My Science School

          The Spanish explorers who conquered Argentina gave it the name we all know today. The name is derived from the Latin word for silver-argentum.

         The Spanish came to Argentina hoping to find rich deposits of silver, but they couldn’t find any. But they were not disappointed altogether. The newfound country had lush pasture land and fertile soil.

          Argentina’s treasures turned out to be the land itself! A lot of migrants came to the country for farming and raising cattle. Argentina’s economy was built on the meat and leather industry. It exports large quantities of frozen meat even today.

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          Colombia is named after Christopher Columbus, the legendary Italian explorer. The country was colonized by the Spanish and its people gained independence in 1819.

         Colombians were deeply divided in political thought even after independence. On the one hand, there were the Conservatives who believed in a strong central government and limited voting rights. On the other hand, were the Liberals who demanded universal voting rights and powerful regional governments.

          By the end of the nineteenth century, the price of coffee came down creating an economic crisis. In addition to it, Manuel Antonio Sanclemente, a Conservative leader was elected as the president. The Liberals accused the Conservatives of using unfair means to win the election. This sparked a conflict which later turned into the War of Thousand Days.

          The Liberals were supported by Venezuela with money and arms. The war ended in 1902, with both the parties signing a peace treaty; but the conflict didn’t really stop here.

          The rift between them intensified further which led to a period of unrest in 1940 that is now called ‘The Violence'.

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          Chile looks like a fluttering ribbon in the world map. It’s the world’s longest and thinnest country. Chile gained independence from the colonial clutches of Spain and became independent in 1818.

          Since independence, the political views that governed the country oscillated between the right and left wings. Chile has had economic problems since the twentieth century. Salvador Allende, their elected president tried to resolve many of its problems during his socialist government. The economic problems intensified in the 1970s. Allende was overthrown in 1973 by a military coup and Chile came under the control of the military general Augusto Pinochet.

          Pinochet was a tyrannical dictator. He suspended parliament and banned all sorts of political activity. Chileans did not have civil liberty; thousands of Chileans were imprisoned, tortured and executed without any reason. Many others were either expelled or disappeared. Pinochet’s seventeen year old rule came to an end in 1990.

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          Oil once made Venezuela rich beyond expectations; it was one of the richest Latin American countries which obtained half of its earnings from the oil industry. However, the oil prices began to drop from the 1960s.

         The demand for oil declined day by day. The value of Venezuelan currency came down drastically. The government tried to diversify and develop new industries, but there was no change in the situation. There was a heavy crisis of food supplies and the government did not have enough money to import sufficient food products. The inflation worsened, thus creating an economic emergency. Eighty five percent of the population became poor with minimal food supplies and practically no medical aid.

          Oil prices fell heavily in 2015. Venezuela is facing the highest inflation in the world, even worse than the Great Depression in the US in the 1930s.

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People lived in the continent of South America at least 11,000 years ago. Many civilizations developed there, the most brilliant among them being the Incas. The Incan empire was destroyed by the Spanish conquerors. Europeans, especially the Spanish and the Portuguese flooded the continent. They amassed wealth, leaving the Native Americans poor.

        By the 1800s, these settlements collapsed and many independent nations were born after a series of bloody wars. These nations had to suffer slavery, riots, civil war, poverty and dictatorship at one point or the other. Today, South America consists of twelve sovereign states, French Guyana which is a part of France and the disputed overseas territory of Britain known as Falkland.

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        Cuba is a socialist state controlled by the Cuban Communist Party.

        In the 1940s and 50s, Cuba was under military rule led by Fulgencio Batista. In 1959, Fidel Castro overthrew the Batista government and took political and military power in his hands. He broke off ties with the US and formed alliance with the Soviet Union. The US tried to invade Cuba many times, but could not succeed in its attempts.

        During his rule, Castro nationalised almost all sectors including factories and oil refineries. He worked to improve education and healthcare. But Cubans had many restrictions too. They were not allowed to own cellphones till 2008. The first Wifi hotspot was set up in 2015. Cubans were not allowed to even own private vehicles for a brief period!

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          Panama is a tiny country. But its importance is way greater than its size. Panama controls the Panama Canal, a commercial waterway that links the Atlantic and the Pacific oceans. This canal has not only helped vessels cross the oceans with great ease, but also has made the country rich. Most of its people work at the canal. The vessels passing through the canal have to pay a toll which contributes to the country’s GDP.

          Panama was first explored by the Spanish and was later conquered by Native Americans. It became a province of Colombia in 1821 and later broke free it 1903 with the help of the US. Later, US took charge of Central Panama to build the canal. Panama Canal started functioning in 1914. Though America gave back the land in 1979, the canal was under their control till 1999. Panama took control over the canal in 2000 which led to great economic development.

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          Every year, there is a huge inflow of tourists to Jamaica to enjoy its warm climate and sandy beaches. No wonder, Jamaica is the first Caribbean country to launch a website-www.jamaicatravel.com. Tourism created a boom in the country after its independence in 1962. Before that, Jamaica was a crown colony of Britain.

          When the British arrived, Jamaica was ruled by the Spanish. Britain seized control from them in the 1600s and turned it into a huge slave market. The demand for slaves was high as there were many sugar plantations. Time and again, the slaves rose against their masters which led to many revolts. Many struggles later, Jamaica won independence and set up parliament.

          The Jamaican government worked to develop the infrastructure, technology and teacher education using the money obtained from tourism. Jamaica had good market relations with Britain.

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          Dominica is named after the Latin word for Sunday. But who would name a country after a day? Columbus did, because he spotted the island on a Sunday in 1493. The French and the Spanish were early birds to set up colonies in Dominica. By 1763, the island came under British control.

          The French wouldn’t simply give up their colony which had fertile soil suitable for cultivation. The British conquered the island in an expedition in 1761. In addition to that, Britain won the Seven Years War defeating France, Spain and Portugal. France had to give up the island to the British because of this, in the Treaty of Paris of 1763.

          After setting up colonies, the British started to bring slaves to work in plantations. Many slaves died under the inhuman treatment of the British masters. In 1833, slavery was abolished which improved the lives of plantation workers. Dominicans gained authority one step at a time and in 1978, they gained full independence and control over their affairs. Since then, Dominica is a parliamentary democracy that has elected representatives.

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          Costa Rica is one of the most peaceful and stable countries in Latin America. It’s a model democratic state now.

          The name Costa Rica was given by Christopher Columbus. He thought that the land had lots of gold. This name, which means rich coast in Spanish, attracted settlers to the country. Costa Rica was controlled by the Spanish before they chose to side with the Mexican empire. Later, they gained independence in 1838. Since then, Costa Rica took the road to progress. Coffee plantations created a boom and the money obtained from it was used to modernize the country.

          Though democracy continued uninterrupted in Costa Rica, for many years, it had a two-year military dictatorship from 1917-19 when General Federico Tinoco Granados became the dictator. They also had a civil war that broke out in 1948.

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          El Salvador is one of the smallest countries in Central America. It was colonized by Spain. The Spanish had lots of indigo plantations. The harsh conditions in the plantations led to a revolt and the country gained independence in 1821.

          For years after independence, the country experienced a number of wars against other countries in Central America. Military dictatorships prevailed for more than forty years from 1931 to 1979. Wealthy land-owners and the army controlled the country and the poor suffered misery. This inequality led to civil war in 1980 which lasted for twelve years. When the war ended in 1992, about 75,000 Salvadorans were killed. The war ended when the rebels and the government signed a peace treaty which guaranteed political reforms. These reforms improved conditions of the country.

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          Can a country be named as ‘Banana republic’? Well, history says yes. In the late nineteenth century, there was a widespread banana craze in the US. The Latin American countries exported bananas to the US to satiate its crazy banana appetite. The first country to be known as ‘Banana republic’ is Honduras!

          Honduras was colonized by the Spanish. After gaining independence in 1838, the country was ruled primarily by a set of dictators. Later in the 19th century, several American companies set up banana plantations in Honduras which shaped its economy. The plantation workers revolted time and again against the oppressive working conditions that prevailed in the country. They also fought wars against their neighbours El Salvador and Nicaragua. In 1984, Honduras sought American help to bring peace to the country.

          Banana exports declined in 1994 which created an economic crisis in Honduras. To add fuel to the fire, a hurricane named Mitch hit the country. It killed many of its people and destroyed farmlands.

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          When Christopher Columbus first landed in Haiti, he mistook the island for India. After the Italians and the Spanish, the French set up a colony in western Haiti and ran sugar plantations successfully. Slaves were brought from Africa to work for the French masters.

          After years of slavery, Haitians revolted against their French leaders and became an independent nation in 1804. Haiti was being ruled by different inefficient governments since then till the US occupied the country.

          The US occupied the country from 1915 to 1934 and tried to restore order. But this did not solve the issue. A military regime governed Haiti till 1994. The country had elected governments occasionally which were soon overthrown by military coups. Finally, in 1994, democracy was restored in Haiti after a successful negotiation between the coup leaders and the US officials.

          Haiti is often hit by the worst kind of natural calamities. Tropical storms, earthquakes, mudslides, hurricanes and flash floods have taken the lives of thousands of Haitians. The damages caused by these disasters have often left the country in a state of emergency.

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          British Honduras is now known as Belize. It got its new name in 1973. As its old name suggests, it was a colony of Britain before gaining independence. The British settlers came there following a shipwreck. Seeing that the land was suitable for agriculture, they started a colony in Belize under the name British Honduras. Before that, the land was claimed by Spain.

          The Spanish believed that Belize was a part of Guatemala. This land dispute started in the 1520s and surprisingly, it did not end even after Belize gained independence.

          Belize became an independent nation in 1981. Though they were free from the clutches of the colonizers, they were regularly disturbed by Guatemalans who believed that Belize was a part of their country.

          British army regularly protected Belize from these attacks. Guatemala still claims its rights on Belize. In 2008, both countries agreed to put the case before the International Court of Justice. The final decision regarding the case has not come out yet.

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          The story of Guatemala is written in blood. The country had one of the worst civil wars in the world which lasted for 36 years.

          Guatemala gained independence from its Spanish colonizers in 1839. By the 1950s, president Arbenz led land reforms that aimed at improving the lives of the peasants. A majority of the farmlands were controlled by the United Fruit Company, an organization funded by the US. The land reforms affected them adversely. In addition to that, the growth of communism in Guatemala was seen as a threat by the US. The US intervened to overthrow Arbenz. Castillo Armas became the new president. He stopped the reforms and broke all peasant unions. For the next 36 years, the country witnessed war. In 1996, the United Nations intervened to end the war and establish peace.

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