Category Story of Nations

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.

Picture Credit : Google

        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!

Picture Credit : Google

          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.

Picture Credit : Google

          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.

Picture Credit : Google

          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.

Picture Credit : Google

          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.

Picture Credit : Google