British Guiana was the name of the British colony on the northern coast of South America, now the independent nation of Guyana.
The area was originally settled by the Dutch as the colonies of Essequibo, Demerara, and Berbice. These three colonies were captured by the British in 1796, officially ceded to the United Kingdom in 1814, and consolidated into a single colony in 1831. The colony's capital was at Georgetown (known as Stabroek prior to 1812). Guyana went on to become independent of the
The Gilbert and Ellice Islands were a British protectorate from 1892 and colony from 1916 until 1 January 1976 when the islands were divided into two different colonies which became independent nations shortly after. The Gilbert Islands have been the major part of the nation of Kiribati since 1979, and the Ellice Islands became Tuvalu in 1978.
Georgia (
Georgia is bordered on the south by Florida; on the east by the Atlantic Ocean and South Carolina; on the west by Alabama and by Florida in the extreme southwest; and on the north by Tennessee and North Carolina. The northern part of the state is in the Blue Ridge Mountains, a mountain range in the vast mountain system of the Appalachians. The central piedmont extends from the foothills to the fall line, where the rivers cascade down in elevation to the continental coastal plain of the southern part of the state. The highest point in Georgia is Brasstown Bald, 4,784 feet (1,458 m); the lowest point is sea level.
With an area of 59,424 square miles (153,909 km²), Georgia is ranked 24th in size among the 50 U.S. states. Georgia is the largest state east of the Mississippi River in terms of land area, although it is the fourth largest (after Michigan, Florida, and Wisconsin) in total area, a term which includes expanses of water claimed as state territory.
Florida (
Delaware (officially The State of Delaware)(
Delaware is located in the eastern section of the Delmarva Peninsula, between Delaware Bay and Chesapeake Bay, and is the second smallest state (after Rhode Island). 2007 estimates place the population of Delaware ranking 45th in the nation, but 6th in population density, with more than 60% of the population in New Castle County[7]. Delaware is divided into three counties: New Castle, Kent, and Sussex. While the southern two counties have historically been predominantly agricultural, the northernmost county has helped lead the state to rank second in civilian scientists and engineers as a percentage of the workforce and number of patents issued to companies or individuals per 1,000 workers. The history of the state's economic and industrial development is closely tied to the impact of the Du Pont family, founder of E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company, one of the world’s largest chemical companies.
Before its coastline was first explored by Europeans in the 16th century, Delaware was inhabited by several groups of Native Americans, including the Lenape toward the north and Nanticoke toward the south. It was initially colonized by Dutch traders at Zwaanendael, located near the present town of Lewes, in 1631. Delaware was one of the 13 original states participating in the American Revolution and on December 7, 1787, became the first to ratify the Constitution of the United States.
Cyprus (Greek: Κύπρος, transliterated: Kýpros, IPA: [ˈcipɾo̞s]; Turkish: Kıbrıs), officially the Republic of Cyprus (Greek: Κυπριακή Δημοκρατία, Kypriakī́ Dīmokratía, [cipɾiaˈci ðimo̞kɾaˈtia]; Turkish: Kıbrıs Cumhuriyeti), is an island country situated in the eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, west of Lebanon, Syria, and Israel, south of Turkey and north of Egypt.
Cyprus is the third largest Mediterranean island and one of the most popular tourist destinations, attracting over 2.4 million tourists per year.[6] A former British colony, it became an independent republic in 1960[3] and a member of the Commonwealth in 1961. The Republic of Cyprus is one of the advanced economies in the region,[7] and has been a member of the European Union since 1 May 2004. It adopted the euro on 1 January 2008.
In 1974, following years of intercommunal violence between ethnic Greeks and Turks and an attempted coup d'état by Greek Cypriot nationalists aimed at annexing the island to Greece and engineered by the military junta then in power in Athens,[8] Turkey invaded and occupied one third of the island. This led to the displacement of thousands of Cypriots and the establishment of a separate Turkish Cypriot political entity in the north. This event and its resulting political situation are matters of ongoing dispute.
The Republic of Cyprus, the internationally recognised state, has de jure sovereignty over the entire island of Cyprus and its surrounding waters except the 3% which appendix O of the Treaty of Establishment of the Republic allocates to the United Kingdom as sovereign military bases. The island is de facto partitioned into four main parts:
- the area under the effective control of the Republic of Cyprus, in the south of the island;
- the Turkish-controlled area in the north, calling itself the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (recognised only by Turkey);
- the United Nations-controlled Green Line, separating the two; and
- two British Sovereign Base Areas (Akrotiri and Dhekelia).
The Cook Islands Federation was created in 1893 as the administrative replacement of the British protectorate of the Kingdom of Rarotonga. In 1901 the Cook Islands were transferred to the administration of New Zealand.
The Cook Islands
The main population centres are on the island of Rarotonga (14,153 as of 2006), where there is an international airport. There is also a much larger population of Cook Islanders in New Zealand, particularly the North Island in the 2006 census, 58,008 self-identified as being of ethnic Cook Island Māori descent.
With over 90,000 visitors travelling to the islands in 2006, tourism is the country's number one industry, and the leading element of the economy, far ahead of offshore banking, pearls, marine and fruit exports.
Defence is the responsibility of New Zealand, in consultation with the Cook Islands and at its request. In recent times, the Cook Islands have adopted an increasingly independent foreign policy.
Connecticut (
Southwestern Connecticut is considered part of the immediate New York metropolitan area, and three of Connecticut's eight counties—including the majority of the state's population—are in the New York City combined statistical area, commonly referred to as the Tri-State Region. The center of population of the state is in Cheshire, New Haven County, also within the Tri-State Region.
Connecticut is the 29th most populous state, with 3.4 million residents, and is ranked 48th in size by area, making it the 4th most densely populated state. Called the "Constitution State," Connecticut has a long history dating from early colonial times and was influential in the development of the federal government.
Connecticut's first European settlers were Dutch and established a small settlement in present-day Hartford at the confluence of the Park and Connecticut Rivers called Huys de Goede Hoop. Initially, Connecticut was a part of their North American colony, New Netherland, which included much of the land between the Connecticut and Delaware Rivers. Today, much of the former colony lies in what is now known as the Tri-State Region.
The first major settlements were established in the 1630s by the English. Thomas Hooker led a band of followers overland from the Massachusetts Bay Colony and founded what would become the Connecticut Colony; other settlers from Massachusetts founded the Saybrook Colony and the New Haven Colony. Both the Connecticut and New Haven Colonies established documents of Fundamental Orders, considered the first constitutions in North America. In 1662, the disparate colonies merged under a royal charter, making Connecticut a crown colony. This colony was one of the Thirteen Colonies that revolted against British rule in the American Revolution.
Connecticut enjoys a temperate climate owed to its long coastline on Long Island Sound. This has given the state a strong maritime tradition. Modern Connecticut is also known for its wealth. In the 18th and 19th centuries, Connecticut had ready access to raw materials which helped to develop a strong manufacturing industry, and financial organizations flourished: first insurance companies in Hartford, then hedge funds along the Gold Coast. This prosperity has helped give Connecticut the highest per capita income, Human Development Index, and median household income in the country.
Vancouver Island (officially known as the Island of Vancouver and its Dependencies), was a crown colony of British North America from 1849 to 1866, after which it was united with British Columbia. The united colony joined the Canadian Confederation in 1871. The colony comprised Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands of the Strait of Georgia.
The Cape Colony, part of modern South Africa, was established by the Dutch East India Company in 1652, with the founding of Cape Town. It was subsequently occupied by the British in 1795 when the Netherlands were occupied by revolutionary France, so that the French revolutionaries could not take possession of the Cape with its important strategic location. An improving situation in the Netherlands allowed the British to hand back the colony to the Netherlands in 1803, but by 1806 resurgent French control in the Netherlands led to another British occupation to prevent Napoleon using the Cape. The Cape Colony subsequently remained in the British Empire until the formation of the Union of South Africa in 1910, when it was renamed the Cape of Good Hope Province.
The Cape Colony was coextensive with the later Cape Province, stretching from the Atlantic coast inland and eastward along the southern coast, constituting about half of modern South Africa: the final eastern boundary, after several wars against the Xhosa, stood at the Fish River. In the north, the Orange River, also known as the Gariep River, served for a long time as the boundary, although some land between the river and the southern boundary of Botswana was later added to it.
Canada (IPA: /ˈkænədə/) is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean. It is the world's second largest country by total area[6] and shares land borders with the United States to the south and northwest.
The land occupied by Canada was inhabited for millennia by various groups of aboriginal people. Beginning in the late 15th century, British and French expeditions explored, and later settled along, the Atlantic coast. France ceded nearly all of its colonies in North America in 1763 after the Seven Years' War. In 1867, with the union of three British North American colonies through Confederation, Canada was formed as a federal dominion of four provinces.[7][8][9] This began an accretion of additional provinces and territories and a process of increasing autonomy from the United Kingdom, highlighted by the Statute of Westminster in 1931 and culminating in the Canada Act in 1982, which severed the vestiges of legal dependence on the British parliament.
A federation comprising ten provinces and three territories, Canada is a parliamentary democracy and a constitutional monarchy, with Queen Elizabeth II as its head of state. It is a bilingual and multicultural country, with both English and French as official languages both at the federal level and in the province of New Brunswick. Technologically advanced and industrialized, Canada maintains a diversified economy that is heavily reliant upon its abundant natural resources and upon trade—particularly with the United States, with which Canada has had a long and complex relationship. It is a member of the G8, NATO, the Commonwealth of Nations, the Francophonie, and the United Nations
Burma, officially the Union of Myanmar, is the largest country by geographical area in mainland Southeast Asia, or Indochina. The country is bordered by the People's Republic of China on the northeast, Laos on the east, Thailand on the southeast, Bangladesh on the west, India on the northwest, and the Bay of Bengal to the southwest with the Gulf of Martaban and Andaman Sea defining its southern periphery. One-third of Burma's total perimeter, 1,930 kilometres (1,199 mi), forms an uninterrupted coastline.
The country's culture, heavily influenced by neighbours, is based on Theravada Buddhism intertwined with local elements. Burma's diverse population has played a major role in defining its politics, history and demographics in modern times, and the country continues to struggle to mend its ethnic tensions. The military has dominated government since General Ne Win led a coup in 1962 that toppled the civilian government of U Nu. The Burmese Way to Socialism drove the formerly prosperous country into deep poverty. Burma remains under the tight control of the military-led State Peace and Development Council.
Bengkulu is a province of Indonesia. It is on the southwest coast of the island of Sumatra, and borders the provinces of West Sumatra, Jambi, South Sumatra and Lampung. The capital and largest city of the province is Bengkulu city. It was formerly the site of a British garrison, which they called Bencoolen.
The province has a population of 1,405,060 (2000 census). The province also includes Enggano Island.
Belize , formerly British Honduras, is a country in Central America. Once part of the Mayan and Spanish Empires, it was most recently affiliated with the British Empire, prior to gaining its independence in 1981. The country is bordered to the north by Mexico, to the west by Guatemala, and to the east and south-east by the Caribbean.
Belize has a diverse society, composed of many cultures and speaking many languages. It is the only country in Central America where English is the official language. Kriol and Spanish are also widely spoken. With 8,867 square miles (22,960 km²) of territory and 320,000 people (2008 est.),the population density is the lowest in the Central American region and one of the lowest in the world. The country's population growth rate, 2.21% (2008 est.), is the highest in the region and one of the highest in the western hemisphere. It remains a Commonwealth realm. Culturally, Belize considers itself to be both Caribbean and Central American.
Barbados (pronounced /bɑr-beɪ'-doʊz, -dɒs/), situated just east of the Caribbean Sea, is an independent Continental Island-nation in the western Atlantic Ocean. Located at roughly 13° North of the equator and 59° West of the prime meridian, it is considered a part of the Lesser Antilles. Its closest island neighbours are Saint Vincent & the Grenadines and Saint Lucia to the west. To the south lies Trinidad and Tobago—with which Barbados now shares a fixed official maritime boundary—and also the South American mainland. Barbados's total land area is about 430 square kilometres (166 square miles), and is primarily low-lying, with some higher in the country's interior. The highest point in Barbados is Mount Hillaby in the parish of Saint Andrew. The geological composition of Barbados is of non-volcanic origin and is predominantly composed of limestone-coral formed by subduction of the South American plate colliding with the Caribbean plate. The island's climate is tropical, with constant trade winds off the Atlantic Ocean serving to keep temperatures mild. Some less developed areas of the country contain tropical woodland and mangroves. Other parts of the interior which contribute to the agriculture industry are dotted with large sugarcane estates and wide, gently sloping pastures, with panoramic views down to the coast also.
Barbados's human development index ranking is consistently among the top 75 countries in the world. For example, in 2006, it was ranked 31st in the world, and third in the Americas, behind Canada and the United States.
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the southern hemisphere comprising the mainland of the world's smallest continent, the major island of Tasmania, and numerous other islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. Neighbouring countries include Indonesia, East Timor, and Papua New Guinea to the north, the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, and New Caledonia to the north-east, and New Zealand to the south-east.
For around 40,000 years before European settlement commenced in the late 18th century, the Australian mainland and Tasmania were inhabited by around 250 individual nations of indigenous Australians. After sporadic visits by fishermen from the immediate north, and European discovery by Dutch explorers in 1606, the eastern half of Australia was claimed by the British in 1770 and initially settled through penal transportation to the colony of New South Wales, founded on 26 January 1788. The population grew steadily in the following years; the continent was explored, and during the 19th century another five largely self-governing Crown Colonies were established.
On 1 January 1901, the six colonies became a federation, and the Commonwealth of Australia was formed. Since Federation, Australia has maintained a stable liberal democratic political system and remains a Commonwealth realm. The population is just over 21.7 million, with approximately 60% concentrated in and around the mainland state capitals of Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, and Adelaide. The nation's capital city is Canberra, located in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT).
Technologically advanced and industrialised, Australia is a prosperous multicultural country and has good results in many international comparisons of national performance such as health care, life expectancy, quality-of-life, human development, public education, economic freedom, and the protection of civil liberties and political rights.
The word Anglosphere describes a concept of a group of anglophone (English-speaking) nations which share historical, political, and cultural characteristics rooted in or attributed to the historical experience of the United Kingdom. Its definition varies with the different authors who have put it forward.
The term "Anglophonie" is rarely used in English, usually in contradistinction to Francophonie, but is more common in other European languages.
The Colony of Aden (Arabic: مستعمرة عدن Mustaʿmarat ʿAdan) was a British Crown colony from 1937 to 1963, and consisted of the port city of Aden and its immediate surroundings (an area of 121 km²).
Prior to 1937, Aden had been governed as part of British India (originally as the Aden Settlement under the Bombay Presidency, and then as a "Chief Commissioner's province). Under the Government of India Act 1935 the territory was detached from British India, and was established as a separate colony of the United Kingdom; this separation took effect on April 1, 1937.
On 18 January 1963, the colony was reconstituted as the State of Aden (Arabic: ولاية عدن Wilāyat ʿAdan), within the new Federation of South Arabia. The federation in turn became the People's Republic of South Yemen on 30 November 1967, marking the end of British rule.
The hinterland of the Colony of Aden was separately governed as the Aden Protectorate.
