Mozambique
Almost five centuries as a Portuguese colony came to a
close with independence in 1975. Large-scale emigration by whites,
economic dependence on South Africa, a severe drought, and a
prolonged civil war hindered the country's development. The ruling
Front for the Liberation of Mozambique (FRELIMO) party formally
abandoned Marxism in 1989, and a new constitution the following year
provided for multiparty elections and a free market economy. A
UN-negotiated peace agreement between FRELIMO and rebel Mozambique
National Resistance (RENAMO) forces ended the fighting in 1992. In
December 2004, Mozambique underwent a delicate transition as Joaquim
CHISSANO stepped down after 18 years in office. His newly elected
successor, Armando Emilio GUEBUZA, has promised to continue the
sound economic policies that have encouraged foreign investment.
Namibia
South Africa occupied the German colony of South-West Africa
during World War I and administered it as a mandate until after
World War II, when it annexed the territory. In 1966 the Marxist
South-West Africa People's Organization (SWAPO) guerrilla group
launched a war of independence for the area that was soon named
Namibia, but it was not until 1988 that South Africa agreed to end
its administration in accordance with a UN peace plan for the entire
region. Namibia won its independence in 1990 and has been governed
by SWAPO since. Hifikepunye POHAMBA was elected president in
November 2004 in a landslide victory replacing Sam NUJOMA who led
the country during its first 14 years of self rule.
Nauru
Nauru's phosphate deposits began to be mined early in the 20th
century by a German-British consortium; the island was occupied by
Australian forces in World War I. Nauru achieved independence in
1968 and joined the UN in 1999. Nauru is the world's smallest
independent republic.
Navassa Island
This uninhabited island was claimed by the US in 1857
for its guano. Mining took place between 1865 and 1898. The
lighthouse, built in 1917, was shut down in 1996 and administration
of Navassa Island transferred from the Coast Guard to the Department
of the Interior. A 1998 scientific expedition to the island
described it as a unique preserve of Caribbean biodiversity; the
following year it became a National Wildlife Refuge and annual
scientific expeditions have continued.
Nepal
In 1951, the Nepalese monarch ended the century-old system of
rule by hereditary premiers and instituted a cabinet system of
government. Reforms in 1990 established a multiparty democracy
within the framework of a constitutional monarchy. A Maoist
insurgency, launched in 1996, has gained traction and is threatening
to bring down the regime, especially after a negotiated cease-fire
between the Maoists and government forces broke down in August 2003.
In 2001, the crown prince massacred ten members of the royal family,
including the king and queen, and then took his own life. In October
2002, the new king dismissed the prime minister and his cabinet for
"incompetence" after they dissolved the parliament and were
subsequently unable to hold elections because of the ongoing
insurgency. While stopping short of reestablishing parliament, the
king in June 2004 reinstated the most recently elected prime
minister who formed a four-party coalition government, which the
king subsequently tasked with paving the way for elections to be
held in spring of 2005. Citing dissatisfaction with the government's
lack of progress in addressing the Maoist insurgency, the king in
February 2005 dissolved the government and assumed power.
Netherlands
The Kingdom of the Netherlands was formed in 1815. In
1830 Belgium seceded and formed a separate kingdom. The Netherlands
remained neutral in World War I, but suffered invasion and
occupation by Germany in World War II. A modern, industrialized
nation, the Netherlands is also a large exporter of agricultural
products. The country was a founding member of NATO and the EEC (now
the EU), and participated in the introduction of the euro in 1999.
Netherlands Antilles
Once the center of the Caribbean slave trade,
the island of Curacao was hard hit by the abolition of slavery in
1863. Its prosperity (and that of neighboring Aruba) was restored in
the early 20th century with the construction of oil refineries to
service the newly discovered Venezuelan oil fields. The island of
Saint Martin is shared with France; its southern portion is named
Sint Maarten and is part of the Netherlands Antilles; its northern
portion is called Saint-Martin and is part of Guadeloupe (France).
New Caledonia
Settled by both Britain and France during the first
half of the 19th century, the island was made a French possession in
1853. It served as a penal colony for four decades after 1864.
Agitation for independence during the 1980s and early 1990s has
dissipated.
New Zealand
The Polynesian Maori reached New Zealand in about A.D.
800. In 1840, their chieftains entered into a compact with Britain,
the Treaty of Waitangi, in which they ceded sovereignty to Queen
Victoria while retaining territorial rights. In that same year, the
British began the first organized colonial settlement. A series of
land wars between 1843 and 1872 ended with the defeat of the native
peoples. The British colony of New Zealand became an independent
dominion in 1907 and supported the UK militarily in both World Wars.
New Zealand's full participation in a number of defense alliances
lapsed by the 1980s. In recent years, the government has sought to
address longstanding Maori grievances.
Nicaragua
The Pacific Coast of Nicaragua was settled as a Spanish
colony from Panama in the early 16th century. Independence from
Spain was declared in 1821 and the country became an independent
republic in 1838. Britain occupied the Caribbean Coast in the first
half of the 19th century, but gradually ceded control of the region
in subsequent decades. Violent opposition to governmental
manipulation and corruption spread to all classes by 1978 and
resulted in a short-lived civil war that brought the Marxist
Sandinista guerrillas to power in 1979. Nicaraguan aid to leftist
rebels in El Salvador caused the US to sponsor anti-Sandinista
contra guerrillas through much of the 1980s. Free elections in 1990,
1996, and again in 2001 saw the Sandinistas defeated. The country
has slowly rebuilt its economy during the 1990s, but was hard hit by
Hurricane Mitch in 1998.