The Canary Islands - Lanzarote Island

Lanzarote, a Spanish island, is the easternmost of the Canary Islands, in the Atlantic Ocean, approximately 125 km off the coast of Africa and 1,000 km from the Iberian Peninsula. Covering 845.9 km², it stands as the fourth largest of the islands. The first recorded name for the island, given by Angelino Dulcert, was Insula de Lanzarotus Marocelus, after the Genoese navigator Lancelotto Malocello, from which the modern name is derived. The island's name in the native Guanche language was Titero(y)gaca, which may mean "the red mountains".
GeographyLanzarote is situated at 29°00' north, 13°40' west. It is located 11 kilometers north-east of Fuerteventura and 1 km from Graciosa. The elongated island has an area of 845,9 km². The dimensions of the island are 60 km from north to south and 25 km from west to east. Lanzarote has 213 km of coastline, of which 10 km are sand, 16.5 km are beach, and the remainder are rocky. Its dramatic landscape includes the mountain ranges of Famara (671 m) in the north and Ajaches (608 m) to the south. South of the Famara massif is the El Jable desert which separates Famara and Montañas del Fuego.
The mountainous area of Lanzarote is called Timanfaya National Park. The tallest mountain is Peñas del Chache elevating 670 m above sea level. The "Tunnel of Atlantis" is the largest submerged volcanic tunnel in the world.
Geology
View over a lava field towards the Montañas del Fuego.Lanzarote is of volcanic origin. The island was created about 35 million years ago by the Canary hotspot. Alfred Wegener arrived in 1912 and studied the island and showed how it fitted in with his theory of continental drift. The island along with others was created after the breakup of the African and the American continental plates.
Hacha Grande, in the south of the island, viewed from the road to Papagayo beach.
Demographics Papagayo beachAs of 2006, a total of 127.457 people lived on Lanzarote . The seat of the island government (Cabildo Insular) is in the capital, Arrecife, which has a population of 55.203. The majority of the inhabitants (73.9%) are Spanish, with a sizeable number of residents from other European nations, mainly British (4.0%) and Germans (2.6%). Other populous groups include immigrants from Colombia, Morocco, Ecuador, Western Africa, China and India, which constitute for a large proportion of the remaining 19.5% of the population.
The island has its own international airport, Arrecife Airport, through which 5.626.337 passengers travelled in 2006. Tourism has been the mainstay of the island's economy for the past forty years, the only other industry being agriculture.
Lanzarote is part of the province of Las Palmas, and is divided into seven municipalities:
Arrecife Haría San Bartolomé Teguise (includes Isla de La Graciosa and four smaller islets) Tías Tinajo Yaiza
ClimateLanzarote's climate is benevolent and relatively stable throughout the year, with an average annual temperature of 21'4 ºC in 2006. During the summer months, June to September, daytime maximums can reach 32 ºC, but rarely more, whilst nighttime temperatures remain around 20 ºC. Winter daytime temperatures vary from 15 to 25 °C, and can drop at night to 14 ºC, although seldom below that.
Lanzarote is in the path of the North Atlantic trade winds and profits from their cooling effect on daytime temperatures. Without this benefit the island's climate would resemble that of the neighbouring Sahara. Every year sandstorms originate in the desert and cross the thin stretch of ocean to the Canary Islands, where temperatures can rise dramatically and visibility can drop to just 100 metres. The locals call the wind that causes these storms siroco and the resulting floating dust calima.
Annual precipitation for 2006 was 1.171 centimetres, although the bulk of this fell in October (164 mm), January (281 mm) and February (488 mm). Due to the particular orographic layout of the island, most of the rain occurs in the north-western half, including the Famara Massif, while the south-eastern half is mainly dry.
Surface water temperatures in the Atlantic Ocean reach 23 °C during the summer months and can drop as low as 13 °C during the winter.
Flora and fauna Vines growing in volcanic lapilli in the La Geria region of Lanzarote. The low, curved walls are traditionally used to protect the vines from the constant wind.There are five hundred different kinds of plants on the island, of which 17 are endemic and 180 are lichen. Lichens survive in the suitable areas like the rock and introduce its own weathering. These plants have adapted to the relative scarcity of water, the same as succulents. Plants includes date sut Phoenix canariensis which are founded in damper areas of the north, Pinus canariensis, ferns, wild olive trees (Olea europaea). The laurisilva trees which once covered the highest parts of Risco de Famara are rarely found today. After the winter rainfalls, the vegetation comes to a colorful bloom between February and March.
The fauna of Lanzarote is more monotonous than the plant life, except for bats and other types of mammals which accompanied humans to the island, including the dromedary which was used for agriculture and is now a tourist attraction. Lanzarote has thirty-five types of animal life, including birds, falcons, and reptiles. Some interesting endemic creatures are the Gallotia lizards, and the blind deep-water Remipedia crabs found in the Jameos del Agua lagoon, which was created by a volcanic eruption.
The vineyards of La Gería, with their traditional methods of cultivation, are a protected area. Single vines are planted in pits 4-5m wide and 2-3m deep, with small stone walls around each pit. This agricultural technique is designed to harvest rainfall and overnight dew and to protect the plants from the winds. The vineyards are part of the World Heritage Site as well as other sites on the island.
HistoryLanzarote was probably the first Canary Island to be settled. The Phoenicians settled there around 1100 BC. The Greek writers and philosophers Herodotus, Plato and Plutarch described the garden of Hesperis, the land of fertility where fruits and flowers smell in the part of the Atlantic. The first known record came from Pliny the Elder in the encyclopedia Naturalis Historia on an expedition to the Canary Islands. The names of the islands (then called Insulae Fortunatae) were recorded as Canaria (Gran Canaria), Ninguaria (Tenerife), Junonia Mayor (La Palma) and Capraria (El Hierro). Lanzarote and Fuerteventura were only mentioned as an archipelago.
After the fall of the Roman Empire, the Canary islands became abandoned until 999 AD when the Arabs arrived at the island and was known as al-Djezir al-Khalida and other names. In 1336, a ship arrived from Lisbon under the guidance of Lanzarote da Framqua, alias Lancelotto Malocello. A fort was later built in the area of Montaña de Guanapay near today's Teguise. Jean de Béthencourt arrived in 1402 on a private expedition to the Canary Islands and brought slavery to the island as well as raw materials. Bethencourt first visited the south of Lanzarote at Playas de Papagayo. In 1404, the Spaniards with the support of the King of Spain came and fought against a rebellion among the local Guanches. The islands of Fuerteventura and El Hierro were later conquered. In the 17th century, pirates raided the island and took 1,000 inhabitants to slavery in Cueva de los Verdes.
In 1585, the Ottoman admiral Murat Reis captured Lanzarote.
From 1730 to 1736 (for 2,053 days), the island was hit by a series of volcanic eruptions, creating 32 new volcanoes in a stretch of 18 km. The minister of Yaiza Don Andrés Lorenzo Curbelo documented the eruption in detail until 1731. Lava covered a quarter of the island's surface, including the most fertile soil and eleven villages. One hundred smaller volcanoes were located in the area called Montañas del Fuego. In 1768, drought affected the island and winter rains did not fall. Much of the population was forced to emigrate to Cuba and the Americas. Another volcanic eruption occurred within the range of Tiagua in 1824 which was not as bad as the major eruption between 1730 and 1736.
In 1927, Lanzarote as well as Fuerteventura became part of the province of Las Palmas.
NotablesAmong the notables who have lived on the island are César Manrique, an artist; José Saramago, a Portuguese Nobel Prize for Literature winner, and Princess Alexia of Greece and Denmark and her husband, Carlos Morales Quintana.
Wikipedia - Lanzarote Island

Spain Africa Islands - The Canary Islands

The Canary Islands - which can be found at locale: (28° 06'N, 15° 24'W) - are an African archipelago governed by Spain. The archipelago consists of seven major islands, two minor islands, and several small islets. The oceanic islands are of volcanic origin and can be found in the North Atlantic Ocean. These islands are located just off the coast of the north-western portion of the African continent/mainland, nearest the political divide of the two countries of Morocco and Western Sahara. They form the autonomous community of the Canary Islands which is administered by Spain. The Canary Islands were formed by the Canary hotspot. The status of 'capital' city is shared by the two cities of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and Santa Cruz de Tenerife. EtymologyThe islands' name is likely derived from the Latin term Insula Canaria, meaning Island of the Dogs, a name applied originally only to the island of Gran Canaria. It is thought that the dense population of an endemic breed of large and fierce dogs, like the Canary Mastiff (in Spanish, el Presa Canario), was the characteristic that most struck the few ancient Romans who established contact with the islands by the sea.
History
Ancient and pre-colonial times
Canary Islands in pre-colonial timesThe islands were known to the Phoenicians, Greeks and Romans, and are mentioned in a number of classical sources. For example, Pliny the Elder describes a Carthaginian expedition to the Canaries, and they may have been the Fortunate Isles of other classical writers. King Juba, the Roman protegee, dispatched a contingent to re-open the dye production facility at Mogador in the early 1st century AD. That same naval force was subsequently sent on an exploration of the Canary Islands, using Mogador as their mission base.
When the Europeans began to explore the islands they encountered several indigenous populations living at a Neolithic level of technology. Although the history of the settlement of the Canary Islands is still unclear, linguistic and genetic analyses seem to indicate that at least some of these inhabitants shared a common origin with the Berbers of northern Africa. The pre-colonial inhabitants came to be known collectively as the Guanches, although Guanches was originally the name for the indigenous inhabitants of Tenerife.
Spanish conquestThere are claims that the Portuguese had discovered the Canaries as early as 1336, though there appears to be little evidence for this. In 1402, the Spanish conquest of the islands began, with the expedition of Jean de Béthencourt and Gadifer de la Salle, nobles and vassals of Henry III of Castile, to the island of Lanzarote. From there, they conquered Fuerteventura and El Hierro. Béthencourt received the title King of the Canary Islands, but still recognized King Henry III as his overlord.
Béthencourt also established a base on the island of La Gomera, but it would be many years before the island was truly conquered. The natives of La Gomera, and of Gran Canaria, Tenerife, and La Palma, resisted the Spanish invaders for almost a century. In 1448 Maciot de Béthencourt sold the lordship of Lanzarote to Portugal's Prince Henry the Navigator, an action that was not accepted by the natives nor by the Castilians. A crisis swelled to a revolt which lasted until 1459 with the final expulsion of the Portuguese. Finally, in 1479, Portugal recognised Castilian control of the Canary Islands in the Treaty of Alcaçovas. Alonso Fernández de Lugo presenting the captured native kings of Tenerife to Ferdinand and IsabellaThe Spanish continued to dominate the islands, but due to the topography and the resistance of the native Guanches, complete pacification was not achieved until 1495, when Tenerife and La Palma were finally subdued by Alonso Fernández de Lugo. After that, the Canaries were incorporated into the Kingdom of Castile.
After the conquestAfter the conquest, the Spanish imposed a new economic model, based on single-crop cultivation: first sugar cane; then wine, an important item of trade with England. In this era, the first institutions of colonial government were founded. Both Gran Canaria, since 6 March 1480 a colony of Castile (from 1556 of Spain), and Tenerife, a Spanish colony since 1495, had separate governors.
The cities of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and Santa Cruz de Tenerife became a stopping point for the Spanish conquerors, traders, and missionaries on their way to the New World. This trade route brought great prosperity to some of the social sectors of the islands. The islands became quite wealthy and soon were attracting merchants and adventurers from all over Europe. Magnificent palaces and churches were built on the island of La Palma during this busy, prosperous period. The Church of El Salvador survives as one of the island's finest examples of the architecture of the 1500s.
The Canaries' wealth invited attacks by pirates and privateers. Ottoman Turkish admiral and privateer Kemal Reis ventured into the Canaries in 1501, while Murat Reis the Elder captured Lanzarote in 1585.
The most severe attack took place in 1599, during the Dutch War of Independence. A Dutch fleet of 74 ships and 12,000 men, commanded by Johan Van der Does, attacked the capital, Las Palmas. (The city had 3,500 of Gran Canaria's 8,545 inhabitants.) The Dutch attacked the Castillo de la Luz, which guarded the harbor. The Canarians evacuated civilians from the city, and the Castillo surrendered (but not the city). The Dutch moved inland, but Canarian cavalry drove them back to Tamaraceite, near the city.
The Dutch then laid siege to the city, demanding the surrender of all its wealth. They received 12 sheep and 3 calves. Furious, the Dutch sent 4,000 soldiers to attack the Council of the Canaries, who were sheltering in the village of Santa Brígida. 300 Canarian soldiers ambushed the Dutch in the village of Monte Lentiscal, killing 150 and forcing the rest to retreat. The Dutch concentrated on Las Palmas, attempting to burn it down. The Dutch pillaged Maspalomas, on the southern coast of Gran Canaria, San Sebastian on La Gomera, and Santa Cruz on La Palma, but eventually gave up the siege of Las Palmas and withdrew.
Another noteworthy attack occurred in 1797, when Santa Cruz de Tenerife was attacked by a British fleet under the future Lord Nelson on 25 July. The British were repulsed, losing almost 400 men. It was during this battle that Nelson lost his right arm.
Eighteenth to nineteenth centuriesThe sugar-based economy of the islands faced stiff competition from Spain's American colonies. Crises in the sugar market in the nineteenth century caused severe recessions on the islands. A new cash crop, cochineal (cochinilla), came into cultivation during this time, saving the islands' economy.
These economic difficulties spurred mass emigration, primarily to the Americas, during the nineteenth and first half of the twentieth centuries. From 1840 to 1890, as many as 40,000 Canary Islanders emigrated to Venezuela alone (many of them ending up stopping, then staying in Puerto Rico due to the long journey ). Also, many thousands of Canarians emigrated to the shores of Cuba as well. During the Spanish-American War of 1898, the Spanish fortified the islands against possible American attack; but the attack never came.
Early twentieth centuryAt the beginning of the 20th century, the British introduced a new cash-crop, the banana, the export of which was controlled by companies such as Fyffes.
The rivalry between the elites of the cities of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and Santa Cruz de Tenerife for the capital of the islands led to the division of the archipelago into two provinces in 1927. This has not laid to rest the rivalry between the two cities, which continues to this day.
During the time of the Second Spanish Republic, Marxist and anarchist workers' movements began to develop, led by figures such as Jose Miguel Perez and Guillermo Ascanio. However, outside of a few municipalities, these organizations were a minority.
Franco regimeIn 1936, Francisco Franco was appointed General Commandant of the Canaries. He joined the military revolt of July 17 which began the Spanish Civil War. Franco quickly took control of the archipelago, except for a few points of resistance on the island of La Palma and in the town of Vallehermoso, on Gomera . Though there was never a proper war in the islands, they were one of the places where the post-war repression was most severe.
During the Second World War, Winston Churchill prepared plans for the British seizure of the Canary Islands as a naval base, in the event of Gibraltar being invaded from the Spanish mainland.
Opposition to Franco's regime did not begin to organize until the late 1950s, which experienced an upheaval of parties such as the Communist Party of Spain and the formation of various nationalist, leftist parties.
Today Parliament of the Canary IslandsAfter the death of Franco there was a pro-independence armed movement based in Algeria, the MPAIAC. Now there are some pro-independence political parties, like the CNC and the Popular Front of the Canary Islands, but none of them openly calls for an armed struggle. Their popular support is insignificant, with no presence in both the autonomous parliament and the cabildos insulares.
After the establishment of a democratic constitutional monarchy in Spain, autonomy was granted to the Canaries, by a law passed in 1982. In 1983, the first autonomous elections were held, and were won by the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE). In the most recent autonomous elections (2007), the PSOE gained a plurality of seats, but the nationalist Canarian Coalition and the conservative Partido Popular (PP) formed a ruling coalition government.
Physical geography Beach in Fuerteventura.The islands and their capitals are:
Island Capital Tenerife Santa Cruz de Tenerife Gran Canaria Las Palmas de Gran Canaria Lanzarote Arrecife La Palma Santa Cruz de La Palma La Gomera San Sebastián de La Gomera El Hierro Valverde Fuerteventura Puerto del Rosario La Graciosa Caleta de Sebo
The nearest island (Fuerteventura) is 108 km from the northwest mainland African coast.
The islands form the Macaronesia ecoregion with the Azores, Cape Verde, Madeira, and the Savage Isles. The seven main islands are volcanic in origin. The Teide volcano on Tenerife is the highest mountain in Spain, and the third largest volcano on Earth. All the islands except La Gomera have been active in the last million years; four of them (Lanzarote, Tenerife, La Palma and El Hierro) have historical records of eruptions since European discovery. The islands rise from Jurassic oceanic crust associated with the opening of the Atlantic. Underwater magmatism commenced during the Cretaceous, and reached the ocean's surface during the Miocene. The islands are considered as a distinct physiographic section of the Atlas Mountains province, which in turn is part of the larger African Alpine System division.
According to the position of the islands with respect to the NE trade winds, the climate can be mild and wet or very dry. Several native species are laurisilva forests.
Four of Spain's thirteen national parks are located in the Canary Islands, more than any other autonomous community. In the early 90's, there were only five Spanish national parks, four of them being the Canarian parks, and the other one Doñana. The parks are: Hacha Grande, a mountain in the south of Lanzarote, viewed from the road to the Playa de Papagayo.Park Island Parque Nacional de la Caldera de Taburiente La Palma Garajonay National Park La Gomera Teide National Park Tenerife Timanfaya National Park Lanzarote
Political geography Map of the Canary Islands Maps of the Canary Islands drawn by William Dampier during his voyage to New Holland in 1699.The Autonomous Community of the Canary Islands consists of two provinces, Las Palmas and Santa Cruz de Tenerife, whose capitals (Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and Santa Cruz de Tenerife) are co-capitals of the autonomous community. Each of the seven major islands is ruled by an island council named cabildo insular.
The international boundary of the Canaries is the subject of dispute between Spain and Morocco. Morocco does not agree that the laws regarding territorial limits allow Spain to claim for itself sea-bed boundaries based on the territory of the Canaries, because the Canary Islands are autonomous. In fact, the islands do not enjoy any special degree of autonomy as each one of the Spanish regions is considered an autonomous community. Under the Law of the Sea, the only islands not granted territorial waters or an Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) are those that are not fit for human habitation or do not have an economic life of their own, which is clearly not the case of the Canary Islands.
The boundary is relevant for possible seabed oil deposits and other ocean resource exploitation. Morocco therefore does not formally agree to the territorial boundary; it rejected a 2002 unilateral Spanish proposal.
The Islands have 13 seats in the Spanish Senate. Of these, 11 seats are directly elected, 3 for Gran Canaria, 3 for Tenerife, 1 for each other island; 2 seats are indirectly elected by the regional Autonomous Government.
EconomyThe economy is based primarily on tourism, which makes up 32% of the GDP. The Canaries receive about 10 million tourists per year. Construction makes up nearly 20% of the GDP and tropical agriculture, primarily bananas and tobacco, are grown for export to Europe and the Americas. Ecologists are concerned that the resources, especially in the more arid islands, are being overexploited but there are still many agricultural resources like tomatoes, potatoes, onions, cochineal, sugarcane, grapes, vines, dates, oranges, lemons, figs, wheat, barley, corn, apricots, peaches and almonds.
The economy is 25 billion (2001 GDP figures). The islands experienced continuous growth during a 20 year period, up until 2001, at a rate of approximately 5% annually. This growth was fueled mainly by huge amounts of Foreign Direct Investment, mostly to develop tourism real estate (hotels and apartments), and European Funds (near 11 billion euro in the period from 2000 to 2007), since the Canary Islands are labelled Region Objective 1 (eligible for euro structural funds). Additionally, the EU allows the Canary Island's government to offer special tax concessions for investors who incorporate under the as Zona Especial Canaria (ZEC) regime and create more than 5 jobs.
The combination of high mountains, proximity to Europe, and clean air has made the Roque de los Muchachos peak (on La Palma island) a leading location for telescopes like the Grantecan.
The islands are outside the European Union customs territory and VAT area, though politically within the EU. Instead of VAT there is a local Sales Tax (IGIC) which has a general rate of 5%, an increased tax rate of 12%, a reduced tax rate of 2% and a zero tax rate for certain basic need products and services (eg telecommunications). The ISO 3166-1 α-2 code IC is reserved for representing them in customs affairs. Goods subject to Spanish customs and excise duties and Value Added Tax (VAT), such as tobacco or electronic goods, are therefore significantly cheaper in the Canaries. Spanish magazines usually have a similar or higher price than in the peninsula since VAT is substituted with air transport costs. The islands' country calling code is (+34) and the Internet country code is the same as Spain's (.es). The currency is the euro.
Canarian time is Western European Time (WET) (or GMT; in summer one hour ahead of GMT). So Canarian time is one hour behind that of mainland Spain and the same as that of the UK, Portugal and Ireland all year round.
Wildlife
Terrestrial WildlifeWith a range of habitats, the Canary Islands exhibit diverse plant species. The bird life includes European and African species, such as the Black-bellied Sandgrouse; and a rich variety of endemic (local) species including the:
Canary Graja (endemic to La Palma) Blue Chaffinch Canary Islands Chiffchaff Fuerteventura Chat Tenerife Goldcrest Madeira Firecrest Bolle's Pigeon Laurel Pigeon Trocaz Pigeon Plain Swift
Terrestrial fauna includes gekkos (such as the striped Canary Islands Gecko) and wall lizards, and three endemic species of recently rediscovered and critically endangered giant lizard: the El Hierro Giant Lizard (or Roque Chico de Salmor Giant Lizard), La Gomera Giant Lizard, and La Palma Giant Lizard. Some endemic mammals, the Lava Mouse and Canary Islands Giant Rat, are extinct, as are the Canary Islands Quail and Eastern Canary Islands Chiffchaff.
Marine LifeMarine Life of the Canary IslandsThe Marine life found in the Canary Islands is also varied, being a combination of North Atlantic, Mediterranean and endemic species. In recent years, the increasing popularities of both scuba diving and underwater photography have provided biologists with much new information on the marine life of the islands.
Fish species found in the islands include many species of shark, ray, moray eel, bream, jack, grunt, scorpionfish, triggerfish, grouper, goby, and blenny. In addition, there are many invertibrate species including sponge, jellyfish, anenome, crab, mollusc, sea urchin, starfish, sea cucumber and coral.
There are a total of 5 different species of marine turtle that are sighted periodically in the islands, the most common of these being the endangered Loggerhead Turtle; however, local fisherman continue to take this endangered species. The other four are the Green, Hawksbill, Leatherback and Kemp's Ridley Turtle. Currently, there are no signs that any of these species breed in the islands, and so those seen in the water are usually migrating. However, it is believed that some of these species may have bred in the islands in the past, and there are records of several sightings of leatherback turtle on beaches in Fuerteventura, adding credibility to the theory.
Sports Lucha CanariaOne native of the Canary Islands played Major League Baseball: Alfredo Cabrera, born there in 1881; he played shortstop for the St. Louis Cardinals in 1913.
Wikipedia - The Canary Islands

South Africa Islands - The Prince Edward Islands

The Prince Edward Islands are two small islands in the sub-antarctic Indian Ocean that are politically part of South Africa. As a group of two islands, the Prince Edwards Islands are located at 46°46′23″S, 037°51′09″E. The two islands are named Marion Island ( 46°54′45″S, 37°44′37″E) and Prince Edward Island ( 46°38′39″S, 37°56′36″E). The only human inhabitants of the islands are the staff of a meteorological and biological research station run by the South African National Antarctic Programme on Marion Island. Geography and geologyMarion Island, the larger of the two islands, is located at 46°54′45″S, 37°44′37″E. It is roughly 19 km (12 miles) long and 12 km (7 mi) wide with a surface of 290 km² (112 sq mi) and a coastline of some 72 km (45 mi), most of which are high cliffs. The highest point on Marion Island is Mascarin Peak (Formerly State President Swart Peak), reaching 1242 m (4,274 ft) above sea level. Boot Rock is about 150 meters (500 ft) off the northern coast.
Prince Edward Island is much smaller (only about 45 km², 17 sq mi) and lies some 12 nm (19 km) to the northeast. Prince Edward Island is located at 46°38′39″S, 37°56′36″E. At the Von Zinderen Bakker Peak northwest of the center, it reaches a height of 672 meters (2,204 ft). There are a few offshore rocks along the northern coast, like Ship Rock (100 meters, 330 ft, north of northernmost point) and Ross Rocks (500 meters, 1650 ft, from the shore).
The island group is about 955 nm (1770 km) south-east of Port Elizabeth in mainland South Africa.
Both islands are of volcanic origin. Marion Island is one of the peaks of a large underwater shield volcano that rises some 5000 m (16,500 ft) from the sea floor to the top of Mascarin Peak. The volcano was thought to be extinct, but erupted in 1980 and is now classed as "active".
ClimateThe islands lie directly in the path of eastward-moving depressions all year round and this gives them an unusually cool and unpleasant climate. Strong winds blow almost every day of the year and the prevailing wind direction is north-westerly. Annual rainfall averages from 2400mm up to over 3000mm on Mascarin Peak. It rains on average about 320 days a year (about 28 days a month) and the islands are among the cloudiest places in the world - about 1300 hours a year on the sheltered eastern side of Marion island but falling to around 800 hours away from the coast and on the wet western sides of Marion and Prince Edward island. Summer and winter are not remarkably different with cold winds and threat of snow or frost possible at any time of the year. However, the mean temperature in February is 8.3°C (midsummer) and in August it is 3.9°C (midwinter).
HistoryThe islands were discovered in 1663 by the Dutch ship Maerseveen. In 1772, Marc-Joseph Marion du Fresne visited the islands and spent five days trying to land, thinking he had found Antarctica (then not yet proven to exist). In 1776, his expedition, now headed by his second-in-command, Jules Crozet after the death of du Fresne, met James Cook in Cape Town. Cook subsequently set sail for the islands, but was unable to attempt a landing due to bad weather conditions. He named the smaller island after Prince Edward, the fourth son of King George III and to the larger gave the name of Marc-Joseph Marion du Fresne.
The first recorded landing was in 1803 and was made by a group of seal hunters, who did, however, find signs of earlier inhabitation, probably other sealers.
James Clark Ross also visited the islands in 1840 but was also unable to land. Finally, the islands were surveyed by Captain George Nares in 1873.
In 1908, the British government granted William Newton the rights to exploit guano deposits for the next twenty-one years, and a ten-year grant for seal exploitation to a sealing company in 1926.
Logo of Marion IslandIn late 1947 and early 1948, South Africa annexed the islands and installed the meteorological station Fairbairn Settlement on Transvaal Cove on the northeast coast of Marion Island. The research station was soon enlarged and today researches the biology of the islands, in particular the birds (penguins, petrels, albatrosses, gulls) and seals.
In 1949, five domestic cats were brought to Marion Island to deal with a mouse problem in the station. However, the cats multiplied quickly, and by 1977 there were about 3,400 cats living on the island, feeding on the burrowing petrels instead of the mice, threatening to drive the birds to extinction on the island. Some species of petrels did become extinct on Marion Island, and thus a "cat eradication program" was set up: a few cats were infected with the highly specific feline panleukopenia virus, which reduced the number of cats to about 600 by 1982. The remaining cats were killed by night-time hunting, and in 1991, only eight cats could be trapped in a twelve-month period. It is believed that there are no cats left on Marion Island today.
On September 22, 1979, one of the U.S. Vela spy satellites recorded an activity near the Prince Edward Islands, which was initially interpreted like the "double flash" of a small nuclear test. The event is still controversial and is known as Vela Incident.
Legal statusMarion Island and Prince Edward Island were claimed for South Africa by a South African Navy force from the HMSAS Transvaal on 29 December 1947 and 4 January 1948 respectively. On 1 October 1948 the annexation was made official when Governor-General Gideon Brand van Zyl signed the Prince Edward Islands Act 43 of 1948. Because the United Kingdom relinquished its claims on the islands to South Africa, no other nation has made a claim on the islands, and they have been occupied continuously since 1948 by South Africa, the status of the islands is not in dispute.
In terms of the Act, the islands fall under the jurisdiction of the Cape Town Magistrate's Court, and South African law as applied in the Western Cape applies on them. The islands are also deemed to be situated within the electoral district containing the Port of Cape Town; as of 2006 this is ward 55 of the City of Cape Town.
Wikipedia - The Prince Edward Islands

South Africa Islands - Seal Island

Seal Island is a small land mass located about 5.7 km off the northern beaches of False Bay, near Cape Town, in South Africa. The island is so named because of the number of Cape Fur Seals that occupy it. There are a few sea birds as well. It is an outcrop of the Cape granite and rises no more than about six metres above the high tide mark. There is no vegetation or soil of any significance. A radio mast was built on the island during World War II but this was blown over in a winter storm in 1970 and all that remains of it is rusty, twisted metal. There are the ruins of a few huts and other structures from the sealing and guano-collection era (first half of the 20th century). Some rock inscriptions made by sealers in the 1930s are still evident.
Great White Sharks The island seen from the water. The brown dots are all seals and hence the sharks.The dense population of fur seals at certain times of the year attracts the seal's main foe, the Great White Shark. Seal Island provides unique opportunities for those who wish to observe attacks by White Sharks on Cape Fur Seal and to observe social interactions amongst both species. The island is well known for the interesting way the sharks grab their prey: They come up from underneath and literally launch themselves out of the water with the seal in their mouth. It has been shown that the seals that enter the "death zone" (where the sharks circle the island) on the surface instead of at the murky bottom, they will be picked off by the faster and more aggressive Great White.
Wikipedia - Seal Island

South Africa Islands - Robben Island

Robben Island (Afrikaans Robben Eiland) is an island in Table Bay, 12 km off the coast from Cape Town, South Africa and is located at 33.806734° S 18.366222° ECoordinates: 33.806734° S 18.366222° E. The name is Dutch for "seal island". (Incidentally, "Seal Island" is a different island in nearby False Bay.) Robben Island is roughly oval in shape and about a kilometer wide. It is flat and only a few metres above sea level, as a result of an ancient erosion event. The island is composed of Precambrian metamorphic rocks belonging to the Malmesbury Group.
Robben Island as viewed from Table Mountain. The view is roughly to the north-northwest. The distant sandy shore beyond disappears towards Saldanha Bay. HistoryRobben Island was first inhabited thousands of years ago by stone age people, at a time when sea levels were considerably lower than they are today and people could walk to it. It was then a flat-topped hill. Towards the end of the last Ice Age the melting of the ancient ice caps caused sealevels to rise and the land around the island was flooded by the ocean. Since the end of the 17th century, Robben Island has been used to isolate certain people — mainly prisoners — and amongst its first permanent inhabitants were political leaders from various Dutch colonies, including Indonesia.
From 1836 to 1931 the island was used as a leper colony. During the Second World War, the island was fortified and guns were installed as part of the defences for Cape Town.
Robben Island became a maximum security prison in 1959. Between 1961 and 1991, over three thousand men were incarcerated here as political prisoners, including Nelson Mandela.
During the time that the island was a prison, security was very tight and it was off limits to almost all civilians, including fishermen. Before about 1980 there was not one citizen in 10,000 in Cape Town who had set foot on the island. It is not generally known that the use of the island as a prison was greatly inhibited for centuries by a lack of fresh water. The island is arid, with low scrubby vegetation and has no watercourses. Boreholes were drilled in the first half of the 20th century but in due course the fragile water table was invaded by sea water and the bores became useless. Sometime after 1965 a pipeline was laid on the bottom of the ocean from Cape Town.
Frederik Willem de Klerk initiated the removal of political prisoners in June of 1990, with the last gone by May of the following year. The last of the non-political prisoners (who had always been held separately from political prisoners) left the island in 1996, and it became a museum in 1997.
Cape Town, False Bay (top) and Table Bay with Robben Island (right) from space, February 1995. Gate to Robben Island prison.
Maritime perilRobben Island has been the nemesis of many a ship and its crew. The surf of the open Atlantic Ocean thunders continuously at its margins and any vessel wrecked on the reefs offshore is soon beaten to pieces and disappears. In the latter half of the 1600s a Dutch ship laden with gold coins earmarked for the payment of the salaries of employees of the Dutch East India Company in Batavia (now Indonesia) disintegrated on these reefs a short distance off shore, in relatively shallow but very restless waters. The gold today would be worth tens of millions of pounds sterling or U.S. dollars. A few coins have washed ashore over the centuries but the treasure itself remains in the ocean. It is protected largely by the almost ceaseless and violent surf. Many other vessels have been wrecked around the isle.
The island todayAll the land on the island is owned by the State, with the exception of the island church.
Today the island is a popular tourist destination and was declared a World Heritage Site in 1999. It is reached by ferry from the Victoria & Alfred Waterfront in Cape Town and is open throughout the year, weather permitting, and tours of the island and prison are led by guides who were formerly prisoners there. Robben Island Museum (RIM) operates as a site or living museum.
Robben Island LighthouseJan van Riebeeck first set a navigation aid atop Fire Hill (now Minto Hill), the highest point on the island, where the lighthouse stands today. Huge bonfires were lit at night to warn VOC ships of the rocks which surround the island. The current Robben Island lighthouse, built in 1863, is 18 metres high and was converted to electricity in 1938. It is the only South African lighthouse to utilise a flashing light instead of a revolving light. Its light can be seen from 25 kilometres away.
The Moturu KramatThe Moturu Kramat, a sacred site for Muslim pilgrimage on Robben Island, was built in 1969 to commemorate Sayed Adurohman Moturu, the Prince of Madura. Moturu, one of Cape Town's first 'imans', was exiled to the island in the mid 1740s and died there in 1754. Muslim political prisoners would pay homage at the shrine before leaving the island.
Animal lifeWhen the Dutch arrived in the area about 400 years ago, the only large animals on the island were seals and birds. In about 1960, or a little before, the warden of the island introduced a few antelope that were native to the coastal dunes nearby and also a few giant tortoises, which were not. The tortoises probably originated in the Galapagos Islands or the Seychelles and came from the zoo on the slopes of Devil's Peak in Cape Town, where they have lived in captivity for at least 150 years. It is not clear whether these animals still exist on the island.
The penguin colonyThe penguin colony is a popular attraction.
Wikipedia - Robben Island

South Africa Islands - Dassen Island

Dassen Island is a South African island in the Atlantic Ocean. It is situated about 10km west of Yzerfontein and 55km north of Cape Town. The flat and low-lying island measures about 4.5 km long by 2 km wide and is a proclaimed nature reserve.
The geological structure of the island is composed of a fine-grained tourmaline granite (with a few areas of biotite granite) outcrop covered with sand. Some of the granite features along the shore - to just above the high-water mark - consists of large, rounded boulders which stick out above the sand. Although temporary pans form during the winter in the interior, there is generally little fresh water on the island.
Except on its eastern side, Dassen Island is surrounded by reefs and consequently many ships have run aground here.
Wikipedia - Dassen Island

Somalia Islands - Bajuni Islands

The Bajuni Islands or Baajun Islands are an archipelago in the Indian Ocean, on the southern coast of Somalia, from Kismayu to Ras Kiyamboni (not to be confusen with Ras Kamboni). They lie at the northern end of a string of reefs which also include Zanzibar and Pemba.
There are six main islands: Chandra, Chovaye, Chula, Koyama, Darakasi and Ngumi. Chula with the village of Ndowa is the only island with a significant population.
The biggest island of the archipelago is Coiama or Koyama with two separate villages mainly Koyama and Koyamani. Koyama is also rich in hystorical ruines and monuments like "Pillar Tombs".
All Bajuni inhabitants of Koyama island belong to Nowfali (bajuni subclan).
Other islands of minor importance are: Kandha Iwu, Fuma, Ilisi and the island of Kisimayu (actual Kisimayu harbor) attached to the coast in 1961 during the construction of Kismayu Port.
Wikipedia- Bajuni Islands

Africa Islands - Somalia

Somalia is a country located on the Horn of Africa in East Africa. It is bordered by Djibouti to the northwest, Kenya on its southwest, the Gulf of Aden with Yemen on its north, the Indian Ocean at its east, and Ethiopia to the west.
Italian Somaliland gained its independence from Italy on 1 July 1960. On the same day, it united with British Somaliland, which gained independence on 26 June 1960, to form the Somali republic. The Somali state currently exists largely in a de jure capacity; Somalia has a weak but largely recognised central government authority, the Transitional Federal Government (TFG), but this currently controls only the central region of Somalia, and before the end of 2006 controlled only the city of Baidoa.
De facto control of the north of the country resides in the local authorities; of these Puntland, Maakhir, Galmudug, acknowledge the authority of the TFG and maintain their declaration of autonomy within a federated Somalia, while Southwestern Somalia and Jubaland in the south have largely abandoned the idea of autonomy. Their political capital, Baidoa, is currently the TFG capital, and their commercial capital, Kismayo, is being disputed. On the other hand, Somaliland in the north, with its capital in Hargeisa, has declared independence and does not recognise the TFG as governing authority.HistoryHistory of SomaliaContinuously inhabited for the last 2,500 years by numerous and varied ethnic groups, some of Oromo or other Kushitic ancestry, and the majority Somalis. From the 1st century numerous ports including Hafun and Mosylon-Bandar Gori were trading with Roman and Greek sailors.
The northwest was part of the Aksumite Empire from about the 3rd century to the 7th but between 700 AD and 1200 AD Islam became firmly established, especially with the founding of Mogadishu in 900.
The period following, 1200 AD to 1500 AD, saw the rise of numerous Somali city-states and kingdoms. In northwestern Somalia, the Sultanate of Adal (a multi-ethnic state comprised of Afars, Somalis and Hararis) with Ahmad ibn Ibrihim al-Ghazi as their leader in 1520, successfully conquered three-quarters of Ethiopia before being defeated by a joint Ethiopian-Portuguese force at the Battle of Wayna Daga on February 21, 1543.
The Ajuuraan Sultanate flourished from the 14th to the 17th centuries. Following the collapse of Adal and Ajuuraan in the 17th century, the region saw the emergence of new city states such as the Sultanates of eastern Sanaag, of Bari, of Geledi-Afgoye, of Gasar Gudde-Lugh Ganane, of Mogadishu and the Benadir coast, and of Hobyo.
Colonial periodCompetition between the Somali clans that lived in these states persisted through the colonial period, when various parts of the region were colonised by Britain and Italy. This era began in the year 1884, the end of a long period of comparative peace. At the Berlin Conference of 1884, the scramble for Africa started the long and bloody process of the imperial partition of Somali lands. The French, British, and Italians came to Somalia in the late 19th century.
The British signed treaties with the clans in what was known after as British Somaliland which was a protectorate in 1886 after the withdrawal of Egypt. Egypt sought to prevent European colonial expansion in Northeast Africa. The southern area, was colonised by Italy in 1889, became known as Italian Somaliland.
Mohammed Abdullah Hassan (Maxamed Cabdulle Xasan, Sayyid), born in the north of the Somali peninsula, was a religious, nationalist and controversial leader. Known to the British as the "Mad Mullah", he spent 20 years leading armed resistance to the British, Italian, and Ethiopian forces in Somalia. Born into the Ogaden sub-clan of the Darod, he belonged to the Salihiyah sect.
Between 1900 and 1907, the Italian leaders tried several times to negotiate a land deal with the Geledi Sultan based in ASfgoye and his Biyo-maal and Digil warriors. In 1905 more than 1,000 Biyo-maal and Tunni warriors, along with a large number of Italians, were killed when the Italian army attacked in an attempt to gain their objectives. Though many Somali warriors were killed during the war, they still defeated the enemy and succeeded in protecting the Benadir coast. After a long and bloody battle, the Italian leaders allied with other Somali tribes and their combined strength finally destroyed the Sultan's forces.
Sheikh Uways al-Barawi of the Tunni sub-clan of the Rahanweyn (Digil and Mirifle) in Barawa, lived at the same time as Hassan and led the Qadiriyyah sect. He resisted the Italian occupation in a non-violent method. He was murdered in Biyoley, in today's Bakool region, by the Dervish in 1920 as Hassan was seeking to recruit forces from Italian Somaliland. This was after the British used aircraft to destroy Hassan's base in Taleex. Sheikh Aweys rejected violence and Hassan's ways were based on violent resistance.
As a result of Hassan and his followers being chased by the followers of Sheikh al-Barawi, Hassan had to escape through the thick forest along the Jubba River until he reached Imi, Ethiopia, where he died of influenza, and, reportedly, wounds inflicted on him during his escape.
To this day the annual pilgrimage to Sheikh al-Barawi's grave in Biyoley is held where people of the Qadiriyyah sect and admirers of al-Barawi attend.
Sheikh Hassan Barsane of the Gugundhabe, a sub-clan of the Hawiye, and a member of the Ahmadi, was another Somali religious leader who resisted the Italian rule in a non-violent manner. He, like al-Barawi, rejected Hassan's approaches.
World War II Somali Youth League MonumentFascist Italy, under Benito Mussolini attacked Abyssinia (now Ethiopia), with an aim to colonize it, in 1935. The invasion was condemned by the League of Nations, but little was done to stop it or to liberate occupied Ethiopia.
On August 3, 1940, Italian troops, including Somali colonial units, crossed from Ethiopia to invade British Somalia and by August 14 succeeded in taking of Berbera from the British.
A British force, including Somali troops, launched a campaign in January 1942 from Kenya to liberate British Somaliland and Italian-occupied Ethiopia and conquer Italian Somaliland. By February, most of Italian Somaliland was captured and in March, British Somaliland was retaken from the sea. The British Empire forces operating in Somaliland comprised three divisions of South African, West and East African troops. They were assisted by Somali patriot forces led by Abdulahi Hassan with Somalis of the Isaaq, Dhulbahante, and Warsangali clans.
Following the war the United Nations gave Somalia as a protectorate to Italy in 1949. The Ogaden province of Somalia was given to the re-established Ethiopian government by the British Empire, which kept British Somaliland under its protection/rule. The French also kept Djibouti under colonial administration, until eventual independence in 1977.
The State of SomaliaThough Somalis and other Africans fought hard on the Allied side in World War II, they were re-subjugated soon after the conflict. The bitterness of lost hope strengthened the long struggle against colonialism, and in most parts of Africa, including Somalia, independence movements began.
The major political parties that fought for Somalia's independence were Somali Youth Club (SYC) which later became Somali Youth League (SYL); Hizbia Digil Mirifle Somali (HDMS) which later became Hizbia Dastur Mustaqbal Somali HDMS; and the Somali National League (SNL).
The independence of the British Somaliland Protectorate from the United Kingdom was proclaimed on 26 June 1960 and unification with the former Italian Somaliland took place 5 days later. Now most of the Somali clans were independent and the country of Somalia was formed, albeit within boundaries drawn up by Italy and Britain. A government was formed by Abdullahi Issa with Aden Abdullah Osman Daar as President, and Abdirashid Ali Shermarke as Prime Minister, later to become President ( from 1967-1969).
However inter-tribal rivalry persisted with many clans claiming to have been forced into the state of Somalia. In 1967, Muhammad Haji Ibrahim Egal became Prime Minister, appointed by Shermarke (Egal was later to become President of the breakaway independent Somaliland).
In late 1969 following the assassination of President Shermarke a military government assumed power in a coup d'état led by General Siad Barre and Chief of Police Jama Korshel. Barre became President and Korshel vice-president. The revolutionary army established large-scale public works programmes and successfully implemented an urban and rural literacy campaign, which helped dramatically increase the literacy rate from 5% to 55% by the mid-1980s.
However, struggles continued during Barre's rule. At one point he assassinated a major figure in his cabinet, Major General Gabiere, and two other officials.
It was in July 1976 when the real dictatorship of the Somali military commenced with the founding of the Somali Revolutionary Socialist Party (Xisbiga Hantiwadaagga Kacaanka Soomaaliyeed, XHKS). It was the single party that ruled Somalia until the fall of the military government in December 1990 - January 1991. It was violently overthrown by the combined armed revolt of the Somali Salvation Democratic Front (Jabhadda Diimuqraadiga Badbaadinta Soomaaliyeed, SSDF), United Somali Congress (USC), Somali National Movement (SNM), and the Somali Patriotic Movement (SPM) together with the non-violent political oppositions of the Somali Democratic Movement (SDM), the Somali Democratic Alliance (SDA) and the Somali Manifesto Group (SMG). Fakr ad-Din mosqueThe Ogaden WarIn 1977 and 1978 Somalia fought with its neighbour Ethiopia in the Ogaden War, in which Somalia aimed to liberate and unite the Somali lands that had been divided and subjugated under colonialism and to win the right of self-determination for ethnic Somalis in those countries. Somalia first engaged Kenya and Ethiopia diplomatically, but this failed while Somalis were being expelled from Ogaden province in Ethiopia. Somalia, already preparing for war, supported the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF, then called the Western Somali Liberation Front, WSLF) and eventually sought to capture Ogaden. Somalia acted unilaterally without consulting the international community, which was generally opposed to redrawing colonial boundaries, while the Soviet Union and the Warsaw Pact countries, refused to help Somalia, and instead, backed Communist Ethiopia. For most of the war, Somalia appeared to be winning in most of Ogaden, but with Somali forces at the gates of Addis Ababa, Soviet and Cuban forces and weapons came to the aid of Ethiopia. The Somali Army was decimated and Somalia sought the help of the United States. Although the Carter Administration originally expressed interest in helping Somalia he later declined, as did American allies in the Middle East and Asia. The Americans perhaps did not want to engage the Soviets in this period of détente.
The Somali Civil WarMain article: Somali Civil WarBy 1978, the moral authority of the Somali government had collapsed. Many Somalis had become disillusioned with life under military dictatorship and the regime was weakened further in the 1980s as the Cold War drew to a close and Somalia's strategic importance was diminished. The government became increasingly totalitarian, and resistance movements, encouraged by Ethiopia, sprang up across the country, eventually leading to the Somali Civil War.
1991 saw great changes in Somalia. President Barre was ousted by a combined northern and southern clan based forces all of whom were backed and armed by Ethiopia. And following a meeting of the SNM and northern clans' elders, the northern former British portion of the country declared its independence as Somaliland in May 1991; although de facto independent and relatively stable compared to the tumultuous south, it has not been recognised by any foreign government.
In January 1991, President Ali Mahdi Muhammad was selected by the anisfesto group as an interim president for the whole of Somalia until a confernece between all stakeholders to be held in Dajibuout in February of the same year to select a national leader. However, USC military leader General Mohamed Farrah Aidid, the SNMleader Abdirahman Toor and the SPMleader Col Jess refused to recognize Mahdi as president. This caused a split between the armed groups SNM,USC and SPM and the armed groups Manifesto, SDM and SNA on the one hand and within the USC forces. This led efforts to remove Barre who still claimed to be the legitimate president of Somalia from Somalia. He and his armed supporters remained in the south of the country until mid 1992 caused further escalation in violence, especially in Gedo, Bay, Bakool, Lower Shabelle, Lower Juba, Middle JUba regions. The armed conflict within the USC devastated the Mogadishu area.
The civil war disrupted agriculture and food distribution in southern Somalia. The basis of most of the conflicts was clan allegiances and competition for resources between the warring clans. James Bishop, the United States last ambassador to Somalia, explained that there is "competition for water, pasturage, and… cattle. It is a competition that used to be fought out with arrows and sabers… Now it is fought out with AK-47s." The resulting famine caused the United Nations Security Council in 1992 to authorize the limited peacekeeping operation United Nations Operation in Somalia I (UNOSOM I). UNOSOM's use of force was limited to self-defence and it was soon disregarded by the warring factions. In reaction to the continued violence and the humanitarian disaster, the United States organised a military coalition with the purpose of creating a secure environment in southern Somalia for the conduct of humanitarian operations. This coalition, (Unified Task Force or UNITAF) entered Somalia in December 1992 on Operation Restore Hope and was successful in restoring order and alleviating the famine. In May 1993, most of the United States troops withdrew and UNITAF was replaced by the United Nations Operation in Somalia II (UNOSOM II).
However, Aidid saw UNOSOM II as a threat to his power and in June 1993 his militia attacked Pakistan Army troops, attached to UNOSOM II, (see Somalia (March 1992 to February 1996)) in Mogadishu inflicting over 80 casualties. Fighting escalated until 18 American troops and more than 1,000 Somalis were killed in a raid in Mogadishu during October 1993. The UN withdrew Operation United Shield in 3 March 1995, having suffered significant casualties, and with the rule of government still not restored.
In June 1996, Mohamed Farrah Aidid was killed in Mogadishu.
2000 – Present Areas directly administered by the Transitional Federal GovernmentFollowing the civil war the Majeerteen clan declared a self-governing state in the northeast, which took the name Puntland, but maintained that it would participate in any Somali reconciliation to form a new central government.
Then in 2002, Southwestern Somalia, comprising Bay, Bakool, Jubbada Dhexe (Middle Juba), Gedo, Shabeellaha Hoose (Lower Shabele) and Jubbada Hoose (Lower Juba) regions of Somalia declared itself autonomous. Although initially the instigators of this, the Rahanweyn Resistance Army, which had been established in 1995, was only in full control of Bay, Bakool and parts of Gedo and Jubbada Dhexe, they quickly established the de facto autonomy of Southwestern Somalia. Although conflict between Hasan Muhammad Nur Shatigadud and his two deputies, weakened the Rahanweyn militarily from February 2006, the Southwest became central to the TFG based in the city of Baidoa. Shatigadud became Finance Minister, his first deputy Adan Mohamed Nuur Madobe became Parliamentary Speaker and his second deputy Mohamed Ibrahim Habsade became Minister of Transport. Shatigadud also held the Chairmanship of the Rahanwein Traditional Elders' Court.
In 2004, the TFG met in Nairobi, Kenya and published a charter for the government of the nation. The TFG capital is presently in Baidoa.
Meanwhile Somalia was one of the many countries affected by the tsunami which struck the Indian Ocean coast following the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake, destroying entire villages and killing an estimated 300 people and in 2006, Somalia was deluged by torrential rains and flooding that struck the entire Horn of Africa affecting 350,000 people.
Somalia at the height of I.C.U. power, December 2006The tribal rivalry continued in 2006 with the declaration of regional autonomy by the state of Jubaland, consisting of parts of Gedo, Jubbada Dhexe, and the whole of Jubbada Hoose. Barre Adan Shire Hiiraale, chairman of the Juba Valley Alliance, who comes from Galguduud in central Somalia is the most powerful leader there. Like Puntland this regional government did not want full statehood, but some sort of federal autonomy.
The 2006 civil war and invasion by EthiopiaSee also: Battle of Mogadishu (2006), Rise of the Islamic Courts Union (2006), War in Somalia (2006–present), Diplomatic and humanitarian efforts in the Somali Civil War, and 2007 timeline of the War in Somalia Conflict broke out again in early 2006 between an alliance of Mogadishu warlords known as the Alliance for the Restoration of Peace and Counter-Terrorism (or "ARPCT") and a militia loyal to the Islamic Courts Union (or "I.C.U."), seeking to institute Sharia law in Somalia. Social law changes, such as the forbidding of chewing khat, and even the prohibition against watching movies and football in public, were part of moves by the ICU to change behaviours and impose strict social morals.
The Union was led by Sheikh Sharif Ahmed. When asked if the ICU plans to extend its control to the rest of Somalia, Sheikh Ahmed responded in an interview:
"Land is not our priority. Our priority is the people's peace, dignity and that they could live in liberty, that they could decide their own fate. That is our priority. Our priority is not land; the people are important to us."
Several hundred people, mostly civilians caught in the crossfire, died during this conflict. Mogadishu residents described it as the worst fighting in more than a decade. The Islamic Courts Union accused the U.S. of funding the warlords through the Central Intelligence Agency and supplying them with arms in an effort to prevent the Islamic Courts Union from gaining power. The United States Department of State, while neither admitting nor denying this, said the U.S. had taken no action that violated the international arms embargo of Somalia. A few e-mails describing covert illegal operations by private military companies in breach of U.N. regulations have been reported by the UK Sunday newspaper The Observer.
By early June 2006 the Islamic Militia had control of Mogadishu, following the Second Battle of Mogadishu, and the last A.R.P.C.T. stronghold in southern Somalia, the town of Jowhar, then fell with little resistance. The remaining A.R.P.C.T. forces fled to the east or across the border into Ethiopia and the alliance effectively collapsed.
The Ethiopian-supported Transitional Government then called for intervention by a regional East African peacekeeping force. The I.C.U. meanwhile were fiercely opposed to foreign troops — particularly Ethiopians — in Somalia. claiming that Ethiopia, with its long history as an imperial power including the occupation of Ogaden, seeks to occupy Somalia, or rule it by proxy.
Meanwhile the I.C.U. and their militia took control of much of the southern half of Somalia, normally through negotiation with local clan chiefs rather than by the use of force. However the Islamic militia stayed clear of areas close to the Ethiopian border, which had become a place of refuge for many Somalis including the Transitional Government itself, headquartered in the town of Baidoa. Ethiopia said it would protect Baidoa if threatened. But on September 25, 2006, the I.C.U. moved into the southern port of Kismayo, the last remaining port held by the transitional government and issued a declaration of war against Ethiopia on October 9, 2006.
On November 1, 2006, peace talks between the Transitional Government and the ICU broke down. The international community feared an all-out civil war, with Ethiopian and rival Eritrean forces backing opposing sides in the power-struggle.
War erupted on December 21, 2006 when the leader of ICU, Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys said: "Somalia is in a state of war, and all Somalis should take part in this struggle against Ethiopia", and heavy fighting broke out between the Islamic militia on one side and the Somali Transitional Government allied with Ethiopian forces on the other.
In late December 2006, Ethiopia launched airstrikes against Islamic troops and strong points across Somalia. Ethiopian Information Minister Berhan Hailu stated that targets included the town of Buurhakaba, near the Transitional Government base in Baidoa. An Ethiopian jet fighter strafed Mogadishu International Airport (now Aden Adde International Airport), without apparently causing serious damage but prompting the airport to be shut down. Other Ethiopian jet fighters attacked a military airport west of Mogadishu. Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi then announced that his country was waging war against the ICU to protect his country's sovereignty. "Ethiopian defence forces were forced to enter into war to the protect the sovereignty of the nation and to blunt repeated attacks by Islamic courts terrorists and anti-Ethiopian elements they are supporting," he said.
Days of heavy fighting followed as Ethiopian and government troops backed by tanks and jets pushed against Islamic forces between Baidoa and Mogadishu. Both sides claimed to have inflicted hundreds of casualties, but the Islamic infantry and vehicle artillery were badly beaten and forced to retreat toward Mogadishu. On 28 December 2006, the allies entered Mogadishu after Islamic fighters fled the city. Prime Minister Ali Mohammed Ghedi declared that Mogadishu had been secured, after meeting with local clan leaders to discuss the peaceful hand-over of the city. Yet as of November 2007, the Transitional Federal Government and its Ethiopian allies still face frequent attacks from an Islamic insurgency.
The Battle of Ras KamboniThe Islamists retreated south, towards their stronghold in Kismayo, fighting rearguard actions in several towns. They abandoned Kismayo, too, without a fight, claiming that their flight was a strategic withdrawal to avoid civilian casualties, and entrenched around the small town of Ras Kamboni, at the southernmost tip of Somalia and on the border with Kenya. In early January, the Ethiopians and the Somali government attacked, resulting in the Battle of Ras Kamboni, and capturing the Islamic positions and driving the surviving fighters into the hills and forests after several days of combat. On January 9, 2007, the United States openly intervened in Somalia by sending Lockheed AC-130 gunships to attack Islamic positions in Ras Kamboni. Dozens were killed and by then the ICU were largely defeated.
As of November 30, 2007, the fighting continued in Mogadishu between transitional government Somali and Ethiopian official troops, on one hand, and Islamic militants, on the other.
PoliticsMain article: Politics of SomaliaSomalia has had no effective national government since 1991. The internationally recognized Transitional Federal Government, controls only parts of Southern Somalia from its base in the town of Baidoa, and is not recognized by most Somalis. On October 14, 2004, the Somali Transitional Federal Parliament elected Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed, previously president of Puntland, to be president of Somalia. Because of the situation in Mogadishu, the election was held in a sports centre in Nairobi, Kenya. Yusuf was elected with 189 of the 275 votes from members of parliament.
Many other small political organisations exist, some clan-based, others seeking a Somalia free from clan-based politics. Many of them have come into existence since the civil war. The political situation therefore remains unstable; for example, on September 18, 2006, Abdullah Yusuf barely survived a suicide attack on his convoy in Baidoa, although twelve other people were killed.
In the northwest, there is the breakaway republic of Somaliland with its capital in Hargeisa, which declared its independence in 1991. This governing zone is not internationally recognised although it has remained more stable and certainly more peaceful than the rest of the country.
In the northeast Puntland also remains autonomous but supports the Transitional Government and unlike Somaliland considers itself still within the Somali Republic.
Sanaag Region and some parts of Bari region there is newly declared state of Maakhir which is a self-proclaimed autonomous state within Somalia on an area disputed by Somaliland and Puntland. Declared in July 1, 2007, it remains unrecognized by the Transitional Federal Government of Somalia.
Maakhir is mainly inhabited by the Warsangali clan, a member of the Harti confederation of clans (along with the Dhulbahante and Majeerteen) and a clan of the Darod tribe.
In the southwestern interior, Jubaland and Southwestern Somalia have both recognised the TFG and local leaders are part of the government.
The southern half of the country, with the bulk of the population, as of November 2007, is unstable, following the 2006 Civil War between the Transitional Government and the Islamic Courts Union.
Westerners and those working for western organisations continue to be targets of the violence. Two aid workers, one British and the other Kenyan, were abducted in Puntland on 8 May 2007 and a western nurse and her escort were shot dead in Mogadishu on 17 September 2006.
CapitalMogadishu is the capital of Somalia. However during the conflict in 2006, Mogadishu became part of the territory controlled by the Islamic Courts Union, while the Transitional Federal Government had its seat in Baidoa. The Government returned to Mogadishu in December 2006 with the help of the invasion of Ethiopia.
GeographyGeography of Somalia
Hargeisa and much of the de-facto republic of Somaliland is desert or hilly terrain. Here the Naasa Hablood hills are shown.Somalia is located on the east coast of Africa on and north of the Equator between the Gulf of Aden on the north and Indian Ocean on the east. Together with Ethiopia, Eritrea, and Djibouti it is often referred to as the Horn of Africa. It borders Djibouti on the northwest, Ethiopia on the west, and Kenya to the southwest. Somalia has the longest coastline in Africa.
ClimateMajor climatic factors are a year-round hot climate, seasonal monsoon winds, and irregular rainfall with recurring droughts. Mean daily maximum temperatures range from 30 °C to 40 °C (85–105 °F), except at higher elevations and along the east coast. Mean daily minimums usually vary from about 15 °C to 30 °C (60–85 °F). The southwest monsoon, a sea breeze, makes the period from about May to October the mildest season at Mogadishu. The December-February period of the northeast monsoon is also relatively mild, although prevailing climatic conditions in Mogadishu are rarely pleasant. The "tangambili" periods that intervene between the two monsoons (October–November and March–May) are hot and humid.
Administrative divisionsMain articles: Regions of Somalia and Districts of Somalia Political map of Somalia.Prior to the civil war, Somalia was divided into eighteen regions (gobollada, singular gobol), which were in turn subdivided into districts. The regions are:
1 Awdal2 Bakool3 Banaadir4 Bari5 Bay6 Galguduud7 Gedo8 Hiiraan9 Jubbada Hoose10 Shabeellaha Hoose11 Mudug12 Jubbada Dhexe13 Shabeellaha Dhexe14 Nugaal15 Sanaag16 Sool17 Togdheer18 Woqooyi Galbeed On a de facto basis, northern Somalia is now divided up among the quasi-independent states of Puntland, Somaliland, Galmudug and Maakhir. The south is at least nominally controlled by the Transitional Federal Government, although resistance by Islamic groups continues in many areas. Under the de facto arrangements there are now 27 regions.
HIV/AIDSSomalia continues to have one of the highest child mortality rates in the world, with 10% of children dying at birth and 25% of those surviving birth dying before age five. On the other hand, Somalia also has one of the lowest HIV infection rates in Africa.
The breadth of the AIDS pandemic has led to the idea in the West that the entire continent is ravaged by the disease. But Somalia — isolated for 14 years since the civil war began and populated by devout Muslims — has an infection rate of perhaps only 1.5 or 2 per cent of the adult population.
– Stephanie Nolan
Education
School classroom in Hargeisa A Somali school roster boardWith the collapse of the central government in 1991, the education system is now private. Primary schools have risen from 600 before the civil war to 1,172 schools today, with an increase of 28% in primary school enrolment over the last 3 years. In 2006, Puntland, an autonomous state, was the second in Somalia (after Somaliland) to introduce free primary schools with teachers now receiving their salaries from the Puntland administration. In Mogadishu, the Benadir University, the Somalia National University, and the Mogadishu University are three of the eight universities that teach Higher education in Southern Somalia. In Puntland, higher education is provided by the Puntland State University and East Africa University. In Somaliland, it is provided by Amoud University, University of Hargeisa and Burao University. Three Somali Universities are currently ranked in the top 100 of Africa. Qur'anic schools (also known as duqsis) remain the basic system of instruction for religion in Somalia. They provide Islamic education for children, thereby filling a clear religious and social role in the country. Known as the most stable, local, and non-formal education providing basic religious and moral instruction, their strength rests on community support and their use of locally made and widely available teaching materials.
The Qu'ranic system, which teaches the greatest number of students relative to the other education sub-sectors, is the only system accessible to nomadic Somalis compared to the urban Somalis who have easier access to education. In 1993, a survey by the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) was conducted in which it found, among other things, that about 40% of pupils in Qu'ranic schools were girls.
EconomyEconomy of Somalia Hargeisa marketSince the collapse of the state, Somalia has transformed from what Siad Barre referred to as "Scientific Socialism" to a free market economy. Bosaso is the fastest growing city of Somalia, having quadrupled in size during the Somali civil war.Agriculture is the most important sector, with livestock accounting for about 40% of GDP and about 65% of export earnings. Nomads and semi-nomads, who are dependent upon livestock for their livelihood, make up a large portion of the population. After livestock, bananas are the principal export; sugar, sorghum, maize, and fish are products for the domestic market. The small industrial sector, based on the processing of agricultural products, accounts for 10% of GDP.
TelecommunicationsSomalia's public telecommunications system has been almost completely destroyed or dismantled. However, private wireless companies thrive in most major cities and actually provide better services than in neighbouring countries. Wireless service and Internet cafés are provided. Somalia was the last African country to access the Internet in August 2000, with only 57 web sites known as of 2003. Internet usage in Somalia grew 44,900% from 2000 to 2007, registering the highest growth rate in Africa. Somalia has the cheapest cellular calling rates in Africa, with some companies charging less than a cent a minute. Competing phone companies have agreed on interconnection standards, which were brokered by the United Nations funded Somali Telecom Association.
Companies providing telecommunication services are:
Golis Telecom Somalia Somali Telecom Group Galkom Global Internet Company Hormuud Telcom NationLink Telecom Netco Somafone
EnvironmentSomalia is a semi-arid country with about 2% arable land. The civil war had a huge impact on the country’s tropical forests by facilitating the production of charcoal with ever present, recurring, but damaging droughts. Somali environmentalist and Goldman Environmental Prize winner, Fatima Jibrell, became the first Somali to step in and do a much-needed effort to save the rest of the environment through local initiatives that organised local communities to protect the rural and coastal habitat. Jibrell trained a team of young people to organise awareness campaigns about the irreversible damage of unrestricted charcoal production. Jibrell also joined the Buran rural institute that formed and organised the Camel Caravan program in which young people loaded tents and equipment on camels to walk for three weeks through a nomadic locale and educate the people about the careful use of fragile resources, health care, livestock management and peace.
Fatima Jibrell has consistently fought against the burning of charcoal, logging and other man-induced environmental degradation. Her efforts have born fruits to the local communities across Somalia and international recognition when she won the prestigious Environmental Goldman award from San Francisco. Jibrell is also the executive director of Horn Relief and Development Organisation.
DemographicsDemography of Somalia This 2002 CIA map shows population density throughout Somalia.Somalia has a population of around 10.7 million according to U.N. estimates in 2003, 85% of which constitute ethnic Somalis.
Somali childrenThere is little reliable statistical information on urbanisation in Somalia. However, rough estimates have been made indicating an urbanisation of 5% and 8% per annum with many towns rapidly growing into cities. Currently, 34% of the Somali population live in towns and cities with the percentage rapidly increasing.
Because of the civil war, the country has a large diaspora community, one of the largest of the whole continent. There are over a million Somalis outside of Africa, and this excludes those who have inhabited the Ogaden province, northeastern Kenya, and Djibouti.
LanguagesLanguages of SomaliaSomali is the main language and is used virtually everywhere and nearly every Somali citizen speaks it. Minority languages do exist, such as Af-Maay, which is spoken in areas in South-Central Somalia by the Rahanweyn tribes and Jareer, as well as variants of Swahili (Barawe), which are spoken along the coast by Arabs. Mashungulis are part of the Somali Bantu (Jareer) people and speak Zigua and Swahili.
A considerable number of Somalis speak Arabic due to religious reasons and ties with the Arab World and media. English is also widely used and taught. Italian used to be a major language but now, due to the civil war and lack of education, only the older generation still uses it.
ReligionIslam in Somalia Eid celebrations in MogadishuThe Somalis are almost entirely Sunni Muslims. Christianity's influence was significantly reduced in the 1970s when church-run schools were closed and missionaries sent home. There has been no Archbishop of the Catholic cathedral in the country since 1989; the cathedral in Mogadishu was severely damaged in the civil war of January-February 1992. The Somali constitution discourages the promotion and propagation of any religion other than Islam. This sets Somalis apart from their immediate African neighbours, many of whom are either Christians (particularly the Amhara people and others of Ethiopia and Kenya) or adherents of indigenous African faiths.
CultureMain article: Culture of Somalia
CuisineMain article: Cuisine of SomaliaMain article: Cuisine of Somaliland Variety of Somali dishes incorporating rice, vegetables, salads and stews.The cuisine of Somalia varies from region to region and it encompasses different styles of cooking. One thing that unites the Somali food is its being Halal. Therefore, there are no pork dishes, alcohol is not served, nothing that died on its own is eaten and no blood is incorporated. Somali people serve dinner as late as 9 pm. During Ramadan, it is often eaten after Tarawih prayers -- sometimes as late as 11 pm. Cambuulo is one of Somalia's most popular dishes and is enjoyed throughout the country as a dinner meal. The dish is made out of well-cooked azuki beans, mixed with butter and sugar. The beans, which by themselves are called digir, are often left on the stove for as many as five hours, on low heat, to achieve the most desired taste.
LiteratureMain article: Somali literatureSomalia produced a large amount of literature through Islamic poetry and Hadith from Somali scholars of the last centuries. With the adoption of the Latin alphabet in 1973 numerous Somali authors have released books over the years which received widespread success, Nuruddin Farah being one of them. Novels like From a Crooked Rib and Links are considered important literary achievements which earned him the 1998 Neustadt International Prize for Literature.
List of writers from Somalia
MusicMain article: Music of SomaliaSomalia has the distinction of being one of only a handful of African countries that are composed almost entirely of one ethnic group, the Somalis. Traditional bands like Waaberi Horseed have gained a small following outside the country. There are two bands of Somali Jareer in Jilib District Shanbara and Shimama. Others, like Maryam Mursal, have fused Somali traditional music with rock, bossa nova, hip hop, and jazz influences. Most Somali music is love oriented.
Toronto, where a sizable Somali community exists, replaced Mogadishu (because of the instability) as the centre of the Somali music industry, which is also present in London, Minneapolis, and Columbus. One popular musician from the Somali diaspora is K'naan, a young rapper from Toronto, whose songs talk about the struggles of life in Somalia during the outbreak of the civil war.
Wikipedia - Somalia

Sierra Leone Islands - The Turtle Islands

The Turtle Islands are a group of islands located in Sierra Leone. Sierra Leone is located on the west coast of Arfica.

Sierra Leone Islands - Bunce Island

Sherbro Island (now Bonthe Island), is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, located in Bonthe District off the Southern Province of Sierra Leone. The island has a population estimated at 39,982 residents. The Sherbro make up by far the largest ethnic group in the island.
The island is separated from the African mainland by the Sherbro River in the north and the Sherbro Strait in the east.
It is 32 miles long and up to 15 miles wide, covering an area of approximately 230 square miles. The western extremity is Cape St. Ann.
Bonthe, on the eastern end, is the chief port and commercial centre.
The island has over 65 miles of tropical beaches and has been earmarked by the Ministry for Tourism and Development of Sierra Leone for tourism development.
Economic ActivitiesSwamp-rice cultivation, tourism and fishing are the main economic activities.
HistorySherbro Island is the site of an early 19th-century British post against the slave trade.
The island was acquired from the Sherbro people by the colony at Freetown in 1861.
In 1815 Paul Cuffe settled a group of 88 freed slaves on Sherbro Island.
The island was also surveyed by Samuel J. Mills and Ebenezer Burgess at the behest of the American Colonization Society. This survey led to the passing of an act by the U.S. Congress on March 3, 1819, authorizing the return of freed blacks slaves to their "motherland".
The ACS group of freed slaves arrived at Sherbro Island in 1821 before being driven by circumstance to Providence Island at Cape Mesurado in present day Liberia in April 1822.
EnvironmentSherbro Island is believed to be a breeding ground for green turtles as well as leatherback sea turtles.
Wikipedia- Sherbro Island

Sierra Leone Islands - Bunce Island

Bunce Island (also spelled "Bence," "Bense," or "Bance" at different periods) is the site of an 18th century British slave castle in the Republic of Sierra Leone. It is located deep within Freetown harbor.
Located about 20 miles upriver from Sierra Leone's capital city of Freetown, Bunce Island lies in the Sierra Leone River, the estuary formed by the Rokel River and Port Loko Creek. Although just a tiny island only about 1650 feet long and 350 feet wide, its strategic position at the limit of navigation in Africa's largest natural harbor made it an ideal base for European slave merchants. History Bunce Island in 1726 during the period of the Royal African CompanyBunce Island was first settled by English slave traders about 1670. During its early history the castle was operated by two London-based firms, the Gambia Adventurers and the Royal African Company of England, the later a "crown-chartered company," or parastatal, subsidized by the British government. The castle was not commercially successful at this period, but it served as a symbol of British influence in the region. This early phase of the castle's history came to an end in 1728 when Bunce Island was raided by an Afro-Portuguese competitor in the slave trade named José Lopez da Moura. It was abandoned until the mid-1740s.
Bunce Island was operated later by two more London-based companies - Grant, Oswald & Company and John & Alexander Anderson - and at that period it was a highly profitable enterprise. During the second half of the 18th century Bunce Island sent thousands of captives to British- and French-controlled islands in the West Indies and to Britain's North American Colonies, and the London-based owners grew wealthy from the castle's operations.
The slave traders who did business at Bunce Island came from a variety of different backgrounds. During the castle's early history the Afro-Portuguese sold slaves and local products there. During its late history Afro-English families such as the Caulkers, Tuckers, and Clevelands sold slaves at Bunce Island. The slave ships that anchored there came from the British ports of London, Liverpool, and Bristol; from Newport, Rhode Island in the North American Colonies; and from France and Denmark.
Due to its importance as a British commercial outpost, Bunce Island was an attractive target during times of war. French naval forces attacked the castle four times (1695, 1704, 1779, & 1794), damaging or destroying it each time. The attack of 1779 took place during the American Revolutionary War when America's French allies took advantage of the conflict to attack British assets outside North America. Pirates also attacked the castle twice (1719 & 1720), including Bartholomew Roberts, or "Black Bart," the most notorious pirate of the 18th century. The British traders rebuilt the castle after each attack, gradually altering its architecture during the roughly 140 years it was used as a slave trade entrepôt.
Links to North AmericaBunce Island is best known as one of the chief suppliers of slaves to the rice industry in the North American Colonies of South Carolina and Georgia. Rice requires a great deal of technical knowledge for its successful cultivation, and South Carolina and Georgia planters were willing to pay premium prices for slave labor brought from what they called the "Rice Coast" of West Africa, the traditional rice-growing region stretching from what is now Senegal and Gambia in the north down to Sierra Leone and Liberia in the south.
Bunce Island was the largest British slave castle on the Rice Coast. African farmers with rice-growing skills kidnapped from inland areas were sold at the castle itself or at one of its many "outfactories" (trading posts) along the coast before being transported to North America. Several thousand slaves from Bunce Island were taken to the ports of Charleston (South Carolina) and Savannah (Georgia) during the second half of the 18th century. Slave auction advertisements in those cities often announced slave cargoes arriving from "Bance" or "Bense" Island.
Henry Laurens, Bunce Island's business agent in Charleston, a wealthy rice planter and slave dealer, later became President of the Continental Congress during the Revolutionary War and then US envoy to Holland. Captured by the British enroute to his post in Europe, he was imprisoned in the Tower of London. After hostilities ended, he became one of the Peace Commissioners who negotiated US Independence under the Treaty of Paris. Tellingly, the chief negotiator on the British side was Richard Oswald, the principal owner of Bunce Island, and Laurens' friend for 30 years. US Independence was, thus, negotiated, in part, between the British owner of Bunce Island and his American business agent in South Carolina. This reflects the wealth generated by the trade in rice and slaves.
But Bunce Island was not connected just to South Carolina and Georgia; it was also linked to the Northern Colonies. Slave ships based in northern ports frequently called at Bunce Island, taking on supplies like fresh water and provisions for the Atlantic crossing, and buying slaves for sale in the British islands of the West Indies and the Southern Colonies. The North American slave ships that called at Bunce Island were sailing out of Newport (Rhode Island), New London (Connecticut), Salem (Massachusetts), and New York.
Eclipse of Bunce IslandBritish philanthropists established Freetown in 1787, a settlement for freed slaves, on the Sierra Leone Peninsula, just 20 miles downriver from Bunce Island. The Atlantic slave trade continued to be legal for the next two decades, though, and during that period the Bunce Island slave traders harassed the fledgling colony by inciting the local African chiefs against it, organizing trade boycotts to isolate it, and at one point even selling away as slaves some Freetown colonists they accused of stealing goods at the castle.
Freetown finally gained the upper hand when the British Parliament outlawed the Atlantic slave trade in 1807. The following year Freetown became a Crown Colony, and the British Navy based its Africa Squadron there, sending out patrols to search for slave vessels violating the ban. Bunce Island immediately shut down for slave trading, and British firms now used the castle for other purposes -- a cotton plantation, a trading post and a sawmill. These activities were ultimately unsuccessful, though, and the island was abandoned around 1840. The wooden verandahs decayed, the slate roofs collapsed, some stone walls toppled, and tropical vegetation gradually covered the site.
Today, there are substantial ruins on the north end of the island. "Bance Island House," the headquarters building where the Chief Agent lived with his senior officers, is at the center of the castle; and parts of the building still rise to second-story level. Immediately behind it is the open-air slave yard, divided between a large area for men and a smaller one for women and children. There are also remnants of two watchtowers, a fortification with places for eight cannons, and a gunpowder magazine. Some of the cannons bear the royal cipher of King George III). At the south end of the island there are several inscribed tombstones marking the graves of slave traders, slave ship captains, and the foreman of the African workers.
Research on Bunce IslandThree American scholars have done extensive research on Bunce Island. Anthropologist Joseph Opala did the research that linked Bunce Island to the Gullah people and organized the well-publicized Gullah homecomings portrayed in the documentary films “Family Across the Sea" (1990), “The Language You Cry In" (1998), and “Priscilla’s Homecoming" (in production). Historian David Hancock documented Bunce Island in great detail during the period of Grant, Oswald & Company in his authoritative historical study “Citizens of the World" (1997). And archaeologist Christopher DeCorse and his team conducted a thorough survey of Bunce Island’s ruins for a report submitted to the Sierra Leone Government (2006).
African American TV actor Isaiah Washington visited Bunce Island in 2006 after learning through a DNA test that some of his ancestors came from Sierra Leone. Washington later donated $25,000 to a project to create a computer reconstruction of Bunce Island as it appeared in the year 1805. Project directors Joseph Opala and Gary Chatelain at James Madison University are producing a 3-D image of the castle using computer-aided design that allows the viewer to enter all the structures and see them as they appeared 200 years ago. Their animation will be made available to museums and educational institutions. A traveling exhibit on the history of Bunce Island containing some of these computer-generated images is now available in the U.S. and U.K.
Current statusIn 1948 Bunce Island became Sierra Leone's first officially protected historic site. M.C.F. Easmon, a Sierra Leonean medical doctor and amateur historian, led an expedition that year that cleared the vegetation and mapped and photographed the ruins for the first time. Little else happened, though, until 1989 when a group of Gullahs, (members of an African American community in coastal South Carolina and Georgia), made an historic “Homecoming” visit to Sierra Leone and toured the ruins of Bunce Island. Shortly after that, the U.S. National Park Service announced a preservation program for the castle, but it fell through during the confusion of the Sierra Leone civil war. Two more “Gullah Homecomings” in 1997 and 2005 also resulted in historic visits by African Americans to Bunce Island.
Bunce Island is under the protection of Sierra Leone's Monuments and Relics Commission, a branch of the country's Ministry of Tourism and Culture. Efforts are now underway to preserve the castle as a reminder of the past and to attract tourists, especially African Americans whose heritage is closely linked to Bunce Island. Although other slave castles- especially Gorée in Senegal and Elmina in Ghana - are more popular attractions for black Americans, those castles are, historically speaking, far more connected to the West Indies than North America. Bunce Island has been called "the most important historic site in Africa for the United States."
General Colin Powell, then Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, visited Bunce Island in 1992 while on an official visit to Sierra Leone. Deeply moved by the experience, Powell spoke of his reaction to the slave castle in a farewell speech he made before leaving the country. "I am an American...," he said. "But today, I am something more...I am an African too...I feel my roots here in this continent."
Preservation EffortsThe U.S. National Park Service team that surveyed the castle in 1989 suggested that the ruins be stabilized and that all-weather displays showing what the buildings looked like and what went on there be erected for each structure. But no historic preservation work has ever been done. The castle’s ruins are deteriorating rapidly in Sierra Leone’s tropical climate. Many walls have already collapsed. Trees are growing on the tops of some walls, their roots crushing the masonry. A valuable bronze ship's cannon was stolen several years ago.
The World Monuments Fund recently placed Bunce Island (and other historic sites in Sierra Leone) on its 2008 watch list of the world’s “100 Most Endangered Sites.” Several organizations in Sierra Leone, the United States, and Great Britain are now promoting popular awareness of Bunce Island and its history and working toward the preservation of the castle.
Wikipedia - Bunce Island

Sierra Leone Islands - The Banana Islands

The Banana Islands lie south west of the Freetown Peninsula in Sierra Leone. The two main islands, Dublin Island and Ricketts Island, are linked by a causeway. Dublin Island is known for its beaches while Ricketts Island is best known for its forests. Mes-Meheux is the uninhabited third island of the Banana Islands.
Wikipedia - Banana Islands

Africa Islands- Sierra Leone

Sierra Leone, officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a nation in West Africa, comprising three Provinces and one Area. It is bordered by Guinea on the north and Liberia on the south, with the Atlantic Ocean on the west. During the 18th century, Sierra Leone was an important centre of the transatlantic trade in enslaved Africans. The capital Freetown was founded in 1787 by the Sierra Leone Company as a home for formerly enslaved African Americans and West Indians who had fought for the British in the American Revolutionary War. In 1808, Freetown became a British Crown Colony, and in 1896, the interior of the country became a British Protectorate. The Crown Colony and Protectorate joined and gained independence in 1961. There was instability due to rebel activities between 1991 and 2002, which were resolved by UN and British forces disarming 17,000 militia and rebels, and the country has been peaceful since then. Tourism is one of the fastest growing industries in the country. Early History and SlaveryEuropean contacts with Sierra Leone were among the first in West Africa. In 1462, Portuguese explorer Pedro da Cintra mapped the hills surrounding what is now Freetown Harbour, naming shaped formation Serra Lyoa (Portuguese for Lion Mountains). Its Italian rendering is Sierra Leone, which became the country's name. During the 1700s the major slave trading base in Sierra Leone was Bunce Island, located about 20 miles into the Sierra Leone River, now called the "Freetown Harbour." The British slave traders on Bunce Island sent many of their captives to the rice plantations of South Carolina and Georgia. But some like Gullah people today inhabiting the coastal regions of these states were taken to America as hired labor, because of their rice-farming skills. They originally came from the Gola Forests of Sierra Leone and Liberia.
In 1787 a plan was implemented to settle some of London's Black Poor in Sierra Leone in what was called the "Province of Freedom." A number of Black Poor and White women arrived off the shore of Sierra Leone on May 15, 1787. They were accompanied by some English tradesmen. This was organized by the St George's Bay Company, composed of British philanthropists who preferred it as a solution to continuing to financially support them in London. Many of the Black poor were Black Loyalists, enslaved Africans who had been promised their freedom for joining the British Army during the American Revolution, though they also included other African and Asian inhabitants of London. Disease and hostility from the indigenous people nearly eliminated the first group of colonists. Through the intervention of Thomas Peters, the Sierra Leone Company was established to relocate another group of nearly 2,000 Black Loyalists, originally settled in Nova Scotia. Given the most barren land in Nova Scotia, many had died from the harsh winters there. They established a settlement at Freetown in 1792. This settlement led by Thomas Peters was joined by other groups of freed slaves and became one of Britain's first colonies in West Africa.
Though Sierra Leone was originally planned as a utopian community by Granville Sharp, the English abolitionist, the directors of the Sierra Leone Company refused to allow the settlers to take freehold of the land. Aware of how Highland Clearances benefited the landlord but not the tenant, the settlers revolted in 1799. The revolt was only put down by the arrival of over 500 Jamaican Maroons, who also arrived via Nova Scotia.
Thousands of slaves were returned to or liberated in Freetown. Most chose to remain in Sierra Leone. These returned Africans were from all areas of Africa. They joined the previous settlers and together became known as Creole or Krio people. Cut off from their homes and traditions by the experience of slavery, they assimilated some aspects of British styles of life and built a flourishing trade on the West African coast. The lingua franca of the colony was Krio, a creole language rooted in eighteenth century African American English, which quickly spread across the region as a common language of trade and Christian proselytizing. British and American abolitionist movements envisioned Freetown as embodying the possibilities of a post-slave trade Africa.
Britain and British seafarers – among them Sir Francis Drake, James Hawkins, Forbisher and Captain Brown - played a major role in the transatlantic trade in captured Africans between 1530 and 1810. The Treaty of Utrecht, which ended the Spanish War of Succession, granted Britain, among other things, the exclusive rights over the shipment of captured Africans across the Atlantic. Over 10 millions captured Africans were shipped to the Caribbean Islands and the Americas and many more died during the raids, the long marches to the coast and as a result of the inhuman conditions in the slave ships. Britain outlawed slavery on 29 March 1807, and the British marine operating from Freetown took active measures to stop the Atlantic trade in human beings. In 1998 Pope John-Paul II apologized for the role of the catholic church in transatlantic trade. And during their respective African trips both President Bill Clinton (April 1998) and President George W Bush (July 2003) visited the slave fort in the Island Gorée before Dakar, and condemned the slave trade but stopped short of an apology, to avoid providing the basis for compensation claims. But so far neither Britain nor any other European country has so apologized for the crimes of the slave trade. In 2001, on the initiative of left wing groups, members of the European Parliament discussed the possibility of writing off some foreign debts as form of compensation for the slave trade. The suggestion found little or no sympathy among the European parliamentarians.
The colonial era Bai BurehIn the early 20th century, Freetown served as the residence of the British governor who also ruled the Gold Coast (now Ghana) and the Gambia settlements. Sierra Leone served as the educational centre of British West Africa as well. Fourah Bay College, established in 1827, rapidly became a magnet for English-speaking Africans on the West Coast. For more than a century, it was the only European-style university in western Sub-Saharan Africa.
The colonial history of Sierra Leone was not placid. The indigenous people mounted several unsuccessful revolts against British rule and Krio domination. Of these, the most notable was Bai Bureh rebellion against British rule in 1898. Bai Bureh refused to recognised the hut tax the British had imposed in 1893 in Sierra Leone. He did not believe the Sierra Leonean people had a duty to pay taxes to foreigners, and he wanted all British to return to Britain and let the Sierra Leoneans solve their own problems. After refusing to pay his taxes on several occasions, the British issued a warrant to arrest him. In 1896 Bureh declared war on British in Sierra Leone. He brought fighters from several temne villages under his command, as well as fighters from Limba, Loko, Soso, Kissi, and Mandinka villages. He had the advantage over the vastly more powerful British for several months of the war. Hundreds of British troops were killed, and hundreds of Bureh's fighters also died during the war.[1]
Bai Bureh was finally captured on November 11, 1898 and taken under guard to Freetown.
Most of the 20th century history of the colony was peaceful; however, one notable event during the 20th century was the granting of a monopoly on mineral mining to the De Beers run Sierra Leone Selection Trust in 1935, which was scheduled to last for 99 years. The 1951 constitution provided a framework for decolonization. Local ministerial responsibility was introduced in 1953, when Sir Milton Margai was appointed Chief Minister. He became Prime Minister after successful completion of constitutional talks in London in 1960. Independence came in April 1961, and Sierra Leone opted for a parliamentary system within the Commonwealth of Nations.
An independent nation Sir Milton MargaiOn April 27, 1961, Sir Milton Margai led Sierra Leone to independence from the United Kingdom. Margai, then Chief Minister, became nation's first prime minister, after he had won by large margins in the nation's first general election under universal adult franchise held in May 1962. Margai's Sierra Leone People's Party (SLPP) also won majority of seat in parliament. Upon Sir Milton Margai's death in 1964, his brother, Sir Albert Margai succeeded him as prime minister. Albert Margai was highly criticized during his three year reign as prime minister. He was accused of corruption and of a policy of affirmative action in favour of the Mende ethnic group. He also attempted to establish a one-party state but met fierce resistance from the opposition All People's Congress (APC). He ultimately abandoned the idea.
In a closely contested general elections in March 1967, Sierra Leone Governor General Henry Josiah Lightfoot Boston declared Siaka Stevens, candidate of the All People's Congress (APC) and Mayor of Freetown as the new prime minister of Sierra Leone. Within a few hours after taking office, Stevens was ousted in a bloodless coup led by Brigadier David Lansana, the Commander of The Republic of Sierra Leone Armed Forces, on grounds that the determination of office should await the election of the tribal representatives to the house. Stevens was placed under house arrest and Martial law was declared. A group of senior military officers overrode this action by seizing control of the government on March 23, 1968, arresting Brigadier Lansana, and suspending the constitution. The group constituted itself as the National Reformation Council (NRC) with Brigadier Andrew Juxon-Smith as its chairman. In April 1968, the NRC was overthrown by a group of military officers who called themselves the Anti-Corruption Revolutionary Movement (ACRM), led by Brigadier John Amadu Bangura. The ACRM imprisoned senior NRC members, restored the constitution and reinstated Stevens as Prime Minister.
The return to civilian rule led to by-elections beginning in the fall of 1968 and the appointment of an all-APC cabinet. Tranquillity was not completely restored. In November 1968, Stevens declared a state of emergency after provincial disturbances. In March 1971 the government survived an unsuccessful military coup and in July 1974, it uncovered an alleged military coup plot. The leaders of both unsuccessful coup plot were tried and executed. In 1977, student demonstrations against the government disrupted Sierra Leone politics.
Siaka Probyn StevensOn April 19, 1971, parliament declared Sierra Leone to be a Republic, Siaka Stevens, then prime minister, became the nation's first president. Guinean troops requested by Stevens to support his government were in the country from 1971 to 1973. An alleged plot to overthrow Stevens failed in 1974, the leaders of the unsuccessful coup were executed and in March 1976, he was elected without opposition for a second five-year term as president. In the national parliamentary election that followed in May 1977, the APC won 74 seats and the opposition SLPP won 15. In 1978, a new constitution was adopted, making the country a one-party state. The 1978 referendum made the APC the only legal political party in Sierra Leone.
Siaka Probyn Stevens, who had been President of Sierra Leone for fourteen years, retired from that position in November 1985, although he continued his role as chairman of the ruling APC party. In August 1985, the APC named commander of the Republic of Sierra Leone armed forces, Major General Joseph Saidu Momoh, Stevens' own choice, as the party candidate to succeed him. Momoh was elected President in a one-party referendum on October 1, 1985. A formal inauguration was held in January 1986, and new parliamentary elections were held in May 1986. Following an alleged attempt to overthrow president Momoh in March 1987, more than sixty senior government officials were arrested, including Vice-President Francis Minah, who was removed from office and was executed by hanging in 1989, along with five others after being convicted for plotting the 1987 coup.
Multi-party constitution and RUF rebellionSee also: Sierra Leone Civil War In October 1990, President Momoh set up a constitutional review commission to review the 1978 one-party constitution with a view to broadening the existing political process, guaranteeing fundamental human rights and the rule of law, and strengthening and consolidating the democratic foundation and structure of the nation. The commission, in its report presented January 1991, recommended re-establishment of a multi-party system of government. Based on that recommendation, a constitution was approved by Parliament in July 1991 and ratified in September; it became effective on October 1, 1991. There was great suspicion that Momoh was not serious, however, and APC rule was increasingly marked by abuses of power.
The outbreak of corruption within the government and mismanagement of diamond resources are the main reasons civil war broke out in Sierra Leone. With the breakdown of state structures and the effective suppression of civilian opposition, wide corridors were opened for trafficking of arms and ammunition and drugs, all of which eroded national and regional security and facilitated crime within the country and between Sierra Leone and Liberia and even Guinea.
Besides the internal ripeness, the brutal civil war going on in neighbouring Liberia played an undeniable role for the actual outbreak of fighting in Sierra Leone. Charles Taylor - then leader of the National Patriotic Front of Liberia - reportedly helped form the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) under the command of former Sierra Leone army corporal Foday Sankoh. In return, Taylor was awarded with diamonds from Sierra Leone. The RUF, led by Foday Sankoh and backed by Charles Taylor, launched its first attack in villages in Kailahun District in the diamond-rich Eastern Province of Sierra Leone on March 23, 1991. The government of Sierra Leone, overwhelmed by a crumbling economy and corruption, was unable to put up significant resistance. Within a month of entering Sierra Leone from Liberia, the RUF controlled much of the Eastern Province of the country. Forced recruitment of child soldiers was also an early feature of the rebel strategy
On April 29, 1992, a group of young officers in the Sierra Leonean army including 25 year old Captain Valentine Strasser, Sergeant Solomon Anthony James Musa, Brigadier-General Julius Maada Bio, Lieutenant Colonel Tom Nyuma, Colonel Yahya Kanu, Lieutenant Colonel Komba Mondeh, and Captain Samuel Komba Kambo apparently frustrated by the government failure to deal with rebels, the young soldiers launched a military coup, which sent president Momoh into exile in Guinea and they established the National Provisional Ruling Council (NPRC) with Colonel Yahya Kanu as its chairman and Head of State of the country. Kanu was assassinated by his fellow members of the NPRC, who accused him of trying to negotiate with the toppled APC administration. On May 1, Captain Valentine Strasser took over as the chairman of the NPRC and Head of State of Sierra Leone. A 26-year-old Sergeant Solomon Musa, one of the leaders of the coup and a best friend of Strasser took over as Vice-Chaiman of the NPRC. Many Sierra Leoneans nationwide rush into the streets to welcome the NPRC Administration from the twenty-three year dictatorial APC regime, that was perceived as corrupt. The NPRC junta immediately suspended the 1991 Constitution, declared a state of emergency, limited freedom of speech, and freedom of the press and enacted a rule-by-decree policy. The army and police officers were granted unlimited powers of administrative detention without charge or trial, and challenges against such detentions in court were precluded.
The NPRC proved to be nearly as ineffectual as the Momoh lead APC government in repelling the RUF. More and more of the country fell to RUF fighters, so that by 1995 they held much of the diamond-rich Eastern Province and were on the doorsteps of Freetown. To rectify the situation, the NPRC hired several hundred mercenaries from the private firm Executive Outcomes. Within a month they had driven RUF fighters back to enclaves along Sierra Leone’s borders. During this time corruption had erupted within senior NPRC members. On July 5, Strasser dismissed his childhood friend Sergeant Solomon James Musa as deputy and appointed Brigadier-General Julius Maada Bio to succeed him. Some senior NPRC members including Brigadier-General Julius Maada Bio, Lieutenant Colonel Tom Nyuma and Colonel Komba Mondeh, were unhappy with Strasser's handling of the peace process. In January 1996, after nearly four years in power, Strasser was ousted in a coup by his fellow NPRC members, lead by his deputy Brigadier-General Julius Maada Bio. Bio reinstated the Constitution, and called for general elections. Promises of a return to civilian rule were fulfilled by Bio, who handed power over to Ahmad Tejan Kabbah, of the Sierra Leone People's party (SLPP), after he had defeated John Karefa-Smart of the United National People's Party (UNPP) in the second round of presidential elections in early 1996. Kabbah's SLPP party also won majority of the seats in Parliament.
In 1996, Major General Johnny Paul Koroma, was allegedly involved in an attempt to overthrow the government of President Kabbah. He was arrested, put on trial and convicted. He was imprisoned at Freetown's Pademba Road Prison. Some top rank officers in the Sierra Leone Army were unhappy with President Kabbah's decision, and on May 25, 1997, a group of soldiers who called themselves the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC) overthrew President Kabbah. The AFRC released Koroma from prison and installed him as their chairman and Head of State of the country. Koroma suspended the constitution, banned demonstrations, shut down all of the country's private radio stations and invited the RUF to join his government. After 10 months in office the junta was ousted by the Nigeria-led ECOMOG forces, and the democratically elected government of President Kabbah was reinstated in March 1998. Following the reinstatement of Kabbah's government, hundreds of civilians who had been accused of helping the AFRC government were illegally detained. Courts-martial were held for soldiers accused of assisting the AFRC government. 24 of these were found guilty and were executed without appeal in October 1998. On January 6, 1999, another unsuccessful attempt to overthrow the government by the AFRC resulted in massive loss of life and destruction of property in Freetown and its environs.
In October, the United Nations agreed to send peacekeepers to help restore order and disarm the rebels. The first of the 6,000-member force began arriving in December, and the Security Council voted in February 2000 to increase the UN force to 11,000 (and subsequently to 13,000). In May, when nearly all Nigerian forces had left and UN forces were attempting to disarm the RUF in eastern Sierra Leone, Sankoh's forces clashed with the UN troops, and some 500 peacekeepers were taken hostage as the peace accord effectively collapsed.
Government and politicsSierra Leone is a constitutional republic with a directly elected president and a unicameral legislature. The current system of government in Sierra Leone, established under the 1991 Constitution, is modeled on the following structure of government:
The Legislature The Executive The Judiciary Within the confines of the 1991 Constitution of Sierra Leone, supreme legislative powers are vested in Parliament, which is the law making body of the nation. Supreme executive authority rests in the president and members of his cabinet and judicial power with the judiciary of which the Chief Justice is head.
The president is the head of state, the head of government and the commander-in-chief of the The Republic of Sierra Leone Armed Forces. The president appoints and heads a cabinet of ministers (including the vice president), which must be approved by the Parliament. The president is elected by popular vote to a maximum of two five-year terms. To be elected president of Sierra Leone, a candidate must gain at least 55 percent of the vote. If no candidate gets the 55 percent requirement, there will be a second-round runoff between the top two candidates with the most votes in the first round. For qualification to be elected President of Sierra Leone, the person must be a Sierra Leonean citizen by birth; Should have attained the age of 40 years; should be a member of a political party; and should be able to speak and read the English language. The current president of Sierra Leone is Ernest Bai Koroma. Koroma was sworn in as president on September 17, 2007, shortly after being declared the winner of a tense run-off election.[3]
The Parliament of Sierra Leone is unicameral, with 124 seats. Each of the country's fourteen districts is represented in parliament. 112 members are elected concurrently with the presidential elections; the other twelve seats are filled by Paramount chief from each of the country's twelve administrative districts. All members serve five-year terms. To be elected as a member of Parliament, a candidate must be a Sierra Leonean citizen; be at least 21 years old; should be a member of a political party; and should be able to speak and read the English language. The most recent parliamentary elections were held on August 11, 2007. The All People's Congress (APC), won 59 of 112 parliamentary seats; the Sierra Leone People's Party (SLPP) won 43 seats; and the People's Movement for Democratic Change (PMDC) won 10 seats.
The Judiciary Section 120(1) of the Constitution states that the judicial power of Sierra Leone shall be vested in the judiciary. The judiciary of Sierra Leone, headed by the Chief Justice comprises the Supreme Court, the Court of Appeal and the High Court. These constitute the Superior Court of Jurisdiction. The inferior courts comprise the Magistrates courts and the Local courts. The Magistrates Courts exist in each district. Local courts administer customary law. The president appoints and parliament approves justices for the three courts. The current Chief Justice is Ade Renner Thomas. He was appointed to the position by former president Ahmad Tejan Kabbah.
Administrative divisionsMain articles: Provinces of Sierra Leone and Districts of Sierra Leone The 14 districts of Sierra Leone.The Republic of Sierra Leone is composed of three provinces and one area called the Western Area; the provinces are further divided into twelve districts. The Western Area is also divided into two districts.
District Capital Area km² Province Population (2004 census) Bombali District Makeni 7,895 Northern Province 408,390 Koinadugu District Kabala 12,121 265,765 Tonkolili District Magburaka 7,003 347,197 Port Loko District Port Loko 5,719 453,746 Kambia District Kambia 3,108 270,460 Kenema District Kenema 6,053 Eastern Province 497,948 Kono District Koidu Town 5,641 355,401 Kailahun District Kailahun 3,859 358,190 Bo District Bo 7,003 Southern Province 463,668 Bonthe District Bonthe 3,468 139,687 Moyamba District Moyamba 6,902 260,910 Pujehun District Pujehun 4,105 228,392
Figures taken from this source: Sierra Leone Encyclopedia
The Western Area
Comprises Freetown, the nation's capital, and its surrounding countryside. It covers an area of 557 km² and has a population of 1,246,624. The Western Area is divided into two districts:
Western Area Urban District Western Area Rural District
Population of major cities This section may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards.Please improve this article if you can (February 2008).
Sierra Leone's cities with a population over 80,000 (2004 census).
City Population Freetown 772,873 Bo 149,957 Kenema 128,402 Koidu Town 80,025 Makeni 82,840 Magburaka 144,396 Kailahun 129,658
Foreign relationsSierra Leone has maintained cordial relations with the west, in particular with the United States. Sierra Leone also maintains diplomatic relations with China, Libya, Iran, and Cuba. Former President of Sierra Leone Siaka Stevens' government had sought closer relations with other West African countries under the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). The present government is continuing this effort.
Sierra Leone is a member of the United Nations and its specialized agencies, the Commonwealth, the African Union, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the African Development Bank (AFDB), the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), and the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM).
Sierra Leone, along with Liberia, and Guinea formed the Mano River Union (MRU). The Mano River Union is primarily designed to implement development projects and promote regional economic integration between the three nations.
Sierra Leone is also a member of the International Criminal Court with a Bilateral Immunity Agreement of protection for the US-military (as covered under Article 98).
The government maintains 16 embassies/high commissioners across the world including presence in Nigeria, Ghana, Ethiopia, The Gambia, Guinea, Liberia, Libya, People's Republic of China, Iran, Belgium, Germany, United Kingdom, Russia, United Nations, and the United States.[4]
Geography of Sierra Leone Satellite image of Sierra Leone, generated from raster graphics data supplied by The Map LibrarySierra Leone is located on the west coast of Africa, north of the equator. With a land area of 71,740 square kilometers (27,699 square miles). Sierra Leone is bordered by Guinea to the north and northeast, Liberia to the south and southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west.
There are a wide variety of ecological and agricultural zones to which people have adapted. Starting in the west, Sierra Leone has some 400 kilometres (250 miles) of coastline, giving it both bountiful marine resources and attractive tourist potential. This is followed by low-lying mangrove swamps, rain-forested plains and farmland, and finally a mountainous plateau in the east, where Mount Bintumani rises to 1,948 meters (6,390 ft). The climate is tropical, with two seasons determining the agricultural cycle: the rainy season from May to November, followed by the dry season from December to May, which includes harmattan, when cool, dry winds blow in off the Sahara Desert. The national capital Freetown sits on a coastal peninsula, situated next to the Sierra Leone Harbor, the world's third largest natural harbour. This prime location historically made Sierra Leone the centre of trade and colonial administration in the region.
Economy of Sierra LeoneSierra Leone is emerging from a protracted civil war and is showing signs of a successful transition. Investor and consumer confidence continue to rise, adding impetus to the country’s economic recovery. In addition to this there is greater freedom of movement and the successful re-habitation and resettlement of residential areas. In 2001, Sierra Leone attracted US$4 million in foreign direct investment.
Rich in minerals, Sierra Leone has relied on the mining sector in general, and diamonds in particular, for its economic base. In the 1970s and early 1980s, economic growth rate slowed because of a decline in the mining sector and increasing corruption among government officials. By the 1990s economic activity was declining and economic infrastructure had become seriously degraded. Over the next decade much of Sierra Leone’s formal economy was destroyed in the country’s civil war. Since the cessation of hostilities in January 2002, massive infusions of outside assistance have helped Sierra Leone begin to recover. Much of Sierra Leone’s recovery will depend on the success of the Government of Sierra Leone's efforts to limit official corruption, which many feel was the chief culprit for the country’s descent into civil war. A key indicator of success will be the effectiveness of government management of its diamond sector.
About two-thirds of the population engages in subsistence agriculture, which accounts for 52.5% of national income. The government is trying to increase food and cash crop production and upgrade small farmer skills. Also, the government works with several foreign donors to operate integrated rural development and agricultural projects.
Mineral exports remain Sierra Leone's principal foreign exchange earner. Sierra Leone is a major producer of gem-quality diamonds. Though rich in this resource, the country has historically struggled to manage its exploitation and export. Annual production estimates range between $250-300 million. However, not all of that passes through formal export channels, although formal exports have dramatically improved since the days of civil war. The balance is smuggled, where it is possibly used for money laundering or financing illicit activities. Efforts to improve the management of the export trade have met with some success. In October 2000, a UN-approved export certification system for exporting diamonds from Sierra Leone was put into place that led to a dramatic increase in legal exports. In 2001, the Government of Sierra Leone created a mining community development fund, which returns a portion of diamond export taxes to diamond mining communities. The fund was created to raise local communities' stake in the legal diamond trade.
Sierra Leone has one of the world's largest deposits of rutile, a titanium ore used as paint pigment and welding rod coatings. Sierra Rutile Limited, owned by a consortium of United States and European investors, began commercial mining operations near the city of Bonthe, in the Southern Province, in early 1979. Sierra Rutile was then the largest nonpetroleum United States investment in West Africa. The export of 88,000 tons realized $75 million in export earnings in 1990. The company and the Government of Sierra Leone concluded a new agreement on the terms of the company's concession in Sierra Leone in 1990. Rutile and bauxite mining operations were suspended when rebels invaded the mining sites in 1995, but exports resumed in 2005.
Despite its successes and development, the Sierra Leone economy still faces some significant challenges. There is a high rate of unemployment particularly among the youth and ex-combatants. Authorities have been slow to implement reforms in the civil service and the pace of the privatisation programme is also slacking and donors have urged its advancement.
CurrencySierra Leone’s currency is the Leone. The central bank of the country is the Bank of Sierra Leone which is located in the capital, Freetown. The bank is run by the bank Governor and directors. This Governor is Dr. Samura Kamara. The central Bank objectives include:
promotion of monetary stability and sound financial structure maintenance of the internal and external values of the Leone promotion of credit and exchange conditions issuance and distribution of notes and currency in the country conducive to balanced economy growth formulation and implementation of monetary policy banker and advisor to the Government in financial and economic matters management of domestic and foreign debt acting as custodian of the country’s reserve approved foreign exchange acting as banker to the Commercial Banks supervision and regulation of activities of commercial banks and other financial institutions administration of the operations of structural adjustment programmes where the bank has specific responsibilities diamond certification the Bank of Sierra Leone is a 100 percent state-owned corporate body.
Sierra Leone operates a floating exchange rate system and foreign currencies can be exchanged at any of the commercial banks, recognised foreign exchange bureaux and most hotels.
Credit Card use is limited in Sierra Leone, though they may be utilised at some hotels and restaurants, for which visitors should check in advance with local managements. Sierra Leone does not have internationally linked ATM machines.
DemographicsMain article: Demography of Sierra LeoneThe 2007 estimate of Sierra Leone's population stands at 5,866,000, the majority being youth and children. Freetown, with an estimated population of 1,070,200, is the capital, largest city and the hub of Sierra Leone economy, commercial, educational and cultural centre of the country. Bo is the second city with a population of 349,957[citation needed]. Other major cities with a population of over 100,000 are Kenema, Koidu Town, Makeni, Magburaka and Kailahun.
Although English is the official language spoken at schools and government administration, Krio (language derived from English and several African languages and is native to The Sierra Leone Krio people) is the Lingua franca. The Krio language is widely spoken throughout the country. The Language unites all the different ethnic groups, especially in their trade and interaction with each other.
EthnicityThe population of Sierra Leone is comprised of fourteen ethnic groups, each with its own language and costumes. The two largest of these are the Mende and Temne, each comprises 30% of the population, together they represent 60% of the country's total population. The Mende predominate in the Southern and the Eastern Provinces; the Temne likewise predominate in the Northern Province. The remaining 40% is split between twelve ethnic groups, including tthe third largest ethnic group the Limba who represent about 9.8% of the population. Like their ally the Temne, the Limba primarily live in the Northern Province. Sierra Leone's politics have traditionaly been dominated by two ethnic groups, the Mende and Limba. The country's two dominant political party, The Sierra Leone's People's Party (SLPP) is traditionaly based among the Mende in the south of the country, while the All People's Congress (APC) is based among the Limba and Temne in the north. The fourth largest ethnic group, the Kono comprises 8.6% of the population. The Kono are mostly found in the Eastern Province, particularly in the diamond-rich Kono District. The Krio (descendants of freed slaves from the West Indies, North America, and Britain landed in Freetown between 1787 and about 1855) make up about 3.5% of the population and their language is widely spoken throughout the Country. Most Krios live in the Western Area, particularly in the nation's capital Freetown. Other minority ethnic groups are the Mandingo, Sherbro, Loko, Kissi, Kuranko, Fula, Susu, Yalunka and the Sierra Leonean-Lebanese (descendants of Lebanese settlers who came to Sierra Leone during the late 19th century) Most of the country's businesses and local shops are run by the Lebanese community.
Islam in Sierra LeoneThe Sierra Leone constitution provides freedom of religion and the government generally protects this right, and does not tolerate its abuse.
With regard to religion in Sierra Leone, the predominant faith is Islam, which is practiced by around 60% of the population; 30% adhere to Christianity; and 10% adhere to their indigenous religions.
Unlike many other African countries, the religious and tribal mix of Sierra Leone rarely cause religious or tribal conflict.[citation needed]
Media in Sierra LeoneThe Sierra Leone constitution guarantees freedom of speech, and freedom of the press; however, the government at times restricts these rights in practice. Dozens of newspapers are published in the country, most of them are privately run and are often critical of the government.
Under legislation enacted in 1980, all newspapers must register with the Ministry of Information and pay a sizable registration fee.
All major cities in the country run their own radio stations. Inaugurated in 1963, The Sierra Leone Broadcasting Service (SLBS) is the state-run national station in charge of television and radio broadcasting in the country. The UN Mission in Sierra Leone (Unomsil) operates radio services, broadcasting news of UN activities and human rights information, as well as music and news. FM relays of BBC World Service and Radio France Internationale are on the air in Freetown, Bo, and other major cities. Radio Sierra Leone, the oldest broadcasting service in English-speaking West Africa, broadcasts mainly in English, with regular news and discussion programs on several topics.
Education SystemSierra Leone has an education system with six years of primary school (Class 1-6), and six years of secondary school (Form 1-6); secondary schools are further divided into Junior secondary school (Form 1-3) and Senior secondary school (Form 4-6). Primary schools usually start from ages 6 to 12, and secondary schools usually start from ages 13 to 18. Primary Education is free and compulsory in government-sponsored public schools.
The country's two main Universities are the Fourah Bay College, the oldest university in West Africa, founded in 1827, and Njala University in Njala, Moyamba District and Bo, founded in 1963. Teacher training colleges and religious seminaries are found in many parts of the country.
TransportationThere are a number of systems of transport in Sierra Leone, which possesses road, air, water infrastructure, including a network of highways and several airports.
AirThere are ten Regional airports in Sierra Leone, and one international airport, called the Lungi International Airport, located in the city of Lungi, across the sea from Freetown. It serves as the primary airport for domestic and international travel to or from Sierra Leone. Passengers have the choice of hovercraft, ferry or a helicopter to cross the river to Aberdeen Heliports in Freetown. Helicopters are also available from the airport to other major cities in the country. The airport has paved runways (the length of which exceeds 3,047m). Of the remaining airports, all of which having unpaved runways, seven have runways of lengths between 914 and 1,523 metres; the remaining two having runways of shorter length.
WaterSierra Leone has the third largest natural harbour in the world where shipping from all over the globe berth at Freetown's famous Queen Elizabeth II Quay in Government Wharf in central Freetown. There are 800 km of waterways in Sierra Leone, of which 600 km are navigable year-round. Major port city of Sierra Leone are Bonthe, Freetown, Sherbro Island and Pepel.
HighwaysThere are 11,700 kilometres of highways in Sierra Leone, of which 936 km are paved. Sierra Leone highways are linked to Conakry, Guinea, and Monrovia, Liberia.
SportsSport in Sierra Leone
FootballFootball in Sierra LeoneFootball (soccer) is by far the most popular sport in Sierra Leone. The Sierra Leone national football team, popularly known as the Leone Stars, represents the country in international football competitions. The team has never qualified for the FIFA World Cup but they have participated in the 1994 and 1996 African Cup of Nations. The country's national television network, The Sierra Leone Broadcasting Service (SLBS) broadcasts the live match, along with several radio stations throughout the country.
The Sierra Leone National Premier League is the top football league in Sierra Leone. The league is controlled by the Sierra Leone Football Association. East End Lions and Mighty Blackpool are the two biggest and most successful football clubs in the country, but Kallon F.C. is closing in on them. Kallon F.C. won the Premier League and the Sierra Leonean FA Cup in 2006, and eliminated 2006 Nigerian Premier League Champions Ocean Boys FC in the 2007 CAF Champions League first qualifying round, but later lost to ASEC Mimosas of Ivory Coast in the second qualifying round for the group stage.
The Sierra Leone U-17 football team nickname the Sierra Stars finished as runner-up at the 2003 African U-17 Championship in Swaziland, but came in last place in their group at the 2003 FIFA U-17 World Championship in Finland.
Many Sierra Leoneans follow the major European football leagues, Particularly the English Premier League, Italian Serie A, and Spain La Liga. Cinema are often overcrowed as fans gather to watch the likes of Manchester United, Arsenal, Barcelona, AC Milan, Real Madrid, Chelsea, Liverpool, and Inter Milan matches that are being shown live on television. Many Sierra Leoneans follow the UEFA Champions League more than the CAF Champions League. It is common in Sierra Leone to find local children nicknamed Zinedine Zidane, Ronaldo, Thierry Henry, Francesco Totti, Ronaldinho, Steven Gerrard, Patrick Vieira, Lionel Messi and Filippo Inzaghi.
CricketSierra Leone national cricket teamThe Sierra Leone cricket team represents Sierra Leone in international cricket competitions, and is among the best in West Africa. They became an affiliate member of the International Cricket Council in 2002. They made their international debut at the 2004 African Affiliates Championship, where they finished last out of the eight teams. They returned at the equivalent tournament in 2006, Division Three of the African region of the World Cricket League, where they had a major improvement, this time finishing as runners-up to Mozambique, and only just missing out on promotion to Division Two.
BasketballSierra Leone national basketball teamThe Sierra Leone national basketball team represents Sierra Leone in international men's basketball competitions and is controlled by the Sierra Leone Basketball Federation. The squad is mostly home-based, with a few foreign-based players.
EnvironmentLogging, mining, slash and burn, and deforestation for alternative land use - such as cattle grazing - have produced a dramatic decrease of forested land in Sierra Leone since the 1980s.
Until 2002, Sierra Leone lacked a forest management system due to a brutal civil war that resulted in tens of thousands of deaths. On paper, 55 protected areas covered 4.5 percent of Sierra Leone as of 2003. The country has 2,090 known species of higher plants, 147 mammals, 626 birds, 67 reptiles, 35 amphibians, and 99 fish species.
In June 2005, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) and Bird-life International agreed to support a conservation-sustainable development project in the Gola Forest in southeastern Sierra Leone, the most important surviving fragment of rainforest in Sierra Leone.
Deforestation rates have increased 7.3 percent since the end of the civil war.
Sierra Leone in literature and filmTwo major Hollywood films have so far been produced that relate to Sierra Leone. Steven Spielberg’s Film "Amistad" (1997 with Morgan Freeman, Sir Anthony Hopkins, Mathew McCounaghey) is about an 1839 mutiny aboard a slave ship that was travelling towards the Northeast Coast of America. But much of the plot revolves around the court-room drama that lead to the historic supreme court decision recognizing the captives rights to freedom. The heroic role of Sengbe Pieh (Cinque), who organized and led the revolt was virtually marginalized. Edward Zwick’s film Blood Diamond (2006 Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Connelly and Djimon Hounsou) is about conflict diamonds mined in Sierra Leone, Angola and Congo and sold in major diamond cutting centers – Antwerp, Tel Aviv and Mumbai – to finance (and prolong) armed conflicts in Africa. The film is centered in Sierra Leone and portrays many of the atrocities including the practice of cutting off people's limbs to spread fear and insecurity in the country side and to gain control over the diamond, gold, bauxite and rutile mining areas. But the action is focused mostly on Danny Archer (Leonardo DiCaprio), a white mercenary from Rhodesia (Zimbabwe), who trades arms for diamonds with an RUF commander (Corporal Foday Sankoh) and Maddy Bowen (Jennifer Connelly), an American journalist covering the war and investigating the illegal diamond trade. The role of De Beers Group, which is the major player in the diamond trade, was bracketed out. It has been suggested that the company pressured the producers of the film to include a disclaimer saying the events are fictional and in the past - De Beers has denied this. This film and the Nollywood Video films (Nigerian Productions) on Blood Diamonds have establish Sierra Leone as the Blood Diamond Country in the minds of people all over the world.
In literature, Sierra Leone is the setting for Graham Greene's classic novel The Heart of the Matter, which deals with diamond smuggling during World War II. Since the rebel incursion in the early 1990s a number of books have written about the "diamonds or minerals for weapons" trade - including Hugh Paxton's horror/action novel and Ishmael Beah ("A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier"). Hugh Paxton's novel Homunculus[5] juxtaposes the realities of the war in Sierra Leone with a fantasy of the exploitation of the war for the trade in blood diamonds and for the testing, demonstration and sale by auction of bio-weapons to a select clientele of international arms dealers and mercenaries. Trial by Rebellion written by Retired Captain Francis Ken Josiah was recently published in United States.
Other Sierra Leone writers of note include Abioseh Nicol ("The Truly Married Woman And Other Stories"), Robert Wellesley Cole ("Kossoh Town Boy"), Syl Cheney-Coker ("The Last Harmattan of Alusine Dunbar"), William Conton ("Kissimi Kamara"), Amadu Yullisa Maddy ("No Past, No Present, No Future") and Sheikh Gibril Kamara ("The Spirit of Badenia).
Wikipedia - Sierra Leone