1.
Second World War
–
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
Second World War
–
Clockwise from top left: Chinese forces in the
Battle of Wanjialing, Australian
25-pounder guns during the
First Battle of El Alamein, German
Stuka dive bombers on the
Eastern Front in December 1943, a U.S. naval force in the
Lingayen Gulf,
Wilhelm Keitel signing the
German Instrument of Surrender, Soviet troops in the
Battle of Stalingrad
Second World War
–
The
League of Nations assembly, held in
Geneva,
Switzerland, 1930
Second World War
–
Adolf Hitler at a German
National Socialist political rally in
Weimar, October 1930
Second World War
–
Italian soldiers recruited in 1935, on their way to fight the
Second Italo-Abyssinian War
2.
France
–
France, officially the French Republic, is a country with territory in western Europe and several overseas regions and territories. The European, or metropolitan, area of France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, Overseas France include French Guiana on the South American continent and several island territories in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans. France spans 643,801 square kilometres and had a population of almost 67 million people as of January 2017. It is a unitary republic with the capital in Paris. Other major urban centres include Marseille, Lyon, Lille, Nice, Toulouse, during the Iron Age, what is now metropolitan France was inhabited by the Gauls, a Celtic people. The area was annexed in 51 BC by Rome, which held Gaul until 486, France emerged as a major European power in the Late Middle Ages, with its victory in the Hundred Years War strengthening state-building and political centralisation. During the Renaissance, French culture flourished and a colonial empire was established. The 16th century was dominated by civil wars between Catholics and Protestants. France became Europes dominant cultural, political, and military power under Louis XIV, in the 19th century Napoleon took power and established the First French Empire, whose subsequent Napoleonic Wars shaped the course of continental Europe. Following the collapse of the Empire, France endured a succession of governments culminating with the establishment of the French Third Republic in 1870. Following liberation in 1944, a Fourth Republic was established and later dissolved in the course of the Algerian War, the Fifth Republic, led by Charles de Gaulle, was formed in 1958 and remains to this day. Algeria and nearly all the colonies became independent in the 1960s with minimal controversy and typically retained close economic. France has long been a centre of art, science. It hosts Europes fourth-largest number of cultural UNESCO World Heritage Sites and receives around 83 million foreign tourists annually, France is a developed country with the worlds sixth-largest economy by nominal GDP and ninth-largest by purchasing power parity. In terms of household wealth, it ranks fourth in the world. France performs well in international rankings of education, health care, life expectancy, France remains a great power in the world, being one of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council with the power to veto and an official nuclear-weapon state. It is a member state of the European Union and the Eurozone. It is also a member of the Group of 7, North Atlantic Treaty Organization, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the World Trade Organization, originally applied to the whole Frankish Empire, the name France comes from the Latin Francia, or country of the Franks
France
–
One of the
Lascaux paintings: a horse –
Dordogne, approximately 18,000 BC
France
–
Flag
France
–
The
Maison Carrée was a temple of the
Gallo-Roman city of Nemausus (present-day
Nîmes) and is one of the best preserved vestiges of the
Roman Empire.
France
–
With
Clovis ' conversion to Catholicism in 498, the
Frankish monarchy,
elective and
secular until then, became
hereditary and of
divine right.
3.
July Revolution
–
Supporters of the Bourbon would be called Legitimists, and supporters of Louis Philippe Orléanists. On 16 September 1824, Charles X ascended to the throne of France and he was the younger brother of Louis XVIII, who, upon the defeat of Napoleon I, and by agreement of the Allied powers, had been installed as King of France. Both Louis and Charles ruled by right rather than Revolution. Upon the abdication of Napoleon in 1814, continental Europe, the Congress of Vienna met to redraw the continents political map. Another very influential person at the Congress was Charles Maurice de Talleyrand, although France was considered an enemy state, Talleyrand was allowed to attend the Congress because he claimed that he had only cooperated with Napoleon under duress. Talleyrand proposed that Europe be restored to its borders and governments. France returned to its 1789 borders and the House of Bourbon, the Congress however forced Louis to grant the Charte constitutionnelle française, the French Constitution otherwise known as La Charte. This document was the trigger of the July Revolution. On 16 September 1824, after an illness of several months. Therefore, his brother, Charles, aged 66, inherited the throne of France. On 27 September Charles X as he was now known, made his entry into Paris to popular acclaim. But eight months later, the mood of the capital had sharply worsened in its opinion of the new king, the causes of this dramatic shift in public opinion were many, but the main two were, The imposition of the death penalty for anyone profaning the Eucharist. The provisions for financial indemnities for properties confiscated by the 1789 Revolution and these indemnities to be paid to any one, whether noble or non-noble, who had been declared enemies of the Revolution. Critics of the first accused the king and his new ministry of pandering to the Catholic Church, the second matter, that of financial indemnities, was far more opportunistic than the first. But opponents, many of whom were frustrated Bonapartists, began a campaign that Charles X was only proposing this in order to shame those who had not emigrated. Both measures, they claimed, were nothing more than clever subterfuge meant to bring about the destruction of La Charte and this, too, was about to change. On 12 April, propelled by both genuine conviction and the spirit of independence, the Chamber of Deputies roundly rejected the proposal to change the inheritance laws. The popular newspaper Le Constitutionnel pronounced this refusal a victory over the forces of counter-revolutionaries, the popularity of both the Chamber of Peers and the Chamber of Deputies skyrocketed, and the popularity of the king and his ministry dropped
July Revolution
–
Charles X in coronation robes
July Revolution
–
Scenes of July 1830, a painting by
Léon Cogniet alluding to the July revolution of 1830.
July Revolution
–
Taking of the
Hôtel de Ville (revolutionaries went there in 1789, and later 1848 and 1870), by Amédée Bourgeois
July Revolution
–
Battle outside the Hôtel de Ville, by Jean Victor Schnetz
4.
Marshall Plan
–
The plan was in operation for four years beginning April 8,1948. The goals of the United States were to rebuild war-devastated regions, remove trade barriers, modernize industry, make Europe prosperous once more, the Marshall Plan aid was divided amongst the participant states roughly on a per capita basis. A larger amount was given to the industrial powers, as the prevailing opinion was that their resuscitation was essential for general European revival. Somewhat more aid per capita was also directed towards the Allied nations, the largest recipient of Marshall Plan money was the United Kingdom, followed by France and West Germany. Some 18 European countries received Plan benefits, although offered participation, the Soviet Union refused Plan benefits, and also blocked benefits to Eastern Bloc countries, such as East Germany and Poland. The United States provided similar aid programs in Asia, but they were not called Marshall Plan, the initiative is named after Secretary of State George Marshall, who also served as the United States Army Chief of staff during WWII. The plan had bipartisan support in Washington, where the Republicans controlled Congress, Marshall spoke of an urgent need to help the European recovery in his address at Harvard University in June 1947. The purpose of the Marshall Plan was to aid in the recovery of nations after WWII as well as to antagonize the Soviet Union. In order to combat the effects of the Marshall Plan, the USSR developed its own economic plan and it was not as effective as the Marshall Plan, and in some ways contradictory to eastern block countries that served alongside the axis powers in WWII. The phrase equivalent of the Marshall Plan is often used to describe a proposed large-scale economic rescue program, the reconstruction plan, developed at a meeting of the participating European states, was drafted on June 5,1947. It offered the aid to the Soviet Union and its allies. In fact, the Soviet Union prevented its satellite states from accepting, Secretary Marshall became convinced Stalin had no interest in helping restore economic health in Western Europe. President Harry Truman signed the Marshall Plan on April 3,1948, the Marshall Plan was replaced by the Mutual Security Plan at the end of 1951, that new plan gave away about $7 billion annually until 1961 when it was replaced by another program. The ERP addressed each of the obstacles to postwar recovery, the plan looked to the future, and did not focus on the destruction caused by the war. By 1952, as the funding ended, the economy of every participant state had surpassed pre-war levels, for all Marshall Plan recipients, by the end of World War II, much of Europe was devastated. Sustained aerial bombardment during the war had badly damaged most major cities, the regions trade flows had been thoroughly disrupted, millions were in refugee camps living on aid from United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration and other agencies. Food shortages were severe, especially in the winter of 1946–47. From July 1945 through June 1946, the United States shipped 16.5 million tons of food, primarily wheat, to Europe and Japan
Marshall Plan
–
The hunger-winter of 1947, thousands protest in West Germany against the disastrous food situation (March 31, 1947). The sign says: We want coal, we want bread
Marshall Plan
–
The labeling used on Marshall Plan aid packages
Marshall Plan
–
First page of the Marshall Plan
Marshall Plan
–
1960 West German stamp honoring George Marshall
5.
West Germany
–
West Germany is the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation on 23 May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990. During this Cold War era, NATO-aligned West Germany and Warsaw Pact-aligned East Germany were divided by the Inner German border, after 1961 West Berlin was physically separated from East Berlin as well as from East Germany by the Berlin Wall. This situation ended when East Germany was dissolved and its five states joined the ten states of the Federal Republic of Germany along with the reunified city-state of Berlin. With the reunification of West and East Germany, the Federal Republic of Germany, enlarged now to sixteen states and this period is referred to as the Bonn Republic by historians, alluding to the interwar Weimar Republic and the post-reunification Berlin Republic. The Federal Republic of Germany was established from eleven states formed in the three Allied Zones of occupation held by the United States, the United Kingdom and France, US and British forces remained in the country throughout the Cold War. Its population grew from roughly 51 million in 1950 to more than 63 million in 1990, the city of Bonn was its de facto capital city. The fourth Allied occupation zone was held by the Soviet Union, as a result, West Germany had a territory about half the size of the interbellum democratic Weimar Republic. At the onset of the Cold War, Europe was divided among the Western and Eastern blocs, Germany was de facto divided into two countries and two special territories, the Saarland and divided Berlin. The Federal Republic of Germany claimed a mandate for all of Germany. It took the line that the GDR was an illegally constituted puppet state, though the GDR did hold regular elections, these were not free and fair. For all practical purposes the GDR was a Soviet puppet state, from the West German perspective the GDR was therefore illegitimate. Three southwestern states of West Germany merged to form Baden-Württemberg in 1952, in addition to the resulting ten states, West Berlin was considered an unofficial de facto 11th state. It recognised the GDR as a de facto government within a single German nation that in turn was represented de jure by the West German state alone. From 1973 onward, East Germany recognised the existence of two German countries de jure, and the West as both de facto and de jure foreign country, the Federal Republic and the GDR agreed that neither of them could speak in the name of the other. The first chancellor Konrad Adenauer, who remained in office until 1963, had worked for an alignment with NATO rather than neutrality. He not only secured a membership in NATO but was also a proponent of agreements that developed into the present-day European Union, when the G6 was established in 1975, there was no question whether the Federal Republic of Germany would be a member as well. With the collapse of communism in Central and Eastern Europe in 1989, symbolised by the opening of the Berlin Wall, East Germany voted to dissolve itself and accede to the Federal Republic in 1990. Its five post-war states were reconstituted along with the reunited Berlin and they formally joined the Federal Republic on 3 October 1990, raising the number of states from 10 to 16, ending the division of Germany
West Germany
–
Konrad Adenauer in parliament, 1955
West Germany
–
Flag
West Germany
–
Rudi Dutschke, student leader.
West Germany
–
The
Volkswagen Beetle – for many years the most successful car in the world – on the assembly line in Wolfsburg factory, 1973.
6.
Italy
–
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a unitary parliamentary republic in Europe. Located in the heart of the Mediterranean Sea, Italy shares open land borders with France, Switzerland, Austria, Slovenia, San Marino, Italy covers an area of 301,338 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal and Mediterranean climate. Due to its shape, it is referred to in Italy as lo Stivale. With 61 million inhabitants, it is the fourth most populous EU member state, the Italic tribe known as the Latins formed the Roman Kingdom, which eventually became a republic that conquered and assimilated other nearby civilisations. The legacy of the Roman Empire is widespread and can be observed in the distribution of civilian law, republican governments, Christianity. The Renaissance began in Italy and spread to the rest of Europe, bringing a renewed interest in humanism, science, exploration, Italian culture flourished at this time, producing famous scholars, artists and polymaths such as Leonardo da Vinci, Galileo, Michelangelo and Machiavelli. The weakened sovereigns soon fell victim to conquest by European powers such as France, Spain and Austria. Despite being one of the victors in World War I, Italy entered a period of economic crisis and social turmoil. The subsequent participation in World War II on the Axis side ended in defeat, economic destruction. Today, Italy has the third largest economy in the Eurozone and it has a very high level of human development and is ranked sixth in the world for life expectancy. The country plays a prominent role in regional and global economic, military, cultural and diplomatic affairs, as a reflection of its cultural wealth, Italy is home to 51 World Heritage Sites, the most in the world, and is the fifth most visited country. The assumptions on the etymology of the name Italia are very numerous, according to one of the more common explanations, the term Italia, from Latin, Italia, was borrowed through Greek from the Oscan Víteliú, meaning land of young cattle. The bull was a symbol of the southern Italic tribes and was often depicted goring the Roman wolf as a defiant symbol of free Italy during the Social War. Greek historian Dionysius of Halicarnassus states this account together with the legend that Italy was named after Italus, mentioned also by Aristotle and Thucydides. The name Italia originally applied only to a part of what is now Southern Italy – according to Antiochus of Syracuse, but by his time Oenotria and Italy had become synonymous, and the name also applied to most of Lucania as well. The Greeks gradually came to apply the name Italia to a larger region, excavations throughout Italy revealed a Neanderthal presence dating back to the Palaeolithic period, some 200,000 years ago, modern Humans arrived about 40,000 years ago. Other ancient Italian peoples of undetermined language families but of possible origins include the Rhaetian people and Cammuni. Also the Phoenicians established colonies on the coasts of Sardinia and Sicily, the Roman legacy has deeply influenced the Western civilisation, shaping most of the modern world
Italy
–
The
Colosseum in Rome, built c. 70 – 80 AD, is considered one of the greatest works of
architecture and
engineering of ancient history.
Italy
–
Flag
Italy
–
The
Iron Crown of Lombardy, for centuries symbol of the
Kings of Italy.
Italy
–
Castel del Monte, built by German Emperor
Frederick II,
UNESCO World Heritage site
7.
Japan
–
Japan is a sovereign island nation in Eastern Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies off the eastern coast of the Asia Mainland and stretches from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea, the kanji that make up Japans name mean sun origin. 日 can be read as ni and means sun while 本 can be read as hon, or pon, Japan is often referred to by the famous epithet Land of the Rising Sun in reference to its Japanese name. Japan is an archipelago consisting of about 6,852 islands. The four largest are Honshu, Hokkaido, Kyushu and Shikoku, the country is divided into 47 prefectures in eight regions. Hokkaido being the northernmost prefecture and Okinawa being the southernmost one, the population of 127 million is the worlds tenth largest. Japanese people make up 98. 5% of Japans total population, approximately 9.1 million people live in the city of Tokyo, the capital of Japan. Archaeological research indicates that Japan was inhabited as early as the Upper Paleolithic period, the first written mention of Japan is in Chinese history texts from the 1st century AD. Influence from other regions, mainly China, followed by periods of isolation, from the 12th century until 1868, Japan was ruled by successive feudal military shoguns who ruled in the name of the Emperor. Japan entered into a period of isolation in the early 17th century. The Second Sino-Japanese War of 1937 expanded into part of World War II in 1941, which came to an end in 1945 following the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Japan is a member of the UN, the OECD, the G7, the G8, the country has the worlds third-largest economy by nominal GDP and the worlds fourth-largest economy by purchasing power parity. It is also the worlds fourth-largest exporter and fourth-largest importer, although Japan has officially renounced its right to declare war, it maintains a modern military with the worlds eighth-largest military budget, used for self-defense and peacekeeping roles. Japan is a country with a very high standard of living. Its population enjoys the highest life expectancy and the third lowest infant mortality rate in the world, in ancient China, Japan was called Wo 倭. It was mentioned in the third century Chinese historical text Records of the Three Kingdoms in the section for the Wei kingdom, Wa became disliked because it has the connotation of the character 矮, meaning dwarf. The 倭 kanji has been replaced with the homophone Wa, meaning harmony, the Japanese word for Japan is 日本, which is pronounced Nippon or Nihon and literally means the origin of the sun. The earliest record of the name Nihon appears in the Chinese historical records of the Tang dynasty, at the start of the seventh century, a delegation from Japan introduced their country as Nihon
Japan
–
The
Golden Hall and
five-storey pagoda of
Hōryū-ji, among the oldest wooden buildings in the world,
National Treasures, and a
UNESCO World Heritage Site
Japan
Japan
–
Samurai warriors face Mongols, during the
Mongol invasions of Japan. The
Kamikaze, two storms, are said to have saved Japan from Mongol fleets.
Japan
–
Samurai could
kill a commoner for the slightest insult and were widely feared by the Japanese population.
Edo period, 1798
8.
World War
–
A world war is a war involving many of the countries of the world or many of the most powerful and populous ones. World wars span multiple countries on multiple continents, with battles fought in multiple theaters. The Oxford English Dictionary cited the first known usage in the English language to a Scottish newspaper, the term World War I was coined by Time magazine in its issue of June 12,1939. In the same article, the term World War II was first used speculatively to describe the upcoming war, the first use for the actual war came in its issue of September 11,1939. m. Speculative fiction authors had been noting the concept of a Second World War in 1919 and 1920, due to this fact, a very minute conflict between two countries had the potential to set off a domino effect of alliances, triggering a world war. The fact that the powers involved had large overseas empires virtually guaranteed that such a war would be worldwide, the same strategic considerations also ensured that the combatants would strike at each others colonies, thus spreading the wars far more widely than those of pre-Colombian times. Both world wars had also seen war crimes, the First World War had seen major use of chemical weapons despite the Hague Conventions of 1899 and 1907 outlawing the use of such weapons in warfare. The Ottoman Empire had been considered responsible for the death of one million Armenians during the First World War. The Second World War was the first conflict in which atomic bombs had been used, nazi Germany had been responsible for multiple genocides, most notably the Holocaust, killing six million Jews. The outcome of the wars had a profound effect on the course of world history. The old European empires had collapsed or been dismantled as a result of the wars crushing costs. The United States of America had been established as the dominant global superpower, along with its ideological foe. These two superpowers exerted political influence over most of the worlds nation-states for decades after the end of the Second World War, the modern international security, economic and diplomatic system had been created in the aftermath of the wars. Institutions such as the United Nations were established to collectivize international affairs, the wars had also greatly changed the course of daily life. Technologies developed during wartime had an effect on peace-time life as well, for instance, advances in, jet aircraft, penicillin, nuclear energy. Since the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki during the Second World War, there has been a widespread and this war has been anticipated and planned for by military and civil authorities, and explored in fiction in many countries. Concepts have ranged from purely conventional scenarios, to limited use of nuclear weapons, among these are former American, French, and Mexican government officials, military leaders, politicians, and authors, Despite their efforts, none of these wars are commonly deemed world wars. The Second Congo War involved nine nations and led to ongoing low-level warfare despite an official peace and it has often been referred to as Africas World War
World War
–
War of the Spanish Succession
9.
Departments of France
–
In the administrative divisions of France, the department is one of the three levels of government below the national level, between the administrative regions and the commune. There are 96 departments in metropolitan France and 5 overseas departments, each department is administered by an elected body called a departmental council. From 1800 to April 2015, they were called general councils, the departments were created in 1791 as a rational replacement of Ancien Régime provinces with a view to strengthen national unity, the title department is used to mean a part of a larger whole. Almost all of them were named after geographical features rather than after historical or cultural territories which could have their own loyalties. The earliest known suggestion of it is from 1764 in the writings of dArgenson and they have inspired similar divisions in many countries, some of them former French colonies. Most French departments are assigned a number, the Official Geographical Code. Some overseas departments have a three-digit number, the number is used, for example, in the postal code, and was until recently used for all vehicle registration plates. For example, inhabitants of Loiret might refer to their department as the 45 and this reform project has since been abandoned. The first French territorial departments were proposed in 1665 by Marc-René dArgenson to serve as administrative areas purely for the Ponts et Chaussées infrastructure administration, before the French Revolution, France gained territory gradually through the annexation of a mosaic of independent entities. By the close of the Ancien Régime, it was organised into provinces, during the period of the Revolution, these were dissolved, partly in order to weaken old loyalties. Their boundaries served two purposes, Boundaries were chosen to break up Frances historical regions in an attempt to erase cultural differences, Boundaries were set so that every settlement in the country was within a days ride of the capital of the department. This was a security measure, intended to keep the national territory under close control. This measure was directly inspired by the Great Terror, during which the government had lost control of rural areas far from any centre of government. The old nomenclature was carefully avoided in naming the new departments, most were named after an areas principal river or other physical features. Even Paris was in the department of Seine, the number of departments, initially 83, was increased to 130 by 1809 with the territorial gains of the Republic and of the First French Empire. Following Napoleons defeats in 1814-1815, the Congress of Vienna returned France to its pre-war size, in 1860, France acquired the County of Nice and Savoy, which led to the creation of three new departments. Two were added from the new Savoyard territory, while the department of Alpes-Maritimes was created from Nice, the 89 departments were given numbers based on their alphabetical order. The department of Bas-Rhin and parts of Meurthe, Moselle, Vosges and Haut-Rhin were ceded to the German Empire in 1871, following Frances defeat in the Franco-Prussian War
Departments of France
–
Geometrical proposition rejected
Departments of France
–
The 101 departments of France
Departments of France
–
The three Algerian departments in 1848
10.
Paris
–
Paris is the capital and most populous city of France. It has an area of 105 square kilometres and a population of 2,229,621 in 2013 within its administrative limits, the agglomeration has grown well beyond the citys administrative limits. By the 17th century, Paris was one of Europes major centres of finance, commerce, fashion, science, and the arts, and it retains that position still today. The aire urbaine de Paris, a measure of area, spans most of the Île-de-France region and has a population of 12,405,426. It is therefore the second largest metropolitan area in the European Union after London, the Metropole of Grand Paris was created in 2016, combining the commune and its nearest suburbs into a single area for economic and environmental co-operation. Grand Paris covers 814 square kilometres and has a population of 7 million persons, the Paris Region had a GDP of €624 billion in 2012, accounting for 30.0 percent of the GDP of France and ranking it as one of the wealthiest regions in Europe. The city is also a rail, highway, and air-transport hub served by two international airports, Paris-Charles de Gaulle and Paris-Orly. Opened in 1900, the subway system, the Paris Métro. It is the second busiest metro system in Europe after Moscow Metro, notably, Paris Gare du Nord is the busiest railway station in the world outside of Japan, with 262 millions passengers in 2015. In 2015, Paris received 22.2 million visitors, making it one of the top tourist destinations. The association football club Paris Saint-Germain and the rugby union club Stade Français are based in Paris, the 80, 000-seat Stade de France, built for the 1998 FIFA World Cup, is located just north of Paris in the neighbouring commune of Saint-Denis. Paris hosts the annual French Open Grand Slam tennis tournament on the red clay of Roland Garros, Paris hosted the 1900 and 1924 Summer Olympics and is bidding to host the 2024 Summer Olympics. The name Paris is derived from its inhabitants, the Celtic Parisii tribe. Thus, though written the same, the name is not related to the Paris of Greek mythology. In the 1860s, the boulevards and streets of Paris were illuminated by 56,000 gas lamps, since the late 19th century, Paris has also been known as Panam in French slang. Inhabitants are known in English as Parisians and in French as Parisiens and they are also pejoratively called Parigots. The Parisii, a sub-tribe of the Celtic Senones, inhabited the Paris area from around the middle of the 3rd century BC. One of the areas major north-south trade routes crossed the Seine on the île de la Cité, this place of land and water trade routes gradually became a town
Paris
–
In the 1860s Paris streets and monuments were illuminated by 56,000 gas lamps, making it literally "The City of Light."
Paris
Paris
–
Gold coins minted by the Parisii (1st century BC)
Paris
–
The
Palais de la Cité and
Sainte-Chapelle, viewed from the Left Bank, from the
Très Riches Heures du duc de Berry (month of June) (1410)
11.
1973 oil crisis
–
The 1973 oil crisis began in October 1973 when the members of the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries proclaimed an oil embargo. The embargo occurred in response to United States support for Israel during the Yom Kippur War, by the end of the embargo in March 1974, the price of oil had risen from US$3 per barrel to nearly $12 globally, US prices were significantly higher. The embargo caused an oil crisis, or shock, with many short- and long-term effects on global politics and it was later called the first oil shock, followed by the 1979 oil crisis, termed the second oil shock. The embargo was a response to American involvement in the 1973 Yom Kippur War, six days after Egypt and Syria launched a surprise military campaign against Israel, the US supplied Israel with arms. In response to this, the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries announced an oil embargo against Canada, Japan, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, the crisis had a major impact on international relations and created a rift within NATO. Some European nations and Japan sought to disassociate themselves from United States foreign policy in the Middle East to avoid being targeted by the boycott, Arab oil producers linked any future policy changes to peace between the belligerents. To address this, the Nixon Administration began multilateral negotiations with the combatants and they arranged for Israel to pull back from the Sinai Peninsula and the Golan Heights. By January 18,1974, US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger had negotiated an Israeli troop withdrawal from parts of the Sinai Peninsula, the promise of a negotiated settlement between Israel and Syria was enough to convince Arab oil producers to lift the embargo in March 1974. The embargo occurred at a time of rising petroleum consumption by industrialized countries and coincided with an increase in oil imports by the worlds largest oil consumer. In the aftermath, targeted countries initiated a variety of policies to contain their future dependency. The 1973 oil price shock, with the accompanying 1973–74 stock market crash, was regarded as the first discrete event since the Great Depression to have a persistent effect on the US economy, the embargos success demonstrated Saudi Arabias diplomatic and economic power. It was the largest oil exporter and a politically and religiously conservative kingdom, in 1970, US oil production started to decline, exacerbating the embargos impact. Following this, Nixon named James E. Akins as US Ambassador to Saudi Arabia to audit US production capacity, the confidential results were alarming—no spare capacity was available and production could only decrease. The oil embargo had little effect on supply, according to Akins. OPEC was organized to resist pressure by the Seven Sisters to reduce oil prices, at first, OPEC operated as an informal bargaining unit for resource-rich third-world countries. OPEC confined its activities to gaining a share of the profits generated by oil companies. In the early 1970s it began to exert economic and political strength, on August 15,1971, the United States unilaterally pulled out of the Bretton Woods Accord. The US abandoned the Gold Exchange Standard whereby the value of the dollar had been pegged to the price of gold and all other currencies were pegged to the dollar, shortly thereafter, Britain followed, floating the pound sterling
1973 oil crisis
–
Gas stealers beware, 1974
1973 oil crisis
–
USA oil production and imports. As shown the import spike starts from US peak and the so-called "embargo" almost has no effect.
1973 oil crisis
–
Gasoline ration stamps printed by the
Bureau of Engraving and Printing in 1974, but not used.
1973 oil crisis
–
Gas stations abandoned during the crisis were sometimes used for other purposes. This station at
Potlatch, Washington was turned into a
revival hall.
12.
Jacques Chirac
–
Jacques René Chirac is a French politician, who served as the President of France and ex officio Co-Prince of Andorra from 1995 to 2007. Chirac served as Prime Minister of France from 1974 to 1976, from 1986 to 1988, Chirac occupied various senior positions, including Minister of Agriculture, Minister of the Interior, Prime Minister, Mayor of Paris, and President of the French Republic. Chiracs internal policies initially included lower tax rates, the removal of controls, strong punishment for crime and terrorism. After pursuing these policies as Prime Minister, Chirac changed his method, Jacques Chirac has emerged as an improbable icon of retro taste and a figure of public affection. On 15 December 2011, the Paris court declared him guilty of diverting public funds and abusing public confidence, and gave Chirac a two-year suspended prison sentence. Chirac, born in the Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire clinic, is the son of Abel François Marie Chirac, an executive for an aircraft company, and Marie-Louise Valette. His great grandparents on both sides were peasants, but his two grandfathers were teachers from Sainte-Féréole in Corrèze, according to Chirac, his name originates from the langue doc, that of the troubadours, therefore that of poetry. He was educated in Paris at the Cours Hattemer, a private school and he then attended the Lycée Carnot and at the Lycée Louis-le-Grand. After his baccalauréat, he served for three months as a sailor on a coal-transporter, Chirac played rugby union for Brives youth team, and also played at university level. He played no.8 and second row, in 1956, he married Bernadette Chodron de Courcel, with whom he had two daughters, Laurence and Claude. Chirac is the grandfather of Martin Rey-Chirac by the relationship of Claude with French judoka Thierry Rey, Jacques and Bernadette Chirac also have a foster daughter, Anh Dao Traxel. Inspired by General Charles de Gaulle, Chirac started to pursue a civil career in the 1950s. During this period, he joined the French Communist Party, sold copies of LHumanité, in 1950, he signed the Soviet-inspired Stockholm Appeal for the abolition of nuclear weapons – which led him to be questioned when he applied for his first visa to the United States. Chirac trained as a military officer in armoured cavalry at Saumur. He then volunteered to fight in the Algerian War, using connections to be sent despite the reservations of his superiors. His superiors did not want to make him an officer because they suspected he had communist leanings, after leaving the ENA in 1959, he became a civil servant in the Court of Auditors. In April 1962, Chirac was appointed head of the staff of Prime Minister Georges Pompidou. This appointment launched Chiracs political career, Pompidou considered Chirac his protégé, and referred to him as my bulldozer for his skill at getting things done
Jacques Chirac
–
Chirac at the
Élysée Palace in June 1999
Jacques Chirac
–
Chirac during his second term as Prime Minister
Jacques Chirac
–
Chirac with
Bill Clinton outside the
Élysée Palace in Paris, June 1999
Jacques Chirac
–
Chirac with German Federal Chancellor
Gerhard Schröder.
13.
Capital in the Twenty-First Century
–
Capital in the Twenty-First Century is a 2013 book by French economist Thomas Piketty. It focuses on wealth and income inequality in Europe and the United States since the 18th century and it was initially published in French in August 2013, an English translation by Arthur Goldhammer followed in April 2014. Piketty proposes a system of progressive wealth taxes to help reduce inequality. As of January 2015, the book had sold 1.5 million copies in French, English, German, Chinese and Spanish. At the 2016 Cannes Film Festival it was announced that the book is to be made into a documentary film. When initially issued in French in August 2013, it was characterized by Laurent Mauduit as “a political and theoretical bulldozer and it proved an overnight sensation and ousted Michael Lewis’s financial exposé, Flash Boys, Cracking the Money Code, from the top of the US best-seller list. Within a year of its publication, Stephanie Kelton spoke of a Piketty phenomenon, the central thesis of the book is that inequality is not an accident, but rather a feature of capitalism, and can only be reversed through state interventionism. The book thus argues that, unless capitalism is reformed, the democratic order will be threatened. He argues that when the rate of growth is low, then tends to accumulate more quickly from r than from labor and tends to accumulate more among the top 10% and 1%. Thus the fundamental force for divergence and greater wealth inequality can be summed up in the inequality r > g and he analyzes inheritance from the perspective of the same formula. These events prompted governments to undertake steps towards redistributing income, especially in the post-World War II period, the fast, worldwide economic growth of that time began to reduce the importance of inherited wealth in the global economy. Piketty cites novels by Honoré de Balzac, Jane Austen and Henry James to describe the class structure based on accumulated capital that existed in England. Without tax adjustment, Piketty predicts a world of low economic growth and his data show that over long periods of time, the average return on investment outpaces productivity-based income by a wide margin. The books exceptional success was attributed to being about the right subject at the right time. Piketty himself recognized that there is a sense that inequality. The Occupy movements We are the 99% slogan made talk of inequality the zeitgeist of our age – an age of seemingly permanent crisis and austerity, Piketty rather placed an unexploded bomb within mainstream, classical economics, he concludes. Paul Krugman called the book a magnificent, sweeping meditation on inequality and he distinguishes the book from other bestsellers on economics as it constitutes serious, discourse-changing scholarship. Capital in the Twenty-First Century is an important book on all fronts
Capital in the Twenty-First Century
–
Hardcover edition
Capital in the Twenty-First Century
–
The author
Thomas Piketty.
14.
Economist
–
An economist is a practitioner in the social science discipline of economics. The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy. A generally accepted interpretation in academia is that an economist is one who has attained a Ph. D. in economics, teaches economic science, the professionalization of economics, reflected in academia, has been described as the main change in economics since around 1900. Economists debate the path they believe their profession should take, surveys among economists indicate a preference for a shift toward the latter. Most major universities have a faculty, school or department. However, many prominent economists come from a background in mathematics, business, political science, law, sociology, getting a PhD in economics takes six years, on average, with a median of 5.3 years. The Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics, established by Sveriges Riksbank in 1968, is a prize awarded to each year for outstanding intellectual contributions in the field of economics. The prize winners are announced in October every year and they receive their awards on December 10, the anniversary of Alfred Nobels death. In contrast to regulated professions such as engineering, law or medicine, in academia, to be called an economist requires a Ph. D. degree in Economics. A professional working inside of one of many fields of economics or having a degree in this subject is often considered to be an economist. In addition to government and academia, economists are employed in banking, finance, accountancy, commerce, marketing, business administration, lobbying. Politicians often consult economists before enacting economic policy, many statesmen have academic degrees in economics. Economics graduates are employable in varying degrees depending on the regional economic scenario, small numbers go on to undertake postgraduate studies, either in economics, research, teacher training or further qualifications in specialist areas. Nearly 135 colleges and universities grant around 900 new Ph. D. s every year, incomes are highest for those in the private sector, followed by the federal government, with academia paying the lowest incomes. As of January 2013, PayScale. com showed Ph. D. economists salary ranges as follows, all Ph. D. economists, $61,000 to $160,000, Ph. D. The largest single grouping of economists in the UK are the more than 1000 members of the Government Economic Service. This figure compares very favourably with the picture, with 64 percent of economics graduates in employment. Some current well-known economists include, Ben Bernanke, Chairman of the Federal Reserve from 2006 to 2014, milton Friedman, Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences laureate in Economics
Economist
–
Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan testifies before the
U.S. House Committee on Financial Services
15.
Thomas Piketty
–
Thomas Piketty is a French economist whose work focuses on wealth and income inequality. Piketty is the author of the best-selling book Capital in the Twenty-First Century, the book argues that the rate of capital return in developed countries is persistently greater than the rate of economic growth, and that this will cause wealth inequality to increase in the future. To address this problem Piketty proposes redistribution through a global tax on wealth. Piketty was born on 7 May 1971, in the Parisian suburb of Clichy, Piketty gained a C-stream Baccalauréat, and after taking scientific preparatory classes, he entered the École Normale Supérieure at the age of 18, where he studied mathematics and economics. After earning his PhD, Piketty taught from 1993 to 1995 as an assistant professor in the Department of Economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In 1995, he joined the French National Centre for Scientific Research as a researcher, in 2006, Piketty became the first head of the Paris School of Economics, which he helped set up. He left after a few months to serve as an advisor to Socialist Party candidate Ségolène Royal during the French presidential campaign. Piketty resumed teaching at the EHESS and Paris School of Economics in 2007 and he is a columnist for the French newspaper Libération, and occasionally writes op-eds for Le Monde. Thomas Piketty was the partner of the politician Aurélie Filippetti, in 2009, she sued him for domestic violence. Thomas Piketty acknowledged the complaint and apologized, following which Aurélie Filipetti withdrew her complaint, in April 2012, Piketty co-authored along with 42 colleagues an open letter in support of then-PS candidate for the French presidency François Hollande. Hollande won the contest against the incumbent Nicolas Sarkozy in May of that year, Piketty was unimpressed by Hollandes tenure, later describing him as hopeless. In January 2015, he rejected the French Legion of Honour order, in June 2016, he resigned from his role in Labours Economic Advisory Committee, citing concerns over the weak campaign the party had run in the EU referendum. On 11 February 2017, it was announced that he had joined the socialist Benoit Hamons campaign team in the presidential run. He is in charge of EU matters, and more precisely and he is also in favour of a credible and bold basic income, which is one of Benoit Hamons key proposals, although their views on the matter are different. The call in which Piketty and other economic researchers argue for their version of the basic income has been criticised as not universal, Thomas Piketty joined the London School of Economics in 2015 as the distinguished Centennial Professor. Piketty continues his research as part of the LSE International Inequalities Institute and his economic research focusses mainly on wealth inequalities and the use of capital in 21st century. Piketty has long-standing ties to the London School of Economics and he completed his PhD studies at the university in the early 1990s, in addition to his research, Piketty also teaches post-graduate students at the LSE. His teaching and research approach is inter-disciplinary and he has involved in the teaching of the new MSc degree in Inequalities
Thomas Piketty
–
Piketty in 2015
16.
Economic history of France
–
This is a history of the economy of France. For more information on historical, cultural, demographic and sociological developments in France, for more information on specific political and governmental regimes in France, see the dynasty and regime articles. The collapse of the Roman Empire unlinked the French economy from Europe, Town life and trade declined and society became based on the self-sufficient manor. What limited international trade existed in the Merovingian age — primarily in luxury goods such as silk, papyrus, agricultural output began to increase in the Carolingian age as a result of the arrival of new crops, improvements in agricultural production, and good weather conditions. However, this did not lead to the revival of life, in fact, urban activity further declined in the Carolingian era as a result of civil war, Arab raids. When trade revived these centres became the nucleus of new towns and cities around which suburbs of merchants, the High Middle Ages saw a continuation of the agricultural boom of the Carolingian age. In addition, urban life grew during this period, towns such as Paris expanded dramatically, the 13 decades from 1335 to 1450 spawned a series of economic catastrophes, with bad harvests, famines, plagues and wars that overwhelmed four generations of Frenchmen. The population had expanded, making the supply more precarious. The bubonic plague hit Western Europe in 1347, killing a third of the population, royal authority weakened, as local nobles became strongmen fighting their neighbors for control of the local region. Frances population plunged from 17 million, down to 12 million in 130 years, finally, starting in the 1450s, a long cycle of recuperation began. The economy of Renaissance France was, for the first half-century, marked by a demographic growth and by developments in agriculture. Until 1795, France was the most populated country in Europe, with an estimated population of 17 million in 1400,20 million in the 17th century, and 28 million in 1789, its population exceeded even Russia and was twice the size of Britain and Holland. Paris was one of the most populated cities in Europe, with a population of 650,000 by the end of the 18th century. Agricultural production of a variety of food items expanded, olive oil, wine, cider, woad, the South grew artichokes, melons, romaine lettuce, eggplant, salsifys, celery, fennel, parsley, and alfalfa. After 1500 New World crops appeared such as beans, corn, squash, tomatoes, potatoes, production techniques remained attached to medieval traditions and produced low yields. With the rapidly expanding population, additional land suitable for farming became scarce, the situation was made worse by repeated disastrous harvests in the 1550s. Industrial developments greatly affected printing and metallurgy, mines and glasswork benefited greatly from royal tax exemptions for a period of about twenty years. Silk production enabled the French to join a thriving market, wool production was widespread, as was the production of linen and of hemp
Economic history of France
–
Early Assignat of 29 Sept, 1790: 500
livres
Economic history of France
–
"Au Bon Marché"
17.
Record years
–
The original use was a satirical left-wing description of the years 1968-70. Sweden had maintained neutrality during both wars, and entered the post-war boom with industrial and demographic advantages. Sweden also received aid from the Marshall Plan, between 1947 and 1974, the Swedish economy grew at an average rate of 12. 5% annually. The urban population living in towns of over 15,000 people, sustained by an export boom of automobiles, heavy machinery, electronics, ship-building, and heavy weapons, the per capita income increased by as much as twenty times. Sweden had successfully moved into the group of countries by 1955-56. History of Sweden Million Programme Trente Glorieuses, a used to describe this period in France Japanese post-war economic miracle
Record years
–
The
redevelopment of Norrmalm, downtown
Stockholm, in 1963.
Record years
–
The
redevelopment of Norrmalm and the
Stockholm Metro.
18.
Italian economic miracle
–
As summed up by one historian, by the end of the 1970s, social security coverage had been made comprehensive and relatively generous. The material standard of living had improved for the great majority of the population. In addition, the creation in 1957 of the European Common Market, of which Italy was among the members, provided more investments. The above-mentioned highly favorable historical backgrounds, combined with the presence of a large and cheap stock of labour force, the Italian economy experienced an average rate of growth of GDP of 5. 8% per year between 1951–63, and 5. 0% per year between 1964-73. Italian rates of growth were second only, but very close, to the German rates, in Europe, in 1963, US President John F. The impact of the miracle on Italian society was huge. Fast economic expansion induced massive inflows of migrants from rural Southern Italy to the cities of the North. Emigration was especially directed to the factories of the industrial triangle. Between 1955 and 1971, around 9 million people are estimated to have involved in inter-regional migrations in Italy, uprooting entire communities. The needs of an economy and society created a great demand for new transport. A concomitant boom of the real market, increasingly under pressure by strong demographic growth and internal migrations. Vast neighborhoods of low-income apartments and social housing were built in the outskirts of cities, leading over the years to severe problems of congestion, urban decay. At the same time, the doubling of Italian GDP between 1950 and 1962 had a impact on society and culture. From 1951 to 1971, average per capita income in real terms trebled, in 1955, for instance, only 3% of households owned refrigerators and 1% washing machines, while by 1975 the respective figures were 94% and 76%. In addition, 66% of all homes had come to possess cars, in 1954 the national public broadcasting RAI began a regular television service. Economic history of Italy Economic miracle Post–World War II economic expansion Years of Lead, rivista di storia economica 19#2 pp, 139-180, in English Rota, Mauro. Credit and growth, reconsidering Italian industrial policy during the Golden Age, European Review of Economic History 17#4 pp, 431-451. Tolliday, Steven W. Introduction, enterprise and state in the Italianeconomic miracle, enterprise and Society 1#2 pp, 241-248
Italian economic miracle
–
One of a number of posters created to promote the
Marshall Plan in Europe.
Italian economic miracle
–
Downtown
Milan in the 1960s.
Italian economic miracle
–
Fiat 500, iconic mass-produced car of the 1950-60s.
19.
Japanese post-war economic miracle
–
The Japanese economic miracle was Japans record period of economic growth between post-World War II era to the end of Cold War. During the economic boom, Japan rapidly became the second largest economy by the 1960s. In the Lost Decade of the 1990s, however, it suffered its longest economic stagnation since World War II and this economic miracle was the result of post-World War II Japan and West Germany benefiting from the Cold War. It occurred chiefly due to the economic interventionism of the Japanese government and partly due to the aid, after World War II, the U. S. established a significant presence in Japan to slow the expansion of Soviet influence in the Pacific. This economic miracle was spurred mainly by Japanese economic policy, in particular through the Ministry of International Trade, the Japanese financial recovery continued even after SCAP departed and the economic boom propelled by the Korean War abated. The Japanese economy survived from the recession caused by a loss of the U. S. payments for military procurement. By the late 1960s, Japan had risen from the ashes of World War II to achieve an astoundingly rapid, the Ministry of International Trade and Industry was instrumental in Japans post-war economic recovery. According to some scholars, no other governmental regulation or organization had more impact than MITI. The particular speed, form, and consequences of Japanese economic growth, established in 1949, MITIs role began with the Policy Concerning Industrial Rationalization that coordinated efforts by industries to counteract the effects of SCAPs deflationary regulations. In this way, MITI formalized cooperation between the Japanese government and private industry, the Ministry coordinated various industries, including the emerging keiretsu, toward a specific end, usually toward the intersection of national production goals and private economic interests. MITI also boosted the security by untying the imports of technology from the imports of other goods. MITIs Foreign Capital Law granted the power to negotiate the price. This element of control allowed it to promote industries it deemed promising. The low cost of imported technology allowed for industrial growth. Productivity was greatly improved through new equipment, management, and standardization, MITI gained the ability to regulate all imports with the abolition of the Economic Stabilization Board and the Foreign Exchange Control Board in August 1952. Power over the foreign exchange budget was given directly to MITI. MITIs establishment of the Japan Development Bank also provided the private sector with low-cost capital for long-term growth, the Japan Development Bank introduced access to the Fiscal Investment and Loan Plan, a massive pooling of individual and national savings. At the time FILP controlled four times the savings of the worlds largest commercial bank, with this financial power, FILP was able to maintain an abnormally high number of Japanese construction firms
Japanese post-war economic miracle
–
The foundations of the aviation industry survived the war
Japanese post-war economic miracle
–
Japanese-made TV sets during the economic boom
Japanese post-war economic miracle
–
Steel plant of
Nippon Steel Corporation in
Chiba Prefecture – Japanese coal- and metal-related industry experienced an annual growth rate of 25% in the 1960s
Japanese post-war economic miracle
–
The low-cost
Nissan Sunny became a symbol of the Japanese middle class in the 1960s
20.
Wirtschaftswunder
–
The term Wirtschaftswunder, also known as The Miracle on the Rhine, describes the rapid reconstruction and development of the economies of West Germany and Austria after World War II. The expression referring to this phenomenon was first used by The Times in 1950, in Austria, efficient labor practices led to a similar period of economic growth. The era of economic growth raised West Germany and Austria from total devastation to developed nations in modern Europe. At the founding of the European Common Market in 1957 West Germanys economic growth stood in contrast to the conditions at the time in the United Kingdom. The fundamental reason for the economic recovery of West Germany can be found in the ordoliberal growth model. West Germany had a skilled workforce and a technological level in 1946. These initial problems were overcome by the time of the reform of 1948. This act to strengthen the West German economy had been forbidden during the two years that JCS1067 was in effect. JCS1067 had directed the U. S. forces of occupation in West Germany to take no steps looking toward the rehabilitation of Germany. At the same time, the government, following Erhards advice, walter Heller, a young economist with the U. S.64 cut a wide swath across the German tax system at the time of the currency reform. Individual income tax rates, in particular, fell dramatically, previously the tax rate on any income over 6,000 Deutschmark had been 95 percent. After tax reform, this 95 percent rate applied only to annual incomes above 250,000 Deutschmark, for the West German with an annual income of about 2,400 Deutschmark in 1950, the marginal tax rate fell from 85 percent to 18 percent. West Germany proceeded quickly after 1948 to rebuild its capital stock, the very high capital investment rate thanks to low consumption and a very small need for replacement capital investments drove this recovery during the 1950s. Living standards also rose steadily, with the power of wages increasing by 73% from 1950 to 1960. As noted by the British journalist Terence Prittie in the early Sixties, Today the German working-man leads a comfortable life and he eats well, and his food – although German cooking lacks the elegance of French – is wholesome and appetizing. He buys good clothes, and he dresses his wife and children well and he generally has money to spare for television sets, week-end excursions and football matches. And he is not afraid of celebrating occasionally on a grander scale, productivity growth in West Germany enabled most workers to obtain significant improvements in their living standards and ‘security of life. In addition to the barriers that had to be overcome for the West German economic recovery
Wirtschaftswunder
–
The
Volkswagen Beetle was an icon of West German reconstruction. This
one-off celebrated the 1,000,000th made.
Wirtschaftswunder
–
German children in a
refugee camp,
Western Germany, 1945
21.
International Standard Book Number
–
The International Standard Book Number is a unique numeric commercial book identifier. An ISBN is assigned to each edition and variation of a book, for example, an e-book, a paperback and a hardcover edition of the same book would each have a different ISBN. The ISBN is 13 digits long if assigned on or after 1 January 2007, the method of assigning an ISBN is nation-based and varies from country to country, often depending on how large the publishing industry is within a country. The initial ISBN configuration of recognition was generated in 1967 based upon the 9-digit Standard Book Numbering created in 1966, the 10-digit ISBN format was developed by the International Organization for Standardization and was published in 1970 as international standard ISO2108. Occasionally, a book may appear without a printed ISBN if it is printed privately or the author does not follow the usual ISBN procedure, however, this can be rectified later. Another identifier, the International Standard Serial Number, identifies periodical publications such as magazines, the ISBN configuration of recognition was generated in 1967 in the United Kingdom by David Whitaker and in 1968 in the US by Emery Koltay. The 10-digit ISBN format was developed by the International Organization for Standardization and was published in 1970 as international standard ISO2108, the United Kingdom continued to use the 9-digit SBN code until 1974. The ISO on-line facility only refers back to 1978, an SBN may be converted to an ISBN by prefixing the digit 0. For example, the edition of Mr. J. G. Reeder Returns, published by Hodder in 1965, has SBN340013818 -340 indicating the publisher,01381 their serial number. This can be converted to ISBN 0-340-01381-8, the check digit does not need to be re-calculated, since 1 January 2007, ISBNs have contained 13 digits, a format that is compatible with Bookland European Article Number EAN-13s. An ISBN is assigned to each edition and variation of a book, for example, an ebook, a paperback, and a hardcover edition of the same book would each have a different ISBN. The ISBN is 13 digits long if assigned on or after 1 January 2007, a 13-digit ISBN can be separated into its parts, and when this is done it is customary to separate the parts with hyphens or spaces. Separating the parts of a 10-digit ISBN is also done with either hyphens or spaces, figuring out how to correctly separate a given ISBN number is complicated, because most of the parts do not use a fixed number of digits. ISBN issuance is country-specific, in that ISBNs are issued by the ISBN registration agency that is responsible for country or territory regardless of the publication language. Some ISBN registration agencies are based in national libraries or within ministries of culture, in other cases, the ISBN registration service is provided by organisations such as bibliographic data providers that are not government funded. In Canada, ISBNs are issued at no cost with the purpose of encouraging Canadian culture. In the United Kingdom, United States, and some countries, where the service is provided by non-government-funded organisations. Australia, ISBNs are issued by the library services agency Thorpe-Bowker
International Standard Book Number
–
A 13-digit ISBN, 978-3-16-148410-0, as represented by an
EAN-13 bar code
22.
History of France
–
The first written records for the history of France appear in the Iron Age. The Gauls, the largest and best attested group, were Celtic people speaking what is known as the Gaulish language, over the course of the 1st millennium BC the Greeks, Romans and Carthaginians established colonies on the Mediterranean coast and the offshore islands. Afterwards a Gallo-Roman culture emerged and Gaul was increasingly integrated into the Roman Empire, in the later stages of the Roman Empire, Gaul was subject to barbarian raids and migration, most importantly by the Germanic Franks. The Frankish king Clovis I united most of Gaul under his rule in the late 5th century, Frankish power reached its fullest extent under Charlemagne. The war formally began in 1337 following Philip VIs attempt to seize the Duchy of Aquitaine from its holder, Edward III of England. Despite early Plantagenet victories, including the capture and ransom of John II of France, among the notable figures of the war was Joan of Arc, a French peasant girl who led French forces against the English, establishing herself as a national heroine. The war ended with a Valois victory in 1453, victory in the Hundred Years War had the effect of strengthening French nationalism and vastly increasing the power and reach of the French monarchy. During the period known as the Ancien Régime, France transformed into an absolute monarchy. During the next centuries, France experienced the Renaissance and the Protestant Reformation, Henry, King of Navarre, scion of the Bourbon family, would be victorious in the conflict and establish the French Bourbon dynasty. A burgeoning worldwide colonial empire was established in the 16th century, French political power reached a zenith under the rule of Louis XIV, The Sun King, builder of Versailles Palace. In the late 18th century the monarchy and associated institutions were overthrown in the French Revolution, the country was governed for a period as a Republic, until the French Empire was declared by Napoleon Bonaparte. France was one of the Triple Entente powers in World War I, fighting alongside the United Kingdom, Russia, Italy, Japan, the United States and smaller allies against Germany and the Central Powers. France was one of the Allied Powers in World War II, the Third Republic was dismantled, and most of the country was controlled directly by Germany while the south was controlled until 1942 by the collaborationist Vichy government. Living conditions were harsh as Germany drained away food and manpower, Charles de Gaulle led the Free France movement that one-by-one took over the colonial empire, and coordinated the wartime Resistance. Following liberation in summer 1944, a Fourth Republic was established, France slowly recovered economically, and enjoyed a baby boom that reversed its very low fertility rate. Long wars in Indochina and Algeria drained French resources and ended in political defeat, in the wake of the Algerian Crisis of 1958, Charles de Gaulle set up the French Fifth Republic. Into the 1960s decolonization saw most of the French colonial empire become independent, while smaller parts were incorporated into the French state as overseas departments, since World War II France has been a permanent member in the UN Security Council and NATO. It played a role in the unification process after 1945 that led to the European Union
History of France
–
Cave painting in
Lascaux
History of France
–
Massalia (modern
Marseille) silver coin with Greek legend, a testimony to
Greeks in pre-Roman Gaul, 5th–1st century BC.
History of France
–
Vercingetorix surrenders to
Julius Caesar after
Alesia. Painting by Lionel-Noël Royer, 1899.
History of France
–
Gaulish soldiers
23.
Economics
–
Economics is a social science concerned chiefly with description and analysis of the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services according to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interactions of economic agents and how economies work, consistent with this focus, textbooks often distinguish between microeconomics and macroeconomics. Microeconomics examines the behaviour of elements in the economy, including individual agents and markets, their interactions. Individual agents may include, for example, households, firms, buyers, macroeconomics analyzes the entire economy and issues affecting it, including unemployment of resources, inflation, economic growth, and the public policies that address these issues. Economic analysis can be applied throughout society, as in business, finance, health care, Economic analyses may also be applied to such diverse subjects as crime, education, the family, law, politics, religion, social institutions, war, science, and the environment. At the turn of the 21st century, the domain of economics in the social sciences has been described as economic imperialism. The ultimate goal of economics is to improve the conditions of people in their everyday life. There are a variety of definitions of economics. Some of the differences may reflect evolving views of the subject or different views among economists, to supply the state or commonwealth with a revenue for the publick services. Say, distinguishing the subject from its uses, defines it as the science of production, distribution. On the satirical side, Thomas Carlyle coined the dismal science as an epithet for classical economics, in this context and it enquires how he gets his income and how he uses it. Thus, it is on the one side, the study of wealth and on the other and more important side, a part of the study of man. He affirmed that previous economists have usually centred their studies on the analysis of wealth, how wealth is created, distributed, and consumed, but he said that economics can be used to study other things, such as war, that are outside its usual focus. This is because war has as the goal winning it, generates both cost and benefits, and, resources are used to attain the goal. If the war is not winnable or if the costs outweigh the benefits. Some subsequent comments criticized the definition as overly broad in failing to limit its subject matter to analysis of markets, there are other criticisms as well, such as in scarcity not accounting for the macroeconomics of high unemployment. The same source reviews a range of included in principles of economics textbooks. Among economists more generally, it argues that a particular definition presented may reflect the direction toward which the author believes economics is evolving, microeconomics examines how entities, forming a market structure, interact within a market to create a market system
Economics
–
Economists study trade, production and consumption decisions, such as those that occur in a traditional
marketplace.
Economics
–
World GDP (PPP) per capita by country (2014)
Economics
–
In
Virtual Markets, buyer and seller are not present and trade via intermediates and electronic information. Pictured:
São Paulo Stock Exchange, Brazil.
Economics
–
A map showing the main
trade routes for goods within
late medieval Europe.
