Saint Helena
Saint Helena is a British Overseas Territory consisting
of Saint Helena and Ascension Islands, and the island group of
Tristan da Cunha.
Saint Helena: Uninhabited when first discovered by the Portuguese in
1502, Saint Helena was garrisoned by the British during the 17th
century. It acquired fame as the place of Napoleon BONAPARTE's
exile, from 1815 until his death in 1821, but its importance as a
port of call declined after the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869.
During the Anglo-Boer War in South Africa, several thousand Boer
prisoners were confined on the island between 1900 and 1903.
Ascension Island: This barren and uninhabited island was discovered
and named by the Portuguese in 1503. The British garrisoned the
island in 1815 to prevent a rescue of Napoleon from Saint Helena and
it served as a provisioning station for the Royal Navy's West Africa
Squadron on anti-slavery patrol. The island remained under Admiralty
control until 1922, when it became a dependency of Saint Helena.
During World War II, the UK permitted the US to construct an
airfield on Ascension in support of trans-Atlantic flights to Africa
and anti-submarine operations in the South Atlantic. In the 1960s
the island became an important space tracking station for the US. In
1982, Ascension was an essential staging area for British forces
during the Falklands War, and it remains a critical refueling point
in the air-bridge from the UK to the South Atlantic.
Tristan da Cunha: The island group consists of the islands of
Tristan da Cunha, Nightingale, Inaccessible, and Gough. Tristan da
Cunha is named after its Portuguese discoverer (1506); it was
garrisoned by the British in 1816 to prevent any attempt to rescue
Napoleon from Saint Helena. Gough and Inaccessible Islands have been
designated World Heritage Sites. South Africa leases the site for a
meteorological station on Gough Island.
Saint Kitts and Nevis
First settled by the British in 1623, the
islands became an associated state with full internal autonomy in
1967. The island of Anguilla rebelled and was allowed to secede in
1971. Saint Kitts and Nevis achieved independence in 1983. In 1998,
a vote in Nevis on a referendum to separate from Saint Kitts fell
short of the two-thirds majority needed. Nevis continues in its
efforts to try and separate from Saint Kitts.
Saint Lucia
The island, with its fine natural harbor at Castries,
was contested between England and France throughout the 17th and
early 18th centuries (changing possession 14 times); it was finally
ceded to the UK in 1814. Even after the abolition of slavery on its
plantations in 1834, Saint Lucia remained an agricultural island,
dedicated to producing tropical commodity crops. Self-government was
granted in 1967 and independence in 1979.
Saint Pierre and Miquelon
First settled by the French in the early
17th century, the islands represent the sole remaining vestige of
France's once vast North American possessions.
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Resistance by native Caribs
prevented colonization on St. Vincent until 1719. Disputed between
France and the United Kingdom for most of the 18th century, the
island was ceded to the latter in 1783. Between 1960 and 1962, Saint
Vincent and the Grenadines was a separate administrative unit of the
Federation of the West Indies. Autonomy was granted in 1969 and
independence in 1979.
Samoa
New Zealand occupied the German protectorate of Western Samoa
at the outbreak of World War I in 1914. It continued to administer
the islands as a mandate and then as a trust territory until 1962,
when the islands became the first Polynesian nation to reestablish
independence in the 20th century. The country dropped the "Western"
from its name in 1997.
San Marino
The third smallest state in Europe (after the Holy See
and Monaco), San Marino also claims to be the world's oldest
republic. According to tradition, it was founded by a Christian
stonemason named Marino in A.D. 301. San Marino's foreign policy is
aligned with that of Italy; social and political trends in the
republic also track closely with those of its larger neighbor.
Sao Tome and Principe
Discovered and claimed by Portugal in the late
15th century, the islands' sugar-based economy gave way to coffee
and cocoa in the 19th century - all grown with plantation slave
labor, a form of which lingered into the 20th century. Although
independence was achieved in 1975, democratic reforms were not
instituted until the late 1980s. Though the first free elections
were held in 1991, the political environment has been one of
continued instability with frequent changes in leadership and coup
attempts in 1995 and 2003. The recent discovery of oil in the Gulf
of Guinea is likely to have a significant impact on the country's
economy.
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia is the birthplace of Islam and home to
Islam's two holiest shrines in Mecca and Medina, and the king's
official title is the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques. The modern
Saudi state was founded in 1932 by ABD AL-AZIZ bin Abd al-Rahman AL
SAUD (Ibn Saud) after a 30-year campaign to unify most of the
Arabian Peninsula. A male descendent of Ibn Saud, his son ABDALLAH
bin Abd al-Aziz, rules the country today as required by the
country's 1992 Basic Law. Following Iraq's invasion of Kuwait in
1990, Saudi Arabia accepted the Kuwaiti royal family and 400,000
refugees while allowing Western and Arab troops to deploy on its
soil for the liberation of Kuwait the following year. The continuing
presence of foreign troops on Saudi soil after the liberation of
Kuwait became a source of tension between the royal family and the
public until all operational US troops left the country in 2003.
Major terrorist attacks in May and November 2003 spurred a strong
on-going campaign against domestic terrorism and extremism. King
ABDALLAH has continued the cautious reform program begun when he was
crown prince. To promote increased political participation, the
government held elections nationwide from February through April
2005 - for half the members of 179 municipal councils. In December
2005, King ABDALLAH completed the process by appointing the
remaining members of the advisory municipal councils. The country
remains a leading producer of oil and natural gas and holds
approximately 25% of the world's proven oil reserves. The government
continues to pursue economic reform and diversification,
particularly since Saudi Arabia's accession to the WTO in December
2005, and promotes foreign investment in the kingdom. A burgeoning
population, aquifer depletion, and an economy largely dependent on
petroleum output and prices are all ongoing governmental concerns.
Senegal
Independent from France in 1960, Senegal was ruled by the
Socialist Party for forty years until current President Abdoulaye
WADE was elected in 2000. Senegal joined with The Gambia to form the
nominal confederation of Senegambia in 1982, but the envisaged
integration of the two countries was never carried out, and the
union was dissolved in 1989. A southern separatist group
sporadically has clashed with government forces since 1982, but
Senegal remains one of the most stable democracies in Africa.
Senegal has a long history of participating in international
peacekeeping.