Amedei of Tuscany, Italy is probably the world's finest chocolate manufacturer. The small company was founded by a brother and sister, Alessio and Cecilia Tessieri in 1990, and manufactures chocolate from the start to finish, selecting the finest cocoa beans primarily from Venezuela and the Caribbean (Jamaica, Trinidad, Grenada), Ecuador and Madagascar and turning them into chocolate - in contrast to large chocolate companies which buy blocks of chocolate from large commercial factories which use low grade cocoa beans from large plantations and refined sugar to make the chocolate they then sell on. Research Amedei
A colony is a settlement formed in one country by the inhabitants of another. Colonies may either be formed in dependence on the mother country or in independence. In the latter case the name of colony is retained only in a historical sense. Properly, perhaps, the term should be limited to a settlement which carries on a direct cultivation of the soil, as in the former British colonies of Canada and Australia in contrast to the former in Hindustan or Malta which were the mere superposition on the natives of a ruling race which took little or no part in the general industry of the country.
The motives which lead to the formation of colonies, and the manner of their formation, are various. Sometimes the ambition of extending territory and the desire of increasing wealth have been the chief impulses in colonization; but colonies became a necessity for the redundant population of European states in the 19th century.
Among ancient nations the principal promoters of colonization were the Phoenicians, the Greeks, and the Romans; the greatest colonizers in modern times have been the English and the Spaniards, next to whom may be reckoned the Portuguese, the Dutch, and the French. The Germans during the 19th century contributed largely to the tide of emigration, particularly in the direction of America;
but did little directly as colonizers.
The Phoenician colonies were partly caused by political dissensions and redundant population, but were chiefly commercial, serving as entrepots and ports of repair for Phoenician commerce along the coasts of Africa and Spain, in the latter of which they numbered, according to Strabo, more than two hundred. But it was in Africa that the most famous arose, Carthage, the greatest colonizing state of the ancient world.
The Greek colonies, which were widely spread in Asia Minor and the islands of the Mediterranean, the coasts of Macedonia and Thrace, in South Italy and Sicily, were commonly independent, and frequently soon surpassed the mother states in power and importance.
The colonies of Rome were chiefly military, and while the empire lasted were all in strict subordination to the central government. As the Roman power declined the remains of them amalgamated with the peoples among whom they were placed, thus forming in countries where they were sufficiently strong what are known as the Latin races, with languages (Spanish, Portuguese, French, and Italian) which are merely modifications of the old Roman tongue.
Before America and the way by sea to the East Indies were discovered, the only colonies belonging to European states were those of the Genoese, Pisans, and Venetians in the Levant and the Black Sea, flourishing establishments on which the mercantile greatness of Italy in those days was largely built.
The Portuguese were the first great colonizers among modern states. In 1419 they discovered Madeira, the Azores, and the Cape Verde Islands; the Congo and the Cape of Good Hope followed; and before the century was out Vasco de Gama had landed at Calicut on the Malabar coast of India. The first Portuguese colonies were garrisons along the coasts where they traded: Mozambique and Sofala on the east coast of Africa, Ormuz and Muscat in the Persian Gulf, Goa and Damao on the west coast of India. Colonies were established in Sri Lanka in 1505, in the Moluccas in 1510. Brazil was discovered in 1499, and this magnificent possession fell to Portugal, and was colonized about 1530. Bad government at home and the subjection of the country to Spain caused the loss of most of the Portuguese colonies.
Soon after the Portuguese the Spaniards commenced the work of colonization. In 1492 Columbus, on board of a Spanish vessel, discovered the island of San Salvador. Haiti, or San Domingo, Porto Rico, Jamaica, and Cuba were soon colonized, and before the middle of the 16th century Mexico, Ecuador, Venezuela, New Granada (Colombia), Peru, and Chili were subdued, and Spain took the first rank amongst the colonizing powers of Europe. But the Spaniards never really attempted to develop the industrial resources of the subject countries. The pursuit of mining for gold or silver occupied the colonists almost exclusively, and the enslaved natives were driven to work themselves to death in the mines. Cities were founded, at first along the coasts, for the sake of commerce and as military posts; afterwards also in the interior, in particular in the vicinity of the mines, as Vera Cruz, Cumana, Porto Bello, Carthagena, Valencia, Caracas; Acapuico and Panama, on the coast of the Pacific; Lima, Goncepcion, and Buenos Aires. The colonial intercourse with Spain was confined to the single port of Seville, afterwards to that of Cadiz, from which two squadrons started annually - the galleons, about twelve in number, for Porto Bello; and the fleet, of fifteen large vessels, for Vera Cruz. When the power of Spain declined, the colonies declared their independence, and thus were formed the republics of Mexico, Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Chili, etc. Cuba, Porto Rico, and the Philippine Islands passed to the United States in 1898; the Caroline Islands, etc, were sold to Germany in 1899; and by 1900 hardly any colony remained to Spain.
The hate of Philip II, who prohibited Dutch vessels from the port of Lisbon, forced the Dutch to import directly from India or lose the large carrying trade they had acquired. Several companies were soon formed, and in 1602 they were united into one, the Dutch East India Company, with a monopoly of the East Indiatrade and sovereign powers over all conquests and colonies in India. The Dutch now rapidly deprived the Portuguese of nearly all their East Indian territories, settled a colony at the Cape of Good Hope in 1650, established a West India Company, made extensive conquests in Brazil between 1623 and 1660, which were soon lost, and more permanent ones on some of-the smaller West India Islands, as San Eustatia, Curacoa, Saba, etc. The growing power of the British and the loss of Holland's independence during the Napoleonic wars were heavy blows to the colonial power of the nation. But the Dutch still possesed numerous colonies in the East Indies at the start of the 20th century, among which the more important were Java, Sumatra, Dutch Borneo, the Molucca Islands, and part of New Guinea, also several small islands in the West Indies, and Surinam.
No colonizing power of Europe had a career of such uniform prosperity as Great Britain. The English attempts at colonization began nearly at the same time with the Dutch. After many fruitless attempts to find a north-east or north-west passage to the East Indies, English vessels found their way round the Cape of Good Hope to the East Indies in 1591. The East India Company was established in 1600. English commerce with India, however, was not at first important, and they possessed only single factories on the continent up until the beginning of the 18th century. The ruin of the Mogul Empire in India after the death of Aurengzebe in 1707 afforded the opportunity for the growth of British power, as the British and French were compelled to interfere in the contentions of the native princes and governors. The French appeared at first to maintain the superiority; but the British in turn got the upper hand, and the victory of Clive at Plassey in 1756 laid the foundation of an exclusive British sovereignty in India. By the middle of the next century the British territory embraced, with the exception of a few dependent states, nearly the whole of India, and this vast territory was still under the government of the East India Company - a mercantile company, controlled indeed by parliament, but exercising many of the most important functions of an independent sovereignty. On the suppression of the Indian mutiny in 1857-1858 the government of India was transferred to the crown by act of parliament in 1858.
The discoveries of the Cabots, following soon after the voyages of Columbus, gave the English crown a claim to North America, which, though allowed to lie dormant for nearly a century, was never relinquished, and which, in the reign of Elizabeth I, led to colonization on a large scale. Walter Raleigh's settlement on Roanoke Island (North Carolina) in 1585 failed to become permanent, but in 1607 the colonists sent out by the London Company to Chesapeake Bay founded Jamestown, on the James River, in Virginia. The next great settlement was that of the Pilgrim Fathers, who landed on the 21st of December 1620, in Massachusetts Bay. The colonization of New Hampshire, Maine, New Jersey, Connecticut and Rhode Island, soon followed. In the State of New York and the Hudson River Territory the British found the Dutch already in possession; but in 1664 they seized the colony of New Amsterdam by force, changing its name to New York in honour of James, Duke of York. Pennsylvania was founded by William Penn, and colonized with Quakers in 1682; Maryland in 1631 by a party from Virginia; Carolina in 1670 and Georgia in 1732 by colonies from England.
Colonies were early established in the West India Islands, including Barbados, half of St. Christopher's in 1625, and soon after many smaller islands. Newfoundland was taken possession of in 1583, colonized in 1621 and 1633. Canada was surrendered to Britain at the Peace of Paris in 1763. In 1764 began the disputes between Britain and its North American colonies, which terminated with the acknowledgment of the independence of the United States, Canada remaining a British dependency.
Australia was discovered in the beginning of the 17th century. The first Australasian settlements of Britain were penal colonies. New South Wales, discovered in 1770, was established as a penal colony in 1788; Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land), discovered by Tasman in 1642, followed in 1803; West Australia, also first used as a penal settlement, became a free colony in 1829; Victoria was colonized in 1835, and made an independent colony in 1851; South Australia was settled in 1836. In 1851 the discovery of gold in Victoria gave a great impetus to the Australian Colonies. Queensland was made a separate colony from N.ew South Wales in 1859. New Zealand, discovered by Tasman in 1642, began to be used for whale-fishery about 1790, was settled in 1839, and made a colony in 1840. In 1874 the Fiji Islands, and in 1884 part of New Guinea, were annexed as crown colonies. In South AfricaCape Colony, first settled by the Dutch in 1652, finally became a British colony in 1815. Natal followed in 1843. Later annexations were Bechuanaland in 1885, Zululand in 1887, Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) in 1888-89, and the Orange River Colony and Transvaal in 1900. In Western Africa were the colonies of the Gold Coast, Gambia, and SierraLeone - ancient possessions of the British crown; with Lagos and Nigeria acquired in 1885 and after. Other possessions were British East Africa (Kenya), with Uganda and Somaliland. Gibraltar was acquired in 1704, Malta in 1800.
According to their government relations with the crown the colonies were arranged under three heads: (1.) Crown colonies, in which the crown had the entire control of legislation, while the administration was carried on by public officers under the control of the home government. (2.) Colonies possessing representative institutions but not responsible government, in which the crown had no more than a veto on legislation, but the home government retained the control of public officers. (3.) Colonies possessing representative institutions and responsible government, in which the crown had only a veto on legislation, and the home government had no control over any officer except the governor. All colonies were, however, disabled from such acts of independent sovereignty as the initiative in war, alliances, and diplomacy generally.
France was somewhat late in establishing colonies. Between 1627 and 1636 the West Indian islands of St Christopher's, Guadeloupe, and Martinique were colonized by private persons. Champlain was the pioneer of the French in the exploration of the North American continent, and founded Quebec in 1608. Colbert purchased several West India islands, as Martinique, Guadeloupe, St Lucia, etc, and sent out colonists in 1664 to Cayenne. In 1670 the East India Company formed by Colbert founded Pondicherry, which became the capital of extensive possessions in the East Indies. At the beginning of the 18th century France had extensive settlements in Canada, Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland, the most flourishing of the West India islands, and she seemed to have a prosperous career before her in India. Ere long, however, the rival interests of British and French colonists brought about a conflict which terminated in the loss of Canada and other North American possessions, as well as many of the West India Islands, while the dominion of India passed into the hands of the British.
During the 19th century Germany made an effort to take rank as a colonial power, and acquired in Africa the territories of Damaraland, Great Nama Land, etc, on the south-west coast, north of Cape Colony; the Cameroons District; a large portion of territory formerly claimed by the Sultan of Zanzibar, extending inland to Victoria Nyanza, etc; also in the Pacific a portion of New Guinea, then subsequently called Kaiser Wilhelm's Land, the BismarckArchipelago, Marshall Islands, etc.
The ISO (International Standards Organisation) assigns a two character code to each country name. These codes are used by Internet 'whois' databases (these two character abbreviations are the whois country codes) and also other applications.
The IMF Riots are planned civil disorder which are typified by the series of riots that occurred in Ecuador in March 2001 after the government, at the insistence of the World Bank and IMF, raised the price of cooking gas by 80%. According to former chief economist at the World Bank, Joseph Stiglitz, the riots in Ecuador and their responses were carefully planned by the World Bank and the Intrnational Monetary Fund (IMF). The purpose of the IMF Riots is to destroy the hostnation economically, allowing global corporations to buy up national resources cheaply (also known as rebuilding a country), benefiting the IMF, the World Bank (51% of which is owned by the US Treasury) and the global corporations at the expense of the 'helped' nation. Research IMF Riots
A plateau or tableland generally denotes a large stretch of highland which is practically the same height above sea-level, and which descends on all sides to lower ground. Some plateaux, however, such as those of Tibet and Bolivia, that are fringed by high mountain ranges which tower above the plateau level, are known as intermont plateaux. Sometimes they are so completely enclosed as to have no outlet to the sea.
A plateau might be regarded as an elevated plain, but there is often a great difference between the surface of a plain and that of a plateau. As a plateau is high, rivers are swift and carve deep, narrow valleys instead of the broad, open valleys of the lower rivers of the plains. Such plateau areas as Wales and the Highlands of Scotland, are broken by deep, narrow valleys, and are termed dissected plateaux. On reaching the top of such an area one has a long view of a series of flat-topped mountain ridges. These ridges are all of approximately the same height, and if one imagines the clouds descending until they touched one ridge, then almost every other ridge would be similarly cloud-capped. Other good examples of plateaux are Tibet in Asia, the Ecuador and Bolivian plateaux in South America, and nearly the whole of the continent of Africa.
The Deccan of India is a plateau that has been tilted so that the western edge is much higher than the eastern edge, and all the main rivers drain eastwards. In many instances plateaux are formed by the denudation or wearing down of higher mountainous areas. Ultimately, such areas may become so low that they are nearly plains, i.e. peneplains, such as the land around HudsonBay. Millions of years ago lava was forced up through cracks in the earth's crust, and spread out over the land in great sheets which have since hardened to form plateaux of basalt.
Two well-known examples of such plateaux are in Antrim (Ireland), and on the Deccan of India to the east of Bombay. Many of the most extensive areas of plateaux in the world are composed of very hard old rock. The GuianaHighlands, most of Africa, Arabia, the Deccan of India, and the West Australian plateaux are all composed of rocks of similar age. The ancient plateau lands are principally valuable for their minerals, such as the gold of Western Australia; the iron and manganese of the Brazilian Highlands; the gold, copper, and diamonds of the African plateau; and the gold of the Lena plateau in Siberia. Where plateaux are found in tropical areas they are important because, being cooler than the neighbouring lowlands, they offer greater possibilities for successful European settlement and development. The highlands of Brazil, Kenya, and Tanganyika are illustrations of this. Much of the tropical plateau area is covered by savannah grasslands. Most of these areas are not yet developed, but offer possibilities for the production of a large variety of both animal and vegetable products when communications have been developed and further settlement has taken place. Research Plateau
The Caecilia is an order of small, legless, amphibians of which comparatively little is still known. Species are either terrestrial or aquatic. Terrestrial species tending to eat earthworms, while the aquatic species may also feed on dead fish. The largest of all Caecilians is Caecilia thompsoni of Colombia and Ecuador. It reaches a length of more than 150 cm, while Grandisonia larvata of the Seychelles Islands is the only known specimen of 10 cm or less in length. The fatest species is Typhlonectes obesus of the Amazonian drainage. This water-living species may get as fat as a humanarm. Research Caecilia
The Californian Kingsnake (Lampropeltis getulus californiae) is an American snake, native from Canada south to Ecuador, where they are found in varying habitats ranging from deserts to pine forests, mountain slopes, dry river beds and even in city suburbs. The Californian Kingsnake is generally banded with black and white hoops, is terrestrial and grows to about 120 cm long. They feed on lizards, birds, rodents and other snakes, including venomous species and other Californian King snakes. The Californian Kingsnake is a popular pet as they are non-venomous, easily tamed, enjoy being handled, like a small terrarium and are robust living for as long as fifteen years. Research Californian Kingsnake
The cinchona is a genus of trees, shrubs and herbaceous plants of the order Cinchonaceae native to South America which consists of gamopetalous, calycifloral dicotyledons, sometimes regarded as a sub-order of Rubiaceae.with fragrant white or pink flowers. They have simple opposite leaves, flowers arranged in panicles or corymbs; calyx adherent, entire or toothed; corolla regular; stamens attached to corolla; ovary two-celled; fruit inferior, dry or succulent. The bark contains quinine and other related alkaloids. The tree was named in honour of the countess of Chinchon, the vice-Queen of Peru after she was cured of fever by cinchona bark in 1638.
The genus Cinchona consists of trees seldom exceeding 14 metres in height, with simple, opposite, entire leaves and small flowers, inhabiting chiefly the east side of the Andes of Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador, and Colombia. The valuable Peruvian bark is yielded by various species; crown or loxa bark by Cinchona Condaminea, gray or huanuco bark by Cinchona micrantha and Cinchona nitida, red-bark by Cinchona succirubra, yellow or calisaya bark by Cinchona Calisaya. From the wasteful method of cutting down the trees to get their bark it was believed that there would soon be a dearth of the valuable medicine, and hence cinchona plants were taken from their native regions and plantations formed in various tropical countries including Sri Lanka, India, Java, etc. Research Cinchona
Cocoa (Cacao) is a small tree (Theobroma cacao) of the family Sterculiaceae, natural order Byttneriaceae native to tropical America. The tree is five to six metres high and much cultivated in the tropics of both hemispheres, especially in the West Indian Islands, Central and South America and Africa. The leaves are about 10 cm in length, smooth but not glossy, and of a dull-green colour; the flowers are saffron-coloured, and very beautiful.
The fruit consists of pointed, oval, ribbed pods 15 to 25 cm long. The cultivated trees bear fruit all the year round, but the gathering is chiefly in June and December. The pods are removed by knives attached to the ends of poles. The pods are at first green, but as they ripen they change to a fine bluish-red, or almost purple colour, and in some varieties to a yellow or lemon colour. Each pod encloses 50 or more seeds in a white, sweetish pulp; and the seeds or 'beans' have each a parchment-like covering enclosing a whitish pulp. These are very nutritive, containing 50 per cent of fat, are of an agreeable flavour, and used, both in their fresh state and when dried, as an article of diet. Cocoa and chocolate are made from them, the former being a. powder obtained by grinding
the seeds, and often mixed with other substances when prepared for sale, the latter being this powder mixed with sugar and various flavouring matters and formed into solid cakes. The seeds when roasted and divested of their husks and crushed are known as cocoa nibs. The seeds yield also an oil called butter of cacao, used in pomatum and for making candles, soap, etc.
The best quality cocoa comes from Venezuela, Ecuador, the Caribbean (Jamaica, Trinidad and Greanada) and Madagascar. This accounts for about two percent of the cocoa produced, the remaining 98 per cent is low grade cocoa lacking aroma and quality, and which is used in 99.99 per cent of commercial chocolate. Research Cocoa
The Ecuadorian Milk Snake (Lampropeltis triangulum micropholis) is the largest species of the Milk snakes, reaching a length of 148 cm, and is the most southerly occurring species being found in Panama and Ecuador. The Ecuadorian Milk Snake has a short series of ten to eighteen broad dorsal rings and yellow scales on the head. Research Ecuadorian Milk Snake
The Probert Encyclopaedia was designed, edited and programed by
Matt and Leela Probert
Abbreviations
Research Amedei
