended to the throne in 1865. The Belgian civil government showed little interest in its monarchs dreams of empire-building, ambitious and stubborn, Leopold decided to pursue the matter on his own account. European rivalry in Central Africa led to tensions, in particular with regard to the largely unclaimed Congo River basin. In November 1884 Otto von Bismarck convened a 14-nation conference to find a resolution to the Congo crisis. The rules recognised the Congo basin as a free-trade zone, but Leopold II emerged triumphant from the Berlin Conference and his single-shareholder philanthropic organization received a large share of territory to be organized as the Congo Free State. The Congo Free State operated as a corporate state privately controlled by Leopold II through a non-governmental organization, the state included the entire area of the present Democratic Republic of the Congo and existed from 1885 to 1908, when the government of Belgium annexed the area
2.
Leopold III of Belgium
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Leopold III reigned as King of the Belgians from 1934 until 1951, when he abdicated in favour of the heir apparent, his son Baudouin. From 1944 until 1950, Leopolds brother, Charles, served as regent while Leopold was declared unable to rule. In 1950, the debate about whether Leopold could resume his royal functions provoked a crisis known as the Royal Question. Leopold was born in Brussels and succeeded to the throne of Belgium on 23 February 1934 following the death of his father, King Albert I. He was invested as Knight of the Order of the Golden Fleece in Spain in 1923, Grand Cross of the Order of the Tower and Sword in 1927, Prince Leopold, Duke of Brabant, was sent by his father to Eton College in the United Kingdom in 1915. After the war, in 1919, the Duke visited the Old Mission and Saint Anthony Seminary in Santa Barbara and he married Princess Astrid of Sweden in a civil ceremony in Stockholm on 4 November 1926, followed by a religious ceremony in Brussels on 10 November. The marriage produced three children, Joséphine-Charlotte, Princess of Belgium, born at the Royal Palace of Brussels on 11 October 1927 and she was married on 9 April 1953 to Prince Jean, later Grand-Duke of Luxembourg. She died at Fischbach Castle on 10 January 2005, Albert, Prince of Liège, Prince of Belgium, who became the sixth King of the Belgians as Albert II, born at Stuyvenberg on 6 June 1934. Leopold married Lilian Baels on 11 September 1941 in a secret, religious ceremony, with no validity under Belgian law. They originally intended to wait until the end of the war for the marriage, but as the new Princesse de Réthy was soon expecting their first child. They had three children in total, Alexandre, Prince of Belgium, born in Brussels on 18 July 1942, in 1991, he married Lea Inga Dora Wohlman, a marriage revealed only seven years later. He died on 29 November 2009, marie-Christine, Princess of Belgium, born in Brussels on 6 February 1951. Her first marriage, to Paul Drucker in 1981, lasted 40 days, marie-Esméralda, Princess of Belgium, born in Brussels on 30 September 1956, a journalist, her professional name is Esmeralda de Réthy. She married Salvador Moncada, a noted pharmacologist, in 1998 and they have a son and a daughter. When World War II broke out in September 1939, the French, Leopold and his government refused, maintaining Belgiums neutrality. On 10 May 1940, the Wehrmacht invaded Belgium, after a short running battle that eventually involved the armies of all four belligerents, Belgium was overwhelmed by the numerically superior and better-prepared Germans. Nevertheless, the Belgian perseverance prevented the British Expeditionary Force from being outflanked and cut off from the coast, after his military surrender, Leopold remained in Brussels to surrender to the victorious invaders, while his entire civil government fled to Paris and later to London. On 24 May 1940, Leopold, having assumed command of the Belgian Army, the ministers urged the king to leave the country with the government
3.
Antwerp
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Antwerp is a city in Belgium, the capital of Antwerp province in the region of Flanders. With a population of 510,610, it is the most populous city proper in Belgium and its metropolitan area houses around 1,200,000 people, which is second behind Brussels. Antwerp is on the River Scheldt, linked to the North Sea by the Westerschelde estuary, the Port of Antwerp is one of the biggest in the world, ranking second in Europe and within the top 20 globally. Antwerp has long been an important city in the Low Countries, the inhabitants of Antwerp are nicknamed Sinjoren, after the Spanish honorific señor or French seigneur, lord, referring to the Spanish noblemen who ruled the city in the 17th century. The city hosted the 1920 Summer Olympics, according to folklore, notably celebrated by a statue in front of the town hall, the city got its name from a legend about a giant called Antigoon who lived near the Scheldt river. He exacted a toll from passing boatmen, and for those who refused, he severed one of their hands, eventually the giant was killed by a young hero named Silvius Brabo, who cut off the giants own hand and flung it into the river. Hence the name Antwerpen, from Dutch hand werpen, akin to Old English hand and wearpan, a longstanding theory is that the name originated in the Gallo-Roman period and comes from the Latin antverpia. Antverpia would come from Ante Verpia, indicating land that forms by deposition in the curve of a river. Note that the river Scheldt, before a period between 600 and 750, followed a different track. This must have coincided roughly with the current ringway south of the city, however, many historians think it unlikely that there was a large settlement which would be named Antverpia, but more something like an outpost with a river crossing. However, John Lothrop Motley argues, and so do a lot of Dutch etymologists and historians, aan t werp is also possible. This warp is a hill or a river deposit, high enough to remain dry at high tide. Another word for werp is pol hence polders, historical Antwerp allegedly had its origins in a Gallo-Roman vicus. Excavations carried out in the oldest section near the Scheldt, 1952–1961, produced pottery shards, the earliest mention of Antwerp dates from the 4th century. In the 4th century, Antwerp was first named, having been settled by the Germanic Franks, the name was reputed to have been derived from anda and werpum. The Merovingian Antwerp was evangelized by Saint Amand in the 7th century, at the end of the 10th century, the Scheldt became the boundary of the Holy Roman Empire. Antwerp became a margraviate in 980, by the German emperor Otto I, in the 11th century Godfrey of Bouillon was for some years known as the marquis of Antwerp. In the 12th century, Norbert of Xanten established a community of his Premonstratensian canons at St. Michaels Abbey at Caloes
4.
Belgium
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Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a sovereign state in Western Europe bordered by France, the Netherlands, Germany, Luxembourg, and the North Sea. It is a small, densely populated country which covers an area of 30,528 square kilometres and has a population of about 11 million people. Additionally, there is a group of German-speakers who live in the East Cantons located around the High Fens area. Historically, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg were known as the Low Countries, the region was called Belgica in Latin, after the Roman province of Gallia Belgica. From the end of the Middle Ages until the 17th century, today, Belgium is a federal constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary system of governance. It is divided into three regions and three communities, that exist next to each other and its two largest regions are the Dutch-speaking region of Flanders in the north and the French-speaking southern region of Wallonia. The Brussels-Capital Region is a bilingual enclave within the Flemish Region. A German-speaking Community exists in eastern Wallonia, Belgiums linguistic diversity and related political conflicts are reflected in its political history and complex system of governance, made up of six different governments. Upon its independence, declared in 1830, Belgium participated in the Industrial Revolution and, during the course of the 20th century, possessed a number of colonies in Africa. This continuing antagonism has led to several far-reaching reforms, resulting in a transition from a unitary to a federal arrangement during the period from 1970 to 1993. Belgium is also a member of the Eurozone, NATO, OECD and WTO. Its capital, Brussels, hosts several of the EUs official seats as well as the headquarters of major international organizations such as NATO. Belgium is also a part of the Schengen Area, Belgium is a developed country, with an advanced high-income economy and is categorized as very high in the Human Development Index. A gradual immigration by Germanic Frankish tribes during the 5th century brought the area under the rule of the Merovingian kings, a gradual shift of power during the 8th century led the kingdom of the Franks to evolve into the Carolingian Empire. Many of these fiefdoms were united in the Burgundian Netherlands of the 14th and 15th centuries, the Eighty Years War divided the Low Countries into the northern United Provinces and the Southern Netherlands. The latter were ruled successively by the Spanish and the Austrian Habsburgs and this was the theatre of most Franco-Spanish and Franco-Austrian wars during the 17th and 18th centuries. The reunification of the Low Countries as the United Kingdom of the Netherlands occurred at the dissolution of the First French Empire in 1815, although the franchise was initially restricted, universal suffrage for men was introduced after the general strike of 1893 and for women in 1949. The main political parties of the 19th century were the Catholic Party, French was originally the single official language adopted by the nobility and the bourgeoisie
5.
Uccle
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Uccle or Ukkel is one of the 19 municipalities located in the Brussels-Capital Region of Belgium. According to legend, Uccles church of St. Peter was dedicated by Pope Leo III in the year 803, with Charlemagne and Gerbald, Bishop of Liège, during the following centuries, several noble families built their manors and took residency here. The first mention of the name Woluesdal, now evolved into Wolvendael, in 1467, Isabella of Portugal, wife of Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy founded a Franciscan convent on Uccles territory. Later, Uccle became the capital of the area including Brussels. Throughout the early stages of its history, however, the village of Uccle always had a rural character and lived mostly from the products of forestry. At the end of the 18th century, a few years after the French Revolution, Uccle merged with neighbouring territories to become a commune, with its own mayor and municipal assembly. It had to wait until 1828, however, for the Dutch authorities to allow the construction of the first town hall and this was a time of economic prosperity and growth, stimulated by the proximity to the two main roads linking Brussels to the industrial south. A newer and larger town hall was built between 1872 and 1882, banker and philanthropist Georges Brugmann contributed a lot to the urbanisation of the city just before the turn of the 20th century. In the early 20th century Michel van Gelder introduced a new breed of chicken, lying beyond Forest and Ixelles and skirting the Sonian Forest, Uccle is Brussels largest and most southerly commune. Uccle is mainly an area but has a lot of parks and forested areas, such as the Wolvendael Park. Wolvendael is the site of a 1763 castle, owned by a number of aristocrats from the 18th and 19th centuries. The municipality is situated to the immediate west of the Bois de la Cambre. St. Job Square and the area near St. Peters Church, right next door is the Royal Observatory of Belgium. Uccle Cemetery, also known as Dieweg Cemetery, was created following an epidemic in Brussels in 1866. Although burials ended in 1958, the grave of Hergé, the creator of Tintin who died in 1983, the Bloemenwerf, a turn of the 20th century Art Nouveau villa built by architect Henry Van de Velde. Nemo 33 is the second deepest indoor swimming pool in the world, château de La Fougeraie, built in 1911 for the industrialist Paul Wittouck by the architects Louis Süe and Paul Huillard. European School of Brussels I is located in Uccle, lycée Français Jean Monnet is located in Uccle. Escher, Dutch graphic artist Lara Fabian, singer Jean-Michel Folon, artist, illustrator, painter, and sculptor Martin Gray Warschau ghetto and Holocaust survivor, writer
6.
Alma mater
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Alma mater is an allegorical Latin phrase for a university or college. In modern usage, it is a school or university which an individual has attended, the phrase is variously translated as nourishing mother, nursing mother, or fostering mother, suggesting that a school provides intellectual nourishment to its students. Before its modern usage, Alma mater was a title in Latin for various mother goddesses, especially Ceres or Cybele. The source of its current use is the motto, Alma Mater Studiorum, of the oldest university in continuous operation in the Western world and it is related to the term alumnus, denoting a university graduate, which literally means a nursling or one who is nourished. The phrase can also denote a song or hymn associated with a school, although alma was a common epithet for Ceres, Cybele, Venus, and other mother goddesses, it was not frequently used in conjunction with mater in classical Latin. Alma Redemptoris Mater is a well-known 11th century antiphon devoted to Mary, the earliest documented English use of the term to refer to a university is in 1600, when University of Cambridge printer John Legate began using an emblem for the universitys press. In English etymological reference works, the first university-related usage is often cited in 1710, many historic European universities have adopted Alma Mater as part of the Latin translation of their official name. The University of Bologna Latin name, Alma Mater Studiorum, refers to its status as the oldest continuously operating university in the world. At least one, the Alma Mater Europaea in Salzburg, Austria, the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia, has been called the Alma Mater of the Nation because of its ties to the founding of the United States. At Queens University in Kingston, Ontario, and the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, British Columbia, the ancient Roman world had many statues of the Alma Mater, some still extant. Modern sculptures are found in prominent locations on several American university campuses, outside the United States, there is an Alma Mater sculpture on the steps of the monumental entrance to the Universidad de La Habana, in Havana, Cuba. Media related to Alma mater at Wikimedia Commons The dictionary definition of alma mater at Wiktionary Alma Mater Europaea website
7.
Count
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Count or countess is a title in European countries for a noble of varying status, but historically deemed to convey an approximate rank intermediate between the highest and lowest titles of nobility. The word count came into English from the French comte, itself from Latin comes—in its accusative comitem—meaning “companion”, the adjective form of the word is comital. The British and Irish equivalent is an earl, alternative names for the count rank in the nobility structure are used in other countries, such as Graf in Germany and Hakushaku during the Japanese Imperial era. In the Western Roman Empire, Count came to indicate generically a military commander, in the Eastern Roman Empire, from about the seventh century, count was a specific rank indicating the commander of two centuries. Military counts in the Late Empire and the Germanic successor kingdoms were often appointed by a dux, the position of comes was originally not hereditary. By virtue of their estates, many counts could pass the title to their heirs—but not always. For instance, in Piast Poland, the position of komes was not hereditary, the title had disappeared by the era of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, and the office had been replaced by others. Only after the Partitions of Poland did the title of count resurface in the title hrabia, in the United Kingdom, the equivalent Earl can also be used as a courtesy title for the eldest son of a duke or marquess. In Italy, by contrast, all the sons of certain counts were counts, in Sweden there is a distinction between counts created before and after 1809. All children in comital families elevated before 1809 are called count/countess, the following lists are originally based on a Glossary on Heraldica. org by Alexander Krischnig. The male form is followed by the female, and when available, apart from all these, a few unusual titles have been of comital rank, not necessarily to remain there. Dauphin was a comital title in southern France, used by the Dauphins of Vienne and Auvergne. The Dauphin was the lord of the province known as the région Dauphiné. Conde-Barão Count-Baron is a title used in Portugal, notably by D. Luís Lobo da Silveira, 7th Baron of Alvito. His palace in Lisbon still exists, located in a named after him. The German Graf and Dutch graaf stems from the Byzantine-Greek grapheus meaning he who calls a meeting together), the Ottoman military title of Serdar was used in Montenegro and Serbia as a lesser noble title with the equivalent rank of a Count. Since Louis VII, the highest precedence amongst the vassals of the French crown was enjoyed by those whose benefice or temporal fief was a pairie, i. e. In the eleventh century, conti like the Count of Savoy or the Norman Count of Apulia, were virtually sovereign lords of broad territories
8.
Civil service
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A civil servant or public servant is a person so employed in the public sector employed for a government department or agency. The extent of civil servants of a state as part of the service varies from country to country. In the United Kingdom, for instance, only Crown employees are referred to as civil servants whereas county or city employees are not, many consider the study of service to be a part of the field of public administration. Workers in non-departmental public bodies may also be classed as servants for the purpose of statistics and possibly for their terms. Collectively a states civil servants form its service or public service. An international civil servant or international staff member is an employee who is employed by an intergovernmental organization. These international civil servants do not resort under any national legislation but are governed by internal staff regulations, All disputes related to international civil service are brought before special tribunals created by these international organizations such as, for instance, the Administrative Tribunal of the ILO. Specific referral can be made to the International Civil Service Commission of the United Nations and its mandate is to regulate and coordinate the conditions of service of staff in the United Nations common system, while promoting and maintaining high standards in the international civil service. The origin of the modern civil service can be traced back to Imperial examination founded in Imperial China. The Imperial exam based on merit was designed to select the best administrative officials for the states bureaucracy and this system had a huge influence on both society and culture in Imperial China and was directly responsible for the creation of a class of scholar-bureaucrats irrespective of their family pedigree. In the areas of administration, especially the military, appointments were based solely on merit, after the fall of the Han Dynasty, the Chinese bureaucracy regressed into a semi-merit system known as the Nine-rank system. This system was reversed during the short-lived Sui Dynasty, which initiated a civil service bureaucracy recruited through written examinations, the first civil service examination system was established by Emperor Wen of Sui. The examination tested the candidates memorization of the Nine Classics of Confucianism and his ability to compose poetry using fixed and traditional forms, the system was finally abolished by the Qing government in 1905 as part of the New Policies reform package. The Chinese system was admired by European commentators from the 16th century onward. In the 18th century, in response to changes and the growth of the British Empire, the bureaucracy of institutions such as the Office of Works. Each had its own system, but in general, staff were appointed through patronage or outright purchase, by the 19th century, it became increasingly clear that these arrangements were falling short. The origins of the British civil service are better known, during the eighteenth century a number of Englishmen wrote in praise of the Chinese examination system, some of them going so far as to urge the adoption for England of something similar. The first concrete step in this direction was taken by the British East India Company in 1806, in that year, the Honourable East India Company established a college, the East India Company College, near London to train and examine administrators of the Companys territories in India
9.
Belgian overseas colonies
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The Belgian colonial empire comprised three colonies controlled by Belgium between 1885 and 1962, Belgian Congo, Ruanda-Urundi and a concession in China. Belgians tended to refer to their overseas possessions as the rather than the empire. Unlike other European empires of the period, such as the British or German Empires, Belgium received its independence in 1830 after a revolution against the Dutch government of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands. By the time Belgian independence was recognized in 1839, most European powers already possessed colonies and protectorates outside Europe and had begun to form spheres of influence. During the 1840s and 50s, King Leopold I tentatively supported several proposals to acquire territories overseas, in 1843, he signed a contract with Ladd & Co. to colonize the Kingdom of Hawaii, but the deal fell apart when Ladd & Co. ran into financial difficulties. Belgian traders also extended their influence in unoccupied West Africa but this too fell apart following the Rio Nuñez Incident of 1849, by the time Belgiums second king, Leopold II, was crowned, enthusiasm for colonialism in Belgium had abated. Successive governments viewed colonial expansion as economically and politically risky and fundamentally unrewarding and they believed that informal empire, continuing Belgiums booming industrial trade in South America and Russia, was much more promising. As a result, Leopold was initially forced to pursue his colonial ambitions without the support of the Belgian government, colonial rule in the Congo began in the late 19th century. Their ambivalence resulted in Leopolds creating a colony on his own account, the Free State government exploited the Congo for its natural resources, first ivory and later rubber which was becoming a valuable commodity. With the support of the military, the Force Publique. The Anglo-Belgian India Rubber Company, among others, used force, the regime in the Congo was responsible for using forced labour, murder and mutilation to force indigenous Congolese who did not fulfill quotas for rubber collections. It is estimated that millions of Congolese died during this time, a sharp reduction of the population of the Congo through excess deaths is widely considered to have occurred during the Free State period but estimates of the deaths toll vary considerably. Although figures are estimates, it is believed that as many as ten million Congolese died during the period, although the Congo Free State was not officially a Belgian colony, Belgium was its chief beneficiary in terms of its trade and the employment of its citizens. Leopold II personally accumulated considerable wealth from the rubber and ivory exports of the colony acquired at gunpoint, much of this was spent in numerous programmes of public building in Brussels, Ostend and Antwerp. Leopold achieved international recognition for a colony, the Congo Free State. Belgian rule in the Congo was based on the trinity of state, missionary. The privileging of Belgian commercial interests meant that large amounts of capital flowed into the Congo, the country was split into nesting, hierarchically organised administrative subdivisions, and run uniformly according to a set native policy. This was in contrast to the British and the French, who favoured the system of indirect rule whereby traditional leaders were retained in positions of authority under colonial oversight
10.
Ruanda-Urundi
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Ruanda-Urundi was a territory in the African Great Lakes region, once part of German East Africa, which was ruled by Belgium between 1916 and 1962. After the disestablishment of the League and World War II, Ruanda-Urundi became a Trust Territory of the United Nations, in 1962, the mandate became independent as the two separate countries of Rwanda and Burundi. Before the Scramble for Africa, the region of Ruanda-Urundi was dominated by two independent kingdoms, Rwanda and Burundi, which were annexed by the German Empire in 1894, the Ruanda-Urundi region formed the westernmost part of the colony of German East Africa, which included modern-day mainland Tanzania. After the outbreak of World War I in 1914, Ruanda-Urundi was the scene of fighting between German and Belgian forces from the Belgian Congo which bordered the region to the west, the Treaty of Versailles divided the German colonial empire among the Allied nations. German East Africa was divided, with the vast majority of the territory, known as Tanganyika, going to the British, the western part of the colony, formally referred to as the Belgian Occupied East African Territories, was allocated to Belgium. In 1924, when the League of Nations issued a formal mandate granting Belgium full control over the area, the Belgians were far more involved in the territory than the Germans, especially in Ruanda. These funds mostly came from the cultivation of coffee in the regions rich volcanic soils. To implement their vision, the Belgians used the indigenous power structure. This consisted of a largely Tutsi ruling class controlling a mostly Hutu population, the Belgian administrators believed that the Tutsi were superior and deserved power. While before colonization the Hutu had played some role in governance, Hutu anger at the Tutsi domination was largely focused on the Tutsi elite rather than the distant colonial power. Although promising the League it would promote education, Belgium left the task to subsidised Catholic missions, as late as 1961, shortly before independence arrived, fewer than 100 natives had been educated beyond secondary level. He must be cured of his thoughtlessness, he must accustom himself to living in society, after the League of Nations was dissolved, the region became a United Nations trust territory in 1946. Independence came largely as a result of actions elsewhere, in the late 1950s, an independence movement arose in the Belgian Congo, and the Belgians became convinced they could no longer control the territory. Unrest also broke out in Ruanda where the king was deposed, in 1960, Ruanda-Urundis larger neighbour gained its independence. After two more years of hurried preparations, the trust territory became independent on 1 July 1962, broken up along traditional lines as the independent nations of Rwanda and it took two more years before the government of the two became wholly separate. The Great Lakes of Africa, Two Thousand Years of History, le Burundi sous administration Belge, la période du mandat, 1919-1939
11.
World War II
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World War II, also known as the Second World War, was a global war that lasted from 1939 to 1945, although related conflicts began earlier. It involved the vast majority of the worlds countries—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing alliances, the Allies and the Axis. It was the most widespread war in history, and directly involved more than 100 million people from over 30 countries. Marked by mass deaths of civilians, including the Holocaust and the bombing of industrial and population centres. These made World War II the deadliest conflict in human history, from late 1939 to early 1941, in a series of campaigns and treaties, Germany conquered or controlled much of continental Europe, and formed the Axis alliance with Italy and Japan. Under the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact of August 1939, Germany and the Soviet Union partitioned and annexed territories of their European neighbours, Poland, Finland, Romania and the Baltic states. In December 1941, Japan attacked the United States and European colonies in the Pacific Ocean, and quickly conquered much of the Western Pacific. The Axis advance halted in 1942 when Japan lost the critical Battle of Midway, near Hawaii, in 1944, the Western Allies invaded German-occupied France, while the Soviet Union regained all of its territorial losses and invaded Germany and its allies. During 1944 and 1945 the Japanese suffered major reverses in mainland Asia in South Central China and Burma, while the Allies crippled the Japanese Navy, thus ended the war in Asia, cementing the total victory of the Allies. World War II altered the political alignment and social structure of the world, the United Nations was established to foster international co-operation and prevent future conflicts. The victorious great powers—the United States, the Soviet Union, China, the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union and the United States emerged as rival superpowers, setting the stage for the Cold War, which lasted for the next 46 years. Meanwhile, the influence of European great powers waned, while the decolonisation of Asia, most countries whose industries had been damaged moved towards economic recovery. Political integration, especially in Europe, emerged as an effort to end pre-war enmities, the start of the war in Europe is generally held to be 1 September 1939, beginning with the German invasion of Poland, Britain and France declared war on Germany two days later. The dates for the beginning of war in the Pacific include the start of the Second Sino-Japanese War on 7 July 1937, or even the Japanese invasion of Manchuria on 19 September 1931. Others follow the British historian A. J. P. Taylor, who held that the Sino-Japanese War and war in Europe and its colonies occurred simultaneously and this article uses the conventional dating. Other starting dates sometimes used for World War II include the Italian invasion of Abyssinia on 3 October 1935. The British historian Antony Beevor views the beginning of World War II as the Battles of Khalkhin Gol fought between Japan and the forces of Mongolia and the Soviet Union from May to September 1939, the exact date of the wars end is also not universally agreed upon. It was generally accepted at the time that the war ended with the armistice of 14 August 1945, rather than the formal surrender of Japan
12.
Battle of Belgium
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It took place over 18 days in May 1940 and ended with the German occupation of Belgium following the surrender of the Belgian Army. On 10 May 1940, Germany invaded Luxembourg, the Netherlands, the Allied armies attempted to halt the German Army in Belgium, believing it to be the main German thrust. The German Army reached the Channel after five days, encircling the Allied armies, the Germans gradually reduced the pocket of Allied forces, forcing them back to the sea. The Belgian Army surrendered on 28 May 1940, ending the battle, the Battle of Belgium included the first tank battle of the war, the Battle of Hannut. It was the largest tank battle in history at the time but was surpassed by the battles of the North African Campaign. The battle also included the Battle of Fort Eben-Emael, the first strategic airborne operation using paratroopers ever attempted, the German official history stated that in the 18 days of bitter fighting, the Belgian Army were tough opponents, and spoke of the extraordinary bravery of its soldiers. The Belgian collapse forced the Allied withdrawal from continental Europe, France reached its own armistice with Germany in June 1940. Belgium was occupied by the Germans until the autumn of 1944, the Belgian strategy for a defence against German aggression faced political as well as military problems. In terms of strategy, the Belgians were unwilling to stake everything on a linear defence of the Belgian–German border. Such a move would leave the Belgians vulnerable to a German assault in their rear, such a strategy would also rely on the French to move quickly into Belgium and support the garrison there. Politically, the Belgians did not trust the French, marshal Philippe Pétain had suggested a French strike at Germanys Ruhr area using Belgium as a spring-board in October 1930 and again in January 1933. Belgium feared it would be drawn into a war regardless, the Belgians also feared being drawn into a war as a result of the French–Soviet pact of May 1935. The Franco-Belgian agreement stipulated Belgium was to if the Germans did. The Belgians much preferred an alliance with the United Kingdom, the British had entered the First World War in response to the German violation of Belgian neutrality. But the British government paid little attention to the concerns of the Belgians, the lack of this commitment ensured the Belgian withdrawal from the Western Alliance, the day before the remilitarisation of the Rhineland. The lack of opposition to the served to convince the Belgians that France and Britain were unwilling to fight for their own strategic interests. The Belgian General Staff was determined to fight for its own interests, the French were infuriated at King Leopold IIIs open declaration of neutrality in October 1936. The French were dependent on how much cooperation they could extract from the Belgians, the French considered invading Belgium immediately in response to a German attack on the country
13.
Mechelen
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Mechelen is a city and municipality in the province of Antwerp, Flanders, Belgium. The municipality comprises the city of Mechelen proper, some quarters at its outskirts, the hamlets of Nekkerspoel and Battel, as well as the villages of Walem, Heffen, Leest, Hombeek, and Muizen. The Dyle flows through the city, hence it is referred to as the Dijlestad. Mechelen lies on the urban and industrial axis Brussels–Antwerp, about 25 km from each city. Mechelen is one of Flanders prominent cities of art, with Antwerp, Bruges, Brussels, Ghent. The area of Mechelen was settled on the banks of the river during the Gallo-Roman period as evidenced by several Roman ruins, around 1200 started the building of the cathedral that is dedicated to the saint. Antwerp lost profitable stapelrechten for wool, oats and salt to Mechelen in 1303 when John II, Duke of Brabant and this started a rivalry between these cities that would last well into the 20th century. In the 15th century, the city came under the rule of the Dukes of Burgundy, in 1473 Charles the Bold moved several political bodies to the city, and Mechelen served as the seat of the Superior Court until the French Revolution. In 1490, a postal service between Mechelen and Innsbruck was established. During the 16th century the political influence decreased dramatically, due to many governmental institutions being moved to Brussels. In 1961, Brussels was added to the title, resulting in the current Archdiocese of Mechelen-Brussels, Mechelen also retained further relevance as the Great Council of Mechelen remained the supreme court of the territory until the French Revolutionary Wars. In 1572, during the Eighty Years War, the city was burned and sacked by the Spanish, after this pillaging, the city was rebuilt. It was during this time that the tradition of making, still seen today. The city entered the age in the 19th century. In 1835, the first railway on the European continent linked Brussels with Mechelen and this led to a development of metalworking industries, among others the central railway workshops which are still located in the town today. During the Second World War, the extensive Mechlinian railway structure had caused the Nazi occupation forces to choose Mechelen for their infamous transit camp, over 25,000 Jews and Roma were sent by rail to the Auschwitz-Birkenau extermination camp from Mechelen. The site of the camp now houses the Jewish Museum of Deportation. Several famous meetings on the Christian religion are connected to the name of the city, one in 1909 is thought to have inaugurated the Liturgical Movement
14.
Lawyer
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A lawyer is a person who practices law, as an advocate, barrister, attorney, counselor or solicitor or chartered legal executive. The role of the lawyer varies greatly across legal jurisdictions, in practice, legal jurisdictions exercise their right to determine who is recognized as being a lawyer. As a result, the meaning of the lawyer may vary from place to place. In Australia, the lawyer is used to refer to both barristers and solicitors. In Canada, the word lawyer refers to individuals who have been called to the bar or. Common law lawyers in Canada are formally and properly called barristers and solicitors, however, in Quebec, civil law advocates often call themselves attorney and sometimes barrister and solicitor in English. The Legal Services Act 2007 defines the activities that may only be performed by a person who is entitled to do so pursuant to the Act. Lawyer is not a protected title, in India, the term lawyer is often colloquially used, but the official term is advocate as prescribed under the Advocates Act,1961. In Scotland, the word refers to a more specific group of legally trained people. It specifically includes advocates and solicitors, in a generic sense, it may also include judges and law-trained support staff. In the United States, the term refers to attorneys who may practice law. It is never used to refer to patent agents or paralegals, in fact, there are regulatory restrictions on non-lawyers like paralegals practicing law. Other nations tend to have terms for the analogous concept. In most countries, particularly civil law countries, there has been a tradition of giving many legal tasks to a variety of civil law notaries, clerks, and scriveners. Several countries that originally had two or more legal professions have since fused or united their professions into a type of lawyer. Most countries in this category are common law countries, though France, in countries with fused professions, a lawyer is usually permitted to carry out all or nearly all the responsibilities listed below. Arguing a clients case before a judge or jury in a court of law is the province of the barrister in England. However, the boundary between barristers and solicitors has evolved, in England today, the barrister monopoly covers only appellate courts, and barristers must compete directly with solicitors in many trial courts
15.
Senate (Belgium)
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The Senate is one of the two chambers of the bicameral Federal Parliament of Belgium, the other being the Chamber of Representatives. It is considered to be the house of the Federal Parliament. The 2014 elections were the first ones without an election of senators. Instead, the new Senate is completely composed of members of community and regional parliaments and it is a chamber of the communities and regions and serves as a platform for discussion and reflection about matters between the different language communities. The Senate now only plays a minor role in the federal legislative process. Since the reform, it holds about ten plenary sessions a year. After the Belgian Revolution, the National Congress decided about the Belgian Constitution, a bicameral Parliament was chosen over a unicameral one, due to fears of more democratic and progressive decisions in the Chamber of Representatives, as was seen in France. Thus the Senate served as a conservative and elite body. To be eligible, one had to pay 1000 francs, which meant that at that time, the Flemish nationalist party New Flemish Alliance, among other Flemish parties, said in 2010 that they want to abolish the Senate. The French-speaking parties, however, want to keep the Senate, since the sixth state reform, the Senate consists of 60 members. 50 are elected by the community and regional parliaments, and 10 are co-opted members, prior to the Belgian federal election of May 21,1995, there were 184 elected senators. The change took effect following the May 21,1995 federal election, of the total of 71 elected senators,40 were elected directly,21 appointed by the community parliaments and 10 senators were co-opted. The overall distribution of seats between parties was determined by the results of the direct election. The sixth state reform, taking effect on the May 25,2014 election, reduced the number of senators from 71 to 60, the German-speaking senator is chosen by plurality, the other Senate seats are distributed based on the results for the Chamber of Representatives election. These Community senators hold a double mandate and they are appointed to the Senate for a term of 4 years, but as the Community parliaments are renewed every 5 years, it is possible that regional elections take place during these 4 years. Ten Senators are co-opted, meaning they are elected by their peers, six by the Dutch-language group and these seats are distributed between parties using the direct election results. In 1893, the members were included in the Constitution as a new category of Senators. Until the elections of 25 May 2014, the Senate contained 40 directly elected members, to elect these members, the electorate was divided into two electoral colleges, a Dutch and a French electoral college
16.
Leuven
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Leuven or Louvain is the capital of the province of Flemish Brabant in Belgium. It is located about 25 kilometres east of Brussels, the municipality itself comprises the historic city and the former neighboring municipalities of Heverlee, Kessel-Lo, a part of Korbeek-Lo, Wilsele and Wijgmaal. It is the 10th largest municipality in Belgium and the fourth in Flanders with more than 100,244 inhabitants, Leuven is home to the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, the largest and oldest university of the Low Countries and the oldest Catholic university still in existence. The related university hospital of UZ Leuven, is one of the largest hospitals in Europe, the city is also known for being the headquarters of Anheuser-Busch InBev, the worlds largest brewer and one of the five largest consumer-goods companies in the world. The earliest mention of Leuven is from 891, when a Viking army was defeated by the Frankish king Arnulf of Carinthia, according to a legend the citys red and white arms depict the blood-stained shores of the river Dyle after this battle. Situated beside this river, and near to the stronghold of the Dukes of Brabant, a token of its former importance as a centre of cloth manufacture is shown in that ordinary linen cloth is known in late-14th-century and 15th-century texts as lewyn. In the 15th century a new era began with the founding of what is now the largest and oldest university in the Low Countries. In the 18th century the brewery Den Horen flourished, Leuven has several times been besieged or occupied by foreign armies, these include the Battle of Leuven, Siege of Leuven and Battle of Leuven. Both world wars in the 20th century inflicted major damage upon the city, upon Germanys entry into World War I, the town was heavily damaged by rampaging soldiers. In all, about 300 civilians lost their lives, the university library was also destroyed on 25 August 1914, using petrol and incendiary pastilles. 230,000 volumes were lost in the destruction, including Gothic and Renaissance manuscripts, a collection of 750 medieval manuscripts, and more than 1,000 incunabula. The destruction of the library shocked the world, with the Daily Chronicle describing it as war not only against civilians and it was rebuilt after the war, and much of the collection was replaced. Great Britain and the United States were major providers of material for the replenishment of the collection. In World War II, after the start of the German offensive, Leuven formed part of the British Expeditionary Forces front line and was defended by units of the 3rd Division and Belgian troops. From 14 to 16 May 1940, the German Army Group B assaulted the city with heavy air, the British withdrew their forces to the River Senne on the night of 16 May and the town was occupied the next day. The new university building was set on fire by shelling on 16 May. Given the presence of the KULeuven, an important European institution for research and education. There are several biotech and ICT companies, Gasthuisberg, the hospital and research centre
17.
Braunfels
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Braunfels is a town in the Lahn-Dill-Kreis in Hesse, Germany. It is located on the German Timber-Frame Road, the climatic spa of Braunfels lies at a height of some 100 m above the Lahn valley. It is 9 km southwest of Wetzlar, and 28 km northeast of Limburg an der Lahn, moreover, Bonbaden has a primary school and an Evangelical and Catholic church. A cultural highlight is the Freilichtbühne Bonbaden, known far and wide, the town and stately seat of Braunfels were first mentioned in 1246. Braunfels has had rights since 1607. In 1950 Braunfels had a population of 3,337, in the course of municipal reforms, the aforesaid constituent communities, formerly all independent villages, were amalgamated with Braunfels in 1972. Bonbaden had its first documented mention in 772, and so celebrated 1200 years of existence in 1972, Bonbaden is therefore one of Lahn-Dills oldest inhabited places. Schloss Braunfels, a home that had been built from a castle built in the 13th century by the Counts of Nassau. After Solms Castle had been destroyed by the Rhenish League of Towns in 1384, over the castles more than 750-year-long history, building work was done many times. Particularly worthy of mention is the town and castle fire of 1679, both were then built into a Baroque residence. Schloss Braunfels was rebuilt out of materials that were still on hand, the town was given a regular marketplace, which is still preserved today and lies before the town wall. The municipal elections on 26 March 2006 yielded the following results, Note, the arms were designed and granted in 1937, and granted again on 14 October 1982. Formerly, the arms were identical to the Counts arms, many works of art are to be found in the Schloss. Other things to visit are the Princely Family Museum and the church with displays about the churchs building history. Old Town, The inner Old Town has distinctive defensive features, there are a Baroque expansion with a marketplace and great spa gardens. Dr. Kanngießersches Waldmuseum Stadtmuseum Obermühle, a museum of local history, burg Philippstein, These castle ruins lie on a slope and are separated from the surrounding mountainside by a dry moat, although nowadays this is partly filled in. Still preserved are the keep, remains of the cellar. Every year, the local Aktionsring Braunfels e. V. V, Freilichtbühne Bonbaden Blasorchester Bonbaden, a wind orchestra, mostly woodwinds and brass
18.
Germany
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Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a federal parliamentary republic in central-western Europe. It includes 16 constituent states, covers an area of 357,021 square kilometres, with about 82 million inhabitants, Germany is the most populous member state of the European Union. After the United States, it is the second most popular destination in the world. Germanys capital and largest metropolis is Berlin, while its largest conurbation is the Ruhr, other major cities include Hamburg, Munich, Cologne, Frankfurt, Stuttgart, Düsseldorf and Leipzig. Various Germanic tribes have inhabited the northern parts of modern Germany since classical antiquity, a region named Germania was documented before 100 AD. During the Migration Period the Germanic tribes expanded southward, beginning in the 10th century, German territories formed a central part of the Holy Roman Empire. During the 16th century, northern German regions became the centre of the Protestant Reformation, in 1871, Germany became a nation state when most of the German states unified into the Prussian-dominated German Empire. After World War I and the German Revolution of 1918–1919, the Empire was replaced by the parliamentary Weimar Republic, the establishment of the national socialist dictatorship in 1933 led to World War II and the Holocaust. After a period of Allied occupation, two German states were founded, the Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic, in 1990, the country was reunified. In the 21st century, Germany is a power and has the worlds fourth-largest economy by nominal GDP. As a global leader in industrial and technological sectors, it is both the worlds third-largest exporter and importer of goods. Germany is a country with a very high standard of living sustained by a skilled. It upholds a social security and universal health system, environmental protection. Germany was a member of the European Economic Community in 1957. It is part of the Schengen Area, and became a co-founder of the Eurozone in 1999, Germany is a member of the United Nations, NATO, the G8, the G20, and the OECD. The national military expenditure is the 9th highest in the world, the English word Germany derives from the Latin Germania, which came into use after Julius Caesar adopted it for the peoples east of the Rhine. This in turn descends from Proto-Germanic *þiudiskaz popular, derived from *þeudō, descended from Proto-Indo-European *tewtéh₂- people, the discovery of the Mauer 1 mandible shows that ancient humans were present in Germany at least 600,000 years ago. The oldest complete hunting weapons found anywhere in the world were discovered in a mine in Schöningen where three 380, 000-year-old wooden javelins were unearthed
19.
Galway
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Galway is a city in the West of Ireland in the province of Connacht. Galway City Council is the authority for the city. Galway lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay and is surrounded by County Galway and it is the fourth most populous urban area in the Republic of Ireland and the sixth most populous city in the island of Ireland. According to the 2016 Irish Census, Galway city has a population of 79,504, however, Galway will be European Capital of Culture in 2020, alongside Rijeka, Croatia. The citys name is from the Irish name for Abhainn na Gaillimhe, historically, the name was Anglicised as Galliv, which is closer to the Irish pronunciation as is the citys name in Latin, Galvia. The city also bears the nickname The City of the Tribes because of the fourteen merchant families called the tribes of Galway led the city in its Hiberno-Norman period. The term tribes was a one, because the merchants saw themselves as Anglo-Irish and were loyal to the King during the English Civil War. They later adopted the term as a badge of honour and pride in defiance of the towns Cromwellian occupier, residents of the city refer to themselves as Galwegians. Dún Bhun na Gaillimhe was constructed in 1124, by the King of Connacht, eventually, a small settlement grew up around this fort. During the Norman invasion of Connacht in the 1230s, Galway fort was captured by Richard Mor de Burgh, as the de Burghs eventually became Gaelicised, the merchants of the town, the Tribes of Galway, pushed for greater control over the walled city. This led to their complete control over the city and to the granting of mayoral status by the English crown in December 1484. Galway endured difficult relations with its Irish neighbours, a notice over the west gate of the city, completed in 1562 by Mayor Thomas Óge Martyn, stated From the Ferocious OFlahertys may God protect us. A by-law forbade the native Irish unrestricted access into Galway, saying neither O’ nor Mac shall strutte nor swagger through the streets of Galway without permission, during the Middle Ages, Galway was ruled by an oligarchy of fourteen merchant families. These were the The Tribes of Galway, the city thrived on international trade, and in the Middle Ages, it was the principal Irish port for trade with Spain and France. The most famous reminder of days is ceann an bhalla, now known as the Spanish Arch. In 1477 Christopher Columbus visited Galway, possibly stopping off on a voyage to Iceland or the Faroe Islands, seven or eight years later, he noted in the margin of his copy of Imago Mundi, Men of Cathay have come from the west. During the 16th and 17th centuries Galway remained loyal to the English crown for the most part, even during the Gaelic resurgence, however, by 1642 the city had allied itself with the Catholic Confederation of Kilkenny during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. During the resulting Cromwellian conquest of Ireland, Cromwellian forces captured the city after a nine-month siege, the great families of Galway were ruined
20.
Ireland
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Ireland is an island in the North Atlantic. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, Ireland is the second-largest island of the British Isles, the third-largest in Europe, and the twentieth-largest on Earth. Politically, Ireland is divided between the Republic of Ireland, which covers five-sixths of the island, and Northern Ireland, in 2011, the population of Ireland was about 6.4 million, ranking it the second-most populous island in Europe after Great Britain. Just under 4.6 million live in the Republic of Ireland, the islands geography comprises relatively low-lying mountains surrounding a central plain, with several navigable rivers extending inland. The island has lush vegetation, a product of its mild, thick woodlands covered the island until the Middle Ages. As of 2013, the amount of land that is wooded in Ireland is about 11% of the total, there are twenty-six extant mammal species native to Ireland. The Irish climate is moderate and classified as oceanic. As a result, winters are milder than expected for such a northerly area, however, summers are cooler than those in Continental Europe. Rainfall and cloud cover are abundant, the earliest evidence of human presence in Ireland is dated at 10,500 BC. Gaelic Ireland had emerged by the 1st century CE, the island was Christianised from the 5th century onward. Following the Norman invasion in the 12th century, England claimed sovereignty over Ireland, however, English rule did not extend over the whole island until the 16th–17th century Tudor conquest, which led to colonisation by settlers from Britain. In the 1690s, a system of Protestant English rule was designed to materially disadvantage the Catholic majority and Protestant dissenters, with the Acts of Union in 1801, Ireland became a part of the United Kingdom. Northern Ireland saw much civil unrest from the late 1960s until the 1990s and this subsided following a political agreement in 1998. In 1973 the Republic of Ireland joined the European Economic Community while the United Kingdom, Irish culture has had a significant influence on other cultures, especially in the fields of literature. Alongside mainstream Western culture, an indigenous culture exists, as expressed through Gaelic games, Irish music. The culture of the island shares many features with that of Great Britain, including the English language, and sports such as association football, rugby, horse racing. The name Ireland derives from Old Irish Eriu and this in turn derives from Proto-Celtic *Iveriu, which is also the source of Latin Hibernia. Iveriu derives from a root meaning fat, prosperous, during the last glacial period, and up until about 9000 years ago, most of Ireland was covered with ice, most of the time
21.
Aran Islands
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The Aran Islands or The Arans are a group of three islands located at the mouth of Galway Bay, on the west coast of Ireland, with a total area of about 46 square kilometers. They constitute the barony of Aran in County Galway, Ireland, from west to east the islands are, Inishmore, the largest, Inishmaan, the second-largest, and Inisheer, the smallest. The 1,200 inhabitants primarily speak Irish, the used in local placenames. All islanders are also fluent in English, the approaches to the bay between the Aran Islands and the mainland are as follows, North Sound / An Súnda ó Thuaidh lies between Inishmore and Lettermullen, County Galway. Gregorys Sound / Súnda Ghríoghóra lies between Inishmore and Inishmaan, foul Sound / An Súnda Salach lies between Inishmaan and Inisheer. South Sound / An Súnda ó Dheas lies between Inisheer and County Clare, Ferries operate to all three islands from Rossaveal in Co. Flights operated by Aer Arann Islands also operate from Inverin, the islands geology is mainly karst limestone, related to the Burren in County Clare, not the granites of Connemara to the north. This is most obvious in the construction of the walls around the fields, glaciation following the Namurian facilitated greater denudation. The result is that the Aran Islands are one of the finest examples of a Glacio-Karst landscape in the world, the effects of the last glacial period are most in evidence, with the islands overrun by ice during this glaciation. The impact of earlier karstification has been eliminated by the last glacial period, any karstification now seen dates from approximately 11,000 years ago and the island karst is thus recent. Solutional processes have widened and deepened the grykes of the limestone pavement, pre-existing lines of weakness in the rock contribute to the formation of extensive fissures separated by clints. The rock karstification facilitates the formation of subterranean drainage, the islands have an unusually temperate climate. Average air temperatures range from 15 °C in July to 6 °C in January, the soil temperature does not usually drop below 6 °C. Since grass will grow once the temperature rises above 6 °C, this means that the island has one of the longest growing seasons in Ireland or Britain, late May is the sunniest time and also likely the best time to view flowers, with the gentians and avens peaking. The islands supports arctic, Mediterranean and alpine plants side-by-side, due to the unusual environment, like the Burren, the Aran islands are renowned for their remarkable assemblage of plants and animals. The grikes provide moist shelter, thus supporting a range of plants including dwarf shrubs. Where the surface of the pavement is shattered into gravel, many of the hardier Arctic or alpine plants can be found, but when the limestone pavement is covered by a thin layer of soil, patches of grass are seen, interspersed with plants like the gentian and orchids. On the cliff tops, ancient forts such as Dún Aonghasa on Inishmór, a lacework of ancient stone walls across all three islands encloses networks of small fields to contain local livestock
22.
Irish language
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Irish, also referred to as Gaelic or Irish Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family originating in Ireland and historically spoken by the Irish people. Irish is spoken as a first language by a minority of Irish people. Irish enjoys constitutional status as the national and first official language of the Republic of Ireland and it is also among the official languages of the European Union. The public body Foras na Gaeilge is responsible for the promotion of the language throughout the island of Ireland and it has the oldest vernacular literature in Western Europe. The fate of the language was influenced by the power of the English state in Ireland. Elizabethan officials viewed the use of Irish unfavourably, as being a threat to all things English in Ireland and its decline began under English rule in the 17th century. In the latter part of the 19th century, there was a decrease in the number of speakers. Irish-speaking areas were hit especially hard, by the end of British rule, the language was spoken by less than 15% of the national population. Since then, Irish speakers have been in the minority, efforts have been made by the state, individuals and organisations to preserve, promote and revive the language, but with mixed results. Around the turn of the 21st century, estimates of native speakers ranged from 20,000 to 80,000 people. In the 2011 Census, these numbers had increased to 94,000 and 1.3 million, there are several thousand Irish speakers in Northern Ireland. It has been estimated that the active Irish-language scene probably comprises 5 to 10 per cent of Irelands population, there has been a significant increase in the number of urban Irish speakers, particularly in Dublin. In Gaeltacht areas, however, there has been a decline of the use of Irish. Údarás na Gaeltachta predicted that, by 2025, Irish will no longer be the language in any of the designated Gaeltacht areas. Survey data suggest that most Irish people think highly of Irish as a marker of identity. It has also argued that newer urban groups of Irish speakers are a disruptive force in this respect. In An Caighdeán Oifigiúil the name of the language is Gaeilge, before the spelling reform of 1948, this form was spelled Gaedhilge, originally this was the genitive of Gaedhealg, the form used in Classical Irish. Older spellings of this include Gaoidhealg in Classical Irish and Goídelc in Old Irish, the modern spelling results from the deletion of the silent dh in the middle of Gaedhilge, whereas Goidelic languages, used to refer to the language family including Irish, comes from Old Irish
23.
World War I
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World War I, also known as the First World War, the Great War, or the War to End All Wars, was a global war originating in Europe that lasted from 28 July 1914 to 11 November 1918. More than 70 million military personnel, including 60 million Europeans, were mobilised in one of the largest wars in history and it was one of the deadliest conflicts in history, and paved the way for major political changes, including revolutions in many of the nations involved. The war drew in all the worlds great powers, assembled in two opposing alliances, the Allies versus the Central Powers of Germany and Austria-Hungary. These alliances were reorganised and expanded as more nations entered the war, Italy, Japan, the trigger for the war was the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary, by Yugoslav nationalist Gavrilo Princip in Sarajevo on 28 June 1914. This set off a crisis when Austria-Hungary delivered an ultimatum to the Kingdom of Serbia. Within weeks, the powers were at war and the conflict soon spread around the world. On 25 July Russia began mobilisation and on 28 July, the Austro-Hungarians declared war on Serbia, Germany presented an ultimatum to Russia to demobilise, and when this was refused, declared war on Russia on 1 August. Germany then invaded neutral Belgium and Luxembourg before moving towards France, after the German march on Paris was halted, what became known as the Western Front settled into a battle of attrition, with a trench line that changed little until 1917. On the Eastern Front, the Russian army was successful against the Austro-Hungarians, in November 1914, the Ottoman Empire joined the Central Powers, opening fronts in the Caucasus, Mesopotamia and the Sinai. In 1915, Italy joined the Allies and Bulgaria joined the Central Powers, Romania joined the Allies in 1916, after a stunning German offensive along the Western Front in the spring of 1918, the Allies rallied and drove back the Germans in a series of successful offensives. By the end of the war or soon after, the German Empire, Russian Empire, Austro-Hungarian Empire, national borders were redrawn, with several independent nations restored or created, and Germanys colonies were parceled out among the victors. During the Paris Peace Conference of 1919, the Big Four imposed their terms in a series of treaties, the League of Nations was formed with the aim of preventing any repetition of such a conflict. This effort failed, and economic depression, renewed nationalism, weakened successor states, and feelings of humiliation eventually contributed to World War II. From the time of its start until the approach of World War II, at the time, it was also sometimes called the war to end war or the war to end all wars due to its then-unparalleled scale and devastation. In Canada, Macleans magazine in October 1914 wrote, Some wars name themselves, during the interwar period, the war was most often called the World War and the Great War in English-speaking countries. Will become the first world war in the sense of the word. These began in 1815, with the Holy Alliance between Prussia, Russia, and Austria, when Germany was united in 1871, Prussia became part of the new German nation. Soon after, in October 1873, German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck negotiated the League of the Three Emperors between the monarchs of Austria-Hungary, Russia and Germany
24.
Yser Front
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The Yser Front, also known as the West Flemish Front, was a section of the Western Front during World War I held by Belgian troops from October 1914 until 1918. The front ran along the Yser river and Yser Canal in the far north-west of Belgium, during the early campaigns of 1914, the Belgian army had been pushed out of the fortified cities of Liège, Namur and Antwerp by the German advance. Although they succeeded in delaying the Germans at some actions, they were forced to withdraw, first to Antwerp, by October 1914, the Belgian forces were holding a position along the Yser and Ieperlee canal. After months of retreat, the Belgians forces were reduced and were exhausted. They flooded a large expanse of territory in front of their lines, between 16 and 31 October, the Belgians held off the German army at the Battle of the Yser, suffering 3,500 killed and 15,000 wounded. The Battle of the Yser established a front line which would endure until 1918, from Pervijze, the line then arched south-east between the Yser and Ieperlee, down to Oudekapelle and Reninge. Diksmuide had fallen to German forces shortly before the Battle of the Yser, the front protected a small region of north-west Belgium which remained unoccupied. King Albert I, commander-in-chief of the Belgian Army, established his headquarters in Veurne, one of the only towns. The Belgian government, under Charles de Broqueville, established itself in exile in Sainte-Adresse, despite protecting the northern sector of the Western Front, the Belgian army at the Yser refused to participate in Allied offensives for most of the war. King Albert I, in command of the Belgian armed forces, Albert was sceptical of the value of offensive warfare, advocated by the British and French, which he believed to be costly and unable to achieve decisive victory. Consequently, the Yser Front remained generally static for much of the war, after the following Battle of Courtrai, the GAF advanced some 40 miles more. The front was held uniquely by Belgian forces, which numbered around 221,000 men by September 1918, throughout the war, the Belgian Army was supplemented by escapees of military age from German-occupied Belgium. All together, around 20,000 Belgian soldiers died on the Yser during the war, in 1914, the Christmas truce was observed in a number of parts of the line and a few Belgian and German troops met in no-mans land between the trenches. Life on the front line was poor, with soldiers forced to live and sleep in unsanitary trenches, typhus was a major problem among Belgian troops on the Yser Front, where up to 7,000 soldiers died from diseases contracted there. Within the Belgian army, the experience of the Yser Front had led to political upheaval, of the Belgian soldiers on the Yser, between 65 and 80 percent were Flemish, speaking Dutch, while many of the Walloons spoke dialects such as Gaumais or Walloon. The language of command, however, was French and many Flemish soldiers felt resentful at their treatment by the French-speaking officer class, for the Flemish troops, the disquiet culminated in 1916 with the establishment of the Frontbeweging which gained a membership of 5,000 soldiers. Although part of the Flemish Movement, the Frontbeweging called for regional autonomy in Belgium, rather than Flemish independence. Its most celebrated work was the Open Letter to the Belgian King Albert I, drafted by Adiel Debeuckelaere, dodengang - section of preserved Belgian trenches near Diksmuide IJzertoren - a monument to the soldiers killed on the Yser Front Brothers Van Raemdonck Amez, Benoît
25.
Africa
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Africa is the worlds second-largest and second-most-populous continent. At about 30.3 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earths total surface area and 20.4 % of its land area. With 1.2 billion people as of 2016, it accounts for about 16% of the human population. The continent includes Madagascar and various archipelagos and it contains 54 fully recognized sovereign states, nine territories and two de facto independent states with limited or no recognition. Africas population is the youngest amongst all the continents, the age in 2012 was 19.7. Algeria is Africas largest country by area, and Nigeria by population, afarensis, Homo erectus, H. habilis and H. ergaster – with the earliest Homo sapiens found in Ethiopia being dated to circa 200,000 years ago. Africa straddles the equator and encompasses numerous climate areas, it is the continent to stretch from the northern temperate to southern temperate zones. Africa hosts a diversity of ethnicities, cultures and languages. In the late 19th century European countries colonized most of Africa, Africa also varies greatly with regard to environments, economics, historical ties and government systems. However, most present states in Africa originate from a process of decolonization in the 20th century, afri was a Latin name used to refer to the inhabitants of Africa, which in its widest sense referred to all lands south of the Mediterranean. This name seems to have referred to a native Libyan tribe. The name is connected with Hebrew or Phoenician ʿafar dust. The same word may be found in the name of the Banu Ifran from Algeria and Tripolitania, under Roman rule, Carthage became the capital of the province of Africa Proconsularis, which also included the coastal part of modern Libya. The Latin suffix -ica can sometimes be used to denote a land, the later Muslim kingdom of Ifriqiya, modern-day Tunisia, also preserved a form of the name. According to the Romans, Africa lay to the west of Egypt, while Asia was used to refer to Anatolia, as Europeans came to understand the real extent of the continent, the idea of Africa expanded with their knowledge. 25,4, whose descendants, he claimed, had invaded Libya, isidore of Seville in Etymologiae XIV.5.2. Suggests Africa comes from the Latin aprica, meaning sunny, massey, in 1881, stated that Africa is derived from the Egyptian af-rui-ka, meaning to turn toward the opening of the Ka. The Ka is the double of every person and the opening of the Ka refers to a womb or birthplace
26.
Cameroon
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Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon, is a country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west, Chad to the northeast, the Central African Republic to the east, and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Cameroons coastline lies on the Bight of Biafra, part of the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean. French and English are the languages of Cameroon. The country is referred to as Africa in miniature for its geological and cultural diversity. Natural features include beaches, deserts, mountains, rainforests, the country is well known for its native styles of music, particularly makossa and bikutsi, and for its successful national football team. Early inhabitants of the territory included the Sao civilisation around Lake Chad, portuguese explorers reached the coast in the 15th century and named the area Rio dos Camarões, which became Cameroon in English. Fulani soldiers founded the Adamawa Emirate in the north in the 19th century, Cameroon became a German colony in 1884 known as Kamerun. After World War I, the territory was divided between France and the United Kingdom as League of Nations mandates, the Union des Populations du Cameroun political party advocated independence, but was outlawed by France in the 1950s, leading to the Cameroonian Independence War. It waged war on French and UPC militant forces until 1971, in 1960, the French-administered part of Cameroon became independent as the Republic of Cameroun under President Ahmadou Ahidjo. The southern part of British Cameroons federated with it in 1961 to form the Federal Republic of Cameroon, the federation was abandoned in 1972. The country was renamed the United Republic of Cameroon in 1972, Cameroon enjoys relatively high political and social stability. This has permitted the development of agriculture, roads, railways, nevertheless, large numbers of Cameroonians live in poverty as subsistence farmers. Power lies firmly in the hands of the president since 1982, Paul Biya. The English-speaking territories of Cameroon have grown increasingly alienated from the government, politicians and civil society in English-speaking regions have called for greater decentralization and even complete separation or independence from the former French-governed territories. The territory of present-day Cameroon was first settled during the Neolithic Era, the longest continuous inhabitants are groups such as the Baka. From here, Bantu migrations into eastern, southern, and central Africa are believed to have originated about 2,000 years ago, the Sao culture arose around Lake Chad c. AD500 and gave way to the Kanem and its successor state, kingdoms, fondoms, and chiefdoms arose in the west. Portuguese sailors reached the coast in 1472 and they noted an abundance of the ghost shrimp Lepidophthalmus turneranus in the Wouri River and named it Rio dos Camarões, which became Cameroon in English
27.
Gitega
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Gitega is the second largest city in Burundi, lying east of Bujumbura. It is the capital of Gitega Province, one of the 17 provinces of Burundi and it is the home of the Burundis National Museum of Gitega and the Archdiocese of Gitega. Several karyenda royal drum sanctuaries are located in the area, as well as the ibwami, on 29 April 1972, Ntare V of Burundi, the countrys last Mwami, was killed in Gitega. Gitega was served by Gitega Airport, which is now defunct
28.
Burundi
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It is also considered part of Central Africa. The southwestern border is adjacent to Lake Tanganyika, the Twa, Hutu and Tutsi peoples have lived in Burundi for at least 500 years. For more than 200 of those years, Burundi was an independent kingdom, until the beginning of the twentieth century, after the First World War and Germanys defeat, it ceded the territory to Belgium. Both Germans and Belgians ruled Burundi and Rwanda as a European colony known as Ruanda-Urundi, despite common misconceptions, Burundi and Rwanda had never been under common rule until the time of European colonisation. The European intervention exacerbated social differences between the Tutsi and Hutu, and contributed to political unrest in the region. Bouts of ethnic cleansing and ultimately two civil wars and genocides during the 1970s and again in the 1990s left the country undeveloped, Burundis political system is that of a presidential representative democratic republic based upon a multi-party state. The President of Burundi is the head of state and head of government, there are currently 21 registered parties in Burundi. On 13 March 1992, Tutsi coup leader Pierre Buyoya established a constitution, six years later, on 6 June 1998, the constitution was changed, broadening National Assemblys seats and making provisions for two vice-presidents. Because of the Arusha Accord, Burundi enacted a government in 2000. In October 2016, Burundi informed the UN of its intention to withdraw from the International Criminal Court, Burundi remains an overwhelmingly rural society, with just 13% of the population living in urban areas in 2013. The population density of around 315 people per kilometre is the second highest in Sub-Saharan Africa. Roughly 85% of the population are of Hutu ethnic origin, 15% are Tutsi, the official languages of Burundi are French and Kirundi, although Swahili can be found spoken along the Tanzanian border. One of the smallest countries in Africa, Burundi has an equatorial climate, Burundi is a part of the Albertine Rift, the western extension of the East African Rift. The country lies on a plateau in the centre of Africa. The highest peak, Mount Heha at 2,685 m, lies to the southeast of the capital, there are two national parks, Kibira National Park to the northwest, Ruvubu National Park to the northeast. Both were established in 1982 to conserve wildlife populations, Burundis lands are mostly agricultural or pasture. Settlement by rural populations has led to deforestation, soil erosion, deforestation of the entire country is almost completely due to overpopulation, with a mere 600 km2 remaining and an ongoing loss of about 9% per annum. In addition to poverty, Burundians often have to deal with corruption, weak infrastructure, poor access to health and education services, Burundi is densely populated and has had substantial emigration as young people seek opportunities elsewhere
29.
Tanzania
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Tanzania /ˌtænzəˈniːə/, officially the United Republic of Tanzania, is a country in Eastern Africa within the African Great Lakes region. Parts of the country are in Southern Africa, Mount Kilimanjaro, Africas highest mountain, is in northeastern Tanzania. Tanzanias population of 51.82 million is diverse, composed of ethnic, linguistic. Dar es Salaam, the capital, retains most government offices and is the countrys largest city, principal port. Tanzania is a one party dominant state with the Chama Cha Mapinduzi party in power, from its formation until 1992, it was the only legally permitted party in the country. Elections for president and all National Assembly seats were last held in October 2015, the CCM holds approximately 75% of the seats in the assembly. Prehistoric population migrations include Southern Cushitic speakers, who are ancestral to the Iraqw, Gorowa, and Burunge and who moved south from Ethiopia into Tanzania. Based on linguistic evidence, there may also have two movements into Tanzania of Eastern Cushitic people at about 4,000 and 2,000 years ago. These movements took place at about the time as the settlement of the iron-making Mashariki Bantu from West Africa in the Lake Victoria. They brought with them the west African planting tradition and the staple of yams. They subsequently migrated out of these regions across the rest of Tanzania, European colonialism began in mainland Tanzania during the late 19th century when Germany formed German East Africa, which gave way to British rule following World War I. The mainland was governed as Tanganyika, with the Zanzibar Archipelago remaining a separate colonial jurisdiction, following their respective independence in 1961 and 1963, the two entities merged in April 1964 to form the United Republic of Tanzania. Tanzania is mountainous and densely forested in the northeast, where Mount Kilimanjaro is located, three of Africas Great Lakes are partly within Tanzania. To the north and west lie Lake Victoria, Africas largest lake, and Lake Tanganyika, the eastern shore is hot and humid, with the Zanzibar Archipelago just offshore. The Menai Bay Conservation Area is Zanzibars largest marine protected area, over 100 different languages are spoken in Tanzania, making it the most linguistically diverse country in East Africa. Among the languages spoken in Tanzania are all four of Africas language families, Bantu, Cushitic, Nilotic, Swahili and English are Tanzanias official languages. In connection with his Ujamaa social policies, President Nyerere encouraged the use of Swahili, approximately 10% of Tanzanians speak Swahili as a first language, and up to 90% speak it as a second language. Most Tanzanians thus speak both Swahili and a language, many educated Tanzanians are trilingual, also speaking English
30.
Bujumbura
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Bujumbura, formerly Usumbura, is the capital, largest city, and main port of Burundi. It ships most of the chief export, coffee, as well as cotton. It is on the shore of Lake Tanganyika, the second deepest lake in the world after Lake Baikal. The city center is a town with a large market, the national stadium, a large mosque. Museums in the city include the Burundi Museum of Life and the Burundi Geological Museum, ferries sail from Bujumbura to Kigoma in Tanzania. The city is home to the Bujumbura International Airport and the University of Burundi, Bujumbura grew from a small village after it became a military post in German East Africa in 1889. After World War I it was made the center of the Belgian League of Nations mandate of Ruanda-Urundi. The name was changed from Usumbura to Bujumbura when Burundi became independent in 1962, since independence, Bujumbura has been the scene of frequent fighting between the countrys two main ethnic groups, with Hutu militias opposing the Tutsi-dominated Burundi army. Bujumbura today stands as a city but remains to develop with its country. According to the BBC, Bujumbura residents are known for their tradition of Saturday morning runs started during Burundis long years of ethnic conflict. Because the surrounding hills were home to armed militants before 2005, Bujumbura residents would try to vent their fear and frustration and claustrophobia, by running, in March 2014, President Pierre Nkurunziza banned jogging, due to fears it was being used as a cover for subversion. That same month, twenty-one opposition supporters were sentenced to life in prison for using jogging as a way to organize a demonstration that turned violent. As of June 2014 in Bujumbura, the authorities have since restricted jogging clubs to certain areas, all sports must now take place in nine parks in Bujumbura and other designated football pitches. Bujumbura is governed by a community council and community administrator and it is further divided into 13 communes, or neighborhoods, each with its own council and boss. Bujumbura features a tropical climate with distinct wet and dry seasons. Its wet season is from October through April, while the dry season covers the five months. Despite being located close to the equator, Bujumbura is not nearly as warm as one might expect, average temperatures are constant throughout the course of the year with the high temperature at around 29 °C and the low temperature at around 19 °C. Bujumburas central market is in the City Centre, along Rwagasore Avenue, consequently, vendors moved their business to the central market, many settling outside the market due to lack of space
31.
Mwambutsa IV of Burundi
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Mwambutsa IV Bangiricenge was king of Burundi who ruled between 1915 and 1966. He succeeded to the throne on the death of his father Mutaga IV Mbikije, born while Burundi was under German colonial rule, Mwambutsas reign mostly coincided with Belgian colonial rule. The Belgians retained the monarchs of both Rwanda and Burundi under the policy of indirect rule, Mwambutsa IV was born Prince Bangiricenge in c. 1912. Like other Burundian kings, he was an ethnic Ganwa and he became king, taking the regnal name Mwambutsa, on 16 December 1915 when he was still an infant following the death of his father in a family dispute. Because of his age, a regency was declared, several family members, including the Queen Mother Ririkumutima, served as regent. At the time of his coronation, Burundi was part of German East Africa but was captured by Belgium in 1916 during the East African Campaign in World War I, in 1925, a full regency council was established with Belgian approval. Mwambutsa became a ruler in his own right on 28 August 1929, on the independence of Burundi in July 1962, Mwambutsa IV became the head of state of Burundi with far reaching political power. In Rwanda, the monarchy had been overthrown between 1959–62 and he attempted to balance ethnic tensions between ethnic Hutu and Tutsi subjects by choosing his Prime Ministers from each ethnic group alternately. In October 1965, Hutu officers attempted a coup détat against the monarchy, despite their failure to take power, Mwambutsa fled into exile in the Republic of the Congo, eventually moving to Switzerland. In March 1966 he designated his only surviving son to exercise his powers on the spot, still in exile, Mwambutsa was officially deposed in a second coup détat and brought his son to power as Ntare V on 8 July 1966. The monarchy was abolished altogether in a third coup in November 1966 and its leader, Michel Micombero, came to power as president. Mwambutsa spent the rest of his life in Switzerland where he died in 1977, mwambutas remains were exhumed from their burial site in Switzerland in 2012 with a view to repatriating them to Burundi for a state funeral. After a legal battle, however, the remains were re-interred in Switzerland in 2016 in accordance with his familys wishes, grand Master of the Royal Order of Prince Louis Rwagasore. Grand Master of the Royal Order of Ruzinko, grand Master of the Royal Order of Karyenda. Grand Master of the Military Order of Karyenda, in Gates, Louis, Jr. Akyeampong, Emmanuel K
32.
Albert I of Belgium
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Albert I reigned as King of the Belgians from 1909 to 1934. This was a period in the History of Belgium, which included the period of World War I, when 90 percent of Belgium was overrun, occupied. King Albert died in a accident in eastern Belgium in 1934, at the age of 58. Born Albert Léopold Clément Marie Meinrad in Brussels, he was the child and second son of Prince Philippe, Count of Flanders. Prince Philippe was the son of Leopold I, the first King of the Belgians, and his wife, Marie-Louise of France. Princess Marie was a relative of Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany, Albert grew up in the Palace of Flanders, initially as third in the line of succession to the Belgian throne as his reigning Uncle Leopold IIs son had already died. Retiring and studious, Albert prepared himself strenuously for the task of kingship, shortly before his accession to the throne in 1909, Albert undertook an extensive tour of the Belgian Congo, which had been annexed by Belgium in 1908, finding the country in poor condition. Upon his return to Belgium, he recommended reforms to protect the native population and he was the 1, 152nd Knight of the Order of the Golden Fleece in Austria and the 851st Knight of the Order of the Garter in 1914. Albert was married in Munich on 2 October 1900 to Duchess Elisabeth Gabrielle Valérie Marie in Bavaria, a Wittelsbach princess whom he had met at a family funeral. A daughter of Karl-Theodor, Duke in Bavaria, and his wife, the Infanta Maria Josepha of Portugal, she was born at Possenhofen Castle, Bavaria, Germany, on 25 July 1876, and died on 23 November 1965. Based on the letters written during their engagement and marriage the couple appear to have been deeply in love. The letters express a mutual affection based on a rare affinity of spirit. They also make clear that Albert and Elisabeth continually supported and encouraged each other in their roles as king. The spouses shared a commitment to their country and family. Together, they cultivated the friendship of prominent scientists, artists, mathematicians, musicians, charles-Théodore Henri Antoine Meinrad, Count of Flanders, Prince of Belgium, Regent of Belgium. Marie José Charlotte Sophie Amélie Henriette Gabrielle, Princess of Belgium and she was married at Rome, Italy on 8 January 1930 to Prince Umberto Nicola Tommaso Giovanni Maria, Prince of Piemonte. He became King Umberto II of Italy, following the death of his uncle, Leopold II, Albert succeeded to the Belgian throne in December 1909, since Alberts own father had already died in 1905. Previous Belgian kings had taken the royal accession oath only in French, an important aspect of the early years of Alberts reign was his institution of many reforms in the administration of the Belgian Congo, Belgiums only colonial possession
33.
Kinshasa
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Kinshasa is the capital and the largest city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is on the Congo River, once a site of fishing villages, Kinshasa is now an urban area with a 2014 population of over 11 million. It faces Brazzaville, the capital of the neighbouring Republic of the Congo, the city of Kinshasa is also one of the DRCs 26 provinces. Kinshasa is Africas third-largest urban area after Cairo and Lagos, Kinshasa hosted the 14th Francophonie Summit in October 2012. Residents of Kinshasa are known as Kinois or Kinshasans, the aboriginal people are called Humbu and Teke. The city was founded as a trading post by Henry Morton Stanley in 1881. It was named Léopoldville in honour of King Leopold II of Belgium, the post flourished as the first navigable port on the Congo River above Livingstone Falls, a series of rapids over 300 kilometres below Leopoldville. At first, all arriving by sea or being sent by sea had to be carried by porters between Léopoldville and Matadi, the port below the rapids and 150 km from the coast. The completion of the Matadi-Kinshasa portage railway, in 1898, provided a route around the rapids. In 1914, a pipeline was installed so that oil could be transported from Matadi to the upriver steamers in Leopoldville. By 1923, the city was elevated to capital of the Belgian Congo, the town, nicknamed Léo or Leopold, became a commercial centre and grew rapidly during the colonial period. In 1965, Joseph-Désiré Mobutu seized power in the Congo in his coup and initiated a policy of Africanizing the names of people. In 1966, Léopoldville was renamed Kinshasa, for a village named Kinchassa that once stood near the site, the city grew rapidly under Mobutu, drawing people from across the country who came in search of their fortunes or to escape ethnic strife elsewhere. This inevitably brought a change to the ethnic and linguistic composition. In the 1990s, an uprising began, which, by 1997, had brought down the regime of Mobutu. Kinshasa suffered greatly from Mobutus excesses, mass corruption, nepotism, nevertheless, it is still a major cultural and intellectual centre for Central Africa, with a flourishing community of musicians and artists. It is also the major industrial centre, processing many of the natural products brought from the interior. The city has recently had to fend off rioting soldiers, who were protesting the failure to pay them
34.
Brussels
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Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, is a region of Belgium comprising 19 municipalities, including the City of Brussels which is the capital of Belgium. The Brussels-Capital Region is a part of both the French Community of Belgium and the Flemish Community, but is separate from the region of Flanders or Wallonia. The region has a population of 1.2 million and an area with a population of over 1.8 million. Brussels is the de facto capital of the European Union as it hosts a number of principal EU institutions, the secretariat of the Benelux and the headquarters of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization are also located in Brussels. Today, it is considered an Alpha global city, historically a Dutch-speaking city, Brussels has seen a language shift to French from the late 19th century onwards. Today, the majority language is French, and the Brussels-Capital Region is a bilingual enclave within the Flemish Region. All road signs, street names, and many advertisements and services are shown in both languages, Brussels is increasingly becoming multilingual with increasing numbers of migrants, expatriates and minority groups speaking their own languages. The most common theory of the origin of Brussels name is that it derives from the Old Dutch Broekzele or Broeksel, meaning marsh, Saint Vindicianus, the bishop of Cambrai made the first recorded reference to the place Brosella in 695 when it was still a hamlet. The origin of the settlement that was to become Brussels lies in Saint Gaugericus construction of a chapel on an island in the river Senne around 580. The official founding of Brussels is usually situated around 979, when Duke Charles of Lower Lotharingia transferred the relics of Saint Gudula from Moorsel to the Saint Gaugericus chapel, Charles would construct the first permanent fortification in the city, doing so on that same island. Lambert I of Leuven, Count of Leuven gained the County of Brussels around 1000 by marrying Charles daughter, as it grew to a population of around 30,000, the surrounding marshes were drained to allow for further expansion. The Counts of Leuven became Dukes of Brabant at about this time, in the 13th century, the city got its first walls. After the construction of the city walls in the early 13th century, to let the city expand, a second set of walls was erected between 1356 and 1383. Today, traces of it can still be seen, mostly because the small ring, Brabant had lost its independence, but Brussels became the Princely Capital of the prosperous Low Countries, and flourished. In 1516 Charles V, who had been heir of the Low Countries since 1506, was declared King of Spain in St. Michael and St. Gudula Cathedral in Brussels. Upon the death of his grandfather, Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor in 1519 and it was in the Palace complex at Coudenberg that Charles V abdicated in 1555. This impressive palace, famous all over Europe, had expanded since it had first become the seat of the Dukes of Brabant. In 1695, during the Nine Years War, King Louis XIV of France sent troops to bombard Brussels with artillery, together with the resulting fire, it was the most destructive event in the entire history of Brussels
35.
Great Depression
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The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression that took place during the 1930s. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, in most countries it started in 1929 and it was the longest, deepest, and most widespread depression of the 20th century. In the 21st century, the Great Depression is commonly used as an example of how far the economy can decline. The depression originated in the United States, after a fall in stock prices that began around September 4,1929. Between 1929 and 1932, worldwide GDP fell by an estimated 15%, by comparison, worldwide GDP fell by less than 1% from 2008 to 2009 during the Great Recession. Some economies started to recover by the mid-1930s, however, in many countries, the negative effects of the Great Depression lasted until the beginning of World War II. The Great Depression had devastating effects in both rich and poor. Personal income, tax revenue, profits and prices dropped, while international trade plunged by more than 50%, unemployment in the U. S. rose to 25% and in some countries rose as high as 33%. Cities all around the world were hit hard, especially dependent on heavy industry. Construction was virtually halted in many countries, farming communities and rural areas suffered as crop prices fell by about 60%. Facing plummeting demand with few sources of jobs, areas dependent on primary sector industries such as mining and logging suffered the most. Even after the Wall Street Crash of 1929 optimism persisted for some time, john D. Rockefeller said These are days when many are discouraged. In the 93 years of my life, depressions have come, prosperity has always returned and will again. The stock market turned upward in early 1930, returning to early 1929 levels by April and this was still almost 30% below the peak of September 1929. Together, government and business spent more in the first half of 1930 than in the period of the previous year. On the other hand, consumers, many of whom had suffered losses in the stock market the previous year. In addition, beginning in the mid-1930s, a severe drought ravaged the agricultural heartland of the U. S, by mid-1930, interest rates had dropped to low levels, but expected deflation and the continuing reluctance of people to borrow meant that consumer spending and investment were depressed. By May 1930, automobile sales had declined to below the levels of 1928, prices in general began to decline, although wages held steady in 1930
36.
Paul van Zeeland
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Paul Guillaume van Zeeland was a Belgian lawyer, economist, Catholic politician, and statesman born in Soignies. Van Zeeland was a professor of law and later director of the Institute of Economic Science at the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, in March 1935, he became the prime minister of a government of national unity. Given decree powers, he was able to abate the crisis the country was going through, by devaluing the currency. Van Zeelands government resigned in the spring of 1936 due to the agitation of Rexism, after proclaiming martial law, the government was able to suppress the Rexists. Also during his term, Belgium gave up its military alliance with France and reverted to its traditional neutrality policy. In 1939, Van Zeeland became president of the Committee on Refugees, established in London, in 1946, he was one of the founders of the European League for Economic Cooperation. He was Honorary Secretary General of the Steering Committee of the Bilderberg Group, in 2013, he was found out to have started a Panamanian offshore company to the consternation of his family
37.
Protestantism
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Protestantism is a form of Christianity which originated with the Reformation, a movement against what its followers considered to be errors in the Roman Catholic Church. It is one of the three divisions of Christendom, together with Roman Catholicism and Orthodoxy. The term derives from the letter of protestation from German Lutheran princes in 1529 against an edict of the Diet of Speyer condemning the teachings of Martin Luther as heretical. Although there were earlier breaks from or attempts to reform the Roman Catholic Church—notably by Peter Waldo, John Wycliffe, Protestants reject the notion of papal supremacy and deny the Roman Catholic doctrine of transubstantiation, but disagree among themselves regarding the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist. The Five solae summarize the reformers basic differences in theological beliefs, in the 16th century, Lutheranism spread from Germany into Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, the Baltic states, and Iceland. Reformed churches were founded in Germany, Hungary, the Netherlands, Scotland, Switzerland and France by such reformers as John Calvin, Huldrych Zwingli, the political separation of the Church of England from Rome under King Henry VIII brought England and Wales into this broad Reformation movement. Protestants developed their own culture, which made major contributions in education, the humanities and sciences, the political and social order, the economy and the arts, some Protestant denominations do have a worldwide scope and distribution of membership, while others are confined to a single country. A majority of Protestants are members of a handful of families, Adventism, Anglicanism, Baptist churches, Reformed churches, Lutheranism, Methodism. Nondenominational, evangelical, charismatic, independent and other churches are on the rise, and constitute a significant part of Protestant Christianity. Six princes of the Holy Roman Empire and rulers of fourteen Imperial Free Cities, the edict reversed concessions made to the Lutherans with the approval of Holy Roman Emperor Charles V three years earlier. During the Reformation, the term was used outside of the German politics. The word evangelical, which refers to the gospel, was more widely used for those involved in the religious movement. Nowadays, this word is still preferred among some of the historical Protestant denominations in the Lutheran and Calvinist traditions in Europe, above all the term is used by Protestant bodies in the German-speaking area, such as the EKD. In continental Europe, an Evangelical is either a Lutheran or a Calvinist, the German word evangelisch means Protestant, and is different from the German evangelikal, which refers to churches shaped by Evangelicalism. The English word evangelical usually refers to Evangelical Protestant churches, and it traces its roots back to the Puritans in England, where Evangelicalism originated, and then was brought to the United States. Protestantism as a term is now used in contradistinction to the other major Christian traditions, i. e. Roman Catholicism. Initially, Protestant became a term to mean any adherent to the Reformation movement in Germany and was taken up by Lutherans. Even though Martin Luther himself insisted on Christian or Evangelical as the only acceptable names for individuals who professed Christ, French and Swiss Protestants preferred the word reformed, which became a popular, neutral and alternative name for Calvinists
38.
Catholic
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The use of terms catholicism and catholicity is closely related to the use of term Catholic Church. The earliest evidence of the use of term is the Letter to the Smyrnaeans that Ignatius of Antioch wrote in about 108 to Christians in Smyrna. In 380, Emperor Theodosius I limited use of the term Catholic Christian exclusively to those who followed the faith as Pope Damasus I of Rome. Numerous other early writers including Cyril of Jerusalem, Augustine of Hippo further developed the use of the term catholic in relation to Christianity. In Christian theology, and specially in ecclesiology, terms Catholicism, when used with small c, terms catholicism and catholicity generally designate theological doctrine of the catholicity of the Church without denominational connotations. A common belief in Catholicism is institutional continuity with the early Christian church founded by Jesus Christ, many churches or communions of churches identify singularly or collectively as the authentic church. The Bishop of Rome was also considered to have the right to convene ecumenical councils, when the Imperial capital moved to Constantinople, Romes influence was sometimes challenged. The first great rupture in the Church followed this Council and they are often called Ancient Oriental Churches. The next major break was after the Council of Chalcedon and this Council repudiated Eutychian Monophysitism which stated that the divine nature completely subsumed the human nature in Christ. This Council declared that Christ, though one person, exhibited two natures without confusion, without change, without division, without separation and thus is both fully God and fully human, the next great rift within Christianity was in the 11th century. This division between the Western Church and the Eastern Church is called the East–West Schism, several eastern churches reunited, constituting some of the Eastern Catholic Churches. Liturgical and canonical practices vary between all these particular Churches constituting the Roman and Eastern Catholic Churches, in all these cases the beliefs and practices of Catholicism would be identical with the beliefs and practices of the Church in question. However, in Roman Catholicism, the term catholic is understood as to cover those who recognize and are in standing with the Magisterium. The sense given to the word by those who use it to distinguish their position from a Calvinistic or Puritan form of Protestantism. It is then meaningful to attempt to draw up a list of common characteristic beliefs, the Roman Catholic Church includes the 23 rites who recognize the Magisterium. Belief in the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist, the belief that Christ is made manifest in the elements of Holy Communion, possession of the threefold ordained ministry of Bishops, Priests and Deacons. Belief that the Church is the vessel and deposit of the fullness of the teachings of Jesus and this teaching is preserved in both written scripture and in unwritten tradition, neither being independent of the other. A belief in the necessity and efficacy of sacraments, liturgical and personal use of the Sign of the Cross The use of sacred images, candles, vestments and music, and often incense and water, in worship
39.
Belgian Congo in World War II
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The involvement of the Belgian Congo in World War II began with the German invasion of Belgium in May 1940. Congolese troops of the Force Publique fought alongside British forces in the East African Campaign, Congolese formations also acted as garrisons in Egypt, Nigeria and Palestine. These were repressed, often violently, by the Belgian colonial authorities, the role played by Congolese uranium during the hostilities caused the country to be of interest to the Soviet Union during the Cold War. The Belgian colonial military numbered 18,000 soldiers, making it one of the largest standing armies in Africa at the time. The Belgian government followed a policy of neutrality during the interwar years, nazi Germany invaded on 10 May 1940 and, after 18 days of fighting, Belgium surrendered on 28 May and was occupied by German forces. King Leopold III, who had surrendered to the Germans, was kept a prisoner for the rest of the war, the Congo was therefore administered from London by the Belgian government in exile during the war. Despite this assurance, disruption broke out in the city of Stanleyville among the white population panicking about the future of the colony and the threat of an Italian invasion. Soon after the arrival of the Belgian government in exile in London, the British were determined that the Congo should not fall into Axis hands, and planned to invade and occupy the colony if the Belgians did not come to an arrangement. Eventually, the two came to an arrangement in which virtually all the British demands were accepted, including a 30 percent devaluation of the Congolese franc. The greatest economic demands on the Congo were related to raw materials, between 1938 and 1944, the number of workers employed in the mines of the Union Minière du Haut Katanga rose from 25,000 to 49,000 to cope with the increased demand. In order to increase production for the war effort, the authorities increased the hours. This led to increasing labour unrest across the colony, discontent among the white population was also increased by the raising of a 40 percent war tax. High taxes and price controls were enforced from 1941, limiting the amount of profit that could be made, the vast majority of the Congolese-produced raw resources were exported to other Allied countries. By 1942, the entire output of copper, palm oil and industrial diamonds were being exported to the United Kingdom. Exports to the United States also rose from $600,000 in early 1940 to $2,700,000 by 1942. It also meant that the Belgian gold reserves, which had moved to London in 1940, were not needed to fund the war effort. The Congo possessed major uranium deposits and was one of the few sources of the material available to the Allies. The director of UMHK, Edgar Sengier, secretly despatched half of its stock to New York in 1940, in September 1942
40.
Force Publique
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The Force Publique was a gendarmerie and military force in what is now the Democratic Republic of the Congo from 1885, through the period of direct Belgian colonial rule. After independence, the FP was retitled as the Congolese National Army or ANC, soon afterwards, in early 1886, Captain Léon Roger was sent to the Congo with orders to establish the force. A few months later, on August 17, he was promoted to Commandant of the Force Publique, a number of other Belgian officers and non-commissioned officers were also dispatched to the territory as the nucleus of the officer corps. The officers of the Force Publique were entirely European and they comprised a mixture of Belgian regular soldiers and mercenaries from other countries who were drawn by the prospect of wealth or simply attracted to the adventure of service in Africa. Serving under these European officers was an ethnically-mixed African soldiery, who eventually became comparable to British or Imperial German Askaris, many were recruited or conscripted from warrior tribes in the Haut-Congo. Others were drawn from Zanzibar and West Africa, the role required of the Force Publique was that of both defending Free State territory and of internal pacification. The Force Publique fought in the 1892–1894 war in the Eastern Congo against Tippu Tip, under Leopold a major purpose of the Force was to enforce the rubber quotas and other forms of forced labor. Armed with modern weapons and the chicotte—a bull whip made of hippopotamus hide—soldiers of the FP often took and they also burned recalcitrant villages and there is evidence, including photographs, that FP soldiers cut off human hands either as trophies or to show that bullets had not been wasted. During the Free State period, the Force Publique suffered from institutional problems, during the early years of the force, mutinies of black soldiers occurred several times. By the early 1890s, much of the portion of the Free State was under the control of Arab ivory. Organizational problems were quite prevalent during the Free State era. By the end of 1891, the force had 60 officers,60 non-commissioned officers, friendly tribes and militias were often used to help exert control over the outermost parts of the Free State. There were also six recruit training camps containing over 2,400 men and these Force Publique companies eventually grew to over 600 men each but their constituent units known as detachments were so widely scattered that the force had no real military value. It was intended that each administrative company form a Compagnie Marche of 150 men, each Marche or field company was intended to have four Belgian officers and NCOs plus between 100 and 150 askaris. In principle companies comprised two or three 50-man platoons, there were supposed to be enough companies to form three Marche battalions. There were eight Congolese NCOs as part of this establishment, Belgian officers and NCOs replaced nearly all the multi-national Europeans who had been employed under the Free State. The 2,875 men of the Troupes de Katanga constituted a force of six companies, four de marche. In addition there was the Compagnie dArtillerie et de Génie manning Fort de Shinkakasa at the mouth of the Congo River in Boma, Fort Boma contained eight 160mm guns manned by 200 men, who saw little or no service during the war
41.
Lisbon
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Lisbon is the capital and the largest city of Portugal, with a population of 552,700 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km². Its urban area extends beyond the administrative limits with a population of around 2.7 million people. About 2.8 million people live in the Lisbon Metropolitan Area and it is continental Europes westernmost capital city and the only one along the Atlantic coast. Lisbon lies in the western Iberian Peninsula on the Atlantic Ocean, the westernmost areas of its metro area is the westernmost point of Continental Europe. Lisbon is recognised as a city because of its importance in finance, commerce, media, entertainment, arts, international trade, education. It is one of the economic centres on the continent, with a growing financial sector. Humberto Delgado Airport serves over 20 million passengers annually, as of 2015, and the motorway network, the city is the 7th-most-visited city in Southern Europe, after Istanbul, Rome, Barcelona, Madrid, Athens and Milan, with 1,740,000 tourists in 2009. The Lisbon region contributes with a higher GDP PPP per capita than any region in Portugal. Its GDP amounts to 96.3 billion USD and thus $32,434 per capita, the city occupies 32nd place of highest gross earnings in the world. Most of the headquarters of multinationals in the country are located in the Lisbon area and it is also the political centre of the country, as its seat of Government and residence of the Head of State. Lisbon is one of the oldest cities in the world, julius Caesar made it a municipium called Felicitas Julia, adding to the name Olissipo. Ruled by a series of Germanic tribes from the 5th century, in 1147, the Crusaders under Afonso Henriques reconquered the city and since then it has been a major political, economic and cultural centre of Portugal. Unlike most capital cities, Lisbons status as the capital of Portugal has never been granted or confirmed officially – by statute or in written form. Its position as the capital has formed through constitutional convention, making its position as de facto capital a part of the Constitution of Portugal. It has one of the warmest winters of any metropolis in Europe, the typical summer season lasts about four months, from June to September, although also in April temperatures sometimes reach around 25 °C. Although modern archaeological excavations show a Phoenician presence at this location since 1200 BC, another conjecture based on ancient hydronymy suggests that the name of the settlement derived from the pre-Roman appellation for the Tagus, Lisso or Lucio. Lisbons name was written Ulyssippo in Latin by the geographer Pomponius Mela and it was later referred to as Olisippo by Pliny the Elder and by the Greeks as Olissipo or Olissipona. The Indo-European Celts invaded in the 1st millennium BC, mixing with the Pre-Indo-European population and this indigenous settlement maintained commercial relations with the Phoenicians, which would account for the recent findings of Phoenician pottery and other material objects
Grand cross in Order of St. Sylvester.[1] (Holy See) - 1945
