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<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">Absolute zero</h1>
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<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.Science.Physics.General_Physics.htm">General Physics</a></h3>
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<p><b>Absolute zero</b> refers to the temperature of a system that is thermically inert. Such a (theoretical) system neither emits nor absorbs heat energy. The Absolute zero temperature is known to be 0 K (-273.15 C). While it is possible to cool any substance to near Absolute Zero, it can never actually be achieved.<p>Absolute zero is the point at which particles have a minimum energy, determined by <a href="../../wp/q/Quantum_mechanics.htm" title="Quantum mechanics">quantum mechanical</a> effects, which is called the <!--del_lnk--> zero-point energy.<p>By international agreement, absolute zero is defined as precisely 0 K on the <!--del_lnk--> Kelvin scale, which is a <a href="../../wp/t/Thermodynamic_temperature.htm" title="Thermodynamic temperature">thermodynamic (absolute) temperature</a> scale, and -273.15°C on the <!--del_lnk--> Celsius scale. Absolute zero is also precisely equivalent to 0 °R on the <!--del_lnk--> Rankine scale (also a thermodynamic temperature scale), and –459.67 °F on the <!--del_lnk--> Fahrenheit scale.<p>Whilst scientists cannot fully achieve a state of “zero” heat energy in a substance, they have made great advancements in achieving temperatures ever closer to absolute zero (where matter exhibits odd <!--del_lnk--> quantum effects). In 1994, the <!--del_lnk--> NIST achieved a record cold temperature of 700 <!--del_lnk--> nK (billionths of a kelvin). In 2003, researchers at <!--del_lnk--> MIT eclipsed this with a new record of 450 <!--del_lnk--> pK (0.45 nK).<script type="text/javascript">
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<p><a id="History" name="History"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">History</span></h2>
<p>To establish an instrument to measure a range of temperatures, in 1593 <a href="../../wp/g/Galileo_Galilei.htm" title="Galileo Galilei">Galileo Galilei</a> invented a rudimentary water <!--del_lnk--> thermometer. One of the first to discuss the possibility of an “absolute cold” on such a scale was <a href="../../wp/r/Robert_Boyle.htm" title="Robert Boyle">Robert Boyle</a> who in his 1665 <i>New Experiments and Observations touching Cold</i>, stated the dispute which is the <i>primum frigidum</i> is very well known among naturalists, some contending for the earth, others for water, others for the air, and some of the moderns for <!--del_lnk--> nitre, but all seeming to agree that:<table align="center" class="cquote" style="border-collapse:collapse; border-style:none; background-color:transparent;">
<tr>
<td style="color:#B2B7F2;font-size:35px;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;font-weight:bold;text-align:left;padding:10px 10px;" valign="top" width="20">“</td>
<td style="padding:4px 10px;" valign="top">There is some body or other that is of its own nature <i>supremely cold</i> and by participation of which all other bodies obtain that quality.</td>
<td style="color:#B2B7F2;font-size:36px;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;font-weight:bold;text-align:right;padding:10px 10px;" valign="bottom" width="20">”</td>
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<p><a id="Limit_to_the_.27degree_of_cold.27" name="Limit_to_the_.27degree_of_cold.27"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Limit to the 'degree of cold'</span></h3>
<p>The question whether there is a limit to the degree of cold possible, and, if so, where the zero must be placed, was first attacked by the French physicist <!--del_lnk--> Guillaume Amontons in 1702, in connection with his improvements in the air thermometer. In his instrument temperatures were indicated by the height at which a column of mercury was sustained by a certain mass of air, the volume or "spring" which of course varied with the heat to which it was exposed. Amontons therefore argued that the zero of his thermometer would be that temperature at which the spring of the air in it was reduced to nothing. On the scale he used the boiling-point of water was marked at +73 and the melting-point of ice at 511, so that the zero of his scale was equivalent to about -240 on the centigrade scale.<p>This remarkably close approximation to the modern value of -273°C for the zero of the air-thermometer was further improved on by <!--del_lnk--> Johann Heinrich Lambert (<i>Pyrometrie</i>, 1779), who gave the value -270°C and observed that this temperature might be regarded as absolute cold.<p>Values of this order for the absolute zero were not, however, universally accepted about this period. <!--del_lnk--> Laplace and <a href="../../wp/a/Antoine_Lavoisier.htm" title="Antoine Lavoisier">Lavoisier</a>, for instance, in their treatise on heat (1780), arrived at values ranging from 1500 to 3000 below the freezing-point of water, and thought that in any case it must be at least 600 below, while <!--del_lnk--> John Dalton in his <i>Chemical Philosophy</i> gave ten calculations of this value, and finally adopted -3000°C as the natural zero of temperature.<p><a id="Lord_Kelvin.27s_work" name="Lord_Kelvin.27s_work"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Lord Kelvin's work</span></h3>
<p>After <!--del_lnk--> J. P. Joule had determined the mechanical equivalent of heat, <a href="../../wp/w/William_Thomson%252C_1st_Baron_Kelvin.htm" title="William Thomson, 1st Baron Kelvin">Lord Kelvin</a> approached the question from an entirely different point of view, and in 1848 devised a scale of absolute temperature which was independent of the properties of any particular substance and was based solely on the fundamental <!--del_lnk--> laws of thermodynamics. It followed from the principles on which this scale was constructed that its zero was placed at -273°, at almost precisely the same point as the zero of the air-thermometer.<p><a id="Record_temperatures_near_absolute_zero" name="Record_temperatures_near_absolute_zero"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Record temperatures near absolute zero</span></h2>
<p>It can be shown from the laws of <a href="../../wp/t/Thermodynamics.htm" title="Thermodynamics">thermodynamics</a> that absolute zero can never be achieved artificially, though it is possible to reach temperatures arbitrarily close to it through the use of <!--del_lnk--> cryocoolers. This is the same principle that ensures no <!--del_lnk--> machine can be 100% efficient.<p>At very low temperatures in the vicinity of absolute zero, matter exhibits many unusual properties including <!--del_lnk--> superconductivity, <!--del_lnk--> superfluidity, and <!--del_lnk--> Bose-Einstein condensation. In order to study such <!--del_lnk--> phenomena, <!--del_lnk--> scientists have worked to obtain ever lower temperatures.<ul>
<li>In <!--del_lnk--> September 2003, <!--del_lnk--> MIT announced a record cold temperature of 450 <!--del_lnk--> pK, or 4.5 × 10<sup>-10</sup> K in a Bose-Einstein condensate of sodium atoms. This was performed by <!--del_lnk--> Wolfgang Ketterle and colleagues at MIT.</ul>
<ul>
<li>As of <!--del_lnk--> February 2003, the <!--del_lnk--> Boomerang Nebula, with a temperature of -272.15 Celsius; 1K, is the coldest place known outside a laboratory. The <!--del_lnk--> nebula is <!--del_lnk--> 5000 light-years from <a href="../../wp/e/Earth.htm" title="Earth">Earth</a> and is in the constellation <!--del_lnk--> Centaurus.</ul>
<ul>
<li>As of <!--del_lnk--> November 2000, nuclear spin temperatures below 100 pK were reported for an experiment at the <!--del_lnk--> Helsinki University of Technology's Low Temperature Lab. However, this was the temperature of one particular degree of freedom — a quantum property called nuclear spin — not the overall average thermodynamic temperature for all possible degrees of freedom.</ul>
<p><a id="Thermodynamics_near_absolute_zero" name="Thermodynamics_near_absolute_zero"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Thermodynamics near absolute zero</span></h2>
<p>At temperatures near 0 K, nearly all molecular motion ceases and <span class="texhtml">Δ</span><i>S</i> = 0 for any <!--del_lnk--> adiabatic process. Pure substances can (ideally) form perfect <a href="../../wp/c/Crystal.htm" title="Crystal">crystals</a> as <i>T</i> <img alt="\rightarrow" class="tex" src="../../images/258/25859.png" />0. <a href="../../wp/m/Max_Planck.htm" title="Max Planck">Planck's</a> strong form of the <!--del_lnk--> third law of thermodynamics states that the <a href="../../wp/e/Entropy.htm" title="Entropy">entropy</a> of a perfect crystal vanishes at absolute zero. However, if the lowest energy state is <!--del_lnk--> degenerate (more than one <!--del_lnk--> microstate), this cannot be true. The original <!--del_lnk--> Nernst <i>heat theorem</i> makes the weaker and less controversial claim that the entropy <i>change</i> for any isothermal process approaches zero as <i>T</i> → 0<dl>
<dd><img alt="\lim_{T \to 0} \Delta S = 0" class="tex" src="../../images/183/18351.png" /></dl>
<p>which implies that the entropy of a perfect crystal simply approaches a constant value.<p><i>The <!--del_lnk--> Nernst postulate identifies the <!--del_lnk--> isotherm T = 0 as coincident with the <!--del_lnk--> adiabat S = 0, although other isotherms and adiabats are distinct. As no two adiabats intersect, no other adiabat can <!--del_lnk--> intersect the T = 0 isotherm. Consequently no adiabatic process initiated at nonzero temperature can lead to zero temperature.</i> (≈ Callen, pp. 189-190)<p>An even stronger assertion is that <i>It is impossible by any procedure to reduce the temperature of a system to zero in a finite number of operations.</i> (≈ Guggenheim, p. 157)<p>A perfect crystal is one in which the internal <!--del_lnk--> lattice structure extends uninterrupted in all directions. The perfect order can be represented by translational <a href="../../wp/s/Symmetry.htm" title="Symmetry">symmetry</a> along three (not usually <!--del_lnk--> orthogonal) <!--del_lnk--> axes. Every lattice element of the structure is in its proper place, whether it is a single atom or a molecular grouping. For <!--del_lnk--> substances which have two (or more) stable crystalline forms, such as <a href="../../wp/d/Diamond.htm" title="Diamond">diamond</a> and <!--del_lnk--> graphite for <a href="../../wp/c/Carbon.htm" title="Carbon">carbon</a>, there is a kind of "chemical degeneracy". The question remains whether both can have zero entropy at <i>T</i> = 0 even though each is perfectly ordered.<p>Perfect crystals never occur in practice; imperfections, and even entire amorphous materials, simply get "frozen in" at low temperatures, so transitions to more stable states do not occur.<p>Using the <!--del_lnk--> Debye model, the <!--del_lnk--> specific heat and entropy of a pure crystal are proportional to <i>T</i><sup> 3</sup>, while the <!--del_lnk--> enthalpy and <!--del_lnk--> chemical potential are proportional to <i>T</i><sup> 4</sup>. (Guggenheim, p. 111) These quantities drop toward their <i>T</i> = 0 limiting values and approach with <i>zero</i> slopes. For the specific heats at least, the limiting value itself is definitely zero, as borne out by experiments to below 10 K. Even the less detailed <a href="../../wp/a/Albert_Einstein.htm" title="Albert Einstein">Einstein</a> model shows this curious drop in specific heats. In fact, all specific heats vanish at absolute zero, not just those of crystals. Likewise for the coefficient of <!--del_lnk--> thermal expansion. <!--del_lnk--> Maxwell's relations show that various other quantities also vanish. These <!--del_lnk--> phenomena were unanticipated.<p>Since the relation between changes in the <!--del_lnk--> Gibbs free energy, the enthalpy and the entropy is<dl>
<dd><img alt="\Delta G = \Delta H - T \Delta S \," class="tex" src="../../images/183/18352.png" /></dl>
<p>it follows that as <i>T</i> decreases, Δ<i>G</i> and Δ<i>H</i> approach each other (so long as Δ<i>S</i> is bounded). <!--del_lnk--> Experimentally, it is found that most <!--del_lnk--> chemical reactions are <!--del_lnk--> exothermic and release heat <i>in the direction</i> they are found to be going, toward <!--del_lnk--> equilbrium. That is, even at <!--del_lnk--> room temperature <i>T</i> is low enough so that the fact that (Δ<i>G</i>)<sub><i>T,P</i></sub> < 0 (usually) implies that Δ<i>H</i> < 0. (In the opposite direction, each such reaction would of course absorb heat.)<p>More than that, the <i>slopes</i> of the temperature derivatives of Δ<i>G</i> and Δ<i>H</i> converge and <i>are equal to zero</i> at <i>T</i> = 0, which ensures that Δ<i>G</i> and Δ<i>H</i> are nearly the same over a considerable range of temperatures, justifying the approximate <a href="../../wp/e/Empiricism.htm" title="Empiricism">empirical</a> <!--del_lnk--> Principle of Thomsen and Berthelot, which says that <i>the equilibrium state to which a system proceeds is the one which evolves the greatest amount of heat</i>, i.e., an actual process is the <i>most exothermic one</i>. (Callen, pp. 186-187)<p><a id="Absolute_temperature_scales" name="Absolute_temperature_scales"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Absolute temperature scales</span></h2>
<p>As mentioned, absolute or <a href="../../wp/t/Thermodynamic_temperature.htm" title="Thermodynamic temperature">thermodynamic temperature</a> is conventionally measured in <!--del_lnk--> kelvins (<!--del_lnk--> Celsius-size degrees), and increasingly rarely in the <!--del_lnk--> Rankine scale (<!--del_lnk--> Fahrenheit-size degrees). Absolute temperature is uniquely determined up to a multiplicative constant which specifies the size of the "degree", so the <i>ratios</i> of two absolute temperatures, <i>T</i><sub>2</sub>/<i>T</i><sub>1</sub>, are the same in all scales. The most transparent definition comes from the classical <!--del_lnk--> Maxwell-Boltzmann distribution over energies, or from the quantum analogs: <!--del_lnk--> Fermi-Dirac statistics (particles of half-integer <!--del_lnk--> spin) and <!--del_lnk--> Bose-Einstein statistics (particles of integer spin), all of which give the relative numbers of particles as (decreasing) <!--del_lnk--> exponential functions of energy over <i>kT</i>. On a <!--del_lnk--> macroscopic level, a definition can be given in terms of the efficiencies of "reversible" <!--del_lnk--> heat engines operating between hotter and colder thermal reservoirs.<p><a id="Negative_temperatures" name="Negative_temperatures"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Negative temperatures</span></h2>
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<dd>
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<p>Certain semi-isolated systems (for example a system of non-interacting spins in a magnetic field) can achieve negative temperatures; however, they are not actually colder than absolute zero. They can be however thought of as "hotter than T=∞", as energy will flow from a negative temperature system to any other system with positive temperature upon contact.<p><a id="See_also" name="See_also"></a><div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Absolute_zero"</div>
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| ['Quantum mechanics', 'Thermodynamic temperature', 'Galileo Galilei', 'Robert Boyle', 'Antoine Lavoisier', 'William Thomson, 1st Baron Kelvin', 'Thermodynamics', 'Earth', 'Crystal', 'Max Planck', 'Entropy', 'Symmetry', 'Diamond', 'Carbon', 'Albert Einstein', 'Empiricism', 'Thermodynamic temperature'] |
Abstract_art | <!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
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<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">Abstract art</h1>
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<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.Art.Art.htm">Art</a></h3>
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<div class="thumbinner" style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/184/18404.jpg.htm" title="Black square by Kazimir Malevich"><img alt="Black square by Kazimir Malevich" class="thumbimage" height="178" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Black_Square.jpg" src="../../images/184/18404.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/184/18404.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div><i>Black square</i> by <!--del_lnk--> Kazimir Malevich</div>
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<p><b>Abstract art</b> is now generally understood to mean <a href="../../wp/a/Art.htm" title="Art">art</a> that does not depict objects in the natural world, but instead uses colour and form in a non-representational way. In the very early <a href="../../wp/2/20th_century.htm" title="20th century">20th century</a>, the term was more often used to describe art, such as <a href="../../wp/c/Cubism.htm" title="Cubism">Cubist</a> and <!--del_lnk--> Futurist art, that depicts real forms in a simplified or rather reduced way—keeping only an allusion of the original natural subject. Such paintings were often claimed to capture something of the depicted objects' immutable <!--del_lnk--> intrinsic qualities rather than its external <!--del_lnk--> appearance. The more precise terms, "non-figurative art," "non-objective art," and "non-representational art" avoid any possible ambiguity.<script type="text/javascript">
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<p>Non-objective art is not an invention of the 20th century — humans have made non-objective art since they first drew pictures in the dirt. In the Islamic religion the depiction of humans is not allowed, and consequently the Islamic culture developed a high standard of <!--del_lnk--> decorative arts. <a href="../../wp/c/Calligraphy.htm" title="Calligraphy">Calligraphy</a> is also a form of non-figurative art. Abstract designs have also existed in <!--del_lnk--> Western culture in many contexts. However, Abstract art is distinct from pattern-making in design, since it draws on the distinction between decorative art and <a href="../../wp/f/Fine_art.htm" title="Fine art">fine art</a>, in which a painting is an object of thoughtful contemplation in its own right.<p><a href="../../wp/c/Constructivism_%2528art%2529.htm" title="Constructivism (art)">Constructivism</a> (1915) and <!--del_lnk--> De Stijl (1917) were parallel movements which took abstraction into the three dimensions of sculpture and architecture. The Constructivists believed that the artist's work was a revolutionary activity, to express the aspirations of the people, using machine production and graphic and photographic means of communication. Some of the American <!--del_lnk--> Abstract expressionists are purely abstract and include: <!--del_lnk--> Barnett Newman, <!--del_lnk--> Mark Rothko, <!--del_lnk--> Willem de Kooning, <!--del_lnk--> Jackson Pollock, <!--del_lnk--> Franz Kline, and <!--del_lnk--> Hans Hofmann although they were at times inspired by myth, figuration, architecture, and nature. <!--del_lnk--> Op Art (1962) and <!--del_lnk--> Minimalism (1965) were two recent idioms. It is, at present possible that an artist's work is seen as an individual entity rather than part of a movement.<p><a id="Gallery" name="Gallery"></a><h2><span class="mw-headline">Gallery</span></h2>
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<div class="thumb" style="padding: 13px 0; width: 150px;"><a href="../../images/184/18419.jpg.htm" title="Image:PollockTela.jpg"><img alt="" height="120" src="../../images/184/18419.jpg" width="84" /></a></div>
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<p><i>Composition no. 16</i> by <!--del_lnk--> Jackson Pollock<p>
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<div class="thumb" style="padding: 24px 0; width: 150px;"><a href="../../images/184/18441.jpg.htm" title="Image:Refabstract.jpg"><img alt="" height="97" src="../../images/184/18441.jpg" width="120" /></a></div>
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<p><i>Reflection</i> by <!--del_lnk--> R.Buckley<p>
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<div class="thumb" style="padding: 25px 0; width: 150px;"><a href="../../images/184/18443.jpg.htm" title="Image:Abstracthelicon.jpg"><img alt="" height="96" src="../../images/184/18443.jpg" width="120" /></a></div>
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<p>Abstract created from a <!--del_lnk--> digital photograph and <!--del_lnk--> image manipulation<p>
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<div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abstract_art"</div>
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<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.Countries.htm">Countries</a>; <a href="../index/subject.Geography.Geography_of_the_Middle_East.Middle_Eastern_Countries.htm">Middle Eastern Countries</a></h3>
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<td align="center" colspan="2" style="width:100%; font-size: 1.25em;"><b>City of Abu Dhabi<br /> أبو ظبي</b></td>
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<div class="floatnone"><span><a class="image" href="../../images/0/4.jpg.htm" title="Skyline of City of Abu Dhabiأبو ظبي"><img alt="Skyline of City of Abu Dhabiأبو ظبي" height="174" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Abu_Dhabi_skyline.jpg" src="../../images/0/4.jpg" width="250" /></a></span></div>
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<center><span style="display: inline;"><span style="display: table-cell; border-collapse: collapse; border: solid 1px #ddd;"><a class="image" href="../../images/0/5.png.htm" title="Official flag of City of Abu Dhabiأبو ظبي"><img alt="Official flag of City of Abu Dhabiأبو ظبي" height="63" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Abu_Dhabi.svg" src="../../images/0/5.png" width="125" /></a></span></span></center>
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<br />
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<td><small><b>[[Flag of City of Abu Dhabi<br /> أبو ظبي|Flag]]</b></small><p>
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<th><a href="../../wp/e/Emirate.htm" title="Emirate">Emirate</a></th>
<td>Abu Dhabi</td>
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<tr class="mergedrow">
<th><!--del_lnk--> Sheikh</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahayan</td>
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<th><!--del_lnk--> Area</th>
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<th> - City</th>
<td>6700 <!--del_lnk--> km²</td>
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<th>Population</th>
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<th> - City (2006)</th>
<td>1,850,230</td>
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<th> - <!--del_lnk--> Density</th>
<td>293.94/km²</td>
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<td align="center" colspan="2"><b>Website:</b> www.abudhabi.com (unofficial)</td>
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<p><b>Abu Dhabi</b> (<a href="../../wp/a/Arabic_language.htm" title="Arabic language">Arabic</a>: <span dir="rtl" lang="ar" style="white-space: nowrap;" xml:lang="ar">أبو ظبي</span>‎ <i>ʼAbū Ẓaby</i>, literally "Father of <a href="../../wp/g/Gazelle.htm" title="Gazelle">Gazelle</a>") is the largest of the seven <a href="../../wp/e/Emirate.htm" title="Emirate">emirates</a> that compose the <a href="../../wp/u/United_Arab_Emirates.htm" title="United Arab Emirates">United Arab Emirates</a> and was also the largest of the former <!--del_lnk--> Trucial States. <b>Abu Dhabi</b> is also a city of the same name within the Emirate that is the <!--del_lnk--> capital of the country, in north central UAE. The city lies on a T-shaped island jutting into the <a href="../../wp/p/Persian_Gulf.htm" title="Persian Gulf">Persian Gulf</a> from the central western coast. An estimated 1,000,000 people lived there in 2000, with about an 80% <!--del_lnk--> expatriate population. Abu Dhabi city is located at <span class="plainlinksneverexpand"><!--del_lnk--> 24.4667° N 54.3667° E</span>. The Emirate has approximately 70% of the country's entire wealth. <!--del_lnk--> Al Ain is Abu Dhabi's second largest urban area with a population of 348,000 (2003 census estimate) and is located 150 kilometres inland.<p>
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</script><a id="History" name="History"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">History</span></h2>
<p>Parts of Abu Dhabi were settled as far back as the <!--del_lnk--> 3rd millennium BC and its early history fits the nomadic herding and fishing pattern typical of the broader region. Modern Abu Dhabi traces its origins to the rise of an important tribal confederation the <!--del_lnk--> Bani Yas in the late <a href="../../wp/1/18th_century.htm" title="18th century">18<sup>th</sup> century</a>, who also assumed control of <a href="../../wp/d/Dubai.htm" title="Dubai">Dubai</a>. In the <a href="../../wp/1/19th_century.htm" title="19th century">19<sup>th</sup> century</a> the Dubai and Abu Dhabi branches parted ways.<p>Into the mid-<a href="../../wp/2/20th_century.htm" title="20th century">20<sup>th</sup> century</a>, the economy of Abu Dhabi continued to be sustained mainly by <a href="../../wp/c/Camel.htm" title="Camel">camel</a> herding, production of <!--del_lnk--> dates and vegetables at the inland <!--del_lnk--> oases of Al Ain and <!--del_lnk--> Liwa, and fishing and <a href="../../wp/p/Pearl.htm" title="Pearl">pearl</a> diving off the coast of Abu Dhabi city, which was occupied mainly during the summer months. Most dwellings in Abu Dhabi city were, at this time constructed of <a href="../../wp/a/Arecaceae.htm" title="Arecaceae">palm</a> fronds (<i>barasti</i>), with the wealthier families occupying <!--del_lnk--> mud <!--del_lnk--> huts. The growth of the cultured pearl industry in the first half of the twentieth century created hardship for residents of Abu Dhabi as pearls represented the largest export and main source of cash earnings.<p>In 1939, <!--del_lnk--> Sheikh <!--del_lnk--> Shakhbut Bin-Sultan Al Nahyan granted <a href="../../wp/p/Petroleum.htm" title="Petroleum">petroleum</a> concessions, and oil was first found in 1958. At first, oil money had a marginal impact. A few lowrise concrete buildings were erected, and the first paved road was completed in 1961, but Sheikh Shakbut, uncertain whether the new oil royalties would last, took a cautious approach, preferring to save the revenue rather than investing it in development. His brother, <!--del_lnk--> Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahayan, saw that oil wealth had the potential to transform Abu Dhabi. The ruling Al Nahayan family decided that Sheikh Zayed should replace his brother as ruler and carry out his vision of developing the country. On <!--del_lnk--> August 6, <!--del_lnk--> 1966, with the assistance of the <a href="../../wp/u/United_Kingdom.htm" title="United Kingdom">British</a>, Sheikh Zayed became the new ruler. (See Al-Fahim, M, <i>From Rags to Riches: A Story of Abu Dhabi</i>, Chapter Six (London Centre of Arab Studies, 1995), <!--del_lnk--> ISBN 1-900404-00-1.)<p>With the announcement by the UK in 1968 that it would withdraw from the Gulf area by 1971, Sheikh Zayed became the main driving force behind the formation of the <a href="../../wp/u/United_Arab_Emirates.htm" title="United Arab Emirates">United Arab Emirates</a>.<p>After the Emirates gained independence in 1971, oil wealth continued to flow to the area and traditional mud-brick huts were rapidly replaced with <!--del_lnk--> banks, boutiques and modern <!--del_lnk--> highrises.<p><a id="Location" name="Location"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Location</span></h2>
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<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/0/8.gif.htm" title="Abu Dhabi is bordered by the Persian Gulf, Saudi Arabia and Oman."><img alt="Abu Dhabi is bordered by the Persian Gulf, Saudi Arabia and Oman." height="92" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Abu_dhabi.gif" src="../../images/0/8.gif" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/0/8.gif.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Abu Dhabi is bordered by the <a href="../../wp/p/Persian_Gulf.htm" title="Persian Gulf">Persian Gulf</a>, <a href="../../wp/s/Saudi_Arabia.htm" title="Saudi Arabia">Saudi Arabia</a> and <a href="../../wp/o/Oman.htm" title="Oman">Oman</a>.</div>
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<p>The emirate of Abu Dhabi is located in the oil-rich and strategic Persian Gulf region. It adjoins the Kingdom of <a href="../../wp/s/Saudi_Arabia.htm" title="Saudi Arabia">Saudi Arabia</a> and the <!--del_lnk--> Sultanate of Oman. The emirate <!--del_lnk--> borders the emirate of <a href="../../wp/d/Dubai.htm" title="Dubai">Dubai</a> to its north.<p>Abu Dhabi city is on an island located less than a quarter-kilometer from the mainland and is joined to the mainland by the Maqta and Musaffah Bridges.<p><a id="Language_and_literature" name="Language_and_literature"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Language and literature</span></h2>
<p>The majority of the inhabitants of Abu Dhabi are expatriate workers and professionals from <a href="../../wp/b/Bangladesh.htm" title="Bangladesh">Bangladesh</a>, <a href="../../wp/i/India.htm" title="India">India</a>, <a href="../../wp/p/Pakistan.htm" title="Pakistan">Pakistan</a>, <a href="../../wp/e/Egypt.htm" title="Egypt">Egypt</a>, <a href="../../wp/p/Philippines.htm" title="Philippines">Philippines</a>, the <a href="../../wp/u/United_Kingdom.htm" title="United Kingdom">United Kingdom</a>, and elsewhere. <a href="../../wp/e/English_language.htm" title="English language">English</a>, <a href="../../wp/h/Hindi.htm" title="Hindi">Hindi</a>, <!--del_lnk--> Malayalam, and <!--del_lnk--> Urdu are widely spoken.<p>The native-born population are <a href="../../wp/a/Arabic_language.htm" title="Arabic language">Arabic</a>-speaking <!--del_lnk--> Gulf Arabs who are part of a clan-based society. The al-Nahyan family, part of the al-Falah branch of the Bani Yas tribe, rules the emirate and has a central place in society.<p><a id="Buildings_and_structures" name="Buildings_and_structures"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Buildings and structures</span></h2>
<p>Abu Dhabi city is a modern city with broad boulevards, tall office and apartment buildings, and busy shops. Principal thoroughfares are The Corniche, Airport Road, Sheikh Zayed Street, Hamdan Street and Khalifa Street. Many streets are known for specialized businesses that tend to cluster on them. Hamdan Street is the main shopping street, Khalifa Street is lined with banks, Al Najdha Street is known for hardware stores, Defense St is filled with mobile telephone shops and Sheikh Zayed St (Also known as Electra Street) is the computer street.<p>Abu Dhabi city is known in the region for its greenery; the former desert strip today includes numerous parks and gardens. Key buildings include the <!--del_lnk--> Qasr al-Hosn (a.k.a. Old Fort or White Fort), Clock Tower (now demolished due to construction of the new Corniche), headquarters of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) and its many operating-company subsiduaries and the Cultural Foundation. The Corniche, which was re-developed in 2005, is now one of the best sea front parks in the Gulf.<p>The current developments in Abu Dhabi, like its neighbour <a href="../../wp/d/Dubai.htm" title="Dubai">Dubai</a>, reflect a number of architectural masterpieces by, among others, <!--del_lnk--> Zaha Hadid and <!--del_lnk--> Frank Gehry.<p>Other urban centers in the Abu Dhabi emirate are <!--del_lnk--> Al 'Ain and <!--del_lnk--> Ruwais. Al Ain is an agglomeration of several villages scattered around a valuable desert oasis; today it is the site of the national university, UAEU. Al Ain is billed as the Garden City of the UAE. Other work includes the 1st prize international competition of the Abu Dhabi Library and Cultural Centre won by the Architects Collaborative, designed by <!--del_lnk--> Hisham N. Ashkouri of Boston, Massachusetts and New York, NY.<p><a id="Current_ruler" name="Current_ruler"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Current ruler</span></h2>
<p>His Highness <!--del_lnk--> Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahayan is the hereditary <!--del_lnk--> emir and ruler of Abu Dhabi, as well as the current president of the United Arab Emirates (UAE).<p><a id="Postage_stamps" name="Postage_stamps"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Postage stamps</span></h2>
<p>see: <!--del_lnk--> Postage stamps of Abu Dhabi<p><a id="Climate" name="Climate"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Climate</span></h2>
<p>Sunny/blue skies can be expected throughout the year. The months June through September are generally hot and humid with temperatures averaging above 40ºC (110ºF). During this time, sandstorms also occur intermittently, in some cases reducing visibility down to a few meters. The weather is usually pleasant from October to May. January to February is cooler and may require the use of a light jacket. This period also sees dense fog on some days. The oasis city of <!--del_lnk--> Al Ain, about 150 km away, bordering Oman, regularly records the highest summer temperatures in the country, however the dry desert air and cooler evenings make it a traditional retreat from the intense summer heat and year round humidity of the capital city.<p><a id="Transport" name="Transport"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Transport</span></h2>
<p><!--del_lnk--> Abu Dhabi International Airport- (AUH) serves this city. The local time is <!--del_lnk--> GMT + 4 hours. Private vehicles and taxis are the primary means of transportation in the city, although public buses, run by the Abu Dhabi Muncipality, are available, but mostly used by the lower-income population. There are bus routes to nearby towns such as Baniyas, Habashan and the garden city of UAE <!--del_lnk--> Al Ain, among others. There is a newer service started in 2005 between Abu Dhabi and the commercial city of Dubai (about 160 km away)<p><a id="City_Planning" name="City_Planning"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">City Planning</span></h2>
<p>The city was planned in the 1970s (all that remains of the previous settlement is <!--del_lnk--> Al Hosn Fort) for an estimated maximum population of 600,000. In accordance with what was considered to be ideal urban planning at the time, the city has wide grid-pattern roads, and high-density tower blocks.<p>On the northerly end of the island, where the population density is highest, the main streets are lined with 20-story towers. Inside this rectangle of towers is a normal grid pattern of roads with lower density buildings (2 storey villas or 6 storey low-rise buildings).<p>Away from the high-density areas, land is primarily used for government buildings and private villas.<p>Mail is delivered to post-office boxes only; there is no door-to-door delivery. There are many parks (or 'public gardens') throughout the city. Entrance is usually free for children, however there is often an entry fee for adults.<p><a id="Planning_Problems" name="Planning_Problems"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Planning Problems</span></h2>
<ul>
<li>The city's population far surpasses the original estimated maximum population when it was designed. This causes traffic congestion, a shortage of car parking spaces, and over crowding.<li>Having Post Office mail delivery only, and no widely-usable address system thus far for buildings, causes problems in describing building locations. This means directions must often be given based on nearby landmarks.<li>The lack of a comprehensive, reliable, and frequent public transport system has led to a near complete dependence on private cars as a means of transport.<li>Grid-pattern roads mean a public transportation system is difficult to implement without requiring a moderate amount of walking, which would be a large deterrent to usage.<li>Closely positioned, high-rise towers often means accommodation is dark and claustrophobic.</ul>
<p><a id="Future_Development" name="Future_Development"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Future Development</span></h2>
<ul>
<li>The city's exhibition centre (<!--del_lnk--> ADNEC) is currently experiencing huge development.<li>A metro, and improved bus services are planned to resolve traffic problems.<li><!--del_lnk--> Parking meters are currently being tried out as a solution to parking problems.</ul>
<p>New developments on islands surrounding the city plan to increase the population of the city by up to 800,000.<p><a id="Major_Projects_Under_Construction" name="Major_Projects_Under_Construction"></a><h4> <span class="mw-headline">Major Projects Under Construction</span></h4>
<ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Saadiyat Island ('Island of Happiness')<li><!--del_lnk--> Al Lulu Island<li><!--del_lnk--> Reem Island<li><!--del_lnk--> Al Raha</ul>
<p><a id="Culture_and_the_Arts" name="Culture_and_the_Arts"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Culture and the Arts</span></h2>
<p>Abu Dhabi is home to a number of cultural institutions including the <!--del_lnk--> Cultural Foundation and the <!--del_lnk--> National Theatre. The Cultural foundation is home to the <!--del_lnk--> UAE Public Library and Cultural Centre. Various cultural societies such as the Abu Dhabi Classical Music Society have a strong and visible following in the city.<ul>
<li>Progress on the creation of a major "up-scale cultural district" on Abu Dhabi's <!--del_lnk--> Saadiyat Island has begun with the groundwork for a $400 million <!--del_lnk--> Guggenheim Museum.</ul>
<ul>
<li>The <!--del_lnk--> Frank Gehry designed museum will display a "prestige collection" of modernist and contemporary art and is scheduled for completion in 2011. Upon completion, it is expected to be the largest exponent of the prestigious <!--del_lnk--> Guggenheim Museums.</ul>
<ul>
<li>The island development will also include museums for classical art and performing arts centers among other state-of-the-art cultural facilities.</ul>
<ul>
<li>$28 Billion has been set aside to budget this cultural development.</ul>
<div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abu_Dhabi"</div>
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<td align="center" colspan="2" style="width:100%; font-size: 1.25em;"><b>Abuja, Nigeria</b></td>
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<td colspan="2" style="text-align: center; padding: 0.7em 0.8em 0.7em 0.8em;;">
<div class="floatnone"><span><a class="image" href="../../images/0/13.jpg.htm" title="Abuja, Nigeria."><img alt="Abuja, Nigeria." height="170" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Abuja.jpg" src="../../images/0/13.jpg" width="250" /></a></span></div><small>Abuja, Nigeria.</small></td>
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<td colspan="2" style="text-align: center; padding: 0.7em 0.8em 0.7em 0.8em;">
<div class="floatnone"><span><a class="image" href="../../images/0/14.png.htm" title="Map of Nigeria showing the location of Abuja in the center of Nigeria."><img alt="Map of Nigeria showing the location of Abuja in the center of Nigeria." height="221" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Locator_Map_Abuja-Nigeria.png" src="../../images/0/14.png" width="270" /></a></span></div><small>Map of Nigeria showing the location of Abuja in the centre of Nigeria.</small></td>
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<tr class="mergedtoprow">
<th>Province</th>
<td>Federal Capital Territory</td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedrow">
<th>Minister</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Nasir Ahmad el-Rufai</td>
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<tr class="mergedtoprow">
<th><!--del_lnk--> Area</th>
<th> </th>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedrow">
<th> - City</th>
<td>713km <!--del_lnk--> km²</td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedrow">
<th> - Land</th>
<td>713km km²</td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedtoprow">
<th>Population</th>
<th> </th>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedrow">
<th> - City (2005)</th>
<td>1,320,000</td>
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<tr class="mergedrow">
<th> - <!--del_lnk--> Urban</th>
<td>1,400,000</td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedrow">
<th> - <!--del_lnk--> Metro</th>
<td>1,814,000</td>
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<tr class="mergedbottomrow">
<th> </th>
<td><small>estimated</small></td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedtoprow">
<th><a href="../../wp/t/Time_zone.htm" title="Time zone">Time zone</a></th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> CET (<!--del_lnk--> UTC+1)</td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedbottomrow">
<th><span style="white-space: nowrap;"> - Summer (<!--del_lnk--> DST)</span></th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> CEST (<!--del_lnk--> UTC+1)</td>
</tr>
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<td align="center" colspan="2"><b>Website:</b> <!--del_lnk--> http://www.fct.gov.ng/</td>
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</table>
<p><b>Abuja</b> is the <!--del_lnk--> capital city of <a href="../../wp/n/Nigeria.htm" title="Nigeria">Nigeria</a>, with an estimated population of 2.5 million. When it was decided to move the national capital from <a href="../../wp/l/Lagos.htm" title="Lagos">Lagos</a> in 1976, a capital territory was chosen for its location near the centre of the country. The planned city is located in the centre of what is now the <!--del_lnk--> Federal Capital Territory.<p>
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</script><a id="History" name="History"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">History</span></h2>
<p>In light of the ethnic and religious divisions of Nigeria, plans had been devised since Nigeria's independence to have its capital in a location deemed neutral to all parties. The location was eventually designated in the centre of the country in the early 1970s as it signified neutrality and national unity. Another impetus for Abuja came because of <a href="../../wp/l/Lagos.htm" title="Lagos">Lagos</a>'s population boom, that made that city overcrowded and conditions squalid. The logic used was similar to <a href="../../wp/b/Brazil.htm" title="Brazil">Brazil</a> building its capital <a href="../../wp/b/Bras%25C3%25ADlia.htm" title="Brasília">Brasília</a> (which happened at around the same time).<p>Construction broke ground and was dedicated in the late 1970s, but due to economic and political instability, the city in its initial stages was not complete until the late 1980s.<p>Abuja officially became Nigeria's capital on <!--del_lnk--> 12 December <!--del_lnk--> 1991. The master plan for Abuja and the Federal Capital Territory was developed by IPA (International Planning Associates), a consortium made up of three American firms: PRC Corporation; Wallace, McHarg, Roberts and Todd; and, Archisystems, which was a division of the <!--del_lnk--> Hughes Organization. The master plan for Abuja defined the general shape and major design elements of the city, however a refinement of this design was accomplished by <!--del_lnk--> Kenzo Tange, a renowned Japanese architect, along with his team of city planners at <!--del_lnk--> Kenzo Tange and Urtec company.<p>The <!--del_lnk--> crescent shape of the city reflects infrastructure considerations and the topography of the site, however some feel it reflects the will of the <!--del_lnk--> Muslim faithful, who sanctioned this design.<p>Most countries moved their <!--del_lnk--> embassies to Abuja and maintain their larger former embassies as <!--del_lnk--> consulates in the commercial capital, Lagos.<p>In addition to a major governmental centre, Abuja is the headquarters of the <!--del_lnk--> Economic Community of West African States or ECOWAS, as well as its Military arm, <!--del_lnk--> ECOMOG. It also has the regional headquarters of <!--del_lnk--> OPEC.<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/0/15.jpg.htm" title="Aso Rock"><img alt="Aso Rock" height="167" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Asorock.jpg" src="../../images/0/15.jpg" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/0/15.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Aso Rock</div>
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<p>Abuja's feature is <!--del_lnk--> Aso Rock, a 400-metre monolith left by water erosion. The <!--del_lnk--> Presidential Complex, <!--del_lnk--> National Assembly, <!--del_lnk--> Supreme Court and much of the town extend to the south of the rock. "Aso" means "victorious" in the language of the (now displaced) <!--del_lnk--> Asokoro ("the people of victory").<p>Other sights include the <!--del_lnk--> Nigerian National Mosque and the <!--del_lnk--> National Ecumenical Centre <!--del_lnk--> cathedral. The city is served by the <!--del_lnk--> Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, while <!--del_lnk--> Zuma Rock lies nearby. Much of the city has not yet been built as planned, and many buildings have not yet been completed.<p><a id="Weather_and_climate" name="Weather_and_climate"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Weather and climate</span></h2>
<p>The FCT experiences three weather conditions annually. These are the <!--del_lnk--> rainy season (the equivalent of spring in the temperate region) and the <!--del_lnk--> dry season (the equivalent of summer in the temperate climate). In between the two seasons, there is a brief interlude of <!--del_lnk--> harmattan occasioned by the North East Trade Wind, with the main feature of dust haze, intensified coldness and dryness. The rainy season begins from April and ends in October. The high altitudes and undulating terrain of the FCT act as moderating influence on the weather of the territory. Rainfall in the FCT reflects the territory's location on the windward side of the <!--del_lnk--> Jos Plateau and the zone of rising air masses. The annual total rainfall is in the range of 1100mm to 1600mm.<p><a id="Vegetation" name="Vegetation"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Vegetation</span></h2>
<p>The area now designated the Federal Capital Territory falls within the <!--del_lnk--> Savannah Zone vegetation of the West African sub-region. Patches of <!--del_lnk--> rain forest, however, occur in the <!--del_lnk--> Gwagwa plains, especially in the gullied train to the south and the rugged south-eastern parts of the territory. These areas of the FCT form one of the surviving occurrences of the mature forest vegetation in Nigeria. The dominant vegetation of the Territory is, however, classified into three savannah types.<dl>
<dt>The Park or Grassy Savannah<dd>This is about 53 percent (i.e. 4,231 square km) of the total area of the FCT. Vegetation occurs annually and tree species found include; <!--del_lnk--> Albizia, <!--del_lnk--> Zygia, <!--del_lnk--> Butyrospernum paradoxum, <!--del_lnk--> Anniellia, <!--del_lnk--> Oliveri and <!--del_lnk--> Parkia Clappertoniana.<dt>The Savannah Woodland<dd>This region covers 12.8 percent of 1,026 square km of the territory. It occurs mostly on the <!--del_lnk--> Gurara, <!--del_lnk--> Robo and <!--del_lnk--> Rubochi plains and surrounding hills. Common trees found in this region include; <!--del_lnk--> afzelia, <!--del_lnk--> africana anogeissus, <!--del_lnk--> leiocarpus, <!--del_lnk--> butyroscarpus paradoxim, <!--del_lnk--> daniella oliveri, <!--del_lnk--> khaya senegalensis, <!--del_lnk--> prosopis africana, <!--del_lnk--> uapaca togoensis, <!--del_lnk--> albizia, <!--del_lnk--> zygia, <!--del_lnk--> vitex doniant, <!--del_lnk--> bombox costatum and <!--del_lnk--> ptrecarpus erinaceus.<dt>The Shrub Savannah<dd>This class of vegetation occurs extensively in rough terrain close to hills and ridges in all parts of the territory. It covers about 12.9 percent or 1,031 square km of the land area. Tree species found in it include: <!--del_lnk--> antiaris africana, <!--del_lnk--> anthocleista nobils, <!--del_lnk--> ceiba pentandra, <!--del_lnk--> cola gigantean, <!--del_lnk--> celtis spp, <!--del_lnk--> Chorophora excels (iroko), <!--del_lnk--> khaya grandifolia (Benin Mahogany) terminalia superb (afara), <!--del_lnk--> triplochiton scleroxylon and <!--del_lnk--> dracacna arborea. Certain tree species normally associated with other parts of the rain forest in the south of Nigeria are also found in some of the forest patches, e.g. <!--del_lnk--> piptadeniatrum africanum (agboin), <!--del_lnk--> lophira alata (ekki) and <!--del_lnk--> terminalia ivorensis (idigbo).</dl>
<p>Apart from the rain forest elements, some dominant tree species of the savannah wood lands yield high quality timber, e.g. <!--del_lnk--> Anogeissus leiocarpus, <!--del_lnk--> daneilla oliveri, <!--del_lnk--> khaya senegalensis and <!--del_lnk--> pterocarpus arenaceous.<p><a id="Abuja_Districts" name="Abuja_Districts"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Abuja Districts</span></h2>
<p>Abuja is divided into four districts.<p><a id="Central_District" name="Central_District"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Central District</span></h3>
<p>The city has been well planned and the Central District is located between the foot of Aso Rock and into the Three Arms Zone to the southern base of the ring road. It is like the city's spinal cord, dividing it into the northern sector with <!--del_lnk--> Maitama and <!--del_lnk--> Wuse, and the southern sector with <!--del_lnk--> Garki and <!--del_lnk--> Asokoro. While each district has its own clearly demarcated commercial and residential sectors, the Central District is the city's principal Business Zone, where practically all parastatals and multinational corporations have their offices located. An attractive area in the Central District is the region known as the Three Arms Zone, so called because it houses the administrative offices of the executive, legislative and judicial arms of the Federal Government. A few of the other sites worth seeing in the area are the Federal Secretariats alongside Shehu Shagari way, Aso Hill, the Abuja Plant Nursery, Parade Square and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier across the road facing it. The Brigade of Guards organizes a twenty-four watch at the spot and they have a colourful ceremonial change of guard. The National Mosque and National Church are located opposite each other on either side of Independence Avenue.<p><a id="Garki_District" name="Garki_District"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Garki District</span></h3>
<p>The <!--del_lnk--> Garki District is the area in the southwest corner of the city, having the Central District to the north and the Asokoro District to the east. There are some interesting buildings, which include the General Post Office, Abuja International Conference Center, Abuja Sofitel Hotel, Agura Hotel, the Federal Secretariat Complex, Garki Shopping centre, several bank buildings and other commercial offices. At present it is the principal business district of Abuja.<p><a id="Wuse_District" name="Wuse_District"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Wuse District</span></h3>
<p><!--del_lnk--> Wuse District is the northwestern part of the city, with the Maitama District to its north and the Central District to its south. The Wuse Market is Abuja's principal market. The second most important Post Office in the city is located here. This district also houses the Sheraton Hotel and Towers, Ibru International hotel, and the Nigerian Tourism Development Corporation.<p><a id="Maitama_District" name="Maitama_District"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Maitama District</span></h3>
<p><!--del_lnk--> Maitama District is to the north of the city, with the Wuse and Central Districts lying to its southwest and southeast respectively. This area is home to the top bracket sections of society and business, and has the reputation of being very exclusive and also very expensive. Interesting buildings include the Transcorp Hilton Hotel, National Universities Commission, Soil Conservation Complex, and National Electoral Commission.<p>Maitama District is home to many European embassies in Nigeria.<p>Abuja is one of the cities bidding for the <!--del_lnk--> 2014 Commonwealth Games.<p><a id="Transportation" name="Transportation"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Transportation</span></h2>
<p><!--del_lnk--> Abuja International Airport<p><a id="External_links" name="External_links"></a><div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abuja"</div>
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<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">Acceleration</h1>
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<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.Science.Physics.General_Physics.htm">General Physics</a></h3>
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<div class="thumbinner" style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/184/18448.png.htm" title="Acceleration is the time rate of change of velocity, and at any point on a velocity-time graph, it is given by the slope of the tangent to that point"><img alt="Acceleration is the time rate of change of velocity, and at any point on a velocity-time graph, it is given by the slope of the tangent to that point" class="thumbimage" height="142" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Acceleration.svg" src="../../images/184/18448.png" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/184/18448.png.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Acceleration is the time rate of change of velocity, and at any point on a velocity-time graph, it is given by the slope of the tangent to that point</div>
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<p>In <a href="../../wp/p/Physics.htm" title="Physics">physics</a> or physical science, <b>acceleration</b> (symbol: <i>a</i>) is defined as the rate of change (or <!--del_lnk--> derivative with respect to time) of <!--del_lnk--> velocity. It is thus a <!--del_lnk--> vector quantity with dimension <!--del_lnk--> length/<a href="../../wp/t/Time.htm" title="Time">time</a>². In <!--del_lnk--> SI units, acceleration is measured in <!--del_lnk--> metres/second² (m·s<sup>-</sup>²) using an <!--del_lnk--> accelerometer.<script type="text/javascript">
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<p><a id="Explanation" name="Explanation"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Explanation</span></h2>
<p>To accelerate an object is to change its velocity, which is accomplished by altering either its speed or direction (as in the case of uniform circular motion) in relation to time. In this strict mathematical sense, acceleration can have positive and negative values (deceleration). Any time that the sign (+ or -) of the acceleration is the same as the sign of the velocity, the object will speed up. If the signs are opposite, the object will slow down. Acceleration is a vector defined by properties of magnitude (size or measurability) and direction. When either velocity or direction are changed, there is acceleration (or deceleration)<p>Since:<dl>
<dd><img alt="\vec{F} = {\mathrm{d}\vec{p} \over \mathrm{d}t}" class="tex" src="../../images/184/18450.png" /></dl>
<p>Then, for the definition of instantaneous acceleration;<dl>
<dd><img alt="A = \lim_{dt\rightarrow 0} \frac{dv}{dt} = \frac{dv}{dt} = \frac{d}{dt}(\frac{dx}{dt}) = \frac{d^2x}{dt^2}" class="tex" src="../../images/184/18451.png" /></dl>
<p>also <img alt="\mathbf{v}=\int_0^n ({\mathrm{d}\mathbf{v} \over \mathrm{d}t})\,dt" class="tex" src="../../images/184/18452.png" /> OR <img alt="\mathbf{v}=\int_0^n \mathbf{a}\,dt" class="tex" src="../../images/184/18453.png" />, i.e. Velocity can be thought of as the integral of acceleration with respect to the time. (Note, this can be a definite or indefinite integration).<dl>
<dd><img alt="\mathbf{a}" class="tex" src="../../images/184/18454.png" /> is the acceleration <!--del_lnk--> vector (as acceleration is a vector, it must be described with both a <!--del_lnk--> direction and a <!--del_lnk--> has a::magnitude).<dd><b>v</b> is the velocity function<dd><b>x</b> is the position function (also known as displacement or change in position)<dd><b>t</b> is time<dd><b>d</b> is <!--del_lnk--> Leibniz's notation for differentiation</dl>
<p>When velocity is plotted against time on a <!--del_lnk--> velocity vs. time graph, the acceleration is given by the slope, or the <!--del_lnk--> derivative of the graph.<p>If used with <!--del_lnk--> SI standard units (metres per second for velocity; seconds for time) this equation gives <b>a</b> the units of m/(s·s), or m/s² (read as "metres per second per second", or "metres per second squared").<p>An average acceleration, or acceleration over time, <b>ā</b> can be defined as:<dl>
<dd><img alt="\mathbf{\bar{a}} = {\mathbf{v} - \mathbf{u} \over t}" class="tex" src="../../images/184/18455.png" /></dl>
<p>where<dl>
<dd><b>u</b> is the initial velocity (m/s)</dl>
<dl>
<dd><b>v</b> is the final velocity (m/s)</dl>
<dl>
<dd><i>t</i> is the time interval (s) elapsed between the two velocity measurements (also written as "Δt")</dl>
<p><!--del_lnk--> Transverse acceleration (<!--del_lnk--> perpendicular to velocity), as with any acceleration which is not <!--del_lnk--> parallel to the direction of motion, causes change in direction. If it is constant in magnitude and changing in direction with the velocity, we get a <!--del_lnk--> circular motion. For this <!--del_lnk--> centripetal acceleration we have<dl>
<dd><img alt="\mathbf{a} = - \frac{v^2}{r} \frac{\mathbf{r}}{r} = - \omega^2 \mathbf{r}" class="tex" src="../../images/184/18456.png" /></dl>
<p>One common unit of acceleration is <i><!--del_lnk--> g</i>, one <i>g</i> (more specifically, <i>g</i><sub>n</sub> or <i>g</i> <sub>0</sub>) being the standard <!--del_lnk--> uniform acceleration of free fall or 9.80665 m/s², caused by the <!--del_lnk--> gravitational field of <a href="../../wp/e/Earth.htm" title="Earth">Earth</a> at <a href="../../wp/s/Sea.htm" title="Sea">sea</a> level at about 45.5° <!--del_lnk--> latitude.<p><!--del_lnk--> Jerk is the rate of change of an object's acceleration over time.<p>In <!--del_lnk--> classical mechanics, acceleration <img alt="a \" class="tex" src="../../images/184/18457.png" /> is related to <!--del_lnk--> force <img alt="F \" class="tex" src="../../images/39/3979.png" /> and <!--del_lnk--> mass <img alt="m \" class="tex" src="../../images/184/18458.png" /> (assumed to be constant) by way of <!--del_lnk--> Newton's second law:<dl>
<dd><img alt="\mathbf{F} = m \cdot \mathbf{a}" class="tex" src="../../images/184/18459.png" /></dl>
<p>As a result of its <!--del_lnk--> invariance under the <!--del_lnk--> Galilean transformations, acceleration is an absolute quantity in <!--del_lnk--> classical mechanics.<p><a id="Relation_to_relativity" name="Relation_to_relativity"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Relation to relativity</span></h2>
<p>After defining his theory of <a href="../../wp/s/Special_relativity.htm" title="Special relativity">special relativity</a>, <a href="../../wp/a/Albert_Einstein.htm" title="Albert Einstein">Albert Einstein</a> realized that forces felt by objects undergoing constant <!--del_lnk--> proper acceleration are indistinguishable from those in a gravitational field, and thus defined <!--del_lnk--> general relativity that also explained how gravity's effects could be limited by the speed of <a href="../../wp/l/Light.htm" title="Light">light</a>.<p>If you accelerate away from your friend, you could say (given your frame of reference) that it is your friend who is accelerating away from you, although only <i>you</i> feel any force. This is also the basis for the popular <!--del_lnk--> Twin paradox, which asks why only one twin ages when moving away from his sibling at near light-speed and then returning, since the aging twin can say that it is the other twin that was moving. <!--del_lnk--> General relativity solved the "why does only one object feel accelerated?" problem which had plagued philosophers and scientists since Newton's time (and caused Newton to endorse absolute space). In <i>special</i> relativity, only <!--del_lnk--> inertial frames of reference (non-accelerated frames) can be used and are equivalent; <i>general</i> relativity considers <i>all</i> frames, even accelerated ones, to be equivalent. With changing velocity, accelerated objects exist in warped space (as do those that reside in a gravitational field). Therefore, frames of reference must include a description of their local <!--del_lnk--> spacetime <!--del_lnk--> curvature to qualify as complete.<p><a id="See_also" name="See_also"></a><div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acceleration"</div>
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<p><b>Accountancy</b> (<!--del_lnk--> profession) or <b>accounting</b> (<!--del_lnk--> methodology) is the measurement, disclosure or provision of assurance about financial information that helps managers, investors, tax authorities and other decision makers make resource allocation decisions. <!--del_lnk--> Financial accounting is one branch of accounting and historically has involved processes by which financial information about a business is recorded, classified, summarized, interpreted, and communicated.<p><!--del_lnk--> Auditing, a related but separate discipline, has two sub-disciplines: Internal and External auditing. External auditing is the process whereby an independent auditor examines an organization's financial statements and accounting records in order to express an opinion — that conveys reasonable but not absolute assurance — as to the truth and fairness of the statements and the accountant's adherence to <!--del_lnk--> Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP), in all material respects.<p>Internal auditing is an examination in which management, and not the external public, is the main beneficiary. It is carried out usually by auditors employed by the company, but sometimes by external service providers. The internal auditor's role is broader, and basically depends on what kind of assurance management wants. It usually certifies the efficiency and effectiveness of processes, departments, projects or internal controls. The Institute of Internal Auditors is generally accepted as the custodian of Internal Auditing best practice.<p>At the heart of accounting is the measurement of financial transactions which are transfers of legal property rights made under contractual relationships. Non-financial transactions are specifically excluded due to conservatism and materiality principles.<p>Practitioners of accountancy are known as <b><!--del_lnk--> accountants</b>. There are many professional bodies for accountants throughout the world. Many allow their members to use titles indicating their membership. Examples are <!--del_lnk--> Chartered Certified Accountant (<!--del_lnk--> ACCA or <!--del_lnk--> FCCA), <!--del_lnk--> Chartered Accountant (FCA, CA or ACA) and <!--del_lnk--> Certified Public Accountant (CPA).<p>Accountancy attempts to create accurate <!--del_lnk--> financial reports that are useful to managers, regulators, and other <!--del_lnk--> stakeholders such as <!--del_lnk--> shareholders, <!--del_lnk--> creditors, or owners. The day-to-day record-keeping involved in this process is known as <!--del_lnk--> bookkeeping.<p>At the heart of modern financial accounting is the <!--del_lnk--> double-entry bookkeeping system. This system involves making at least two entries for every transaction: a debit in one account, and a corresponding credit in another account. The sum of all debits should always equal the sum of all credits. This provides an easy way to check for errors. This system was first used in medieval <a href="../../wp/e/Europe.htm" title="Europe">Europe</a>, although claims have been made that the system dates back to <a href="../../wp/a/Ancient_Greece.htm" title="Ancient Greece">Ancient Greece</a>.<p>According to critics of <!--del_lnk--> standard accounting practices, it has changed little since. <!--del_lnk--> Accounting reform measures of some kind have been taken in each generation to attempt to keep <!--del_lnk--> bookkeeping relevant to capital assets or production capacity. However, these have not changed the basic principles, which are supposed to be independent of <a href="../../wp/e/Economics.htm" title="Economics">economics</a> as such. In recent times, the divergence of accounting from economic principles has resulted in controversial reforms to make financial reports more indicative of economic reality.<p>
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</script><a id="History" name="History"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">History</span></h2>
<p>Accountancy's infancy dates back to the earliest days of <a href="../../wp/h/Human.htm" title="Human">human</a> <a href="../../wp/a/Agriculture.htm" title="Agriculture">agriculture</a> and <a href="../../wp/c/Civilization.htm" title="Civilization">civilization</a> (the <!--del_lnk--> Sumerians in <a href="../../wp/m/Mesopotamia.htm" title="Mesopotamia">Mesopotamia</a>), when the need to maintain accurate records of the quantities and relative values of agricultural products first arose. Simple accounting is mentioned in the <!--del_lnk--> Christian Bible in the <!--del_lnk--> book of Matthew, in the Parable of the Talents (Matt. 25:19). The <!--del_lnk--> Quran also mentions simple accounting for trade and credit arrangements (Quran 2: 282).<p>Twelveth century writer <!--del_lnk--> Ibn Taymiyyah mentioned in his book <!--del_lnk--> Hisba (verification, calculation), detailed accounting systems used by the <!--del_lnk--> Muslims as early as in the mid-seventh century. The accounting practices were influenced by the <!--del_lnk--> Roman and the <a href="../../wp/p/Persian_Empire.htm" title="Persian Empire">Persian</a> civilizations that Muslims interacted with. The most detailed example of a complex governmental accounting system is the Divan of <!--del_lnk--> Umar, the second <!--del_lnk--> Caliph of <a href="../../wp/i/Islam.htm" title="Islam">Islam</a> in which all revenues and disbursements were recorded. The Divan of <!--del_lnk--> Umar has been described in detail by various Islamic historians and was used by <!--del_lnk--> Muslim rulers with mofidications and enhancements until the fall of the <a href="../../wp/o/Ottoman_Empire.htm" title="Ottoman Empire">Ottoman Empire</a>.<p><a id="Luca_Pacioli_and_the_birth_of_modern_accountancy" name="Luca_Pacioli_and_the_birth_of_modern_accountancy"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Luca Pacioli and the birth of modern accountancy</span></h3>
<p>The first book on accounting was written by a <a href="../../wp/c/Croatia.htm" title="Croatia">Croatian</a> merchant <!--del_lnk--> Benedetto Cotrugli, who is also known as Benedikt Kotruljević, from the city of <!--del_lnk--> Dubrovnik. During his life in <a href="../../wp/i/Italy.htm" title="Italy">Italy</a> he met many merchants and decide to write, <i>Della Mercatvra et del Mercante Perfetto</i> (<i>On Trade and the Perfect Merchant</i>) in which he elaborated on the principles of modern, <!--del_lnk--> double-entry book-keeping. He finished his lifework in <!--del_lnk--> 1458. However, his work was not published until <!--del_lnk--> 1573, as a result of which his contributions to the field have been overlooked by the general public.<p>For this reason, <!--del_lnk--> Luca Pacioli (1445 - 1517), also known as Friar Luca dal Borgo, is credited for the "birth" of accounting. His <i>Summa de arithmetica, geometrica, proportioni et proportionalita</i> (<!--del_lnk--> Venice <!--del_lnk--> 1494), a synthesis of the mathematical knowledge of his time, includes the first published description of the method of keeping accounts that Venetian merchants used at that time, known as the <!--del_lnk--> double-entry accounting system. Although Pacioli codified rather than invented this system, he is widely regarded as the "Father of Accounting". The system he published included most of the accounting cycle as we know it today. He described the use of journals and ledgers, and warned that a person should not go to sleep at night until the debits equalled the credits! His ledger had accounts for assets (including receivables and inventories), liabilities, capital, income, and expenses — the account categories that are reported on an organization's <!--del_lnk--> balance sheet and <!--del_lnk--> income statement, respectively. He demonstrated year-end closing entries and proposed that a trial balance be used to prove a balanced ledger. His treatise also touches on a wide range of related topics from accounting ethics to cost accounting.<p>The first known book in the <a href="../../wp/e/English_language.htm" title="English language">English language</a> on accounting was published in <a href="../../wp/l/London.htm" title="London">London</a> by John Gouge (or Gough) in <!--del_lnk--> 1543. It is described as <i>A Profitable Treatyce called the Instrument or Boke to learn to knowe the good order of the kepyng of the famouse reconynge, called in Latin, Dare and Habere, and, in English, Debitor and Creditor</i>.<p>A short book of instructions was also published in 1588 by <!--del_lnk--> John Mellis of <!--del_lnk--> Southwark, in which he says, "I am but the renuer and reviver of an ancient old copie printed here in London the 14 of August 1543: collected, published, made, and set forth by one Hugh Oldcastle, Scholemaster, who, as appeareth by his treatise, then taught Arithmetics, and this booke in Saint Ollaves parish in Marko Lane." John Mellis refers to the fact that the principle of accounts he explains (which is a simple system of double entry) is "after the forme of Venice".<p>A book described as <i>The Merchants Mirrour, or directions for the perfect ordering and keeping of his accounts formed by way of Debitor and Creditor</i>, after the (so termed) Italian manner, by Richard Dafforne, accountant, published in 1635, contains many references to early books on the science of accountancy. In a chapter in this book, headed "Opinion of Book-keeping's Antiquity," the author states, on the authority of another writer, that the form of book-keeping referred to had then been in use in Italy about two hundred years, "but that the same, or one in many parts very like this, was used in the time of Julius Caesar, and in Rome long before." He gives quotations of Latin book-keeping terms in use in ancient times, and refers to "ex Oratione Ciceronis pro Roscio Comaedo"; and he adds:<dl>
<dd>"That the one side of their booke was used for Debitor, the other for Creditor, is manifest in a certain place, <i>Naturalis Historiae Plinii</i>, lib. 2, cap. 7, where hee, speaking of Fortune, saith thus:</dl>
<dl>
<dd><i>Huic Omnia Expensa.</i><dd><i>Huic Omnia Feruntur accepta et in tota Ratione mortalium sola.</i><dd><i>Utramque Paginam facit."</i></dl>
<p>An early Dutch writer appears to have suggested that double-entry book-keeping was even in existence among the Greeks, pointing to scientific accountancy having been invented in remote times.<p>There were several editions of Richard Dafforne's book - the second edition in 1636, the third in 1656, and another in 1684. The book is a very complete treatise on scientific accountancy, beautifully prepared and containing elaborate explanations. The numerous editions tend to prove that the science was highly appreciated in the 17th century. From this time on, there has been a continuous supply of literature on the subject, many of the authors styling themselves accountants and teachers of the art, and thus proving that the professional accountant was then known and employed.<p><a id="Accountancy_qualifications_and_regulation" name="Accountancy_qualifications_and_regulation"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Accountancy qualifications and regulation</span></h2>
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<p>The requirements for entry in the profession of accounting vary from country to country.<p>Accountants may be <!--del_lnk--> licensed by a variety of organisations, such as the <!--del_lnk--> British qualified accountancy bodies including <!--del_lnk--> Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (<!--del_lnk--> ACCA) and <!--del_lnk--> Institute of Chartered Accountants, and are recognized by titles such as <i><!--del_lnk--> Chartered Certified Accountant</i> (ACCA or FCCA) and <i><!--del_lnk--> Chartered Accountant</i> (UK, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, India, Pakistan, South Africa), <i><!--del_lnk--> Certified Public Accountant</i> (Ireland, Japan, US, Singapore, Hong Kong, the Philippines), <i><!--del_lnk--> Certified Management Accountant</i> (Canada, U.S.), <i><!--del_lnk--> Certified General Accountant</i> (Canada), or <i><!--del_lnk--> Certified Practising Accountant</i> (Australia). Some Commonwealth countries (Australia and Canada) often recognise both the certified and chartered accounting bodies. The majority of "public" accountants in New Zealand and Canada are Chartered Accountants; however, Certified General Accountants are also authorized by legislation to practise public accounting and auditing in all Canadian provinces, except Ontario and Quebec, as of 2005. There is, however, no legal requirement for an accountant to be a paid-up member of one of the many Institutes and other bodies which are effectively a form of professional trade union. Unlike the <!--del_lnk--> Law Society, which can legally stop a solicitor from practising, accountancy institutes do not have such authority. However, auditors are regulated.<p><a id="Accounting_scholarship" name="Accounting_scholarship"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">The "Big Four" accountancy firms</span></h2>
<p>The "<!--del_lnk--> Big Four auditors" are the largest <!--del_lnk--> multinational accountancy firms.<ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> PricewaterhouseCoopers<li><!--del_lnk--> Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu<li><!--del_lnk--> Ernst & Young<li><!--del_lnk--> KPMG</ul>
<p>These firms are associations of the partnerships in each country rather than having the classical structure of holding company and subsidiaries, but each has an international 'umbrella' organization for co-ordination.<p>Before the Enron and other <!--del_lnk--> accounting scandals, there were five large firms and were called the Big Five. Since <!--del_lnk--> Arthur Andersen's <!--del_lnk--> assurance practice split (after the firm was found guilty in the Enron scandal), with a plurality joining KPMG in the US and Deloitte & Touche outside of the US, Arthur Andersen left from the group. Previous to this there were also groupings referred to as the "Big Six" (Arthur Andersen, plus Coopers & Lybrand before its merger with Price Waterhouse) and the "Big Eight" (Ernst and Young prior to their merger were Ernst& Whinney and Arthur Young and Deloitte & Touche was formed by the merger of Deloitte, Haskins and Sells with the firm Touche Ross).<p>Enron turned out to be only the first of a series of accounting scandals that enveloped the accounting industry in 2002.<p>This is likely to have far-reaching consequences for the U.S. accounting industry. Application of <!--del_lnk--> International Accounting Standards originating in <!--del_lnk--> International Accounting Standards Board headquartered in <a href="../../wp/l/London.htm" title="London">London</a> and bearing more resemblance to UK than current <!--del_lnk--> US practices is often advocated by those who note the relative stability of the UK accounting system (which reformed itself after scandals in the late 1980s and early 1990s). <!--del_lnk--> Accounting reform of a far more comprehensive sort is advocated by those who see issues with <a href="../../wp/c/Capitalism.htm" title="Capitalism">capitalism</a> or <a href="../../wp/e/Economics.htm" title="Economics">economics</a>, and seek ecological or social accountability.<p><a id="Size_of_market_-_UK" name="Size_of_market_-_UK"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Size of market - UK</span></h2>
<p>According to Accountancy Age's 2005 league table, fee income amongst the Top 50 accounting firms in the UK rose from £6.3bn to £7.0bn. This followed two successive years in which fee income had declined, largely a result of the sale by some of the larger firms of their consultancy arms. As detailed in the next section, fee income in most business areas - audit, tax, corporate finance and consultancy - rose in the 2005 survey, with insolvency and wealth management being the only segments where revenue fell.<p>PricewaterhouseCoopers remains the largest firm with fee income totalling £1,780m followed by Deloitte (£1,350m), KPMG (£1,066m) and Ernst & Young (£945m). The combined revenue of the Big Four accounted for £5.0bn, 72% of the fee income of the Top 50, down from 78-79% in the years up to the 2002 survey and the third year in succession a decline in their share has occurred (Chart 1). Ernst & Young's fee income is the smallest of the largest four firms, but still over three times that of the next largest firm, <!--del_lnk--> Grant Thornton. The amount of fee income tapers off amongst the mid-tier firms so that in total there were only 25 firms that each generated more than £15m of revenue in the 2005 survey. <!--del_lnk--> <p>For more details regarding British qualified accountancy professionals, please refer to the page of <!--del_lnk--> British qualified accountants.<p><a id="Topics_in_accounting" name="Topics_in_accounting"></a><div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accountancy"</div>
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<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.Geography.African_Geography.htm">African Geography</a></h3><div class="soslink"> SOS Children is has several projects in Tema, Greater Accra. For more information see <a href="../../wp/g/Ghana_Cv_Tema.htm" title="SOS Children in Tema, Accra">SOS Children in Tema, Ghana, Africa</a></div>
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<table class="infobox geography" style="width: 23em;">
<tr>
<td align="center" colspan="2" style="width:100%; font-size: 1.25em;"><b>Accra, Ghana</b></td>
</tr>
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<td colspan="2" style="text-align: center; padding: 0.7em 0.8em 0.7em 0.8em;">
<div class="floatnone"><span><a class="image" href="../../images/0/17.png.htm" title="Map of Ghana showing the location of Accra."><img alt="Map of Ghana showing the location of Accra." height="289" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Ghana-karte-politisch-greater-accra.png" src="../../images/0/17.png" width="250" /></a></span></div><small>Map of Ghana showing the location of Accra.</small></td>
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<th colspan="2" style="text-align: center; font-size: smaller; padding-bottom: 0.7em;">Coordinates: <span class="plainlinksneverexpand"><!--del_lnk--> <span style="white-space:nowrap">5°33′00″N,</span> <span style="white-space:nowrap">0°12′00″W</span></span></th>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedtoprow">
<th><!--del_lnk--> District of Ghana</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Accra Metropolis District</td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedrow">
<th>Chief Executive</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Stanley N. A. Blankson</td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedtoprow">
<th><!--del_lnk--> Area</th>
<th> </th>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedrow">
<th> - City</th>
<td>185 <!--del_lnk--> km²</td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedrow">
<th> - Metro</th>
<td>2,905,726 km²</td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedtoprow">
<th>Population</th>
<th> </th>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedrow">
<th> - City (2005)</th>
<td>1,970,400</td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedrow">
<th> - <!--del_lnk--> Urban</th>
<td>1,970,400</td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedrow">
<th> - <!--del_lnk--> Metro</th>
<td>2,905,726</td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedbottomrow">
<th> </th>
<td><small>estimated</small></td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedtoprow">
<th><a href="../../wp/t/Time_zone.htm" title="Time zone">Time zone</a></th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> CET (<!--del_lnk--> UTC+1)</td>
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<th><span style="white-space: nowrap;"> - Summer (<!--del_lnk--> DST)</span></th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> CEST (<!--del_lnk--> UTC+1)</td>
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<p><b>Accra</b>, population 1,970,400 (2005), is the <!--del_lnk--> capital of <a href="../../wp/g/Ghana.htm" title="Ghana">Ghana</a>. It is Ghana's largest city and its administrative, communications, and economic centre. The primary economic activities are financial and other services, agriculture, fishing, and manufacturing such as processed food, <!--del_lnk--> lumber and <!--del_lnk--> plywood, <!--del_lnk--> textiles, <a href="../../wp/c/Clothing.htm" title="Clothing">clothing</a>, and <!--del_lnk--> chemicals. Accra is located at 5°30' North, 0°10' West (5.5, -0.1667). <!--del_lnk--> It sits nears the Greenwich Meridian in the <!--del_lnk--> Accra Metropolitan Area, in the <!--del_lnk--> Greater Accra Region.<p>
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<p>Accra was founded by the <!--del_lnk--> Ga people in the <!--del_lnk--> 1500s. The word Accra is derived from the word Nkran meaning ants; reference to the numerous anthills seen in the countryside around Accra. During part of its history, Accra served as a centre for trade with the <a href="../../wp/p/Portugal.htm" title="Portugal">Portuguese</a>, who built a <!--del_lnk--> fort in the town, followed by the <a href="../../wp/s/Sweden.htm" title="Sweden">Swedish</a>, <a href="../../wp/n/Netherlands.htm" title="Netherlands">Dutch</a>, <a href="../../wp/f/France.htm" title="France">French</a>, <!--del_lnk--> British and <a href="../../wp/d/Denmark.htm" title="Denmark">Danish</a> by the end of the <!--del_lnk--> seventeenth century.<p>The site of present-day Accra developed into a sizable town around the original <!--del_lnk--> Ga town as well as <a href="../../wp/g/Great_Britain.htm" title="Great Britain">British</a>, <a href="../../wp/d/Denmark.htm" title="Denmark">Danish</a> and <a href="../../wp/n/Netherlands.htm" title="Netherlands">Dutch</a> forts and their surrounding communities: <!--del_lnk--> Jamestown near the British fort, <!--del_lnk--> Osu near the Danish Christianborg fort (now Osu Castle) and <!--del_lnk--> Ussherstown near the Dutch Ussher fort. The four areas form the core of the modern city.<p>In 1877, at the end of the second <!--del_lnk--> Anglo-Asante War, Accra replaced <!--del_lnk--> Cape Coast as the capital of the British <!--del_lnk--> Gold Coast colony. After the completion of a railroad to the mining and agricultural interior, Accra became the economic centre of Ghana. Large areas were destroyed by <a href="../../wp/e/Earthquake.htm" title="Earthquake">earthquakes</a> in <!--del_lnk--> 1862 and <!--del_lnk--> 1939, but the city grew around a <!--del_lnk--> seaport (now relocated to <!--del_lnk--> Tema), and later a <!--del_lnk--> brewery, expanding into neighbouring towns.<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:202px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/0/19.jpg.htm" title="Independence Arch in Accra"><img alt="Independence Arch in Accra" height="162" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Independence_Arch.jpg" src="../../images/0/19.jpg" width="200" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/0/19.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Independence Arch in Accra</div>
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<p>The <!--del_lnk--> Accra Riots in <!--del_lnk--> 1948 launched the Ghanaian campaign for independence, which led to the <a href="../../wp/g/Ghana.htm" title="Ghana">Ghana</a>'s independence from the United Kingdom and nationhood in <!--del_lnk--> 1957.<p>Today, Accra is one of the wealthiest and most modern cities in the <a href="../../wp/a/Africa.htm" title="Africa">African</a> continent, with a high quality of living by African standards. Accra is also known as having one of the continent's most active night lives.<p><a id="Attractions_in_Accra" name="Attractions_in_Accra"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Attractions in Accra</span></h2>
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<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/0/20.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Labadi Beach</div>
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<p>Accra is home to the <!--del_lnk--> National Museum of Ghana, the <!--del_lnk--> Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences, the <!--del_lnk--> National Archives of Ghana, and Ghana's <!--del_lnk--> central library. Also of note is <!--del_lnk--> Christianborg or Osu Castle -- the seat of government, built by the <a href="../../wp/d/Denmark.htm" title="Denmark">Danes</a> in the <a href="../../wp/1/17th_century.htm" title="17th century">17th century</a>, the <!--del_lnk--> National Theatre, <!--del_lnk--> Accra Centre for National Culture, a <!--del_lnk--> lighthouse, the National Sports Stadium, the <!--del_lnk--> W.E.B. DuBois <!--del_lnk--> Memorial Centre for Pan-African Culture and several <a href="../../wp/b/Beach.htm" title="Beach">beaches</a>. Near the <!--del_lnk--> Parliament of Ghana is the <!--del_lnk--> Ghana-India Kofi Annan Centre for Excellence in ICT.<p>The <!--del_lnk--> Kwame Nkrumah Memorial is located in downtown Accra.<p><a id="Education" name="Education"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Education</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/0/21.jpg.htm" title="The National Theatre"><img alt="The National Theatre" height="120" longdesc="/wiki/Image:NationalTheatre.jpg" src="../../images/0/21.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/0/21.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> The National Theatre</div>
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<p>On Accra's outskirts are <!--del_lnk--> Achimota Secondary School which was founded in 1924 and opened in 1927, and <!--del_lnk--> Presby Boys' Secondary School and some of the country's leading secondary schools and, 13km north at Legon, the <!--del_lnk--> University of Ghana. Abelemkpe is the home of <!--del_lnk--> Lincoln Community School, Accra Ghana (LCS). LCS is a private, non-profit IB international school for students aged 3-18, and was established in 1968. The Defense Commission of the <!--del_lnk--> Organization of African Unity has its headquarters in Accra.<p><a id="Transportation" name="Transportation"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Transportation</span></h2>
<p>Accra is a major transportation hub, home to the <!--del_lnk--> Kotoka International Airport and lies on <!--del_lnk--> railway lines to <!--del_lnk--> Tema, <!--del_lnk--> Takoradi and <!--del_lnk--> Kumasi. The main harbour city, Tema is connected through one of Ghana's highways.<p>Public transit in the city is provided by a mix of privately owned Mini-buses (known as Tro-Tros), taxis and buses. Tro-Tros are usually converted Mini-buses that run a regular, well-known route. They are cheap and frequent but often in poor repair and over-crowded. Some taxis also run regular routes, which cost more but provide for a more comfortable ride. Recently in 2002, the city started introducing publicly owned buses.<p><a id="Accommodation" name="Accommodation"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Accommodation</span></h2>
<p><!--del_lnk--> La Palm<p><a id="External_links" name="External_links"></a><div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accra"</div>
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Acetic_acid | <!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
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<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">Acetic acid</h1>
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<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.Science.Chemistry.Chemical_compounds.htm">Chemical compounds</a></h3>
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<th align="center" colspan="2" style="border: 1px solid #C0C090; background-color: #F8EABA; margin-bottom: 3px;">Acetic acid</th>
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<td align="center" colspan="2"><a class="image" href="../../images/0/25.png.htm" title="Acetic acid"><img alt="Acetic acid" height="126" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Acetic-acid-2D-skeletal.png" src="../../images/0/25.png" width="150" /></a> <a class="image" href="../../images/0/26.png.htm" title="Acetic acid"><img alt="Acetic acid" height="137" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Acetic-acid-3D-vdW.png" src="../../images/0/26.png" width="150" /></a></td>
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<th align="center" colspan="2" style="border: 1px solid #C0C090; background-color: #F8EABA; margin-bottom: 3px;">General</th>
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<td><!--del_lnk--> Systematic name</td>
<td>Acetic acid<br /> Ethanoic acid</td>
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<tr>
<td>Other names</td>
<td>Methanecarboxylic acid<br /> Acetyl hydroxide (AcOH)<br /> Hydrogen acetate (HAc)</td>
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<td><!--del_lnk--> Molecular formula</td>
<td>C<sub>2</sub>H<sub>4</sub>O<sub>2</sub> or CH<sub>3</sub>COOH</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> SMILES</td>
<td>CC(=O)O</td>
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<td><!--del_lnk--> Molar mass</td>
<td>60.05 g mol<sup>−1</sup></td>
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<td>Appearance</td>
<td>Colourless liquid<br /> or crystals</td>
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<td><!--del_lnk--> CAS number</td>
<td>[64-19-7]</td>
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<th align="center" colspan="2" style="border: 1px solid #C0C090; background-color: #F8EABA; margin-bottom: 3px;">Properties</th>
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<td><!--del_lnk--> Density and <a href="../../wp/p/Phase_%2528matter%2529.htm" title="Phase (matter)">phase</a></td>
<td>1.049 g cm<sup>−3</sup>, liquid<br /> 1.266 g cm<sup>−3</sup>, solid</td>
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<td><!--del_lnk--> Solubility in <!--del_lnk--> water</td>
<td>Fully miscible</td>
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<tr>
<td>In <a href="../../wp/e/Ethanol.htm" title="Ethanol">ethanol</a>, <a href="../../wp/a/Acetone.htm" title="Acetone">acetone</a><br /> In <a href="../../wp/t/Toluene.htm" title="Toluene">toluene</a>, <!--del_lnk--> hexane<br /> In <!--del_lnk--> carbon disulfide</td>
<td>Fully miscible<br /> Fully miscible<br /> Practically insoluble</td>
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<td><!--del_lnk--> Melting point</td>
<td>16.7°C (289.9 K) (62.1°F)</td>
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<td><!--del_lnk--> Boiling point</td>
<td>118.1°C (391.2 4K) (244.6°F)</td>
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<td><!--del_lnk--> Acidity (p<i>K</i><sub>a</sub>)</td>
<td>4.76 at 25°C</td>
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<td><!--del_lnk--> Viscosity</td>
<td>1.22 <!--del_lnk--> mPa·s at 25°C</td>
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<td><!--del_lnk--> Dipole moment</td>
<td>1.74 <!--del_lnk--> D (gas)</td>
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<th align="center" colspan="2" style="border: 1px solid #C0C090; background-color: #F8EABA; margin-bottom: 3px;">Hazards</th>
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<td><!--del_lnk--> MSDS</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> External MSDS</td>
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<td><!--del_lnk--> EU classification</td>
<td>Corrosive (<b>C</b>)</td>
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<td><!--del_lnk--> NFPA 704</td>
<td>
<div style="position: relative; height: 85px; width: 75px;">
<div style="position: absolute; height: 75px; width: 75px;">
<p><a class="image" href="../../images/0/27.png.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="75" longdesc="/wiki/Image:NFPA_704.svg" src="../../images/0/27.png" width="75" /></a></div>
<div style="background: transparent; width: 75px; height: 2em; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; position: absolute; top: 15px; font-size: large;" title="Flammability">2</div>
<div style="background: transparent; width: 37.5px; height: 2em; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; position: absolute; top: 33px; font-size: large;" title="Health">2</div>
<div style="background: transparent; width: 37.5px; height: 2em; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; position: absolute; top: 33px; left: 37.5px; font-size: large;" title="Reactivity">0</div>
<div style="background: transparent; width: 75px; height: 2em; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; position: absolute; top: 52px; font-size: small;" title="Other hazards"> </div>
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</td>
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<td><!--del_lnk--> Flash point</td>
<td>43°C</td>
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<td><!--del_lnk--> R-phrases</td>
<td><span class="abbr" style="color: blue; border-bottom: 1px dotted blue" title="Flammable">R10</span>, <span class="abbr" style="color: blue; border-bottom: 1px dotted blue" title="Causes severe burns">R35</span></td>
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<td><!--del_lnk--> S-phrases</td>
<td><span class="abbr" style="color: blue; border-bottom: 1px dotted blue" title="Keep locked up and out of the reach of children">S1/2</span>, <span class="abbr" style="color: blue; border-bottom: 1px dotted blue" title="Do not breathe gas/fumes/vapour/spray (''appropriate wording to be specified by the manufacturer'')">S23</span>, <span class="abbr" style="color: blue; border-bottom: 1px dotted blue" title="In case of contact with eyes, rinse immediately with plenty of water and seek medical advice">S26</span>, <span class="abbr" style="color: blue; border-bottom: 1px dotted blue" title="In case of accident or if you feel unwell seek medical advice immediately (show the label where possible)">S45</span></td>
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<td><a href="../../wp/u/United_States.htm" title="United States">U.S.</a> <!--del_lnk--> Permissible<br /> exposure limit (PEL)</td>
<td>10 ppm</td>
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<th align="center" colspan="2" style="border: 1px solid #C0C090; background-color: #F8EABA; margin-bottom: 3px;"><!--del_lnk--> Supplementary data page</th>
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<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Structure<br /> & properties</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> <i>n</i>, <!--del_lnk--> <i>ε<sub>r</sub></i>, etc.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Thermodynamic<br /> data</td>
<td>Phase behaviour<br /> Solid, liquid, gas</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Spectral data</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> UV, <!--del_lnk--> IR, <!--del_lnk--> NMR, <!--del_lnk--> MS</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th align="center" colspan="2" style="border: 1px solid #C0C090; background-color: #F8EABA; margin-bottom: 3px;">Related compounds</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Related <!--del_lnk--> carboxylic<br /> acids</td>
<td><a href="../../wp/f/Formic_acid.htm" title="Formic acid">Formic acid</a><br /><!--del_lnk--> Propionic acid<br /><!--del_lnk--> Butyric acid</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Related compounds</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Acetamide<br /><!--del_lnk--> Ethyl acetate<br /><!--del_lnk--> Acetyl chloride<br /><!--del_lnk--> Acetic anhydride<br /><!--del_lnk--> Acetonitrile<br /><!--del_lnk--> Acetaldehyde<br /><a href="../../wp/e/Ethanol.htm" title="Ethanol">Ethanol</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="center" colspan="2" style="border: 1px solid #C0C090; background-color: #F8EABA; margin-bottom: 3px;"><small>Except where noted otherwise, data are given for<br /> materials in their <!--del_lnk--> standard state (at 25°C, 100 kPa)<br /><!--del_lnk--> Infobox disclaimer and references</small></td>
</tr>
</table>
<p><b>Acetic acid</b>, also known as <b>ethanoic acid</b>, is an <!--del_lnk--> organic <!--del_lnk--> chemical compound best recognized for giving <!--del_lnk--> vinegar its sour taste and pungent smell. Pure <a href="../../wp/w/Water.htm" title="Water">water</a>-free acetic acid (<i>glacial acetic acid</i>) is a colorless <!--del_lnk--> hygroscopic <!--del_lnk--> liquid and freezes below 16.7<!--del_lnk--> °C (62<!--del_lnk--> °F) to a colourless <a href="../../wp/c/Crystal.htm" title="Crystal">crystalline</a> <!--del_lnk--> solid. Acetic <!--del_lnk--> acid is <a href="../../wp/c/Corrosion.htm" title="Corrosion">corrosive</a>, and its vapour is irritating to eyes and nose, although it is a <!--del_lnk--> weak acid based on its ability to <!--del_lnk--> dissociate in <!--del_lnk--> aqueous <!--del_lnk--> solutions.<p>Acetic acid is one of the simplest <!--del_lnk--> carboxylic acids (the second-simplest, next to <a href="../../wp/f/Formic_acid.htm" title="Formic acid">formic acid</a>). It is an important <!--del_lnk--> chemical reagent and industrial chemical that is used in the production of <!--del_lnk--> polyethylene terephthalate mainly used in soft drink bottles; <!--del_lnk--> cellulose acetate, mainly for photographic film; and <!--del_lnk--> polyvinyl acetate for wood <!--del_lnk--> glue, as well as many synthetic fibres and fabrics. In households diluted acetic acid is often used in <!--del_lnk--> descaling agents. In the <!--del_lnk--> food industry acetic acid is used under the <!--del_lnk--> food additive code E260 as an <!--del_lnk--> acidity regulator.<p>The global demand of acetic acid is around 6.5 million <!--del_lnk--> tonnes per year (Mt/a), of which approximately 1.5 Mt/a is met by recycling; the remainder is manufactured from <!--del_lnk--> petrochemical feedstocks or from biological sources.<p>
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</script><a id="Nomenclature" name="Nomenclature"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Nomenclature</span></h2>
<p>The <!--del_lnk--> trivial name <i>acetic acid</i> is the most commonly used and officially preferred name by the <!--del_lnk--> IUPAC. This name derives from <i>acetum</i>, the <a href="../../wp/l/Latin.htm" title="Latin">Latin</a> word for vinegar. The synonym <i>ethanoic acid</i> is a systematic name that is sometimes used in introductions to <!--del_lnk--> chemical nomenclature.<p><b>Glacial acetic acid</b> is a trivial name for water-free acetic acid. Similar to the <a href="../../wp/g/German_language.htm" title="German language">German</a> name <i>Eisessig</i> (literally, ice-vinegar), the name comes from the ice-like crystals that form slightly below room temperature at 16.7°C (about 62°F).<p>The most common and official abbreviation for acetic acid is <b>AcOH</b> or <b>HOAc</b> where <i>Ac</i> stands for the <!--del_lnk--> acetyl <!--del_lnk--> group CH<sub>3</sub>−C(=O)−;. In the context of <!--del_lnk--> acid-base reactions the abbreviation <b>HAc</b> is often used where <i>Ac</i> instead stands for the <!--del_lnk--> acetate <!--del_lnk--> anion (CH<sub>3</sub>COO<sup>−</sup>), although this use is regarded by many as misleading. In either case, the <i>Ac</i> is not to be confused with the abbreviation for the <a href="../../wp/c/Chemical_element.htm" title="Chemical element">chemical element</a> <a href="../../wp/a/Actinium.htm" title="Actinium">actinium</a>.<p>Acetic acid has the <!--del_lnk--> empirical formula CH<sub>2</sub>O and the molecular formula C<sub>2</sub>H<sub>4</sub>O<sub>2</sub>. The latter is often written as CH<sub>3</sub>-COOH, CH<sub>3</sub>COOH, or CH<sub>3</sub>CO<sub>2</sub>H to better reflect its structure. The <!--del_lnk--> ion resulting from loss of <a href="../../wp/p/Proton.htm" title="Proton">H<sup>+</sup></a> from acetic acid is the <i>acetate</i> anion. The name <i>acetate</i> can also refer to a <a href="../../wp/s/Salt.htm" title="Salt">salt</a> containing this anion or an <!--del_lnk--> ester of acetic acid.<p><a id="History" name="History"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">History</span></h2>
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<div style="width:152px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/0/28.jpg.htm" title="Frozen acetic acid"><img alt="Frozen acetic acid" height="191" longdesc="/wiki/Image:AceticAcid012.jpg" src="../../images/0/28.jpg" width="150" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/0/28.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Frozen acetic acid</div>
</div>
</div>
<p><!--del_lnk--> Vinegar is as old as civilization itself, perhaps older. Acetic acid-producing bacteria are present throughout the world, and any culture practicing the <!--del_lnk--> brewing of <a href="../../wp/b/Beer.htm" title="Beer">beer</a> or <a href="../../wp/w/Wine.htm" title="Wine">wine</a> inevitably discovered vinegar as the natural result of these alcoholic beverages being exposed to air.<p>The use of acetic acid in chemistry extends into antiquity. In the 3rd century BC, the <a href="../../wp/g/Greece.htm" title="Greece">Greek</a> philosopher <!--del_lnk--> Theophrastos described how vinegar acted on metals to produce <a href="../../wp/p/Pigment.htm" title="Pigment">pigments</a> useful in art, including <i>white lead</i> (<!--del_lnk--> lead carbonate) and <i><!--del_lnk--> verdigris</i>, a green mixture of <a href="../../wp/c/Copper.htm" title="Copper">copper</a> salts including <!--del_lnk--> copper(II) acetate. Ancient <a href="../../wp/r/Rome.htm" title="Rome">Romans</a> boiled soured wine in lead pots to produce a highly sweet syrup called <i>sapa</i>. Sapa was rich in <!--del_lnk--> lead acetate, a sweet substance also called <i>sugar of lead</i> or <i>sugar of <!--del_lnk--> Saturn</i>, which contributed to <!--del_lnk--> lead poisoning among the Roman aristocracy. The 8th century Persian alchemist <!--del_lnk--> Jabir Ibn Hayyan (Geber) concentrated acetic acid from vinegar through <!--del_lnk--> distillation.<p>In the <a href="../../wp/r/Renaissance.htm" title="Renaissance">Renaissance</a>, glacial acetic acid was prepared through the <!--del_lnk--> dry distillation of metal acetates. The 16th century <a href="../../wp/g/Germany.htm" title="Germany">German</a> alchemist <!--del_lnk--> Andreas Libavius described such a procedure, and he compared the glacial acetic acid produced by this means to vinegar. The presence of water in vinegar has such a profound effect on acetic acid's properties that for centuries many chemists believed that glacial acetic acid and the acid found in vinegar were two different substances. The French chemist <!--del_lnk--> Pierre Adet proved them to be identical.<p>In 1847 the German chemist <!--del_lnk--> Hermann Kolbe <!--del_lnk--> synthesised acetic acid from <!--del_lnk--> inorganic materials for the first time. This reaction sequence consisted of <!--del_lnk--> chlorination of <!--del_lnk--> carbon disulfide to <!--del_lnk--> carbon tetrachloride, followed by <!--del_lnk--> pyrolysis to <!--del_lnk--> tetrachloroethylene and aqueous chlorination to <!--del_lnk--> trichloroacetic acid, and concluded with <!--del_lnk--> electrolytic <!--del_lnk--> reduction to acetic acid.<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:143px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/0/29.png.htm" title="Detail of acetic acid crystals"><img alt="Detail of acetic acid crystals" height="191" longdesc="/wiki/Image:AceticAcid010.png" src="../../images/0/29.png" width="141" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/0/29.png.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Detail of acetic acid crystals</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>By 1910 most glacial acetic acid was obtained from the "pyroligneous liquor" from distillation of wood. The acetic acid was isolated from this by treatment with <!--del_lnk--> milk of lime, and the resultant <!--del_lnk--> calcium acetate was then acidified with <a href="../../wp/s/Sulfuric_acid.htm" title="Sulfuric acid">sulfuric acid</a> to recover acetic acid. At this time Germany was producing 10,000 <!--del_lnk--> tons of glacial acetic acid, around 30% of which was used for the manufacture of <!--del_lnk--> indigo dye.<p><a id="Chemical_properties" name="Chemical_properties"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Chemical properties</span></h2>
<dl>
<dt>Acidity</dl>
<p>The hydrogen (H) atom in the <!--del_lnk--> carboxyl group (−COOH) in <!--del_lnk--> carboxylic acids such as acetic acid can be given off as an H<sup>+</sup> ion (<a href="../../wp/p/Proton.htm" title="Proton">proton</a>), giving them their acidic character. Acetic acid is a weak, effectively <!--del_lnk--> monoprotic acid in aqueous solution, with a <!--del_lnk--> pK<sub>a</sub> value of 4.8. A 1.0 <!--del_lnk--> M solution (about the concentration of domestic vinegar) has a pH of 2.4, indicating that merely 0.4% of the acetic acid molecules are dissociated.<p><a class="image" href="../../images/0/30.png.htm" title="Deprotonation equilibrium of acetic acid in water"><img alt="Deprotonation equilibrium of acetic acid in water" height="84" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Acetic_acid_deprotonation.png" src="../../images/0/30.png" width="375" /></a><dl>
<dt>Cyclic dimer</dl>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:162px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/0/31.png.htm" title="Cyclic dimer of acetic acid; dashed lines represent hydrogen bonds."><img alt="Cyclic dimer of acetic acid; dashed lines represent hydrogen bonds." height="84" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Acetic_acid_cyclic_dimer.png" src="../../images/0/31.png" width="160" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/0/31.png.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Cyclic dimer of acetic acid; dashed lines represent hydrogen bonds.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>The crystal structure of acetic acid shows that the molecules pair up into <!--del_lnk--> dimers connected by <!--del_lnk--> hydrogen bonds. The dimers can also be detected in the vapour at 120 °C. They probably also occur in the liquid phase of pure acetic acid, but are rapidly disrupted if any water is present. This dimerisation behaviour is shared by other lower carboxylic acids.<dl>
<dt>Solvent</dl>
<p><!--del_lnk--> Liquid acetic acid is a <!--del_lnk--> hydrophilic (<!--del_lnk--> polar) <!--del_lnk--> protic solvent, similar to <a href="../../wp/e/Ethanol.htm" title="Ethanol">ethanol</a> and <a href="../../wp/w/Water.htm" title="Water">water</a>. With a moderate <!--del_lnk--> dielectric constant of 6.2, it can dissolve not only polar compounds such as inorganic salts and <a href="../../wp/s/Sugar.htm" title="Sugar">sugars</a>, but also non-polar compounds such as oils and <a href="../../wp/c/Chemical_element.htm" title="Chemical element">elements</a> such as <a href="../../wp/s/Sulfur.htm" title="Sulfur">sulfur</a> and <a href="../../wp/i/Iodine.htm" title="Iodine">iodine</a>. It readily mixes with many other polar and non-polar <!--del_lnk--> solvents such as water, <!--del_lnk--> chloroform, and <!--del_lnk--> hexane. This dissolving property and <!--del_lnk--> miscibility of acetic acid makes it a widely used industrial chemical.<dl>
<dt>Chemical reactions</dl>
<p>Acetic acid is <a href="../../wp/c/Corrosion.htm" title="Corrosion">corrosive</a> to many <a href="../../wp/m/Metal.htm" title="Metal">metals</a> including <a href="../../wp/i/Iron.htm" title="Iron">iron</a>, <a href="../../wp/m/Magnesium.htm" title="Magnesium">magnesium</a>, and <a href="../../wp/z/Zinc.htm" title="Zinc">zinc</a>, forming <a href="../../wp/h/Hydrogen.htm" title="Hydrogen">hydrogen</a> gas and metal salts called <!--del_lnk--> acetates. <a href="../../wp/a/Aluminium.htm" title="Aluminium">Aluminium</a>, when exposed to oxygen, forms a thin layer of <!--del_lnk--> aluminium oxide on its surface which is relatively resistant, so that aluminium tanks can be used to transport acetic acid. Metal acetates can also be prepared from acetic acid and an appropriate <!--del_lnk--> base, as in the popular "<!--del_lnk--> baking soda + vinegar" reaction. With the notable exception of <!--del_lnk--> chromium(II) acetate, almost all acetates are soluble in water.<dl>
<dd><a href="../../wp/m/Magnesium.htm" title="Magnesium">Mg</a>(<!--del_lnk--> s) + 2 CH<sub>3</sub>COOH(<!--del_lnk--> aq) → (CH<sub>3</sub>COO)<sub>2</sub>Mg(aq) + <a href="../../wp/h/Hydrogen.htm" title="Hydrogen">H<sub>2</sub></a>(<a href="../../wp/g/Gas.htm" title="Gas">g</a>)</dl>
<dl>
<dd><!--del_lnk--> NaHCO<sub>3</sub>(s) + CH<sub>3</sub>COOH(aq) → <!--del_lnk--> CH<sub>3</sub>COONa(aq) + <a href="../../wp/c/Carbon_dioxide.htm" title="Carbon dioxide">CO<sub>2</sub></a>(g) + <!--del_lnk--> H<sub>2</sub>O(<!--del_lnk--> l)</dl>
<div class="floatright"><span><a class="image" href="../../images/0/32.png.htm" title="Two typical organic reactions of acetic acid"><img alt="Two typical organic reactions of acetic acid" height="108" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Acetic_acid_organic_reactions.png" src="../../images/0/32.png" width="400" /></a></span></div>
<p>Acetic acid undergoes the typical <!--del_lnk--> chemical reactions of a <!--del_lnk--> carboxylic acid, notably the formation of <a href="../../wp/e/Ethanol.htm" title="Ethanol">ethanol</a> by reduction, and formation of derivatives such as <!--del_lnk--> acetyl chloride via <!--del_lnk--> nucleophilic acyl substitution. Other substitution derivatives include <!--del_lnk--> acetic anhydride; this <!--del_lnk--> anhydride is produced by <!--del_lnk--> loss of water from two molecules of acetic acid. <!--del_lnk--> Esters of acetic acid can likewise be formed via <!--del_lnk--> Fischer esterification, and <!--del_lnk--> amides can also be formed. When heated above 440 °C, acetic acid decomposes to produce <a href="../../wp/c/Carbon_dioxide.htm" title="Carbon dioxide">carbon dioxide</a> and <!--del_lnk--> methane, or to produce <!--del_lnk--> ketene and water.<dl>
<dt>Detection</dl>
<p>Acetic acid can be detected by its characteristic smell. A <!--del_lnk--> colour reaction for salts of acetic acid is <a href="../../wp/i/Iron%2528III%2529_chloride.htm" title="Iron(III) chloride">iron(III) chloride</a> solution, which results in a deeply red colour that disappears after acidification. Acetates when heated with <!--del_lnk--> arsenic trioxide form <!--del_lnk--> cacodyl oxide, which can be detected by its <!--del_lnk--> malodorous vapours.<br style="clear:both;" />
<p><a id="Biochemistry" name="Biochemistry"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Biochemistry</span></h2>
<p>The <!--del_lnk--> acetyl <!--del_lnk--> group, derived from acetic acid, is fundamental to the biochemistry of virtually all forms of life. When bound to <!--del_lnk--> coenzyme A it is central to the <!--del_lnk--> metabolism of <!--del_lnk--> carbohydrates and <!--del_lnk--> fats. However, the concentration of free acetic acid in cells is kept at a low level to avoid disrupting the control of the <!--del_lnk--> pH of the cell contents. Unlike some longer-chain carboxylic acids (the <!--del_lnk--> fatty acids), acetic acid does not occur in natural <!--del_lnk--> triglycerides. However, the artificial triglyceride <!--del_lnk--> triacetin (glycerin triacetate) is a common food additive, and is found in cosmetics and topical medicines.<p>Acetic acid is produced and <!--del_lnk--> excreted by certain <a href="../../wp/b/Bacteria.htm" title="Bacterium">bacteria</a>, notably the <i><!--del_lnk--> Acetobacter</i> genus and <i><!--del_lnk--> Clostridium acetobutylicum</i>. These bacteria are found universally in <a href="../../wp/f/Food.htm" title="Food">foodstuffs</a>, <a href="../../wp/w/Water.htm" title="Water">water</a>, and <a href="../../wp/s/Soil.htm" title="Soil">soil</a>, and acetic acid is produced naturally as fruits and some other foods spoil. Acetic acid is also a component of the <!--del_lnk--> vaginal lubrication of <!--del_lnk--> humans and other <!--del_lnk--> primates, where it appears to serve as a mild <!--del_lnk--> antibacterial agent.<p><a id="Production" name="Production"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Production</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:202px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/0/33.jpg.htm" title="Purification and concentration plant for acetic acid in 1884"><img alt="Purification and concentration plant for acetic acid in 1884" height="257" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Acetic_acid_1884_plant.jpg" src="../../images/0/33.jpg" width="200" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/0/33.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Purification and concentration plant for acetic acid in 1884</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>Acetic acid is produced both synthetically and by bacterial <!--del_lnk--> fermentation. Today, the biological route accounts for only about 10% of world production, but it remains important for vinegar production, as many of the world food purity laws stipulate that vinegar used in foods must be of biological origin. About 75% of acetic acid made for use in the chemical industry is made by methanol carbonylation, explained below. Alternative methods account for the rest.<p>Total worldwide production of virgin acetic acid is estimated at 5 Mt/a (million tonnes per year), approximately half of which is produced in the <a href="../../wp/u/United_States.htm" title="United States">United States</a>. <a href="../../wp/e/Europe.htm" title="Europe">European</a> production stands at approximately 1 Mt/a and is declining, and 0.7 Mt/a is produced in <a href="../../wp/j/Japan.htm" title="Japan">Japan</a>. Another 1.5 Mt are recycled each year, bringing the total world market to 6.5 Mt/a. The two biggest producers of virgin acetic acid are <!--del_lnk--> Celanese and <a href="../../wp/b/BP.htm" title="BP">BP Chemicals</a>. Other major producers include <!--del_lnk--> Millennium Chemicals, <!--del_lnk--> Sterling Chemicals, <!--del_lnk--> Samsung, <!--del_lnk--> Eastman, and <!--del_lnk--> Svensk Etanolkemi.<p><a id="Methanol_carbonylation" name="Methanol_carbonylation"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Methanol carbonylation</span></h3>
<p>Most virgin acetic acid is produced by methanol carbonylation. In this process, <!--del_lnk--> methanol and <!--del_lnk--> carbon monoxide react to produce acetic acid according to the chemical equation:<dl>
<dd><!--del_lnk--> CH<sub>3</sub>OH + <!--del_lnk--> CO → CH<sub>3</sub>COOH</dl>
<p>The process involves <!--del_lnk--> iodomethane as an intermediate, and occurs in three steps. A <!--del_lnk--> catalyst, usually a metal <!--del_lnk--> complex, is needed for the carbonylation (step 2).<dl>
<dd>(1) CH<sub>3</sub>OH + <!--del_lnk--> HI → <!--del_lnk--> CH<sub>3</sub>I + H<sub>2</sub>O</dl>
<dl>
<dd>(2) CH<sub>3</sub>I + <!--del_lnk--> CO → CH<sub>3</sub>COI</dl>
<dl>
<dd>(3) CH<sub>3</sub>COI + H<sub>2</sub>O → CH<sub>3</sub>COOH + HI</dl>
<p>By altering the process conditions, <!--del_lnk--> acetic anhydride may also be produced on the same plant. Because both methanol and carbon monoxide are commodity raw materials, methanol carbonylation long appeared to be an attractive method for acetic acid production. Henry Drefyus at <!--del_lnk--> British Celanese developed a methanol carbonylation pilot plant as early as 1925. However, a lack of practical materials that could contain the corrosive reaction mixture at the high <!--del_lnk--> pressures needed (200 <!--del_lnk--> atm or more) discouraged commercialisation of these routes for some time. The first commercial methanol carbonylation process, which used a <a href="../../wp/c/Cobalt.htm" title="Cobalt">cobalt</a> catalyst, was developed by German chemical company <!--del_lnk--> BASF in 1963. In 1968, a <a href="../../wp/r/Rhodium.htm" title="Rhodium">rhodium</a>-based catalyst (<i>cis</i>−[Rh(CO)<sub>2</sub>I<sub>2</sub>]<sup>−</sup>) was discovered that could operate efficiently at lower pressure with almost no by-products. The first plant using this catalyst was built by US chemical company <!--del_lnk--> Monsanto in 1970, and rhodium-catalysed methanol carbonylation became the dominant method of acetic acid production (see <!--del_lnk--> Monsanto process). In the late 1990s, the chemicals company <a href="../../wp/b/BP.htm" title="BP">BP Chemicals</a> commercialised the <!--del_lnk--> Cativa catalyst ([Ir(CO)<sub>2</sub>I<sub>2</sub>]<sup>−</sup>), which is promoted by <a href="../../wp/r/Ruthenium.htm" title="Ruthenium">ruthenium</a>. This <a href="../../wp/i/Iridium.htm" title="Iridium">iridium</a>-catalysed process is <!--del_lnk--> greener and more efficient and has largely supplanted the Monsanto process, often in the same production plants.<p><a id="Acetaldehyde_oxidation" name="Acetaldehyde_oxidation"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Acetaldehyde oxidation</span></h3>
<p>Prior to the commercialisation of the Monsanto process, most acetic acid was produced by oxidation of <!--del_lnk--> acetaldehyde. This remains the second most important manufacturing method, although it is uncompetitive with methanol carbonylation. The acetaldehyde may be produced via <!--del_lnk--> oxidation of butane or light naphtha, or by hydration of ethylene.<p>When <!--del_lnk--> butane or light <!--del_lnk--> naphtha is heated with air in the presence of various metal <!--del_lnk--> ions, including those of <a href="../../wp/m/Manganese.htm" title="Manganese">manganese</a>, <a href="../../wp/c/Cobalt.htm" title="Cobalt">cobalt</a> and <a href="../../wp/c/Chromium.htm" title="Chromium">chromium</a>, <!--del_lnk--> peroxides form and then decompose to produce acetic acid according to the <!--del_lnk--> chemical equation<dl>
<dd>2 <!--del_lnk--> C<sub>4</sub>H<sub>10</sub> + 5 <a href="../../wp/o/Oxygen.htm" title="Oxygen">O<sub>2</sub></a> → 4 CH<sub>3</sub>COOH + 2 <a href="../../wp/w/Water.htm" title="Water">H<sub>2</sub>O</a></dl>
<p>Typically, the reaction is run at a combination of <!--del_lnk--> temperature and pressure designed to be as hot as possible while still keeping the butane a liquid. Typical reaction conditions are 150 °C and 55 atm. Several side products may also form, including <!--del_lnk--> butanone, <!--del_lnk--> ethyl acetate, <a href="../../wp/f/Formic_acid.htm" title="Formic acid">formic acid</a>, and <!--del_lnk--> propionic acid. These side products are also commercially valuable, and the reaction conditions may be altered to produce more of them if this is economically useful. However, the separation of acetic acid from these by-products adds to the cost of the process.<p>Under similar conditions and using similar <!--del_lnk--> catalysts as are used for butane oxidation, <!--del_lnk--> acetaldehyde can be oxidised by the <a href="../../wp/o/Oxygen.htm" title="Oxygen">oxygen</a> in <a href="../../wp/e/Earth%2527s_atmosphere.htm" title="Earth's atmosphere">air</a> to produce acetic acid<dl>
<dd>2 <!--del_lnk--> CH<sub>3</sub>CHO + <a href="../../wp/o/Oxygen.htm" title="Oxygen">O<sub>2</sub></a> → 2 CH<sub>3</sub>COOH</dl>
<p>Using modern catalysts, this reaction can have an acetic acid yield greater than 95%. The major side products are <!--del_lnk--> ethyl acetate, <a href="../../wp/f/Formic_acid.htm" title="Formic acid">formic acid</a>, and <!--del_lnk--> formaldehyde, all of which have lower <!--del_lnk--> boiling points than acetic acid and are readily separated by <!--del_lnk--> distillation.<p><a id="Ethylene_oxidation" name="Ethylene_oxidation"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Ethylene oxidation</span></h3>
<p><a id="Fermentation" name="Fermentation"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Fermentation</span></h3>
<dl>
<dt>Oxidative fermentation</dl>
<p>For most of human history, acetic acid, in the form of vinegar, has been made by bacteria of the genus <i><!--del_lnk--> Acetobacter</i>. Given sufficient oxygen, these bacteria can produce vinegar from a variety of alcoholic foodstuffs. Commonly used feeds include <a href="../../wp/c/Cider.htm" title="Cider">apple cider</a>, <a href="../../wp/w/Wine.htm" title="Wine">wine</a>, and fermented <a href="../../wp/c/Cereal.htm" title="Cereal">grain</a>, <!--del_lnk--> malt, <a href="../../wp/r/Rice.htm" title="Rice">rice</a>, or <a href="../../wp/p/Potato.htm" title="Potato">potato</a> mashes. The overall chemical reaction facilitated by these bacteria is<dl>
<dd><a href="../../wp/e/Ethanol.htm" title="Ethanol">C<sub>2</sub>H<sub>5</sub>OH</a> + <a href="../../wp/o/Oxygen.htm" title="Oxygen">O<sub>2</sub></a> → CH<sub>3</sub>COOH + <a href="../../wp/w/Water.htm" title="Water">H<sub>2</sub>O</a></dl>
<p>A dilute alcohol solution inoculated with <i>Acetobacter</i> and kept in a warm, airy place will become vinegar over the course of a few months. Industrial vinegar-making methods accelerate this process by improving the supply of <a href="../../wp/o/Oxygen.htm" title="Oxygen">oxygen</a> to the bacteria.<p>The first batches of vinegar produced by fermentation probably followed errors in the <!--del_lnk--> winemaking process. If <!--del_lnk--> must is fermented at too high a temperature, acetobacter will overwhelm the <a href="../../wp/y/Yeast.htm" title="Yeast">yeast</a> naturally occurring on the <!--del_lnk--> grapes. As the demand for vinegar for culinary, medical, and sanitary purposes increased, vintners quickly learned to use other organic materials to produce vinegar in the hot summer months before the grapes were ripe and ready for processing into wine. This method was slow, however, and not always successful, as the vintners did not understand the process.<p>One of the first modern commercial processes was the "fast method" or "German method", first practised in Germany in 1823. In this process, fermentation takes place in a tower packed with wood shavings or <!--del_lnk--> charcoal. The alcohol-containing feed is trickled into the top of the tower, and fresh <a href="../../wp/e/Earth%2527s_atmosphere.htm" title="Earth's atmosphere">air</a> supplied from the bottom by either natural or forced <!--del_lnk--> convection. The improved air supply in this process cut the time to prepare vinegar from months to weeks.<p>Most vinegar today is made in submerged tank <!--del_lnk--> culture, first described in 1949 by Otto Hromatka and Heinrich Ebner. In this method, alcohol is fermented to vinegar in a continuously stirred tank, and oxygen is supplied by bubbling air through the solution. Using this method, vinegar of 15% acetic acid can be prepared in only 2–3 days.<dl>
<dt>Anaerobic fermentation</dl>
<p>Some species of <!--del_lnk--> anaerobic bacteria, including several members of the genus <i><!--del_lnk--> Clostridium</i>, can convert sugars to acetic acid directly, without using ethanol as an intermediate. The overall chemical reaction conducted by these bacteria may be represented as:<dl>
<dd><!--del_lnk--> C<sub>6</sub>H<sub>12</sub>O<sub>6</sub> → 3 CH<sub>3</sub>COOH</dl>
<p>More interestingly from the point of view of an industrial chemist, many of these <!--del_lnk--> acetogenic bacteria can produce acetic acid from one-carbon compounds, including <!--del_lnk--> methanol, <!--del_lnk--> carbon monoxide, or a mixture of <a href="../../wp/c/Carbon_dioxide.htm" title="Carbon dioxide">carbon dioxide</a> and <a href="../../wp/h/Hydrogen.htm" title="Hydrogen">hydrogen</a>:<dl>
<dd>2 <a href="../../wp/c/Carbon_dioxide.htm" title="Carbon dioxide">CO<sub>2</sub></a> + 4 <a href="../../wp/h/Hydrogen.htm" title="Hydrogen">H<sub>2</sub></a> → CH<sub>3</sub>COOH + 2 <a href="../../wp/w/Water.htm" title="Water">H<sub>2</sub>O</a></dl>
<p>This ability of <i>Clostridium</i> to utilise sugars directly, or to produce acetic acid from less costly inputs, means that these bacteria could potentially produce acetic acid more efficiently than ethanol-oxidisers like <i>Acetobacter</i>. However, <i>Clostridium</i> bacteria are less acid-tolerant than <i>Acetobacter</i>. Even the most acid-tolerant <i>Clostridium</i> strains can produce vinegar of only a few per cent acetic acid, compared to some <i>Acetobacter</i> strains that can produce vinegar of up to 20% acetic acid. At present, it remains more cost-effective to produce vinegar using <i>Acetobacter</i> than to produce it using <i>Clostridium</i> and then concentrating it. As a result, although acetogenic bacteria have been known since 1940, their industrial use remains confined to a few niche applications.<p><a id="Applications" name="Applications"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Applications</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:202px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/0/34.jpg.htm" title="2.5-litre bottle of acetic acid in a laboratory."><img alt="2.5-litre bottle of acetic acid in a laboratory." height="267" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Acetic_acid_winchester.JPG" src="../../images/0/34.jpg" width="200" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/0/34.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> 2.5-<!--del_lnk--> litre bottle of acetic acid in a laboratory.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>Acetic acid is a chemical <!--del_lnk--> reagent for the production of many chemical compounds. The largest single use of acetic acid is in the production of vinyl acetate <!--del_lnk--> monomer, closely followed by acetic anhydride and ester production. The volume of acetic acid used in vinegar is comparatively small.<p><a id="Vinyl_acetate_monomer" name="Vinyl_acetate_monomer"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Vinyl acetate monomer</span></h3>
<p>The major use of acetic acid is for the production of <!--del_lnk--> vinyl acetate monomer (VAM). This application consumes approximately 40% to 45% of the world's production of acetic acid. The reaction is of <!--del_lnk--> ethylene and acetic acid with <a href="../../wp/o/Oxygen.htm" title="Oxygen">oxygen</a> over a <a href="../../wp/p/Palladium.htm" title="Palladium">palladium</a> <!--del_lnk--> catalyst.<dl>
<dd>2 H<sub>3</sub>C-COOH + 2 <!--del_lnk--> C<sub>2</sub>H<sub>4</sub> + <a href="../../wp/o/Oxygen.htm" title="Oxygen">O<sub>2</sub></a> → 2 <!--del_lnk--> H<sub>3</sub>C-CO-O-CH=CH<sub>2</sub> + 2 <!--del_lnk--> H<sub>2</sub>O</dl>
<p>Vinyl acetate can be polymerised to <!--del_lnk--> polyvinyl acetate or to other <!--del_lnk--> polymers, which are applied in <!--del_lnk--> paints and <!--del_lnk--> adhesives.<p><a id="Acetic_anhydride" name="Acetic_anhydride"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Acetic anhydride</span></h3>
<p>The <!--del_lnk--> condensation product of two molecules of acetic acid is <!--del_lnk--> acetic anhydride. The worldwide production of acetic anhydride is a major application, and uses approximately 25% to 30% of the global production of acetic acid. Acetic anhydride may be produced directly by <a href="#Methanol_carbonylation" title="">methanol carbonylation</a> bypassing the acid, and <!--del_lnk--> Cativa plants can be adapted for anhydride production.<p><a class="image" href="../../images/0/35.png.htm" title="Condensation of acetic acid to acetic anhydride"><img alt="Condensation of acetic acid to acetic anhydride" height="79" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Acetic_acid_condensation.png" src="../../images/0/35.png" width="412" /></a><p>Acetic anhydride is a strong <!--del_lnk--> acetylation agent. As such, its major application is for <!--del_lnk--> cellulose acetate, a synthetic <a href="../../wp/t/Textile.htm" title="Textile">textile</a> also used for <!--del_lnk--> photographic film. Acetic anhydride is also a reagent for the production of <!--del_lnk--> aspirin, <!--del_lnk--> heroin, and other compounds.<p>
<br />
<p><a id="Vinegar" name="Vinegar"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Vinegar</span></h3>
<p>In the form of <!--del_lnk--> vinegar, acetic acid solutions (typically 5% to 18% acetic acid, with the percentage usually calculated by mass) are used directly as a <!--del_lnk--> condiment, and also in the <!--del_lnk--> pickling of vegetables and other foodstuffs. Table vinegar tends to be more dilute (5% to 8% acetic acid), while commercial food pickling generally employs more concentrated solutions. The amount of acetic acid used as vinegar on a worldwide scale is not large, but historically, this is by far the oldest and most well-known application.<p><a id="Use_as_solvent" name="Use_as_solvent"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Use as solvent</span></h3>
<p>Glacial acetic acid is an excellent polar <!--del_lnk--> protic solvent, as noted <!--del_lnk--> above. It is frequently used as a solvent for <!--del_lnk--> recrystallisation to purify organic compounds. Pure molten acetic acid is used as a <!--del_lnk--> solvent in the production of <!--del_lnk--> terephthalic acid (TPA), the raw material for <!--del_lnk--> polyethylene terephthalate (PET). Although currently accounting for 5%–10% of acetic acid use worldwide, this specific application is expected to grow significantly in the next decade, as PET production increases.<p>Acetic acid is often used as a solvent for reactions involving <!--del_lnk--> carbocations, such as <!--del_lnk--> Friedel-Crafts alkylation. For example, one stage in the commercial manufacture of synthetic <!--del_lnk--> camphor involves a <!--del_lnk--> Wagner-Meerwein rearrangement of camphene to isobornyl acetate; here acetic acid acts both as a solvent and as a <!--del_lnk--> nucleophile to trap the <!--del_lnk--> rearranged carbocation. Acetic acid is the solvent of choice when <!--del_lnk--> reducing an <!--del_lnk--> aryl <!--del_lnk--> nitro-group to an <!--del_lnk--> aniline using <!--del_lnk--> palladium-on-carbon.<p>Glacial acetic acid is used in analytical chemistry for the estimation of weakly alkaline substances such as organic amides. Glacial acetic acid is a much weaker <!--del_lnk--> base than water, so the amide behaves as a strong base in this medium. It then can be titrated using a solution in glacial acetic acid of a very strong acid, such as <!--del_lnk--> perchloric acid.<p><a id="Other_applications" name="Other_applications"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Other applications</span></h3>
<p>Dilute solutions of acetic acids are also used for their mild <!--del_lnk--> acidity. Examples in the <!--del_lnk--> household environment include the use in a <!--del_lnk--> stop bath during the development of photographic films, and in <!--del_lnk--> descaling agents to remove <!--del_lnk--> limescale from taps and kettles. The acidity is also used for treating the sting of the <a href="../../wp/b/Box_jellyfish.htm" title="Box jellyfish">box jellyfish</a> by disabling the stinging cells of the jellyfish, preventing serious injury or death if applied immediately, and for treating <!--del_lnk--> outer ear infections in people in preparations such as <!--del_lnk--> Vosol. Equivalently, acetic acid is used as a spray-on <!--del_lnk--> preservative for livestock <!--del_lnk--> silage, to discourage bacterial and <a href="../../wp/f/Fungus.htm" title="Fungus">fungal</a> growth.<p>Several organic or inorganic salts are produced from acetic acid, including:<ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Sodium acetate—used in the <a href="../../wp/t/Textile.htm" title="Textile">textile</a> industry and as a food <!--del_lnk--> preservative (<!--del_lnk--> E262).<li><!--del_lnk--> Copper(II) acetate—used as a <a href="../../wp/p/Pigment.htm" title="Pigment">pigment</a> and a <!--del_lnk--> fungicide.<li><!--del_lnk--> Aluminium acetate and <!--del_lnk--> iron(II) acetate—used as <!--del_lnk--> mordants for <!--del_lnk--> dyes.<li><!--del_lnk--> Palladium(II) acetate—used as a catalyst for organic coupling reactions such as the <!--del_lnk--> Heck reaction.</ul>
<p>Substituted acetic acids produced include:<ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Monochloroacetic acid (MCA), dichloroacetic acid (considered a by-product), and <!--del_lnk--> trichloroacetic acid. MCA is used in the manufacture of <!--del_lnk--> indigo dye.<li><!--del_lnk--> Bromoacetic acid, which is esterified to produce the reagent <!--del_lnk--> ethyl bromoacetate.<li><!--del_lnk--> Trifluoroacetic acid, which is a common reagent in <!--del_lnk--> organic synthesis.</ul>
<p>Amounts of acetic acid used in these other applications together (apart from TPA) account for another 5%–10% of acetic acid use worldwide. These applications are, however, not expected to grow as much as TPA production.<p><a id="Safety" name="Safety"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Safety</span></h2>
<p>Concentrated acetic acid is <a href="../../wp/c/Corrosion.htm" title="Corrosion">corrosive</a> and must therefore be handled with appropriate care, since it can cause skin burns, permanent eye damage, and irritation to the mucous membranes. These burns or blisters may not appear until several hours after exposure. <!--del_lnk--> Latex gloves offer no protection, so specially resistant gloves, such as those made of <!--del_lnk--> nitrile rubber, should be worn when handling the compound. Concentrated acetic acid can be ignited with some difficulty in the laboratory. It becomes a flammable risk if the ambient temperature exceeds 39 °C (102 °F), and can form explosive mixtures with air above this temperature (<!--del_lnk--> explosive limits: 5.4%–16%).<p>The hazards of solutions of acetic acid depend on the concentration. The following table lists the <!--del_lnk--> EU classification of acetic acid solutions:<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:102px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/0/36.png.htm" title="Safety symbol"><img alt="Safety symbol" height="100" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Hazard_C.svg" src="../../images/0/36.png" width="100" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/0/36.png.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Safety symbol</div>
</div>
</div>
<table class="wikitable">
<tr>
<th><!--del_lnk--> Concentration<br /> by weight</th>
<th>Molarity</th>
<th>Classification</th>
<th><!--del_lnk--> R-Phrases</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>10%–25%</td>
<td>1.67–4.16 mol/L</td>
<td>Irritant (<b>Xi</b>)</td>
<td><span class="abbr" style="color: blue; border-bottom: 1px dotted blue" title="Irritating to eyes and skin">R36/38</span></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>25%–90%</td>
<td>4.16–14.99 mol/L</td>
<td>Corrosive (<b>C</b>)</td>
<td><span class="abbr" style="color: blue; border-bottom: 1px dotted blue" title="Causes burns">R34</span></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>>90%</td>
<td>>14.99 mol/L</td>
<td>Corrosive (<b>C</b>)</td>
<td><span class="abbr" style="color: blue; border-bottom: 1px dotted blue" title="Flammable">R10</span>, <span class="abbr" style="color: blue; border-bottom: 1px dotted blue" title="Causes severe burns">R35</span></td>
</tr>
</table>
<p>Solutions at more than 25% acetic acid are handled in a fume hood because of the pungent, corrosive vapour. Dilute acetic acid, in the form of vinegar, is harmless. However, ingestion of stronger solutions is dangerous to human and animal life. It can cause severe damage to the <!--del_lnk--> digestive system, and a potentially lethal change in the acidity of the <!--del_lnk--> blood.<p><a id="See_also" name="See_also"></a><div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acetic_acid"</div>
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<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">Acetone</h1>
<div id="bodyContent">
<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.Science.Chemistry.Chemical_compounds.htm">Chemical compounds</a></h3>
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<tr>
<th align="center" colspan="2" style="border: 1px solid #C0C090; background-color: #F8EABA; margin-bottom: 3px;">Acetone</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="center" colspan="2"><a class="image" href="../../images/184/18460.png.htm" title="Acetone"><img alt="Acetone" height="100" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Acetone-skeletal.png" src="../../images/184/18460.png" width="100" /></a> <a class="image" href="../../images/184/18462.png.htm" title="Ball-and-stick model of acetone"><img alt="Ball-and-stick model of acetone" height="75" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Acetone-3D-balls.png" src="../../images/184/18462.png" width="100" /></a> <a class="image" href="../../images/184/18464.png.htm" title="Space-filling model of acetone"><img alt="Space-filling model of acetone" height="85" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Acetone-3D-vdW.png" src="../../images/184/18464.png" width="100" /></a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th align="center" colspan="2" style="border: 1px solid #C0C090; background-color: #F8EABA; margin-bottom: 3px;">General</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Systematic name</td>
<td>Propanone</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Other names</td>
<td>β-ketopropane<br /> Dimethyl ketone,</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Molecular formula</td>
<td>CH<sub>3</sub>COCH<sub>3</sub></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> SMILES</td>
<td>CC(=O)C</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Molar mass</td>
<td>58.09 g/mol</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Appearance</td>
<td>Colorless liquid</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> CAS number</td>
<td>[67-64-1]</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th align="center" colspan="2" style="border: 1px solid #C0C090; background-color: #F8EABA; margin-bottom: 3px;">Properties</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Density and <a href="../../wp/p/Phase_%2528matter%2529.htm" title="Phase (matter)">phase</a></td>
<td>0.79 g/cm³, liquid</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Solubility in <!--del_lnk--> water</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> miscible</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Melting point</td>
<td>−94.9 °C (178.2 K)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Boiling point</td>
<td>56.3 °C (329.4 K)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Viscosity</td>
<td>0.32 c<!--del_lnk--> P at 20 °C</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th align="center" colspan="2" style="border: 1px solid #C0C090; background-color: #F8EABA; margin-bottom: 3px;">Structure</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Molecular shape</td>
<td>trigonal planar at C=O</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Dipole moment</td>
<td>2.91 <!--del_lnk--> D</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th align="center" colspan="2" style="border: 1px solid #C0C090; background-color: #F8EABA; margin-bottom: 3px;">Hazards</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> MSDS</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> External MSDS</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> EU classification</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Flammable (<b>F</b>)<br /> Irritant (<b>Xi</b>)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> NFPA 704</td>
<td>
<div style="position: relative; height: 85px; width: 75px;">
<div style="position: absolute; height: 75px; width: 75px;">
<p><a class="image" href="../../images/0/27.png.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="75" longdesc="/wiki/Image:NFPA_704.svg" src="../../images/0/27.png" width="75" /></a></div>
<div style="background: transparent; width: 75px; height: 2em; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; position: absolute; top: 15px; font-size: large;" title="Flammability">3</div>
<div style="background: transparent; width: 37.5px; height: 2em; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; position: absolute; top: 33px; color: white; font-size: large;" title="Health">1</div>
<div style="background: transparent; width: 37.5px; height: 2em; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; position: absolute; top: 33px; left: 37.5px; font-size: large;" title="Reactivity">0</div>
<div style="background: transparent; width: 75px; height: 2em; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; position: absolute; top: 52px; font-size: small;" title="Other hazards"> </div>
</div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> R-phrases</td>
<td><span class="abbr" style="color: blue; border-bottom: 1px dotted blue" title="Highly flammable">R11</span>, <span class="abbr" style="color: blue; border-bottom: 1px dotted blue" title="Irritating to eyes">R36</span>, <span class="abbr" style="color: blue; border-bottom: 1px dotted blue" title="Repeated exposure may cause skin dryness or cracking">R66</span>, <span class="abbr" style="color: blue; border-bottom: 1px dotted blue" title="Vapours may cause drowsiness and dizziness">R67</span></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> S-phrases</td>
<td><span class="abbr" style="color: blue; border-bottom: 1px dotted blue" title="Keep out of the reach of children">(S2)</span>, <span class="abbr" style="color: blue; border-bottom: 1px dotted blue" title="Keep container in a well-ventilated place">S9</span>, <span class="abbr" style="color: blue; border-bottom: 1px dotted blue" title="Keep away from sources of ignition - No smoking">S16</span>, <span class="abbr" style="color: blue; border-bottom: 1px dotted blue" title="In case of contact with eyes, rinse immediately with plenty of water and seek medical advice">S26</span></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Flash point</td>
<td>−20 °C</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Flammable limits<br /> in air (by volume)</td>
<td>2.55% - 12.80%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Autoignition temperature</td>
<td>465 °C</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> RTECS number</td>
<td>AL31500000</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th align="center" colspan="2" style="border: 1px solid #C0C090; background-color: #F8EABA; margin-bottom: 3px;"><!--del_lnk--> Supplementary data page</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Structure & properties</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> <i>n</i>, <!--del_lnk--> <i>ε<sub>r</sub></i>, etc.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Thermodynamic data</td>
<td>Phase behaviour<br /> Solid, liquid, gas</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Spectral data</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> UV, <!--del_lnk--> IR, <!--del_lnk--> NMR, <!--del_lnk--> MS</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th align="center" colspan="2" style="border: 1px solid #C0C090; background-color: #F8EABA; margin-bottom: 3px;">Related compounds</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Related <!--del_lnk--> ketones</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Butanone</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Related <!--del_lnk--> solvents</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Water<br /><a href="../../wp/e/Ethanol.htm" title="Ethanol">Ethanol</a><br /><!--del_lnk--> Isopropanol<br /><a href="../../wp/t/Toluene.htm" title="Toluene">Toluene</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="center" colspan="2" style="border: 1px solid #C0C090; background-color: #F8EABA; margin-bottom: 3px;"><small>Except where noted otherwise, data are given for<br /> materials in their <!--del_lnk--> standard state (at 25°C, 100 kPa)<br /><!--del_lnk--> Infobox disclaimer and references</small></td>
</tr>
</table>
<p>The <!--del_lnk--> chemical compound <b>acetone</b> (also known as <b>propanone</b>, <b>dimethyl ketone</b>, <b>2-propanone</b>, <b>propan-2-one</b> and <b>β-ketopropane</b>) is the simplest representative of the <!--del_lnk--> ketones. Acetone is a colorless, mobile, flammable liquid with melting point of −95.4 °C and boiling point of 56.53 °C. It has a <!--del_lnk--> relative density of 0.819 (at 0 °C). It is readily soluble in <!--del_lnk--> water, <a href="../../wp/e/Ethanol.htm" title="Ethanol">ethanol</a>, <!--del_lnk--> ether, etc., and itself serves as an important <!--del_lnk--> solvent.<p>The most familiar household use of acetone is as the active ingredient in <!--del_lnk--> nail polish remover. Acetone is also used to make <!--del_lnk--> plastic, fibers, drugs, and other chemicals.<p>Before the invention of the <!--del_lnk--> cumene process acetone was produced by the dry <!--del_lnk--> distillation of <!--del_lnk--> acetates, for example <!--del_lnk--> calcium acetate.<p>In addition to being manufactured as a chemical, acetone is also found naturally in the environment, including in small amounts in the human body.<script type="text/javascript">
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<p><a id="Uses" name="Uses"></a><h2><span class="mw-headline">Uses</span></h2>
<p>An important industrial use for acetone involves its reaction with <!--del_lnk--> phenol for the manufacture of <!--del_lnk--> bisphenol A. Bisphenol A is an important component of many polymers such as <!--del_lnk--> polycarbonates, <!--del_lnk--> polyurethanes and <!--del_lnk--> epoxy resins. Acetone is also used extensively for the safe transporting and storing of <!--del_lnk--> acetylene. Vessels containing a porous material are first filled with acetone followed by acetylene, which dissolves into the acetone. One liter of acetone can dissolve around 250 liters of acetylene.<p>Acetone is often the primary (or only) component in <!--del_lnk--> nail polish remover. <!--del_lnk--> Acetonitrile, another organic solvent, is sometimes used as well. Acetone is also used as a <!--del_lnk--> superglue remover. It can be used for thinning and cleaning fibreglass resins and epoxies. It is a strong solvent for most plastics and synthetic fibres.<p>Additionally, acetone is extremely effective when used as a cleaning agent when dealing with permanent markers. Also acetone can be used as an artistic agent; when rubbed on the back of any laser print or laser photocopy it produces a rough ready effect.<p>Acetone has been used in the manufacture of <!--del_lnk--> cordite. During <a href="../../wp/w/World_War_I.htm" title="World War I">World War I</a> a new process of producing acetone through <a href="../../wp/b/Bacteria.htm" title="Bacterium">bacterial</a> <!--del_lnk--> fermentation was developed by <!--del_lnk--> Chaim Weizmann, the first president of <a href="../../wp/i/Israel.htm" title="Israel">Israel</a>, in order to help the British war effort.<p>Acetone can also dissolve many plastics, including those used in consumer-targeted <!--del_lnk--> Nalgene bottles. Acetone is also used as a <!--del_lnk--> drying agent, due to the readiness with which it mixes with water, and its volatility.<p>In the laboratory, acetone is used as a <!--del_lnk--> polar <!--del_lnk--> aprotic solvent in a variety of <!--del_lnk--> organic reactions, such as <!--del_lnk--> S<sub>N</sub>2 reactions.<p>Another industrial application is to use it as a general purpose cleaner in paint and ink manufacturing operations.<p><a id="Use_as_an_automotive_fuel_additive" name="Use_as_an_automotive_fuel_additive"></a><h3><span class="mw-headline">Use as an automotive fuel additive</span></h3>
<p>Some automotive enthusiasts add acetone at around 1 part in 500 to their fuel, following claims of improved economy. The practice is controversial as acetone may affect fuel system parts, such as rubber seals. Reports of vehicles covering 50,000 miles (80,000 km) without fault would suggest that the percentage 0.2% acetone to fuel ratio will not adversely affect any parts, pipes, seals etc.<p><a id="Health_effects" name="Health_effects"></a><h2><span class="mw-headline">Health effects</span></h2>
<p>Acetone is an irritant and inhalation may lead to <!--del_lnk--> hepatotoxic effects (causing liver damage). The fumes should be avoided. Always use goggles when handling acetone; it can cause permanent eye damage (<!--del_lnk--> corneal clouding).<p>Small amounts of acetone are metabolically produced in the body, mainly from fat. In humans, fasting significantly increases its endogenous production (see <!--del_lnk--> ketosis). Acetone can be elevated in <!--del_lnk--> diabetes. Contamination of water, food (e.g. milk), or the air (acetone is volatile) can lead to chronic exposure to acetone. A number of acute poisoning cases have been described. Relatively speaking, acetone is not a very toxic compound; it can, however, damage the <!--del_lnk--> mucosa of the <!--del_lnk--> mouth and can irritate and damage skin. Accidental intake of large amounts of acetone may lead to unconsciousness and death.<p>The effects of long-term exposure to acetone are known mostly from animal studies. <!--del_lnk--> Kidney, <!--del_lnk--> liver, and <!--del_lnk--> nerve damage, increased <!--del_lnk--> birth defects, and lowered reproduction ability of males (only) occurred in animals exposed long-term. It is not known if these same effects would be exhibited in humans.<p>Interestingly, acetone has been shown to have <!--del_lnk--> anticonvulsant effects in animal models of <!--del_lnk--> epilepsy, in the absence of toxicity, when administered in millimolar concentrations. It has been hypothesized that the high fat low carbohydrate <!--del_lnk--> ketogenic diet used clinically to control drug-resistant epilepsy in children works by elevating acetone in the brain.<ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Acetone (data page)</ul>
<p><a id="Safety" name="Safety"></a><h2><span class="mw-headline">Safety</span></h2>
<p>Due to incompatibilities, it is recommended to keep acetone away from <a href="../../wp/b/Bromine.htm" title="Bromine">bromine</a>, <a href="../../wp/c/Chlorine.htm" title="Chlorine">chlorine</a>, <!--del_lnk--> nitric acid, <a href="../../wp/s/Sulfuric_acid.htm" title="Sulfuric acid">sulfuric acid</a> and <!--del_lnk--> Trichloromethane.<div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acetone"</div>
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<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">Achilles</h1>
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<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.History.Ancient_History_Classical_History_and_Mythology.htm">Ancient History, Classical History and Mythology</a></h3>
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<div class="thumbinner" style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/184/18474.jpg.htm" title="The Wrath of Achilles, by François-Léon Benouville (1821–1859) (Musée Fabre)"><img alt="The Wrath of Achilles, by François-Léon Benouville (1821–1859) (Musée Fabre)" class="thumbimage" height="419" longdesc="/wiki/Image:WrathAchillesBenouville.jpg" src="../../images/184/18474.jpg" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/184/18474.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div><i>The Wrath of Achilles</i>, by <!--del_lnk--> François-Léon Benouville (<!--del_lnk--> 1821–<!--del_lnk--> 1859) (<!--del_lnk--> Musée Fabre)</div>
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<p>In <a href="../../wp/g/Greek_mythology.htm" title="Greek mythology">Greek mythology</a>, <b>Achilles</b> (also <b>Akhilleus</b> or <b>Achilleus</b>) (<!--del_lnk--> Ancient Greek: <span lang="grc" xml:lang="grc">Άχιλλεύς</span>) was a <!--del_lnk--> hero of the <a href="../../wp/t/Trojan_War.htm" title="Trojan War">Trojan War</a>, the <!--del_lnk--> central character and greatest warrior of <a href="../../wp/h/Homer.htm" title="Homer">Homer</a>'s <i><!--del_lnk--> Iliad</i>, which takes for its theme, not the War of <!--del_lnk--> Troy in its entirety, but specifically the Wrath of Achilles.<p>Later legends (beginning with a poem by <!--del_lnk--> Statius in the first century AD) state that Achilles was invulnerable on all of his body except for his heel. These legends state that Achilles was killed in battle by an arrow to the heel, and so an <i><!--del_lnk--> Achilles' heel</i> has come to mean a person's only weakness.<p>Achilles is also famous for being the most 'handsome' of the heroes assembled at Troy, as well as the fleetest. Central to his myth is his relationship with <!--del_lnk--> Patroclus, characterized in different sources as deep friendship or love.<script type="text/javascript">
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<p><a id="Birth" name="Birth"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Birth</span></h2>
<p>Achilles was the son of the immortal <!--del_lnk--> Peleus, king of the <!--del_lnk--> Myrmidons in <!--del_lnk--> Troy (southeast <!--del_lnk--> Thessaly), and the sea nymph <!--del_lnk--> Thetis. <a href="../../wp/z/Zeus.htm" title="Zeus">Zeus</a> and <!--del_lnk--> Poseidon had been rivals for the hand of Thetis until <!--del_lnk--> Prometheus, the food-bringer, warned Zeus of a prophecy that Thetis would bear a son greater than his father. For this reason, the two gods withdrew their pursuit, and had her wed to Peleus. As with most mythology there is a tale which offers an alternate version of these events: in <i><!--del_lnk--> Argonautica</i> (iv.760) <!--del_lnk--> Hera alludes to Thetis' chaste resistance to the advances of <a href="../../wp/z/Zeus.htm" title="Zeus">Zeus</a>, that Thetis had been so loyal to Hera's marriage bond that she coolly rejected him.<p>According to the incomplete poem <i>Achilleis</i> written by <!--del_lnk--> Statius in the first century AD, and to no other sources, when Achilles was born Thetis tried to make him immortal by dipping him in the river <!--del_lnk--> Styx. However, she forgot to wet the heel she held him by, leaving him vulnerable at that spot. (See <!--del_lnk--> Achilles' heel, <!--del_lnk--> Achilles' tendon.) It is not clear if this version of events was known earlier. In another version of this story, Thetis anointed the boy in <!--del_lnk--> ambrosia and put him on top of a fire to burn away the mortal parts of his body. She was interrupted by Peleus and abandoned both father and son in a rage.<p>However none of the sources before Statius makes any reference to this invulnerability. To the contrary, in the <i>Iliad</i> Homer mentions Achilles being wounded: in Book 21 the <!--del_lnk--> Paeonian hero <!--del_lnk--> Asteropaeus, son of Pelegon, challenged Achilles by the river Scamander. He cast two spears at once, one grazed Achilles' elbow, "drawing a spurt of blood."<p>Also in the fragmentary poems of the <!--del_lnk--> Epic Cycle in which we can find description of the hero's death, <!--del_lnk--> Kùpria (unknown author), <i><!--del_lnk--> Aithiopis</i> by <!--del_lnk--> Arctinus of Miletus, <i><!--del_lnk--> Ilias Mikrà</i> by Lesche of Mytilene, Iliou pèrsis by <!--del_lnk--> Arctinus of Miletus, there is no trace of any reference to his invulnerability or his famous (achilles) heel; in the later vase-paintings presenting Achilles' death, the arrow (or in many cases arrows) hit his body.<p>Peleus entrusted Achilles to <!--del_lnk--> Chiron the <!--del_lnk--> Centaur, on Mt. <!--del_lnk--> Pelion, to be raised.<p><a id="Achilles_in_the_Trojan_War" name="Achilles_in_the_Trojan_War"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Achilles in the Trojan War</span></h2>
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<div class="thumbinner" style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/184/18477.jpg.htm" title="The Rage of Achilles, by Giovanni Battista Tiepolo"><img alt="The Rage of Achilles, by Giovanni Battista Tiepolo" class="thumbimage" height="314" longdesc="/wiki/Image:The_Rage_of_Achilles_by_Giovanni_Battista_Tiepolo.jpeg" src="../../images/184/18477.jpg" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/184/18477.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div><i>The Rage of Achilles</i>, by <!--del_lnk--> Giovanni Battista Tiepolo</div>
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<p>The first two lines of the <i>Iliad</i> read:<dl>
<dd><span lang="grc" xml:lang="grc">μῆνιν ἄειδε θεὰ Πηληϊάδεω Ἀχιλῆος</span><dd><span lang="grc" xml:lang="grc">οὐλομένην, ἣ μυρί' Ἀχαιοῖς ἄλγε' ἔθηκεν,</span></dl>
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<dd>Rage—sing, goddess, the rage of Achilles, the son of Peleus,<dd>the destructive rage that brought countless griefs upon the Achaeans...</dl>
<p>Achilles is the only mortal to experience consuming rage (<i>menis</i>). His anger is at some times wavering, at other times absolute. The humanization of Achilles by the events of the war is an important theme of the narrative.<p><a id="Telephus" name="Telephus"></a><h4> <span class="mw-headline">Telephus</span></h4>
<p>When the Greeks left for the Trojan War, they accidentally stopped in <!--del_lnk--> Mysia, ruled by King <!--del_lnk--> Telephus. In the resulting battle, Achilles gave Telephus a wound that would not heal; Telephus consulted an oracle, who stated that "he that wounded shall heal".<p>According to other reports in <!--del_lnk--> Euripides' lost play about Telephus, he went to <!--del_lnk--> Aulis pretending to be a beggar and asked Achilles to heal his wound. Achilles refused, claiming to have no medical knowledge. Alternatively, Telephus held <!--del_lnk--> Orestes for ransom, the ransom being Achilles' aid in healing the wound. <a href="../../wp/o/Odysseus.htm" title="Odysseus">Odysseus</a> reasoned that the spear had inflicted the wound; therefore, the spear must be able to heal it. Pieces of the spear were scraped off onto the wound and Telephus was healed. This is an example of <!--del_lnk--> sympathetic magic.<p><a id="Cycnus_of_Colonae" name="Cycnus_of_Colonae"></a><h4> <span class="mw-headline">Cycnus of Colonae</span></h4>
<p>According to traditions related by <!--del_lnk--> Plutarch and the Byzantine scholar <!--del_lnk--> John Tzetzes, once the Greek ships arrived in Troy, Achilles fought and killed <!--del_lnk--> Cycnus of Colonae, a son of Poseidon. Cycnus was invulnerable, except for his head.<p><a id="Troilus" name="Troilus"></a><h4> <span class="mw-headline">Troilus</span></h4>
<p>According to <!--del_lnk--> Dares Phrygius' <i>Account of the Destruction of Troy</i>, the Latin summary through which the story of Achilles was transmitted to medieval Europe, while <!--del_lnk--> Troilus, the youngest son of <!--del_lnk--> Priam and <!--del_lnk--> Hecuba (who some say was fathered by <!--del_lnk--> Apollo), was watering his horses at the Lion Fountain outside the walls of Troy, Achilles saw him and fell in love with his beauty (whose "loveliness of form" was described by <!--del_lnk--> Ibycus as being like "gold thrice refined"). The youth rejected his advances and took refuge inside the temple of Apollo. Achilles pursued him into the sanctuary and decapitated him on the god's own altar. At the time, Troilus was said to be a year short of his twentieth birthday, and the legend goes that if Troilus had lived to be twenty, Troy would have been invincible.<p><a id="In_the_Iliad" name="In_the_Iliad"></a><h4> <span class="mw-headline">In the <i>Iliad</i></span></h4>
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<div class="thumbinner" style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/184/18478.jpg.htm" title="Achilles sacrificing to Zeus, from the Ambrosian Iliad, a 5th century illuminated manuscript."><img alt="Achilles sacrificing to Zeus, from the Ambrosian Iliad, a 5th century illuminated manuscript." class="thumbimage" height="157" longdesc="/wiki/Image:AmbrosianIliadPict47Achilles.jpg" src="../../images/184/18478.jpg" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/184/18478.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Achilles sacrificing to <a href="../../wp/z/Zeus.htm" title="Zeus">Zeus</a>, from the <!--del_lnk--> Ambrosian Iliad, a 5th century illuminated manuscript.</div>
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<p><a href="../../wp/h/Homer.htm" title="Homer">Homer's</a> <i><!--del_lnk--> Iliad</i> is the most famous narrative of Achilles' deeds in the <a href="../../wp/t/Trojan_War.htm" title="Trojan War">Trojan War</a>. The Homeric epic only covers a few weeks of the war, and does not narrate Achilles' death. It begins with Achilles' withdrawal from battle after he is dishonored by <a href="../../wp/a/Agamemnon.htm" title="Agamemnon">Agamemnon</a>, the commander of the <!--del_lnk--> Achaean forces. Agamemnon had taken a woman named <!--del_lnk--> Chryseis as his slave, her father <!--del_lnk--> Chryses, a priest of <a href="../../wp/a/Apollo.htm" title="Apollo">Apollo</a>, begged Agamemnon to return her to him. Agamemnon refused and Apollo sent a plague amongst the Greeks. The prophet <!--del_lnk--> Calchas correctly determined the source of the troubles but would not speak unless Achilles vowed to protect him. Achilles did so and Calchas declared Chyrsies must be returned to her father. Agamemnon consented, but then commanded that Achilles' slave <!--del_lnk--> Briseis be brought to replace Chryseis. Angry at the dishonor (and as he says later, because he loved Briseis) and at the urging of Thetis, Achilles refused to fight or lead his <!--del_lnk--> Myrmidons alongside the other Greek forces.<p>As the battle turned against the Greeks, <!--del_lnk--> Nestor declared that had Agamemnon not angered Achilles, the Trojans would not be winning and urged Agamemnon to appease Achilles. Agamemnon agreed and sent <a href="../../wp/o/Odysseus.htm" title="Odysseus">Odysseus</a> and two other chieftains to Achilles with the offer of the return of Briseis and other gifts. Achilles refused and urged the Greeks to sail home as he was planning to do.<p>Eventually, however, hoping to retain glory despite his absence from the battle, Achilles prayed to his mother Thetis, asking her to plead with Zeus to allow the Trojans to push back the Greek forces. The Trojans, led by <!--del_lnk--> Hector, subsequently pushed the Greek army back toward the beaches and assaulted the Greek ships. With the Greek forces on the verge of absolute destruction, Achilles consented to Patroclus (sometimes considered Achilles' lover) leading the <!--del_lnk--> Myrmidons into battle, though Achilles would remain at his camp. Patroclus succeeded in pushing the Trojans back from the beaches, but was killed by Hector before he could lead a proper assault on the city of Troy.<p><a id="Hector_versus_Achilles" name="Hector_versus_Achilles"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Hector versus Achilles</span></h3>
<p>After receiving the news of the death of Patroclus from <!--del_lnk--> Antilochus, the son of Nestor, Achilles grieved over his friend and held many funeral games in his honour. His mother Thetis came to comfort the distraught Achilles. She persuaded <!--del_lnk--> Hephaestus to make new armor for him, in place of the armor that Patroclus had been wearing which was taken by <!--del_lnk--> Hector. The new armor included the <!--del_lnk--> Shield of Achilles, described in great detail by the poet.<div class="thumb tleft">
<div class="thumbinner" style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/531/53158.jpg.htm" title="Patroclus and Achilles. Achilles bandages the arm of his friend Patroclus. The scene has been interpreted as an act of welfare and comradeship, or as a scene with sexual overtones. Ancient Greek culture often held the two to be lovers."><img alt="Patroclus and Achilles. Achilles bandages the arm of his friend Patroclus. The scene has been interpreted as an act of welfare and comradeship, or as a scene with sexual overtones. Ancient Greek culture often held the two to be lovers." class="thumbimage" height="249" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Achilles_Patroclus_Berlin_F2278.jpg" src="../../images/531/53158.jpg" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/531/53158.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div><!--del_lnk--> Patroclus and Achilles. Achilles bandages the arm of his friend Patroclus. The scene has been interpreted as an act of welfare and comradeship, or as a scene with sexual overtones. Ancient Greek culture often held the two <!--del_lnk--> to be lovers.</div>
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<div class="thumbinner" style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/184/18480.jpg.htm" title="Triumphant Achilles dragging Hector's lifeless body in front of the Gates of Troy. (From a panoramic fresco on the upper level of the main hall of the Achilleion)"><img alt="Triumphant Achilles dragging Hector's lifeless body in front of the Gates of Troy. (From a panoramic fresco on the upper level of the main hall of the Achilleion)" class="thumbimage" height="188" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Triumphant_Achilles_in_Achilleion.jpg" src="../../images/184/18480.jpg" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/184/18480.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Triumphant Achilles dragging Hector's lifeless body in front of the Gates of <!--del_lnk--> Troy. (From a <!--del_lnk--> panoramic <!--del_lnk--> fresco on the upper level of the main hall of the <!--del_lnk--> Achilleion)</div>
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<p>Enraged over the death of Patroclus, Achilles ended his refusal to fight and took the field killing many men in his rage but always seeking out Hector. Achilles even got in a fight with the river god <!--del_lnk--> Scamander who became angry that Achilles was choking his waters with all the men he killed. The god tried to drown Achilles but was stopped by <!--del_lnk--> Hera and Hephaestus. Zeus himself took note of Achilles' rage and sent the gods to restrain him so that he would not go on to sack Troy itself, seeming to show that the unhindered rage of Achilles could defy fate itself as Troy was not meant to be destroyed yet. Finally Achilles found his prey. Achilles chased Hector around the wall of Troy three times before <a href="../../wp/a/Athena.htm" title="Athena">Athena</a>, in the form of Hector's favorite and dearest brother, <!--del_lnk--> Deiphobus, persuaded Hector to fight face to face. Achilles got his vengeance, killing Hector with a blow to the neck. He then tied Hector's body to his <!--del_lnk--> chariot and dragged it around the battlefield for nine days.<p>With the assistance of the god <!--del_lnk--> Hermes, Priam, Hector's father, went to Achilles' tent and convinced Achilles to permit him to allow Hector his funeral rites. The final passage in the <i>Iliad</i> is Hector's funeral, after which the doom of Troy is just a matter of time.<p><a id="Memnon" name="Memnon"></a><h4> <span class="mw-headline">Memnon</span></h4>
<p>Following the death of Patroclus, Achilles's closest companion was Nestor's son <!--del_lnk--> Antilochus. When <!--del_lnk--> Memnon of <a href="../../wp/e/Ethiopia.htm" title="Ethiopia">Ethiopia</a> killed Antilochus, Achilles was once again drawn onto the battlefield to seek revenge. The fight between Achilles and Memnon over Antilochus echoes that of Achilles and Hector over Patroclus, except that Memnon (unlike Hector) is also the son of a goddess (like Achilles). Many Homeric scholars argued that episode inspired many details in the <i>Iliad'</i>s description of the death of Patroclus and Achilles' reaction to it. The episode then formed the basis of the <!--del_lnk--> cyclic epic <i><!--del_lnk--> Aethiopis</i>, which was composed after the <i>Iliad</i>, possibly in the 7th century BC. The <i>Aethiopis</i> is now lost, except for scattered fragments quoted by later authors. <!--del_lnk--> Quintus of Smyrna also gives us an epic treatment of Memnon's mortal death and the immortality then bestowed upon him by Zeus as well as lyrical description of his countrymen's extreme grief.<p><a id="Penthesilea.2C_and_the_death_of_Achilles" name="Penthesilea.2C_and_the_death_of_Achilles"></a><h4> <span class="mw-headline">Penthesilea, and the death of Achilles</span></h4>
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<p>Achilles, after his temporary truce with Priam, fought and killed the <!--del_lnk--> Amazonian warrior queen <!--del_lnk--> Penthesilea.<p>As predicted by <!--del_lnk--> Hector with his dying breath, Achilles was thereafter killed by <!--del_lnk--> Paris — either by an arrow (to the heel according to <!--del_lnk--> Statius), or in an older version by a knife to the back while visiting <!--del_lnk--> Polyxena, a princess of Troy. In some versions, the god <a href="../../wp/a/Apollo.htm" title="Apollo">Apollo</a> guided Paris' arrow.<p>Both versions conspicuously deny the killer any sort of valor owing to the common conception that Paris was a coward and not the man his brother Hector was, and Achilles remains undefeated on the battlefield. His bones are mingled with those of <!--del_lnk--> Patroclus, and funeral games are held. He was represented in the lost Trojan War epic of <!--del_lnk--> Arctinus of Miletus as living after his death in the island of <!--del_lnk--> Leuke at the mouth of the <a href="../../wp/d/Danube.htm" title="Danube">Danube</a> (see below).<p>Paris was later killed by <!--del_lnk--> Philoctetes using the enormous bow of <a href="../../wp/h/Heracles.htm" title="Heracles">Heracles</a>.<p><a id="The_fate_of_Achilles.27_armor" name="The_fate_of_Achilles.27_armor"></a><h4> <span class="mw-headline">The fate of Achilles' armor</span></h4>
<p>Achilles' armor was the object of a feud between <a href="../../wp/o/Odysseus.htm" title="Odysseus">Odysseus</a> and <!--del_lnk--> Telamonian Ajax (Achilles' older cousin). They competed for it by giving speeches on why they were the bravest after Achilles and the most deserving to receive it. Odysseus won. Ajax went mad with grief and anguish and vowed to kill his comrades; he started killing cattle or sheep, thinking in his madness that they were Greek soldiers. He then killed himself.<p><a id="Achilles_and_Patroclus" name="Achilles_and_Patroclus"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Achilles and Patroclus</span></h2>
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<p>Achilles' relationship with Patroclus is a key aspect of his myth. Its exact nature has been a subject of dispute in both the classical period and modern times. In the <i><!--del_lnk--> Iliad</i>, it is clear that the two heroes have a deep and extremely meaningful friendship, but the evidence of a romantic or sexual element is equivocal. Commentators from the classical period to today have tended to interpret the relationship through the lens of their own cultures. Thus, in <!--del_lnk--> 5th century BC <a href="../../wp/a/Athens.htm" title="Athens">Athens</a> the relationship was commonly interpreted as <!--del_lnk--> pederastic. Contemporary readers are more likely to interpret the two heroes either as non-sexual "war buddies" or as an egalitarian <!--del_lnk--> homosexual couple.<p><a id="The_cult_of_Achilles_in_antiquity" name="The_cult_of_Achilles_in_antiquity"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">The cult of Achilles in antiquity</span></h2>
<p>There was an archaic cult of Achilles on the <!--del_lnk--> White Island, <i>Leuce</i>, in the <a href="../../wp/b/Black_Sea.htm" title="Black Sea">Black Sea</a> off the modern coasts of <a href="../../wp/r/Romania.htm" title="Romania">Romania</a> and <a href="../../wp/u/Ukraine.htm" title="Ukraine">Ukraine</a>, with a temple and an <!--del_lnk--> oracle which survived into the Roman period.<p>In the lost epic <i><!--del_lnk--> Aithiopis</i>, a continuation of the <i><!--del_lnk--> Iliad</i> attributed to <!--del_lnk--> Arktinus of Miletos, Achilles’ mother Thetis returned to mourn him and removed his ashes from the pyre and took them to Leuce at the mouths of the Danube. There the Achaeans raised a tumulus for him and celebrated funeral games.<p><!--del_lnk--> Pliny's Natural History (IV.27.1) mentions a <!--del_lnk--> tumulus that is no longer evident (<i>Insula Achillis tumulo eius viri clara</i>), on the island consecrated to him, located at a distance of fifty Roman miles from <!--del_lnk--> Peuce by the <!--del_lnk--> Danube Delta, and the temple there. <!--del_lnk--> Pausanias has been told that the island is "covered with forests and full of animals, some wild, some tame. In this island there is also Achilles’ temple and his statue” (III.19.11). Ruins of a square temple 30 meters to a side, possibly that dedicated to Achilles, were discovered by Captain Kritzikly in 1823, but there has been no modern archeology done on the island.<p><!--del_lnk--> Pomponius Mela tells that Achilles is buried in the island named Achillea, between Boristhene and Ister (<i>De situ orbis</i>, II, 7). And the Greek geographer Dionysius Periegetus of Bithynia, who lived at the time of Domitian, writes that the island was called <i>Leuce</i> "because the wild animals which live there are white. It is said that there, in Leuce island, reside the souls of Achilles and other heroes, and that they wander through the uninhabited valleys of this island; this is how Jove rewarded the men who had distinguished themselves through their virtues, because through virtue they had acquired everlasting honour” (<i>Orbis descriptio</i>, v. 541, quoted in Densuşianu 1913).<p>The <i><!--del_lnk--> Periplus of the Euxine Sea</i> gives the following details: "It is said that the goddess Thetis raised this island from the sea, for her son Achilles, who dwells there. Here is his temple and his statue, an archaic work. This island is not inhabited, and goats graze on it, not many, which the people who happen to arrive here with their ships, sacrifice to Achilles. In this temple are also deposited a great many holy gifts, craters, rings and precious stones, offered to Achilles in gratitude. One can still read inscriptions in Greek and Latin, in which Achilles is praised and celebrated. Some of these are worded in Patroclus’ honor, because those who wish to be favored by Achilles, honor Patroclus at the same time. There are also in this island countless numbers of sea birds, which look after Achilles’ temple. Every morning they fly out to sea, wet their wings with water, and return quickly to the temple and sprinkle it. And after they finish the sprinkling, they clean the hearth of the temple with their wings. Other people say still more, that some of the men who reach this island, come here intentionally. They bring animals in their ships, destined to be sacrificed. Some of these animals they slaughter, others they set free on the island, in Achilles’ honour. But there are others, who are forced to come to this island by sea storms. As they have no sacrificial animals, but wish to get them from the god of the island himself, they consult Achilles’ oracle. They ask permission to slaughter the victims chosen from among the animals that graze freely on the island, and to deposit in exchange the price which they consider fair. But in case the oracle denies them permission, because there is an oracle here, they add something to the price offered, and if the oracle refuses again, they add something more, until at last, the oracle agrees that the price is sufficient. And then the victim doesn’t run away any more, but waits willingly to be caught. So, there is a great quantity of silver there, consecrated to the hero, as price for the sacrificial victims. To some of the people who come to this island, Achilles appears in dreams, to others he would appear even during their navigation, if they were not too far away, and would instruct them as to which part of the island they would better anchor their ships”. (quoted in Densuşianu)<p>The <!--del_lnk--> heroic cult of Achilles on Leuce island was widespread in Antiquity, not only along the sealanes of the <a href="../../wp/b/Black_Sea.htm" title="Black Sea">Pontic Sea</a> but also in maritime cities whose economic interests were tightly connected to the riches of the Black Sea.<p>Achilles from Leuce island was venerated as <i>Pontarches</i> the lord and master of the Pontic (Black) Sea, the protector of sailors and navigation. Sailors went out of their way to offer sacrifice. To Achilles of Leuce were dedicated a number of important commercial port cities of the Greek waters: Achilleion in Messenia (<!--del_lnk--> Stephanus Byzantinus), Achilleios in Laconia (<!--del_lnk--> Pausanias, III.25,4) <!--del_lnk--> Nicolae Densuşianu (Densuşianu 1913) even thought he recognized Achilles in the name of <!--del_lnk--> Aquileia and in the north arm of the Danube delta, the arm of Chilia ("Achileii"), though his conclusion, that Leuce had sovereign rights over Pontos, evokes modern rather than archaic sea-law."<p>Leuce had also a reputation as a place of healing. Pausanias (III.19,13) reports that the <!--del_lnk--> Delphic Pythia sent a lord of Croton to be cured of a chest wound. <!--del_lnk--> Ammianus Marcellinus (XXII.8) attributes the healing to waters (<i>aquae</i>) on the island.<p><a id="The_cult_of_Achilles_in_modern_times:_The_Achilleion_in_Corfu" name="The_cult_of_Achilles_in_modern_times:_The_Achilleion_in_Corfu"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">The cult of Achilles in modern times: The Achilleion in Corfu</span></h3>
<p>In the region of Gastouri (Γαστούρι) to the south of the city of <!--del_lnk--> Corfu <a href="../../wp/g/Greece.htm" title="Greece">Greece</a>, Empress of Austria <!--del_lnk--> Elisabeth of Bavaria also known as Sissi built in 1890 a summer palace with Achilles as its central theme and it is a monument to <!--del_lnk--> platonic <a href="../../wp/r/Romanticism.htm" title="Romanticism">romanticism</a>. The palace, naturally, was named after Achilles: <i><!--del_lnk--> Achilleion</i> (Αχίλλειον). This elegant structure abounds with paintings and statues of Achilles both in the main hall and in the lavish gardens depicting the heroic and tragic scenes of the <!--del_lnk--> Trojan war.<p><a id="The_name_of_Achilles" name="The_name_of_Achilles"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">The name of Achilles</span></h2>
<p>Achilles' name can be analyzed as a combination of <span lang="grc" xml:lang="grc">ἄχος</span> (<i>akhos</i>) "grief" and <span lang="grc" xml:lang="grc">λαός</span> (<i>Laos</i>) "a people, tribe, nation, etc." In other words, Achilles is an embodiment of the grief of the people, grief being a theme raised numerous times in the <i>Iliad</i> (frequently by Achilles). Achilles' role as the hero of grief forms an ironic juxtaposition with the conventional view of Achilles as the hero of <i>kleos</i> (glory, usually glory in war).<p><i>Laos</i> has been construed by <!--del_lnk--> Gregory Nagy, following Leonard Palmer, to mean <i>a corps of soldiers</i>. With this derivation, the name would have a double meaning in the poem: When the hero is functioning rightly, his men bring grief to the enemy, but when wrongly, his men get the grief of war. The poem is in part about the misdirection of anger on the part of leadership.<p>Centuries after Homer, his name was turned into the female form of <!--del_lnk--> Achillia, attested on <!--del_lnk--> a relief from Halicarnassus as the name of a female gladiator fighting 'Amazonia'. Roman gladiatorial games often referenced classical mythology and this seems to reference Achilles' fight with Penthesilea, but give it an extra twist of Achilles being 'played' by a man.<p><a id="Other_stories_about_Achilles" name="Other_stories_about_Achilles"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Other stories about Achilles</span></h2>
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<div class="thumbinner" style="width:302px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/185/18548.jpg.htm" title="Achilles as guardian of the palace in the gardens of the Achilleion in Corfu. He gazes northward toward the city. The inscription in Greek reads: ΑΧΙΛΛΕΥΣ i.e. Achilles"><img alt="Achilles as guardian of the palace in the gardens of the Achilleion in Corfu. He gazes northward toward the city. The inscription in Greek reads: ΑΧΙΛΛΕΥΣ i.e. Achilles" class="thumbimage" height="400" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Achilles_in_Corfu.JPG" src="../../images/185/18548.jpg" width="300" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/185/18548.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Achilles as guardian of the palace in the gardens of the <!--del_lnk--> Achilleion in <!--del_lnk--> Corfu. He gazes northward toward the city. The inscription in Greek reads: ΑΧΙΛΛΕΥΣ i.e. Achilles</div>
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<p>Some post-Homeric sources claim that in order to keep Achilles safe from the war, Thetis (or, in some versions, Peleus) hides the young man at the court of <!--del_lnk--> Lycomedes, king of <!--del_lnk--> Skyros. There, Achilles is disguised as a girl and lives among Lycomedes' daughters, perhaps under the name "Pyrrha" (the red-haired girl). With Lycomedes' daughter <!--del_lnk--> Deidamia, whom in the account of <!--del_lnk--> Statius he rapes, Achilles there fathers a son, <!--del_lnk--> Neoptolemus (also called Pyrrhus, after his father's possible alias). According to this story, Odysseus learns from the prophet <!--del_lnk--> Calchas that the Achaeans would be unable to capture Troy without Achilles' aid. Odysseus goes to Skyros in the guise of a peddler selling women's clothes and jewelry and places a shield and spear among his goods. When Achilles instantly takes up the spear, Odysseus sees through his disguise and convinces him to join the Greek campaign. In another version of the story, Odysseus arranges for a trumpet alarm to be sounded while he was with Lycomedes' women; while the women flee in panic, Achilles prepares to defend the court, thus giving his identity away.<p>In Homer's <i><a href="../../wp/o/Odyssey.htm" title="Odyssey">Odyssey</a></i>, there is a passage in which Odysseus sails to the underworld and converses with the shades. One of these is Achilles, who when greeted as "blessed in life, blessed in death", responds that he would rather be a slave to the worst of masters than be king of all the dead. This has been interpreted as a rejection of his warrior life, but also as indignity to his martyrdom being slighted. Achilles was worshipped as a sea-god in many of the <!--del_lnk--> Greek colonies on the <a href="../../wp/b/Black_Sea.htm" title="Black Sea">Black Sea</a>, the location of the mythical "White Island" which he was said to inhabit after his death, together with many other heroes.<p>Post-<!--del_lnk--> Homeric literature explores a <!--del_lnk--> pederastic interpretation of the love between <!--del_lnk--> Achilles and Patroclus. By the fifth and fourth centuries, the deep — and arguably ambiguous — friendship portrayed in Homer blossomed into an unequivocal erotic love affair in the works of <!--del_lnk--> Aeschylus, <a href="../../wp/p/Plato.htm" title="Plato">Plato</a>, and <!--del_lnk--> Aeschines, and seems to have inspired the enigmatic verses in <!--del_lnk--> Lycophron's third century <i>Alexandra</i> that claim Achilles slew Troilus in a matter of unrequited love.<p>The kings of the <!--del_lnk--> Epirus claimed to be descended from Achilles through his son. <a href="../../wp/a/Alexander_the_Great.htm" title="Alexander the Great">Alexander the Great</a>, son of the Epiran princess <!--del_lnk--> Olympias, could therefore also claim this descent, and in many ways strove to be like his great ancestor; he is said to have visited his tomb while passing Troy.<p>Achilles fought and killed the <!--del_lnk--> Amazon <!--del_lnk--> Helene. Some also said he married <!--del_lnk--> Medea, and that after both their deaths they were united in the Elysian Fields of Hades — as Hera promised Thetis in Apollonius' <!--del_lnk--> Argonautica. In some versions of the myth, Achilles has a relationship with his captive <!--del_lnk--> Briseis.<p><a id="Achilles_in_Greek_tragedy" name="Achilles_in_Greek_tragedy"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Achilles in Greek tragedy</span></h2>
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<p>The <!--del_lnk--> Greek tragedian <!--del_lnk--> Aeschylus wrote a trilogy of plays about Achilles, given the title <i>Achilleis</i> by modern scholars. The tragedies relate the deeds of Achilles during the <a href="../../wp/t/Trojan_War.htm" title="Trojan War">Trojan War</a>, including his defeat of <!--del_lnk--> Hector and eventual death when an arrow shot by <!--del_lnk--> Paris punctures his heel. Extant fragments of <i>Myrmidons</i> and other Aeschylean fragments have been assembled to produce a workable modern play.<p>Another lost play by Aeschylus, <i>The Myrmidons</i>, focused on the relationship between Achilles and Patroclus; only a few lines survive today.<p>The tragedian <!--del_lnk--> Sophocles also wrote a play with Achilles as the main character, <i>The Lovers of Achilles</i>. Only a few fragments survive.<p><a id="Spoken-word_myths_.28audio.29" name="Spoken-word_myths_.28audio.29"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Spoken-word myths (audio)</span></h2>
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<th style="background:#ffdead;">Achilles myths as told by story tellers</th>
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<td><!--del_lnk--> <b>1. Achilles and Patroclus,</b> read by Timothy Carter</td>
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<td>Bibliography of reconstruction: <a href="../../wp/h/Homer.htm" title="Homer">Homer</a> <i>Iliad,</i> 9.308, 16.2, 11.780, 23.54 (700 BC); <!--del_lnk--> Pindar <i><!--del_lnk--> Olympian Odes,</i> IX (476 BC); <!--del_lnk--> Aeschylus <i>Myrmidons,</i> F135-36 (495 BC); <!--del_lnk--> Euripides <i>Iphigenia in Aulis,</i> (405 BC); <a href="../../wp/p/Plato.htm" title="Plato">Plato</a> <i>Symposium,</i> 179e (388 BC-367 BC); <!--del_lnk--> Statius <i>Achilleid,</i> 161, 174, 182 (96 CE)</td>
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<p><a id="Achilles_in_later_art" name="Achilles_in_later_art"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Achilles in later art</span></h2>
<p><a id="Drama" name="Drama"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Drama</span></h3>
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<li>Achilles is portrayed as a former hero, who has become lazy and devoted to the love of Patroclus, in <a href="../../wp/w/William_Shakespeare.htm" title="William Shakespeare">William Shakespeare</a>'s <i><!--del_lnk--> Troilus and Cressida</i>.</ul>
<p><a id="Fiction" name="Fiction"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Fiction</span></h3>
<ul>
<li>Achilles appears in the novels <i><!--del_lnk--> Ilium</i> and <i><!--del_lnk--> Olympos</i> by science fiction author <!--del_lnk--> Dan Simmons.<li>Achilles the novel by Elizabeth Cook<li>Achilles appears in Dante's "The Inferno."<li><i>The Wrath of Achilles</i> is a starship in 'Gene Rodenberry's Andromeda'</ul>
<p><a id="Film" name="Film"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Film</span></h3>
<p>The role of Achilles has been played by:<ul>
<li>Gordon Mitchell in "Achilles" (1962)<li><!--del_lnk--> Piero Lulli in <i>Ulysses</i> (1955)<li><!--del_lnk--> Stanley Baker in <i><!--del_lnk--> Helen of Troy</i> (1956)<li><!--del_lnk--> Arturo Dominici in <i><!--del_lnk--> La Guerra di Troia</i> (1962)<li><!--del_lnk--> Derek Jacobi [voice] in Achilles (Channel Four Television) (1995)<li><!--del_lnk--> Steve Davislim in <i><!--del_lnk--> La Belle Hélène</i> (TV, 1996)<li><!--del_lnk--> Joe Montana in <i><!--del_lnk--> Helen of Troy</i> (TV, 2003)<li><!--del_lnk--> Brad Pitt in <i><!--del_lnk--> Troy</i> (2004)</ul>
<p><a id="Television" name="Television"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Television</span></h3>
<ul>
<li>In the animated television series <i><!--del_lnk--> Class of the Titans</i>, the character Archie is descended from Achilles and has inherited both his vulnerable heel and part of his invincibility.</ul>
<p><a id="Music" name="Music"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Music</span></h3>
<p>Achilles has frequently been mentioned in music.<ul>
<li>"<!--del_lnk--> Achilles Last Stand", by <!--del_lnk--> Led Zeppelin; from the album <i><!--del_lnk--> Presence</i>, 1976, Atlantic Records.<li>Achilles is referred to in <a href="../../wp/b/Bob_Dylan.htm" title="Bob Dylan">Bob Dylan</a>'s song, "Temporary Like Achilles".<li>"Achilles' Revenge" is a song by <!--del_lnk--> Warlord.<li><!--del_lnk--> Achilles Heel is an album by the indie rock band <!--del_lnk--> Pedro the Lion.<li>Achilles and his heel are referenced in the song "Special K" by the rock band <!--del_lnk--> Placebo.<li>"Achilles' Heel" is a song by the UK band <!--del_lnk--> Toploader.<li>"Achilles" is a song by the Colorado-based power metal band <!--del_lnk--> Jag Panzer, from the album <i>Casting the Stones</i>.<li>Achilles is referenced in the <!--del_lnk--> Indigo Girls song "Ghost".<li>Song by Melbourne band Love Outside Andromeda called "Achilles (All 3)".<li>"Achilles, Agony & Ecstasy In Eight Parts", by <!--del_lnk--> Manowar; from the album <i><!--del_lnk--> The Triumph of Steel</i>, 1992, <!--del_lnk--> Atlantic Records.<li>Although not mentioned by name, "Citadel" (about the Siege of Troy) by <!--del_lnk--> The Crüxshadows mentions Paris' arrow 'landing true'.</ul>
<p><a id="Namesakes" name="Namesakes"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Namesakes</span></h2>
<ul>
<li>The <!--del_lnk--> Royal New Zealand Navy gave the name <!--del_lnk--> HMNZS <i>Achilles</i> to an <!--del_lnk--> <i>A</i> class <!--del_lnk--> destroyer which served in <a href="../../wp/w/World_War_II.htm" title="World War II">World War II</a>.</ul>
<div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Achilles"</div>
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<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">Achilles tendon</h1>
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<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.Science.Biology.Health_and_medicine.htm">Health and medicine</a></h3>
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<th colspan="2" style="background:dimgray; color:#ffffff;"><i>Achilles tendon</i></th>
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<div class="floatnone"><span><a class="image" href="../../images/185/18555.jpg.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="423" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Achilles-tendon.jpg" src="../../images/185/18555.jpg" width="250" /></a></span></div>
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<td colspan="2"><small>Posterior view of the foot and leg, showing the Achilles tendon (<i>tendo calcaneus</i>). The gastrocnemius muscle is cut to expose the soleus.</small></td>
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<div class="floatnone"><span><a class="image" href="../../images/185/18561.png.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="264" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Ankle.PNG" src="../../images/185/18561.png" width="250" /></a></span></div>
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<td colspan="2"><small>Lateral view of the human ankle, including the Achilles tendon</small></td>
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<th><a href="../../wp/l/Latin.htm" title="Latin">Latin</a></th>
<td><i>tendo calcaneus, tendo Achillis</i></td>
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<th><!--del_lnk--> Gray's</th>
<td style="white-space: nowrap;"><i><!--del_lnk--> subject #129 483</i></td>
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<th><!--del_lnk--> MeSH</th>
<td style="white-space: nowrap;"><i><!--del_lnk--> Achilles+tendon</i></td>
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<th><!--del_lnk--> Dorlands/Elsevier</th>
<td style="white-space: nowrap;"><i><!--del_lnk--> t_04/12793915</i></td>
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<p>The <b>Achilles tendon</b> (or occasionally <b>Achilles’ tendon</b>) or the <b>calcaneal tendon</b> is a <!--del_lnk--> tendon of the posterior <!--del_lnk--> leg. It serves to attach the <!--del_lnk--> gastrocnemius (calf) and <!--del_lnk--> soleus <!--del_lnk--> muscles to the <!--del_lnk--> calcaneus (heel) bone.<script type="text/javascript">
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<p><a id="Anatomy" name="Anatomy"></a><h2><span class="mw-headline">Anatomy</span></h2>
<p>The Achilles tendon is the tendonous extension of three muscles in the lower leg: gastrocnemius, soleus, and plantaris. In humans, the tendon passes behind the <!--del_lnk--> ankle. It is the thickest and strongest tendon in the body. It is about 15 cm long, and begins near the middle of the leg, but receives fleshy fibers on its anterior surface, almost to its lower end. Gradually becoming contracted below, it is inserted into the middle part of the posterior surface of the calcaneus, a <!--del_lnk--> bursa being interposed between the tendon and the upper part of this surface. The tendon spreads out somewhat at its lower end, so that its narrowest part is about 4 cm. above its insertion. It is covered by the <!--del_lnk--> fascia and the <!--del_lnk--> integument, and stands out prominently behind the bone; the gap is filled up with <!--del_lnk--> areolar and <!--del_lnk--> adipose tissue. Along its lateral side, but superficial to it, is the <!--del_lnk--> small saphenous vein. The achilles' muscle reflex tests the integrity of the S1 spinal root.<p><a id="Nomenclature" name="Nomenclature"></a><h2><span class="mw-headline">Nomenclature</span></h2>
<p>The oldest-known written record of the tendon being named for <a href="../../wp/a/Achilles.htm" title="Achilles">Achilles</a> is in <!--del_lnk--> 1693 by the Flemish/Dutch anatomist <!--del_lnk--> Philip Verheyen. In his widely used text <i>Corporis Humani Anatomia</i>, Chapter XV, page 328, he described the tendon's location and said that it was commonly called "the cord of Achilles" ("quae vulgo dicitur <i>chorda Achillis</i>").<p>The name <!--del_lnk--> Achilles' heel comes from Greek mythology. His mother, the goddess Thetis, received a prophecy of her son's death. In order to protect him, she dipped him into the River Styx, which protected his entire body from harm. However, in order to dip him into the river, she needed to grab onto his heel. During the Trojan War Achilles was struck on his unprotected heel by a poisoned arrow, which killed him.<p><a id="Role_in_disease" name="Role_in_disease"></a><h2><span class="mw-headline">Role in disease</span></h2>
<p><!--del_lnk--> Achilles tendonitis is <!--del_lnk--> inflammation of the tendon, generally due to overuse of the affected limb or as part of a strain injury. More common is Achilles <!--del_lnk--> tendinosis, a degenerative condition with inflammation of the tendon, often accompanied by pain and swelling of the surrounding tissue and <!--del_lnk--> paratendon. Maffulli et al. suggested that the clinical label of <!--del_lnk--> tendinopathy should be given to the combination of tendon pain, swelling and impaired performance. <!--del_lnk--> Achilles tendon rupture is a partial or complete break in the tendon; it requires immobilisation or surgery. <!--del_lnk--> Xanthoma can develop in the Achilles tendon in patients with <!--del_lnk--> familial hypercholesterolemia.<p><a id="Treatment_of_Achilles_tendon_damage" name="Treatment_of_Achilles_tendon_damage"></a><h2><span class="mw-headline">Treatment of Achilles tendon damage</span></h2>
<p>Initial treatment of damage to the tendon is generally nonoperative. <!--del_lnk--> Orthotics can produce early relief to the tendon by the correction of malalignments, <!--del_lnk--> non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are generally to be avoided as they make the more-common tendinopathy (degenerative) injuries worse; though they may very occasionally be indicated for the rarer tendinitis (inflammatory) injuries. Physiotherapy by eccentric calf stretching under resistance is commonly recommended, usually in conjunction with podiatric insoles or heel cushioning. According to reports by Hakan Alfredson, M.D., and associates of clinical trials in Sweden, the pain in Achilles tendinopathy arises from the nerves associated with neovascularization and can be effectively treated with 1-4 small injections of a sclerosant. In a cross-over trial, 19 of 20 of his patients were successfully treated with this sclerotherapy.<p>Where tendon rupture is concerned, there are three main types of treatment: the open and the percutaneous operative methods, and nonoperative approaches.<p><a id="Achilles_tendon_damage_in_popular_culture" name="Achilles_tendon_damage_in_popular_culture"></a><h2><span class="mw-headline">Achilles tendon damage in popular culture</span></h2>
<p>Severance of the Achilles tendon is considered by many a particularly unpleasant injury. This has led authors to use it for shock value. Achilles tendons are severed in the movies <i><!--del_lnk--> Pet Sematary</i> (1989), <i><!--del_lnk--> Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance</i> (2002), <i><!--del_lnk--> Kill Bill</i> (2003), <i><!--del_lnk--> House of Wax</i> (2005), <i><!--del_lnk--> Hostel</i> (2006), and <i><!--del_lnk--> Saw 3</i> (2006) . In the <!--del_lnk--> Gor novels, severing Achilles tendons is a punishment for <!--del_lnk--> slaves who try to flee.<p>Ironically, during the filming of <i><!--del_lnk--> Troy</i> (2004), Brad Pitt injured his achilles tendon and was unable to perform during this period.<p><a id="Additional_images" name="Additional_images"></a><h2><span class="mw-headline">Additional images</span></h2>
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<p>The popliteal, posterior tibial, and peroneal arteries.<p>
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<p>Back of left lower extremity.<p>
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<p>The mucous sheaths of the tendons around the ankle. Lateral aspect.<p>
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<p>The mucous sheaths of the tendons around the ankle. Medial aspect.<p>
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<th style="background:#efefef; white-space:nowrap;"><!--del_lnk--> Buttocks and <!--del_lnk--> Thigh</th>
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<p><!--del_lnk--> Inguinal ligament • <!--del_lnk--> Obturator membrane • <!--del_lnk--> Femoral ring • <!--del_lnk--> Femoral canal • <!--del_lnk--> Femoral sheath • <!--del_lnk--> Femoral triangle • <!--del_lnk--> Adductor canal • <!--del_lnk--> Adductor hiatus • <!--del_lnk--> Fascia lata • <!--del_lnk--> Saphenous opening • <!--del_lnk--> Iliotibial tract • <!--del_lnk--> Fascial compartments of thigh (<!--del_lnk--> Anterior, <!--del_lnk--> Medial, <!--del_lnk--> Posterior)</div>
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<th style="background:#efefef; white-space:nowrap;"><!--del_lnk--> Cnemis (anatomic leg)</th>
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<p><!--del_lnk--> Popliteal fossa • <!--del_lnk--> Calf • <!--del_lnk--> Shin • <!--del_lnk--> Pes anserinus • <!--del_lnk--> Fascial compartments of leg (<!--del_lnk--> Anterior, <!--del_lnk--> Lateral, <!--del_lnk--> Posterior)</div>
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<th style="background:#efefef; white-space:nowrap;"><!--del_lnk--> Foot</th>
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<p><!--del_lnk--> Heel • <!--del_lnk--> Plantar fascia • <!--del_lnk--> Toe (<!--del_lnk--> Hallux, <!--del_lnk--> Fifth toe) • <!--del_lnk--> Sole • <strong class="selflink">Achilles tendon</strong> • <!--del_lnk--> Tarsal tunnel • Retinacula (<!--del_lnk--> Peroneal, <!--del_lnk--> Inferior extensor, <!--del_lnk--> Superior extensor)</div>
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<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.Citizenship.Environment.htm">Environment</a>; <a href="../index/subject.Geography.General_Geography.htm">General Geography</a></h3>
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<td align="center" style="font-size: 90%;"><strong class="selflink">Acid rain</strong> • <!--del_lnk--> Air Pollution Index • <!--del_lnk--> Air Quality Index • <!--del_lnk--> Atmospheric dispersion modeling • <!--del_lnk--> Chlorofluorocarbon • <!--del_lnk--> Global dimming • <a href="../../wp/g/Global_warming.htm" title="Global warming">Global warming</a> • <!--del_lnk--> Haze • <!--del_lnk--> Indoor air quality • <a href="../../wp/o/Ozone_depletion.htm" title="Ozone depletion">Ozone depletion</a> • <!--del_lnk--> Particulate • <a href="../../wp/s/Smog.htm" title="Smog">Smog</a> • <!--del_lnk--> Roadway air dispersion</td>
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<p>The term <b>acid rain</b> also known as <b>acid precipitation</b> is commonly used to mean the deposition of acidic components in <a href="../../wp/r/Rain.htm" title="Rain">rain</a>, <a href="../../wp/s/Snow.htm" title="Snow">snow</a>, <!--del_lnk--> dew, or dry particles. The more accurate term is "acid precipitation." Acid rain occurs when <!--del_lnk--> sulfur dioxide and <!--del_lnk--> nitrogen oxides are emitted into the atmosphere, undergo chemical transformations and are absorbed by water droplets in <a href="../../wp/c/Cloud.htm" title="Cloud">clouds</a>. The droplets then fall to earth as <a href="../../wp/r/Rain.htm" title="Rain">rain</a>, <a href="../../wp/s/Snow.htm" title="Snow">snow</a>, <!--del_lnk--> mist, dry <!--del_lnk--> dust, <!--del_lnk--> hail, or <!--del_lnk--> sleet. This increases the acidity of the soil, and affects the chemical balance of lakes and streams.<p>The term "acid rain" is sometimes used more generally to include all forms of <!--del_lnk--> acid deposition — both <!--del_lnk--> wet deposition, where acidic gases and particles are removed by rain or other <!--del_lnk--> precipitation, and dry deposition removal of gases and particles to the Earth's surface in the absence of precipitation.<p>Acid rain is defined as any type of <!--del_lnk--> precipitation with a <!--del_lnk--> pH that is unusually low. Dissolved carbon dioxide dissociates to form weak <!--del_lnk--> carbonic acid giving a pH of approximately 5.6 at typical atmospheric concentrations of CO<sub>2</sub>. Therefore a pH of less than 5.6 has sometimes been used as a definition of acid rain. However, natural sources of acidity mean that in remote areas, rain has a pH which is between 4.5 and 5.6 with an average value of 5.0 and so rain with a pH of less than 5 is a more appropriate definition. The US EPA says, "Acid rain is a serious environmental problem that affects large parts of the US and Canada" Acid rain accelerates <!--del_lnk--> weathering in <!--del_lnk--> carbonate rocks and accelerates <!--del_lnk--> building weathering. It also contributes to acidification of <a href="../../wp/r/River.htm" title="River">rivers</a>, <!--del_lnk--> streams, and <a href="../../wp/f/Forest.htm" title="Forest">forest</a> damage at high elevations. When the acid builds up in rivers and streams it can kill fish.<script type="text/javascript">
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<p><a id="History_and_trends" name="History_and_trends"></a><h2><span class="mw-headline">History and trends</span></h2>
<p>Evidence for an increase in the levels of acid rain comes from analyzing layers of glacial ice. These show a sudden decrease in pH from the start of the Industrial Revolution of 6 to 4.5 or 4. Other information has been gathered from studying organisms known as <!--del_lnk--> diatoms which inhabit ponds. Over the years these die and are deposited in layers of <!--del_lnk--> sediment on the bottoms of the ponds. Diatoms thrive in certain pH levels, so the numbers of diatoms found in sediment layers of increasing depth give an indication of the change in pH over the years.<p>Since the industrial revolution, emissions of sulfur and nitrogen oxides to the atmosphere have increased. Occasional pH readings of well below 2.4 (the acidity of <!--del_lnk--> vinegar) have been reported in industrialized areas. Industrial acid rain is a substantial problem in the <a href="../../wp/p/People%2527s_Republic_of_China.htm" title="People's Republic of China">People's Republic of China</a>, <!--del_lnk--> Eastern Europe, <a href="../../wp/r/Russia.htm" title="Russia">Russia</a> and areas down-wind from them. These areas all burn sulfur-containing coal to generate heat and electricity.The problem of acid rain not only has increased with population and industrial growth, but has become more widespread. The use of tall smokestacks to reduce local <a href="../../wp/p/Pollution.htm" title="Pollution">pollution</a> has contributed to the spread of acid rain by releasing gases into regional atmospheric circulation. Often deposition occurs a considerable distance downwind of the emissions, with mountainous regions tending to receive the most (simply because of their higher rainfall). An example of this effect is the low pH of rain (compared to the local emissions) which falls in <!--del_lnk--> Scandinavia.<p>Acid rain was first found in <a href="../../wp/m/Manchester.htm" title="Manchester">Manchester</a>, <a href="../../wp/e/England.htm" title="England">England</a>. In 1852, <!--del_lnk--> Robert Angus Smith found the relationship between acid rain and atmospheric pollution. Though acid rain was discovered in 1852, it wasn't until the late 1960s that scientists began widely observing and studying the phenomenon. Canadian Harold Harvey was among the first to research a "dead" lake. Public awareness of acid rain in the U.S increased in the 1990s after the <!--del_lnk--> New York Times promulgated reports from the <!--del_lnk--> Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest in <!--del_lnk--> New Hampshire of the myriad deleterious environmental effects demonstrated to result from it.<p><a id="Emissions_of_chemicals_leading_to_acidification" name="Emissions_of_chemicals_leading_to_acidification"></a><h2><span class="mw-headline">Emissions of chemicals leading to acidification</span></h2>
<p>The most important gas which leads to acidification is sulfur dioxide. Emissions of <!--del_lnk--> nitrogen oxides which are oxidized to form <!--del_lnk--> nitric acid are of increasing importance due to stricter controls on emissions of sulfur containing compounds. 70 Tg(S) per year in the form of SO<sub>2</sub> comes from <a href="../../wp/f/Fossil_fuel.htm" title="Fossil fuel">fossil fuel</a> combustion and industry, 2.8 Tg(S) from <!--del_lnk--> wildfires and 7-8 Tg(S) per year from <!--del_lnk--> volcanoes.<p><a id="Natural_Phenomena" name="Natural_Phenomena"></a><h3><span class="mw-headline">Natural Phenomena</span></h3>
<p>The principal natural <!--del_lnk--> phenomena that contribute acid-producing gases to the <a href="../../wp/e/Earth%2527s_atmosphere.htm" title="Earth's atmosphere">atmosphere</a> are emissions from <a href="../../wp/v/Volcano.htm" title="Volcano">volcanoes</a> and those from <a href="../../wp/b/Biology.htm" title="Biology">biological</a> processes that occur on the land, in <!--del_lnk--> wetlands, and in the <a href="../../wp/o/Ocean.htm" title="Ocean">oceans</a>. The major biological source of sulfur containing compounds is <!--del_lnk--> dimethyl sulfide.<p>The effects of acidic deposits have been detected in <a href="../../wp/g/Glacier.htm" title="Glacier">glacial ice</a> thousands of years old in remote parts of the globe.<p><a id="Human_gas" name="Human_gas"></a><h3><span class="mw-headline">Human gas</span></h3>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div class="thumbinner" style="width:282px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/185/18573.jpg.htm" title="The coal-fired Gavin power plant in Cheshire, Ohio"><img alt="The coal-fired Gavin power plant in Cheshire, Ohio" class="thumbimage" height="210" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Gavin_Plant.JPG" src="../../images/185/18573.jpg" width="280" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/185/18573.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> The coal-fired Gavin power plant in <!--del_lnk--> Cheshire, Ohio</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>The principal cause of acid rain is sulfuric and nitrogen compounds from human sources, such as <!--del_lnk--> electricity generation, factories and <!--del_lnk--> motor vehicles. The gases can be carried hundreds of miles in the atmosphere before they are converted to acids and deposited.<p><a id="Gas_phase_chemistry" name="Gas_phase_chemistry"></a><h3><span class="mw-headline">Gas phase chemistry</span></h3>
<p>In the <!--del_lnk--> gas phase sulfur dioxide is oxidized by reaction with the <!--del_lnk--> hydroxyl radical via a <!--del_lnk--> intermolecular reaction:<dl>
<dd>SO<sub>2</sub> + OH· → HOSO<sub>2</sub>·</dl>
<p>which is followed by:<dl>
<dd>HOSO<sub>2</sub>· + O<sub>2</sub> → HO<sub>2</sub>· + SO<sub>3</sub></dl>
<p>In the presence of water <!--del_lnk--> sulfur trioxide (SO<sub>3</sub>) is converted rapidly to <a href="../../wp/s/Sulfuric_acid.htm" title="Sulfuric acid">sulfuric acid</a>:<dl>
<dd>SO<sub>3</sub>(g) + H<sub>2</sub>O(l) → H<sub>2</sub>SO<sub>4</sub>(l)</dl>
<p><!--del_lnk--> Nitric acid is formed by the reaction of OH with <!--del_lnk--> Nitrogen dioxide:<dl>
<dd>NO<sub>2</sub> + OH· → HNO<sub>3</sub></dl>
<p>For more information see Seinfeld and Pandis (1998).<p><a id="Chemistry_in_cloud_droplets" name="Chemistry_in_cloud_droplets"></a><h3><span class="mw-headline">Chemistry in cloud droplets</span></h3>
<p>When clouds are present the loss rate of SO<sub>2</sub> is faster than can be explained by gas phase chemistry alone. This is due to reactions in the liquid water droplets<dl>
<dt>Hydrolysis</dl>
<p>Sulfur dioxide dissolves in water and then, like carbon dioxide, <!--del_lnk--> hydrolyses in a series of <!--del_lnk--> equilibrium reactions:<dl>
<dd>SO<sub>2</sub> (g)+ H<sub>2</sub>O <span class="Unicode">⇌</span> SO<sub>2</sub>·H<sub>2</sub>O<dd>SO<sub>2</sub>·H<sub>2</sub>O <span class="Unicode">⇌</span> H<sup>+</sup>+HSO<sub>3</sub><sup>-</sup><dd>HSO<sub>3</sub><sup>-</sup> <span class="Unicode">⇌</span> H<sup>+</sup>+SO<sub>3</sub><sup>2-</sup></dl>
<dl>
<dt>Oxidation</dl>
<p>There are a large number of aqueous reactions that <!--del_lnk--> oxidise sulfur from S(<!--del_lnk--> IV) to S(VI), leading to the formation of sulfuric acid. The most important oxidation reactions are with <a href="../../wp/o/Ozone.htm" title="Ozone">ozone</a>, <a href="../../wp/h/Hydrogen_peroxide.htm" title="Hydrogen peroxide">hydrogen peroxide</a> and <a href="../../wp/o/Oxygen.htm" title="Oxygen">oxygen</a> (reactions with oxygen are catalysed by <a href="../../wp/i/Iron.htm" title="Iron">iron</a> and <a href="../../wp/m/Manganese.htm" title="Manganese">manganese</a> in the cloud droplets).<p>For more information see Seinfeld and Pandis (1998).<p><a id="Acid_deposition" name="Acid_deposition"></a><h2><span class="mw-headline">Acid deposition</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div class="thumbinner" style="width:352px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/185/18575.gif.htm" title="Processes involved in acid deposition (note that only SO2 and NOx play a significant role in acid rain)."><img alt="Processes involved in acid deposition (note that only SO2 and NOx play a significant role in acid rain)." class="thumbimage" height="236" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Origins.gif" src="../../images/185/18575.gif" width="350" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/185/18575.gif.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Processes involved in acid deposition (note that only SO<sub>2</sub> and NO<sub>x</sub> play a significant role in acid rain).</div>
</div>
</div>
<p><a id="Wet_deposition" name="Wet_deposition"></a><h3><span class="mw-headline">Wet deposition</span></h3>
<p>Wet deposition of acids occurs when any form of precipitation (rain, snow, etc) removes acids from the atmosphere and delivers it to the Earth's surface. This can result from the deposition of acids produced in the raindrops (see aqueous phase chemistry above) or by the precipitation removing the acids either in clouds or below clouds. Wet removal of both gases and aerosol are both of importance for wet deposition.<p><a id="Dry_deposition" name="Dry_deposition"></a><h3><span class="mw-headline">Dry deposition</span></h3>
<p>Acid deposition also occurs via dry deposition in the absence of precipitation. This can be responsible for as much as 20 to 60% of total acid deposition. This occurs when particles and gases stick to the ground, plants or other surfaces.<p><a id="Adverse_effects" name="Adverse_effects"></a><h2><span class="mw-headline">Adverse effects</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div class="thumbinner" style="width:352px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/185/18577.gif.htm" title="This chart shows that not all fish, shellfish, or the insects that they eat can tolerate the same amount of acid; for example, frogs can tolerate water that is more acidic (i.e., has a lower pH) than trout."><img alt="This chart shows that not all fish, shellfish, or the insects that they eat can tolerate the same amount of acid; for example, frogs can tolerate water that is more acidic (i.e., has a lower pH) than trout." class="thumbimage" height="228" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Waterspecies.gif" src="../../images/185/18577.gif" width="350" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/185/18577.gif.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> This chart shows that not all fish, shellfish, or the insects that they eat can tolerate the same amount of acid; for example, frogs can tolerate water that is more acidic (i.e., has a lower pH) than trout.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>Acid rain has been shown to have adverse impacts on forests, freshwaters and soils, killing off insect and aquatic lifeforms as well as causing damage to buildings and having possible impacts on human health.<p><a id="Surface_waters_and_aquatic_animals" name="Surface_waters_and_aquatic_animals"></a><h3><span class="mw-headline">Surface waters and aquatic animals</span></h3>
<p>Both the lower pH and higher aluminium concentrations in surface water that occur as a result of acid rain can cause damage to fish and other aquatic animals. At pHs lower than 5 most fish eggs will not hatch and lower pHs can kill adult fish. As lakes become more acidic biodiversity is reduced. Acid rain has eliminated insect life and some fish species, including the <!--del_lnk--> brook trout in some Appalachian streams and creeks.<p><a id="Soils" name="Soils"></a><h3><span class="mw-headline">Soils</span></h3>
<p><!--del_lnk--> Soil biology can be seriously damaged by acid rain. Some tropical <!--del_lnk--> microbes can quickly consume acids but other microbes are unable to tolerate low pHs and are killed. The <!--del_lnk--> enzymes of these microbes are <!--del_lnk--> denatured (changed in shape so they no longer function) by the acid. The <!--del_lnk--> hydronium ions of acid rain also mobilize <!--del_lnk--> toxins and <!--del_lnk--> leach away essential nutrients and minerals<p><a id="Forests_and_other_vegetation" name="Forests_and_other_vegetation"></a><h3><span class="mw-headline">Forests and other vegetation</span></h3>
<p>Acid rain can slow the growth of forests, cause leaves and needles to turn brown and fall off and die. In extreme cases trees or whole areas of forest can die. The death of trees is not usually a direct result of acid rain, often it weakens trees and makes them more susceptible to other threats. Damage to soils (see above) can also cause problems. High altitude forests are especially vulnerable as they are often surrounded by clouds and fog which are more acidic than rain.<p>Other plants can also be damaged by acid rain but the effect on food crops is minimized by the application of fertilizers to replace lost nutrients. In cultivated areas, limestone may also be added to increase the ability of the soil to keep the pH stable, but this tactic is largely unusable in the case of wilderness lands. Acid Rain depletes minerals from the soil and then it stunts the growth of the plant.<p><a id="Human_health" name="Human_health"></a><h3><span class="mw-headline">Human health</span></h3>
<p>Some scientists have suggested direct links to human health, but none have been proven.. However, <!--del_lnk--> fine particles, a large fraction of which are formed from the same gases as acid rain (sulfur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide), have been shown to cause illness and premature deaths such as cancer and other deadly diseases For more information on the health effects of aerosol see: <!--del_lnk--> Particulate#Health effects.<p><a id="Other_adverse_effects" name="Other_adverse_effects"></a><h3><span class="mw-headline">Other adverse effects</span></h3>
<p>Acid rain can also cause damage to certain building materials and historical monuments. Acid rain can cause weathering on ancient and valuable statues and has caused considerable damage. This is because the sulfuric acid in the rain chemically reacts with the calcium compounds in the stones (limestone, sandstone, marble and granite) to create gypsum, which then flakes off. This is also commonly seen on old gravestones where the acid rain can cause the inscription to become completely illegible. Acid rain also causes an increased rate of oxidation for iron. Visibility is also reduced by sulfate and nitrate in the atmosphere.<p><a id="Prevention_methods" name="Prevention_methods"></a><h2><span class="mw-headline">Prevention methods</span></h2>
<dl>
<dd>
</dl>
<p>American efforts to reduce acid rain have produced positive results. Sulfur dioxide emissions are down by one-third from 1980s levels.<p><a id="Technical_solutions" name="Technical_solutions"></a><h3><span class="mw-headline">Technical solutions</span></h3>
<p>In the United States, many coal-burning <!--del_lnk--> power plants use <!--del_lnk--> Flue gas desulfurization (FGD) to remove sulfur-containing gases from their stack gases. An example of FGD is the wet scrubber which is commonly used in the U.S. and many other countries. A wet scrubber is basically a reaction tower equipped with a fan that extracts hot smoky stack gases from a power plant into the tower. Lime or limestone in slurry form is also injected into the tower to mix with the stack gases and combine with the sulfur dioxide present. The calcium carbonate of the limestone produces pH-neutral calcium sulfate that is physically removed from the scrubber. That is, the scrubber turns sulfur pollution into industrial sulfates.<p>In some areas the sulfates are sold to chemical companies as <a href="../../wp/g/Gypsum.htm" title="Gypsum">gypsum</a> when the purity of calcium sulfate is high. In others, they are placed in <!--del_lnk--> landfill. However, the effects of acid rain can last for generations, as the effects of pH level change can stimulate the continued leaching of undesirable chemicals into otherwise pristine water sources, killing off vulnerable insect and fish species and blocking efforts to <!--del_lnk--> restore native life.<p><a id="International_treaties" name="International_treaties"></a><h3><span class="mw-headline">International treaties</span></h3>
<p>A number of international treaties on the long range transport of atmospheric pollutants have been agreed e.g. <!--del_lnk--> Sulphur Emissions Reduction Protocol and <!--del_lnk--> Convention on Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution.<p><a id="Emissions_trading" name="Emissions_trading"></a><h3><span class="mw-headline">Emissions trading</span></h3>
<p>An even more benign regulatory scheme involves <!--del_lnk--> emissions trading. In this scheme, every current polluting facility is given an emissions license that becomes part of capital equipment. Operators can then install pollution control equipment, and sell parts of their emissions licenses. The main effect of this is to give operators real economic incentives to install pollution controls. Since public interest groups can retire the licenses by purchasing them, the net result is a continuously decreasing and more diffused set of pollution sources. At the same time, no particular operator is ever forced to spend money without a return of value from commercial sale of assets.<p><a id="See_also" name="See_also"></a><div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acid_rain"</div>
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<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">Acorn Computers</h1>
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<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.Business_Studies.Companies.htm">Companies</a>; <a href="../index/subject.IT.Computing_hardware_and_infrastructure.htm">Computing hardware and infrastructure</a></h3>
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<td colspan="2" style="text-align: center; font-size:larger;"><b>Acorn Computers</b></td>
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<td colspan="2" style="text-align:center; padding:16px 0 16px 0;"><!--del_lnk--> <img alt="" height="73" longdesc="/wiki/Image:AcornComputersLtdLogo.jpg" src="../../images/1x1white.gif" title="This image is not present because of licensing restrictions" width="200" /></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th style="text-align:right; padding-right:0.75em;"><!--del_lnk--> Type</th>
<td>Formerly <!--del_lnk--> public as <i>Acorn Group plc</i> (<!--del_lnk--> LSE:GB0000061167), now defunct.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th style="text-align:right; padding-right:0.75em;">Founded</th>
<td><a href="../../wp/c/Cambridge.htm" title="Cambridge">Cambridge</a>, <a href="../../wp/e/England.htm" title="England">England</a> (December, 1978)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th style="text-align:right; padding-right:0.75em;">Headquarters</th>
<td><a href="../../wp/c/Cambridge.htm" title="Cambridge">Cambridge</a>, <a href="../../wp/e/England.htm" title="England">England</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th style="text-align:right; padding-right:0.75em;">Key people</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Chris Curry<br /><!--del_lnk--> Steve Furber<br /><!--del_lnk--> Hermann Hauser<br /><!--del_lnk--> Andy Hopper<br /><!--del_lnk--> Sophie Wilson</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th style="text-align:right; padding-right:0.75em;"><a href="../../wp/i/Industry.htm" title="Industry">Industry</a></th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Computer hardware</td>
</tr>
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<th style="text-align:right; padding-right:0.75em;"><!--del_lnk--> Products</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Microcomputer System<br /><!--del_lnk--> Atom<br /><!--del_lnk--> BBC Micro (aka Proton)<br /><!--del_lnk--> Archimedes range<br /><!--del_lnk--> RiscPC range<br /><!--del_lnk--> Acorn Network Computer<br /><!--del_lnk--> Phoebe<br />
</td>
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<th style="text-align:right; padding-right:0.75em;"><!--del_lnk--> Revenue</th>
<td>N/A</td>
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<th style="text-align:right; padding-right:0.75em;"><a href="../../wp/e/Employment.htm" title="Employment">Employees</a></th>
<td><i>Unknown</i></td>
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<th style="text-align:right; padding-right:0.75em;"><!--del_lnk--> Slogan</th>
<td><i>No slogan</i></td>
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<th style="text-align:right; padding-right:0.75em;"><!--del_lnk--> Website</th>
<td>Formerly <!--del_lnk--> www.acorn.com</td>
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<p><b>Acorn Computers</b> was a British <a href="../../wp/c/Computer.htm" title="Computer">computer</a> company established in <a href="../../wp/c/Cambridge.htm" title="Cambridge">Cambridge</a>, <a href="../../wp/e/England.htm" title="England">England</a>, in 1978. The company produced a number of computers which were especially popular in the <a href="../../wp/u/United_Kingdom.htm" title="United Kingdom">UK</a>. These included the <!--del_lnk--> Acorn Electron, the <!--del_lnk--> BBC Micro and the <!--del_lnk--> Acorn Archimedes. Acorn's <!--del_lnk--> BBC Micro computer dominated the UK educational computer market during the 1980s and early 1990s, drawing many comparisons with <!--del_lnk--> Apple in the U.S. Though the company was broken up into several independent operations in 2000, it leaves an impressive legacy, particularly in the development of <!--del_lnk--> RISC personal computers. A number of Acorn's former subsidiaries, notably <!--del_lnk--> ARM Holdings, live on today.<p>Although a new company licensed the Acorn trademark in 2006 to sell a range of branded <!--del_lnk--> laptop computers, the company has no staff and only one technology associated with the previous incarnation of the company.<p>
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</script><a id="Prehistory" name="Prehistory"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Prehistory</span></h2>
<p>On <!--del_lnk--> 25 July <!--del_lnk--> 1961, <!--del_lnk--> Clive Sinclair founded <!--del_lnk--> Sinclair Radionics to develop and sell electronic devices such as <!--del_lnk--> calculators. The failure of the <i><!--del_lnk--> Black Watch</i> wristwatch and the calculator market's move from <!--del_lnk--> LEDs to <!--del_lnk--> LCDs led to financial problems, and Sinclair approached the <!--del_lnk--> National Enterprise Board (NEB) for help. After losing control of the company to the NEB, Sinclair encouraged <!--del_lnk--> Chris Curry to leave Radionics and get <!--del_lnk--> Science of Cambridge (SoC) up and running. In June 1978, SoC launched a microcomputer kit that Curry wanted to develop further, but Sinclair could not be persuaded. During the development of the MK14, <!--del_lnk--> Hermann Hauser, a friend of Curry's, had been visiting SoC's offices and had grown interested in the product.<p><a id="CPU_Ltd_.281978.E2.80.9383.29" name="CPU_Ltd_.281978.E2.80.9383.29"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">CPU Ltd (1978–83)</span></h2>
<p>Curry and Hauser decided to pursue their joint interest in microcomputers and, on <!--del_lnk--> 5 December <!--del_lnk--> 1978, they set up <i>Cambridge Processor Unit</i> Ltd (CPU) as the vehicle with which to do this. CPU soon obtained a consultancy contract to develop a microprocessor-based controller for a <!--del_lnk--> fruit machine for Ace Coin Equipment (ACE) of <a href="../../wp/w/Wales.htm" title="Wales">Wales</a>. The ACE project was started at office space obtained at 4a Market Hill in <a href="../../wp/c/Cambridge.htm" title="Cambridge">Cambridge</a>. Initially, the ACE controller was based on a <!--del_lnk--> SC/MP microprocessor, but soon the switch to a <!--del_lnk--> 6502 was made.<p><a id="The_microcomputer_systems" name="The_microcomputer_systems"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">The microcomputer systems</span></h3>
<p>CPU had financed the development of a 6502-based microcomputer system using the income from its design-and-build consultancy. This system was launched in January 1979 as the first product of <i>Acorn Computer Ltd</i>, a trading name used by CPU to keep the risks of the two different lines of business separate. Acorn was chosen because the microcomputer system was to be expandable and growth-oriented. It also had the attraction of appearing before "<!--del_lnk--> Apple" in a telephone directory.<p>Around this time, CPU and <!--del_lnk--> Andy Hopper set up <i>Orbis Ltd</i> to commercialise the <!--del_lnk--> Cambridge Ring networking system Hopper had worked on for his <!--del_lnk--> PhD, but it was soon decided to bring him into CPU as a director because he could promote CPU's interests at the <!--del_lnk--> University of Cambridge Computer Laboratory. CPU purchased Orbis, and Hopper's Orbis shares were exchanged for shares in CPU Ltd. CPU's role gradually changed as its Acorn brand grew, and soon CPU was simply the holding company and Acorn was responsible for development work. At some point Curry had a disagreement with Sinclair and formally left Science of Cambridge, but did not join the other Acorn employees at Market Hill until a little while later.<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/4/474.jpg.htm" title="The Acorn System 1, upper board; this one shipped on 9 April 1979."><img alt="The Acorn System 1, upper board; this one shipped on 9 April 1979." height="159" longdesc="/wiki/Image:AcornSystem1.jpg" src="../../images/4/474.jpg" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/4/474.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> The <!--del_lnk--> Acorn System 1, upper board; this one shipped on <!--del_lnk--> 9 April <!--del_lnk--> 1979.</div>
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<p>The Acorn Microcomputer, later renamed the <i><!--del_lnk--> Acorn System 1</i>, was designed by <!--del_lnk--> Sophie Wilson. It was a semi-professional system aimed at engineering and laboratory users, but its price was low enough, at around £80, to appeal to the more serious enthusiast as well. It was a very small machine built on two cards, one with an <!--del_lnk--> LED display, keypad, and <!--del_lnk--> cassette interface (the circuitry to the left of the keypad), and the other with the rest of the computer (including the <a href="../../wp/c/Central_processing_unit.htm" title="Central processing unit">CPU</a>). Almost all CPU signals were accessible via a <!--del_lnk--> Eurocard connector.<p>The <i><!--del_lnk--> System 2</i> made it easier to expand the system by putting the CPU card from the System 1 in a 19-inch Eurocard rack that allowed a number of optional additions. The System 2 typically shipped with keyboard controller, external keyboard, a text display interface, and a cassette operating system with built-in <!--del_lnk--> BASIC <!--del_lnk--> interpreter.<p>The <i><!--del_lnk--> System 3</i> moved on by adding <a href="../../wp/f/Floppy_disk.htm" title="Floppy disk">floppy disk</a> support and the <i><!--del_lnk--> System 4</i> by including a larger case with a second drive. The <i><!--del_lnk--> System 5</i> was largely similar to the System 4, but included a newer 2 <!--del_lnk--> MHz version of the <!--del_lnk--> 6502.<p><a id="The_Atom" name="The_Atom"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">The Atom</span></h3>
<p>Development of the <!--del_lnk--> ZX80 started at Science of Cambridge in May 1979. Learning of this probably prompted Curry to conceive the <!--del_lnk--> Atom project to target the consumer market. Curry and another designer, <!--del_lnk--> Nick Toop, worked from Curry's home in <a href="../../wp/t/The_Fens.htm" title="The Fens">the Fens</a> on the development of this machine. It was at this time that <i>Acorn Computers Ltd</i> was incorporated and Curry moved to Acorn full-time.<p>It was Curry who wanted to target the consumer market – other factions within Acorn, including the engineers, were happy to be <i>out</i> of that market, considering a <!--del_lnk--> home computer to be a rather frivolous product for a company operating in the laboratory equipment market. To keep costs down and not give the doubters reason to object to the Atom, Curry asked industrial designer <!--del_lnk--> Allen Boothroyd to design a case that could also function as an external keyboard for the microcomputer systems. The internals of the System 3 were placed inside the keyboard, creating a quite typical set-up for an inexpensive home computer of the early '80s – the relatively successful <i><!--del_lnk--> Acorn Atom</i>.<p>To facilitate software development, a proprietary local area network had been installed at Market Hill. It was decided to include this, the <!--del_lnk--> Econet, in the Atom, and at its launch at a computer show in March 1980, eight networked Atoms were demonstrated with functions that allowed files to be shared, screens to be remotely viewed and keyboards to be remotely slaved.<p><a id="BBC_Micro_and_the_Electron" name="BBC_Micro_and_the_Electron"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">BBC Micro and the Electron</span></h3>
<p>With the Atom on the market, Acorn could begin to think about its replacement. There were new <!--del_lnk--> 16-bit processors coming onto the market – should they move in that direction? After a great deal of discussion, Hauser suggested a compromise – an improved 6502-based machine with far greater expansion capabilities: the <i>Proton</i>. Acorn's technical staff had not wanted to do the Atom and they now saw the Proton as their opportunity to "do it right".<p>One of the developments proposed for the Proton was the <i>Tube</i>, a proprietary interface allowing a second processor to be added. This compromise would make for an affordable 6502 machine for the mass market which could be expanded with more sophisticated and expensive processors. The Tube enabled processing to be farmed out to the second processor leaving the 6502 to perform data <!--del_lnk--> input/output (I/O). In later years the Tube would play an important role in the development of Acorn's own processor.<p>In early 1980, the <!--del_lnk--> BBC Further Education department conceived the idea of a computer literacy programme, mostly as a follow-up to a BBC <!--del_lnk--> documentary, <i>The Mighty Micro</i>, in which <!--del_lnk--> Dr Christopher Evans from the UK <!--del_lnk--> National Physical Laboratory predicted the coming <!--del_lnk--> microcomputer revolution. It was a very influential documentary – so much so that questions were asked in <a href="../../wp/p/Parliament_of_the_United_Kingdom.htm" title="Parliament of the United Kingdom">parliament</a>. As a result of these questions, the <!--del_lnk--> Department of Industry (DoI) became interested in the programme, as did <!--del_lnk--> BBC Enterprises, which saw an opportunity to sell a machine to go with the series. BBC Engineering was instructed to draw up an objective specification for a computer to accompany the series.<p>Eventually, under some pressure from the DoI to choose a British system, the BBC chose the <!--del_lnk--> NewBrain from <!--del_lnk--> Newbury Laboratories. This selection revealed the extent of the pressure brought to bear on the supposedly independent BBC's computer literacy project – Newbury was owned by the National Enterprise Board, a government agency operating in close collaboration with the DoI. The choice was also somewhat ironic given that the NewBrain started life as a Sinclair Radionics project, and it was Sinclair's preference for developing it over Science of Cambridge's MK14 that led to Curry leaving SoC to found CPU with Hauser. The NEB moved the NewBrain to Newbury after Sinclair left Radionics and went to SoC.<p>In 1980 - 1982 the UK <!--del_lnk--> Department of Education and Science (DES) had begun the <!--del_lnk--> Microelectronics Education Programme to introduce microprocessing concepts and educational materials. In 1982 through to 1986, the DoI allocated funding to assist UK local education authorities to supply their schools with a range of computers, the BBC Micro being one of the most popular. In parallel the DES continued to fund more materials for the computers, such as software and applied computing projects, plus teacher training.<p>Although the NewBrain was under heavy development by Newbury, it soon became clear that they were not going to be able to produce it – certainly not in time for the literacy programme nor to the BBC's specification. The BBC's programmes, initially scheduled for autumn 1981, were moved back to spring 1982. After Curry and Sinclair found out about the BBC's plans, the BBC allowed other manufacturers to submit their proposals. The BBC visited Acorn and were given a demonstration of the Proton. Shortly afterwards, the literacy programme computer contract was awarded to Acorn, and the Proton was launched early in 1982 as the <i><!--del_lnk--> BBC Micro</i>. In April 1984 Acorn won the <!--del_lnk--> Queen's Award for Technology for the BBC Micro. The award paid special tribute to the BBC Micro's advanced design, and it commended Acorn "for the development of a microcomputer system with many innovative features".<p>In April 1982 Sinclair launched the <a href="../../wp/z/ZX_Spectrum.htm" title="ZX Spectrum">ZX Spectrum</a>. Curry conceived of the <i><!--del_lnk--> Electron</i> as Acorn's sub-200-<a href="../../wp/p/Pound_sterling.htm" title="Pound sterling">pound</a> competitor. In many ways a cut-down BBC Micro, it used one Acorn-designed <!--del_lnk--> ULA to reproduce most of the functionality. But problems in producing the ULAs led to short supply, and the Electron, although launched in August 1983, was not on the market in sufficient numbers to capitalise on the 1983 Christmas sales period. Acorn resolved to avoid this problem in 1984 and negotiated new production contracts.<p><a id="Acorn_Computer_Group_plc_.281983.E2.80.9385.29" name="Acorn_Computer_Group_plc_.281983.E2.80.9385.29"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Acorn Computer Group plc (1983–85)</span></h2>
<p>The BBC Micro sold spectacularly well – so much so that Acorn's profits rose from a mere £3000 in 1979 to £8.6m in July 1983. In September 1983, CPU shares were liquidated and Acorn was floated on the <!--del_lnk--> Unlisted Securities Market as <i>Acorn Computer Group plc</i>, with Acorn Computers Ltd as the microcomputer division. With a minimum tender price of 120p, the group came into existence with a market capitalisation of about £135 million. CPU founders Herman Hauser and Chris Curry leapt instantly into the paper millionaire bracket: Hauser's 53.25 million shares made him worth £64m; Curry's 43 million shares translated into £51m.<p><a id="New_RISC_architecture" name="New_RISC_architecture"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">New RISC architecture</span></h3>
<p>Even from the time of the Atom, Acorn were considering how to move on from the <!--del_lnk--> 6502 processor: the <!--del_lnk--> 16-bit <!--del_lnk--> Acorn Communicator developed in 1982 using the <!--del_lnk--> 65816 being a key example.<p>The <!--del_lnk--> IBM PC was launched on <!--del_lnk--> 12 August <!--del_lnk--> 1981. Although a version of that machine was aimed at the enthusiast market much like the BBC Micro, its real area of success was business. The successor to the PC, the XT (EXtended Technology) was introduced in early 1983. The success of these machines and the variety of <!--del_lnk--> Z80-based <!--del_lnk--> CP/M machines in the business sector demonstrated that it was a viable market, especially given that sector's ability to cope with premium prices. The development of a business machine looked like a good idea to Acorn. A development programme was started to create a business computer using Acorn's existing technology – the BBC Micro mainboard, the Tube and second processors to give <!--del_lnk--> CP/M, <!--del_lnk--> MS-DOS and <a href="../../wp/u/Unix.htm" title="Unix">Unix</a> (<!--del_lnk--> Xenix) workstations.<p>This <i><!--del_lnk--> Acorn Business Computer</i> (ABC) plan required a number of second processors to be made to work with the BBC Micro platform. In developing these, Acorn had to implement the Tube protocols on each processor chosen, in the process finding out, during 1983, that there were no obvious candidates to replace the 6502. Because of many-cycle uninterruptible instructions, for example, the <!--del_lnk--> interrupt response times of the <!--del_lnk--> 68000 were too slow to handle the communication protocol that the host 6502-based BBC Micro coped with easily. Development of the National Semiconductor 32016-based model of the ABC range, later sold as the Cambridge Workstation, had shown Sophie Wilson and <!--del_lnk--> Steve Furber the value of memory bandwidth. It also showed that an 8 MHz 32016 was completely trounced in performance terms by a 4 MHz 6502. Furthermore, the <!--del_lnk--> Apple Lisa had shown the Acorn engineers that they needed to develop a windowing system – and this was not going to be easy with a 2–4 MHz 6502-based system doing the graphics. Acorn would need a new architecture.<p>Acorn had tested all of the available processors and found them wanting. Having ruled out existing CPUs, it was clear to the developers that Acorn should seriously consider designing its own processor. Acorn’s engineers came across papers on the <!--del_lnk--> Berkeley RISC project. They could now handle the truth: if a class of graduate students could create a competitive 32-bit processor, then Acorn would have no problem. A trip to the <!--del_lnk--> Western Design Centre in Phoenix showed Furber and Wilson that they did not need massive resources and state-of-the-art R&D facilities.<p>Sophie Wilson set about developing the instruction set, writing a simulation of the processor in <!--del_lnk--> BBC Basic that ran on a BBC Micro with a 6502 second processor. It convinced the Acorn engineers that they were on the right track. Before they could go any further, however, they would need more resources. It was time for Wilson to approach Hauser and explain what was afoot. Once the go-ahead had been given, a small team was put together to implement Wilson's model in hardware.<p>The official <i>Acorn RISC Machine</i> project started in October 1983. <!--del_lnk--> VLSI Technology, Inc were chosen as silicon partner, since they already supplied Acorn with ROMs and some custom chips. VLSI produced the first ARM silicon on <!--del_lnk--> 26 April <!--del_lnk--> 1985 – it worked first time and came to be known as ARM1. Its first practical application was as a second processor to the BBC Micro, where it was used to develop the simulation software to finish work on the support chips (VIDC, IOC, MEMC) and to speed up the operation of the CAD software used in developing ARM2. Wilson subsequently coded BBC Basic in ARM assembly language, and the in-depth knowledge obtained from designing the instruction set allowed the code to be very dense, making ARM BBC Basic an extremely good test for any ARM emulator.<p>Such was the secrecy surrounding the ARM CPU project that when <!--del_lnk--> Olivetti were negotiating to take a controlling share of Acorn in 1985, they were not told about the development team until after the negotiations had been finalised. In 1992 Acorn once more won the Queen's Award for Technology for the ARM.<p><a id="Financial_problems" name="Financial_problems"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Financial problems</span></h3>
<p>Acorn's watershed year was 1984 – it had gone public just as the home computer market collapsed. It was the year when <!--del_lnk--> Atari was sold, <!--del_lnk--> Apple nearly went bust, and Acorn had solved the one problem it had had throughout its history: production volumes.<p>The Electron had been launched in 1983, but problems with the supply of its <!--del_lnk--> ULAs meant that Acorn was not able to capitalise on the 1983 Christmas selling period – a successful advertising campaign, including TV advertisements, had led to 300,000 orders, but the Malaysian suppliers were only able to supply 30,000 machines. The apparently strong demand for Electrons proved to be illusory: rather than wait, parents bought <a href="../../wp/c/Commodore_64.htm" title="Commodore 64">Commodore 64s</a> or <a href="../../wp/z/ZX_Spectrum.htm" title="ZX Spectrum">ZX Spectrums</a> for their children's presents. <!--del_lnk--> Ferranti solved the production problem and in 1984 production reached its anticipated volumes, but the contracts Acorn had negotiated with its suppliers were not flexible enough to allow volumes to be reduced quickly in this unanticipated situation – supplies of the Electron built up. Acorn was in real trouble: by the end of the year it had 250,000 unsold Electrons on its hands, which had all been paid for and needed to be stored – at additional expense.<p>Acorn was also spending a large portion of its reserves on development: the BBC Master was being developed; the ARM project was underway; the Acorn Business Computer entailed a lot of development work but ultimately proved to be something of a flop, with only the 32016-based version ever being sold (as the Cambridge Workstation); and obtaining Federal approval for the BBC Micro in order to expand into the United States proved to a drawn-out and expensive process that proved futile – all of the expansion devices that were intended to be sold with the BBC Micro had to be tested and radiation emissions had to be reduced. Around $20m was sunk into the U.S. operation but the NTSC modified BBC Micros sold barely at all. They did, however, make an appearance in the school of <!--del_lnk--> Supergirl in the 1984 film <i>Supergirl: The Movie</i>.<p><a id="Olivetti_subsidiary_.281985.E2.80.9398.29" name="Olivetti_subsidiary_.281985.E2.80.9398.29"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Olivetti subsidiary (1985–98)</span></h2>
<p>The dire financial situation was brought to a head in February 1985, when one of Acorn's creditors issued a winding-up petition. After a short period of negotiations, Curry and Hauser signed an agreement with <!--del_lnk--> Olivetti on <!--del_lnk--> 20 February. The Italian computer company took a 49.3% stake in Acorn for £12 million, which went some way to covering Acorn's £11 million losses in the previous six months. This valuation fell some £165m below Acorn's peak valuation of £190m. In September 1985, Olivetti took a controlling share of Acorn with 79% of shares.<p><a id="BBC_Master_and_Archimedes" name="BBC_Master_and_Archimedes"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">BBC Master and Archimedes</span></h3>
<p>The <i><!--del_lnk--> BBC Master</i> was launched in February 1986 and met with great success. From 1986 to 1989, about 200,000 systems were sold, each costing £499, mainly to UK schools and universities. A number of enhanced versions were launched – for example, the Master 512, which had 512 KB of RAM and an internal <!--del_lnk--> 80186 processor for <!--del_lnk--> MS-DOS compatibility, and the Master Turbo, which had a 65C02 second processor.<p>The first commercial use of the <!--del_lnk--> ARM architecture was in the <i>ARM Development System</i>, a Tube-linked second processor for the BBC Master which allowed one to write <!--del_lnk--> programs for the new system. It sold for around £4,000 and included the ARM processor and three support chips, 4<!--del_lnk--> MB of RAM and a set of development tools with an enhanced version of BBC BASIC.<p>The second ARM-based product was the <i><!--del_lnk--> Acorn Archimedes</i> desktop-computer, released in mid-1987. The Archimedes was popular in the <a href="../../wp/u/United_Kingdom.htm" title="United Kingdom">United Kingdom</a>, <!--del_lnk--> Australasia and <a href="../../wp/i/Ireland.htm" title="Ireland">Ireland</a>, and was considerably more powerful and advanced than most offerings of the day, but the market was already stratifying into the <!--del_lnk--> PC-dominated world. Acorn continued to produce updated models of the Archimedes including a laptop (the A4) and in 1994 launched the <i><!--del_lnk--> Risc PC</i>, where the top specification included a 200 MHz+ <!--del_lnk--> StrongARM processor. These were sold mainly into education, specialist and enthusiast markets.<p><a id="ARM_Ltd" name="ARM_Ltd"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">ARM Ltd</span></h3>
<p>Acorn's silicon partner, <!--del_lnk--> VLSI, had been tasked with finding new applications for the ARM CPU and support chips. Hauser's Active Book company had been developing a handheld device and for this the ARM CPU developers had created a static version of their processor, the ARM2aS.<p><!--del_lnk--> Apple was developing an entirely new computing platform, the <!--del_lnk--> Newton. Various requirements had been set for the processor in terms of power consumption, cost and performance, and there was also a need for fully static operation in which the clock could be stopped at any time. Only the Acorn RISC Machine came close to meeting all these demands, but there were still deficiencies. The ARM did not, for example, have an integral memory management unit as this function was being provided by the MEMC support chip and Acorn did not have the resources to develop one.<p>Apple and Acorn began to collaborate on developing the ARM, and it was decided that this would be best achieved by a separate company. The bulk of the Advanced Research and Development section of Acorn that had developed the ARM CPU formed the basis of <!--del_lnk--> ARM Ltd when that company was spun off in November 1990. Acorn Group and Apple Computer Inc each had a 43% shareholding in ARM, while VLSI were an investor and first ARM licensee.<p><a id="Set-Top_boxes" name="Set-Top_boxes"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Set-Top boxes</span></h3>
<p>In 1994, <i>Acorn Online Media</i> was founded to exploit the projected <!--del_lnk--> video-on-demand (VOD) boom, an <!--del_lnk--> interactive television system which would allow users to select and watch <a href="../../wp/v/Video.htm" title="Video">video</a> content over a network. In September 1994 the <i>Cambridge Trial</i> of video-on-demand services was set up by Acorn Online Media, <!--del_lnk--> Anglia Television, <!--del_lnk--> Cambridge Cable and <!--del_lnk--> Advanced Telecommunication Modules Ltd (ATML) – the trial involved creating a wide area ATM network linking TV-company to subscribers' homes and delivering services such as home shopping, online education, software downloaded on-demand and the <a href="../../wp/w/World_Wide_Web.htm" title="World Wide Web">World Wide Web</a>. The wide area network used a combination of fibre and coaxial cable, and the switches were housed in the roadside cabinets of Cambridge Cable's existing network. <!--del_lnk--> Olivetti Research Laboratory developed the technology used by the trial. An <!--del_lnk--> ICL video server provided the service via ATM switches manufactured by ATML, another company set up by Hauser and Hopper. The trial commenced at a speed of 2 Mbit/s to the home, subsequently increased to 25 Mbit/s.<p>Subscribers used <!--del_lnk--> Acorn Online Media set-top boxes. For the first six months the trial involved 10 VOD terminals; the second phase was expanded to cover 100 homes and 8 schools with a further 150 terminals in test labs. A number of other organisations gradually joined in, including <!--del_lnk--> NatWest Bank, the <a href="../../wp/b/BBC.htm" title="BBC">BBC</a>, the <!--del_lnk--> Post Office, <!--del_lnk--> Tesco and the <!--del_lnk--> local education authority.<p>BBC Education tested delivery of radio-on-demand programmes to primary schools, and a new educational service, Education Online, was established to deliver material such as <!--del_lnk--> Open University television programmes and educational software. <!--del_lnk--> Netherhall secondary school was provided with an inexpensive video server and operated as a provider of Trial services, with Anglia Polytechnic University taking up a similar role some time later. It was hoped that Online Media could be floated as a separate company, but the predicted video-on-demand boom never really materialised.<p><a id="Network_Computers" name="Network_Computers"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Network Computers</span></h3>
<p>When <!--del_lnk--> BBC2's <i><!--del_lnk--> The Money Programme</i> screened an interview with <!--del_lnk--> Larry Ellison in October 1995, Acorn Online Media Managing Director Malcolm Bird realised that Ellison's <!--del_lnk--> network computer was, basically, an Acorn set-top box. After initial discussions between <!--del_lnk--> Oracle Corporation and Olivetti, Hauser and Acorn a few weeks later, Bird was dispatched to San Francisco with Acorn's latest Set Top Box. Oracle had already talked seriously with computer manufacturers including <!--del_lnk--> Sun and Apple about the contract for putting together the NC blueprint machine; there were also rumours in the industry that said Oracle itself was working on the reference design. After Bird's visit to Oracle, Ellison visited Acorn and a deal was reached: Acorn would define the NC Reference Standard.<p>Ellison was expecting to announce the NC in February 1996. Sophie Wilson was put in charge of the NC project, and by mid-November a draft NC specification was ready. By January 1996 the formal details of the contract between Acorn and Oracle had been worked out, and the PCB was designed and ready to be put into production. In February 1996 <i>Acorn Network Computing</i> was founded. In August 1996 it launched the <!--del_lnk--> Acorn Network Computer.<p>It was hoped that the Network Computer would create a significant new sector in which Acorn Network Computing would be a major player, either selling its own products or earning money from licence fees paid by other manufacturers for the right to produce their own NCs. To that end, two of Acorn Network Computing's major projects were the creation of a new 'consumer device' operating system, <i>Galileo</i> and, in conjunction with Digital Semiconductor and ARM, a new StrongARM chipset, the SA1500 / SA1501. Galileo's main feature was a guarantee of a certain <!--del_lnk--> quality of service to each process in which the resources (CPU, memory, etc.) required to ensure reliable operation would be kept available regardless of the behaviour of other processes. The SA1500 sported higher clock rates than existing StrongARM CPUs and, more importantly, a media-focussed coprocessor (the <i>Attached Media Processor</i> or AMP). The SA1500 was to be the first release target for Galileo.<p>Having incorporated its STB and NC business areas as separate companies, Acorn reorganised its PC manufacturing into a further wholly owned subsidiary, <i>Acorn RISC Technologies</i> (ART).<p><a id="Final_break_up_of_Acorn_.281998.E2.80.932000.29_and_on-going_developments_of_their_technology" name="Final_break_up_of_Acorn_.281998.E2.80.932000.29_and_on-going_developments_of_their_technology"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Final break up of Acorn (1998–2000) and on-going developments of their technology</span></h2>
<p>Acorn's last real hopes of becoming a major player in the computer industry had fizzled out: set-top boxes were not taking off as expected, and the Network Computer, too, had been a bit of a flop – traditional PCs were reaching the types of prices thought to justify such a design, and increases in bandwidth to the home were slow to come about, making a web connection something of a luxury for the late '90s. Between 1996 and 1998 <!--del_lnk--> Olivetti disposed of its interest in Acorn Group through a series of structured transactions, raising £54m. Acorn restructured its operations, bringing its subsidiary companies back together as divisions within Acorn. Acorn Risc Technologies became the Workstation Division, which was closed in late 1998 when Acorn finally stopped producing desktop-computers in favour of set-top boxes. The last machine, code-named <i><!--del_lnk--> Phoebe</i> or RiscPC 2, was nearly fully developed at the time of the project's abandonment, and therefore was never produced in volume nor sold to the public. Notably, numbers of its distinctive yellow case were produced and sold off cheaply.<p>ARM, however, had gone from strength to strength. In 1998, the Company underwent an <!--del_lnk--> initial public offering (IPO) and reregistered as a public company under the name <i>ARM Holdings plc</i> when it completed its IPO and listed its shares for trading on the London Stock Exchange and for quotation on the Nasdaq National Market. <!--del_lnk--> Morgan Stanley Dean Witter acted as global co-ordinator and book-runner for the Offering as well as sponsor and broker for the listing on the London exchange.<p>In January 1999, Acorn Group changed the name of Acorn Computers Ltd to <i>Element 14 Ltd</i> as it recast itself in the image of ARM – that is as a developer of <!--del_lnk--> intellectual property (IP), in this case in the <!--del_lnk--> digital signal processing (DSP) market. Around this time, ARM's share value had increased to a point where the capital value of Acorn Group plc was worth less than the value of its 24% holding in ARM. This situation led shareholders to press Acorn to sell its stake in ARM to provide a return on their investment. The situation also led ARM to consider taking action itself, since a financially weak shareholder such as Acorn was putting ARM in a vulnerable position. Acorn Computers Group plc was purchased on <!--del_lnk--> 1 June <!--del_lnk--> 1999 by Morgan Stanley Dean Witter Investments Limited. The transaction involved the de-listing of Acorn Group plc, as a result of which its shareholding in ARM was distributed to Acorn's shareholders.<p>Morgan Stanley sold the set-top-box division to <!--del_lnk--> Pace for £200,000, and Pace thereby acquired control of <!--del_lnk--> RISC OS. On <!--del_lnk--> 26 July <!--del_lnk--> 1999, an Acorn management team led by Stan Boland bought the DSP business, Element 14, from MSDW for £1.5 million – its net asset value. Element 14 subsequently secured £8.25 ($13) million in first-round funding from Bessemer Venture Partners, Atlas Ventures and Hauser's Amadeus Capital Partners. It had its headquarters in Cambridge and an engineering facility in Bristol, UK. It headhunted <!--del_lnk--> Alcatel's top <!--del_lnk--> digital subscriber line (DSL) engineers, including designers of analogue front-end and digital ICs, xDSL modem software and specialists in <!--del_lnk--> asymmetric DSL (ADSL) and <!--del_lnk--> very high rate DSL (VDSL) systems, and thereby acquired an engineering centre in <!--del_lnk--> Mechelen, <a href="../../wp/b/Belgium.htm" title="Belgium">Belgium</a>. Element 14 continued to develop its DSP products until it was purchased by <!--del_lnk--> Broadcom in November 2000 for £366 million ($594 million).<p>The <!--del_lnk--> operating system developed for Phoebe, RISC OS 4 – codename Ursula, was made available to RiscPC users by <!--del_lnk--> RISCOS Ltd, which licensed the operating system, and continues to develop, support and sell RISC OS today. However, the market is still competitive with two strands of the OS currently being developed. RISC OS 4 is available in 26-bit and <!--del_lnk--> 32-bit versions for the Acorn RiscPC and A7000+, as well as MicroDigital's and RiscStation's computers (Mico, Alpha, Omega, R7500s) plus the newly developed A9 range from AdvantageSix. It also works on the VirtualAcorn range of emulators. The <!--del_lnk--> 32-bit-only RISC OS 5 from Castle is used for their <!--del_lnk--> Iyonix computers and set-top boxes. Castle is currently considering to open-source their branch of the OS, hoping to achieve a re-unification of the two OS branches.<p><a id="New_company_licenses_Acorn_trademark_.282006-.29" name="New_company_licenses_Acorn_trademark_.282006-.29"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">New company licenses Acorn trademark (2006-)</span></h2>
<p>In early 2006, the dormant Acorn trademark was licensed from French company <!--del_lnk--> Aristide & Co Antiquaire De Marques by a new company based in <a href="../../wp/n/Nottingham.htm" title="Nottingham">Nottingham</a>. In April, internet news portals claimed that the company was to relaunch. The new company exhibited its computers at the <!--del_lnk--> CTS 2006 show at the <a href="../../wp/b/Birmingham.htm" title="Birmingham">Birmingham</a> <!--del_lnk--> NEC in early May where the company distributed leaflets inviting people to "be part of one of the most exciting brand re-launches in UK history" by joining its reseller program.<p>It transpired that the new company, which sells a range of <!--del_lnk--> laptop computers, employs no staff from any previous incarnation of Acorn Computers . The systems use <a href="../../wp/m/Microsoft_Windows.htm" title="Microsoft Windows">Microsoft Windows</a> rather than the <!--del_lnk--> RISC OS operating system used by some of Acorn's previous systems and the company does not support any older Acorn technologies. The company launched on 18 September 2006 and employs 25 members of staff.<p>On 24 July 2006, <!--del_lnk--> Nominet's Dispute Resolution Service (DRS) ruled that the domain name <i>acorncomputers.co.uk</i> should be transferred to the new Acorn from computer enthusiast Roy Johnson. The company made a complaint to DRS contending that the "use of [Acorn Computers'] company name is illegal and has caused much confusion and continues to do so which is detrimental to [Acorn] and extremely misleading". Despite the fact that Johnson appeared to have been operating the website since at least 2001, five years before the new Acorn was registered as a company, mail to Johnson's registered address was returned by Royal Mail marked addressee has gone away.<p>The reuse of the Acorn Computers Ltd name has caused an amount of confusion and controversy, particularly amongst the users of Acorn's previous products.<p><a id="See_also" name="See_also"></a><div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acorn_Computers"</div>
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<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">Actinium</h1>
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<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.Science.Chemistry.Chemical_elements.htm">Chemical elements</a></h3>
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<td align="center"><span style="font-size:120%; font-weight:bold">89</span></td>
<td align="center" style="padding-left:2em"><span style="font-size: 95%"><a href="../../wp/r/Radium.htm" title="Radium">radium</a></span> ← <span style="font-size: 120%">actinium</span> → <span style="font-size: 95%"><a href="../../wp/t/Thorium.htm" title="Thorium">thorium</a></span></td>
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<td align="center"><span style="font-size:95%"><a href="../../wp/l/Lanthanum.htm" title="Lanthanum">La</a></span><br /> ↑<br /><span style="font-size:120%; font-weight:bold">Ac</span><br /> ↓<br /><span style="font-size: 95%"><!--del_lnk--> Ute</span></td>
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<div class="floatnone"><span><a class="image" href="../../images/0/37.png.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="75" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Ac-TableImage.png" src="../../images/0/37.png" width="250" /></a></span></div>
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<div align="center"><!--del_lnk--> Periodic Table - <!--del_lnk--> Extended Periodic Table</div>
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<th colspan="2" style="background:#ff99cc; color:black">General</th>
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<td><a href="../../wp/l/List_of_elements_by_name.htm" title="List of elements by name">Name</a>, <!--del_lnk--> Symbol, <!--del_lnk--> Number</td>
<td>actinium, Ac, 89</td>
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<td><!--del_lnk--> Chemical series</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> actinides</td>
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<td><!--del_lnk--> Group, <!--del_lnk--> Period, <!--del_lnk--> Block</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> 3, <!--del_lnk--> 7, <!--del_lnk--> f</td>
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<td><a href="../../wp/c/Color.htm" title="Color">Appearance</a></td>
<td>silvery</td>
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<td><!--del_lnk--> Atomic mass</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> (227) g/mol</td>
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<td><!--del_lnk--> Electron configuration</td>
<td>[<a href="../../wp/r/Radon.htm" title="Radon">Rn</a>] 6d<sup>1</sup> 7s<sup>2</sup></td>
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<td><a href="../../wp/e/Electron.htm" title="Electron">Electrons</a> per <!--del_lnk--> shell</td>
<td>2, 8, 18, 32, 18, 9, 2</td>
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<th colspan="2" style="background:#ff99cc; color:black">Physical properties</th>
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<td><a href="../../wp/p/Phase_%2528matter%2529.htm" title="Phase (matter)">Phase</a></td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> solid</td>
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<td><!--del_lnk--> Density (near <!--del_lnk--> r.t.)</td>
<td>10 g·cm<sup>−3</sup></td>
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<td><!--del_lnk--> Melting point</td>
<td>(circa) 1323 <!--del_lnk--> K<br /> (1050 °<!--del_lnk--> C, 1922 °<!--del_lnk--> F)</td>
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<td><!--del_lnk--> Boiling point</td>
<td>3471 <!--del_lnk--> K<br /> (3198 °<!--del_lnk--> C, 5788 °<!--del_lnk--> F)</td>
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<td><!--del_lnk--> Heat of fusion</td>
<td>14 <!--del_lnk--> kJ·mol<sup>−1</sup></td>
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<td><!--del_lnk--> Heat of vaporization</td>
<td>400 <!--del_lnk--> kJ·mol<sup>−1</sup></td>
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<td><!--del_lnk--> Heat capacity</td>
<td>(25 °C) 27.2 J·mol<sup>−1</sup>·K<sup>−1</sup></td>
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<th colspan="2" style="background:#ff99cc; color:black">Atomic properties</th>
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<td><!--del_lnk--> Crystal structure</td>
<td>cubic face centered</td>
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<td><!--del_lnk--> Oxidation states</td>
<td>3<br /> (neutral oxide)</td>
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<td><!--del_lnk--> Electronegativity</td>
<td>1.1 (Pauling scale)</td>
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<td rowspan="2" valign="top"><!--del_lnk--> Ionization energies</td>
<td>1st: 499 <!--del_lnk--> kJ/mol</td>
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<td>2nd: 1170 kJ/mol</td>
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<td><!--del_lnk--> Atomic radius</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> 195 <!--del_lnk--> pm</td>
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<th colspan="2" style="background:#ff99cc; color:black">Miscellaneous</th>
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<td><a href="../../wp/m/Magnetism.htm" title="Magnetism">Magnetic ordering</a></td>
<td>no data</td>
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<td><!--del_lnk--> Thermal conductivity</td>
<td>(300 K) 12 W·m<sup>−1</sup>·K<sup>−1</sup></td>
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<td><!--del_lnk--> CAS registry number</td>
<td>7440-34-8</td>
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<th colspan="2" style="background:#ff99cc; color:black">Selected isotopes</th>
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<caption>Main article: <!--del_lnk--> Isotopes of actinium</caption>
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<th><!--del_lnk--> iso</th>
<th><!--del_lnk--> NA</th>
<th><!--del_lnk--> half-life</th>
<th><!--del_lnk--> DM</th>
<th><!--del_lnk--> DE <small>(<!--del_lnk--> MeV)</small></th>
<th><!--del_lnk--> DP</th>
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<td><sup>225</sup>Ac</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> syn</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> 10 days</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> α</td>
<td>5.935</td>
<td><sup>221</sup><a href="../../wp/f/Francium.htm" title="Francium">Fr</a></td>
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<td rowspan="3"><sup>226</sup>Ac</td>
<td rowspan="3"><!--del_lnk--> syn</td>
<td rowspan="3"><!--del_lnk--> 29.37 hours</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> β<sup>-</sup></td>
<td>1.117</td>
<td><sup>226</sup><a href="../../wp/t/Thorium.htm" title="Thorium">Th</a></td>
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<td><!--del_lnk--> ε</td>
<td>0.640</td>
<td><sup>226</sup><a href="../../wp/r/Radium.htm" title="Radium">Ra</a></td>
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<td><!--del_lnk--> α</td>
<td>5.536</td>
<td><sup>222</sup><a href="../../wp/f/Francium.htm" title="Francium">Fr</a></td>
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<td rowspan="2"><sup>227</sup>Ac</td>
<td rowspan="2">100%</td>
<td rowspan="2"><!--del_lnk--> 21.773 years</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> β<sup>-</sup></td>
<td>0.045</td>
<td><sup>227</sup><a href="../../wp/t/Thorium.htm" title="Thorium">Th</a></td>
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<td><!--del_lnk--> α</td>
<td>5.042</td>
<td><sup>223</sup><a href="../../wp/f/Francium.htm" title="Francium">Fr</a></td>
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<th colspan="2" style="background:#ff99cc; color:black"><!--del_lnk--> References</th>
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<p><b>Actinium</b> (<!--del_lnk--> IPA: <span class="IPA" title="Pronunciation in IPA">/akˈtɪniəm/</span>) is a <a href="../../wp/c/Chemical_element.htm" title="Chemical element">chemical element</a> in the <a href="../../wp/p/Periodic_table.htm" title="Periodic table">periodic table</a> that has the symbol <b>Ac</b> and <!--del_lnk--> atomic number 89.<p>
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</script><a id="Notable_characteristics" name="Notable_characteristics"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Notable characteristics</span></h2>
<p>Actinium is a silvery radioactive metallic element. Due to its intense radioactivity, Actinium glows in the dark with a pale blue light. It is found only in traces in uranium ores as <sup>227</sup>Ac, an <!--del_lnk--> α and <!--del_lnk--> β emitter with a <!--del_lnk--> half-life of 21.773 years. One ton of <a href="../../wp/u/Uranium.htm" title="Uranium">uranium</a> ore contains about a tenth of a gram of actinium.<p><a id="Applications" name="Applications"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Applications</span></h2>
<p>It is about 150 times as radioactive as radium, making it valuable as a <!--del_lnk--> neutron source. Otherwise it has no significant industrial applications.<p><sup>225</sup>Ac is used in medicine to produce <sup>213</sup><a href="../../wp/b/Bismuth.htm" title="Bismuth">Bi</a> in a reusable generator or can be used alone as an agent for radio-immunotherapy.<p><a id="History" name="History"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">History</span></h2>
<p>Actinium was discovered in <!--del_lnk--> 1899 by <!--del_lnk--> André-Louis Debierne, a French chemist, who separated it from <!--del_lnk--> pitchblende. <!--del_lnk--> Friedrich Otto Giesel independently discovered actinium in <!--del_lnk--> 1902. The chemical behaviour of actinium is similar to that of the rare earth <a href="../../wp/l/Lanthanum.htm" title="Lanthanum">lanthanum</a>.<p>The word actinium comes from the Greek <i>aktis, aktinos</i>, meaning beam or ray.<p><a id="Occurrence" name="Occurrence"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Occurrence</span></h2>
<p>Actinium is found in trace amounts in uranium ore, but more commonly is made in milligram amounts by the neutron irradiation of <sup>226</sup><a href="../../wp/r/Radium.htm" title="Radium">Ra</a> in a nuclear reactor. Actinium metal has been prepared by the reduction of actinium fluoride with lithium vapor at about 1100 to 1300ºC.<p><a id="Isotopes" name="Isotopes"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Isotopes</span></h2>
<p>Naturally occurring actinium is composed of 1 radioactive <!--del_lnk--> isotope; <sup>227</sup>Ac. 36 <!--del_lnk--> radioisotopes have been characterized with the most stable being <sup>227</sup>Ac with a <!--del_lnk--> half-life of 21.772 <!--del_lnk--> y, <sup>225</sup>Ac with a half-life of 10.0 <a href="../../wp/d/Day.htm" title="Day">days</a>, and <sup>226</sup>Ac with a half-life of 29.37 <!--del_lnk--> h. All of the remaining <!--del_lnk--> radioactive isotopes have half-lifes that are less than 10 hours and the majority of these have half lifes that are less than 1 minute. The shortest-lived isotope of actinium is <sup>217</sup>Ac which decays through <!--del_lnk--> alpha decay and <!--del_lnk--> electron capture. It has a half-life of 69 <!--del_lnk--> ns. Actinium also has 2 <!--del_lnk--> meta states.<p>Purified <sup>227</sup>Ac comes into equilibrium with its decay products at the end of 185 days, and then decays according to its 21.773-year half-life.<p>The isotopes of actinium range in <!--del_lnk--> atomic weight from 206 <!--del_lnk--> amu (<sup>206</sup>Ac) to 236 amu (<sup>236</sup>Ac).<p><a id="Precautions" name="Precautions"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Precautions</span></h2>
<p><sup>227</sup>Ac is extremely radioactive, and in terms of its potential for radiation induced health effects, <sup>227</sup>Ac is even more dangerous than <a href="../../wp/p/Plutonium.htm" title="Plutonium">plutonium</a>. Ingesting even small amounts of <sup>227</sup>Ac would present a serious health hazard.<div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Actinium"</div>
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<h2>SOS Children: Action Plan Sri Lanka</h2><p><strong>21/02/2005</strong></p>
<p>The immediate goal is to help up to 1000 families to rebuild their lives and reunite children with their families. The four programmes will be based on the existing SOS Children's Villages projects at Galle and Piliyandala in the south and Battticaloa in the east of Sri Lanka - the areas most affected by the tsunami.</p><p>1. Family support centres - to help up to 2000 children and their families to rebuild their lives by providing day care centres at existing refugee camps. These will give children and their families food and trauma counselling.</p><p>This programme is planned to run for up to five months.<br />Estimated cost: £55,000 / £27.50 per child </p><p>2. Family rebuilding programme - identify up to 600 families and give them the practical and financial support they need to rebuild their lives. • provide temporary shelter, basic household equipment and food.<br />Estimated cost: £100,000 / £166.67 per family<br />• help to set up self-help groups<br />• provide equipment for sustainable livelihoods - boats, fishing nets Estimated cost: £100,000 / £166.67 per family<br />• help to rebuild houses, working with provincial and local governments.<br />Estimated cost: £190,000 / £316.67 per family<br />• help to develop community projects - kindergarten, school, medical centre - building, equipping, training staff and handing over to the community<br />Estimated cost, construction and running costs for three years: £570,000 £316.67 per family per year.</p><p>3. Family support programme - identify up to 100 single parent families whose children are in danger of being abandoned. The programme, which will run for up to three years, will help with food, medicine, education, skills training, training in health and nutrition.<br />Estimated cost: £80,000 / £266.67 per family per year </p><p>4. Additional support - volunteers from the SOS Children's Villages projects, staff and young people will work with local organisations to support the local communities<br />• working with Ruhuna University, Galle to deliver medical support to more than 40 refugee camps in the vicinity of Galle<br />• distribute food<br />• help re-establish essential services</p><p>SOS Children's Villages Sri Lanka currently has projects in seven locations - five villages with 64 family houses, five kindergartens, a school, three training centres and six medical and social centres. A decision will be made in April 2005 if there is a need to establish a new SOS Children's Village to provide family care for orphaned and abandoned children.</p>
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<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">Action potential</h1>
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<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.Science.Biology.General_Biology.htm">General Biology</a></h3>
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<div style="width:352px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/231/23124.png.htm" title="A. A schematic view of an idealized action potential illustrates its various phases as the action potential passes a point on a cell membrane. B. Actual recordings of action potentials are often distorted compared to the schematic view because of variations in electrophysiological techniques used to make the recording"><img alt="A. A schematic view of an idealized action potential illustrates its various phases as the action potential passes a point on a cell membrane. B. Actual recordings of action potentials are often distorted compared to the schematic view because of variations in electrophysiological techniques used to make the recording" height="497" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Action_potential_vert.png" src="../../images/231/23124.png" width="350" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/231/23124.png.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div><b>A.</b> A schematic view of an idealized action potential illustrates its various phases as the action potential passes a point on a <!--del_lnk--> cell membrane. <b>B.</b> Actual recordings of action potentials are often distorted compared to the schematic view because of variations in <!--del_lnk--> electrophysiological techniques used to make the recording</div>
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<p>An <b>action potential</b> is a wave of <!--del_lnk--> electrical discharge that travels along the membrane of a <a href="../../wp/c/Cell_%2528biology%2529.htm" title="Cell (biology)">cell</a>. Action potentials are an essential feature of <a href="../../wp/a/Animal.htm" title="Animal">animal</a> life, rapidly carrying information within and between <!--del_lnk--> tissues. They are also exhibited by some plants. Action potentials can be created by many types of cells, but are used most extensively by the <!--del_lnk--> nervous system for communication between <!--del_lnk--> neurons and to transmit information from neurons to other body tissues such as <!--del_lnk--> muscles and <!--del_lnk--> glands.<p>Action potentials are not the same in all cell types and can even vary in their properties at different locations in the same cell. For example, <!--del_lnk--> cardiac action potentials are significantly different from the action potentials in most neurons. This article is particularly concerned with the "typical" action potential of <!--del_lnk--> axons.<p>
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</script><a id="Overview" name="Overview"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Overview</span></h2>
<p>A <!--del_lnk--> voltage, or difference in electrostatic <!--del_lnk--> potential, always exists between the inside and outside of a cell. This results from the distribution of <!--del_lnk--> ions across the cell membrane and from the permeability of the membrane to these ions. The voltage of an inactive cell stays at a negative value (inside relative to outside the cell) and varies little. When the membrane of an excitable cell is <!--del_lnk--> depolarized beyond a threshold, the cell will undergo (or "fire") an action potential, often called a "spike" (<i>see <a href="#Threshold_and_initiation" title="">Threshold and initiation</a></i>).<p>An action potential is a rapid swing in the polarity of the voltage from negative to positive and back, the entire cycle lasting a few milliseconds. Each cycle—and therefore each action potential—has a <i>rising phase</i>, a <i>falling phase</i>, and finally an <i>undershoot</i> (<i>see Action potential phases</i>). In specialized muscle cells of the <!--del_lnk--> heart, such as <!--del_lnk--> cardiac pacemaker cells, a <i>plateau phase</i> of intermediate voltage may precede the falling phase, extending the action potential duration into hundreds of milliseconds.<p>Action potentials are measured with the recording techniques of <!--del_lnk--> electrophysiology and more recently with <!--del_lnk--> neurochips containing <!--del_lnk--> EOSFETs. An <!--del_lnk--> oscilloscope recording the membrane potential from a single point on an axon shows each stage of the action potential as the wave passes. These phases trace an arc that resembles a distorted <!--del_lnk--> sine wave. Its amplitude depends on whether the action potential wave has reached that point on the membrane or has passed it and if so, how long ago.<p>The action potential does not dwell in one location of the cell's membrane, but travels along the membrane (<i>see <a href="#Propagation" title="">Propagation</a></i>). It can travel along an <!--del_lnk--> axon for long distances, for example to carry signals from the <!--del_lnk--> spinal cord to the muscles of the <!--del_lnk--> foot. In large animals, such as <a href="../../wp/g/Giraffe.htm" title="Giraffe">giraffes</a> and <a href="../../wp/w/Whale.htm" title="Whale">whales</a>, the distance traveled can be many meters.<p>Both the speed and complexity of action potentials vary between different types of cells. However, the amplitudes of the voltage swings tend to be roughly the same. Within any one cell, consecutive action potentials typically are indistinguishable. Neurons are thought to transmit information by generating sequences of action potentials called "spike trains". By varying both the rate as well as the precise timing of the action potentials they generate, neurons can change the information that they transmit.<p><a id="Underlying_mechanism" name="Underlying_mechanism"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Underlying mechanism</span></h2>
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<div style="width:302px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/64/6472.jpg.htm" title="The hydrophobic cell membrane prevents charged molecules from easily diffusing through it, permitting a potential difference to exist across the membrane."><img alt="The hydrophobic cell membrane prevents charged molecules from easily diffusing through it, permitting a potential difference to exist across the membrane." height="159" longdesc="/wiki/Image:CellMembraneDrawing.jpg" src="../../images/231/23125.jpg" width="300" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/64/6472.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> The hydrophobic <!--del_lnk--> cell membrane prevents charged molecules from easily diffusing through it, permitting a <!--del_lnk--> potential difference to exist across the membrane.</div>
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<p><a id="Resting_potential" name="Resting_potential"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Resting potential</span></h3>
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<p>The potential difference that exists across the membrane of all cells is usually negative inside the cell with respect to the outside. The membrane is said to be polarized. The potential difference across the membrane at rest is called the <!--del_lnk--> resting potential and is approximately -70 <a href="../../wp/v/Volt.htm" title="Volt">mV</a> in neurons, with the negative sign indicating that the inside of the cell is negative with respect to the outside. The establishment of this potential difference involves several factors, most importantly the transport of ions across the cell membrane and the selective permeability of the membrane to these ions.<p>The <!--del_lnk--> active transport of <a href="../../wp/p/Potassium.htm" title="Potassium">potassium</a> and <a href="../../wp/s/Sodium.htm" title="Sodium">sodium</a> ions into and out of the cell, respectively, is accomplished by a number of <!--del_lnk--> sodium-potassium pumps scattered across the cell membrane. Each pump transports two ions of potassium into the cell for every three ions of sodium pumped out. This establishes a particular distribution of positively charged ions across the cell membrane, with more sodium present outside the cell than inside, and more potassium inside the cell than outside. In some situations, the electrogenic sodium-potassium pumps make a significant contribution to the resting membrane potential, but in most cells there are <!--del_lnk--> potassium leakage channels that dominate the value of the resting potential.<p>Sodium and potassium ions <!--del_lnk--> diffuse through open ion channels under the influence of their <!--del_lnk--> electrochemical gradients. At the resting potential, the net movement of sodium into the cell equals the net movement of potassium out of the cell. However, the resting cell membrane is approximately 75 times more permeable to potassium than to sodium, due to potassium leak channels that are always open. As a result, the cell's resting membrane potential is closer to the <!--del_lnk--> equilibrium potential of potassium (=<i>E</i><sub>K</sub>=−90 mV) than the equilibrium potential of sodium (=<i>E</i><sub>Na</sub>=+45 mV). The cell's resting potential is roughly -70 mV.<p>Like the resting potential, action potentials of many neurons depend upon the permeability of the cell membrane to sodium and potassium ions.<p><a id="Phases" name="Phases"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Phases</span></h2>
<p>The sequence of events that underlie the action potential are outlined below:<p><a id="Resting_potential_2" name="Resting_potential_2"></a><h4> <span class="mw-headline">Resting potential</span></h4>
<p>At resting potential some <!--del_lnk--> potassium leak channels are open but the <!--del_lnk--> voltage-gated sodium channels are closed. Potassium diffusing down the potassium concentration gradient creates a negative-inside membrane potential.<p><a id="Stimulation" name="Stimulation"></a><h4> <span class="mw-headline">Stimulation</span></h4>
<p>A local membrane depolarization caused by an excitatory stimulus causes some voltage-gated sodium channels in the neuron cell surface membrane to open and therefore sodium ions diffuse in through the channels along their electrochemical gradient. Being positively charged, they begin a reversal in the potential difference across the membrane from negative-inside to positive-inside. Initially, the inward movement of sodium ions is also favored by the negative-inside membrane potential.<p><a id="Rising_phase" name="Rising_phase"></a><h4> <span class="mw-headline">Rising phase</span></h4>
<p>As sodium ions enter and the membrane potential becomes less negative, more sodium channels open, causing an even greater influx of sodium ions. This is an example of <!--del_lnk--> positive feedback. As more sodium channels open, the sodium current dominates over the potassium leak current and the membrane potential becomes positive inside.<p><a id="Peak" name="Peak"></a><h4> <span class="mw-headline">Peak</span></h4>
<p>Establishment of a membrane potential of around +30 mV closes the voltage-sensitive inactivation gates of the sodium channels, which are sensitive to the now-positive membrane potential gradient, preventing further influx of sodium. While this occurs, the voltage-sensitive activation gates on the <!--del_lnk--> voltage-gated potassium channels begin to open.<p><a id="Falling_phase" name="Falling_phase"></a><h4> <span class="mw-headline">Falling phase</span></h4>
<p>As voltage-gated potassium channels open, there is a large outward movement of potassium ions driven by the potassium concentration gradient and initially favored by the positive-inside electrical gradient. As potassium ions diffuse out, this movement of positive charge causes a reversal of the membrane potential to negative-inside and repolarization of the neuron back towards the large negative-inside resting potential.<p><a id="Undershoot" name="Undershoot"></a><h4> <span class="mw-headline">Undershoot</span></h4>
<p>Closing of voltage-gated potassium channels is both voltage- and time-dependent. As potassium exits the cell, the resulting membrane repolarization initiates the closing of voltage-gated potassium channels. These channels do not close immediately in response to a change in membrane potential. Rather, voltage-gated potassium channels (also called <i>delayed rectifier potassium channels</i>) is delayed. As a result, potassium continues to flow out of the cell even after the membrane has fully repolarized. Thus the membrane potential dips below the normal resting membrane potential of the cell for a brief moment; this dip of hyperpolarization is known as the <i>undershoot</i>.<p><a id="Threshold_and_initiation" name="Threshold_and_initiation"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Threshold and initiation</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:302px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/231/23126.jpg.htm" title="A plot of current (ion flux) against voltage (transmembrane potential) illustrates the action potential threshold (red arrow) of an idealized cell."><img alt="A plot of current (ion flux) against voltage (transmembrane potential) illustrates the action potential threshold (red arrow) of an idealized cell." height="225" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Whole_cell_IV_showing_rest_and_AP_thresh.jpg" src="../../images/231/23126.jpg" width="300" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/231/23126.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> A <!--del_lnk--> plot of <!--del_lnk--> current (ion flux) against <!--del_lnk--> voltage (transmembrane potential) illustrates the action potential threshold (red arrow) of an idealized cell.</div>
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<p>Action potentials are triggered when an initial depolarization reaches <i>threshold</i>. This threshold potential varies, but generally is about 15 millivolts above the cell's resting membrane potential, occurring when the inward sodium current exceeds the outward potassium current. The net influx of positive charges carried by sodium ions depolarizes the membrane potential, leading to the further opening of <!--del_lnk--> voltage-gated sodium channels. These channels support greater inward current causing further depolarization, creating a positive-feedback cycle that drives the membrane potential to a very depolarized level.<p>The action potential threshold can be shifted by changing the balance between sodium and potassium currents. For example, if some of the sodium channels are in an inactivated state, then a given level of depolarization will open fewer sodium channels and a greater depolarization will be needed to trigger an action potential. This is the basis for the <i>refractory period</i> (<i>see <a href="#Refractory_period" title="">Refractory period</a></i>).<p>Action potentials are largely dictated by the interplay between sodium and potassium ions (although there are minor contributions from other ions such as calcium and chloride), and are often modeled using hypothetical cells containing only two transmembrane ion channels (a voltage-gated sodium channel and a non-voltage-gated potassium channel). The origin of the action potential threshold may be studied using <!--del_lnk--> I/V curves (right) that plot currents through ion channels against the cell's membrane potential. (Note that the illustrated I/V is an "instantaneous" current voltage relationship. It represents the peak current through channels at a given voltage before any inactivation has taken place (i.e. ~ 1 ms after stepping to that voltage for the Na current. The most positive voltages in this plot are only attainable by the cell through artificial means - i.e. voltages imposed by the voltage-clamp apparatus).<p>Four significant points in the I/V curve are indicated by arrows in the figure:<ol>
<li>The green arrow indicates the resting potential of the cell and also the value of the <!--del_lnk--> equilibrium potential for potassium (E<sub>k</sub>). As the K<sup>+</sup> channel is the only one open at these negative voltages, the cell will rest at E<sub>k</sub>. Note that a stable resting potential will be present at any voltage where the summed I/V (green line) crosses the zero current (x-axis) point with a positive slope, such as at the green arrow. Consider why: any perturbation of the membrane potential in the negative direction will result in <!--del_lnk--> inward current that will depolarize the cell back toward the crossing point, while, any perturbation of the membrane potential in the positive direction will result in an <!--del_lnk--> outward current that will hyperpolarize the cell back toward the crossing point. Thus, any perturbation of the membrane potential around a positive slope crossing will tend to return the voltage to that crossing value.<li>The yellow arrow indicates the equilibrium potential for Na<sup>+</sup> (E<sub>Na</sub>). In this two-ion system, E<sub>Na</sub> is the natural limit of membrane potential beyond which a cell cannot pass. Current values illustrated in this graph that exceed E<sub>Na</sub> are measured by artificially pushing the cell's voltage past its natural limit. Note however, that E<sub>Na</sub> could only be reached if the potassium current were absent.<li>The blue arrow indicates the maximum voltage that the peak of the action potential can approach. This is the actual natural maximum membrane potential that this cell can reach. It cannot reach E<sub>Na</sub> because of the counteracting influence of the potassium current.<li>The red arrow indicates the action potential threshold. This is where I<sub>sum</sub> becomes net-inward. Note that this is a zero-current crossing, but with a negative slope. Any such "negative slope crossing" of the zero current level in an I/V plot is an unstable point. At any voltage negative to this crossing, the current is outward and so a cell will tend to return to its resting potential. At any voltage positive of this crossing, the current is inward and will tend to depolarize the cell. This depolarization leads to more inward current, thus the sodium current become regenerative. The point at which the green line reaches its most negative value is the point where all sodium channels are open. Depolarizations beyond that point thus decrease the sodium current as the <!--del_lnk--> driving force decreases as the membrane potential approaches E<sub>Na</sub>.</ol>
<p>The action potential threshold is often confused with the "threshold" of sodium channel opening. This is incorrect, because sodium channels have no threshold. Instead, they open in response to depolarization in a <!--del_lnk--> stochastic manner. Depolarization does not so much open the channel as increases the probability of it being open. Even at hyperpolarized potentials, a sodium channel will open very occasionally. In addition, the threshold of an action potential is not the voltage at which sodium current becomes significant; it is the point where it exceeds the potassium current.<p>Biologically in neurons, depolarization typically originates in the dendrites at <a href="../../wp/c/Chemical_synapse.htm" title="Synapse">synapses</a>. In principle, however, an action potential may be initiated anywhere along a <!--del_lnk--> nerve fibre. In his discovery of "animal electricity," <!--del_lnk--> Luigi Galvani made a leg of a dead frog kick as in life by touching a <!--del_lnk--> sciatic nerve with his scalpel, to which he had inadvertently transferred a negative, static-electric charge, thus initiating an action potential.<p><a id="Circuit_model" name="Circuit_model"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Circuit model</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:302px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/231/23127.jpg.htm" title="A. A basic RC circuit superimposed on an image of a membrane bilayer shows the relationship between the two. B. More elaborate circuits can be used to model membranes containing ion channels, such as this one containing at channels for sodium (blue) and potassium (green)."><img alt="A. A basic RC circuit superimposed on an image of a membrane bilayer shows the relationship between the two. B. More elaborate circuits can be used to model membranes containing ion channels, such as this one containing at channels for sodium (blue) and potassium (green)." height="127" longdesc="/wiki/Image:RC_membrane_circuit.jpg" src="../../images/231/23127.jpg" width="300" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/231/23127.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div><b>A.</b> A basic <!--del_lnk--> RC circuit superimposed on an image of a membrane bilayer shows the relationship between the two. <b>B.</b> More elaborate circuits can be used to model membranes containing ion channels, such as this one containing at channels for sodium (blue) and potassium (green).</div>
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<p>Cell membranes that contain <!--del_lnk--> ion channels can be modeled as <!--del_lnk--> RC circuits to better understand the propagation of action potentials in biological membranes. In such a circuit, the <!--del_lnk--> resistor represents the membrane's ion channels, while the <!--del_lnk--> capacitor models the insulating lipid membrane. <!--del_lnk--> Variable resistors are used for voltage-gated ion channels, as their resistance changes with voltage. A fixed resistor represents the potassium leak channels that maintain the membrane's resting potential. The sodium and potassium gradients across the membrane are modeled as voltage sources (<!--del_lnk--> batteries).<p><a id="Propagation" name="Propagation"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Propagation</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:302px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/231/23128.jpg.htm" title="Propagating action potentials can be modeled by joining several RC circuits, each one representing a patch of membrane."><img alt="Propagating action potentials can be modeled by joining several RC circuits, each one representing a patch of membrane." height="235" longdesc="/wiki/Image:AP_propagation_membrane_model_view.jpg" src="../../images/231/23128.jpg" width="300" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/231/23128.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Propagating action potentials can be modeled by joining several RC circuits, each one representing a patch of membrane.</div>
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<p>In unmyelinated axons, action potentials propagate as an interaction between passively spreading membrane depolarization and voltage-gated sodium channels. When one patch of cell membrane is depolarized enough to open its voltage-gated sodium channels, sodium ions enter the cell by <!--del_lnk--> facilitated diffusion. Once inside, positively-charged sodium ions "nudge" adjacent ions down the axon by <!--del_lnk--> electrostatic repulsion (analogous to the principle behind <!--del_lnk--> Newton's cradle) and attract negative ions away from the adjacent membrane. As a result, a wave of positivity moves down the axon without any individual ion moving very far. Once the adjacent patch of membrane is depolarized, the voltage-gated sodium channels in that patch open, regenerating the cycle. The process repeats itself down the length of the axon, with an action potential regenerated at each segment of membrane.<p><a id="Speed_of_propagation" name="Speed_of_propagation"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Speed of propagation</span></h3>
<p>Action potentials propagate faster in axons of larger diameter, other things being equal. They typically travel from 10-100 m/s. The main reason is that the axial resistance of the axon lumen is lower with larger diameters, because of an increase in the ratio of cross-sectional area to membrane surface area. As the membrane surface area is the chief factor impeding action potential propagation in an unmyelinated axon, increasing this ratio is a particularly effective way of increasing conduction speed.<p>An extreme example of an animal using axon diameter to speed action potential conduction is found in the <!--del_lnk--> Atlantic squid. The <!--del_lnk--> squid giant axon controls the muscle contraction associated with the squid's predator <!--del_lnk--> escape response. This axon can be more than 1 mm in diameter, and is presumably an <!--del_lnk--> adaptation to allow very fast activation of the escape behaviour. The velocity of nerve impulses in these fibers is among the fastest in nature. Squids are notable examples of organisms with unmyelinated axons; the first tests to try to determine the mechanism by which impulses travel along axons, involving the detection of a potential difference between the inside and the surface of a neuron, were undertaken in the 1940s by <!--del_lnk--> Alan Hodgkin and <!--del_lnk--> Andrew Huxley using squid giant axons because of their relatively large axon diameter. Hodgkin and Huxley won their shares of the <!--del_lnk--> 1963 <!--del_lnk--> Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for their work on the electrophysiology of nerve action potentials.<p>In the <!--del_lnk--> autonomic nervous system in mammals, postganglionic neurons are unmyelinated. The small diameter of these axons (about 2 µ) results in a propagatory speed of approximately 1 m/s, as opposed to approximately 18 m/s in myelinated nerve fibers of comparable diameter, thus highlighting the effect of myelination on the speed of transmission of impulses.<p><a id="Saltatory_conduction" name="Saltatory_conduction"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Saltatory conduction</span></h3>
<p>In myelinated axons, <!--del_lnk--> saltatory conduction is the process by which an action potential appears to jump along the length of an axon, being regenerated only at uninsulated segments (the <!--del_lnk--> nodes of Ranvier). Saltatory conduction increases nerve conduction velocity without having to dramatically increase axon diameter.<p>Saltatory conduction has played an important role in the evolution of larger and more complex organisms whose nervous systems must rapidly transmit action potentials across greater distances. Without saltatory conduction, conduction velocity would need large increases in axon diameter, resulting in organisms with nervous systems too large for their bodies.<p><a id="Detailed_mechanism" name="Detailed_mechanism"></a><h4> <span class="mw-headline">Detailed mechanism</span></h4>
<p>The main impediment to conduction speed in unmyelinated axons is membrane <a href="../../wp/c/Capacitance.htm" title="Capacitance">capacitance</a>. In an <!--del_lnk--> electric circuit, the capacity of a <!--del_lnk--> capacitor can be decreased by decreasing the cross-sectional area of its plates, or by increasing the distance between plates. The nervous system uses <!--del_lnk--> myelin as its main strategy to decrease membrane capacitance. Myelin is an insulating sheath wrapped around axons by <!--del_lnk--> Schwann cells and <!--del_lnk--> oligodendrocytes, <!--del_lnk--> neuroglia that flatten their cytoplasm to form large sheets made up mostly of plasma membrane. These sheets wrap around the axon, moving the conducting plates (the intra- and extracellular fluid) farther apart to decrease membrane capacitance.<p>The resulting insulation allows the rapid (essentially instantaneous) conduction of ions through a myelinated segment of axon, but prevents the regeneration of action potentials through those segments. Action potentials are only regenerated at the unmyelinated <!--del_lnk--> nodes of Ranvier which are spaced intermittently between myelinated segments. An abundance of voltage-gated sodium channels on these bare segments (up to four orders of magnitude greater than their density in unmyelinated axons <!--del_lnk--> ) allows action potentials to be efficiently regenerated at the nodes of Ranvier.<p>As a result of myelination, the insulated portion of the axon behaves like a passive wire: it conducts action potentials rapidly because its membrane capacitance is low, and minimizes the degradation of action potentials because its membrane resistance is high. When this passively propagated signal reaches a node of Ranvier, it initiates an action potential, which subsequently travels passively to the next node where the cycle repeats.<p><a id="Resilience_to_injury" name="Resilience_to_injury"></a><h4> <span class="mw-headline">Resilience to injury</span></h4>
<p>The length of myelinated segments of axon is important to saltatory conduction. They should be as long as possible to maximize the length of fast passive conduction, but not so long that the decay of the passive signal is too great to reach threshold at the next node of Ranvier. In reality, myelinated segments are long enough for the passively propagated signal to travel for at least two nodes while retaining enough amplitude to fire an action potential at the second or third node. Thus, the <!--del_lnk--> safety factor of saltatory conduction is high, allowing transmission to bypass nodes in case of injury.<p><a id="Role_in_disease" name="Role_in_disease"></a><h4> <span class="mw-headline">Role in disease</span></h4>
<p>Some diseases degrade saltatory conduction and reduce the speed of action potential conductance. The most well-known of these diseases is <a href="../../wp/m/Multiple_sclerosis.htm" title="Multiple sclerosis">multiple sclerosis</a>, in which the breakdown of myelin impairs coordinated movement.<p><a id="Refractory_period" name="Refractory_period"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Refractory period</span></h2>
<p>Where membrane has undergone an action potential, a <!--del_lnk--> refractory period follows. Thus, although the passive transmission of action potentials across myelinated segments would suggest that action potentials propagate in either direction, most action potentials travel unidirectionally because the node behind the propagating action potential is <i>refractory</i>.<p>This period arises primarily because of the voltage-dependent inactivation of sodium channels, as described by <!--del_lnk--> Hodgkin and <!--del_lnk--> Huxley in 1952. In addition to the voltage-dependent opening of sodium channels, these channels are also inactivated in a voltage-dependent manner. Immediately after an action potential, during the <i>absolute refractory period</i>, virtually all sodium channels are inactivated and thus it is impossible to fire another action potential in that segment of membrane.<p>With time, sodium channels are reactivated in a stochastic manner. As they become available, it becomes possible to fire an action potential, albeit one with a much higher threshold. This is the <i>relative refractory period</i> and together with the absolute refractory period, lasts approximately five milliseconds.<p><a id="Evolutionary_purpose" name="Evolutionary_purpose"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Evolutionary purpose</span></h2>
<p>The action potential, as a method of long-distance communication, fits a particular biological need seen most readily when considering the transmission of information along a nerve axon. To move a signal from one end of an axon to the other, nature must contend with physics similar to those that govern the movement of electrical signals along a wire. Due to the <a href="../../wp/e/Electrical_resistance.htm" title="Electrical resistance">resistance</a> and <a href="../../wp/c/Capacitance.htm" title="Capacitance">capacitance</a> of a wire, signals tend to degrade as they travel along that wire over a distance. These properties, known collectively as <!--del_lnk--> cable properties set the physical limits over which signals can travel. Thus, nonspiking neurons (which carry signals without action potentials) tend to be small. Proper function of the body requires that signals be delivered from one end of an axon to the other without loss. An action potential does not so much propagate along an axon, as it is newly regenerated by the membrane voltage and current at each stretch of membrane along its path. In other words, the nerve membrane recreates the action potential at its full amplitude as it travels down the axon, thus overcoming the limitations imposed by cable physics.<p><a id="Plant_action_potentials" name="Plant_action_potentials"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Plant action potentials</span></h2>
<p>Many plants also exhibit action potentials that travel via their <!--del_lnk--> phloem to coordinate activity. The main difference between plant and animal action potentials is that plants primarily use <a href="../../wp/p/Potassium.htm" title="Potassium">potassium</a> and <a href="../../wp/c/Calcium.htm" title="Calcium">calcium</a> currents while animals typically use currents of <a href="../../wp/p/Potassium.htm" title="Potassium">potassium</a> and <a href="../../wp/s/Sodium.htm" title="Sodium">sodium</a>.<p><a id="See_also" name="See_also"></a><div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Action_potential"</div>
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<h2>What we do</h2><p><strong>28/02/2004</strong></p>
<p>We look after children who have lost their parents: through war, disease or poverty.</p><p>Traditionally SOS Children's Villages provide children with a home, a family and a new mother in a purpose built local village but the sheer numbers of parentless families where parents have died of HIV/AIDS has led us to start new solutions supporting child-led families in situ (see <a href="../../wp/a/Aids_Africa.htm">Aids Africa Projects</a>).</p><p>In total we have more than 50,000 children in our care in our villages and help around 500,000 through nearly a thousand schools, skills training centres, social support programs and medical centres.</p>
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<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.Language_and_literature.Theatre.htm">Theatre</a></h3>
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<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/185/18585.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Two actors performing.</div>
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<p>An <b>actor</b> or <b>actress</b> is a person who <!--del_lnk--> acts, or plays a <!--del_lnk--> role, in a <a href="../../wp/d/Drama.htm" title="Drama">dramatic</a> production. The term commonly refers to someone working in <a href="../../wp/f/Film.htm" title="Film">movies</a>, <a href="../../wp/t/Television.htm" title="Television">television</a>, live <!--del_lnk--> theatre, or <!--del_lnk--> radio, and can occasionally denote a street entertainer. Besides playing dramatic roles, actors may also sing or work only on radio or as a <!--del_lnk--> voice artist.<p>An actor usually plays a <!--del_lnk--> fictional character. In the case of a true story (or a fictional story that portrays real people) an actor may play a real person (or a fictional version of the same). Occasionally, actors appear as themselves, as in John Malkovich's performance in the film <i><!--del_lnk--> Being John Malkovich</i>.<script type="text/javascript">
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<p><a id="Etymology" name="Etymology"></a><h2><span class="mw-headline">Etymology</span></h2>
<p>"Actor" is directly from the masculine <a href="../../wp/l/Latin.htm" title="Latin">Latin</a> noun <i>actor</i> (feminine, <i>actrix</i>) from the <!--del_lnk--> verb <i>agere</i> "<b>to do</b>, to drive, to pass time" + the suffix <i>-or</i> "so./st. who performs the action indicated by the stem". Alternatively from <!--del_lnk--> Greek <span lang="grc" xml:lang="grc">ἂκτωρ</span> <i>(aktor)</i>, leader, from the verb <span lang="grc" xml:lang="grc">ἂγω</span> <i>(agō)</i>, to lead or carry, to convey, to bring . "Actress" is still sometimes used as the feminine form of "actor", especially in awards shows where "actor" is still used in its traditional masculine sense. For example, at the <!--del_lnk--> Academy Awards only male actors qualify for <!--del_lnk--> Best Actor or <!--del_lnk--> Best Supporting Actor; female actors instead compete for <!--del_lnk--> Best Actress or <!--del_lnk--> Best Supporting Actress. In other modern usage, however, "actor" is commonly deemed gender-neutral.<p><a id="History" name="History"></a><h2><span class="mw-headline">History</span></h2>
<p>The first recorded case of an actor performing took place in <!--del_lnk--> 534 BC (probably on <!--del_lnk--> 23 November, though the changes in calendar over the years make it hard to determine exactly) when the <a href="../../wp/g/Greece.htm" title="Greece">Greek</a> performer <!--del_lnk--> Thespis stepped on to the stage at the <i>Theatre Dionysus</i> and became the first known person to speak words as a character in a play. Prior to Thespis' act, stories were told in <!--del_lnk--> song and dance and in <!--del_lnk--> third person narrative, but no one had assumed the role of a character in a story. In honour of Thespis, actors are commonly called <i>Thespians</i>. Theatrical legend to this day maintains that Thespis exists as a mischievous spirit, and disasters in the theatre are sometimes blamed on his ghostly intervention.<p>Actors were traditionally not people of high status, and in the <!--del_lnk--> Early Middle Ages travelling acting troupes were often viewed with distrust. In many parts of Europe, actors could not even receive a Christian burial, and traditional beliefs of the region and time period held that this left any actor forever condemned. However, this negative perception was largely reversed in the 19th and 20th centuries as acting has become an honored and popular profession and art. Part of the cause is the easier popular access to dramatic film entertainment and the resulting rise of the <!--del_lnk--> movie star — as regards both their social status and the salaries they command. The combination of public presence and wealth has profoundly rehabilitated their image.<p>In the past, only men could become actors in some societies. In the ancient Greece and Rome<!--del_lnk--> and the <a href="../../wp/m/Middle_Ages.htm" title="Middle Ages">medieval world</a>, it was considered disgraceful for a woman to go on the stage, and this belief continued right up until the 17th century, when in <!--del_lnk--> Venice it was broken. In the time of <a href="../../wp/w/William_Shakespeare.htm" title="William Shakespeare">William Shakespeare</a>, women's roles were generally played by men or boys. The British prohibition was ended in the reign of <a href="../../wp/c/Charles_II_of_England.htm" title="Charles II of England">Charles II</a> who enjoyed watching female actors (actresses) on stage.<p><a id="Theories" name="Theories"></a><h2><span class="mw-headline">Theories</span></h2>
<p>As in other art forms, acting has a theoretical foundation. <!--del_lnk--> Stanislavsky and the Moscow Theatre were among the first founders of modern acting theory. <!--del_lnk--> Meyerhold and his theory on biomechanics and physicality was a revolutionary idea back in early 20th century Russian theatre. Since then, Americanized forms of these theories brought about by <!--del_lnk--> Lee Strasberg, <!--del_lnk--> Stella Adler, and other variations brought about by <!--del_lnk--> Sanford Meisner and <!--del_lnk--> Viola Spolin can be seen.<p><a id="Techniques_of_acting" name="Techniques_of_acting"></a><h2><span class="mw-headline">Techniques of acting</span></h2>
<p>Actors and actresses employ a variety of techniques that are learned through training and experience. Some of these are:<ol>
<li>The rigorous use of the voice to communicate a character's lines and express emotion. This is achieved through attention to diction and projection through correct breathing and articulation. It is also achieved through the tone and emphasis that an actor puts on words<li>Physicalisation of a role in order to create a believable character for the audience and to use the acting space appropriately and correctly<li>Use of gesture to complement the voice, interact with other actors and to bring emphasis to the words in a play, as well as having symbolic meaning</ol>
<p><a href="../../wp/w/William_Shakespeare.htm" title="Shakespeare">Shakespeare</a> is believed to have been commenting on the acting style and techniques of his era when <!--del_lnk--> Hamlet gives his advice to the players in the play-within-the-play. He encourages the actors to “speak the speech...as I pronounced it to you,” and avoid “saw[ing] the air too much with your hand” , because even in a “whirlwind of passion, you must...give it smoothness.” On the other hand, Hamlet urges the players to “Be not too tame neither.” He suggests that they make sure to “suit the action to the word, the word to the action”, taking care to “o'erstep not the modesty of nature.” As well, he told the players to not “...let those that play your clowns...laugh, to set on some quantity of barren spectators to laugh too,” which Hamlet considered to be a “villainous” and “pitiful” tactic.<p>The English critic <!--del_lnk--> Benedict Nightingale discussed and compared great classical actors of the long dead past, and the present, and their magical effects upon audiences, in this 1983 article from the New York Times, available online <!--del_lnk--> .<p><a id="Actors_playing_the_opposite_sex" name="Actors_playing_the_opposite_sex"></a><h2><span class="mw-headline">Actors playing the opposite sex</span></h2>
<p>Historically, acting was considered a man's profession; so, in <a href="../../wp/w/William_Shakespeare.htm" title="Shakespeare">Shakespeare</a>'s time, for instance, men and boys played all roles, including the female parts. This was the case until the <!--del_lnk--> Restoration of the theatre in 1660, the first occurrence of the term <i>actress</i> in the <!--del_lnk--> OED being by <!--del_lnk--> Dryden in 1700.<p>In <a href="../../wp/j/Japan.htm" title="Japan">Japan</a>, men (<!--del_lnk--> onnagata) took over the female roles in <!--del_lnk--> kabuki theatre when women were banned from performing on stage during the <!--del_lnk--> Edo period. However, some forms of <!--del_lnk--> Chinese drama have <i>females</i> playing all the roles.<p>Today, women sometimes play the roles of <!--del_lnk--> prepubescent boys, because in some regards a woman has a closer resemblance to a boy than does a man. The role of <!--del_lnk--> Peter Pan, for example, is traditionally played by a woman. The tradition of the <!--del_lnk--> principal boy in <!--del_lnk--> pantomime may be compared. An adult playing a child occurs more in theatre than in film. The exception to this is voice actors in <!--del_lnk--> animated films and television programmes, where boys are generally voiced by women, as heard in <i><a href="../../wp/t/The_Simpsons.htm" title="The Simpsons">The Simpsons</a></i> where the voice of <!--del_lnk--> Bart Simpson is provided by <!--del_lnk--> Nancy Cartwright. <a href="../../wp/o/Opera.htm" title="Opera">Opera</a> has several '<!--del_lnk--> pants roles' traditionally sung by women, usually <!--del_lnk--> mezzo-sopranos. Examples are Hansel in <i><a href="../../wp/h/H%25C3%25A4nsel_und_Gretel.htm" title="Hänsel und Gretel">Hänsel und Gretel</a></i>, and <!--del_lnk--> Cherubino in <i><a href="../../wp/t/The_Marriage_of_Figaro.htm" title="The Marriage of Figaro">The Marriage of Figaro</a></i>.<p><!--del_lnk--> Mary Pickford played the part of <!--del_lnk--> Little Lord Fauntleroy in the first film version of the book. <!--del_lnk--> Linda Hunt won an <!--del_lnk--> Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in <i><!--del_lnk--> The Year of Living Dangerously</i>, in which she played the part of a man; this was the only Oscar ever awarded for playing a role of the opposite sex.<p>Having an actor play the opposite sex for comic effect is also a long standing tradition in comic theatre and film. Most of Shakespeare's comedies include instances of <!--del_lnk--> cross-dressing, such as <!--del_lnk--> Francis Flute in <i><!--del_lnk--> A Midsummer Night's Dream</i>, and both <!--del_lnk--> Dustin Hoffman and <!--del_lnk--> Robin Williams appeared in hit comedy films where they were required to play most scenes dressed as women. The movie <i><!--del_lnk--> A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum</i> stars <!--del_lnk--> Jack Gilford dressing as a young bride, among other slapstick comedy. <!--del_lnk--> Tony Curtis and <!--del_lnk--> Jack Lemmon famously posed as women to escape gangsters in the <!--del_lnk--> Billy Wilder film <i><!--del_lnk--> Some Like It Hot</i>. Cross-dressing for comic effect was a frequently used device in most of the thirty <!--del_lnk--> Carry On films. Several roles in modern plays and musicals are played by a member of the opposite sex, such as the character "Edna Turnblad" in <i>Hairspray</i>--played by <!--del_lnk--> Divine in the <!--del_lnk--> original film, <!--del_lnk--> Harvey Fierstein in the <!--del_lnk--> Broadway musical, and <!--del_lnk--> John Travolta in the <!--del_lnk--> 2007 movie musical. Sometimes the issue is further complicated through the role of a woman acting as a man pretending to be a woman, like <!--del_lnk--> Julie Andrews in <i><!--del_lnk--> Victor/Victoria</i> or <!--del_lnk--> Gwyneth Paltrow in <i><!--del_lnk--> Shakespeare in Love</i>.<p><a id="The_words_actor_and_actress" name="The_words_actor_and_actress"></a><h2><span class="mw-headline">The words <i>actor</i> and <i>actress</i></span></h2>
<p>The word <i>actor</i> may be used to refer to a male or female performer; this was the original use of the term. Some modern style guides recommend using <i>actor</i> as a <!--del_lnk--> gender-neutral term for both male and females, regarding <i>actress</i> as <!--del_lnk--> sexist, although this may lead to confusion because of the long-established use of <i>actress</i>. Some female performers prefer the term <i>actress</i>, while others prefer <i>actor</i>.<p><a id="Acting_awards" name="Acting_awards"></a><h2><span class="mw-headline">Acting awards</span></h2>
<ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Academy Awards, also known as the Oscars, for film<li><!--del_lnk--> Cannes Film Festival Awards, international French festival for world wide films and documentaries<li><!--del_lnk--> Golden Globe Awards for film and television<li><!--del_lnk--> Emmy Awards for television<li><!--del_lnk--> Genie Awards for Canadian film<li><!--del_lnk--> Gemini Awards for Canadian television<li><!--del_lnk--> British Academy of Film and Television Arts Award for film and television; also known as <!--del_lnk--> BAFTA<li><!--del_lnk--> Tony Awards for the theatre (specifically, <!--del_lnk--> Broadway theatre)<li><!--del_lnk--> European Theatre Awards for the theatre<li><!--del_lnk--> Laurence Olivier Awards for the theatre<li><!--del_lnk--> Screen Actors Guild Awards for actors in film and television<li><!--del_lnk--> Indian National Film Awards for the <!--del_lnk--> Indian cinema.<li><!--del_lnk--> Filmfare Awards honours excellence in the Indian Film Industry (<!--del_lnk--> Bollywood) - limited to Hindi language films only.<li><!--del_lnk--> César Awards for French film<li><!--del_lnk--> AFI Awards for Australian film.<li><!--del_lnk--> Berlinale German film festival in Berlin (Golden and Silver Bear)</ul>
<p><a id="See_also" name="See_also"></a><div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Actor"</div>
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<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">Acts of Union 1707</h1>
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<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.History.British_History.British_History_15001750.htm">British History 1500-1750</a></h3>
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<th align="center" style="background:#ccccff"> <!--del_lnk--> Personal and <!--del_lnk--> legislative unions of the<br /><!--del_lnk--> constituent countries of the <a href="../../wp/u/United_Kingdom.htm" title="United Kingdom">United Kingdom</a> </th>
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<td style="font-size: 90%;"><a class="image" href="../../images/5/525.png.htm" title="Flag of England"><img alt="Flag of England" height="13" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_England_%28bordered%29.svg" src="../../images/5/525.png" width="22" /></a> <a class="image" href="../../images/143/14381.png.htm" title="Flag of Wales"><img alt="Flag of Wales" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Wales_%28bordered%29.svg" src="../../images/28/2850.png" width="22" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Statute of Rhuddlan (<!--del_lnk--> 1284)</td>
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<td style="font-size: 90%;"><a class="image" href="../../images/5/525.png.htm" title="Flag of England"><img alt="Flag of England" height="13" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_England_%28bordered%29.svg" src="../../images/5/525.png" width="22" /></a> <a class="image" href="../../images/150/15009.png.htm" title="Flag of Republic of Ireland"><img alt="Flag of Republic of Ireland" height="13" longdesc="/wiki/Image:St_Patrick%27s_saltire.svg" src="../../images/179/17935.png" width="22" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Crown of Ireland Act (<!--del_lnk--> 1542)</td>
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<td style="font-size: 90%;"><a class="image" href="../../images/5/525.png.htm" title="Flag of England"><img alt="Flag of England" height="13" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_England_%28bordered%29.svg" src="../../images/5/525.png" width="22" /></a> <a class="image" href="../../images/528/52868.png.htm" title="Flag of Scotland"><img alt="Flag of Scotland" height="13" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Scotland.svg" src="../../images/5/554.png" width="22" /></a> <strong class="selflink">Acts of Union</strong> (<!--del_lnk--> 1707)</td>
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<p>The <b>Acts of Union</b> were a pair of <!--del_lnk--> Acts of Parliament passed in <!--del_lnk--> 1706 and <!--del_lnk--> 1707 (taking effect on <!--del_lnk--> 1 May <!--del_lnk--> 1707) by, respectively, the <!--del_lnk--> Parliament of England and the <!--del_lnk--> Parliament of Scotland. The Acts were the implementation of the <b>Treaty of Union</b> negotiated between the two <!--del_lnk--> states.<p>The Acts created a new state, the <!--del_lnk--> Kingdom of Great Britain, by merging the <!--del_lnk--> Kingdom of England and the <!--del_lnk--> Kingdom of Scotland. The two countries had <!--del_lnk--> shared a monarch since the <!--del_lnk--> Union of the Crowns in <!--del_lnk--> 1603, but had retained <!--del_lnk--> sovereign parliaments.<p>The Acts of Union dissolved both parliaments and replaced them with a new <!--del_lnk--> Parliament of Great Britain, based at <!--del_lnk--> Westminster, the former home of the English Parliament. This is referred to as the <b>Union of the Parliaments</b>.<script type="text/javascript">
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<p><a id="Background" name="Background"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Background</span></h2>
<ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Treaty of Perpetual Peace (1502)<li><!--del_lnk--> Treaty of Greenwich<li><!--del_lnk--> Union of England and Scotland Act 1603 c. 2<li><!--del_lnk--> Union of England and Scotland Act 1605 c. 3<li><!--del_lnk--> Union of England and Scotland Act 1606 c. 1<li><!--del_lnk--> Pacification, England and Scotland Act 1640 c. 17<li><!--del_lnk--> Union between England and Scotland Act 1670 c. 9<li><!--del_lnk--> Union between England and Scotland Act 1702 c. 8<li><!--del_lnk--> Union of England and Scotland Act 1704 c. 6<li><!--del_lnk--> Union of England and Scotland Act 1705 c. 15<li><!--del_lnk--> Act for a Treaty with England 1705 c. 50<li><b>Union with Scotland Act 1706 c. 11</b><li><b>Union with England Act 1707 c.7</b></ul>
<p>While there had been several preceding attempts to unite the two countries by peace treaties and Acts of Parliament, this "Acts of Union 1707" was the first Act that had the will of both political <!--del_lnk--> establishments behind them, albeit for rather different reasons. <!--del_lnk--> Scotland's Parliament had previously issued several <b>Acts of Sovereignty</b> between the peace treaties and <b>Acts of Union</b> with England, effects of which were to prolong conventions of the <!--del_lnk--> Auld Alliance, as a defence mechanism to avoid the implications of the <!--del_lnk--> Treaty of Westminster (1461) and further <!--del_lnk--> wars of Scottish Independence.<p>In the <a href="../../wp/e/England.htm" title="England">English</a> case, the purpose was to establish the <!--del_lnk--> Royal succession along <!--del_lnk--> Protestant lines in the same manner as provided for by the English <!--del_lnk--> Act of Settlement 1701, rather than that of the <a href="../../wp/s/Scotland.htm" title="Scotland">Scottish</a> <!--del_lnk--> Act of Security 1704. The two countries had shared a king for much of the previous century. The English were now concerned that an independent Scotland with a different king, even if he were a Protestant, might make alliances against England. In the Scottish case, it was claimed that union would enable Scotland to recover from the financial disaster wrought by the <!--del_lnk--> Darien scheme through English assistance and the lifting of measures put in place through the <!--del_lnk--> Alien Act to force the Scottish Parliament into compliance with the Act of Settlement.<p>The <!--del_lnk--> treaty consisted of 25 articles, 15 of which were economic in character. In Scotland, each article was voted on separately and several clauses in articles were delegated to specialised subcommittees. Article 1 of the treaty was based on the political principle of an incorporating union and this was secured by a majority of 116 votes to 83 on <!--del_lnk--> 4 November <!--del_lnk--> 1706. In order to minimise the opposition of the <!--del_lnk--> Church of Scotland, an Act was also passed to secure the <!--del_lnk--> Presbyterian establishment of the Church, after which the Church stopped its open opposition, although hostility remained at lower levels of the clergy. The treaty as a whole was finally ratified on <!--del_lnk--> 16 January <!--del_lnk--> 1707 by a majority of 110 votes to 69.<p>The ultimate securing of the treaty in the <!--del_lnk--> unicameral <!--del_lnk--> Scottish Parliament can be attributed more to the weakness and lack of cohesion between the various opposition groups in the House as opposed to the strength of pro-incorporationists. The combined votes of the <!--del_lnk--> Court party with a majority of the <!--del_lnk--> Squadrone Volante were sufficient to ensure the final passage of the treaty through the House. Many Commissioners had invested heavily in the Darien Scheme and they believed that they would receive compensation for their losses; Article 14, the Equivalent granted <a href="../../wp/p/Pound_sterling.htm" title="Pound sterling">GBP</a>398,085 10<!--del_lnk--> s to Scotland to offset future liability towards the English national debt. In essence, it was also used as a means of compensation for investors in the <!--del_lnk--> Darien Scheme.<p>Bribery was also prevalent. £20,000 (£240,000 <!--del_lnk--> Scots) was dispatched to Scotland for distribution by the <!--del_lnk--> Earl of Glasgow. <!--del_lnk--> James Douglas, 2nd Duke of Queensberry, the <!--del_lnk--> Queen's Commissioner in Parliament, received £12,325, the majority of the funding. To many Scots, this amounted to little more than a bribe. <!--del_lnk--> Robert Burns describing it as<dl>
<dd><i>We were bought and sold for English Gold,</i><dd><i>Sic a Parcel of Rogues in a Nation.</i></dl>
<p>Some of this was used to hire <!--del_lnk--> spies, such as <!--del_lnk--> Daniel Defoe; his first reports were of vivid descriptions of violent demonstrations against the Union. "A Scots rabble is the worst of its kind," he reported, "for every Scot in favour there is 99 against". Years later <!--del_lnk--> John Clerk of Penicuik, originally a leading <!--del_lnk--> Unionist, wrote in his memoirs that,<dl>
<dd><i>(Defoe) was a spy among us, but not known as such, otherwise the Mob of Edinburgh would pull him to pieces.</i></dl>
<p>Defoe recalls that he was hired by <!--del_lnk--> Robert Harley.<p>The Acts of Union were far from universally popular in Scotland, particularly amongst the general population. Many petitions were sent to the Scottish Parliament against Union, and there were massive protests in <a href="../../wp/e/Edinburgh.htm" title="Edinburgh">Edinburgh</a> and several other Scottish <!--del_lnk--> burghs on the day it was passed, as threats of widespread civil unrest resulted in the imposition of <!--del_lnk--> martial law by the Parliament. <!--del_lnk--> Sir George Lockhart of Carnwath, a <!--del_lnk--> Jacobite and the only member of the Scottish negotiating team who was not pro-incorporation, noted that `The whole nation appears against the Union'. <!--del_lnk--> Sir John Clerk of Penicuik, an ardent pro-unionist and Union negotiator, observed that the treaty was `contrary to the inclinations of at least three-fourths of the Kingdom'. Public opinion against the Treaty as it passed through the Scottish Parliament was voiced through <!--del_lnk--> petitions from Scottish localities. Anti-union petitions were received from shires, burghs, presbyteries and parishes. The <!--del_lnk--> Convention of Royal Burghs also petitioned against the Union and not one petition in favour of an incorporating union was received by Parliament. On the day the treaty was signed, the <!--del_lnk--> carilloner in <!--del_lnk--> St Giles Cathedral, Edinburgh, rang the bells in the tune <i>Why should I be so sad on my wedding day?</i><p>The two Acts incorporated provisions for Scotland to send <!--del_lnk--> representative peers from the <!--del_lnk--> Peerage of Scotland to sit in the <a href="../../wp/h/House_of_Lords.htm" title="House of Lords">House of Lords</a>. It guaranteed that the <!--del_lnk--> Church of Scotland would remain the <!--del_lnk--> national church in Scotland, that the <!--del_lnk--> Court of Session would "remain in all time coming within Scotland", and that <!--del_lnk--> Scots law would "remain in the same force as before". Other provisions included the restatement of the <!--del_lnk--> Act of Settlement 1701 and the ban on <!--del_lnk--> Roman Catholics from taking the throne. It also created a <!--del_lnk--> customs union and <!--del_lnk--> monetary union.<p>The Act provided that any "laws and statutes" that were "contrary to or inconsistent with the terms" of the Act would "cease and become void."<p><a id="Short_term_problems_and_long_term_benefits" name="Short_term_problems_and_long_term_benefits"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Short term problems and long term benefits</span></h2>
<p>For the very simple reason that the two parliaments had evolved along different lines, contradictions and teething troubles were frequent. For example, the English doctrine of <!--del_lnk--> parliamentary sovereignty in all aspects of national life did not exist in Scotland, and the Scottish Parliament was <!--del_lnk--> unicameral, not <!--del_lnk--> bicameral. Most of the pre-Union traditions of Westminster continued, while those of Scotland were forgotten or ignored.<p>Defoe drew upon his Scottish experience to write his <i><!--del_lnk--> Tour thro' the whole Island of Great Britain</i>, published in 1726, where he actually admitted that the increase of trade and <!--del_lnk--> population in Scotland, which he had predicted as a consequence of the Union, was "not the case, but rather the contrary", and that the hostility towards his party was, "because they were English and because of the Union, which they were <i>almost universally</i> exclaimed against".<p><!--del_lnk--> Andrew Fletcher of Saltoun, a vehement critic of the Union, said in <i>An Account of a Conversation</i>, that Scotland suffered "...the miserable and languishing condition of all places that depend upon a <i>remote seat of government</i>."<p><a id="A_new_Scottish_Parliament" name="A_new_Scottish_Parliament"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">A new Scottish Parliament</span></h2>
<p>In <!--del_lnk--> 1999, after almost three centuries, a <!--del_lnk--> Scottish Parliament was opened after a <!--del_lnk--> referendum in <a href="../../wp/s/Scotland.htm" title="Scotland">Scotland</a>. The new parliament does not have the same powers as the old parliament, as Scotland remains a <!--del_lnk--> constituent member country of the <a href="../../wp/u/United_Kingdom.htm" title="United Kingdom">United Kingdom</a>.<p><a name="300th_anniversary"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">300th anniversary</span></h2>
<p>A commemorative <!--del_lnk--> two-pound coin will be issued to mark the 300th anniversary of the Union, which occurs 2 days before the <!--del_lnk--> Scottish Parliament general election on 3 May 2007.<p>The <!--del_lnk--> Scottish Executive have announced plans for a year-long commemoration including an education project led by the <!--del_lnk--> Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland, an exhibition of Union-related objects and documents at the <!--del_lnk--> National Museums of Scotland and an exhibition of portraits of people associated with the Union at the <!--del_lnk--> National Galleries of Scotland.<div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acts_of_Union_1707"</div>
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<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">Actuary</h1>
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<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.Business_Studies.Economics.htm">Economics</a></h3>
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<div style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/136/13685.jpg.htm" title="Damage from Hurricane Katrina. Actuaries need to estimate long-term averages of such damage to accurately price property insurance."><img alt="Damage from Hurricane Katrina. Actuaries need to estimate long-term averages of such damage to accurately price property insurance." height="166" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Hurricane_katrina_damage_gulfport_mississippi.jpg" src="../../images/255/25596.jpg" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
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<p>An <b>actuary</b> is a <a href="../../wp/b/Business.htm" title="Business">business</a> professional who deals with the financial impact of <!--del_lnk--> risk and <!--del_lnk--> uncertainty.<p>Actuaries are those with a deep understanding of financial security systems, their reasons for being, their complexity, their mathematics, and the way they work.. They evaluate the likelihood of events and quantify the contingent outcomes in order to minimize losses, both emotional and financial, associated with uncertain undesirable events. Since many events, such as death, cannot be totally avoided, it is helpful to take measures to minimize their financial impact when they occur. These risks can impact both sides of the <!--del_lnk--> balance sheet, and require <!--del_lnk--> asset management, <!--del_lnk--> liability management, and valuation skills. Analytical skills, business knowledge and understanding of human behaviour and the vagaries of information systems are required to design and manage programs that control risk .<p>Actuaries' <!--del_lnk--> insurance disciplines may be classified as <!--del_lnk--> life, <!--del_lnk--> health, <!--del_lnk--> pensions, annuities, and asset management, <!--del_lnk--> social welfare programs, <!--del_lnk--> property, <!--del_lnk--> casualty, <!--del_lnk--> liability, <!--del_lnk--> general insurance and <!--del_lnk--> reinsurance. Life, health, and pension actuaries deal with <!--del_lnk--> mortality risk, <!--del_lnk--> morbidity, and consumer choice regarding the ongoing utilization of drugs and medical services risk, and investment risk. Products prominent in their work include <!--del_lnk--> life insurance, <!--del_lnk--> annuities, <!--del_lnk--> pensions, <!--del_lnk--> mortgage and <!--del_lnk--> credit insurance, short and long term <!--del_lnk--> disability, and <!--del_lnk--> medical, dental, <!--del_lnk--> health savings accounts and <!--del_lnk--> long term care insurance. In addition to these risks, <!--del_lnk--> social insurance programs are greatly influenced by <!--del_lnk--> public opinion, <a href="../../wp/p/Politics.htm" title="Politics">politics</a>, budget constraints, changing <!--del_lnk--> demographics and other factors such as <!--del_lnk--> medical technology, <!--del_lnk--> inflation and <!--del_lnk--> cost of living considerations .<p>Casualty actuaries, also known as non-life or <!--del_lnk--> general insurance actuaries, deal with catastrophic, unnatural risks that can occur to people or property. Products prominent in their work include <!--del_lnk--> auto insurance, <!--del_lnk--> homeowners insurance, commercial property insurance, <!--del_lnk--> workers’ compensation, <!--del_lnk--> title insurance, <!--del_lnk--> malpractice insurance, <!--del_lnk--> products liability insurance, <!--del_lnk--> directors and officers liability insurance, environmental and marine insurance, <!--del_lnk--> terrorism insurance and other types of <!--del_lnk--> liability insurance. <!--del_lnk--> Reinsurance products have to accommodate all of the previously mentioned products, and in addition have to properly reflect the increasing long term risks associated with <a href="../../wp/c/Climate_change.htm" title="Climate change">climate change</a>, cultural litigiousness, <a href="../../wp/w/War.htm" title="War">acts of war</a>, <a href="../../wp/t/Terrorism.htm" title="Terrorism">terrorism</a> and politics .<p>In 2002, a <i><a href="../../wp/t/The_Wall_Street_Journal.htm" title="The Wall Street Journal">Wall Street Journal</a></i> survey on the best jobs in the United States listed actuary as the second best job, while in previous editions of the list, actuaries had been the top rated job . The survey used six key criteria to rank jobs: environment, income, employment outlook, physical demands, security and stress. The survey goes on to state that <!--del_lnk--> paralegals have better jobs than <!--del_lnk--> attorneys, <!--del_lnk--> biologists have better jobs than <!--del_lnk--> doctors, and <!--del_lnk--> accountants have better jobs than <!--del_lnk--> CEOs. <!--del_lnk--> <p>
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</script><a id="History" name="History"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">History</span></h2>
<p><a id="Need_for_insurance" name="Need_for_insurance"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Need for insurance</span></h3>
<p>The basic requirements of communal interests gave rise to risk sharing since the dawn of <a href="../../wp/c/Civilization.htm" title="Civilization">civilization</a>. For example, people who lived their entire lives in a camp had the risk of fire, which would leave their band or family without shelter. As more complex forms of <!--del_lnk--> exchange developed beyond <!--del_lnk--> barter, new forms of risk manifested. <!--del_lnk--> Merchants embarking on trade journeys bore the risk of losing goods entrusted to them, their own possessions, or even their lives. <!--del_lnk--> Intermediaries developed to warehouse and trade goods, and they often suffered from <!--del_lnk--> financial risk. The primary providers in any extended families or household always ran the risk of premature death, disability or infirmity, leaving their dependents to starve. <!--del_lnk--> Credit procurement was difficult if the <!--del_lnk--> lender worried about repayment in the event of the borrower's death or infirmity. Alternatively, people sometimes lived too long, exhausting their savings, if any, or becoming a burden on others in the extended family or society .<p><a id="Early_attempts" name="Early_attempts"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Early attempts</span></h3>
<p>In the ancient world there was no room for the sick, suffering, disabled, aged, or the poor—these were largely not part of the <!--del_lnk--> cultural consciousness of societies . Early methods of protection involved <!--del_lnk--> charity; <!--del_lnk--> religious organizations or neighbors would collect for the destitute and needy. By the middle of the <!--del_lnk--> third century, 1,500 suffering people were being supported by charitable operations in <a href="../../wp/a/Ancient_Rome.htm" title="Ancient Rome">Rome</a> . Charitable protection is still an active form of support to this very day . However, receiving charity is uncertain and is often accompanied by <!--del_lnk--> social stigma. Elementary <!--del_lnk--> mutual aid agreements and pensions did arise in antiquity . Early in the <a href="../../wp/r/Roman_Empire.htm" title="Roman Empire">Roman empire</a>, associations were formed to meet the expenses of burial, cremation, and monuments—precursors to <!--del_lnk--> burial insurance and <!--del_lnk--> friendly societies. A small sum was paid into a communal fund on a weekly basis, and upon the death of a member, the fund would cover the expenses of rites and burial. These societies sometimes sold shares in the building of <!--del_lnk--> columbāria, or burial vaults, owned by the fund—the precursor to <!--del_lnk--> mutual insurance companies . Other early examples of mutual <!--del_lnk--> surety and <!--del_lnk--> assurance pacts can be traced back to various forms of fellowship within the Saxon clans of England and their Germanic forbears, and to Celtic society . However, many of these earlier forms of surety and aid would fail due to lack of understanding and knowledge .<p><a id="Development_of_theory" name="Development_of_theory"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Development of theory</span></h3>
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<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/4/481.png.htm" title="2003 US mortality (life) table, Table 1, Page 1"><img alt="2003 US mortality (life) table, Table 1, Page 1" height="238" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Excerpt_from_CDC_2003_Table_1.png" src="../../images/4/481.png" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/4/481.png.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> 2003 US mortality (<!--del_lnk--> life) table, Table 1, Page 1</div>
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<p>The <a href="../../wp/1/17th_century.htm" title="17th century">17th century</a> was a period of extraordinary advances in mathematics in Germany, France, and England. At the same time there was a rapidly growing desire and need to place the valuation of personal risk on a more scientific basis. Independently from each other, <!--del_lnk--> compound interest was studied and <a href="../../wp/p/Probability_theory.htm" title="Probability theory">probability theory</a> emerged as a well understood mathematical discipline. Another important advance came in <!--del_lnk--> 1662 from a <a href="../../wp/l/London.htm" title="London">London</a> <!--del_lnk--> draper named <!--del_lnk--> John Graunt, who showed that there were predictable patterns of longevity and death in a defined group, or <!--del_lnk--> cohort, of people, despite the uncertainty about the future longevity or mortality of any one individual person. This study became the basis for the original <!--del_lnk--> life table. It was now possible to set up an insurance scheme to provide life insurance or pensions for a group of people, and to calculate with some degree of accuracy how much each person in the group should contribute to a common fund assumed to earn a fixed rate of interest. The first person to demonstrate publicly how this could be done was <a href="../../wp/e/Edmond_Halley.htm" title="Edmond Halley">Edmond Halley</a>. In addition to constructing his own life table, Halley demonstrated a method of using his life table to calculate the <!--del_lnk--> premium someone of a given age should pay to purchase a life-annuity .<p><a id="Early_actuaries" name="Early_actuaries"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Early actuaries</span></h3>
<p><!--del_lnk--> James Dodson’s pioneering work on the level premium system led to the formation of the Society for Equitable Assurances on Lives and Survivorship (now commonly known as <!--del_lnk--> Equitable Life) in London in 1762. This was the first life insurance company to use premium rates which were calculated scientifically for long-term life policies, using Dodson’s work. The company still exists, though it has run into difficulties recently. After Dodson’s death in 1757, <!--del_lnk--> Edward Rowe Mores took over the leadership of the group that eventually became the Society for Equitable Assurances in 1762. It was he who specified that the chief official should be called an ‘actuary’ . Previously, the use of the term had been restricted to an official who recorded the decisions, or ‘acts’, of ecclesiastical courts, in ancient times originally the secretary of the <!--del_lnk--> Roman senate, responsible for compiling the <!--del_lnk--> Acta Senatus . Other companies which did not originally use such mathematical and scientific methods most often failed or were forced to adopt the methods pioneered by Equitable .<p><a id="Development_of_the_modern_profession" name="Development_of_the_modern_profession"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Development of the modern profession</span></h3>
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<p>In the <a href="../../wp/1/18th_century.htm" title="18th century">eighteenth</a> and <a href="../../wp/1/19th_century.htm" title="19th century">nineteenth</a> centuries, computational complexity was limited to manual calculations. The actual calculations required to compute fair insurance premiums are rather complex. The actuaries of that time developed methods to construct easily-used tables, using sophisticated approximations called commutation functions, to facilitate timely, accurate, manual calculations of premiums . Over time, actuarial organizations were founded to support and further both actuaries and <!--del_lnk--> actuarial science, and to protect the public interest by ensuring competency and ethical standards . However, calculations remained cumbersome, and actuarial shortcuts were commonplace. Non-life actuaries followed in the footsteps of their life compatriots in the early <a href="../../wp/2/20th_century.htm" title="20th century">twentieth century</a>. The 1920 revision to workers compensation rates took over two months of around-the-clock work by day and night teams of actuaries . In the 1930s and 1940s, however, rigorous mathematical foundations for <!--del_lnk--> stochastic processes were developed . Actuaries could now begin to forecast losses using models of random events instead of <!--del_lnk--> deterministic methods. Computers further revolutionized the actuarial profession. From pencil-and-paper to punchcards to microcomputers, the modeling and forecasting ability of the actuary has grown exponentially .<p>Another modern development is the convergence of modern <!--del_lnk--> financial theory with actuarial science . In the early twentieth century, actuaries were developing many techniques that can be found in modern financial theory, but for various historical reasons, these developments did not achieve much recognition . However, in the late 1980s and early 1990s, there was a distinct effort for actuaries to combine financial theory and stochastic methods into their established models . Today, the profession, both in practice and in the educational syllabi of many actuarial organizations, combines tables, loss models, stochastic methods, and financial theory , but is still not completely aligned with modern <!--del_lnk--> financial economics.<p><a id="Responsibilities" name="Responsibilities"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Responsibilities</span></h2>
<p>Actuaries use skills in <a href="../../wp/m/Mathematics.htm" title="Mathematics">mathematics</a>, <a href="../../wp/e/Economics.htm" title="Economics">economics</a>, <a href="../../wp/f/Finance.htm" title="Finance">finance</a>, <!--del_lnk--> probability and <a href="../../wp/s/Statistics.htm" title="Statistics">statistics</a>, and <a href="../../wp/b/Business.htm" title="Business">business</a> to help businesses assess the risk of certain events occurring, and to formulate policies that minimize the cost of that risk. For this reason, actuaries are essential to the insurance and reinsurance industry, either as staff employees or as <!--del_lnk--> consultants, as well as to <a href="../../wp/g/Government.htm" title="Government">government</a> agencies such as the <!--del_lnk--> Government Actuary’s Department in the UK or the <!--del_lnk--> Social Security Administration in the US. Actuaries assemble and analyze data to estimate the probability and likely cost of the occurrence of an event such as death, sickness, injury, disability, or loss of property. Actuaries also address financial questions, including those involving the level of pension contributions required to produce a certain retirement income and the way in which a company should invest resources to maximize its return on investments in light of potential risk. Using their broad knowledge, actuaries help design and price insurance policies, pension plans, and other financial strategies in a manner which will help ensure that the plans are maintained on a sound financial basis .<p><a id="Traditional_employment" name="Traditional_employment"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Traditional employment</span></h3>
<p>On both the life and casualty sides, the classical function of actuaries is to calculate premiums and reserves for insurance policies covering various risks. Premiums are the amount of money the insurer needs to collect from the policyholder in order to cover the expected losses, expenses, and a provision for profit. Reserves are provisions for future liabilities and indicate how much money should be set aside now to reasonably provide for future payouts. If you inspect the balance sheet of an insurance company, you will find that the liability side consists mainly of reserves.<p>On the casualty side, this analysis often involves quantifying the probability of a loss event, called the frequency, and the size of that loss event, called the severity. Further, the amount of time that occurs before the loss event is also important, as the insurer will not have to pay anything until after the event has occurred. On the life side, the analysis often involves quantifying how much a potential sum of money or a financial liability will be worth at different points in the future. Since neither of these kinds of analysis are purely <!--del_lnk--> deterministic processes, <!--del_lnk--> stochastic models are often used to determine frequency and severity <!--del_lnk--> distributions and the <!--del_lnk--> parameters of these distributions. Forecasting interest yields and currency movements also plays a role in determining future costs, especially on the life side.<p>Actuaries do not always attempt to predict aggregate future events. Often, their work may relate to determining the cost of financial liabilities that have already occurred, called <!--del_lnk--> retrospective reinsurance, or the development or re-pricing of new products.<p>Actuaries also design and maintain products and systems. They are involved in financial reporting of companies’ assets and liabilities. They must communicate complex concepts to clients who may not share their language or depth of knowledge. Actuaries work under a strict code of ethics that covers their communications and work products, but their clients may not adhere to those same standards when interpreting the data or using it within different kinds of businesses.<p><a id="Non-traditional_employment" name="Non-traditional_employment"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Non-traditional employment</span></h3>
<p>Many actuaries are general business managers or financial officers. They analyze prospective business prospects with their financial skills in valuing or discounting risky future cash flows, and many apply their pricing expertise from insurance to other lines of business. Some actuaries act as <!--del_lnk--> expert witnesses by applying their analysis in court trials to estimate the economic value of losses such as lost profits or lost wages.<p>There has been a recent widening of the scope of the actuarial field to include <!--del_lnk--> investment advice and <!--del_lnk--> asset management. Further, there has been a convergence from the financial fields of <!--del_lnk--> risk management and <!--del_lnk--> quantitative analysis with <!--del_lnk--> actuarial science. Now, actuaries also work as risk managers, quantitative analysts, or investment specialists. Even actuaries in traditional roles are now studying and using the tools and data previously in the domain of finance . One of the latest developments in the industry, insurance securitization, requires both the actuarial and finance skills . .<p><a id="Remuneration" name="Remuneration"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Remuneration</span></h3>
<p>The credentialing and examination procedure for becoming a fully qualified actuary can be discouraging. Consequently, the profession remains very small throughout the world. As a result, actuaries are in high demand, and they are highly paid for the services they render . In the UK, where there are approximately 8,000 fully qualified actuaries, typical starting salaries range between <a href="../../wp/p/Pound_sterling.htm" title="Pound sterling">GBP</a> £24,000 and £30,000 (approx. <a href="../../wp/u/United_States_dollar.htm" title="United States dollar">US$</a>44,000–US$55,000 c. June 2006) and newly qualified actuaries in insurance companies earn somewhere between £44,000 and £64,000 (approx. US$81,000–US$118,000 c. June 2006) per year. Many successful actuaries earn over £100,000 a year (approx. US$185,000 c. June 2006) .<p>In developing markets such as <a href="../../wp/i/India.htm" title="India">India</a>, annual compensation for newly qualified actuaries starts at around 8 <!--del_lnk--> lakh (800,000 <!--del_lnk--> Indian rupees or approximately US$17,500 c. June 2006) and can go as high as 20 lakh (approx. US$43,600 c. June 2006) .<p><a id="Credentialing_and_exams" name="Credentialing_and_exams"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Credentialing and exams</span></h2>
<p>Becoming a fully credentialed actuary requires passing a rigorous series of exams, usually taking several years. In some countries, such as France, most study takes place in a university setting. In others, such as the U.S. and the UK, most study takes place during employment.<p><a id="UK_and_Republic_of_Ireland" name="UK_and_Republic_of_Ireland"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">UK and Republic of Ireland</span></h3>
<p>Qualification in the <a href="../../wp/u/United_Kingdom.htm" title="United Kingdom">United Kingdom</a> and the <a href="../../wp/r/Republic_of_Ireland.htm" title="Republic of Ireland">Republic of Ireland</a> consists of a combination of exams and courses provided by the professional bodies, the <!--del_lnk--> Institute of Actuaries based in <a href="../../wp/l/London.htm" title="London">London</a>, <a href="../../wp/e/England.htm" title="England">England</a>, and the <!--del_lnk--> Faculty of Actuaries based in <a href="../../wp/e/Edinburgh.htm" title="Edinburgh">Edinburgh</a>, <a href="../../wp/s/Scotland.htm" title="Scotland">Scotland</a>—separate but coinciding bodies. No geographic limitations exist for these bodies. Students and actuaries in any part of the UK or the Republic of Ireland may be a member of either or both bodies. The exams may only be taken upon having officially joined the body, unlike many other countries where exams may be taken earlier. However, a candidate may offer proof of having previously covered topics, usually while at university, in order to be exempt from taking certain subjects. The exams themselves are now split into four sections: Core Technical (CT), Core Applications (CA), Specialist Technical (ST), and Specialist Applications (SA). For students that joined the Profession after June 2004, a further requirement that the student carry out a "Work-based skills" exercise has been brought into effect. This involves the student submitting a series of essays to the Profession detailing the work that he or she has been involved in. In addition to exams, essays and courses, it is required that the candidate have at least three years' experience of actuarial work under supervision of a recognized actuary for him or her to qualify as a “Fellow of the (Institute/Faculty) of Actuaries” (FIA/FFA) .<p><a id="United_States" name="United_States"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">United States</span></h3>
<p>In the U.S., for life and health actuaries, exams are given by the <!--del_lnk--> Society of Actuaries, while for property and casualty actuaries the exams are administered by the <!--del_lnk--> Casualty Actuarial Society. The Society of Actuaries’ membership requirements include passing six examinations for Associateship, and an additional two exams, together with the completion of a professional paper, for Fellowship . The Casualty Actuary Society requires the successful completion of seven examinations for Associateship and two additional exams for Fellowship. In addition to these requirements, casualty actuarial candidates must also complete professionalism education and be recommended for membership by existing members . Continuing education is required after certification for all actuaries.<p>In order to sign statements of actuarial opinion, however, American actuaries must be members of the <!--del_lnk--> American Academy of Actuaries. Academy membership requirements include membership in one of the recognized actuarial societies, at least three years of full-time equivalent experience in responsible actuarial work, and either residency in the United States for at least three years or a non-resident or new resident who meets certain requirements .<p><a id="Canada" name="Canada"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Canada</span></h3>
<p>The <!--del_lnk--> Canadian Institute of Actuaries (the CIA) recognizes fellows of both the Society of Actuaries and the Casualty Actuary Society, provided that they have specialized study in Canadian actuarial practice. For fellows of the SOA, this is fulfilled by taking the CIA’s Practice Education Course (PEC). For fellows of the Casualty Actuarial Society, this is fulfilled by taking exam 7C (Canada) instead of exam 7US. Unlike their American counterparts, the CIA only has one class of actuary—Fellow. Further, the CIA requires three years of actuarial practice within the previous decade, and 18 months of Canadian actuarial practice within the last three years, to become a fellow .<p><a id="Sweden" name="Sweden"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Sweden</span></h3>
<p>Actuarial training <a href="../../wp/s/Sweden.htm" title="Sweden">Sweden</a> takes place at <!--del_lnk--> Stockholm University. The four year <!--del_lnk--> master's program covers the subjects <a href="../../wp/m/Mathematics.htm" title="Mathematics">mathematics</a>, <a href="../../wp/s/Statistics.htm" title="Statistics">mathematical statistics</a>, <!--del_lnk--> insurance mathematics, <!--del_lnk--> financial mathematics, insurance <a href="../../wp/l/Law.htm" title="Law">law</a> and insurance <a href="../../wp/e/Economics.htm" title="Economics">economics</a>. The program operates under the Division of Mathematical Statistics .<p><a id="Other_countries" name="Other_countries"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Other countries</span></h3>
<p>Many other countries pattern their requirements after the larger societies of the US or UK. In general, the websites of these organizations are often the easiest source for finding out about membership requirements.<p><a id="Exam_support" name="Exam_support"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Exam support</span></h3>
<p>As these qualifying exams are rigorous, support is usually available to people progressing through the exams. Often, employers provide paid on-the-job study time and paid attendance at seminars designed for the exams . Also, many companies which employ actuaries have automatic pay raises or promotions when exams are passed. As a result, actuarial students have strong incentives for devoting adequate study time during off-work hours. A common rule of thumb for exam students is to put in roughly 400 hours of study time per full exam taken . Thus, several thousands of hours of study time should be anticipated over several years, assuming no failures . In practice, as the historical passing percentages remain below 50% for these exams, the “travel time” to credentialing is extended and more study time is needed. This process resembles formal schooling, so that actuaries who are sitting for exams are still called “students” or “candidates” despite holding important positions with substantial responsibilities.<p><a id="Notable_actuaries" name="Notable_actuaries"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Notable actuaries</span></h2>
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<dt><a href="../../wp/e/Edmond_Halley.htm" title="Edmond Halley">Edmond Halley</a> <dd>While Halley actually predated much of what is now considered the start of the actuarial profession, he was the first to mathematically and statistically rigorously calculate premiums for a life insurance policy .</dl>
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<dt><!--del_lnk--> Edward Rowe Mores <dd>First person to use the title ‘actuary’ with respect to a business position .</dl>
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<dt><!--del_lnk--> William Morgan <dd>Morgan was the appointed Actuary of the Society for Equitable Assurances in 1775. He expanded on Mores's and Dodson's work, and may be rightly considered the father of the actuarial profession in that his title became applied to the field as a whole..</dl>
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<dt><!--del_lnk--> Isaac M. Rubinow <dd>Founder and first president of the <!--del_lnk--> Casualty Actuarial Society .</dl>
<p><a id="Fictional_actuaries" name="Fictional_actuaries"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Fictional actuaries</span></h2>
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<p>Due to the low public-profile of the job, two of the most recognisable actuaries to the general public happen to be characters in movies. Many actuaries were unhappy with the stereotypical portrayals of these actuaries as unhappy, math-obsessed and socially inept people; others have claimed that the portrayals are close to home, if a bit exaggerated. .<dl>
<dt>Warren Schmidt<dd>Warren is portrayed by <!--del_lnk--> Jack Nicholson and is from the movie <i><!--del_lnk--> About Schmidt</i>. The movie mostly covers Schmidt's retirement from an insurance company. Schmidt is portrayed as antisocial and unfriendly. He does not want to retire and spends his free time still working on actuarial calculations.</dl>
<p><a id="See_also" name="See_also"></a><div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Actuary"</div>
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<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">Adam Smith</h1>
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<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.Business_Studies.Economics.htm">Economics</a>; <a href="../index/subject.People.Historical_figures.htm">Historical figures</a></h3>
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<th align="center" bgcolor="#B0C4DE" colspan="2" style="border-bottom:1px solid #B0C4DE; font-size: 125%;">Western Philosophers<br /><small><!--del_lnk--> 18th-century philosophy<br /> (Modern Philosophy)</small></th>
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<div style="line-height:1.25em;">Adam Smith</div>
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<th style="text-align: right;">Name:</th>
<td>Adam Smith</td>
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<th style="text-align: right;">Birth:</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> June 5, <!--del_lnk--> 1723 (baptised) (<!--del_lnk--> Kirkcaldy, <!--del_lnk--> Fife, <a href="../../wp/s/Scotland.htm" title="Scotland">Scotland</a>)</td>
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<th style="text-align: right;">Death:</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> July 17, <!--del_lnk--> 1790 (<a href="../../wp/e/Edinburgh.htm" title="Edinburgh">Edinburgh</a>, <a href="../../wp/s/Scotland.htm" title="Scotland">Scotland</a>)</td>
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<th style="text-align: right;">School/tradition:</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Classical economics</td>
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<th style="text-align: right;">Main interests:</th>
<td><a href="../../wp/p/Political_philosophy.htm" title="Political philosophy">Political philosophy</a>, <a href="../../wp/e/Ethics.htm" title="Ethics">ethics</a>, <a href="../../wp/e/Economics.htm" title="Economics">economics</a></td>
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<th style="text-align: right;">Notable ideas:</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Classical economics, modern <!--del_lnk--> free market, <!--del_lnk--> division of labour</td>
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<th style="text-align: right;">Influences:</th>
<td><a href="../../wp/a/Aristotle.htm" title="Aristotle">Aristotle</a>, <a href="../../wp/t/Thomas_Hobbes.htm" title="Thomas Hobbes">Hobbes</a>, <a href="../../wp/j/John_Locke.htm" title="John Locke">Locke</a>, <!--del_lnk--> Mandeville, <!--del_lnk--> Hutcheson, <a href="../../wp/d/David_Hume.htm" title="David Hume">Hume</a>, <!--del_lnk--> Montesquieu</td>
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<th style="text-align: right;">Influenced:</th>
<td><a href="../../wp/t/Thomas_Malthus.htm" title="Thomas Malthus">Malthus</a>, <!--del_lnk--> Ricardo, <!--del_lnk--> Mill, <a href="../../wp/j/John_Maynard_Keynes.htm" title="John Maynard Keynes">Keynes</a>, <a href="../../wp/k/Karl_Marx.htm" title="Karl Marx">Marx</a>, <!--del_lnk--> Engels, <!--del_lnk--> American Founding Fathers</td>
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<p><b>Adam Smith</b>, <!--del_lnk--> FRSE, (baptised and probably born <!--del_lnk--> June 5, <!--del_lnk--> 1723 <!--del_lnk--> O.S. (<!--del_lnk--> June 16 <!--del_lnk--> N.S.) – <!--del_lnk--> July 17, <!--del_lnk--> 1790) was a <a href="../../wp/s/Scotland.htm" title="Scotland">Scottish</a> <a href="../../wp/p/Political_economy.htm" title="Political economy">political economist</a> and <!--del_lnk--> moral philosopher. His <i><!--del_lnk--> Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations</i> was one of the earliest attempts to study the historical development of industry and commerce in <a href="../../wp/e/Europe.htm" title="Europe">Europe</a>. That work helped to create the modern academic discipline of <a href="../../wp/e/Economics.htm" title="Economics">economics</a> and provided one of the best-known intellectual rationales for <!--del_lnk--> free trade, <a href="../../wp/c/Capitalism.htm" title="Capitalism">capitalism</a>, and <a href="../../wp/l/Libertarianism.htm" title="Libertarianism">libertarianism</a>.<p>
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</script><a id="Biography" name="Biography"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Biography</span></h2>
<p>Smith was a son of the controller of the customs at <!--del_lnk--> Kirkcaldy, <!--del_lnk--> Fife, <a href="../../wp/s/Scotland.htm" title="Scotland">Scotland</a>. The exact date of his birth is unknown, but he was baptised at Kirkcaldy on <!--del_lnk--> June 5, <!--del_lnk--> 1723, his father having died some six months previously. At around the age of 4, he was kidnapped by a band of <!--del_lnk--> Gypsies, but he was quickly rescued by his uncle and returned to his mother. Smith recovered from this ordeal quickly and resumed his close relationship with his mother on his safe return home. Smith's biographer, <!--del_lnk--> John Rae, commented wryly that he feared Smith would have made "a poor Gypsy." He is thought to have been an only child as there is no record of him having had siblings.<p>At the age of fourteen, Smith proceeded to the University of Glasgow, studying moral philosophy under "the never-to-be-forgotten" (as Smith called him) <!--del_lnk--> Francis Hutcheson. Here Smith developed his strong passion for <!--del_lnk--> liberty, <!--del_lnk--> reason, and <!--del_lnk--> free speech. In <!--del_lnk--> 1740 he entered <!--del_lnk--> Balliol College, Oxford, but as William Robert Scott has said, "the <!--del_lnk--> Oxford of his time gave little if any help towards what was to be his lifework," and he left the university in 1746, becoming a public critic of its process of tenure. In 1748 he began delivering public lectures in <a href="../../wp/e/Edinburgh.htm" title="Edinburgh">Edinburgh</a> under the patronage of <!--del_lnk--> Lord Kames. Some of these dealt with rhetoric and <i><!--del_lnk--> belles-lettres</i>, but later he took up the subject of "the progress of opulence," and it was then, in his middle or late 20s, that he first expounded the economic philosophy of "the obvious and simple system of natural liberty" which he was later to proclaim to the world in his <i>Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations</i>. In about 1750 he met <a href="../../wp/d/David_Hume.htm" title="David Hume">David Hume</a>, who was his senior by over a decade. The alignments of opinion that can be found within the details of their respective writings covering history, politics, philosophy, economics, and religion indicate that they both shared a closer intellectual alliance and friendship than with the others who were to play important roles during the emergence of what has come to be known as the <!--del_lnk--> Scottish Enlightenment; he frequented <!--del_lnk--> The Poker Club of <a href="../../wp/e/Edinburgh.htm" title="Edinburgh">Edinburgh</a>.<p>Smith's father had a strong interest in Christianity and belonged to the moderate wing of the <!--del_lnk--> Church of Scotland (the <!--del_lnk--> national church of Scotland since <!--del_lnk--> 1690). Smith may have gone to <a href="../../wp/e/England.htm" title="England">England</a> with the intention of a career in the <a href="../../wp/c/Church_of_England.htm" title="Church of England">Church of England</a>: this is controversial and depends on the status of the <!--del_lnk--> Snell Scholarship. How he lost belief and why remains uncertain. But it is definite that he returned to Scotland as a <!--del_lnk--> Deist. <div class="thumb tright">
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<p>Coase, Professor of Economics and journal editor, challenged the view that Smith was a Deist, stating that, whilst Smith may have referred to the "<!--del_lnk--> Great Architect of the Universe", other scholars have "very much exaggerated the extent to which Adam Smith was committed to a belief in a personal God". He based this on analysis of a remark in <i>The Wealth of Nations</i> where Smith writes that the curiosity of mankind about the "great phenomena of nature" such as "the generation, the life, growth and dissolution of plants and animals" has led men to "enquire into their causes". Coase notes Smith's observation that: "Superstition first attempted to satisfy this curiosity, by referring all those wonderful appearances to the immediate agency of the gods. Philosophy afterwards endeavoured to account for them, from more familiar causes, or from such as mankind were better acquainted with than the agency of the gods." Coase argues that this is "hardly a remark which would have been made by a strong, or even a mild, deist".<p>In 1751 Smith was appointed chair of <a href="../../wp/l/Logic.htm" title="Logic">logic</a> at the University of Glasgow, transferring in 1752 to the <!--del_lnk--> Chair of Moral Philosophy, once occupied by his famous teacher, Francis Hutcheson. His lectures covered the fields of <a href="../../wp/e/Ethics.htm" title="Ethics">ethics</a>, <!--del_lnk--> rhetoric, <!--del_lnk--> jurisprudence, <a href="../../wp/p/Political_economy.htm" title="Political economy">political economy</a>, and "police and revenue". In 1759 he published his <i><!--del_lnk--> The Theory of Moral Sentiments</i>, embodying some of his <a href="../../wp/g/Glasgow.htm" title="Glasgow">Glasgow</a> lectures. This work, which established Smith's reputation in his day, was concerned with how human communication depends on sympathy between agent and spectator (that is, the individual and other members of society). His analysis of language evolution was somewhat superficial, as shown only 14 years later by a more rigorous examination of primitive language evolution by <!--del_lnk--> Lord Monboddo in his <i>Of the Origin and Progress of Language</i>. Smith's capacity for fluent, persuasive, if rather rhetorical argument, is much in evidence. He bases his explanation, not as the third Lord Shaftesbury and Hutcheson had done, on a special "moral sense", nor (as Hume did) on <a href="../../wp/u/Utilitarianism.htm" title="Utilitarianism">utility</a>, but on sympathy.<p>Smith now began to give more attention to jurisprudence and economics in his lecture and less to his theories of morals. An impression can be obtained as to the development of his ideas on political economy from the notes of his lectures taken down by a student in about 1763 which were later edited by <!--del_lnk--> Edwin Cannan, and from what Scott, its discoverer and publisher, describes as "An Early Draft of Part of The Wealth of Nations", which he dates about 1763. Cannan's work appeared as <i>Lectures on Justice, Police, Revenue and Arms</i>. A fuller version was published as <!--del_lnk--> Lectures on Jurisprudence in the Glasgow Edition of 1976.<p>At the end of 1763 Smith obtained a lucrative offer from <!--del_lnk--> Charles Townshend (who had been introduced to Smith by <a href="../../wp/d/David_Hume.htm" title="David Hume">David Hume</a>), to tutor his stepson, the young <!--del_lnk--> Duke of Buccleuch. Smith subsequently resigned from his professorship and from 1764-66 traveled with his pupil, mostly in <a href="../../wp/f/France.htm" title="France">France</a>, where he came to know intellectual leaders such as <!--del_lnk--> Turgot, <!--del_lnk--> Jean D'Alembert, <!--del_lnk--> André Morellet, <!--del_lnk--> Helvétius and, in particular, <!--del_lnk--> Francois Quesnay, the head of the <!--del_lnk--> Physiocratic school whose work he respected greatly. On returning home to Kirkcaldy he devoted much of the next ten years to his magnum opus, <i>An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations,</i> which appeared in 1776. It was very well-received and popular, and Smith became famous. In 1778 he was appointed to a comfortable post as commissioner of customs in Scotland and went to live with his mother in Edinburgh. He died there on July 17, 1790, after a painful illness and was buried in the <!--del_lnk--> Canongate Kirkyard, <!--del_lnk--> Royal Mile, Edinburgh. He had apparently devoted a considerable part of his income to numerous secret acts of charity.<p>Smith's literary executors were two old friends from the Scottish academic world; physicist/chemist <!--del_lnk--> Joseph Black and pioneering geologist <!--del_lnk--> James Hutton. Smith left behind many notes and some unpublished material, but gave instructions to destroy anything that was not fit for publication. He mentioned an early unpublished <i>History of Astronomy</i> as probably suitable, and it duly appeared in 1795, along with other material, as <!--del_lnk--> Essays on Philosophical Subjects.<p><a id="Works" name="Works"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Works</span></h2>
<p>Shortly before his death Smith had nearly all his manuscripts destroyed. In his last years he seemed to have been planning two major treatises, one on the theory and history of law and one on the sciences and arts. The posthumously published <i>Essays on Philosophical Subjects</i> (1795) probably contain parts of what would have been the latter treatise.<p><i><!--del_lnk--> The Wealth of Nations</i> was influential since it did so much to create the field of economics and develop it into an autonomous systematic discipline. In the Western world, it is arguably the most influential book on the subject ever published. When the book, which has become a classic manifesto against <a href="../../wp/m/Mercantilism.htm" title="Mercantilism">mercantilism</a> (the theory that large reserves of <!--del_lnk--> bullion are essential for economic success), appeared in 1776, there was a strong sentiment for <!--del_lnk--> free trade in both Britain and America. This new feeling had been born out of the economic hardships and poverty caused by the American War of Independence. However, at the time of publication, not everybody was immediately convinced of the advantages of free trade: the British public and Parliament still clung to mercantilism for many years to come.<p><i>The Wealth of Nations</i> also rejects the <!--del_lnk--> Physiocratic school's emphasis on the importance of land; instead, Smith believed labour was paramount, and that a <!--del_lnk--> division of labour would effect a great increase in production. <i>Nations</i> was so successful, in fact, that it led to the abandonment of earlier economic schools, and later economists, such as <a href="../../wp/t/Thomas_Malthus.htm" title="Thomas Malthus">Thomas Malthus</a> and <!--del_lnk--> David Ricardo, focused on refining Smith's theory into what is now known as <!--del_lnk--> classical economics. Both <!--del_lnk--> Modern economics and, separately, <!--del_lnk--> Marxian economics owe significantly to classical economics. Malthus expanded Smith's ruminations on <!--del_lnk--> overpopulation, while Ricardo believed in the "<!--del_lnk--> iron law of wages" — that overpopulation would prevent wages from topping the subsistence level. Smith postulated an increase of wages with an increase in production, a view considered more accurate today.<p>One of the main points of <i>The Wealth of Nations</i> is that the free market, while appearing chaotic and unrestrained, is actually guided to produce the right amount and variety of goods by a so-called "<!--del_lnk--> invisible hand" (an image that Smith had previously employed in <i>Theory of Moral Sentiments,</i> but which has its original use in his essay, "The History of Astronomy"). If a product shortage occurs, for instance, its price rises, creating a profit margin that creates an incentive for others to enter production, eventually curing the shortage. If too many producers enter the market, the increased <!--del_lnk--> competition among manufacturers and increased supply would lower the price of the product to its production cost, the "<!--del_lnk--> natural price". Even as profits are zeroed out at the "natural price," there would be incentives to produce goods and services, as all costs of production, including compensation for the owner's labour, are also built into the price of the goods. If prices dip below a zero profit, producers would drop out of the market; if they were above a zero profit, producers would enter the market. Smith believed that while human motives are often <!--del_lnk--> selfish and <!--del_lnk--> greedy, the competition in the free market would tend to benefit society as a whole by keeping prices low, while still building in an incentive for a wide variety of goods and services. Nevertheless, he was wary of businessmen and argued against the formation of <!--del_lnk--> monopolies.<p>Smith vigorously attacked the antiquated government restrictions which he thought were hindering industrial expansion. In fact, he attacked most forms of government interference in the economic process, including <!--del_lnk--> tariffs, arguing that this creates inefficiency and high prices in the long run. This theory, now referred to as "<!--del_lnk--> laissez-faire", which means "let them do", influenced government legislation in later years, especially during the 19th century. (However this was not opposition to government. Smith advocated a Government that was active in sectors other than the economy: he advocated public education of poor adults; institutional systems that were not profitable for private industries; a judiciary; and a standing army.)<p>Two of the most famous and often-quoted passages in <i>The Wealth of Nations</i> are:<dl>
<dd><i>It is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer, or the baker that we expect our dinner, but from their regard to their own interest. We address ourselves, not to their humanity but to their self-love, and never talk to them of our own necessities but of their advantages.</i></dl>
<dl>
<dd><i>As every individual, therefore, endeavours as much as he can both to employ his capital in the support of domestic industry, and so to direct that industry that its produce may be of the greatest value; every individual necessarily labours to render the annual value of society as great as he can. He generally, indeed, neither intends to promote the public interest, nor knows how much he is promoting it. By preferring the support of domestic to that of foreign industry, he intends only his own security; and by directing that industry in such a manner as its produce may be of the greatest value, he intends only his own gain, and he is in this, as in many other cases, led by an invisible hand to promote an end which was no part of his intention. Nor is it always the worse for the society that it was no part of it. By pursuing his own interest he frequently promotes that of society more effectually than when he really intends to promote it. I have never known much good done by those who affected to trade for the public good. It is an affectation, indeed, not very common among merchants, and very few words need be employed in dissuading them from it.</i></dl>
<p><a id="The_.22Adam_Smith-Problem.22" name="The_.22Adam_Smith-Problem.22"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">The <i>"Adam Smith-Problem"</i></span></h2>
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<p>In the <i>Wealth of Nations</i> Smith claims that self-interest alone (in a proper institutional setting) can lead to socially beneficial results. But in his <i>Theory of Moral Sentiments</i> Smith says that sympathy is required to achieve socially beneficial results. On the surface it appears that a contradiction exists. Economist <!--del_lnk--> Joseph Schumpeter referred to this in German as <i><!--del_lnk--> das 'Adam Smith-Problem'</i>.<p>In recent years, however, most students of Adam Smith's work have argued that no such contradiction exists. In the <i>Theory of Moral Sentiments</i>, Smith develops a theory of psychology in which individuals in society find it in their self-interest to develop sympathy as they seek approval of what he calls the "impartial spectator." The self-interest he speaks of is not a narrow selfishness but something that involves sympathy.<p>Economists, and others, who have read <i>The Wealth of Nations</i> commonly presume that when Smith speaks of "self-interest" in that book he is speaking of selfishness. Although in some contexts, such as buying and selling, sympathy generally need not be considered, Smith makes it clear that he regards selfishness as inappropriate--if not immoral--and that the self-interested actor has sympathy for others. The self-interest of any actor also includes the interest of the rest of society, as the society is the only means to reflect the (in-)appropriateness of one's actions as he argues in <i>The Theory of Moral Sentiments</i>. That is, no Adam Smith Problem exists.<p>In any case, Adam Smith himself cannot have seen any contradiction, since he produced a slightly revised edition of <i>Moral Sentiments</i> after the publication of <i>The Wealth of Nations</i>. Both sets of ideas are to be found in his <i>Lectures on Jurisprudence</i>. He apparently believed that moral sentiments and self-interest would always add up to the same thing.<p>Some scholars, however, have given another explanation: Adam Smith was trying to illustrate the complicated economy with two simple dimensions. It was the people who, due to historical limitations, emphasized the "wealth" part. In the future, due to the change of world economy, the emphasis may well change.<p><a id="Influence" name="Influence"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Influence</span></h2>
<p><i>The Wealth of Nations</i>, one of the earliest attempts to study the rise of industry and commercial development in Europe, was a precursor to the modern academic discipline of economics. It provided one of the best-known intellectual rationales for free trade and capitalism, greatly influencing the writings of later economists.<p>There has been some controversy over the extent of Smith's originality in <i>The Wealth of Nations.</i> Some argue that the work added only modestly to the already established ideas of thinkers such as <!--del_lnk--> Anders Chydenius (<!--del_lnk--> The National Gain (1765), <a href="../../wp/d/David_Hume.htm" title="David Hume">David Hume</a> and the <!--del_lnk--> Baron de Montesquieu. Indeed, many of the theories Smith set out simply described historical trends away from mercantilism and towards free trade that had been developing for many decades and had already had significant influence on governmental policy. Nevertheless, Smith's work organized their ideas comprehensively, and so remains one of the most influential and important books in the field today.<p>Smith was ranked #30 in Michael H. Hart's <!--del_lnk--> list of the most influential figures in history.<p>A portrait of Smith can be seen on a <!--del_lnk--> Bank of Scotland fifty <a href="../../wp/p/Pound_sterling.htm" title="Pound sterling">pound sterling</a> note.<p>He will become the first Scotsman to appear on an English note.<p><!--del_lnk--> <p><a id="Major_works" name="Major_works"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Major works</span></h2>
<ul>
<li><i><!--del_lnk--> The Theory of Moral Sentiments</i> (1759)<li><i><!--del_lnk--> The Wealth of Nations</i> (1776)<li><i><!--del_lnk--> Essays on Philosophical Subjects</i> (published posthumously 1795)</ul>
<div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adam_Smith"</div>
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<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.Geography.African_Geography.htm">African Geography</a></h3>
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<p><b>Addis Ababa</b> (sometimes spelled <b>Addis Abeba</b>, the spelling used officially by the <!--del_lnk--> Ethiopian Mapping Institute; <!--del_lnk--> Amharic አዲስ አበባ, <i>Āddīs Ābebā</i> "new flower"; <!--del_lnk--> Oromo <i>Finfinne</i>) is the <!--del_lnk--> capital city of <a href="../../wp/e/Ethiopia.htm" title="Ethiopia">Ethiopia</a> and the <a href="../../wp/a/African_Union.htm" title="African Union">African Union</a>, as well as its predecessor, the <!--del_lnk--> OAU. As a <!--del_lnk--> chartered city (<i>ras gez astedader</i>), Addis Ababa has the status of both a city and a state. The city has as many as 80 nationalities speaking 80 languages, and Christian, Muslim, and Jewish communities. Addis Ababa is located about 2,500 m above <!--del_lnk--> sea level at <span class="plainlinksneverexpand"><!--del_lnk--> 9.03° N 38.74° E</span>). <!--del_lnk--> <p>The site was chosen by Empress <!--del_lnk--> Taytu Betul and the city was founded in <!--del_lnk--> 1886 by her husband, Emperor <!--del_lnk--> Menelik II, and now has a population of around four million, and an eight per cent annual growth rate.<p>The city lies at the foot of <!--del_lnk--> Mount Entoto, and is home to <!--del_lnk--> Addis Ababa University. Addis Ababa University was formerly known as Haile Selassie I University, after the former Emperor of Ethiopia, who donated his Guenete Leul Palace to be the University main campus in 1961.<div class="thumb tright">
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</script><a id="History" name="History"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">History</span></h2>
<p>Addis Ababa was founded by the Ethiopian emperor <!--del_lnk--> Menelik II. Menelik, as King of <!--del_lnk--> Shewa, had found <!--del_lnk--> Mount Entoto a useful base for military operations in the south of his realm, and in 1879 visited the reputed ruins of a medieval town, and an unfinished rock church that showed proof of an Ethiopian presence in the area prior to the campaigns of <!--del_lnk--> Ahmad Gragn. His interest in the area grew when his wife Taytu began work on a church on Entoto, and Menelik endowed a second church in the area. However the immediate area did not encourage the founding of a town due to the lack of <!--del_lnk--> firewood and <a href="../../wp/w/Water.htm" title="Water">water</a>, so settlement actually began in the valley south of the mountain in <!--del_lnk--> 1886. Initially, Taytu built a house for herself near the "Filwoha" hot <!--del_lnk--> mineral springs, known to the local <!--del_lnk--> Oromo people as <i>Finfinne</i>, where she and members of the Showan Royal Court liked to take mineral baths. Other nobility and their staffs and households settled the vicinity, and Menelik expanded his wife's house to become the <!--del_lnk--> Imperial Palace which remains the seat of government in Addis Ababa today. Addis Ababa became Ethiopia's capital when Menelik II became Emperor of Ethiopia. The town grew by leaps and bounds. One of Emperor Menelik's contributions that is still visible today is the planting of numerous <!--del_lnk--> eucalyptus trees along the city streets.<p>On <!--del_lnk--> 5 May <!--del_lnk--> 1936, <a href="../../wp/i/Italy.htm" title="Italy">Italian</a> troops occupied Addis Ababa during the <!--del_lnk--> Second Italo-Abyssinian War, making it the capital of <!--del_lnk--> Italian East Africa. Addis Ababa was governed by the <!--del_lnk--> Italian Governors of Addis Ababa from 1936 to 1939. After the Italian army in Ethiopia was frustrated by <!--del_lnk--> Ethiopian patriots, and hugely defeated with British help during the <!--del_lnk--> Liberation of Ethiopia, Emperor <!--del_lnk--> Haile Selassie returned to Addis Ababa on <!--del_lnk--> 5 May <!--del_lnk--> 1941—five years to the very day after he had departed—and immediately began the work of re-establishing his capital.<p>Emperor Haile Selassie helped form the <!--del_lnk--> Organization of African Unity in <!--del_lnk--> 1963, and invited the new organization to maintain its headquarters in the city. The OAU was dissolved in 2002 and replaced by the <a href="../../wp/a/African_Union.htm" title="African Union">African Union</a> (AU), also headquartered in Addis Ababa. The <!--del_lnk--> United Nations Economic Commission for Africa also has its headquarters in Addis Ababa. Addis Ababa was also the site of the <!--del_lnk--> Council of the Oriental Orthodox Churches in <!--del_lnk--> 1965.<p><a id="Demographics" name="Demographics"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Demographics</span></h2>
<p>Based on figures from the <!--del_lnk--> Central Statistical Agency of Ethiopia (CSA) published in 2005, Addis Ababa has an estimated total population of 2,973,004, consisting of 1,428,001 men and 1,545,003 women. The CSA estimated that presently there are no rural parts to the city, so 100% of the inhabitants are considered urban dwellers; Addis Ababa contains 24% of all urban dwellers in Ethiopia. With an estimated area of 530.14 square kilometers, this chartered city has an estimated density of 5,607.96 people per square kilometer.<p>These estimates are based on the 1994 census, in which the population of Addis Ababa was reported to be 2.3 million of which 28,149 lived in the rural parts of the city. 51.6% were females, while 48.4% were male.<p>Almost all ethnic groups are represented in Addis Ababa due to its position as capital of the country. The major ethnic groups represented are the <!--del_lnk--> Amharas (48.3%), <!--del_lnk--> Oromo (19.2%), <!--del_lnk--> Gurage (17.5%), and <!--del_lnk--> Tigrean (7.6%), while others constitute 7.4% of the population.<p>82% of the population are <!--del_lnk--> Orthodox Christians, 12.7% <!--del_lnk--> Muslims, 3.9% <!--del_lnk--> Protestants, 0.8% <!--del_lnk--> Catholics, and 0.6% followers of other religions (<!--del_lnk--> Hindus, <a href="../../wp/j/Jew.htm" title="Jew">Jews</a>, <!--del_lnk--> Bahais, <!--del_lnk--> Jehovah's Witnesses, <!--del_lnk--> Agnostics, etc.).<p><a id="Economy" name="Economy"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Economy</span></h2>
<p>The CSA of Ethiopia estimated in 2005 that farmers in Addis Ababa had a total 20,700 head of cattle (representing less than 0.1% of Ethiopia's total cattle), 7,900 sheep (less than 0.1%), 3,150 goats (less than 0.1%), 380 horses (less than 0.1%), 270 mules (0.18%), 4,780 donkeys (0.19%), 21,420 poultry of all species (less than 0.1%), and 170 beehives (less than 0.1%).<p><a id="Other_features" name="Other_features"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Other features</span></h2>
<p>Addis Ababa is the headquarters of the <!--del_lnk--> United Nations Economic Commission for Africa and the <a href="../../wp/a/African_Union.htm" title="African Union">African Union</a>. The fossilized skeleton, and a plaster replica of the early hominid <!--del_lnk--> Lucy (known in Ethiopia as <i>Dinkinesh</i>) is preserved at the <!--del_lnk--> Ethiopian National Museum in Addis Ababa.<p>The city is home to the <!--del_lnk--> Ethiopian National Library, the <!--del_lnk--> Ethiopian Ethnological Museum (and former <!--del_lnk--> palace), the <!--del_lnk--> Addis Ababa Museum, the <!--del_lnk--> Ethiopian Natural History Museum, the <!--del_lnk--> Ethiopian Railway Museum and the <!--del_lnk--> National Postal Museum.<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/231/23131.jpg.htm" title="Hager Fikir Theatre Addis Ababa (April 2006)"><img alt="Hager Fikir Theatre Addis Ababa (April 2006)" height="188" longdesc="/wiki/Image:HagerFikirTheatre.jpg" src="../../images/231/23131.jpg" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/231/23131.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Hager Fikir Theatre Addis Ababa (April 2006)</div>
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<p>Notable buildings include <!--del_lnk--> St George's Cathedral (founded in <!--del_lnk--> 1896 and also home to a <!--del_lnk--> museum), <!--del_lnk--> Holy Trinity Cathedral (once the largest <!--del_lnk--> Ethiopian Orthodox Cathedral and the location of to <!--del_lnk--> Sylvia Pankhurst's tomb) as well as the burial place of Emperor <!--del_lnk--> Haile Selassie and the Imperial family, and those who fought the Italians during the war. There is also <!--del_lnk--> Menelik's old Imperial palace which remains the official seat of government, and the <!--del_lnk--> National Palace formerly known as the Jubilee Palace (built to mark Emperor Haile Selassie's Silver Jubilee in <!--del_lnk--> 1955) which is the residence of the President of Ethiopia. The <!--del_lnk--> Hager Fikir Theatre, the oldest theatre in Ethiopia, is located at the Piazza district. <!--del_lnk--> Africa Hall is located across Menelik II avenue from this Palace and is where the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa is headquartered as well as most UN offices in Ethiopia. It is also the site of the founding of the Organization for African Unity (OAU) which eventually became the <a href="../../wp/a/African_Union.htm" title="African Union">African Union</a>. Near Holy Trinity Cathedral is the Parliament building, built during the reign of Emperor Haile Selassie, with its clock tower. It continues to serve as the seat of Parliament today. Across from the Parliament is the Shengo Hall, built by the <!--del_lnk--> Derg regime of <!--del_lnk--> Mengistu Haile Mariam as its new parliament hall. The Shengo Hall was the world's largest pre-fabricated building, which was constructed in <a href="../../wp/f/Finland.htm" title="Finland">Finland</a> before being assembled in Addis Ababa. It is used for large meetings and conventions. Near Bole International Airport is the new Medhane Alem (Savior of the World) Cathedral, which is the second largest in Africa. In the Merkato district, which happens to be the largest open market in Africa, is the impressive Anwar Mosque. The Roman Catholic Cathedral of the Holy Family is also in the Merkato district.<p>Other features of the city include the large <!--del_lnk--> Merkato <a href="../../wp/m/Market.htm" title="Market">market</a>, the <!--del_lnk--> Jan Meda Race Ground <!--del_lnk--> racecourse, <!--del_lnk--> Bihere Tsige Recreation Centre and a <!--del_lnk--> railway line to <a href="../../wp/d/Djibouti.htm" title="Djibouti">Djibouti</a>. Sport facilities include <!--del_lnk--> Addis Ababa and <!--del_lnk--> Nyala Stadiums. The <!--del_lnk--> Entoto Mountains start among the northern suburbs. Suburbs of the city include <!--del_lnk--> Shiro Meda and <!--del_lnk--> Entoto in the north, <!--del_lnk--> Urael and <!--del_lnk--> Bole (home to Bole International Airport) in the east, <!--del_lnk--> Nifas Silk in the south-east, <!--del_lnk--> Mekanisa in the south, and <!--del_lnk--> Keraniyo and <!--del_lnk--> Kolfe in the west.<p><a id="Transportation" name="Transportation"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Transportation</span></h2>
<p>Public transportation is through public <!--del_lnk--> buses or blue and white <!--del_lnk--> share taxis, locally known as "blue donkeys". The taxis are usually <!--del_lnk--> minibuses that can sit at least twelve people. Two people are responsible for each taxi, the driver and a <i><!--del_lnk--> weyala</i> who collects fares and calls out the taxi's destination.<p>The city is served by <!--del_lnk--> Bole International Airport, where a new terminal opened in 2003. The old Lideta Airport in the western "Old Airport" district is used mostly by small craft and military planes and helicopters. Addis Ababa also has a <!--del_lnk--> railway connection with <!--del_lnk--> Djibouti City, with a picturesque French style railway station.<div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Addis_Ababa"</div>
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<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">Adelaide</h1>
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<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.Geography.Geography_of_Oceania_Australasia.htm">Geography of Oceania (Australasia)</a></h3>
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<td colspan="2" style="margin-left: inherit; background:#F9F6D2; font-size: 1.5em; text-align:center"><b>Adelaide</b><br /><span style="font-size: small;"><!--del_lnk--> South Australia</span></td>
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<td colspan="2" style="text-align: center;"><a class="image" href="../../images/163/16334.png.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="211" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Adelaide_locator-MJC.png" src="../../images/163/16334.png" width="250" /></a><br />
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<td bgcolor="#F0F0FF"><b><!--del_lnk--> Population:</b><br /> • <!--del_lnk--> Density:</td>
<td>1,124,315 (<!--del_lnk--> 5th)<br /> 615/km²</td>
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<td bgcolor="#F0F0FF"><b>Established:</b></td>
<td>1836</td>
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<td bgcolor="#F0F0FF"><b><!--del_lnk--> Area:</b></td>
<td>1,826.9 km²</td>
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<td bgcolor="#F0F0FF"><b>Location:</b></td>
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<ul>
<li>729 <!--del_lnk--> km from <a href="../../wp/m/Melbourne.htm" title="Melbourne">Melbourne</a><li>1,408 <!--del_lnk--> km from <a href="../../wp/s/Sydney.htm" title="Sydney">Sydney</a><li>2,700 <!--del_lnk--> km from <a href="../../wp/p/Perth%252C_Western_Australia.htm" title="Perth, Western Australia">Perth</a></ul>
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<p><b>Adelaide</b> is the <!--del_lnk--> capital and most populous city of the <a href="../../wp/a/Australia.htm" title="Australia">Australian</a> <!--del_lnk--> state of <!--del_lnk--> South Australia, and is the fifth largest city in Australia, with a population of over 1.1 million. It is a coastal city beside the <a href="../../wp/s/Southern_Ocean.htm" title="Southern Ocean">Southern Ocean</a>, and is situated on the <!--del_lnk--> Adelaide Plains, north of the <!--del_lnk--> Fleurieu Peninsula, between the <!--del_lnk--> Gulf St. Vincent and the low-lying <!--del_lnk--> Mount Lofty Ranges. It is roughly a <!--del_lnk--> linear city: it is 20 km from the coast to the foothills, but it stretches 90 km from <!--del_lnk--> Gawler at its northern extent to <!--del_lnk--> Sellicks Beach in the south.<p>Named in honour of <!--del_lnk--> Queen Adelaide, the <!--del_lnk--> consort of <a href="../../wp/w/William_IV_of_the_United_Kingdom.htm" title="William IV of the United Kingdom">King William IV</a>, the city was founded in 1836 as the <!--del_lnk--> planned capital for the only freely-settled British <!--del_lnk--> province in Australia. <!--del_lnk--> Colonel William Light, one of Adelaide's founding fathers, designed the city and chose its location close to the <!--del_lnk--> River Torrens. Inspired by <!--del_lnk--> William Penn, Light's design set out Adelaide in a grid layout, interspaced by wide boulevards and large public squares, and entirely surrounded by <!--del_lnk--> parkland. Early Adelaide was shaped by religious freedom and a commitment to political <!--del_lnk--> progressivism and civil liberties, which led to world-first reforms. Adelaidean society remained largely <!--del_lnk--> puritan up until the 1970s, when a set of social reforms under the <!--del_lnk--> premiership of <!--del_lnk--> Don Dunstan resulted in a cultural revival. Today Adelaide is known for its many <!--del_lnk--> festivals as well as for its wine, arts and sports.<p>As South Australia's seat of government and commercial centre, Adelaide is the site of many governmental and financial institutions. Most of these are concentrated in the city centre along the cultural boulevard of <!--del_lnk--> North Terrace and in various districts of the metropolitan area.<p>
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</script><a id="History" name="History"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">History</span></h2>
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<p>Prior to European settlement, the Adelaide area was inhabited by the <!--del_lnk--> Kaurna <!--del_lnk--> Aboriginal tribe (pronounced "Garner" or "Gowna") Acknowledged Kaurna country comprised the Adelaide Plains and surrounding regions - from <!--del_lnk--> Cape Jervis in the south, and to <!--del_lnk--> Port Wakefield in the north. Among their unique customs were burn-offs (controlled <!--del_lnk--> bushfires) in the Adelaide Hills which the early Europeans spotted before the Kaurna people were pushed out by settlement. By 1852, the total population (by census count) of the Kaurna was 650 in the Adelaide region and steadily decreasing. During the winter months, they moved into the <!--del_lnk--> Adelaide hills for better shelter and firewood. <div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:272px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/163/16335.jpg.htm" title="Adelaide in 1839, looking south-east from North Terrace"><img alt="Adelaide in 1839, looking south-east from North Terrace" height="214" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Adelaide_North_Tce_1839.jpg" src="../../images/163/16335.jpg" width="270" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/163/16335.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Adelaide in 1839, looking south-east from <!--del_lnk--> North Terrace</div>
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<p>South Australia was officially settled as a new <a href="../../wp/u/United_Kingdom.htm" title="United Kingdom">British</a> province on <!--del_lnk--> December 28, <!--del_lnk--> 1836. This day is now commemorated as a <!--del_lnk--> public holiday, <!--del_lnk--> Proclamation Day, in South Australia. The site of the colony's capital city was surveyed and laid out by Colonel <!--del_lnk--> William Light, the first Surveyor-General of South Australia. Light chose, not without opposition, a site on rising ground close to the River Torrens, which became the chief early water supply for the fledgling colony. "<!--del_lnk--> Light's Vision", as it has been termed, has meant that the initial design of Adelaide required little modification as the city grew and prospered. Usually in an older city it would be necessary to accommodate larger roads and add parks, whereas Adelaide had them from the start. Adelaide was established as the centre of a <!--del_lnk--> planned colony of free immigrants, promising civil liberties and freedom from religious persecution, and does not share the <!--del_lnk--> convict settlement history of other Australian cities like <a href="../../wp/s/Sydney.htm" title="Sydney">Sydney</a> and <!--del_lnk--> Hobart.<p>Adelaide's early history was wrought by economic uncertainty and incompetent leadership. The first governor of South Australia, <!--del_lnk--> Hindmarsh, clashed frequently with Col. Light. The rural area surrounding Adelaide city was surveyed by Light in preparation to sell a total of over 405 km² of land. Adelaide's early economy started to get on its feet in 1838 with the arrival of livestock from <!--del_lnk--> New South Wales and <!--del_lnk--> Tasmania. The wool industry served as an early basis for the South Australian economy. Light's survey was completed in this period, and land was promptly offered to sale to early colonists. Wheat farms ranged from <!--del_lnk--> Encounter Bay in the south to <!--del_lnk--> Clare in the north by 1860. <!--del_lnk--> Governor Gawler took over from Hindmarsh in late 1838 and promptly oversaw construction of a governor's house, <!--del_lnk--> gaol, police barracks, hospital, and customs house and a wharf at <!--del_lnk--> Port Adelaide. In addition houses for public officials and missionaries, and outstations for police and surveyors were also constructed during Gawler's governorship. Adelaide had also become economically self-sufficient during this period but at heavy cost: the colony was heavily in <!--del_lnk--> debt and relied on bail-outs from London to stay afloat. Gawler was recalled and replaced by <!--del_lnk--> Governor Grey in 1841. Grey slashed public expenditure against heavy opposition, yet its impact was negligible at this point: Silver was discovered in <!--del_lnk--> Glen Osmond that year, agricultural industries were well underway and other mines sprung up all over the state, aiding Adelaide's commercial development. The city exported meat, wool, wine, fruit and wheat by the time Grey left in 1845, contrasting with a low point in 1842 when one-third of Adelaide houses were abandoned.<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:282px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/163/16336.jpg.htm" title="Adelaide General Post Office in 1950"><img alt="Adelaide General Post Office in 1950" height="198" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Adelaide_town_hall_1950.jpg" src="../../images/163/16336.jpg" width="280" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/163/16336.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Adelaide General Post Office in 1950</div>
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<p>Trade links with the rest of the Australian states were established with the <a href="../../wp/m/Murray_River.htm" title="Murray River">Murray River</a> being successfully navigated in 1853 by Francis Cadell, an Adelaide resident. Adelaide saw South Australia become a <!--del_lnk--> self-governing colony in 1856 with the <!--del_lnk--> ratification of a new <!--del_lnk--> constitution by the British parliament. <!--del_lnk--> Secret ballots were introduced, and a <!--del_lnk--> bicameral parliament was elected on 9 March 1857, by which time 109,917 people lived in the province. In 1860 the Thorndon Park reservoir was opened, finally providing an alternative water source to the <!--del_lnk--> turbid River Torrens. In 1867 gas <!--del_lnk--> street lighting was implemented, the <!--del_lnk--> University of Adelaide was founded in 1874, the <!--del_lnk--> South Australian Art Gallery opened in 1881 and the <!--del_lnk--> Happy Valley Reservoir opened in 1896. In the 1890s Australia was affected by a severe <!--del_lnk--> economic depression, ending a hectic era of land booms and tumultuous expansionism. Financial institutions in <a href="../../wp/m/Melbourne.htm" title="Melbourne">Melbourne</a> and banks in <a href="../../wp/s/Sydney.htm" title="Sydney">Sydney</a> closed. The national <!--del_lnk--> fertility rate fell and immigration was reduced to a trickle. The value of South Australia's exports nearly halved. <a href="../../wp/d/Drought.htm" title="Drought">Drought</a> and poor harvests from 1884 compounded the problems with some families leaving for <!--del_lnk--> Western Australia. Adelaide was not as badly hit as the larger gold-rush cities of Sydney and Melbourne, and silver and <a href="../../wp/l/Lead.htm" title="Lead">lead</a> discoveries at <!--del_lnk--> Broken Hill provided some relief. Only one year of <!--del_lnk--> deficit was recorded but the price paid was retrenchments and lean public spending. <a href="../../wp/w/Wine.htm" title="Wine">Wine</a> and copper were the only industries not to suffer a downturn.<p>Electric street lighting was introduced in 1900 and electric <!--del_lnk--> trams were transporting passengers in 1909. 28,000 men were sent to fight in <a href="../../wp/w/World_War_I.htm" title="World War I">World War I</a>. Adelaide enjoyed a post-war boom but, with the return of droughts, entered the <!--del_lnk--> depression of the 1930s, later returning to prosperity under strong government leadership. <!--del_lnk--> Secondary industries helped reduce the state's dependence on <!--del_lnk--> primary industries. The 1933 census recorded the state population at 580,949, less of an increase than other states due to the state's economic limitations. <a href="../../wp/w/World_War_II.htm" title="World War II">World War II</a> brought industrial stimulus and diversification to Adelaide under the <!--del_lnk--> Playford Government, which advocated Adelaide as a safe place for manufacturing due to its less vulnerable location. 70,000 men and women enlisted and shipbuilding was expanded at the nearby port of <!--del_lnk--> Whyalla.<p>The South Australian Government in this period built on former wartime manufacturing industries. International manufacturers like General Motors <!--del_lnk--> Holden and Chrysler make use of these factories around Adelaide completing its transformation from an agricultural service centre to a twentieth-century city. A pipeline from <!--del_lnk--> Mannum brought <!--del_lnk--> River Murray water to Adelaide in 1954 and an international <!--del_lnk--> airport opened at <!--del_lnk--> West Beach in 1955. An assisted migration scheme brought 215,000 immigrants of all nationalities to South Australia between 1947 and 1973. The Dunstan Government in the 1970s saw something of an Adelaide 'cultural revival' - establishing a wide array of social reforms and overseeing the city becoming a centre of the arts. Adelaide hosted the <!--del_lnk--> Australian Grand Prix between 1985 and 1996 on a street circuit in the city's east parklands, before losing it in a controversial move to Melbourne. The 1992 <!--del_lnk--> State Bank collapse plunged both Adelaide and South Australia into economic recession, and its effects can still be felt today. Recent years have seen the <!--del_lnk--> Clipsal 500 <!--del_lnk--> V8 Supercar race make use of sections of the former Formula One circuit and renewed economic confidence under the <!--del_lnk--> Rann Government.<p><a id="Geography" name="Geography"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Geography</span></h2>
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<div style="width:138px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/163/16338.jpg.htm" title="Satellite image of Adelaide"><img alt="Satellite image of Adelaide" height="340" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Satellite_image_of_Adelaide_South_Australia.jpg" src="../../images/163/16338.jpg" width="136" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">Satellite image of Adelaide</div>
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<p>Adelaide is located north of the Fleurieu Peninsula, on the Adelaide plains between the Gulf St Vincent and the low-lying Mount Lofty Ranges. The city stretches from the town of Gawler at its northernmost point to <!--del_lnk--> Aldinga in the south. According to the <!--del_lnk--> Australian Bureau of Statistics, the Adelaide Metropolitan Region has a total land area of 870 km², and is at an average elevation of 50 metres above sea level. <!--del_lnk--> Mount Lofty is located east of the Adelaide metropolitan region in the <!--del_lnk--> Adelaide Hills at an elevation of 727 metres. It is the tallest point in the state south of <!--del_lnk--> Burra.<p>Much of Adelaide was bushland before European settlement, with some variation - swamps and marshlands were prevalent around the coast. However, much of the original vegetation has been cleared with what is left to be found in reserves such as the Adelaide Parklands, <!--del_lnk--> Cleland Conservation Park and <!--del_lnk--> Belair National Park. A number of creeks and rivers flow through the Adelaide region. The largest are the Torrens and <!--del_lnk--> Onkaparinga catchments. Adelaide relies on its many reservoirs for water supply, with <!--del_lnk--> Mount Bold Reservoir and Happy Valley Reservoir together supplying around 50% of Adelaide's requirements.<p><a id="Climate" name="Climate"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Climate</span></h3>
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<dd>
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<p>Adelaide has a <!--del_lnk--> Mediterranean climate, where most of the rain falls in the winter months. Of the Australian capital cities, Adelaide is the driest. Rainfall is unreliable, light and infrequent throughout summer. In contrast, the winter has fairly reliable rainfall with June being the wettest month of the year, averaging around 80 mm. <!--del_lnk--> Frosts are rare, with the most notable occurrences having occurred in July 1908 and July 1982. There is usually no appreciable <a href="../../wp/s/Snow.htm" title="Snow">snowfall</a>, except at Mount Lofty and some places in the Adelaide Hills.<table class="wikitable" style="width: 75%; margin: 0 auto 0 auto;">
<caption><b>Climate Table</b></caption>
<tr>
<th>
</th>
<th>Jan</th>
<th>Feb</th>
<th>Mar</th>
<th>Apr</th>
<th>May</th>
<th>Jun</th>
<th>Jul</th>
<th>Aug</th>
<th>Sep</th>
<th>Oct</th>
<th>Nov</th>
<th>Dec</th>
<th>Year</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Mean daily maximum temperature (<!--del_lnk--> °C)</th>
<td>28.8</td>
<td>29.4</td>
<td>26.1</td>
<td>22.4</td>
<td>18.9</td>
<td>16.1</td>
<td>15.3</td>
<td>16.5</td>
<td>18.8</td>
<td>21.5</td>
<td>24.8</td>
<td>26.8</td>
<td>22.1</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Mean daily minimum temperature (°C)</th>
<td>16.8</td>
<td>17.2</td>
<td>15.0</td>
<td>12.2</td>
<td>10.1</td>
<td>8.2</td>
<td>7.4</td>
<td>8.2</td>
<td>9.6</td>
<td>11.3</td>
<td>13.8</td>
<td>15.5</td>
<td>12.1</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Mean total rainfall (<!--del_lnk--> mm)</th>
<td>19.2</td>
<td>13.7</td>
<td>26.2</td>
<td>38.7</td>
<td>62.6</td>
<td>83.1</td>
<td>77.8</td>
<td>68.1</td>
<td>63.6</td>
<td>48.5</td>
<td>29.6</td>
<td>26.8</td>
<td>558.1</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Mean number of rain days</th>
<td>4.3</td>
<td>3.4</td>
<td>5.7</td>
<td>7.9</td>
<td>12.3</td>
<td>15.4</td>
<td>16.2</td>
<td>16.4</td>
<td>13.2</td>
<td>10.8</td>
<td>8.1</td>
<td>6.7</td>
<td>120.5</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="15" style="text-align: center;"><small><b>Source:</b> <!--del_lnk--> Bureau of Meteorology</small></td>
</tr>
</table>
<p><a id="Urban_layout" name="Urban_layout"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Urban layout</span></h3>
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<div style="width:138px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/163/16339.png.htm" title="1888 Map of Adelaide, showing the gradual development of its urban layout"><img alt="1888 Map of Adelaide, showing the gradual development of its urban layout" height="201" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Karte_Adelaide_MKL1888.png" src="../../images/163/16339.png" width="136" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/163/16339.png.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> 1888 Map of Adelaide, showing the gradual development of its urban layout</div>
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</div>
<p>Adelaide is a planned city, designed by the first surveyor-general of South Australia, Colonel <!--del_lnk--> William Light. His plan, now known as <b>Light's Vision</b>, arranged Adelaide in a grid, with five squares in the inner City of Adelaide and a ring of parks known as the Adelaide Parklands surrounding it. Light's design was initially unpopular with the early settlers, as well as South Australia's first Governor, John Hindmarsh. Light persisted with his design against this initial opposition. The benefits of Light's design are numerous; Adelaide has had wide multi-lane roads from its beginning, an easily-navigable grid layout and a beautiful green ring around the city centre. There are two sets of 'ring roads' in Adelaide that have resulted from the original design. The inner ring route borders the parklands and the outer route completely bypasses the inner city through (in clockwise order) <!--del_lnk--> Grand Junction Road, Hampstead Road, Ascot Avenue, <!--del_lnk--> Portrush Road, Cross Road and <!--del_lnk--> South Road. <p>The inevitable urban expansion has to some extent outgrown Light's original plan. Numerous satellite cities were built in the latter half of the 20th century, notably <!--del_lnk--> Salisbury and <!--del_lnk--> Elizabeth on the city's northern fringes, which have now been enveloped by its <!--del_lnk--> urban sprawl. New developments in the Adelaide Hills region facilitated the construction of the <!--del_lnk--> South Eastern Freeway to cope with growth. Similarly, the booming development in Adelaide's <!--del_lnk--> South made the construction of the <!--del_lnk--> Southern Expressway a necessity. New roads are not the only transport infrastrure developed to cope with the urban growth, however. The <!--del_lnk--> O-Bahn Busway is an example of a unique solution to <!--del_lnk--> Tea Tree Gully's transport woes in the 1980s. The development of the nearby suburb of <!--del_lnk--> Golden Grove in the late 1980s is possibly an example of well-thought-out urban planning. The newer urban areas as a whole, however, are not as integrated into the urban layout as much as older areas, and therefore place more stress on Adelaide's transportation system – although not on a level comparable with <a href="../../wp/m/Melbourne.htm" title="Melbourne">Melbourne</a> or <a href="../../wp/s/Sydney.htm" title="Sydney">Sydney</a>.<div class="center">
</div>
<p><a id="Governance" name="Governance"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Governance</span></h2>
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<dd>
</dl>
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<div style="width:282px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/163/16341.jpg.htm" title="Parliament House, Adelaide on North Terrace houses the Parliament of South Australia."><img alt="Parliament House, Adelaide on North Terrace houses the Parliament of South Australia." height="210" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Adelaide_parliament_house.JPG" src="../../images/163/16341.jpg" width="280" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/163/16341.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div><!--del_lnk--> Parliament House, Adelaide on North Terrace houses the <!--del_lnk--> Parliament of South Australia.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>The Adelaide metropolitan area is made up of eighteen <!--del_lnk--> local government areas, including, at its centre, the <!--del_lnk--> City of Adelaide, which administers the CBD, <!--del_lnk--> North Adelaide, and the surrounding <!--del_lnk--> Adelaide Parklands. It is the oldest <!--del_lnk--> municipal authority in Australia and was established in 1840, when Adelaide and Australia's first mayor, <!--del_lnk--> James Hurtle Fisher, was elected. From 1919 onwards, the City has had a <!--del_lnk--> Lord Mayor, the current being Lord Mayor <!--del_lnk--> Michael Harbison.<p>Adelaide, as the capital of South Australia, is the seat of the state <!--del_lnk--> Government of South Australia. As Adelaide is South Australia's capital and most populous city, the State Government co-operates extensively with the City of Adelaide. In 2002, the Ministry for the City of Adelaide was created to facilitate the state government's collaboration with the Adelaide City Council and the Lord Mayor to improve Adelaide's image. The state parliament's Capital City Committee is also involved in the governance of the City of Adelaide, being primarily concerned with the planning of Adelaide's urban development and growth.<p><a id="Demographics" name="Demographics"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Demographics</span></h2>
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<div style="width:282px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/163/16342.jpg.htm" title="Rundle Mall- Adelaide's main shopping street"><img alt="Rundle Mall- Adelaide's main shopping street" height="210" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Rundle_Mall.JPG" src="../../images/163/16342.jpg" width="280" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/163/16342.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Rundle Mall- Adelaide's main shopping street</div>
</div>
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<p>As of June 2004, Adelaide had a metropolitan population of more than 1,124,315, making it Australia's fifth largest city. In the 2002-2003 period the population grew by 0.6%, while the national average was 1.2%. Some 70.3% of the population of South Australia are residents of the Adelaide metropolitan area, making South Australia one of the most centralised states. Major areas of population growth in recent years were in outer suburbs such as <!--del_lnk--> Mawson Lakes and Golden Grove. Adelaide's inhabitants occupy 325,000 houses, 57,000 detached, row terrace or town houses and 49,000 flats, apartments and caravans.<p>Overseas-born Adelaideans composed 24.6% (242,092) of the total population. The North-Eastern Suburbs (such as Golden Grove and Salisbury) and suburbs close to the CBD had a higher ratio of overseas-born residents. Wealthier and more well-educated Adelaideans are concentrated on the coastal suburbs (such as <!--del_lnk--> Brighton and <!--del_lnk--> Hallett Cove) and South-Eastern suburbs (such as <!--del_lnk--> Burnside and <!--del_lnk--> Waterfall Gully). Almost a fifth (17.9%) of the population had university qualifications. The number of Adelaideans with vocational qualifications (such as tradespersons) fell from 62.1% of the labour force in the 1991 census to 52.4% in the 2001 census.<p>Overall, Adelaide is ageing much more rapidly than other Australian capital cities. Just under a quarter (24.1%) of Adelaide's population is aged 55 years or older, in comparison to the national average of 19.9%. To further compound the situation, Adelaide has the lowest number of children (under-15 year olds), which composed 18.7% of the population, compared to the national average of 20.4%. In regards to three highest ancestries, 38% of the population identified themselves as <!--del_lnk--> English, 34% as Australian (most likely primarily of <!--del_lnk--> Anglo-Celtic background) and 8.4% as <a href="../../wp/i/Irish_people.htm" title="Irish people">Irish</a>. The most-spoken languages other than <a href="../../wp/a/Australian_English.htm" title="Australian English">English</a> were: 3.5% <!--del_lnk--> Italian, 2.3% <!--del_lnk--> Greek, 1.2% <!--del_lnk--> Vietnamese, 0.7% <!--del_lnk--> Polish and 0.7% <!--del_lnk--> German. <p><a id="Economy" name="Economy"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Economy</span></h2>
<p>Adelaide's economy is primarily based around manufacturing, defence technology and research, commodity export and corresponding service industries. It has large <a href="../../wp/m/Manufacturing.htm" title="Manufacturing">manufacturing</a>, <!--del_lnk--> defence and <!--del_lnk--> research <!--del_lnk--> zones. They contain car manufacturing plants for <!--del_lnk--> General Motors Holden and <!--del_lnk--> Mitsubishi, and plants for medical equipment and <!--del_lnk--> electronic component production. Almost half of all cars produced in Australia are made in Adelaide. The global media conglomerate <!--del_lnk--> News Corporation was founded in and until 2004 incorporated in Adelaide and is still considered its 'spiritual' home by <!--del_lnk--> Rupert Murdoch. Australia's largest oil company, <!--del_lnk--> Santos (South Australia Northern Territory Oil Search) and the prominent South Australian brewery, <!--del_lnk--> Coopers, call Adelaide their home. The collapse of the <!--del_lnk--> State Bank in 1992 resulted in large levels of state <!--del_lnk--> debt (as much as A$4 billion). The collapse had meant that successive governments had enacted lean budgets, cutting <!--del_lnk--> spending, which had been a setback to the further <!--del_lnk--> development of the city and state. The debt has recently been reduced with the State Government once again receiving a AAA+ Credit Rating. The South Australian economy, very closely tied to Adelaide's, still enjoys a trade surplus and has higher per capita growth than Australia as a whole. <div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:282px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/163/16344.jpg.htm" title="The Adelaide-built Collins class submarine HMAS Rankin"><img alt="The Adelaide-built Collins class submarine HMAS Rankin" height="200" longdesc="/wiki/Image:HMAS_Rankin_SSK-78.jpg" src="../../images/163/16344.jpg" width="280" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/163/16344.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> The Adelaide-built Collins class submarine HMAS <i>Rankin</i></div>
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</div>
<p>Adelaide is home to a large proportion of Australia's defence industries which contribute over AUD$1 billion to South Australia's Gross State Product. 70% of Australian defence companies are located in Adelaide. The principal government military research institution, the <!--del_lnk--> Defence Science and Technology Organisation, and other defence technology organisations such as <!--del_lnk--> Tenix are located in Salisbury near <!--del_lnk--> RAAF Base Edinburgh and others near <!--del_lnk--> Technology Park. The <!--del_lnk--> Australian Submarine Corporation, based in the industrial suburb of <!--del_lnk--> Osborne was charged with constructing Australia's <!--del_lnk--> Collins class <!--del_lnk--> submarines <!--del_lnk--> and recently won a AUD$6 billion contract to construct the <!--del_lnk--> Royal Australian Navy's new air-warfare destroyers. <p>There are 466,829 employed people in Adelaide, with 62.3% full-time and 35.1% part-time. In recent years there has been a growing trend towards part-time (which includes casual) employment, increasing from only 11.6% of the workplace in 1991, to over a third today. 15% of workers are employed in manufacturing, 5% in construction, 15% in retail trade, 11% in business services, 7% in education and 12% in health and community services. The median weekly individual income for people aged 15 years and over is $300-$399 per week. The median family income is $800-$999 per week. Adelaide's housing and living costs are substantially lower than that of other Australian cities, with housing being notably cheaper. The median Adelaide house price is half that of <a href="../../wp/s/Sydney.htm" title="Sydney">Sydney</a> and two-thirds that of Melbourne. The unemployment rate in October 2005 was 4.8%. <p><a id="Education" name="Education"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Education</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:282px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/163/16345.jpg.htm" title="Art Gallery of South Australia"><img alt="Art Gallery of South Australia" height="210" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Art_Gallery_of_South_Australia.JPG" src="../../images/163/16345.jpg" width="280" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/163/16345.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Art Gallery of South Australia</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>Adelaide is home to campuses of all three of South Australia's universities. The <!--del_lnk--> University of Adelaide is a member of the <!--del_lnk--> Group of Eight and was founded in 1874, making it the third-oldest university in Australia. It has five campuses in the Adelaide area; one being its primary campus on North Terrace and another being the <!--del_lnk--> National Wine Centre. The <!--del_lnk--> University of South Australia was formed in 1991 from a merger between the South Australian Institute of Technology and the South Australian Colleges of Advanced Education. Four of its five campuses are located in Adelaide, with two in the CBD itself. <!--del_lnk--> Flinders University, located in <!--del_lnk--> Bedford Park is named after British navigator and explorer <!--del_lnk--> Matthew Flinders and was founded in 1966. It is a mid-sized institution with a medical school at the adjacent <!--del_lnk--> Flinders Medical Centre. Leading US private university <!--del_lnk--> Carnegie Mellon is to establish two Adelaide campuses in 2006 offering both Australian and US <!--del_lnk--> degrees. The Heinz School will specialise in <!--del_lnk--> IT and government management and be based in <!--del_lnk--> Victoria Square, while another campus at <!--del_lnk--> Light Square will specialise in new media and entertainment . These institutions attract students from across Australia and around the world, earning Adelaide’s international recognition as a <!--del_lnk--> ‘City of Education’.<p>School education in Adelaide is provided by a variety of public and private schools, which are the responsibility of the State Government. These schools operate under the <!--del_lnk--> South Australian Certificate of Education (SACE), or with the <!--del_lnk--> International Baccalaureate(IB) Diploma Program. Adelaide has the highest number of IB schools in Australia. The <!--del_lnk--> Tertiary education system in Adelaide is extensive, with five out of eight centres of <!--del_lnk--> TAFE South Australia in the city itself, including the Douglas Mawson institute of Technology. They specialise in non-university higher education offering a viable alternative.<p><a id="Culture" name="Culture"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Culture</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:282px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/163/16347.jpg.htm" title="St. Peters Cathedral, Adelaide"><img alt="St. Peters Cathedral, Adelaide" height="210" longdesc="/wiki/Image:St_Peters_Cathedral.JPG" src="../../images/163/16347.jpg" width="280" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/163/16347.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> St. Peters Cathedral, Adelaide</div>
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</div>
<p>Adelaide is sometimes referred to as the "City of Churches." From its earliest, Adelaide attracted <!--del_lnk--> immigrants from many countries, particularly <!--del_lnk--> German migrants escaping religious persecution. They brought with them the <!--del_lnk--> vine cuttings that founded the acclaimed wineries of the <!--del_lnk--> Barossa Valley. After the <a href="../../wp/w/World_War_II.htm" title="World War II">Second World War</a>, <!--del_lnk--> Italians, <!--del_lnk--> Greeks, <!--del_lnk--> Dutch, <!--del_lnk--> Poles, and possibly every other European nationality came to make a new start. An influx of Asian immigrants following the <a href="../../wp/v/Vietnam_War.htm" title="Vietnam War">Vietnam War</a> added to the mix. These new arrivals have blended to form a rich and diverse cuisine and vibrant restaurant culture.<p>Adelaide's <!--del_lnk--> arts scene flourished in the 1970s under the leadership of premier Don Dunstan, removing some of the more puritanical restrictions on cultural activities then prevalent around Australia. Now the city is home to events such as the Barossa Music Festival, the <!--del_lnk--> Adelaide Festival of Arts, <!--del_lnk--> Adelaide Film Festival, <!--del_lnk--> Adelaide Festival of Ideas, <!--del_lnk--> Come Out Youth Arts Festival, and the <!--del_lnk--> Fringe Festival, among others. <!--del_lnk--> WOMADelaide, Australia's premier <!--del_lnk--> world music event, is now annually held in the scenic surrounds of <!--del_lnk--> Botanic Park, emphasising Adelaide's dedication to the arts which has prevailed since the days of Don Dunstan.<p>The annual <!--del_lnk--> Royal Adelaide Show, first held in 1840, began as a simple event for the state's farmers to show off their produce. Over time, it grew into a more general commercial <!--del_lnk--> fair held in early September in the inner suburb of <!--del_lnk--> Wayville, with <!--del_lnk--> carnival rides, food and entertainment surrounding the more traditional agricultural exhibitions and competitions.<p>The <!--del_lnk--> music of Adelaide has produced various musicians who have achieved both national and worldwide fame. Notably the <!--del_lnk--> Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, the <!--del_lnk--> Adelaide Youth Orchestra, <!--del_lnk--> The Mark of Cain, <!--del_lnk--> The Superjesus, <!--del_lnk--> Testeagles, <!--del_lnk--> The Angels, <!--del_lnk--> Cold Chisel and <!--del_lnk--> Eric Bogle. American artist <!--del_lnk--> Ben Folds considers Adelaide his second home, epitomised in his song "Adelaide" and resides here with his Adelaide-born wife for a number of months each year. The first <!--del_lnk--> Australian Idol winner, <!--del_lnk--> Guy Sebastian hails from the Adelaide suburb of Golden Grove. Hardcore metal band <!--del_lnk--> I Killed the Prom Queen also emerged from Adelaide and the popular Australian hip-hop outfit <!--del_lnk--> Hilltop Hoods come from <!--del_lnk--> Blackwood.<h3> <span class="mw-headline">Sport</span></h3>
<p>Adelaide hosted the <!--del_lnk--> Formula 1 <!--del_lnk--> Australian Grand Prix from 1985 to 1995 on a <!--del_lnk--> street circuit in the city's eastern parklands. The Grand Prix became a source of pride and losing the Grand Prix to Melbourne in a surprise announcement left a void that has since been filled with the highly successful <!--del_lnk--> Clipsal 500 <!--del_lnk--> V8 Supercar race event, held on a modified version of the same street circuit.<p>Adelaide is the home of two <!--del_lnk--> Australian Football League teams: the <!--del_lnk--> Adelaide Crows and <!--del_lnk--> Port Adelaide Power. A local <a href="../../wp/a/Australian_rules_football.htm" title="Australian rules football">Australian rules football</a> league, the <!--del_lnk--> SANFL, is made up of nine teams from around Adelaide. Adelaide's professional <a href="../../wp/f/Football_%2528soccer%2529.htm" title="Football (soccer)">soccer</a> team <!--del_lnk--> Adelaide United play in the <!--del_lnk--> A-League, at <!--del_lnk--> Hindmarsh Stadium, one of the few purpose built soccer stadiums in Australia. The <!--del_lnk--> Adelaide 36ers and the <!--del_lnk--> Adelaide Lightning play in national basketball competitions, with home games at the Distinctive Homes Dome and the <!--del_lnk--> Adelaide Thunderbirds play in the national netball competition, with home games at <!--del_lnk--> ETSA Park. Most large sporting events take place at either <!--del_lnk--> AAMI Stadium (formerly Football Park) or the historic <!--del_lnk--> Adelaide Oval, home of the <!--del_lnk--> Southern Redbacks Cricket Team. Adelaide hosts an international cricket test every summer, along with a number of <!--del_lnk--> one day international cricket matches.<p>Adelaide has hosted the annual <!--del_lnk--> Tour Down Under bicycle race since 1999, an event which has gradually built an international reputation with each successive year it has been held. It is also host to the popular <!--del_lnk--> Bay to Birdwood run, featuring vintage and veteran cars from around the world.<p><a id="Infrastructure" name="Infrastructure"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Infrastructure</span></h2>
<p><a id="Health" name="Health"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Health</span></h3>
<p>Adelaide's first hospital was the <!--del_lnk--> Royal Adelaide Hospital (RAH), founded in 1840, it is one of the major hospitals in Adelaide and is a <!--del_lnk--> teaching hospital of the <!--del_lnk--> University of Adelaide. It has a capacity of 705 beds. Two other RAH campuses specialising in specific patient services located in the suburbs of Adelaide - the Hampstead Rehabilitation Centre in <!--del_lnk--> Northfield, and the <!--del_lnk--> Glenside Campus Mental Health Service. The other three largest hospitals in the Adelaide area are <!--del_lnk--> The Women's and Children's Hospital (305 beds), which is located on King William Road in North Adelaide; the <!--del_lnk--> Queen Elizabeth Hospital (340 beds), located in <!--del_lnk--> Woodville and the Flinders Medical Centre (500 beds), which is located in Bedford Park. These hospitals are also associated with medical schools - the Women and Children's and Queen Elizabeth with the <!--del_lnk--> University of Adelaide and the Flinders Medical Centre with Flinders University.<p><a id="Transport" name="Transport"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Transport</span></h3>
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<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:282px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/202/20254.jpg.htm" title="The Mount Osmond Interchange on the South Eastern Freeway."><img alt="The Mount Osmond Interchange on the South Eastern Freeway." height="210" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Mountosmondinterechange_sefreeway.JPG" src="../../images/163/16349.jpg" width="280" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/202/20254.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> The <a href="../../wp/m/Mount_Osmond%252C_South_Australia.htm" title="Mount Osmond, South Australia">Mount Osmond</a> Interchange on the <!--del_lnk--> South Eastern Freeway.</div>
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</div>
<p>Being centrally located on the Australian mainland, Adelaide forms a strategic transport hub for east-west and north-south routes. The city itself has a limited <!--del_lnk--> public transport system, which is managed by and known as the <!--del_lnk--> Adelaide Metro. The Adelaide Metro consists of a contracted bus system including the <!--del_lnk--> O-Bahn Busway, <!--del_lnk--> metropolitan railways, and the Adelaide-<!--del_lnk--> Glenelg Tram. Road transport in Adelaide has historically been comparatively easier than many of the other Australian cities, with a well-defined city layout and wide multiple-lane roads from the beginning of its development. Historically, Adelaide was known as a "twenty-minute city", with commuters having being able to travel from metropolitan outskirts to the city proper in roughly twenty minutes. However, these roads are now inadequate to cope with Adelaide's growing road traffic.<p>Adelaide has one freeway, the <!--del_lnk--> South Eastern Freeway, connecting the city with the Adelaide Hills, and two expressways; the <!--del_lnk--> Port River Expressway connecting Port Adelaide and <!--del_lnk--> Outer Harbour to interstate routes and the <!--del_lnk--> Southern Expressway, an <!--del_lnk--> interchangeable one-way road connecting the southern suburbs with the city proper. A third expressway, the <!--del_lnk--> Northern Expressway (formerly the <!--del_lnk--> Sturt Highway extension), a northern suburbs bypass route, is due to start construction in 2008.<p><!--del_lnk--> Adelaide International Airport, located at <!--del_lnk--> West Beach, is Australia's newest and most advanced airport terminal and is designed to serve in excess of 5.8 million passengers annually. The new dual international/domestic terminal replaces the old and ageing terminals known locally as the 'tin sheds', and incorporates new state-of-the-art features, such as glass aerobridges and the ability to cater for the new <a href="../../wp/a/Airbus_A380.htm" title="Airbus A380">Airbus A380</a>. The airport is designed to handle 27 aircraft simultaneously and is capable of processing 3,000 passengers per hour. Unusually for a major city it is located only about seven kilometres (four miles) from the CBD.<p><a id="Utilities" name="Utilities"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Utilities</span></h3>
<p>Adelaide's energy requirements are met by a variety of companies who separately provide for the generation, transmission, distribution and retail sales of gas and electricity. Some of the major companies are: <!--del_lnk--> TRUenergy generate electricity; ElectraNET SA transmit electricity from the generators to the distribution network; ETSA Utilities (formerly a government-owned company which was privatised by the <!--del_lnk--> Olsen Government in the 1990s) distribute electricity from transmission companies to end users; and <!--del_lnk--> AGL who retail gas and electricity. There has been substantial criticism in recent years of the suburban electricity network due to its inability to cope with high-usage periods.<p>Adelaide derives most of its electricity from a gas-fired plant operated by TRUenergy at <!--del_lnk--> Torrens Island, and also by power stations at <!--del_lnk--> Port Augusta, Pelican Point, and connections to the national grid. Gas is mainly supplied from the <!--del_lnk--> Moomba Gas Processing Plant in the Cooper Basin, and is piped to Adelaide and other areas within the state. A small part of supply also comes from wind turbines at Sellicks Hill, and a trial of more turbines on city buildings is underway. <p>Adelaide's water supply is gained from its reservoirs: <!--del_lnk--> Mount Bold, <!--del_lnk--> Happy Valley, <!--del_lnk--> Myponga, <!--del_lnk--> Millbrook, <!--del_lnk--> Hope Valley, <!--del_lnk--> Little Para and <!--del_lnk--> South Para Reservoir. Further water demands result in the pumping of water from the <!--del_lnk--> River Murray. The provision of water services is by the government-owned <!--del_lnk--> SA Water.<div class="center">
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<div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adelaide"</div>
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<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">Adenosine triphosphate</h1>
<div id="bodyContent">
<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.Science.Chemistry.Chemical_compounds.htm">Chemical compounds</a></h3>
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<th align="center" colspan="2" style="border: 1px solid #C0C090; background-color: #F8EABA; margin-bottom: 3px;"><b>Adenosine 5'-triphosphate</b></th>
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<tr>
<td align="center" colspan="2"><a class="image" href="../../images/0/44.png.htm" title="Chemical structure of ATP"><img alt="Chemical structure of ATP" height="178" longdesc="/wiki/Image:ATP_chemical_structure.png" src="../../images/0/44.png" width="320" /></a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Chemical name<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br /></td>
<td>5-(6-aminopurin-9-yl)-3,4-dihydroxy-oxolan-2-yl<br /> methoxy-hydroxy-phosphoryl<br /> oxy-hydroxy-phosphory oxyphosphonic acid</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Abbreviations</td>
<td><b>ATP<br /></b></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Chemical formula</td>
<td>C<sub>10</sub>H<sub>16</sub>N<sub>5</sub>O<sub>13</sub>P<sub>3</sub></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Molecular mass</td>
<td>507.181 g mol<sup>-1</sup></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Melting point</td>
<td> ?</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Density</td>
<td> ?</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> p<i>K</i><sub>a</sub></td>
<td>6.5</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> CAS number</td>
<td>56-65-5</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> <b>EINECS</b></td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> 200-283-2</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> <b>PubChem</b></td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> 5957</td>
</tr>
</table>
</div>
<p><b>Adenosine 5'-triphosphate</b> (<b>ATP</b>), discovered in 1929 by Karl Lohmann, is a multifunctional <!--del_lnk--> nucleotide primarily known in <!--del_lnk--> biochemistry as the "<!--del_lnk--> molecular currency" of intracellular <a href="../../wp/e/Energy.htm" title="Energy">energy</a> transfer. In this role ATP transports chemical energy within <a href="../../wp/c/Cell_%2528biology%2529.htm" title="Cell (biology)">cells</a>. It is produced as an energy source during the processes of <a href="../../wp/p/Photosynthesis.htm" title="Photosynthesis">photosynthesis</a> and <!--del_lnk--> cellular respiration. The structure of this molecule consists of a <!--del_lnk--> purine base (<!--del_lnk--> adenine) attached to the 1' carbon atom of a <!--del_lnk--> pentose (<!--del_lnk--> ribose). Three phosphate groups are attached at the 5' carbon atom of the pentose. ATP is also one of four monomers (<!--del_lnk--> nucleotides) required for the synthesis of <!--del_lnk--> ribonucleic acids. Furthermore, in <!--del_lnk--> signal transduction pathways, ATP is used to provide the phosphate for <!--del_lnk--> protein kinase reactions.<p>
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</script><a id="Chemical_properties" name="Chemical_properties"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Chemical properties</span></h2>
<p>ATP consists of <!--del_lnk--> adenosine - itself composed of an <!--del_lnk--> adenine ring and a <!--del_lnk--> ribose sugar - and three <!--del_lnk--> phosphate groups (triphosphate). The phosphoryl groups, starting with the group closest to the ribose, are referred to as the alpha (α), beta (β), and gamma (γ) phosphates. The system of ATP and water under standard conditions and concentrations is extremely rich in chemical energy; the bond between the second and third phosphate groups is loosely said to be particularly high in energy. Strictly speaking, the bond itself is not high in energy (like all chemical bonds it requires energy to break), but energy is produced when the bond is broken and water is allowed to react with the two products. Thus, energy is produced from the new bonds formed between ADP and water, and between phosphate and water.<p>The net change in energy at <!--del_lnk--> Standard Temperature and Pressure of the decomposition of ATP into hydrated <!--del_lnk--> ADP and hydrated inorganic phosphate is -12 <!--del_lnk--> kcal / mole <i>in vivo</i> (inside of a living cell) and -7.3 kcal / mole <i>in vitro</i> (in laboratory conditions). This large release in energy makes the decomposition of ATP in water extremely <!--del_lnk--> exergonic, and hence useful as a means for chemically storing energy. Again, the energy is actually released as <!--del_lnk--> hydrolysis of the <!--del_lnk--> phosphate-phosphate bonds is carried out.<p>This energy can be used by a variety of <!--del_lnk--> enzymes, <!--del_lnk--> motor proteins, and <!--del_lnk--> transport proteins to carry out the work of the cell. Also, the hydrolysis yields free inorganic <!--del_lnk--> P<sub>i</sub> and <!--del_lnk--> ADP, which can be broken down further to another P<sub>i</sub> and <!--del_lnk--> AMP.<p>ATP can also be broken down to AMP directly, with the formation of <!--del_lnk--> PP<sub>i</sub>. This last reaction has the advantage of being an effectively irreversible process in <!--del_lnk--> aqueous <!--del_lnk--> solution. <a id="Ionisation_of_ATP_in_biological_systems" name="Ionisation_of_ATP_in_biological_systems"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline"><i>Ionisation of ATP in biological systems</i></span></h3>
<p>Given the reaction:<dl>
<dd>HATP<sup>3−</sup> ↔ H<sup>+</sup> + ATP<sup>4−</sup></dl>
<p>The acidity constant is K<sub>a</sub> = 3.16 x 10<sup>−7</sup> giving <img alt="\scriptstyle \frac{[\mathrm{ATP}^{4-}]}{[\mathrm{HATP}^{3-}]}=\frac{3.16 \times 10^{-7}}{[\mathrm{H}^+]}" class="tex" src="../../images/391/39120.png" />. In biological systems such as the <!--del_lnk--> cytosol (<!--del_lnk--> pH 7.0) or the <!--del_lnk--> extracellular fluid (pH 7.4), ATP<sup>4−</sup> is the dominant form (76% of the total ATP for pH 7.0).<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:202px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/0/45.png.htm" title="Space filling image of ATP"><img alt="Space filling image of ATP" height="143" longdesc="/wiki/Image:ATP-3D-vdW.png" src="../../images/0/45.png" width="200" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/0/45.png.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Space filling image of ATP</div>
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<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:202px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/0/46.png.htm" title="3D model of ATP"><img alt="3D model of ATP" height="136" longdesc="/wiki/Image:ATP-3D-sticks.png" src="../../images/0/46.png" width="200" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/0/46.png.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> 3D model of ATP</div>
</div>
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<p><a id="ATP_synthesis" name="ATP_synthesis"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">ATP synthesis</span></h2>
<p>ATP can be produced by <!--del_lnk--> redox reactions using simple and complex <!--del_lnk--> sugars (<!--del_lnk--> carbohydrates) or <!--del_lnk--> lipids as an energy source. For ATP to be synthesised from complex fuels, they first need to be broken down into their basic components. Carbohydrates are <!--del_lnk--> hydrolysed into simple sugars, such as <!--del_lnk--> glucose and <!--del_lnk--> fructose. Fats (<!--del_lnk--> triglycerides) are metabolised to give <!--del_lnk--> fatty acids and <!--del_lnk--> glycerol.<p>The overall process of oxidizing glucose to <a href="../../wp/c/Carbon_dioxide.htm" title="Carbon dioxide">carbon dioxide</a> is known as <!--del_lnk--> cellular respiration and can produce up to 30 molecules of ATP from a single molecule of glucose. ATP can be produced by a number of distinct cellular processes; the three main pathways used to generate energy in <a href="../../wp/e/Eukaryote.htm" title="Eukaryote">eukaryotic</a> organisms are <!--del_lnk--> glycolysis, the <!--del_lnk--> citric acid cycle/<!--del_lnk--> oxidative phosphorylation, and <!--del_lnk--> beta-oxidation. The majority of this ATP production by a non-<!--del_lnk--> photosynthetic aerobic eukaryote takes place in the <!--del_lnk--> mitochondria, which can make up nearly 25% of the total volume of typical cell.<p><a id="Glycolysis" name="Glycolysis"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Glycolysis</span></h3>
<dl>
<dd>
</dl>
<p>In glycolysis, glucose and glycerol are metabolised to <!--del_lnk--> pyruvate in the <!--del_lnk--> cytosol via the glycolytic pathway. This generates a net two molecules of ATP through <!--del_lnk--> substrate phosphorylation catalyzed by two enzymes: <!--del_lnk--> PGK and <!--del_lnk--> pyruvate kinase. Two molecules of <!--del_lnk--> NADH are also produced, which can be oxidized via the <!--del_lnk--> electron transport chain and result in the generation of additional ATP by <!--del_lnk--> ATP synthase. The pyruvate generated by glycolysis can function as a substrate for the <!--del_lnk--> Krebs Cycle.<p><a id="Citric_acid_cycle" name="Citric_acid_cycle"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Citric acid cycle</span></h3>
<dl>
<dd>
</dl>
<p>In the <a href="../../wp/m/Mitochondrion.htm" title="Mitochondrion">mitochondrion</a>, pyruvate is oxidized by <!--del_lnk--> pyruvate dehydrogenase to <!--del_lnk--> acetyl CoA, which is fully oxidized to carbon dioxide by the citric acid cycle (also known as the Krebs Cycle). Every "turn" of the citric acid cycle produces two molecules of <a href="../../wp/c/Carbon_dioxide.htm" title="Carbon dioxide">carbon dioxide</a>, one molecule of the ATP equivalent <!--del_lnk--> guanosine triphosphate (GTP) through <!--del_lnk--> substrate-level phosphorylation catalyzed by <!--del_lnk--> succinyl CoA synthetase, three molecules of the reduced <!--del_lnk--> coenzyme <!--del_lnk--> NADH, and one molecule of the reduced coenzyme <!--del_lnk--> FAHD<sub>2</sub>. Both of these latter molecules are recycled to their oxidized states (NAD<sup>+</sup> and <!--del_lnk--> FAD, respectively) via the <!--del_lnk--> electron transport chain, which generates additional ATP by <!--del_lnk--> oxidative phosphorylation coupled to ATP synthesis. The oxidation of an NADH molecule results in the synthesis of about 3 ATP molecules, and the oxidation of one FADH<sub>2</sub> yields about 2 ATP molecules. The majority of cellular ATP is generated by this process. Although the citric acid cycle itself does not involve molecular <a href="../../wp/o/Oxygen.htm" title="Oxygen">oxygen</a>, it is an obligately <!--del_lnk--> aerobic process because O<sub>2</sub> is needed to recycle the reduced NADH and FADH<sub>2</sub> to their oxidized states. In the absence of oxygen the citric acid cycle will cease to function due to the lack of available NAD<sup>+</sup> and FAD.<p>The generation of ATP by the mitochondrion from cytosolic NADH relies on the <!--del_lnk--> malate-aspartate shuttle (and to a lesser extent, the <!--del_lnk--> glycerol-phosphate shuttle) because the inner mitochondrial membrane is impermeable to NADH and NAD<sup>+</sup>. Instead of transferring the generated NADH, a <!--del_lnk--> malate dehydrogenase enzyme converts <!--del_lnk--> oxaloacetate to <!--del_lnk--> malate, which is translocated to the mitochondrial matrix. Another malate dehydrogenase-catalyzed reaction occurs in the opposite direction, producing oxaloacetate and NADH from the newly transported malate and the mitochondrion's interior store of NAD<sup>+</sup>. A <!--del_lnk--> transaminase converts the oxaloacetate to <!--del_lnk--> aspartate for transport back across the membrane and into the intermembrane space.<p>It is the passage of electron pairs from NADH and FADH<sub>2</sub> through the electron transport chain that powers the pumping of <a href="../../wp/p/Proton.htm" title="Proton">protons</a> out of the mitrochondrial matrix and into the intermembrane space, which results in a <!--del_lnk--> proton motive force that is the net effect of a <!--del_lnk--> pH gradient and an <!--del_lnk--> electric potential gradient across the inner mitochondrial membrane. Flow of protons down the potential gradient - that is, from the intermembrane space to the matrix - provides the driving force for ATP synthesis by the <!--del_lnk--> protein complex <!--del_lnk--> ATP synthase, which contains a unique rotor subunit that physically rotates relative to the static portions of the protein during ATP synthesis.<p>Most of the ATP synthesized in the mitochondria will be used for cellular processes in the cytosol; thus it must be exported from its site of synthesis in the mitochondrial matrix. The inner membrane contains <!--del_lnk--> antiporters that are <!--del_lnk--> integral membrane proteins used to exchange newly synthesized ATP in the matrix for ADP in the intermembrane space.<p><a id="Beta-oxidation" name="Beta-oxidation"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Beta-oxidation</span></h3>
<dl>
<dd>
</dl>
<p>Fatty acids can also be broken down to acetyl CoA by <!--del_lnk--> beta-oxidation of <!--del_lnk--> acyl CoA molecules. Each turn of this cycle reduces the length of the acyl chain by two carbon atoms and produces one NADH and one FADH<sub>2</sub> molecule, which are used to generate ATP by oxidative phosphorylation. Because NADH and FADH<sub>2</sub> are energy-rich molecules, dozens of ATP molecules can be generated by the beta-oxidation of a single long acyl chain.<p><a id="Anaerobic_respiration" name="Anaerobic_respiration"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Anaerobic respiration</span></h3>
<dl>
<dd>
</dl>
<p>Anaerobic respiration or <!--del_lnk--> fermentation entails the generation of energy via the process of <!--del_lnk--> oxidation in the absence of <a href="../../wp/o/Oxygen.htm" title="Oxygen">O<sub>2</sub></a> as an <!--del_lnk--> electron acceptor. In most eukaryotes, glucose is used as both an energy store and an electron donor. The formula for the oxidation of glucose to <!--del_lnk--> lactic acid is:<dl>
<dd>C<sub>6</sub>H<sub>12</sub>O<sub>6</sub> ---> 2C<sub>3</sub>H<sub>6</sub>O<sub>3</sub> + 2 ATP</dl>
<p><a id="ATP_replenishment_by_nucleoside_diphosphate_kinases" name="ATP_replenishment_by_nucleoside_diphosphate_kinases"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">ATP replenishment by nucleoside diphosphate kinases</span></h3>
<p>ATP can also be synthesized through several so-called "replenishment" reactions catalyzed by the enzyme families of <!--del_lnk--> nucleoside diphosphate kinases (NDKs), which use other nucleoside triphosphates as a high-energy phosphate donor, and the ATP:guanido-phosphotransferase family, which uses <!--del_lnk--> creatine.<dl>
<dd><!--del_lnk--> ADP + <!--del_lnk--> GTP <img alt="\to" class="tex" src="../../images/391/39123.png" /> ATP + <!--del_lnk--> GDP</dl>
<p><a id="ATP_production_during_photosynthesis" name="ATP_production_during_photosynthesis"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">ATP production during photosynthesis</span></h3>
<p>In plants, ATP is synthesized in <!--del_lnk--> thylakoid membrane of the <!--del_lnk--> chloroplast during the <!--del_lnk--> light-dependent reactions of <a href="../../wp/p/Photosynthesis.htm" title="Photosynthesis">photosynthesis</a>. Some of this ATP is then used to power the <!--del_lnk--> Calvin cycle, which produces <!--del_lnk--> triose sugars.<p><a id="ATP_recycling" name="ATP_recycling"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">ATP recycling</span></h3>
<p>The total quantity of ATP in the human body is about <b>0.1 <!--del_lnk--> mole</b>. The majority of ATP is not usually synthesised <i>de novo</i>, but is generated from ADP by the aforementioned processes. Thus, at any given time, the total amount of ATP + ADP remains fairly constant.<p>The energy used by human cells requires the <!--del_lnk--> hydrolysis of <b>100 to 150 moles</b> of ATP daily which is around 50 to 75 kg. Typically, a human will use up their body weight of ATP over the course of the day. This means that each ATP molecule is recycled 1000 to 1500 times during a single day (<b>100 / 0.1 = 1000</b>). ATP cannot be stored, hence its consumption being followed closely by its synthesis.<p><a id="Regulation_of_ATP_production" name="Regulation_of_ATP_production"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Regulation of ATP production</span></h2>
<p>ATP production in an aerobic eukaryotic cell is tightly regulated by <!--del_lnk--> allosteric mechanisms, by <!--del_lnk--> feedback effects, and by the substrate concentration dependence of individual enzymes within the glycolysis and oxidative phosphorylation pathways. Key control points occur in enzymatic reactions that are so energetically favorable that they are effectively irreversible under physiological conditions.<p>In glycolysis, <!--del_lnk--> hexokinase is directly inhibited by its product, glucose-6-phosphate, and <!--del_lnk--> pyruvate kinase is inhibited by ATP itself. The main control point for the glycolytic pathway is <!--del_lnk--> phosphofructokinase (PFK), which is allosterically inhibited by high concentrations of ATP and activated by high concentrations of AMP. The inhibition of PFK by ATP is unusual, since ATP is also a substrate in the reaction catalyzed by PFK; the biologically active form of the enzyme is a <!--del_lnk--> tetramer that exists in two possible conformations, only one of which binds the second substrate fructose-6-phosphate (F6P). The protein has two <!--del_lnk--> binding sites for ATP - the <!--del_lnk--> active site is accessible in either protein conformation, but ATP binding to the inhibitor site stabilizes the conformation that binds F6P poorly. A number of other small molecules can compensate for the ATP-induced shift in equilibrium conformation and reactivate PFK, including <!--del_lnk--> cyclic AMP, <!--del_lnk--> ammonium ions, inorganic phosphate, and fructose 1,6 and 2,6 biphosphate.<p>The citric acid cycle is regulated mainly by the availability of key substrates, particularly the ratio of NAD<sup>+</sup> to NADH and the concentrations of <a href="../../wp/c/Calcium.htm" title="Calcium">calcium</a>, inorganic phosphate, ATP, ADP, and AMP. <!--del_lnk--> Citrate - the molecule that gives its name to the cycle - is a feedback inhibitor of <!--del_lnk--> citrate synthase and also inhibits PFK, providing a direct link between the regulation of the citric acid cycle and glycolysis.<p>In oxidative phosphorylation, the key control point is the reaction catalyzed by <!--del_lnk--> cytochrome c oxidase, which is regulated by the availability of its substrate, the reduced form of <!--del_lnk--> cytochrome c. The amount of reduced cytochrome c available is directly related to the amounts of other substrates:<dl>
<dd><img alt="\frac{1}{2}NADH + cyt~c_{ox} + ADP + P_{i} \iff \frac{1}{2}NAD^{+} + cyt~c_{red} + ATP" class="tex" src="../../images/391/39124.png" /></dl>
<p>which directly implies this equation:<dl>
<dd><img alt="\frac{cyt~c_{red}}{cyt~c_{ox}} = \left(\frac{[NADH]}{[NAD]^{+}}\right)^{\frac{1}{2}}\left(\frac{[ADP][P_{i}]}{[ATP]}\right)K_{eq}" class="tex" src="../../images/391/39125.png" /></dl>
<p>Thus, a high ratio of [NADH] to [NAD<sup>+</sup>] or a low ratio of [ADP][P<sub>i</sub>] to [ATP] imply a high amount of reduced cytochrome c and a high level of cytochrome c oxidase activity. An additional level of regulation is introduced by the transport rates of ATP and NADH between the mitochondrial matrix and the cytoplasm.<p><a id="ATP_use_in_cells" name="ATP_use_in_cells"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">ATP use in cells</span></h2>
<p>ATP is the main energy source for the majority of cellular functions. This includes the synthesis of macromolecules, including <!--del_lnk--> DNA, <!--del_lnk--> RNA, and <!--del_lnk--> proteins. ATP also plays a critical role in the transport of macromolecules across cell membranes, e.g. <!--del_lnk--> exocytosis and <!--del_lnk--> endocytosis.<p>ATP is critically involved in maintaining cell structure by facilitating assembly and disassembly of elements of the <!--del_lnk--> cytoskeleton. In a related process, ATP is required for the <!--del_lnk--> shortening of actin and myosin filament crossbridges required for <!--del_lnk--> muscle contraction. This latter process is one of the main energy requirements of animals and is essential for <!--del_lnk--> locomotion and <!--del_lnk--> respiration.<p><a id="Cell_signaling" name="Cell_signaling"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Cell signaling</span></h3>
<p>ATP is also a <!--del_lnk--> signaling molecule. ATP, ADP, or adenosine are recognised by <!--del_lnk--> purinergic receptors.<p>In humans, this signaling role is important in both the central and peripheral nervous system. Activity-dependent release of ATP from synapses, axons and glia activates purinergic membrane receptors known as P2. The <i>P2Y</i> receptors are <i>metabotropic</i>, i.e. <!--del_lnk--> G protein-coupled and modulate mainly intracellular calcium and sometimes cyclic AMP levels. Fifteen members of the P2Y family have been reported (P2Y1–P2Y15), although some are only related through weak homology and several (P2Y5, P2Y7, P2Y9, P2Y10) do not function as receptors that raise cytosolic calcium. The <i>P2X ionotropic</i> receptor subgroup comprises seven members (P2X1–P2X7) which are ligand-gated Ca<sup>2+</sup>-permeable ion channels that open when bound to an extracellular purine nucleotide. In contrast to P2 receptors (agonist order ATP > ADP > AMP > ADO), purinergic <!--del_lnk--> nucleotides like ATP are not strong agonists of P1 receptors which are strongly activated by <!--del_lnk--> adenosine and other <!--del_lnk--> nucleosides (ADO > AMP > ADP > ATP). P1 receptors have A1, A2a, A2b, and A3 subtypes ("A" as a remnant of old nomenclature of <i>adenosine receptor</i>), all of which are G protein-coupled receptors, A1 and A3 being coupled to Gi, and A3 being coupled to Gs.<p><a id="Deoxyribonucleotide_synthesis" name="Deoxyribonucleotide_synthesis"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Deoxyribonucleotide synthesis</span></h3>
<p>In all known organisms, the deoxyribonucleotides that make up <a href="../../wp/d/DNA.htm" title="DNA">DNA</a> are synthesized by the action of <!--del_lnk--> ribonucleotide reductase (RNR) enzymes on their corresponding ribonucleotides. This enzyme reduces the 2' <!--del_lnk--> hydroxyl group on the <!--del_lnk--> ribose sugar to <!--del_lnk--> deoxyribose, forming a deoxyribonucleotide (denoted dATP). All ribonucleotide reductase enzymes use a common <!--del_lnk--> sulfhydryl <!--del_lnk--> radical mechanism reliant on reactive <!--del_lnk--> cysteine residues that oxidize to form <!--del_lnk--> disulfide bonds in the course of the reaction. RNR enzymes are recycled by reaction with <!--del_lnk--> thioredoxin or <!--del_lnk--> glutaredoxin.<p>The regulation of RNR and related enzymes maintains a balance of dNTPs relative to each other and relative to NTPs in the cell. Very low dNTP concentration inhibits <!--del_lnk--> DNA synthesis and <a href="../../wp/d/DNA_repair.htm" title="DNA repair">DNA repair</a> and is lethal to the cell, while an abnormal ratio of dNTPs is <!--del_lnk--> mutagenic due to the increased likelihood of misincorporating a dNTP during DNA synthesis. Regulation of or differential specificity of RNR has been proposed as a mechanism for alterations in the relative sizes of intracellular dNTP pools under cellular stress such as <!--del_lnk--> hypoxia.<p><a id="ATP_in_protein_structure" name="ATP_in_protein_structure"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">ATP in protein structure</span></h2>
<p>Some proteins that bind ATP do so via a characteristic <!--del_lnk--> protein fold known as the <!--del_lnk--> Rossmann fold, which is a general <!--del_lnk--> nucleotide-binding <!--del_lnk--> motif that also often binds the cofactor <!--del_lnk--> NAD. The most common ATP-binding proteins, known as <!--del_lnk--> kinases, share a small number of common folds; the <!--del_lnk--> protein kinases, the largest kinase superfamily, all share common structural features specialized for ATP binding and phosphate transfer.<p>ATP in complex with proteins generally requires the presence in solution of a <!--del_lnk--> divalent <!--del_lnk--> cation, almost always <a href="../../wp/m/Magnesium.htm" title="Magnesium">magnesium</a>, which aids in stabilizing its highly charged phosphate groups. The presence of magnesium greatly decreases the <!--del_lnk--> dissociation constant of ATP from its protein binding partner without affecting the ability of the kinase to catalyze its reaction once the ATP is bound. The presence of magnesium ions can serve as a mechanism for kinase regulation.<p><a id="ATP_analogs" name="ATP_analogs"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">ATP analogs</span></h2>
<p>Biochemistry laboratories often use <i>in vitro</i> studies to explore ATP-dependent molecular processes. <!--del_lnk--> Enzyme inhibitors of ATP-dependent enzymes such as <!--del_lnk--> kinases are needed to experimentally examine the <!--del_lnk--> binding sites and <!--del_lnk--> transition states involved in ATP-dependent reactions. ATP analogs are also used in <!--del_lnk--> X-ray crystallography to determine a <!--del_lnk--> protein structure in complex with ATP, often together with other substrates. Most useful ATP analogs cannot be hydrolyzed as ATP would be; instead they trap the enzyme in a structure closely related to the ATP-bound state. Adenosine 5'-(gamma-thiotriphosphate) is an extremely common ATP analog in which one of the gamma-phosphate oxygens is replaced by a <a href="../../wp/s/Sulfur.htm" title="Sulfur">sulfur</a> atom; this molecule is hydrolyzed at a dramatically slower rate than ATP itself and functions as an inhibitor of ATP-dependent processes. In crystallographic studies, hydrolysis transition states are modeled by the bound <!--del_lnk--> vanadate ion. However, caution is warranted in interpreting the results of experiments using ATP analogs, since some enzymes can hydrolyze them at appreciable rates at high concentration.<div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adenosine_triphosphate"</div>
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<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">Adi Shankara</h1>
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<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.People.Religious_figures_and_leaders.htm">Religious figures and leaders</a></h3>
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<th colspan="2" style="text-align: center; font-size: larger;">Adi Shankara</th>
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<td><b>Date of birth:</b></td>
<td><small>See <a href="#Dates" title="">Dates</a></small></td>
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<td><b>Place of birth:</b></td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Kalady, <a href="../../wp/k/Kerala.htm" title="Kerala">Kerala</a>, <a href="../../wp/i/India.htm" title="India">India</a></td>
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<td><b>Birth name:</b></td>
<td>Shankara</td>
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<td><b>Date of death:</b></td>
<td><small>See <a href="#Dates" title="">Dates</a></small></td>
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<td><b>Guru/Teacher:</b></td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Govinda Bhagavatpada</td>
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<td><b>Philosophy:</b></td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Advaita Vedanta</td>
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<td><b>Titles/Honours:</b></td>
<td>Founded <!--del_lnk--> Dashanami Sampradaya, <!--del_lnk--> Shanmata</td>
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<p><b>Adi Shankara</b> (<!--del_lnk--> Malayalam: ആദി ശങ്കരന്‍, <!--del_lnk--> Devanāgarī: <span class="Unicode">आदि शङ्कर</span>, <i><span class="IAST Unicode" style="font-face: Arial Unicode MS, GNU Unifont, Lucida Sans Unicode; white-space: wrap; text-decoration: none" title="International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration">Ādi Śaṅkara</span></i>, <!--del_lnk--> IPA: <span class="IPA" title="Pronunciation in IPA">[aːd̪i ɕəŋkərə]</span>); c. [See <!--del_lnk--> Dates Section], also known as <b><span class="IAST Unicode" style="font-face: Arial Unicode MS, GNU Unifont, Lucida Sans Unicode; white-space: wrap; text-decoration: none" title="International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration">Śaṅkara Bhagavatpādācārya</span></b> ("the teacher at the feet of <!--del_lnk--> God"), and <b><span class="IAST Unicode" style="font-face: Arial Unicode MS, GNU Unifont, Lucida Sans Unicode; white-space: wrap; text-decoration: none" title="International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration">Ādi Śaṅkarācārya</span></b> ("the first Shankara in his lineage") was the first philosopher to consolidate the doctrine of <!--del_lnk--> Advaita Vedanta, a sub-school of <!--del_lnk--> Vedanta. His teachings are based on the unity of the <!--del_lnk--> soul and <a href="../../wp/b/Brahman.htm" title="Brahman">God</a>, in which God is viewed as simultaneously <!--del_lnk--> personal and <!--del_lnk--> without attributes. In the <!--del_lnk--> Smārta tradition, Adi Shankara is regarded as an incarnation of <!--del_lnk--> Shiva.<p>Adi Shankara toured <a href="../../wp/i/India.htm" title="India">India</a> with the purpose of propagating his teachings through discourses and debates with other philosophers. He founded four mathas ("abbeys") which played a key role in the historical development, revival and spread of post-Buddhist <a href="../../wp/h/Hinduism.htm" title="Hinduism">Hinduism</a> and Advaita Vedanta. Adi Shankara was the founder of the <!--del_lnk--> Dashanami monastic order and the <!--del_lnk--> Shanmata tradition of worship.<p>His works in <a href="../../wp/s/Sanskrit.htm" title="Sanskrit">Sanskrit</a>, all of which are extant today, concern themselves with establishing the doctrine of Advaita (<a href="../../wp/s/Sanskrit.htm" title="Sanskrit">Sanskrit</a>, "Non-dualism"). Adi Shankara quotes extensively from the <!--del_lnk--> Upanishads and other <!--del_lnk--> Hindu scriptures in forming his teachings. He also includes arguments against opposing schools of thought like <!--del_lnk--> Samkhya and <!--del_lnk--> Buddhism in his works.<p>
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</script><a id="Life" name="Life"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Life</span></h2>
<p>The traditional source for accounts of Adi Shankara's life are the <!--del_lnk--> Shankara Vijayams, ("Victory of Shankara"), which are poetic works that contain biographical material written in the epic style of legend. The most important among these <!--del_lnk--> biographies are the <i><span class="IAST Unicode" style="font-face: Arial Unicode MS, GNU Unifont, Lucida Sans Unicode; white-space: wrap; text-decoration: none" title="International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration">Mādhavīya Śaṅkara Vijayaṃ</span></i> (of Mādhava, c. <a href="../../wp/1/14th_century.htm" title="14th century">14th century</a>), the <i><span class="IAST Unicode" style="font-face: Arial Unicode MS, GNU Unifont, Lucida Sans Unicode; white-space: wrap; text-decoration: none" title="International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration">Cidvilāsīya Śaṅkara Vijayaṃ</span></i> (of Cidvilāsa, c. between <a href="../../wp/1/15th_century.htm" title="15th century">15th century</a> and <a href="../../wp/1/17th_century.htm" title="17th century">17th century</a>), and the <i><span class="IAST Unicode" style="font-face: Arial Unicode MS, GNU Unifont, Lucida Sans Unicode; white-space: wrap; text-decoration: none" title="International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration">Keraļīya Śaṅkara Vijayaṃ</span></i> (of the <a href="../../wp/k/Kerala.htm" title="Kerala">Kerala</a> region, extant from c. <a href="../../wp/1/17th_century.htm" title="17th century">17th century</a>). According to these texts, Adi Shankara was born in <!--del_lnk--> Kalady, a village in Kerala, <a href="../../wp/i/India.htm" title="India">India</a>, to a <!--del_lnk--> Namboothiri <!--del_lnk--> brahmin couple, Shivaguru and Aryamba and lived for thirty-two years.<p><a id="Birth_and_childhood" name="Birth_and_childhood"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Birth and childhood</span></h3>
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<div style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/231/23134.jpg.htm" title="The birth place of Adi Shankara at Kalady"><img alt="The birth place of Adi Shankara at Kalady" height="148" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Kaladi_shankarabirthplace.jpg" src="../../images/231/23134.jpg" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/231/23134.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> The birth place of Adi Shankara at <!--del_lnk--> Kalady</div>
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<p>Adi Shankara's parents were childless for many years. They prayed at the <!--del_lnk--> Vadakkunnathan temple (also known as <i>Vrishachala</i>) in <!--del_lnk--> Thrissur, Kerala, for the birth of a child. Legend has it that <!--del_lnk--> Shiva appeared to both husband and wife in their dreams, and offered them a choice: a mediocre son who would live a long life, or an extraordinary son who would not live long. Both the parents chose the latter; thus a son was born to them. He was named Shankara (Sanskrit, "bestower of happiness"), in honour of <!--del_lnk--> Shiva (one of whose epithets is <i><!--del_lnk--> Shankara</i>).<p>His father died while Shankara was very young. Shankara's <span class="IAST Unicode" style="font-face: Arial Unicode MS, GNU Unifont, Lucida Sans Unicode; white-space: wrap; text-decoration: none" title="International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration"><!--del_lnk--> upanayanaṃ</span>, the initiation into student-life, was performed at the age of five. As a child, Shankara showed remarkable scholarship, mastering the four <!--del_lnk--> Vedas by the age of eight. Following the customs of those days, Shankara studied and lived at the home of his teacher. It was customary for students and men of learning to receive <span class="IAST Unicode" style="font-face: Arial Unicode MS, GNU Unifont, Lucida Sans Unicode; white-space: wrap; text-decoration: none" title="International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration">Bhikṣā</span> ("alms") from the <!--del_lnk--> laity; on one occasion, while accepting <span class="IAST Unicode" style="font-face: Arial Unicode MS, GNU Unifont, Lucida Sans Unicode; white-space: wrap; text-decoration: none" title="International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration">Bhikṣā</span>, Shankara came upon a woman who had only a single dried <!--del_lnk--> amalaka fruit to eat. Rather than consuming this last bit of food herself, the pious lady gave away the fruit to Shankara as <span class="IAST Unicode" style="font-face: Arial Unicode MS, GNU Unifont, Lucida Sans Unicode; white-space: wrap; text-decoration: none" title="International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration">Bhikṣā</span>. Moved by her piety, Shankara composed the Kanakadhārā Stotram on the spot. Legend has it that on completion of the <!--del_lnk--> stotra, golden amalaka fruits were showered upon the woman by <span class="IAST Unicode" style="font-face: Arial Unicode MS, GNU Unifont, Lucida Sans Unicode; white-space: wrap; text-decoration: none" title="International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration"><!--del_lnk--> Lakṣmi</span>, the Goddess of wealth.<p><a id="Sannyasa" name="Sannyasa"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Sannyasa</span></h3>
<p>From a young age, Shankara was attracted to <!--del_lnk--> sannyasa ("monastic life"). His mother was against his becoming a monk, and refused him formal permission. However, once when Shankara was bathing in the <!--del_lnk--> Purna River near his house, a crocodile gripped his leg and began to drag him into the water. Only his mother was nearby, and it proved impossible for her to rescue him. Shankara asked his mother to give him permission to renounce the world then and there, so that he could be a sannyāsin at the moment of death. This mode of entering the renunciatory stage is called <i>Āpat Sannyāsa</i>. At the end of her wits, his mother agreed. Shankara immediately recited the <!--del_lnk--> mantras that made a renunciate of him. Miraculously, the crocodile released him and swam away. Shankara emerged unscathed from the water.<p>With the permission of his mother, Shankara left Kerala and travelled towards <!--del_lnk--> North India in search of a <!--del_lnk--> Guru. On the banks of the <!--del_lnk--> Narmada River, he met <!--del_lnk--> Govinda Bhagavatpada, the disciple of <!--del_lnk--> Gaudapada. When Govinda Bhagavatpada asked Shankara's identity, he replied with an extempore verse that brought out the <!--del_lnk--> Advaita Vedanta philosophy. Govinda Bhagavatapada was impressed and took Shankara as his disciple. Adi Shankara was commissioned by his Guru to write a commentary on the <!--del_lnk--> Brahma Sutras and propagate Advaita Vedanta. The <i>Madhavīya Shankaravijaya</i> states that Adi Shankara calmed a flood from the <!--del_lnk--> Reva River by placing his <i><span class="IAST Unicode" style="font-face: Arial Unicode MS, GNU Unifont, Lucida Sans Unicode; white-space: wrap; text-decoration: none" title="International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration">kamaṇḍalu</span></i> ("water pot") in the path of the raging water, thus saving his Guru, Govinda Bhagavatpada, who was engaged in <span class="IAST Unicode" style="font-face: Arial Unicode MS, GNU Unifont, Lucida Sans Unicode; white-space: wrap; text-decoration: none" title="International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration"><!--del_lnk--> Samādhi</span> ("meditation") in a cave nearby.<p>On his mission to spread the Advaita Vedanta philosophy, Adi Shankara travelled to <a href="../../wp/v/Varanasi.htm" title="Varanasi">Kashi</a>, where a young man named <!--del_lnk--> Sanandana from <a href="../../wp/c/Chola_dynasty.htm" title="Chola dynasty">Choladesha</a> in <!--del_lnk--> South India, became his first disciple. In Kashi, Adi Shankara was on his way to the <!--del_lnk--> Vishwanath Temple, when he came upon an <!--del_lnk--> untouchable with four dogs. When asked to move aside by Shankara's disciples, the untouchable replied: "Do you wish that I move my ever lasting <!--del_lnk--> Ātman ("the Self"), or this body made of food?" Understanding that the untouchable was none other than <!--del_lnk--> god <!--del_lnk--> Shiva, and his dogs the four <!--del_lnk--> Vedas, Shankara prostrated himself before him, composing five <!--del_lnk--> shlokas known as <!--del_lnk--> Manisha Panchakam.<p>On reaching <!--del_lnk--> Badari in the <a href="../../wp/h/Himalayas.htm" title="Himalayas">Himalayas</a>, he wrote the famous <i>Bhashyas</i> ("commentaries") and <i>Prakarana granthas</i> ("philosophical treatises"). Afterwards he taught these commentaries to his disciples. Some, like Sanandana, were quick to grasp the essence; the other disciples thus became jealous of Sanandana. In order to convince the others of Sanandana's inherent superiority, Adi Shankara summoned Sanandana from one bank of the <!--del_lnk--> Ganga River, while he was on the opposite bank. Sanandana crossed the river by walking on the lotuses that were brought out wherever he placed his foot. Adi Shankara was greatly impressed by his disciple and gave him the name <span class="IAST Unicode" style="font-face: Arial Unicode MS, GNU Unifont, Lucida Sans Unicode; white-space: wrap; text-decoration: none" title="International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration"><!--del_lnk--> Padmapāda</span> ("lotus-footed one"). The sage, <span class="IAST Unicode" style="font-face: Arial Unicode MS, GNU Unifont, Lucida Sans Unicode; white-space: wrap; text-decoration: none" title="International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration"><!--del_lnk--> Vedavyāsa</span>, visited Adi Shankara in the guise of an old <span class="IAST Unicode" style="font-face: Arial Unicode MS, GNU Unifont, Lucida Sans Unicode; white-space: wrap; text-decoration: none" title="International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration"><!--del_lnk--> brāhmaṇa</span>. Adi Shankara debated with the <span class="IAST Unicode" style="font-face: Arial Unicode MS, GNU Unifont, Lucida Sans Unicode; white-space: wrap; text-decoration: none" title="International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration">brāhmaṇa</span> for over eight days when at last, Vyasa revealed his real identity and blessed Adi Shankara.<p><a id="Meeting_with_Mandana_Mishra" name="Meeting_with_Mandana_Mishra"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Meeting with Mandana Mishra</span></h3>
<p>One of the most famous debates of Adi Shankara was with the <!--del_lnk--> ritualist <!--del_lnk--> Mandana Mishra. Mandana Mishra's <!--del_lnk--> Guru was the famous <!--del_lnk--> Mimamsa philosopher, <span class="IAST Unicode" style="font-face: Arial Unicode MS, GNU Unifont, Lucida Sans Unicode; white-space: wrap; text-decoration: none" title="International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration"><!--del_lnk--> Kumarīla Bhaṭṭa</span>. Shankara sought a debate with <span class="IAST Unicode" style="font-face: Arial Unicode MS, GNU Unifont, Lucida Sans Unicode; white-space: wrap; text-decoration: none" title="International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration">Kumarīla Bhaṭṭa</span> and met him in <!--del_lnk--> Prayag where he had buried himself in a slow burning pyre to repent for sins committed against his Guru: <span class="IAST Unicode" style="font-face: Arial Unicode MS, GNU Unifont, Lucida Sans Unicode; white-space: wrap; text-decoration: none" title="International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration">Kumarīla Bhaṭṭa</span> had learnt <!--del_lnk--> Buddhist philosophy incognito from him in order to be able to refute it. This constitutes a sin according to the <!--del_lnk--> Vedas. <span class="IAST Unicode" style="font-face: Arial Unicode MS, GNU Unifont, Lucida Sans Unicode; white-space: wrap; text-decoration: none" title="International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration">Kumarīla Bhaṭṭa</span> thus asked Adi Shankara to proceed to <span class="IAST Unicode" style="font-face: Arial Unicode MS, GNU Unifont, Lucida Sans Unicode; white-space: wrap; text-decoration: none" title="International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration">Mahiṣmati</span> (known today as Maheshwar in <!--del_lnk--> Madhya Pradesh) to meet Mandana Mishra and debate with him instead.<p>Adi Shankara had a famous debate with Mandana Mishra in which the wife of Mandana Mishra, <span class="IAST Unicode" style="font-face: Arial Unicode MS, GNU Unifont, Lucida Sans Unicode; white-space: wrap; text-decoration: none" title="International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration">Ubhaya Bhāratī</span>, was the referee. After debating for over fifteen days, Mandana Mishra accepted defeat. <span class="IAST Unicode" style="font-face: Arial Unicode MS, GNU Unifont, Lucida Sans Unicode; white-space: wrap; text-decoration: none" title="International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration">Ubhaya Bhāratī</span> then challenged Adi Shankara to have a debate with her in order to 'complete' the victory. This debate was to be on the subject of <i><!--del_lnk--> <span class="IAST Unicode" style="font-face: Arial Unicode MS, GNU Unifont, Lucida Sans Unicode; white-space: wrap; text-decoration: none" title="International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration">kāmaśāstra</span></i> ("science of sex-love"). But Adi Shankara, being a sannyasi, had no knowledge of this subject; thus, after requesting for some time before entering into this fresh debate, he entered the body of a king by his <!--del_lnk--> yogic powers and acquired the knowledge of <span class="IAST Unicode" style="font-face: Arial Unicode MS, GNU Unifont, Lucida Sans Unicode; white-space: wrap; text-decoration: none" title="International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration">kāmaśāstra</span>. Later, however, <span class="IAST Unicode" style="font-face: Arial Unicode MS, GNU Unifont, Lucida Sans Unicode; white-space: wrap; text-decoration: none" title="International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration">Ubhaya Bhāratī</span> declined to debate with him and allowed Mandana Mishra to accept sannyasa with the <!--del_lnk--> monastic name, <span class="IAST Unicode" style="font-face: Arial Unicode MS, GNU Unifont, Lucida Sans Unicode; white-space: wrap; text-decoration: none" title="International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration"><!--del_lnk--> Sureśvarācārya</span> as per the agreed rules of the debate.<p><a id="Dig-vijaya" name="Dig-vijaya"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Dig-vijaya</span></h3>
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<div style="width:202px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/231/23135.jpg.htm" title="Sharada temple at Sringeri Sharada Peetham, Sringeri"><img alt="Sharada temple at Sringeri Sharada Peetham, Sringeri" height="196" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Sringeri_Sharadha_temple.jpg" src="../../images/231/23135.jpg" width="200" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/231/23135.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Sharada temple at <!--del_lnk--> Sringeri Sharada Peetham, <!--del_lnk--> Sringeri</div>
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<p>Adi Shankara then travelled with his disciples to <!--del_lnk--> Maharashtra and <!--del_lnk--> Srisailam. In Srisailam, he composed <!--del_lnk--> Shivanandalahari, a devotional hymn to <!--del_lnk--> Shiva. The <i>Madhaviya Shankaravijayam</i> says that when Shankara was about to be sacrificed by a <!--del_lnk--> Kapalika, the god <!--del_lnk--> Narasimha appeared to save Shankara on <!--del_lnk--> Padmapada's prayer to him. So Adi Shankara composed the Laksmi-Narasimha stotra. He then travelled to <span class="IAST Unicode" style="font-face: Arial Unicode MS, GNU Unifont, Lucida Sans Unicode; white-space: wrap; text-decoration: none" title="International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration"><!--del_lnk--> Gokarṇa</span>, the temple of Hari-Shankara and the <span class="IAST Unicode" style="font-face: Arial Unicode MS, GNU Unifont, Lucida Sans Unicode; white-space: wrap; text-decoration: none" title="International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration"><!--del_lnk--> Mūkambika</span> temple at <!--del_lnk--> Kollur. At Kollur, he accepted as his disciple a boy believed to be dumb by his parents. He <!--del_lnk--> gave him the name, <span class="IAST Unicode" style="font-face: Arial Unicode MS, GNU Unifont, Lucida Sans Unicode; white-space: wrap; text-decoration: none" title="International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration"><!--del_lnk--> Hastāmalakācārya</span> ("one with the <!--del_lnk--> amalaka fruit on his palm", i.e., one who has clearly realised the Self). Next, he visited <span class="IAST Unicode" style="font-face: Arial Unicode MS, GNU Unifont, Lucida Sans Unicode; white-space: wrap; text-decoration: none" title="International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration"><!--del_lnk--> Śṛngeri</span> to establish the <span class="IAST Unicode" style="font-face: Arial Unicode MS, GNU Unifont, Lucida Sans Unicode; white-space: wrap; text-decoration: none" title="International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration"><!--del_lnk--> Śārada Pīṭham</span> and made <span class="IAST Unicode" style="font-face: Arial Unicode MS, GNU Unifont, Lucida Sans Unicode; white-space: wrap; text-decoration: none" title="International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration"><!--del_lnk--> Toṭakācārya</span> his disciple.<p>After this, Adi Shankara began a <i>Dig-vijaya</i> ("missionary tour") for the propagation of the Advaita philosophy by controverting all philosophies opposed to it. With the <!--del_lnk--> Malayali King Sudhanva as companion, Shankara passed through <!--del_lnk--> Tamil Nadu, <!--del_lnk--> Andhra Pradesh and <!--del_lnk--> Vidarbha. He then started towards <!--del_lnk--> Karnataka where he encountered a band of armed <!--del_lnk--> Kapalikas. King Sudhanva, with his army, resisted and defeated the Kapalikas. They safely reached <!--del_lnk--> Gokarna where Shankara defeated in debate the <!--del_lnk--> Shaiva scholar, Neelakanta.<p>Proceeding to the west in <!--del_lnk--> Dwarka, Shankara defeated the <!--del_lnk--> <span class="IAST Unicode" style="font-face: Arial Unicode MS, GNU Unifont, Lucida Sans Unicode; white-space: wrap; text-decoration: none" title="International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration">Vaiṣṇavas</span> in debate. <span class="IAST Unicode" style="font-face: Arial Unicode MS, GNU Unifont, Lucida Sans Unicode; white-space: wrap; text-decoration: none" title="International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration">Bhaṭṭa Bhāskara</span> of <!--del_lnk--> Ujjayini, the proponent of Bhedābeda philosophy, was humbled. All the scholars of Ujjayini (also known as Avanti) accepted Adi Shankara's philosophy. He then defeated the <!--del_lnk--> Jainas at a place called Bahlika. Later, he had an encounter with a <!--del_lnk--> tantrik, Navagupta at <!--del_lnk--> Kamarupa. Navagupta pretended to have become a disciple, but later caused Adi Shankara to develop a <!--del_lnk--> rectal fistula. However, Adi Shankara was soon cured and Navagupta later died of the same disease. <p>Adi Shankara thus travelled throughout India, from <!--del_lnk--> the South to <a href="../../wp/k/Kashmir_region.htm" title="Kashmir">Kashmir</a> and <a href="../../wp/n/Nepal.htm" title="Nepal">Nepal</a>, preaching to the local populace and debating philosophy with Hindu, Buddhist and other scholars and monks along the way.<p><a id="Accession_to_Sarvajnapitha" name="Accession_to_Sarvajnapitha"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Accession to Sarvajnapitha</span></h3>
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<div style="width:122px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/231/23136.jpg.htm" title="Statue of Adi Shankara at his Samadhi Mandir in Kedarnath, India"><img alt="Statue of Adi Shankara at his Samadhi Mandir in Kedarnath, India" height="164" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Adi_shankara.jpg" src="../../images/231/23136.jpg" width="120" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/231/23136.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Statue of Adi Shankara at his Samadhi Mandir in Kedarnath, India</div>
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<p>Adi Shankara visited <i><span class="IAST Unicode" style="font-face: Arial Unicode MS, GNU Unifont, Lucida Sans Unicode; white-space: wrap; text-decoration: none" title="International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration">Sarvajñapīṭha</span></i> in <a href="../../wp/k/Kashmir_region.htm" title="Kashmir">Kashmir</a> (now in <!--del_lnk--> Pakistan-occupied Kashmir). The <i>Madhaviya Shankaravijayam</i> states this <!--del_lnk--> temple had four doors for scholars from the four cardinal directions. The southern door (representing <!--del_lnk--> South India) had never been opened, indicating that no scholar from South India had entered the Sarvajna Pitha. Adi Shankara opened the southern door by defeating in debate all the scholars there in all the various scholastic disciplines such as <!--del_lnk--> Mimamsa, <!--del_lnk--> Vedanta and other branches of <!--del_lnk--> Hindu philosophy; he ascended the throne of Transcendent wisdom of that temple. The <i>Madhaviya Shankaravijayam</i> states that <!--del_lnk--> Goddess Saraswati ("goddess of knowledge and all literary arts") herself proclaimed the unquestioned scholarly triumph of Adi Shankara on this occasion.<p>Towards the end of his life, Adi Shankara travelled to the Himalayan area of <!--del_lnk--> Kedarnath-<!--del_lnk--> Badrinath and attained <i><!--del_lnk--> videha mukti</i> ("freedom from embodiment"). However, there are variant traditions on the location of his last days. One tradition, expounded by <i>Keraliya Shankaravijaya</i>, places his place of death as <!--del_lnk--> Vadakkunnathan temple in <!--del_lnk--> Thrissur, Kerala. The followers of the Kanchi Matha say that he ascended the <i><span class="IAST Unicode" style="font-face: Arial Unicode MS, GNU Unifont, Lucida Sans Unicode; white-space: wrap; text-decoration: none" title="International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration">Sarvajñapīṭha</span></i> in Kanchipuram (<!--del_lnk--> Tamil Nadu), not Kashmir, and also spent his last days in Kanchipuram itself.<p><a id="Dates" name="Dates"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Dates</span></h3>
<p>Modern scholarly opinion is that Sankara's date should lie somewhere in the mid-8th century CE. It has proved impossible to reach agreement on Adi Shankara's precise dates of birth or death. Traditional sources from the Shankara <span class="IAST Unicode" style="font-face: Arial Unicode MS, GNU Unifont, Lucida Sans Unicode; white-space: wrap; text-decoration: none" title="International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration">Maṭhas</span> give two different dates; some cite <!--del_lnk--> 788 – <!--del_lnk--> 820 CE, while others cite <!--del_lnk--> 509 – <!--del_lnk--> 477 BCE. The <span class="IAST Unicode" style="font-face: Arial Unicode MS, GNU Unifont, Lucida Sans Unicode; white-space: wrap; text-decoration: none" title="International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration"><!--del_lnk--> Śṛṅgeri Śāradā Pīṭham</span>, accepts the <!--del_lnk--> 788 – <!--del_lnk--> 820 CE dates.Of the other major Shankara <span class="IAST Unicode" style="font-face: Arial Unicode MS, GNU Unifont, Lucida Sans Unicode; white-space: wrap; text-decoration: none" title="International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration">Maṭhas</span> active today, the ones at Dwaraka, Puri and Kanchi ascribe the dates <!--del_lnk--> 509 – <!--del_lnk--> 477 <!--del_lnk--> BCE to Adi Shankara. If these dates were true, they would require moving back the date of <a href="../../wp/g/Gautama_Buddha.htm" title="Gautama Buddha">Buddha</a> (which serves as an anchor for modern academic history of India). (See also <a href="#Mathas" title="">Mathas</a>). According to Swami Niranjanananda Saraswati's biography of Adi Shankara, published in his book <i>Sannyasa Darshan</i>, Adi Shankara was born in Kalady, Kerala, in <!--del_lnk--> 686, and attained mahasamadhi at Kedarnath, <!--del_lnk--> Uttaranchal, in <!--del_lnk--> 718.<p><a id="Mathas" name="Mathas"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Mathas</span></h2>
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<div style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/231/23137.jpg.htm" title="Vidyasankara temple at Sringeri Sharada Peetham, Sringeri"><img alt="Vidyasankara temple at Sringeri Sharada Peetham, Sringeri" height="184" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Vidyasankara.JPG" src="../../images/231/23137.jpg" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/231/23137.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Vidyasankara temple at <!--del_lnk--> Sringeri Sharada Peetham, <!--del_lnk--> Sringeri</div>
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<p>Adi Shankara founded four <span class="IAST Unicode" style="font-face: Arial Unicode MS, GNU Unifont, Lucida Sans Unicode; white-space: wrap; text-decoration: none" title="International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration"><!--del_lnk--> Maṭhas</span>, to guide the Hindu religion. These are at <!--del_lnk--> Sringeri in <!--del_lnk--> Karnataka in the south, <!--del_lnk--> Dwaraka in <!--del_lnk--> Gujarat in the west, <!--del_lnk--> Puri in <!--del_lnk--> Orissa in the east, and <!--del_lnk--> Jyotirmath (Joshimath) in <!--del_lnk--> Uttaranchal in the north. Hindu tradition states that he put in charge of these mathas his four main disciples: <!--del_lnk--> Sureshwaracharya, <!--del_lnk--> Hastamalakacharya, <!--del_lnk--> Padmapadacharya, and <!--del_lnk--> Totakacharya respectively. The heads of the mathas trace their authority back to these figures. Each of the heads of these four mathas takes the title of <!--del_lnk--> Shankaracharya ("the learned Shankara") after the first Shankara. The matha at <!--del_lnk--> Kanchi, <!--del_lnk--> Tamil Nadu, claims that it was founded by Adi Shankara. The below table gives an overview of the four <i>Amnaya Mathas</i> founded by Adi Shankara and their details.<table border="1" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" class="wikitable">
<tr>
<th><!--del_lnk--> Śishya</th>
<th><!--del_lnk--> <span class="IAST Unicode" style="font-face: Arial Unicode MS, GNU Unifont, Lucida Sans Unicode; white-space: wrap; text-decoration: none" title="International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration">Maṭha</span></th>
<th><span class="IAST Unicode" style="font-face: Arial Unicode MS, GNU Unifont, Lucida Sans Unicode; white-space: wrap; text-decoration: none" title="International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration"><!--del_lnk--> Mahāvākya</span></th>
<th><!--del_lnk--> Veda</th>
<th><span class="IAST Unicode" style="font-face: Arial Unicode MS, GNU Unifont, Lucida Sans Unicode; white-space: wrap; text-decoration: none" title="International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration"><!--del_lnk--> Sampradaya</span></th>
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<tr>
<td><span class="IAST Unicode" style="font-face: Arial Unicode MS, GNU Unifont, Lucida Sans Unicode; white-space: wrap; text-decoration: none" title="International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration"><!--del_lnk--> Hastāmalakācārya</span></td>
<td><span class="IAST Unicode" style="font-face: Arial Unicode MS, GNU Unifont, Lucida Sans Unicode; white-space: wrap; text-decoration: none" title="International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration"><!--del_lnk--> Govardhana Pīṭhaṃ</span></td>
<td><span class="IAST Unicode" style="font-face: Arial Unicode MS, GNU Unifont, Lucida Sans Unicode; white-space: wrap; text-decoration: none" title="International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration">Prajñānam brahma (<i>Brahman is Knowledge</i>)</span></td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Rig Veda</td>
<td>Bhogavala</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><span class="IAST Unicode" style="font-face: Arial Unicode MS, GNU Unifont, Lucida Sans Unicode; white-space: wrap; text-decoration: none" title="International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration"><!--del_lnk--> Sureśvarācārya</span></td>
<td><span class="IAST Unicode" style="font-face: Arial Unicode MS, GNU Unifont, Lucida Sans Unicode; white-space: wrap; text-decoration: none" title="International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration"><!--del_lnk--> Śārada Pīṭhaṃ</span></td>
<td><span class="IAST Unicode" style="font-face: Arial Unicode MS, GNU Unifont, Lucida Sans Unicode; white-space: wrap; text-decoration: none" title="International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration">Aham brahmāsmi (<i>I am Brahman</i>)</span></td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Yajur Veda</td>
<td><span class="IAST Unicode" style="font-face: Arial Unicode MS, GNU Unifont, Lucida Sans Unicode; white-space: wrap; text-decoration: none" title="International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration">Bhūrivala</span></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><span class="IAST Unicode" style="font-face: Arial Unicode MS, GNU Unifont, Lucida Sans Unicode; white-space: wrap; text-decoration: none" title="International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration"><!--del_lnk--> Padmapādācārya</span></td>
<td><span class="IAST Unicode" style="font-face: Arial Unicode MS, GNU Unifont, Lucida Sans Unicode; white-space: wrap; text-decoration: none" title="International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration"><!--del_lnk--> Dvāraka Pīṭhaṃ</span></td>
<td><span class="IAST Unicode" style="font-face: Arial Unicode MS, GNU Unifont, Lucida Sans Unicode; white-space: wrap; text-decoration: none" title="International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration">Tattvamasi (<i>That thou art</i>)</span></td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Sama Veda</td>
<td>Kitavala</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><span class="IAST Unicode" style="font-face: Arial Unicode MS, GNU Unifont, Lucida Sans Unicode; white-space: wrap; text-decoration: none" title="International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration"><!--del_lnk--> Toṭakācārya</span></td>
<td><span class="IAST Unicode" style="font-face: Arial Unicode MS, GNU Unifont, Lucida Sans Unicode; white-space: wrap; text-decoration: none" title="International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration"><!--del_lnk--> Jyotirmaṭha Pīṭhaṃ</span></td>
<td><span class="IAST Unicode" style="font-face: Arial Unicode MS, GNU Unifont, Lucida Sans Unicode; white-space: wrap; text-decoration: none" title="International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration">Ayamātmā brahma (<i>This Atman is Brahman</i>)</span></td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Atharva Veda</td>
<td>Nandavala</td>
</tr>
</table>
<p><a id="Philosophy_and_religious_thought" name="Philosophy_and_religious_thought"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Philosophy and religious thought</span></h2>
<dl>
<dd>
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<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/128/12881.jpg.htm" title="The swan is an important motif in Advaita Vedanta. Its symbolic meanings are: firstly; upon verbally repeating hamsa (the Sanskrit word for Swan), it becomes so-aham (Sanskrit, "I am That"). Secondly, even as a swan lives in water its feathers are not soiled by water, a liberated Advaitin lives in this world full of maya but is untouched by its illusion. Thirdly, a monk of the Dashanami order is called a Paramahamsa ("the supreme swan")"><img alt="The swan is an important motif in Advaita Vedanta. Its symbolic meanings are: firstly; upon verbally repeating hamsa (the Sanskrit word for Swan), it becomes so-aham (Sanskrit, "I am That"). Secondly, even as a swan lives in water its feathers are not soiled by water, a liberated Advaitin lives in this world full of maya but is untouched by its illusion. Thirdly, a monk of the Dashanami order is called a Paramahamsa ("the supreme swan")" height="135" longdesc="/wiki/Image:SwansCygnus_olor.jpg" src="../../images/231/23138.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/128/12881.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> The <!--del_lnk--> swan is an important motif in <!--del_lnk--> Advaita Vedanta. Its symbolic meanings are: firstly; upon verbally repeating <i>hamsa</i> (the Sanskrit word for <i>Swan</i>), it becomes <i>so-aham</i> (Sanskrit, "I am That"). Secondly, even as a swan lives in water its feathers are not soiled by water, a liberated Advaitin lives in this world full of maya but is untouched by its illusion. Thirdly, a <!--del_lnk--> monk of the <!--del_lnk--> Dashanami order is called a <i><!--del_lnk--> Paramahamsa</i> ("the supreme swan")</div>
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<p><i>Advaita</i> ("non-dualism") is often called a <!--del_lnk--> monistic system of thought. The word "Advaita" essentially refers to the identity of the Self (<!--del_lnk--> Atman) and the Whole (<a href="../../wp/b/Brahman.htm" title="Brahman">Brahman</a>). The key source texts for all schools of <span class="IAST Unicode" style="font-face: Arial Unicode MS, GNU Unifont, Lucida Sans Unicode; white-space: wrap; text-decoration: none" title="International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration">Vedānta</span> are the <!--del_lnk--> Prasthanatrayi– the canonical texts consisting of the <!--del_lnk--> Upanishads, the <!--del_lnk--> Bhagavad Gita and the <!--del_lnk--> Brahma Sutras.<p>Adi Shankara was the first in its tradition to consolidate the <span class="IAST Unicode" style="font-face: Arial Unicode MS, GNU Unifont, Lucida Sans Unicode; white-space: wrap; text-decoration: none" title="International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration">siddhānta</span> ("doctrine") of Advaita Vedanta. He wrote commentaries on the <!--del_lnk--> Prasthana Trayi. A famous quote from <span class="IAST Unicode" style="font-face: Arial Unicode MS, GNU Unifont, Lucida Sans Unicode; white-space: wrap; text-decoration: none" title="International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration"><!--del_lnk--> Vivekacūḍāmaṇi</span>, one of his <i>prakarana granthas</i> that succinctly summarises his philosophy is:<blockquote>
<p><i><span class="IAST Unicode" style="font-face: Arial Unicode MS, GNU Unifont, Lucida Sans Unicode; white-space: wrap; text-decoration: none" title="International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration">Brahma satyaṃ jagat mithyā, jīvo brahmaiva nāparah</span></i></blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p><a href="../../wp/b/Brahman.htm" title="Brahman">Brahman</a> is the only truth, the world is unreal, and there is ultimately no difference between Brahman and individual self.</blockquote>
<p>Advaita Vedanta is based on <i><span class="IAST Unicode" style="font-face: Arial Unicode MS, GNU Unifont, Lucida Sans Unicode; white-space: wrap; text-decoration: none" title="International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration">śāstra</span></i> ("scriptures"), <i>yukti</i> ("reason") and <i>anubhava</i> ("experience"), and aided by <i><!--del_lnk--> karmas</i> ("spiritual practices"). This philosophy provides a clear-cut way of life to be followed. Starting from childhood, when learning has to start, the philosophy has to be realised in practice throughout one's life even up to death. This is the reason why this philosophy is called an experiential philosophy, the underlying tenet being "That thou art", meaning that ultimately there is no difference between the experiencer and the experienced (the world) as well as the universal spirit (<a href="../../wp/b/Brahman.htm" title="Brahman">Brahman</a>). Among the followers of Advaita, as well those of other doctrines, there are believed to have appeared <i><!--del_lnk--> Jivanmuktas</i>, ones liberated while alive. These individuals (commonly called <i><!--del_lnk--> Mahatmas</i>, great souls, among <!--del_lnk--> Hindus) are those who realised the oneness of their self and the universal spirit called Brahman.<p><a id="Advaita_Vedanta_in_summary" name="Advaita_Vedanta_in_summary"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Advaita Vedanta in summary</span></h3>
<p>Adi Shankara's Bhashyas (commentaries) on the <!--del_lnk--> Upanishads, the <!--del_lnk--> Bhagavad Gita and the <!--del_lnk--> Brahma Sutras are his principal and almost undeniably his own works. Although he mostly adhered to traditional means of commenting on the Brahma Sutra, there are a number of original ideas and arguments to establish that the essence of Upanishads is Advaita. He taught that it was only through direct knowledge of <a href="../../wp/b/Brahman.htm" title="Brahman">Brahman</a> that one could be enlightened.<p>Adi Shankara's opponents accused him of teaching Buddhism in the <!--del_lnk--> garb of Hinduism, because his non-dualistic ideals were a bit radical to contemporary Hindu philosophy. However, it may be noted that while the Later Buddhists arrived at a changeless, deathless, absolute truth after their insightful understanding of the unreality of <!--del_lnk--> samsara, historically Vedantins never liked this idea. Although Advaita proposes the theory of <!--del_lnk--> Maya, explaining the universe as a "trick of a magician", Adi Shankara and his followers see this as a consequence of their basic premise that <a href="../../wp/b/Brahman.htm" title="Brahman">Brahman</a> alone is real. Their idea of Maya emerges from their belief in the reality of Brahman, rather than the other way around.<p><a id="Historical_and_cultural_impact" name="Historical_and_cultural_impact"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Historical and cultural impact</span></h2>
<p>At the time of Adi Shankara's life, <a href="../../wp/h/Hinduism.htm" title="Hinduism">Hinduism</a> had begun to decline because of the influence of <a href="../../wp/b/Buddhism.htm" title="Buddhism">Buddhism</a> and <!--del_lnk--> Jainism. Hinduism had become divided into innumerable sects, each quarrelling with the others. The followers of <!--del_lnk--> Mimamsa and <!--del_lnk--> Sankhya philosophy were atheists, insomuch that they did not believe in <!--del_lnk--> God as a unified being. Besides these atheists, there were numerous theistic sects. There were also those who rejected the Vedas, like the <!--del_lnk--> Charvakas.<p>Adi Shankara held discourses and debates with the leading scholars of all these sects and schools of philosophy to controvert their doctrines. He unified the theistic sects into a common framework of <!--del_lnk--> Shanmata system. In his works, Adi Shankara stressed the importance of the Vedas, and his efforts helped Hinduism regain strength and popularity. Many trace the present worldwide domination of Vedanta to his works. He travelled on foot to various parts of India to restore the study of the Vedas.<p>Even though he lived for only thirty-two years, his impact on India and on Hinduism was striking. He reintroduced a purer form of <!--del_lnk--> Vedic thought. His teachings and <!--del_lnk--> tradition form the basis of <!--del_lnk--> Smartism and have influenced <!--del_lnk--> Sant Mat lineages. He is the main figure in the tradition of <!--del_lnk--> Advaita Vedanta. He was the founder of the <i><span class="IAST Unicode" style="font-face: Arial Unicode MS, GNU Unifont, Lucida Sans Unicode; white-space: wrap; text-decoration: none" title="International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration"><!--del_lnk--> Daśanāmi Sampradāya</span></i> of <!--del_lnk--> Hindu <!--del_lnk--> monasticism and <i><!--del_lnk--> <span class="IAST Unicode" style="font-face: Arial Unicode MS, GNU Unifont, Lucida Sans Unicode; white-space: wrap; text-decoration: none" title="International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration">Ṣaṇmata</span></i> of Smarta <!--del_lnk--> tradition. He introduced the <i><span class="IAST Unicode" style="font-face: Arial Unicode MS, GNU Unifont, Lucida Sans Unicode; white-space: wrap; text-decoration: none" title="International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration"><!--del_lnk--> Pañcāyatana</span></i> form of <!--del_lnk--> worship.<p>Adi Shankara, along with <!--del_lnk--> Madhva and <!--del_lnk--> Ramanuja, was instrumental in the revival of Hinduism. These three <!--del_lnk--> teachers formed the doctrines that are followed by their respective sects even today. They have been the most important figures in the recent history of <!--del_lnk--> Hindu philosophy. In their writings and debates, they provided <!--del_lnk--> polemics against the non-Vedantic schools of <!--del_lnk--> Sankhya, <!--del_lnk--> Vaisheshika etc. Thus they paved the way for <!--del_lnk--> Vedanta to be the dominant and most widely followed tradition among the schools of Hindu philosophy. The Vedanta school stresses most on the <!--del_lnk--> Upanishads (which are themselves called Vedanta, <i>End or culmination of the <!--del_lnk--> Vedas</i>), unlike the other schools that gave importance to texts authored by their founders. The Vedanta schools have the belief that the Vedas, which include the Upanishads, are unauthored, forming a continuous tradition of wisdom transmitted orally. Thus the concept of <i>apaurusheyatva</i> ("being unauthored") came to be the guiding force behind the Vedanta schools. However, along with stressing the importance of <!--del_lnk--> Vedic <!--del_lnk--> tradition, Adi Shankara gave equal importance to the personal experience of the student. <!--del_lnk--> Logic, <!--del_lnk--> grammar, <!--del_lnk--> Mimamsa and allied subjects form main areas of study in all the Vedanta schools.<p>A well known verse, recited in the Smarta tradition, in praise of Adi Shankara is:<blockquote>
<p><span class="Unicode">श्रुति स्मृति पुराणानामालयं करुणालयं</span>|<br /><span class="Unicode">नमामि भगवत्पादशंकरं लॊकशंकरं</span> ||<br /><i><span class="IAST Unicode" style="font-face: Arial Unicode MS, GNU Unifont, Lucida Sans Unicode; white-space: wrap; text-decoration: none" title="International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration">Śruti smṛti purāṇānāṃālayaṃ karuṇālayaṃ</span></i>|<br /><i><span class="IAST Unicode" style="font-face: Arial Unicode MS, GNU Unifont, Lucida Sans Unicode; white-space: wrap; text-decoration: none" title="International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration">Namāmi Bhagavatpādaśaṅkaraṃ lokaśaṅkaraṃ</span></i>||<br /> I salute the compassionate abode of the Vedas, Smritis and Puranas known as Shankara Bhagavatpada, who makes the world auspicious.</blockquote>
<p><a id="Works" name="Works"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Works</span></h2>
<p>Adi Shankara's works deal with logically establishing the doctrine of <!--del_lnk--> Advaita Vedanta as he saw it in the <!--del_lnk--> Upanishads. He formulates the doctrine of Advaita Vedanta by validating his arguments on the basis of quotations from the <!--del_lnk--> Vedas and other <!--del_lnk--> Hindu scriptures. He gives a high priority to <i>svānubhava</i> ("personal experience") of the student. His works are largely <!--del_lnk--> polemical in nature. He directs his polemics mostly against the <!--del_lnk--> Sankhya, <!--del_lnk--> Buddha, <!--del_lnk--> Jaina, <!--del_lnk--> Vaisheshika and other non-vedantic <!--del_lnk--> Hindu philosophies.<p>Traditionally, his works are classified under <span class="IAST Unicode" style="font-face: Arial Unicode MS, GNU Unifont, Lucida Sans Unicode; white-space: wrap; text-decoration: none" title="International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration">Bhāṣya</span> ("commentary"), <span class="IAST Unicode" style="font-face: Arial Unicode MS, GNU Unifont, Lucida Sans Unicode; white-space: wrap; text-decoration: none" title="International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration">Prakaraṇa gratha</span> ("philosophical treatise") and Stotra ("devotional hymn"). The commentaries serve to provide a consistent interpretation of the scriptural texts from the perspective of Advaita Vedanta. The philosophical treatises provide various <!--del_lnk--> methodologies to the student to understand the doctrine. The devotional hymns are rich in poetry and piety, serving to highlight the relationship between the <!--del_lnk--> devotee and the <!--del_lnk--> deity.<p>Adi Shankara wrote <i>Bhashyas</i> on the ten <!--del_lnk--> major <!--del_lnk--> Upanishads, the <!--del_lnk--> Brahma Sutras and the <!--del_lnk--> Bhagavad Gita. In his works, he quotes from Shveshvatara, Kaushitakai, Mahanarayana and Jabala Upanishads, among others. <i>Bhashyas</i> on Kaushitaki, Nrisimhatapani and Shveshvatara Upanishads are extant but the authenticity is doubtful. Adi Shankara's is the earliest extant commentary on the <!--del_lnk--> Brahma Sutras. However, he mentions older commentaries like those of Dravida, Bhartrprapancha and others.<p>In his <!--del_lnk--> Brahma Sutra Bhashya, Adi Shankara cites the examples of <!--del_lnk--> Dharmavyadha, <!--del_lnk--> Vidura and others, who were born with the knowledge of <a href="../../wp/b/Brahman.htm" title="Brahman">Brahman</a> acquired in previous births. He mentions that the effects cannot be prevented from working on account of their present birth. He states that the knowledge that arises out of the study of the <!--del_lnk--> Vedas could be had through the <!--del_lnk--> Puranas and the <!--del_lnk--> Itihasas. In the <!--del_lnk--> Taittiriya Upanishad Bhashya 2.2, he says:<blockquote>
<p><i><span class="IAST Unicode" style="font-face: Arial Unicode MS, GNU Unifont, Lucida Sans Unicode; white-space: wrap; text-decoration: none" title="International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration">Sarveśāṃ cādhikāro vidyāyāṃ ca śreyah: kevalayā vidyāyā veti siddhaṃ</span></i></blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>It has been established that everyone has the right to the knowledge (of Brahman) and that the supreme goal is attained by that knowledge alone.</blockquote>
<p>Among the independent philosophical treatises, only Upadeśasāhasrī is accepted as authentic by modern academic scholars. Many other such texts exist, among which there is a difference of opinion among scholars on the authorship of <!--del_lnk--> Viveka Chudamani. The former pontiff of Sringeri Math, Shri Shri <!--del_lnk--> Chandrashekhara Bharati III has written a voluminous commentary on the Viveka Chudamani.<p><a id="See_also" name="See_also"></a><div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adi_Shankara"</div>
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<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">Adolf Hitler</h1>
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<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.People.Political_People.htm">Political People</a></h3>
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<td colspan="2" style="text-align: center; font-size:140%;"><b>Adolf Hitler</b></td>
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<td colspan="2" style="text-align:center;"><a class="image" href="../../images/279/27934.jpg.htm" title="Adolf Hitler"><img alt="Adolf Hitler" height="408" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Adolf_Hitler_in_Yugoslavia_crop.JPG" src="../../images/151/15155.jpg" width="160" /></a><br />
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<div style="background:lavender;"><!--del_lnk--> Chancellor of Germany<br /><i><!--del_lnk--> Reichskanzler</i></div>
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<td colspan="2" style="border-bottom:none; text-align:center;"><b>In office</b><br /><!--del_lnk--> 30 January <!--del_lnk--> 1933 – <!--del_lnk--> 30 April <!--del_lnk--> 1945</td>
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<th>Preceded by</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Kurt von Schleicher</td>
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<th>Succeeded by</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Joseph Goebbels</td>
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<div style="background:lavender;"><!--del_lnk--> Head of State<br /><i>Führer und Reichskanzler</i></div>
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<td colspan="2" style="border-bottom:none; text-align:center;"><b>In office</b><br /><!--del_lnk--> 2 August <!--del_lnk--> 1934 – <!--del_lnk--> April 30, <!--del_lnk--> 1945</td>
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<th>Preceded by</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Paul von Hindenburg<br /><i>(as President)</i></td>
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<th>Succeeded by</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Karl Dönitz<br /><i>(as President)</i></td>
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<th>Born</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> April 20, <!--del_lnk--> 1889<br /><!--del_lnk--> Braunau am Inn, <a href="../../wp/a/Austria.htm" title="Austria">Austria</a></td>
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<th>Died</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> April 30, <!--del_lnk--> 1945<br /><a href="../../wp/b/Berlin.htm" title="Berlin">Berlin</a>, <a href="../../wp/g/Germany.htm" title="Germany">Germany</a></td>
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<th>Political party</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> National Socialist German Workers Party (NSDAP)</td>
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<th>Spouse</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Eva Braun<br /><i>(married on <!--del_lnk--> 29 April <!--del_lnk--> 1945)</i></td>
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<p><b><span class="unicode audiolink"><!--del_lnk--> Adolf Hitler</span> </b> (<!--del_lnk--> April 20, <!--del_lnk--> 1889 – <!--del_lnk--> April 30, <!--del_lnk--> 1945) was <!--del_lnk--> Chancellor of Germany from 1933, and "<!--del_lnk--> Führer" (leader) of <a href="../../wp/g/Germany.htm" title="Germany">Germany</a> from 1934 until his death. He was leader of the <!--del_lnk--> National Socialist German Workers Party (<i>Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei</i> or NSDAP), better known as the <a href="../../wp/n/Nazism.htm" title="Nazi">Nazi</a> Party.<p>Hitler gained power in a Germany <a href="../../wp/w/Weimar_Republic.htm" title="Weimar Republic">facing crisis</a> after <a href="../../wp/w/World_War_I.htm" title="World War I">World War I</a>. Using <!--del_lnk--> propaganda and <!--del_lnk--> charismatic oratory, he was able to appeal to the economic need of the lower and middle classes, while sounding resonant chords of <a href="../../wp/n/Nationalism.htm" title="Nationalism">nationalism</a>, <!--del_lnk--> anti-Semitism and <!--del_lnk--> anti-communism. With the establishment of a restructured economy, a rearmed military, and a <!--del_lnk--> totalitarian <a href="../../wp/f/Fascism.htm" title="Fascism">fascist</a> <!--del_lnk--> dictatorship, Hitler pursued an aggressive foreign policy with the intention of expanding German <i><!--del_lnk--> Lebensraum</i> ("living space"), which triggered <a href="../../wp/w/World_War_II.htm" title="World War II">World War II</a> when Germany <!--del_lnk--> invaded Poland. At the height of its power, <a href="../../wp/n/Nazi_Germany.htm" title="Nazi Germany">Nazi Germany</a> occupied most of Europe, but it and the <!--del_lnk--> Axis Powers were eventually defeated by the <!--del_lnk--> Allies. By then, Hitler's <!--del_lnk--> racial policies had culminated in a <!--del_lnk--> genocide of approximately eleven million people, including about six million <a href="../../wp/j/Jew.htm" title="Jew">Jews</a>, in what is now known as <a href="../../wp/t/The_Holocaust.htm" title="The Holocaust">the Holocaust</a>.<p>In the final days of the war, <!--del_lnk--> Hitler committed suicide in <!--del_lnk--> his underground bunker in <a href="../../wp/b/Berlin.htm" title="Berlin">Berlin</a> with his newlywed wife, <!--del_lnk--> Eva Braun.<p>
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</script><a id="Early_years" name="Early_years"></a><h2><span class="mw-headline">Early years</span></h2>
<p><a id="Childhood_and_heritage" name="Childhood_and_heritage"></a><h3><span class="mw-headline">Childhood and heritage</span></h3>
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<div style="width:202px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/151/15156.jpg.htm" title="Adolf Hitler as an infant."><img alt="Adolf Hitler as an infant." height="248" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Baby-hitler.jpg" src="../../images/151/15156.jpg" width="200" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
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<p>Adolf Hitler was born on <!--del_lnk--> April 20, <!--del_lnk--> 1889 at <!--del_lnk--> Braunau am Inn, <a href="../../wp/a/Austria.htm" title="Austria">Austria</a>, a small town in <!--del_lnk--> Upper Austria, on the border with <a href="../../wp/g/Germany.htm" title="Germany">Germany</a>. He was the third son and the fourth of six children of <!--del_lnk--> Alois Hitler (born Schicklgruber) (1837–1903), a minor <!--del_lnk--> customs official, and <!--del_lnk--> Klara Pölzl (1860–1907), his second cousin, and third wife. Because of the close kinship of the two, a papal dispensation had to be obtained before the marriage could take place. Of Alois and Klara's six children, only Adolf and his younger sister <!--del_lnk--> Paula reached adulthood. Alois Hitler also had a son, <!--del_lnk--> Alois Jr., and a daughter, <!--del_lnk--> Angela, by his second wife.<p>Alois was born illegitimate and for the first thirty-nine years of his life bore his mother's name, Schicklgruber. In 1876, Alois began using the name of his <!--del_lnk--> stepfather, <!--del_lnk--> Johann Georg Hiedler, after visiting a priest responsible for <!--del_lnk--> birth registries and declaring that Georg was his father (Alois gave the impression that Georg was still alive but he was long dead). The name was variously spelled Hiedler, Huetler, Huettler and Hitler and probably changed to "Hitler" by a clerk. About the origin of the name there are two theories:<ol>
<li>From <a href="../../wp/g/German_language.htm" title="German language">German</a> <i>Hittler</i> and similar, "one who lives in a hut", "shepherd".<li>From <!--del_lnk--> Slavic <i>Hidlar</i> and <i>Hidlarcek</i>.</ol>
<p>Later, Adolf Hitler was accused by his political enemies of not rightfully being a Hitler, but a Schicklgruber. This was also exploited in Allied <a href="../../wp/p/Propaganda.htm" title="Propaganda">propaganda</a> during World War II when <!--del_lnk--> pamphlets bearing the phrase "Heil Schicklgruber" were <!--del_lnk--> airdropped over German cities. Adolf was legally born a Hitler, however, and was also closely related to Hiedler through his maternal grandmother, <!--del_lnk--> Johanna Hiedler.<p>Hitler's given name, "Adolf", comes from the <!--del_lnk--> Old High German for "noble wolf" ("Adel"="nobility" + "wolf"). Hence, not surprisingly, one of Hitler's self-given nicknames was <i>Wolf</i> or <i>Herr Wolf</i> — he began using this nickname in the early 1920s and was addressed by it only by intimates (as "Uncle Wolf" by the Wagners) up until the fall of the Third Reich. By his closest family and relatives, Hitler was known simply as "Adi". The names of his various <!--del_lnk--> headquarters scattered throughout <!--del_lnk--> continental Europe (<i><!--del_lnk--> Wolfsschanze</i> in <!--del_lnk--> East Prussia, <i>Wolfsschlucht</i> in <a href="../../wp/f/France.htm" title="France">France</a>, <i>Werwolf</i> in <a href="../../wp/u/Ukraine.htm" title="Ukraine">Ukraine</a>, etc.) seem to reflect this.<p>As a boy, Hitler was whipped almost daily by his father. Years later he told his secretary, "I then resolved never again to cry when my father whipped me. A few days later I had the opportunity of putting my will to the test. My mother, frightened, took refuge in the front of the door. As for me, I counted silently the blows of the stick which lashed my rear end." <p>Hitler was not sure who his paternal grandfather was, but it was probably either Johann Georg Hiedler or his brother <!--del_lnk--> Johann Nepomuk Hiedler. There have been rumours that Hitler was one-quarter <a href="../../wp/j/Jew.htm" title="Jew">Jewish</a> <!--del_lnk--> and that his paternal grandmother, <!--del_lnk--> Maria Schicklgruber, had become pregnant after working as a servant in a Jewish household in <!--del_lnk--> Graz. During the 1920s, the implications of these rumours along with his known family history were politically explosive, especially for the proponent of a <!--del_lnk--> racist <!--del_lnk--> ideology. Opponents tried to prove that Hitler, the leader of the <!--del_lnk--> anti-Semitic <!--del_lnk--> Nazi Party, had Jewish or <!--del_lnk--> Czech ancestors. Although these rumours were never confirmed, for Hitler they were reason enough to conceal his origins. <a href="../../wp/s/Soviet_Union.htm" title="Soviet Union">Soviet</a> propaganda insisted Hitler was a Jew, though more modern research tends to diminish the probability that he had Jewish ancestors. According to Robert G. L. Waite in <i>The Psychopathic God: Adolf Hitler,</i> Hitler made it illegal for German women to work in Jewish households, and after the "<a href="../../wp/a/Anschluss.htm" title="Anschluss">Anschluss</a>" (annexation) of Austria, Hitler had his father's hometown obliterated by turning it into an artillery practice area. Hitler seemed to fear that he was Jewish, and as Waite points out, this fact is more important than whether he actually was.<p>Because of Alois Hitler's profession, his family moved frequently, from <!--del_lnk--> Braunau to <!--del_lnk--> Passau, Lambach, <!--del_lnk--> Leonding, and <!--del_lnk--> Linz. As a young child, Hitler was reportedly a good student at the various <!--del_lnk--> elementary schools he attended; however, in <!--del_lnk--> sixth grade (1900–1), his first year of <!--del_lnk--> high school (<i>Realschule</i>) in Linz, he failed completely and had to repeat the grade. His teachers reported that he had "no desire to work."<p>Hitler later explained this educational slump as a kind of <!--del_lnk--> rebellion against his father Alois, who wanted the boy to follow him in a career as a customs official, although Adolf wanted to become a <!--del_lnk--> painter. This explanation is further supported by Hitler's later description of himself as a misunderstood artist. However, after Alois died on <!--del_lnk--> January 3, <!--del_lnk--> 1903, when Adolf was 13, Hitler's schoolwork did not improve. At the age of 16, Hitler left school with no <!--del_lnk--> qualifications.<p><a id="Early_adulthood_in_Vienna_and_Munich" name="Early_adulthood_in_Vienna_and_Munich"></a><h3><span class="mw-headline">Early adulthood in Vienna and Munich</span></h3>
<p>From 1905 onward, Hitler was able to live the life of a <!--del_lnk--> Bohemian on a fatherless child's <!--del_lnk--> pension and support from his mother. He was rejected twice by the <!--del_lnk--> Academy of Fine Arts Vienna (1907 – 1908) due to "unfitness for painting", and was told his abilities lay rather in the field of <a href="../../wp/a/Architecture.htm" title="Architecture">architecture</a>. His own memoirs reflect a fascination with the subject:<blockquote>
<p>"<i>The purpose of my trip was to study the picture gallery in the Court Museum, but I had eyes for scarcely anything but the Museum itself. From morning until late at night, I ran from one object of interest to another, but it was always the buildings which held my primary interest.</i>" (Mein Kampf, Chapter II, paragraph 3).</blockquote>
<p>Following the school rector's recommendation, he too became convinced this was the path to pursue, yet he lacked the proper academic preparation for <a href="../../wp/a/Architecture.htm" title="Architecture">architecture</a> school:<blockquote>
<p>"<i>In a few days I myself knew that I should some day become an architect.</i> <i>To be sure, it was an incredibly hard road; for the studies I had neglected out of spite at the Realschule were sorely needed. One could not attend the Academy's architectural school without having attended the building school at the Technic, and the latter required a high-school degree. I had none of all this. The fulfillment of my artistic dream seemed physically impossible.''</i>"(Mein Kampf, Chapter II, paragraph 5 & 6).</blockquote>
<p>On <!--del_lnk--> December 21, <!--del_lnk--> 1907, his mother Klara died a painful death from <!--del_lnk--> breast cancer at the age of 47. Hitler gave his share of the <!--del_lnk--> orphans' benefits to his younger sister <!--del_lnk--> Paula, but when he was 21 he inherited some money from an aunt. He worked as a struggling painter in Vienna, copying scenes from <!--del_lnk--> postcards and selling his paintings to <!--del_lnk--> merchants and tourists (there is evidence he produced over 2000 paintings and drawings before World War I). Several biographers have noted that a Jewish resident of the house named Hanisch helped him sell his postcards.<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:202px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/151/15157.jpg.htm" title="A watercolour by Adolf Hitler depicting Laon, France."><img alt="A watercolour by Adolf Hitler depicting Laon, France." height="270" longdesc="/wiki/Image:AHWatercolor1.jpg" src="../../images/151/15157.jpg" width="200" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/151/15157.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> A watercolour by Adolf Hitler depicting <!--del_lnk--> Laon, <a href="../../wp/f/France.htm" title="France">France</a>.</div>
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<p>After the second refusal from the Academy of Arts, Hitler gradually ran out of money. By 1909, he sought refuge in a <!--del_lnk--> homeless shelter, and by the beginning of 1910 had settled permanently into a house for poor working men.<p>Hitler first became an active anti-Semite in Vienna, which had a large Jewish community, including many <!--del_lnk--> Orthodox Jews from <!--del_lnk--> Eastern Europe and where traditional religious prejudice mixed with recent racist theories. Hitler was influenced over time by the writings of the race ideologist and anti-Semite <!--del_lnk--> Lanz von Liebenfels and <!--del_lnk--> polemics from <!--del_lnk--> politicians such as <!--del_lnk--> Karl Lueger, founder of the <!--del_lnk--> Christian Social Party and <!--del_lnk--> mayor of Vienna, one of the most outrageous demagogues in history, and <!--del_lnk--> Georg Ritter von Schönerer, leader of the pan-Germanic <i>Away from Rome!</i> movement. He later wrote in his book <i><!--del_lnk--> Mein Kampf</i> that his transition from opposing anti-Semitism on religious grounds to supporting it on racial grounds came from having seen an <!--del_lnk--> Orthodox Jew:<blockquote>
<p>"<i>There were very few Jews in Linz. In the course of centuries the Jews who lived there had become <!--del_lnk--> Europeanized in external appearance and were so much like other human beings that I even looked upon them as Germans. The reason why I did not then perceive the absurdity of such an illusion was that the only external mark which I recognized as distinguishing them from us was the practice of their strange religion. As I thought that they were persecuted on account of their faith my aversion to hearing remarks against them grew almost into a feeling of abhorrence. I did not in the least suspect that there could be such a thing as a systematic anti-Semitism.</i></blockquote>
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<p><i>Once, when passing through the inner City, I suddenly encountered a phenomenon in a long caftan and wearing black side-locks. My first thought was: Is this a Jew? They certainly did not have this appearance in Linz. I carefully watched the man stealthily and cautiously but the longer I gazed at the strange countenance and examined it feature by feature, the more the question shaped itself in my brain: Is this a German?</i>"<br /> (<i>Mein Kampf</i>, vol. 1, chap. 2: "Years of study and suffering in Vienna")</blockquote>
<p>Hitler began to claim the Jews were natural enemies of what he called the <!--del_lnk--> Aryan race. He held them responsible for Austria's crisis. He also identified certain forms of <a href="../../wp/s/Socialism.htm" title="Socialism">Socialism</a> and especially <a href="../../wp/c/Communism.htm" title="Communism">Bolshevism</a>, which had many Jews among its leaders, as Jewish movements, merging his anti-Semitism with anti-Marxism. Blaming Germany's military defeat on the 1917 Revolutions, he considered Jews the culprit of Imperial Germany's military defeat and subsequent economic problems as well.<p>Generalising from tumultuous scenes in the parliament of the multi-national <!--del_lnk--> Austria Monarchy, he developed a firm belief in the inferiority of the democratic <a href="../../wp/p/Parliamentary_system.htm" title="Parliamentary system">parliamentary system</a>, which formed the basis of his political views. However, according to <!--del_lnk--> August Kubizek, his close friend and <!--del_lnk--> roommate at the time, he was more interested in the <a href="../../wp/o/Opera.htm" title="Opera">operas</a> of <a href="../../wp/r/Richard_Wagner.htm" title="Richard Wagner">Richard Wagner</a> than in <a href="../../wp/p/Politics.htm" title="Politics">politics</a>.<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:214px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/151/15158.jpg.htm" title="A landscape painted by Adolf Hitler."><img alt="A landscape painted by Adolf Hitler." height="143" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Hitler%27s_Paintings_-_Landscape.jpg" src="../../images/151/15158.jpg" width="212" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/151/15158.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> A landscape painted by Adolf Hitler.</div>
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<p>Hitler received the final part of his father's estate in May 1913 and moved to <a href="../../wp/m/Munich.htm" title="Munich">Munich</a>. He later wrote in <i><!--del_lnk--> Mein Kampf</i> that he had always longed to live in a "real" German city. In Munich, he became more interested in architecture and the writings of <!--del_lnk--> Houston Stewart Chamberlain. Moving to Munich also helped him escape <!--del_lnk--> military service in Austria for a time, but the Austrian army later arrested him. After a physical exam (during which his height was measured at 173 cm, or 5 ft 8 in) and a contrite plea, he was deemed unfit for service and allowed to return to Munich. However, when Germany entered World War I in August 1914, he immediately petitioned King Ludwig III of Bavaria for permission to serve in a Bavarian regiment, this request was granted, and Adolf Hitler enlisted in the <!--del_lnk--> Bavarian army.<p><a id="World_War_I" name="World_War_I"></a><h3><span class="mw-headline">World War I</span></h3>
<p>Hitler saw active service in <a href="../../wp/f/France.htm" title="France">France</a> and <a href="../../wp/b/Belgium.htm" title="Belgium">Belgium</a> as a messenger for the regimental headquarters of the 16th Bavarian Reserve <!--del_lnk--> Regiment (also called <i>Regiment List</i> after its first commander), which exposed him to enemy fire. Unlike his fellow soldiers, Hitler reportedly never complained about the food or hard conditions, preferring to talk about <a href="../../wp/a/Art.htm" title="Art">art</a> or history. He also drew some <!--del_lnk--> cartoons and <!--del_lnk--> instructional drawings for the army newspaper. His behaviour as a soldier was considered somewhat sloppy, but his regular duties required taking dispatches to and from fighting areas and he was twice decorated for his performance of these duties. He received the <!--del_lnk--> Iron Cross, Second Class in December 1914 and the Iron Cross, First Class in August 1918, an honour rarely given to a <!--del_lnk--> Gefreiter. However, because of the perception of "a lack of leadership skills" on the part of some of the regimental staff, as well as (according to Kershaw) Hitler's unwillingness to leave regimental headquarters (which would have been likely in event of promotion), he was never promoted to <!--del_lnk--> Unteroffizier. Other historians, however, say that the reason he was not promoted is that he did not have German citizenship. His duty station at regimental headquarters, while often dangerous, gave Hitler time to pursue his artwork. During October 1916 in northern France, Hitler was <!--del_lnk--> wounded in the leg, but returned to the front in March 1917. He received the <!--del_lnk--> Wound Badge later that year, as his injury was the direct result of hostile fire. <!--del_lnk--> Sebastian Haffner, referring to Hitler's experience at the front, suggests he did have at least some understanding of the military.<p>On <!--del_lnk--> October 15, <!--del_lnk--> 1918, shortly before the end of the war, Hitler was admitted to a <!--del_lnk--> field hospital, temporarily <!--del_lnk--> blinded by a <!--del_lnk--> poison gas attack. The English psychologist <!--del_lnk--> David Lewis and <!--del_lnk--> Bernhard Horstmann indicate the blindness may have been the result of a <!--del_lnk--> conversion disorder (then known as <!--del_lnk--> hysteria). Hitler later said it was during this experience that he became convinced the purpose of his life was to "save Germany". Some scholars, notably Lucy Dawidowicz, argue that an intention to mass murder Europe's Jews was fully formed in Hitler's mind at this time, though he probably hadn't thought through how it could be done.<p>Two passages in <i><!--del_lnk--> Mein Kampf</i> mention the use of <i><!--del_lnk--> poison gas</i>:<dl>
<dd><i>At the beginning of the Great War, or even during the War, if twelve or fifteen thousand of these Jews who were corrupting the nation had been forced to submit to poison-gas . . . then the millions of sacrifices made at the front would not have been in vain.</i> (Volume 2, Chapter 15 "The Right to Self-Defence").</dl>
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<dd><i>These tactics are based on an accurate estimation of human weakness and must lead to success, with almost mathematical certainty, unless the other side also learns how to fight poison gas with poison gas. The weaker natures must be told that here it is a case of to be or not to be.</i> (Volume 1, Chapter 2 "Years of Study and Suffering in Vienna")</dl>
<p>Hitler had long admired Germany, and during the war he had become a passionate German <!--del_lnk--> patriot, although he did not become a German citizen until 1932. He was shocked by Germany's <!--del_lnk--> capitulation in November 1918 even while the German army still held enemy territory. Like many other German <a href="../../wp/n/Nationalism.htm" title="Nationalism">nationalists</a>, Hitler believed in the <i><!--del_lnk--> Dolchstoßlegende</i> ("dagger-stab legend") which claimed that the army, "undefeated in the field", had been "stabbed in the back" by civilian leaders and Marxists back on the <!--del_lnk--> home front. These politicians were later dubbed the <i><!--del_lnk--> November Criminals</i>.<p>The <a href="../../wp/t/Treaty_of_Versailles.htm" title="Treaty of Versailles">Treaty of Versailles</a> deprived Germany of various territories, <!--del_lnk--> demilitarized the <!--del_lnk--> Rhineland and imposed other economically damaging sanctions. The treaty also declared Germany the culprit for all the horrors of the Great War, as a basis for later imposing not yet specified reparations on Germany (the amount was repeatedly revised under the <!--del_lnk--> Dawes Plan, <!--del_lnk--> Young Plan and the <!--del_lnk--> Hoover Moratorium). Germans, however, perceived the treaty and especially the paragraph on the German guilt as a humiliation, not least as it was damaging in the extreme to their pride. For example, there was nearly a full demilitarisation of the armed forces, allowing Germany only 6 battleships, no submarines, no air force, an army of 100,000 without <!--del_lnk--> conscription and no armoured vehicles. The treaty was an important factor in both the social and political conditions encountered by Hitler and his National Socialist Party as they sought power. Hitler and his party used the signing of the treaty by the "November Criminals" as a reason to build up Germany so that it could never happen again. He also used the 'November Criminals' as scapegoats, although at the Paris peace conference, these politicians had very little choice in the matter.<p><a id="The_early_years_of_the_Nazi_Party" name="The_early_years_of_the_Nazi_Party"></a><h2><span class="mw-headline">The early years of the Nazi Party</span></h2>
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<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/151/15159.png.htm" title="A copy of Adolf Hitler's forged DAP membership card. His actual membership number was 555 (the 55th member of the party - the 500 was added to make the group appear larger) but later the number was reduced to create the impression that Hitler was one of the founding members (Ian Kershaw Hubris). Hitler had wanted to create his own party, but was ordered by his superiors in the Reichswehr to infiltrate an existing one instead."><img alt="A copy of Adolf Hitler's forged DAP membership card. His actual membership number was 555 (the 55th member of the party - the 500 was added to make the group appear larger) but later the number was reduced to create the impression that Hitler was one of the founding members (Ian Kershaw Hubris). Hitler had wanted to create his own party, but was ordered by his superiors in the Reichswehr to infiltrate an existing one instead." height="118" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Hitlermember.png" src="../../images/151/15159.png" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/151/15159.png.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> A copy of Adolf Hitler's forged <!--del_lnk--> DAP membership card. His actual membership number was 555 (the 55th member of the party - the 500 was added to make the group appear larger) but later the number was reduced to create the impression that Hitler was one of the founding members (Ian Kershaw <i>Hubris</i>). Hitler had wanted to create his own party, but was ordered by his superiors in the Reichswehr to infiltrate an existing one instead.</div>
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<p><a id="Hitler.27s_entry_into_politics" name="Hitler.27s_entry_into_politics"></a><h3><span class="mw-headline">Hitler's entry into politics</span></h3>
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<p>After World War I, Hitler remained in the army and returned to Munich, where he - in contrast to his later declarations - participated in the funeral march for the murdered Bavarian prime minister <!--del_lnk--> Kurt Eisner. After the suppression of the <!--del_lnk--> Munich Soviet Republic, took part in "national thinking" courses organized by the <i>Education and Propaganda Department</i> (Dept Ib/P) of the Bavarian <i>Reichswehr</i> Group, Headquarters 4 under Captain <!--del_lnk--> Karl Mayr. A key purpose of this group was to create a <!--del_lnk--> scapegoat for the outbreak of the war and Germany's defeat. The scapegoats were found in "international Jewry", communists, and politicians across the party spectrum, especially the parties of the <!--del_lnk--> Weimar Coalition, who were deemed "<!--del_lnk--> November Criminals".<p>In July 1919, Hitler was appointed a <i>Verbindungsmann</i> (police spy) of an <i>Aufklärungskommando</i> (Intelligence Commando) of the <!--del_lnk--> Reichswehr, for the purpose of influencing other soldiers toward similar ideas and was assigned to <!--del_lnk--> infiltrate a small party, the <!--del_lnk--> German Workers' Party (DAP), which was thought of to be a possibly <a href="../../wp/s/Socialism.htm" title="Socialism">socialist</a> party <i>(See: <!--del_lnk--> Adolf Hitler's inspection of the German Workers' Party).</i> During his <!--del_lnk--> inspection of the party, Hitler was impressed with <!--del_lnk--> Drexler's <!--del_lnk--> anti-Semitic, <a href="../../wp/n/Nationalism.htm" title="Nationalism">nationalist</a>, <!--del_lnk--> anti-capitalist and anti-<a href="../../wp/m/Marxism.htm" title="Marxism">Marxist</a> ideas, which favoured a strong active government, a "non-Jewish" version of socialism and mutual solidarity of all members of society.<p>Here Hitler also met <!--del_lnk--> Dietrich Eckart, one of the early founders of the party and member of the occult <!--del_lnk--> Thule Society. Eckart became Hitler's mentor, exchanging ideas with him, teaching him how to dress and speak, and introducing him to a wide range of people. Hitler in return thanked Eckart by paying tribute to him in the second volume of <i>Mein Kampf</i>.<p>Hitler was discharged from the army in March 1920 and with his former superiors' continued encouragement began participating full time in the party's activities. By early 1921, Adolf Hitler was becoming highly effective at speaking in front of even larger crowds. In February, Hitler spoke before a crowd of nearly six thousand in <a href="../../wp/m/Munich.htm" title="Munich">Munich</a>. To publicize the meeting, he sent out two truckloads of Party supporters to drive around with <a href="../../wp/s/Swastika.htm" title="Swastika">swastikas</a>, cause a commotion and throw out <!--del_lnk--> leaflets, their first use of this tactic. Hitler gained notoriety outside of the Party for his rowdy, <!--del_lnk--> polemic speeches against the <a href="../../wp/t/Treaty_of_Versailles.htm" title="Treaty of Versailles">Treaty of Versailles</a>, rival politicians (including monarchists, nationalists and other non-internationalist socialists) and especially against Marxists and Jews.<p>The DAP was centered in Munich which had become a hotbed of German nationalists who included Army officers determined to crush Marxism and undermine or even overthrow the young German republic. Gradually they noticed Adolf Hitler and his growing movement as a vehicle to hitch themselves to. Hitler traveled to Berlin to visit nationalist groups during the summer of 1921 and in his absence there was an unexpected <!--del_lnk--> revolt among the DAP leadership in Munich.<p>The Party was run by an executive <!--del_lnk--> committee whose original members considered Hitler to be overbearing and even <!--del_lnk--> dictatorial. To weaken Hitler's position they formed an <!--del_lnk--> alliance with a group of socialists from <!--del_lnk--> Augsburg. Hitler rushed back to Munich and countered them by tendering his <!--del_lnk--> resignation from the Party on <!--del_lnk--> July 11, <!--del_lnk--> 1921. When they realized the loss of Hitler would effectively mean the end of the Party, he seized the moment and announced he would return on the condition that he was made chairman and given dictatorial powers. Infuriated committee members (including founder <!--del_lnk--> Anton Drexler) held out at first. Meanwhile an <!--del_lnk--> anonymous <!--del_lnk--> pamphlet appeared entitled <i>Adolf Hitler: Is he a <!--del_lnk--> traitor?</i>, attacking Hitler's lust for power and criticizing the violence-prone men around him. Hitler responded to its publication in a Munich newspaper by <!--del_lnk--> suing for <!--del_lnk--> libel and later won a small settlement.<p>The executive committee of the DAP eventually backed down and Hitler's demands were put to a vote of party members. Hitler received 543 votes for and only one against. At the next gathering on <!--del_lnk--> July 29, <!--del_lnk--> 1921, Adolf Hitler was introduced as <!--del_lnk--> Führer of the National Socialist Party, marking the first time this title was publicly used. Hitler changed the name of the party to the National Socialist German Workers Party (<i>Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei</i> or <!--del_lnk--> NSDAP).<p>Hitler's beer hall <!--del_lnk--> oratory, attacking Jews, <!--del_lnk--> social democrats, <a href="../../wp/l/Liberalism.htm" title="Liberalism">liberals</a>, reactionary <!--del_lnk--> monarchists, <a href="../../wp/c/Capitalism.htm" title="Capitalism">capitalists</a> and <a href="../../wp/c/Communism.htm" title="Communism">communists</a>, began attracting adherents. Early followers included <!--del_lnk--> Rudolf Hess, the former air force pilot <!--del_lnk--> Hermann Göring, and the army <!--del_lnk--> captain <!--del_lnk--> Ernst Röhm, who became head of the Nazis' <!--del_lnk--> paramilitary organization, the <!--del_lnk--> SA, which protected meetings and attacked political opponents. Hitler also assimilated independent groups, such as the Nuremberg-based <i>Deutsche Werkgemeinschaft</i>, led by <!--del_lnk--> Julius Streicher, who now became <!--del_lnk--> Gauleiter of <!--del_lnk--> Franconia. Hitler also attracted the attention of local business interests, was accepted into influential circles of Munich society and became associated with wartime General <!--del_lnk--> Erich Ludendorff during this time.<p><a id="The_Beer_Hall_Putsch" name="The_Beer_Hall_Putsch"></a><h3><span class="mw-headline">The Beer Hall Putsch</span></h3>
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<p>Encouraged by this early support, Hitler decided to use Ludendorff as a front in an <!--del_lnk--> attempt to seize power later known as the <i><!--del_lnk--> Beer Hall Putsch</i> (and sometimes as the <i>Hitler Putsch or Munich Putsch</i>). The Nazi Party had copied the Italian <a href="../../wp/f/Fascism.htm" title="Fascism">Fascists</a> in appearance and also had adopted some programmatical points and now, in the turbulent year 1923, Hitler wanted to emulate <a href="../../wp/b/Benito_Mussolini.htm" title="Benito Mussolini">Mussolini</a>'s "<!--del_lnk--> March on Rome" by staging his own "Campaign in Berlin". Hitler and Ludendorff obtained the clandestine support of <!--del_lnk--> Gustav von Kahr, <!--del_lnk--> Bavaria's <!--del_lnk--> de facto ruler along with leading figures in the <!--del_lnk--> Reichswehr and the police. As political posters show, Ludendorff, Hitler and the heads of the Bavarian police and military planned on forming a new government.<p>However on <!--del_lnk--> November 8, <!--del_lnk--> 1923 Kahr and the military withdrew their support during a meeting in the Bürgerbräukeller, a large beer hall outside of Munich. A surprised Hitler had them arrested and proceeded with the coup. Unknown to him, Kahr and the other detainees had been released on Ludendorff's orders after he obtained their word not to interfere. That night they prepared resistance measures against the coup and in the morning, when Hitler and his followers marched from the beer hall to the Bavarian War Ministry to overthrow the Bavarian government as a start to their "March on Berlin", the army quickly dispersed them (Ludendorff was wounded and a few other Nazis were killed).<p>Hitler fled to the home of <!--del_lnk--> friends and contemplated suicide. He was soon arrested for <!--del_lnk--> high treason and appointed <!--del_lnk--> Alfred Rosenberg as temporary leader of the party but found himself in an environment somewhat receptive to his beliefs. During Hitler's trial, sympathetic magistrates allowed Hitler to turn his debacle into a <a href="../../wp/p/Propaganda.htm" title="Propaganda">propaganda</a> stunt. He was given almost unlimited amounts of time to present his arguments to the court, and his popularity soared when he voiced basic nationalistic sentiments shared by some of the public. On <!--del_lnk--> April 1, <!--del_lnk--> 1924 Hitler was sentenced to five years' imprisonment at <!--del_lnk--> Landsberg prison for the crime of conspiracy to commit treason. Hitler received favoured treatment from the guards and had much fan mail from <!--del_lnk--> admirers. Hitler was released on <!--del_lnk--> December 20, <!--del_lnk--> 1924 after the authorities decided that he was not a danger to the public. Including remand, he had served just over one year of his five-year sentence.<p><a id="Mein_Kampf" name="Mein_Kampf"></a><h3><span class="mw-headline"><i>Mein Kampf</i></span></h3>
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<p>While at Landsberg he dictated his political book <i><!--del_lnk--> Mein Kampf</i> (<i>My Struggle</i>) to his deputy <!--del_lnk--> Rudolf Hess. The book, dedicated to <!--del_lnk--> Thule Society member <!--del_lnk--> Dietrich Eckart, was both an autobiography and an exposition of his political ideology. It was published in two volumes in 1925 and 1926 respectively, selling about 240,000 copies between 1925 and 1934 alone. By the end of the war, about 10 million copies had been sold or distributed (every newly-wed couple, as well as front soldiers, received free copies).<p>Hitler spent years dodging taxes on the royalties of his book, and had accumulated a tax debt of about 405,500 <!--del_lnk--> Reichsmarks (6m euros in today's money) by the time he became chancellor (at which time his debt was waived).<p><a id="The_rebuilding_of_the_party" name="The_rebuilding_of_the_party"></a><h3><span class="mw-headline">The rebuilding of the party</span></h3>
<p>At the time of Hitler's release, the political situation in Germany had calmed down, and the economy had improved, which hampered Hitler's opportunities for agitation. Though the <i>Hitler Putsch</i> had given Hitler some national prominence, his party's mainstay was still Munich.<p>As Hitler was still banned from public speeches, he appointed <!--del_lnk--> Gregor Strasser, who in 1924 had been elected to the <!--del_lnk--> Reichstag, as <i>Reichsorganisationsleiter</i>, authorizing him to organise the party in northern Germany. Gregor, joined by his younger brother <!--del_lnk--> Otto and <!--del_lnk--> Joseph Goebbels, steered an increasingly independent course, emphasizing the socialist element in the party's programme. The <i>Arbeitsgemeinschaft der Gauleiter Nord-West</i> became an internal opposition, threatening Hitler's authority, but this faction was defeated at the <!--del_lnk--> Bamberg Conference (1926), during which Goebbels joined Hitler.<p>After this encounter, Hitler centralized the party even more and asserted the <i><!--del_lnk--> Führerprinzip</i> as the basic principle of party organization. Leaders were not elected by their group but were rather appointed by their superior and were answerable to them while demanding unquestioning obedience from their inferiors. Consistent with Hitler's disdain for <a href="../../wp/d/Democracy.htm" title="Democracy">democracy</a>, all power and <!--del_lnk--> authority devolved from the top down.<p>A key element of Hitler's appeal was his ability to convey a sense of offended national pride caused by the <a href="../../wp/t/Treaty_of_Versailles.htm" title="Treaty of Versailles">Treaty of Versailles</a> imposed on the defeated <!--del_lnk--> German Empire by the Western Allies. Germany had lost economically important territory in Europe along with its <!--del_lnk--> colonies and in admitting to sole responsibility for the war had agreed to pay a huge <!--del_lnk--> reparations bill totaling 132 billion <!--del_lnk--> marks. Most Germans bitterly resented these terms but early Nazi attempts to gain support by blaming these humiliations on "international Jewry" were not particularly successful with the electorate. The party learned quickly and soon a more subtle propaganda emerged, combining anti-Semitism with an attack on the failures of the "<!--del_lnk--> Weimar system" and the parties supporting it.<p>Having failed in overthrowing the Republic by a coup, Hitler now pursued the "strategy of legality": this meant formally adhering to the rules of the <a href="../../wp/w/Weimar_Republic.htm" title="Weimar Republic">Weimar Republic</a> until he had legally gained power and then transforming liberal democracy into a Nazi dictatorship. Some party members, especially in the paramilitary <!--del_lnk--> SA, opposed this strategy and <!--del_lnk--> Ernst Röhm ridiculed Hitler as "Adolphe Legalité".<p><a id="The_road_to_power" name="The_road_to_power"></a><h2><span class="mw-headline">The road to power</span></h2>
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<p>The political turning point for Hitler came when the <!--del_lnk--> Great Depression hit Germany in 1930. The <a href="../../wp/w/Weimar_Republic.htm" title="Weimar Republic">Weimar Republic</a> had never been firmly rooted and was openly opposed by right-wing conservatives (including monarchists), Communists and the Nazis. As the parties loyal to the democratic, parliamentary republic found themselves unable to agree on counter-measures, their <!--del_lnk--> Grand Coalition broke up and was replaced by a minority cabinet. The new Chancellor <!--del_lnk--> Heinrich Brüning of the Roman Catholic <!--del_lnk--> Centre Party, lacking a majority in parliament, had to implement his measures through the President's emergency decrees. Tolerated by the majority of parties, the exception soon became the rule and paved the way for authoritarian forms of government.<p>The Reichstag's initial opposition to Brüning's measures led to premature elections in September 1930. The republican parties lost their majority and their ability to resume the Grand Coalition, while the Nazis suddenly rose from relative obscurity to win 18.3% of the vote along with 107 seats in the <!--del_lnk--> Reichstag, becoming the second largest party in Germany.<p>Brüning's measure of budget consolidation and financial <!--del_lnk--> austerity brought little economic improvement and was extremely unpopular. Under these circumstances, Hitler appealed to the bulk of German <!--del_lnk--> farmers, <!--del_lnk--> war veterans and the <!--del_lnk--> middle-class who had been hard-hit by both the <!--del_lnk--> inflation of the 1920s and the <!--del_lnk--> unemployment of the Depression. Hitler received little response from the <!--del_lnk--> urban working classes and traditionally Catholic regions.<p>Meanwhile, on <!--del_lnk--> September 18, <!--del_lnk--> 1931, Hitler's <!--del_lnk--> niece <!--del_lnk--> Geli Raubal was found dead in her bedroom in his Munich apartment (his half-sister <!--del_lnk--> Angela and her daughter Geli had been with him in Munich since 1929), an apparent suicide. Geli was 19 years younger than he was and had used his gun, drawing rumours of a relationship between the two. The event is viewed as having caused lasting turmoil for him.<p>In 1932, Hitler intended to run against the aging <!--del_lnk--> President <!--del_lnk--> Paul von Hindenburg in the scheduled <!--del_lnk--> presidential elections. Though Hitler had left Austria in 1913, he still had not acquired German citizenship and hence could not run for public office. In February, however, the state government of <!--del_lnk--> Brunswick, in which the Nazi Party participated, appointed Hitler to some minor administrative post and also gave him citizenship. The new German citizen ran against Hindenburg, who was supported by a broad range of reactionary nationalist, monarchist, Catholic, Republican and even <!--del_lnk--> social democratic parties, and against the Communist presidential candidate. His campaign was called "Hitler über Deutschland" (Hitler over Germany). The name had a double meaning.<p>Besides an obvious reference to Hitler's dictatorial intentions, it also referred to the fact that Hitler was campaigning by aircraft. This was a brand new political tactic that allowed Hitler to speak in two cities in one day, which was practically unheard of at the time. Hitler came in second on both rounds, attaining more than 35% of the vote during the second one in April. Although he lost to Hindenburg, the election established Hitler as a realistic and fresh alternative in German politics. <a id="The_cabinets_of_Papen_and_Schleicher" name="The_cabinets_of_Papen_and_Schleicher"></a><h3><span class="mw-headline">The cabinets of Papen and Schleicher</span></h3>
<p>President Hindenburg, influenced by the <!--del_lnk--> Camarilla, became increasingly estranged from Brüning and pushed his Chancellor to move the government in a decidedly authoritarian and right-wing direction. This culminated, in May 1932, with the resignation of the Brüning cabinet.<p>Hindenburg appointed the nobleman <!--del_lnk--> Franz von Papen as chancellor, heading a "Cabinet of Barons". Papen was bent on authoritarian rule and, since in the Reichstag only the conservative <!--del_lnk--> DNVP supported his administration, he immediately called for new elections in July. In these elections, the Nazis achieved their biggest success yet and won 230 seats.<p>The Nazis had become the largest party in the Reichstag without which no stable government could be formed. Papen tried to convince Hitler to become Vice-Chancellor and enter a new government with a parliamentary basis. Hitler however rejected this offer and put further pressure on Papen by entertaining parallel negotiations with the <!--del_lnk--> Centre Party, Papen's former party, which was bent on bringing down the renegade Papen. In both negotiations, Hitler demanded that he, as leader of the strongest party, must be Chancellor, but President Hindenburg consistently refused to appoint the "Bohemian private" to the Chancellorship.<p>After a <!--del_lnk--> vote of no-confidence in the Papen government, supported by 84% of the deputies, the new Reichstag was dissolved and new elections were called in November. This time, the Nazis lost some votes but still remained the largest party in the Reichstag.<p>After Papen failed to secure a majority, he proposed to dissolve the parliament again along with an indefinite postponement of elections. Hindenburg at first accepted this, but after General <!--del_lnk--> Kurt von Schleicher and the military withdrew their support, Hindenburg instead dismissed Papen and appointed Schleicher, who promised he could secure a majority government by negotiations with both the Social Democrats, the trade unions, and dissidents from the Nazi party under <!--del_lnk--> Gregor Strasser. In January 1933, however, Schleicher had to admit failure in these efforts and asked Hindenburg for emergency powers along with the same postponement of elections that he had opposed earlier, to which the President reacted by dismissing Schleicher.<p><a id="Hitler.27s_appointment_as_Chancellor" name="Hitler.27s_appointment_as_Chancellor"></a><h3><span class="mw-headline">Hitler's appointment as Chancellor</span></h3>
<p>Meanwhile Papen, resentful because of his dismissal, tried to get his revenge on Schleicher by working toward the General's downfall, through forming an intrigue with the <!--del_lnk--> camarilla and <!--del_lnk--> Alfred Hugenberg, media mogul and chairman of the <!--del_lnk--> DNVP. Also involved were <!--del_lnk--> Hjalmar Schacht, <!--del_lnk--> Fritz Thyssen and other leading German businessmen. They financially supported the Nazi Party, which had been brought to the brink of bankruptcy by the cost of heavy campaigning. The businessmen also wrote letters to Hindenburg, urging him to appoint Hitler as leader of a government "independent from parliamentary parties" which could turn into a movement that would "enrapture millions of people."<p>Finally, the President reluctantly agreed to appoint Hitler Chancellor of a coalition government formed by the <!--del_lnk--> NSDAP and <!--del_lnk--> DNVP. Hitler and two other Nazi ministers (<!--del_lnk--> Frick, <!--del_lnk--> Göring) were to be contained by a framework of conservative cabinet ministers, most notably by Papen as <!--del_lnk--> Vice-Chancellor and by Hugenberg as Minister of Economics. Papen wanted to use Hitler as a figure-head, but the Nazis had gained key positions, most notably the Ministry of the Interior. On the morning of <!--del_lnk--> January 30, <!--del_lnk--> 1933, in Hindenburg's office, Adolf Hitler was sworn in as <!--del_lnk--> Chancellor during what some observers later described as a brief and simple ceremony.<p><a id="Reichstag_Fire_and_the_March_elections" name="Reichstag_Fire_and_the_March_elections"></a><h3><span class="mw-headline">Reichstag Fire and the March elections</span></h3>
<p>Having become Chancellor, Hitler foiled all attempts to gain a majority in parliament and on that basis convinced President Hindenburg to dissolve the Reichstag again. Elections were scheduled for early March, but on <!--del_lnk--> February 27, <!--del_lnk--> 1933, the <!--del_lnk--> Reichstag building was set on fire. Since a <!--del_lnk--> Dutch independent communist was found in the building, the fire was blamed on a Communist plot to which the government reacted with the <!--del_lnk--> Reichstag Fire Decree of <!--del_lnk--> February 28, which suspended basic rights, including <i><!--del_lnk--> habeas corpus</i>. Under the provisions of this decree, the <!--del_lnk--> German Communist Party and other groups were suppressed, and Communist functionaries and deputies were arrested, put to flight, or murdered. In the same month Hitler banned pornography, homosexual bars and bath-houses and groups which promoted "gay rights". Campaigning continued, with the Nazis making use of paramilitary violence, anti-Communist hysteria, and the government's resources for propaganda. On election day, <!--del_lnk--> March 6, the NSDAP increased its result to 43.9% of the vote, remaining the largest party, but its victory was marred by its failure to secure an absolute majority. Hitler had to maintain his <!--del_lnk--> coalition with the <!--del_lnk--> DNVP, as the coalition had a slim majority.<p><a id="The_.22Day_of_Potsdam.22_and_the_Enabling_Act" name="The_.22Day_of_Potsdam.22_and_the_Enabling_Act"></a><h3><span class="mw-headline">The "Day of Potsdam" and the Enabling Act</span></h3>
<p>On <!--del_lnk--> 21 March, the new Reichstag was constituted itself with an impressive opening ceremony held at Potsdam's garrison church. This "Day of Potsdam" was staged to demonstrate reconciliation and union between the revolutionary Nazi movement and "Old Prussia" with its elites and virtues. Hitler himself appeared, not in Nazi uniform, but in a tail coat, and humbly greeted the aged President Hindenburg.<p>Because of the Nazis' failure to obtain a majority on their own, Hitler's government confronted the newly elected <!--del_lnk--> Reichstag with the <!--del_lnk--> Enabling Act that would have vested the cabinet with <!--del_lnk--> legislative powers for a period of four years. Though such a bill was not unprecedented, this act was different since it allowed for deviations from the constitution. As the bill required a two-thirds majority in order to pass, the government needed the support of other parties. The position of the Catholic <!--del_lnk--> Centre Party, at this point the third largest party in the Reichstag, turned out to be decisive: under the leadership of <!--del_lnk--> Ludwig Kaas, the party decided to vote for the Enabling Act. It did so in return for the government's oral guarantees regarding the <a href="../../wp/r/Roman_Catholic_Church.htm" title="Roman Catholic Church">Church</a>'s liberty, the concordats signed by German states and the continued existence of the Centre Party itself.<p>On <!--del_lnk--> 23 March, the Reichstag assembled in a replacement building under extremely turbulent circumstances. Some <!--del_lnk--> SA men served as guards within while large groups outside the building shouted slogans and threats toward the arriving deputies. Kaas announced that the Centre would support the bill amid "concerns put aside.", while Social Democrat <!--del_lnk--> Otto Wels denounced the Act in his speech. At the end of the day, all parties except the <!--del_lnk--> Social Democrats voted in favour of the bill. The <!--del_lnk--> Enabling Act was dutifully renewed by the Reichstag every four years, even through World War II.<p><a id="Removal_of_remaining_limits" name="Removal_of_remaining_limits"></a><h3><span class="mw-headline">Removal of remaining limits</span></h3>
<p>With this combination of legislative and <!--del_lnk--> executive power, Hitler's government further suppressed the remaining political <!--del_lnk--> opposition. The <!--del_lnk--> KPD and the <!--del_lnk--> SPD were banned, while all other political parties dissolved themselves. <!--del_lnk--> Labour unions were merged with employers' federations into an organisation under Nazi control and the autonomy of German state governments was abolished.<p>Hitler also used the <!--del_lnk--> SA paramilitary to push Hugenberg into resigning and proceeded to politically isolate Vice Chancellor Papen. As the SA's demands for political and military power caused much anxiety among the populace in general and especially among the military, Hitler used allegations of a plot by the SA leader <!--del_lnk--> Ernst Röhm to purge the paramilitary force's leadership during the <!--del_lnk--> Night of the Long Knives. Opponents unconnected with the <!--del_lnk--> SA were also <!--del_lnk--> murdered, notably <!--del_lnk--> Gregor Strasser and former Chancellor <!--del_lnk--> Kurt von Schleicher.<p>Soon after, president <!--del_lnk--> Paul von Hindenburg died on <!--del_lnk--> 2 August <!--del_lnk--> 1934. Rather than holding new presidential elections, Hitler's cabinet passed a law proclaiming the presidency dormant and transferred the role and powers of the head of state to Hitler as <i>Führer und Reichskanzler</i> (leader and chancellor). Thereby Hitler also became supreme commander of the military, which then swore their military <!--del_lnk--> oath not to the state or the constitution but to Hitler personally. In a mid-August <!--del_lnk--> plebiscite, these acts found the approval of 90% of the electorate. Combining the highest offices in state, military and party in his hand, Hitler had attained supreme rule that could no longer be legally challenged.<p><a id="The_Third_Reich" name="The_Third_Reich"></a><h2><span class="mw-headline">The Third Reich</span></h2>
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<p>Having secured supreme political power, Hitler went on to gain their support by <!--del_lnk--> persuading most Germans he was their saviour from the Depression, the <!--del_lnk--> Communists, the <!--del_lnk--> Versailles Treaty, and the <a href="../../wp/j/Jew.htm" title="Jew">Jews</a> along with other "undesirable" <!--del_lnk--> minorities.<p><a id="Economics_and_culture" name="Economics_and_culture"></a><h3><span class="mw-headline">Economics and culture</span></h3>
<p>Hitler oversaw one of the greatest expansions of industrial production and civil improvement Germany had ever seen, mostly based on debt flotation and expansion of the military. Nazi policies toward women strongly encouraged them to stay at home to bear children and keep house. In a September 1934 speech to the National Socialist Women's Organization, Adolf Hitler argued that for the German woman her “world is her husband, her family, her children, and her home,” a policy which was reinforced by the bestowing of the Cross of Honour of the German Mother on women bearing four or more babies. The <!--del_lnk--> unemployment rate was cut substantially, mostly through arms production and sending women home so that men could take their jobs. Given this, claims that the <!--del_lnk--> German economy achieved near <!--del_lnk--> full employment are at least partly artifacts of <a href="../../wp/p/Propaganda.htm" title="Propaganda">propaganda</a> from the <!--del_lnk--> era. Much of the financing for Hitler's reconstruction and rearmament came from currency manipulation by <!--del_lnk--> Hjalmar Schacht, including the clouded credits through the <!--del_lnk--> Mefo bills. The negative effects of this <!--del_lnk--> inflation were offset in later years by the acquisition of foreign <a href="../../wp/g/Gold.htm" title="Gold">gold</a> from the treasuries of conquered nations.<p>Hitler also oversaw one of the largest infrastructure improvement campaigns in German history, with the construction of dozens of <a href="../../wp/d/Dam.htm" title="Dam">dams</a>, <!--del_lnk--> autobahns, <!--del_lnk--> railroads and other civil works. Hitler's <!--del_lnk--> policies emphasised the importance of family life: men were the "breadwinners", while women's priorities were to lie in bringing up children and in household work. This revitalising of industry and infrastructure came at the expense of the overall standard of living, at least for those not affected by the chronic unemployment of the later Weimar Republic, since wages were slightly reduced in pre-World War II years, despite a 25% increase in the cost of living <!--del_lnk--> (Shirer 1959).<p>Hitler's government <!--del_lnk--> sponsored <a href="../../wp/a/Architecture.htm" title="Architecture">architecture</a> on an immense scale, with <!--del_lnk--> Albert Speer becoming famous as the first architect of the Reich. While important as an Architect in implementing Hitler's classicist reinterpretation of German culture, Speer would prove much more effective as armaments minister during the last years of World War II. In 1936, Berlin hosted the <!--del_lnk--> summer Olympic games, which were opened by Hitler and <!--del_lnk--> choreographed to demonstrate <!--del_lnk--> Aryan superiority over all other races, achieved mixed results. <i><!--del_lnk--> Olympia</i>, the movie about the games and documentary propaganda films for the German Nazi Party were directed by Hitler's personal filmmaker <!--del_lnk--> Leni Riefenstahl.<p>Although Hitler made plans for a <i><!--del_lnk--> Breitspurbahn</i> (<!--del_lnk--> broad gauge railroad network), they were pre-empted by World War II. Had the railroad been built, its gauge would have been three metres, even wider than the old <!--del_lnk--> Great Western Railway of Britain.<p>Hitler contributed to the design of the car that later became the <!--del_lnk--> Volkswagen Beetle, and charged <!--del_lnk--> Ferdinand Porsche with its construction. Production was also deferred due the war.<p><a id="Rearmament_and_new_alliances" name="Rearmament_and_new_alliances"></a><h3><span class="mw-headline">Rearmament and new alliances</span></h3>
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<p>In March 1935, Hitler violated the <a href="../../wp/t/Treaty_of_Versailles.htm" title="Treaty of Versailles">Treaty of Versailles</a> by reintroducing <!--del_lnk--> conscription in Germany, building a massive military machine, including a new Navy (<i><!--del_lnk--> Kriegsmarine</i>) and an Air Force (<i><a href="../../wp/l/Luftwaffe.htm" title="Luftwaffe">Luftwaffe</a></i>). The enlistment of vast numbers of men and women in the new military seemed to solve <!--del_lnk--> unemployment problems, but seriously distorted the economy. For the first time in 20 years, Germany's armed forces were as strong as <a href="../../wp/f/France.htm" title="France">France</a>'s.<p>In March 1936, Hitler again violated the Treaty by <!--del_lnk--> reoccupying the <!--del_lnk--> demilitarized zone in the <!--del_lnk--> Rhineland. When <a href="../../wp/u/United_Kingdom.htm" title="United Kingdom">Britain</a> and France did nothing, he grew bolder. In July 1936, the <!--del_lnk--> Spanish Civil War began when the military, led by General <!--del_lnk--> Francisco Franco, rebelled against the elected <!--del_lnk--> Popular Front government. Hitler sent troops to support Franco and Spain served as a testing ground for Germany's new forces and their methods, including the bombing of undefended towns such as <!--del_lnk--> Gernika in April 1937, prompting <a href="../../wp/p/Pablo_Picasso.htm" title="Pablo Picasso">Pablo Picasso</a>'s famous <!--del_lnk--> eponymous <!--del_lnk--> Guernica painting.<p>An <!--del_lnk--> Axis was declared between Germany and Italy by <!--del_lnk--> Galeazzo Ciano, <!--del_lnk--> foreign minister of <!--del_lnk--> Fascist <!--del_lnk--> dictator <a href="../../wp/b/Benito_Mussolini.htm" title="Benito Mussolini">Benito Mussolini</a> on <!--del_lnk--> October 25, <!--del_lnk--> 1936. <!--del_lnk--> Tripartite Treaty was then signed by <!--del_lnk--> Saburo Kurusu of <!--del_lnk--> Imperial Japan, Adolf Hitler of <a href="../../wp/n/Nazi_Germany.htm" title="Nazi Germany">Nazi Germany</a> and Galeazzo Ciano of <!--del_lnk--> Fascist Italy in <!--del_lnk--> September 27, <!--del_lnk--> 1940 and was later expanded to include <a href="../../wp/h/Hungary.htm" title="Hungary">Hungary</a>, <a href="../../wp/r/Romania.htm" title="Romania">Romania</a> and <a href="../../wp/b/Bulgaria.htm" title="Bulgaria">Bulgaria</a>. They were collectively known as the <!--del_lnk--> Axis Powers. Then on <!--del_lnk--> November 5, <!--del_lnk--> 1937, at the <!--del_lnk--> Reich Chancellory, Adolf Hitler held a secret meeting and stated his plans for acquiring "living space" (<!--del_lnk--> Lebensraum) for the German people.<p><a id="The_Holocaust" name="The_Holocaust"></a><h3><span class="mw-headline">The Holocaust</span></h3>
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<p>One of the foundations of Hitler's and the NSDAP's social policies was the concept of <!--del_lnk--> racial hygiene. This was applied with varying degrees of rigourousness to different groups of society, but constituted in essence the same application of the brutal and crude concept of <!--del_lnk--> social Darwinism to all the different kinds of victims. Between 1939 and 1945, the SS, assisted by <!--del_lnk--> collaborationist governments and recruits from <!--del_lnk--> occupied countries, systematically killed about 11 million people, including about 6 million Jews, in <!--del_lnk--> concentration camps, <!--del_lnk--> ghettos and mass <!--del_lnk--> executions, or through less systematic methods elsewhere. Besides being gassed to death, many also died of <!--del_lnk--> starvation and <!--del_lnk--> disease while working as <!--del_lnk--> slave labourers (sometimes benefiting private German companies in the process, because of the low cost of such labour). Along with Jews, non-Jewish <a href="../../wp/p/Poland.htm" title="Poland">Poles</a> (over 3 million of whom died), alleged <a href="../../wp/c/Communism.htm" title="Communism">communists</a> or political opposition, members of resistance groups, resisting <!--del_lnk--> Roman Catholics and <!--del_lnk--> Protestants, <!--del_lnk--> homosexuals, <!--del_lnk--> Roma, the physically <!--del_lnk--> handicapped and mentally <!--del_lnk--> retarded, <a href="../../wp/s/Soviet_Union.htm" title="Soviet Union">Soviet</a> <!--del_lnk--> prisoners of war, <!--del_lnk--> Jehovah's Witnesses, anti-Nazi <!--del_lnk--> clergy, <a href="../../wp/t/Trade_union.htm" title="Trade union">trade unionists</a>, and <!--del_lnk--> psychiatric <!--del_lnk--> patients were killed. This industrial-scale <!--del_lnk--> genocide in Europe is referred to as <a href="../../wp/t/The_Holocaust.htm" title="The Holocaust">the Holocaust</a> (the term is also used by some <!--del_lnk--> authors in a narrower sense, to refer specifically to the unprecedented destruction of European Jewry). One of the biggest and most important <!--del_lnk--> concentration camps is Auschwitz.<p>The massacres that led to the coining of the word "<!--del_lnk--> genocide" (the <i><!--del_lnk--> Endlösung der jüdischen Frage</i> or "Final Solution of the Jewish Question") were planned and ordered by leading Nazis, with <!--del_lnk--> Himmler playing a key role. While no specific order from Hitler authorizing the mass killing of the Jews has surfaced, there is documentation showing that he approved the <i><!--del_lnk--> Einsatzgruppen</i> and the evidence also suggests that in the fall of 1941 Himmler and Hitler agreed in principle on mass extermination by gassing. During <!--del_lnk--> interrogations by Soviet <!--del_lnk--> intelligence officers declassified over fifty years later, Hitler's <!--del_lnk--> valet <!--del_lnk--> Heinz Linge and his military <!--del_lnk--> aide Otto Gunsche said Hitler had "pored over the first <!--del_lnk--> blueprints of <!--del_lnk--> gas chambers."<p>To make for smoother <!--del_lnk--> cooperation in the implementation of this "Final Solution", the <!--del_lnk--> Wannsee conference was held near Berlin on <!--del_lnk--> January 20, <!--del_lnk--> 1942, with fifteen senior officials participating, led by <!--del_lnk--> Reinhard Heydrich and <!--del_lnk--> Adolf Eichmann. The records of this meeting provide the clearest evidence of planning for the Holocaust. On <!--del_lnk--> February 22, Hitler was recorded saying to his associates, "we shall regain our health only by eliminating the Jews".<p><a id="World_War_II" name="World_War_II"></a><h2><span class="mw-headline">World War II</span></h2>
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<p><a id="Opening_moves" name="Opening_moves"></a><h3><span class="mw-headline">Opening moves</span></h3>
<p>On <!--del_lnk--> March 12, <!--del_lnk--> 1938, Hitler pressured his native <a href="../../wp/a/Austria.htm" title="Austria">Austria</a> into <!--del_lnk--> unification with Germany (the <a href="../../wp/a/Anschluss.htm" title="Anschluss">Anschluss</a>) and made a triumphal entry into <a href="../../wp/v/Vienna.htm" title="Vienna">Vienna</a>. Next, he intensified a crisis over the German-speaking <!--del_lnk--> Sudetenland districts of <!--del_lnk--> Czechoslovakia. This led to the <!--del_lnk--> Munich Agreement of September 1938, which authorized the annexation and immediate military occupation of these districts by Germany. As a result of the summit, Hitler was <i><!--del_lnk--> TIME</i> magazine's <!--del_lnk--> Man of the Year for 1938. <a href="../../wp/u/United_Kingdom.htm" title="United Kingdom">British</a> <!--del_lnk--> prime minister <!--del_lnk--> Neville Chamberlain hailed this agreement as "Peace in our time", but by giving way to Hitler's military demands Britain and France also left Czechoslovakia to Hitler's mercy.<p>Hitler ordered Germany's army to enter <a href="../../wp/p/Prague.htm" title="Prague">Prague</a> on <!--del_lnk--> March 10, <!--del_lnk--> 1939 and from <!--del_lnk--> Prague Castle proclaimed Bohemia and Moravia a German <!--del_lnk--> protectorate. After that, Hitler was claiming territories ceded to <!--del_lnk--> Poland under the <a href="../../wp/t/Treaty_of_Versailles.htm" title="Treaty of Versailles">Versailles Treaty</a>. Britain had not been able to reach an agreement with the <a href="../../wp/s/Soviet_Union.htm" title="Soviet Union">Soviet Union</a> for an alliance against Germany, and, on <!--del_lnk--> August 23, <!--del_lnk--> 1939, Hitler concluded a secret <!--del_lnk--> non-aggression pact (the <!--del_lnk--> Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact) with <a href="../../wp/j/Joseph_Stalin.htm" title="Joseph Stalin">Stalin</a> on which it was likely agreed that the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany would partition Poland. On <!--del_lnk--> September 1, Germany invaded the western portion of Poland. Britain and France, who had guaranteed assistance to Poland, declared war on Germany. Not long after this, on <!--del_lnk--> September 17, Soviet forces invaded eastern Poland.<p>After capturing western Poland by the end of September, Hitler built up his forces much further during the so-called <i><!--del_lnk--> Phony War</i>. In April 1940, he ordered German forces to march into <a href="../../wp/d/Denmark.htm" title="Denmark">Denmark</a> and <a href="../../wp/n/Norway.htm" title="Norway">Norway</a>. In May 1940, Hitler ordered his forces to attack <a href="../../wp/f/France.htm" title="France">France</a>, conquering the <a href="../../wp/n/Netherlands.htm" title="Netherlands">Netherlands</a>, <a href="../../wp/l/Luxembourg.htm" title="Luxembourg">Luxembourg</a> and <a href="../../wp/b/Belgium.htm" title="Belgium">Belgium</a> in the process. France <!--del_lnk--> surrendered on <!--del_lnk--> June 22, <!--del_lnk--> 1940. This series of victories convinced his main ally, <a href="../../wp/b/Benito_Mussolini.htm" title="Benito Mussolini">Benito Mussolini</a> of Italy, to join the war on Hitler's side in May 1940.<p><a href="../../wp/u/United_Kingdom.htm" title="United Kingdom">Britain</a>, whose defeated forces had evacuated France from the coastal town of <!--del_lnk--> Dunkirk, continued to fight alongside Canadian forces in the <!--del_lnk--> Battle of the Atlantic. After having his overtures for peace systematically rejected by the defiant British Government, now led by <a href="../../wp/w/Winston_Churchill.htm" title="Winston Churchill">Winston Churchill</a>, Hitler ordered <!--del_lnk--> bombing raids on the British Isles, leading to the <a href="../../wp/b/Battle_of_Britain.htm" title="Battle of Britain">Battle of Britain</a>, a <!--del_lnk--> prelude of the planned German invasion. The attacks began by pounding the <a href="../../wp/r/Royal_Air_Force.htm" title="Royal Air Force">RAF</a> airbases and the <a href="../../wp/r/Radar.htm" title="Radar">radar</a> stations protecting South-East England. However, the <a href="../../wp/l/Luftwaffe.htm" title="Luftwaffe">Luftwaffe</a> failed to defeat the <a href="../../wp/r/Royal_Air_Force.htm" title="Royal Air Force">RAF</a> by the end of October 1940. Air superiority for the invasion, code-named <!--del_lnk--> Operation Sealion, could not be assured and Hitler ordered bombing raids to be carried out on British cities, including <a href="../../wp/l/London.htm" title="London">London</a> and <a href="../../wp/c/Coventry.htm" title="Coventry">Coventry</a>, mostly at night.<p><a id="Path_to_defeat" name="Path_to_defeat"></a><h3><span class="mw-headline">Path to defeat</span></h3>
<p>On <!--del_lnk--> June 22, <!--del_lnk--> 1941, Hitler gave the signal for three million German troops to attack the <a href="../../wp/s/Soviet_Union.htm" title="Soviet Union">Soviet Union</a>, breaking the <!--del_lnk--> non-aggression pact he had concluded with Stalin less than two years earlier. This invasion, code-named <!--del_lnk--> Operation Barbarossa, seized huge amounts of territory, including the <!--del_lnk--> Baltic states, <a href="../../wp/b/Belarus.htm" title="Belarus">Belarus</a>, and <a href="../../wp/u/Ukraine.htm" title="Ukraine">Ukraine</a>, along with the <!--del_lnk--> encirclement and destruction of many Soviet forces. German forces, however, were stopped short of <a href="../../wp/m/Moscow.htm" title="Moscow">Moscow</a> in December 1941 by the Russian <!--del_lnk--> winter and fierce Soviet resistance (see <a href="../../wp/b/Battle_of_Moscow.htm" title="Battle of Moscow">Battle of Moscow</a>), and the invasion failed to achieve the quick triumph over the Soviet Union which Hitler had anticipated.<p>Hitler's declaration of war against the <a href="../../wp/u/United_States.htm" title="United States">United States</a> on <!--del_lnk--> December 11, <!--del_lnk--> 1941 four days after the <!--del_lnk--> Empire of Japan's <a href="../../wp/a/Attack_on_Pearl_Harbor.htm" title="Attack on Pearl Harbor">attack on Pearl Harbour</a>, <!--del_lnk--> Hawaii, <!--del_lnk--> USA set him against a coalition that included the world's largest empire (the <a href="../../wp/b/British_Empire.htm" title="British Empire">British Empire</a>), the world's greatest industrial and financial power (the <a href="../../wp/u/United_States.htm" title="United States">USA</a>), and the world's largest army (the <a href="../../wp/s/Soviet_Union.htm" title="Soviet Union">Soviet Union</a>).<p>In May 1942, <!--del_lnk--> Reinhard Heydrich, one of the highest <!--del_lnk--> SS officers and one of Hitler's favorite subordinates, was <!--del_lnk--> assassinated by British-trained Czech operatives in Prague. Hitler reacted by ordering brutal reprisals, including the massacre of <!--del_lnk--> Lidice.<p>In late 1942, German forces under <!--del_lnk--> Feldmarschall <a href="../../wp/e/Erwin_Rommel.htm" title="Erwin Rommel">Erwin Rommel</a> were defeated in the <!--del_lnk--> second battle of El Alamein, thwarting Hitler's plans to seize the <a href="../../wp/s/Suez_Canal.htm" title="Suez Canal">Suez Canal</a> and the <a href="../../wp/m/Middle_East.htm" title="Middle East">Middle East</a>. In February 1943, the lengthy <a href="../../wp/b/Battle_of_Stalingrad.htm" title="Battle of Stalingrad">Battle of Stalingrad</a> ended with the complete encirclement and destruction of the German <!--del_lnk--> 6th Army. Both defeats were turning points in the war, although the latter is more commonly considered primary. From this point on, the quality of Hitler's military judgment became increasingly <!--del_lnk--> erratic and Germany's military and economic position deteriorated. Hitler's health was deteriorating too. His left hand started shaking uncontrollably. The biographer <!--del_lnk--> Ian Kershaw believes he suffered from <!--del_lnk--> Parkinson's disease. Other conditions that are suspected by some to have caused some (at least) of his symptoms are <!--del_lnk--> methamphetamine <!--del_lnk--> addiction and <!--del_lnk--> syphilis.<p>Italians overthrew Hitler's ally, <a href="../../wp/b/Benito_Mussolini.htm" title="Benito Mussolini">Benito Mussolini</a>, in 1943 after <!--del_lnk--> Operation Husky, an American and British invasion of <!--del_lnk--> Sicily. Throughout 1943 and 1944, the <a href="../../wp/s/Soviet_Union.htm" title="Soviet Union">Soviet Union</a> steadily forced Hitler's armies into retreat along the <!--del_lnk--> eastern front. On <!--del_lnk--> June 6, <!--del_lnk--> 1944, the Western allied armies landed in northern France in what was the largest <!--del_lnk--> amphibious operation ever conducted, <!--del_lnk--> Operation Overlord. Realists in the German army knew defeat was inevitable and some officers plotted to remove Hitler from power. In July 1944 one of them, <!--del_lnk--> Claus von Stauffenberg, planted a <!--del_lnk--> bomb at Hitler's military headquarters in <!--del_lnk--> Rastenburg (the so-called <!--del_lnk--> July 20 Plot), but Hitler narrowly escaped death. He ordered savage reprisals, resulting in the executions of more than 4,900 people (sometimes by starvation in solitary confinement followed by slow <!--del_lnk--> strangulation). The main resistance movement was destroyed although smaller isolated groups such as <!--del_lnk--> Die Rote Kapelle continued to operate.<p><a id="Defeat_and_death" name="Defeat_and_death"></a><h3><span class="mw-headline">Defeat and death</span></h3>
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<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/151/15169.jpg.htm" title="Cover of US newspaper The Stars and Stripes, May 1945."><img alt="Cover of US newspaper The Stars and Stripes, May 1945." height="264" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Stars_%26_Stripes_%26_Hitler_Dead2.jpg" src="../../images/151/15169.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/151/15169.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Cover of US newspaper <i><!--del_lnk--> The Stars and Stripes</i>, May 1945.</div>
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<p>By the end of 1944, the <!--del_lnk--> Red Army had driven the last German troops from Soviet territory and began charging into Central Europe. The <!--del_lnk--> western allies were also rapidly advancing into Germany. The Germans had lost the war from a military perspective, but Hitler allowed no negotiation with the Allied forces, and as a consequence the German military forces continued to fight. Hitler's stubbornness and defiance of military realities also allowed the continued mass killing of Jews and others to continue. He even issued the <!--del_lnk--> Nero Decree on <!--del_lnk--> March 19, <!--del_lnk--> 1945, ordering the destruction of what remained of German industry, communications and transport. However, <!--del_lnk--> Albert Speer, who was in charge of that plan, did not carry it out. (The <!--del_lnk--> Morgenthau Plan for postwar Germany, promulgated by the Allies, aimed at a similar deindustrialization.)<p>In April 1945, Soviet forces were at the <!--del_lnk--> gates of Berlin. Hitler's closest lieutenants urged him to flee to <!--del_lnk--> Bavaria or Austria to make a last stand in the mountains, but he seemed determined to either live or die in the capital. <!--del_lnk--> SS leader <!--del_lnk--> Heinrich Himmler tried on his own to inform the Allies (through the <a href="../../wp/s/Sweden.htm" title="Sweden">Swedish</a> <!--del_lnk--> diplomat Count <!--del_lnk--> Folke Bernadotte) that Germany was prepared to discuss surrender terms. Meanwhile <!--del_lnk--> Hermann Göring sent a telegram from Bavaria in which he argued that since Hitler was cut off in Berlin, as Hitler's designated successor he should assume leadership of Germany. Hitler angrily reacted by dismissing both Himmler and Göring from all their offices and the party and declared them traitors.<p>After intense <!--del_lnk--> street-to-street combat, when Soviet troops were spotted within a block or two of the <!--del_lnk--> Reich Chancellory in the city centre, Hitler committed suicide in the <!--del_lnk--> Führerbunker on <!--del_lnk--> April 30, <!--del_lnk--> 1945 by means of a self-delivered shot to the head (it is likely he simultaneously bit into a <!--del_lnk--> cyanide ampoule). Hitler's body and that of <!--del_lnk--> Eva Braun (his long-term mistress whom he had married the day before) were put in a bomb crater, partially burned with <!--del_lnk--> gasoline by Führerbunker aides and hastily buried in the Chancellory garden as Russian shells poured down and Red Army infantry continued to advance only two or three hundred metres away. He also had his dog <!--del_lnk--> Blondi poisoned around the same time.<p>When Russian forces reached the Chancellory, they found his body and an autopsy was performed using dental records (and German dental assistants who were familiar with them) to confirm the identification. To avoid any possibility of creating a potential shrine, the remains of Hitler and Braun were repeatedly moved, then secretly buried by <!--del_lnk--> SMERSH at their new headquarters in <!--del_lnk--> Magdeburg. In April 1970, when the facility was about to be turned over to the East German government, the remains were reportedly exhumed, thoroughly <!--del_lnk--> cremated, and the ashes finally dumped unceremoniously into the <!--del_lnk--> Elbe. According to the Russian Federal Security Service, a fragment of human skull stored in its archives and displayed to the public in a 2000 exhibition came from the remains of Hitler's body uncovered by the Red Army in Berlin, and is all that remains of Hitler; however, the authenticity of the skull has been challenged by many historians and researchers.<p>At the time of Hitler's death, most of Germany's infrastructure and major cities were in ruins and he had left explicit orders to complete the destruction. Millions of Germans were dead with millions more wounded or homeless. In his <!--del_lnk--> will, he dismissed other Nazi leaders and appointed Grand <!--del_lnk--> Admiral <!--del_lnk--> Karl Dönitz as <i><!--del_lnk--> Reichspräsident</i> (President of Germany) and <!--del_lnk--> Goebbels as <i><!--del_lnk--> Reichskanzler</i> (Chancellor of Germany). However, Goebbels and his wife Magda committed suicide on <!--del_lnk--> 1 May <!--del_lnk--> 1945. On <!--del_lnk--> 7 May <!--del_lnk--> 1945, in <!--del_lnk--> Rheims, France, the German armed forces <!--del_lnk--> surrendered unconditionally to the <!--del_lnk--> Western Allies and on <!--del_lnk--> 8 May <!--del_lnk--> 1945, in Berlin to the <a href="../../wp/s/Soviet_Union.htm" title="Soviet Union">Soviet Union</a> thus <!--del_lnk--> ending the war in Europe and with the creation of the <!--del_lnk--> Allied Control Council on <!--del_lnk--> 5 June <!--del_lnk--> 1945, the Four Powers assumed "supreme authority with respect to Germany." Adolf Hitler's proclaimed <i>Thousand Year Reich</i> had lasted 12 years.<p><a id="Legacy" name="Legacy"></a><h2><span class="mw-headline">Legacy</span></h2>
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<div style="width:202px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/151/15170.jpg.htm" title="Outside the building in Braunau am Inn where Adolf Hitler was born is a memorial stone warning of the horrors of World War II."><img alt="Outside the building in Braunau am Inn where Adolf Hitler was born is a memorial stone warning of the horrors of World War II." height="150" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Mahnstein.JPG" src="../../images/151/15170.jpg" width="200" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/151/15170.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Outside the building in <!--del_lnk--> Braunau am Inn where Adolf Hitler was born is a <!--del_lnk--> memorial stone warning of the horrors of World War II.</div>
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<p>Since the defeat of Germany in World War II, Hitler, the Nazi Party and the <!--del_lnk--> results of Nazism have been regarded in most of the world as synonymous with <!--del_lnk--> evil. Historical and <!--del_lnk--> cultural portrayals of Hitler in the west are, by virtually universal consensus, condemnatory.<p>The copyright of Hitler's book <i><!--del_lnk--> Mein Kampf</i> in Europe is claimed by the Free State of <!--del_lnk--> Bavaria and will expire in 2015. Reproductions in Germany are generally authorized only for scholarly purposes and in heavily commented form. The situation is however unclear; Werner Maser (whom Theodor Heuss proposed to publish "Mein Kampf" as a weapon against Nazi Ideology) comments that intellectual property cannot be confiscated and so, it still would lie in the hands of Hitler's nephew, who, however, does not want to have anything to do with Hitler's legacy. This situation leads to contested trials, eg., in Poland and Sweden. "Mein Kampf" is still published in the USA, as well as in other countries such as Turkey or Israel, by publishers with various political positions.<p>The display of <a href="../../wp/s/Swastika.htm" title="Swastika">swastikas</a> or other <!--del_lnk--> Nazi symbols is prohibited in Germany and political extremists are generally under surveillance by the <!--del_lnk--> Verfassungsschutz, one of the federal or state-based offices for the protection of the constitution.<p>There have been instances of public figures referring to Hitler's legacy in neutral or favourable terms, particularly in <a href="../../wp/s/South_America.htm" title="South America">South America</a>, the <!--del_lnk--> Islamic World and parts of Asia. Future <a href="../../wp/e/Egypt.htm" title="Egypt">Egyptian</a> President <!--del_lnk--> Anwar Sadat wrote favourably of Hitler in 1953. <!--del_lnk--> Bal Thackeray, leader of the right-wing <!--del_lnk--> Shiv Sena party in the <a href="../../wp/i/India.htm" title="India">Indian</a> state of the <!--del_lnk--> Maharashtra, declared in 1995 that he was an admirer of Hitler. Much of the positive or neutral attitude towards Hitler may partly be because many of these countries were colonies of Allied Powers who were fighting Hitler-led Germany.<p><a id="Hitler.27s_religious_beliefs" name="Hitler.27s_religious_beliefs"></a><h2><span class="mw-headline">Hitler's religious beliefs</span></h2>
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<p>Adolf Hitler was brought up in his family's religion by his Roman Catholic parents, but as a school boy he began to reject the Church and Catholicism. After he had left home, he never attended <!--del_lnk--> Mass or received the <!--del_lnk--> Sacraments.<p>In later life, Hitler's religious beliefs present a discrepant picture: In public statements, he frequently spoke positively about the Christian heritage of German culture and belief in Christ. Hitler’s private statements, reported by his intimates, are more mixed, showing Hitler as a religious but also anti-Christian man. However, in contrast to other Nazi leaders, Hitler did not adhere to <!--del_lnk--> esoteric ideas, <!--del_lnk--> occultism, or <!--del_lnk--> neo-paganism, and ridiculed such beliefs in his book <i><!--del_lnk--> Mein Kampf</i>. Rather, Hitler advocated a "<!--del_lnk--> Positive Christianity", a belief system purged from what he objected to in traditional Christianity, and reinvented Jesus as a fighter against the Jews.<p>Hitler believed in a <!--del_lnk--> Social Darwinist struggle for survival between the different races, among which the "Aryan race" was supposed to be the torchbearers of civilization and the Jews as enemies of all civilization. Whether his anti-semitism was influenced by older Christian ideas remains disputed. Hitler also strongly believed that "Providence" was guiding him in this fight.<p>Among Christian denominations, Hitler favoured Protestantism, which was more open to such reinterpretations, but at the same time imitated some elements of Catholic church organization, liturgy and phraseology in his politics.<p><a id="Health_and_sexuality" name="Health_and_sexuality"></a><h2><span class="mw-headline">Health and sexuality</span></h2>
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<p>Hitler's alleged health problems in his later years have long been the subject of debate, and he has variously been suggested to have suffered from <!--del_lnk--> irritable bowel syndrome, <!--del_lnk--> skin lesions, <!--del_lnk--> irregular heartbeat, tremors on the left side of his body, <!--del_lnk--> syphilis, <!--del_lnk--> Parkinson's disease and a strongly suggested addiction to <!--del_lnk--> methamphetamine.<p>Most of Hitler's biographers have characterized him as a <!--del_lnk--> vegetarian who abstained from eating meat, beginning in the early 1930s until his death (although his actual dietary habits appear inconsistent and are sometimes hotly disputed). There are reports of him disgusting his guests by giving them graphic accounts of the slaughter of animals in an effort to make them shun meat. A fear of cancer (which his mother died from) is the most widely cited reason, though many authors also assert Hitler had a profound and deep love of animals. He did consume dairy products and eggs, however. <!--del_lnk--> Martin Bormann constructed a large greenhouse close to the <!--del_lnk--> Berghof (near <!--del_lnk--> Berchtesgaden) in order to ensure a steady supply of fresh fruits and vegetables for Hitler throughout the war. Personal photographs of Bormann's children tending the greenhouse survive and, by 2005, its foundations were among the only ruins visible in the area which were directly associated with Nazi leaders. For more information on this topic, see <!--del_lnk--> Vegetarianism of Adolf Hitler.<p>Hitler was also a fervent non-smoker and promoted aggressive anti-smoking campaigns throughout Germany. He reportedly promised a gold watch to any of his close associates who quit (and actually gave a few away). Several witness accounts relate that, immediately after his suicide was confirmed, many officers, aides, and secretaries in the Führerbunker lit cigarettes.<p>Contrary to popular accounts, there seems to be some evidence Hitler did not abstain entirely from <a href="../../wp/a/Alcohol.htm" title="Alcohol">alcohol</a>. After the war, an interrogation in the <!--del_lnk--> USSR of his valet <!--del_lnk--> Heinz Linge could indicate that Hitler drank champagne now and then with <!--del_lnk--> Eva Braun.<p><a id="Sexuality" name="Sexuality"></a><h3><span class="mw-headline">Sexuality</span></h3>
<p>Hitler presented himself to his public as a man without an intimate domestic life, dedicated to his political "mission". He is known to have had a fiancée, <!--del_lnk--> Mimi Reiter in the 1920s, and to have later had a mistress, Eva Braun. He had a close bond with his niece Geli Raubal, which many commentators have claimed was sexual. All three women attempted suicide during their relationship with him, a fact which has led to speculation that Hitler may have had unusual sexual fetishes, though Reiter, the only one to survive the Nazi regime, denies this. During the war and afterwards <!--del_lnk--> psychoanalysts offered numerous inconsistent psycho-sexual explanations of his pathology. More recently Lothar Machtan has argued in his book <i>The Hidden Hitler</i> that Hitler was homosexual.<p><a id="Hitler.27s_family" name="Hitler.27s_family"></a><h2><span class="mw-headline">Hitler's family</span></h2>
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<p>Paula Hitler, the last living member of Adolf Hitler's immediate family, died in 1960.<p>The most prominent, and longest-living direct descendants of Adolf Hitler's father, Alois, was Adolf's nephew <!--del_lnk--> William Patrick Hitler. With his wife Phyllis, he eventually moved to <!--del_lnk--> Long Island, New York and had four sons. None of William Hitler's children have yet had any children of their own.<p>Over the years various investigative reporters have attempted to track down other distant relatives of the Führer; many are now alleged to be living inconspicuous lives and have long since changed their last name.<div class="center">
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<div style="width:572px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/151/15171.png.htm" title="Adolf Hitler's genealogy."><img alt="Adolf Hitler's genealogy." height="383" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Hitlerfamilytree.png" src="../../images/151/15171.png" width="570" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/151/15171.png.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Adolf Hitler's <a href="../../wp/g/Genealogy.htm" title="Genealogy">genealogy</a>.</div>
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<div style="width:202px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/151/15172.jpg.htm" title="Sketch of Eva Braun by Hitler."><img alt="Sketch of Eva Braun by Hitler." height="209" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Evabrown-by-Hitler.jpg" src="../../images/151/15172.jpg" width="200" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/151/15172.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Sketch of <!--del_lnk--> Eva Braun by Hitler.</div>
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<li><!--del_lnk--> Eva Braun, mistress and then wife<li><!--del_lnk--> Alois Hitler, father<li><!--del_lnk--> Klara Hitler, mother<li><!--del_lnk--> Paula Hitler, sister<li><!--del_lnk--> Alois Hitler, Jr., half-brother<li><!--del_lnk--> Bridget Dowling, sister-in-law<li><!--del_lnk--> William Patrick Hitler, nephew<li><!--del_lnk--> Heinz Hitler, nephew<li><!--del_lnk--> Angela Hitler Raubal, half-sister<li><!--del_lnk--> Maria Schicklgruber, grandmother<li><!--del_lnk--> Johann Georg Hiedler, presumed grandfather<li><!--del_lnk--> Johann Nepomuk Hiedler, maternal great-grandfather, presumed great uncle and possibly Hitler's true paternal grandfather<li><!--del_lnk--> Geli Raubal, niece and rumoured mistress<li><!--del_lnk--> Aloisia Veit, mentally insane cousin.</ul>
<p><a id="People_associated_with_Hitler" name="People_associated_with_Hitler"></a><h2><span class="mw-headline">People associated with Hitler</span></h2>
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<li><!--del_lnk--> Martin Bormann, Adolf Hitler's secretary.<li><!--del_lnk--> Elisabeth Förster-Nietzsche, sister of philosopher <a href="../../wp/f/Friedrich_Nietzsche.htm" title="Friedrich Nietzsche">Friedrich Nietzsche</a> and Hitler supporter.<li><!--del_lnk--> Hans Frank, Hitler's lawyer and later senior Nazi official in occupied Poland.<li><!--del_lnk--> Joseph Goebbels, Minister of Propaganda.<li><!--del_lnk--> Hermann Göring, Reichsmarschall, Commander of the Luftwaffe, founder of the Gestapo.<li><!--del_lnk--> Rudolf Hess, Hitler's deputy as party leader, best known for his flight to Scotland to negotiate peace in 1941.<li><!--del_lnk--> Reinhard Heydrich, chief of the Reich Main Security Office (including the <!--del_lnk--> Gestapo)<li><!--del_lnk--> Heinrich Himmler, leader of the SS, key figure in the Holocaust and the "Final Solution".<li><!--del_lnk--> Heinrich Hoffmann, official photographer from 1920 to 1945.<li><!--del_lnk--> Alfred Jodl, military officer, knew Hitler since 1923.<li><!--del_lnk--> Wilhelm Keitel, military Field Marshal during World War II.<li><!--del_lnk--> August Kubizek, close friend and roommate in Vienna<li><!--del_lnk--> Leopold Poetsch, Hitler's <!--del_lnk--> anti-Semitic school teacher<li><!--del_lnk--> Leni Riefenstahl, friend and filmmaker who documented the Nazi party.<li><a href="../../wp/e/Erwin_Rommel.htm" title="Erwin Rommel">Erwin Rommel</a>, the famous "Desert Fox", a highly skilled Field Marshal during World War II who was forced to commit suicide after being implicated in a plot against Hitler.<li><!--del_lnk--> Ernst Röhm, leader of the SA and internal critic, killed in the <!--del_lnk--> Night of the Long Knives (1934).<li><!--del_lnk--> Albert Speer, Hitler's personal architect, Minister of armaments. Close friend to Hitler.<li><!--del_lnk--> Paul Troost, famous architect who served before Speer.<li><!--del_lnk--> Winifred Wagner, head of the Wagner family and close friend of Hitler's.</ul>
<p><a id="Miscellany" name="Miscellany"></a><h2><span class="mw-headline">Miscellany</span></h2>
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<li>A nickname for Hitler used by German soldiers was <i>Gröfaz</i>, a derogatory and/or sarcastic abbreviation for <i>Größter Feldherr aller Zeiten</i> ("Greatest War Lord of all Time"), a title initially publicized by Nazi <a href="../../wp/p/Propaganda.htm" title="Propaganda">propaganda</a> after the surprisingly quick <a href="../../wp/b/Battle_of_France.htm" title="Battle of France">fall of France</a>. Nicknames by others were more disparaging. General <!--del_lnk--> George S. Patton referred to Hitler as "that paper-hanging son of a bitch!", after Hitler's habit of going over wall maps with his staff. Some within his staff called him "carpet eater", after seeing him fly into a rage so intense that it left him on the floor gripping the carpet with his teeth and fists.</ul>
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<li>Hitler did not like women to wear <!--del_lnk--> cosmetics, since they contained animal by-products, and frequently teased his mistress <!--del_lnk--> Eva Braun about her habit of wearing makeup.</ul>
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<li>He almost never wore a uniform to social engagements, which he attended frequently whenever in Berlin during the 1930s. When he did wear uniforms, they were tailored and understated compared to those of other prominent Nazis who often wore elaborate uniforms with extensive decorations and medals.</ul>
<ul>
<li>According to the 2001 documentary <i><!--del_lnk--> The Tramp and the Dictator</i>, the <a href="../../wp/c/Charlie_Chaplin.htm" title="Charlie Chaplin">Charlie Chaplin</a> parody/satire <i><!--del_lnk--> The Great Dictator</i> was not only sent to Hitler, but an eyewitness confirmed he did see it, twice. Chaplin has been quoted as saying, "I'd have given anything to know what he thought of it."</ul>
<ul>
<li>Hitler's favourite film is variously credited as being <i><!--del_lnk--> King Kong</i> (1933) or <i><!--del_lnk--> The Lives of a Bengal Lancer</i> (1935) and his favourite opera was <a href="../../wp/r/Richard_Wagner.htm" title="Richard Wagner">Richard Wagner</a>'s <i><!--del_lnk--> Rienzi</i>, of which he claimed to have seen over 40 performances. </ul>
<div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adolf_Hitler"</div>
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<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">Adriaen van der Donck</h1>
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<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.People.Historical_figures.htm">Historical figures</a></h3>
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<td colspan="2" style="background: #ccf; text-align: center;"><b><!--del_lnk--> New Netherland series</b></td>
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<td align="center" colspan="2"><b><!--del_lnk--> Colonies:</b></td>
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<li><!--del_lnk--> New Amsterdam<li><!--del_lnk--> New Haarlem<li><!--del_lnk--> Noortwyck<li><!--del_lnk--> Beverwyck<li><!--del_lnk--> Wiltwyck<li><!--del_lnk--> Vlissingen<li><!--del_lnk--> Middelburgh<li><!--del_lnk--> Heemstede<li><!--del_lnk--> Rustdorp</ul>
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<li><!--del_lnk--> Gravesende<li><!--del_lnk--> Breuckelen<li><!--del_lnk--> New Amersfoort<li><!--del_lnk--> Midwout<li><!--del_lnk--> New Utrecht<li><!--del_lnk--> Boswyck<li><!--del_lnk--> Swaanendael<li><!--del_lnk--> New Amstel<li><!--del_lnk--> Altena<br />
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<td align="center" colspan="2"><b><!--del_lnk--> Fortresses:</b></td>
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<li><!--del_lnk--> Fort Amsterdam<li><!--del_lnk--> Fort Nassau (North)<li><!--del_lnk--> Fort Orange<br />
<li><!--del_lnk--> Fort Nassau (South)<li><!--del_lnk--> Fort Goede Hoop</ul>
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<li><!--del_lnk--> Fort Casimir<li><!--del_lnk--> Fort Altena<li><!--del_lnk--> Fort Wilhelmus<li><!--del_lnk--> Fort Beversreede<li><!--del_lnk--> Fort Nya Korsholm</ul>
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<td align="center" colspan="2"><b><!--del_lnk--> The Patroon System</b><br />
<p><small><!--del_lnk--> Rensselaerwyck<br /><!--del_lnk--> Colen Donck (<!--del_lnk--> Yonkers, New York)</small></td>
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<td align="center" colspan="2"><b><!--del_lnk--> Directors-General of New Netherland:</b><br />
<p><small><!--del_lnk--> Cornelius Jacobsen Mey <i>(1620-1625)</i><br /><!--del_lnk--> Willem Verhulst <i>(1625-26)</i><br /><!--del_lnk--> Peter Minuit <i>(1626-33)</i><br /><!--del_lnk--> Wouter van Twiller <i>(1633-38)</i><br /><!--del_lnk--> Willem Kieft <i>(1638-47)</i><br /><!--del_lnk--> Peter Stuyvesant <i>(1647-64)</i></small></td>
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<td align="center" colspan="2"><b>Influential people</b><br />
<p><small><strong class="selflink">Adriaen van der Donck</strong><br /><!--del_lnk--> Kiliaen van Rensselaer<br /><!--del_lnk--> Brant van Slichtenhorst<br /><!--del_lnk--> Cornelis van Tienhoven</small></td>
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<p><b>Adriaen Cornelissen van der Donck</b> (ca. 1618 – 1655) was a <!--del_lnk--> lawyer and landowner in <!--del_lnk--> New Netherland after whose <!--del_lnk--> honorific <i>Jonkheer</i> the city of <!--del_lnk--> Yonkers, New York is named. In addition to being the first lawyer in the Dutch colony, he was a leader in the political life of <!--del_lnk--> New Amsterdam (modern <a href="../../wp/n/New_York_City.htm" title="New York City">New York City</a>), and an activist for Dutch-style <!--del_lnk--> republican government in the <!--del_lnk--> Dutch West India Company-run trading post.<p>Enchanted by his new homeland of New Netherland, Van der Donck made detailed accounts of the land, vegetation, animals, waterways, topography, and climate. Van der Donck used this knowledge to actively promote immigration to the colony, publishing several tracts, including his influential <i>Description of New Netherland</i>. Charles Gehring, Director of the <!--del_lnk--> New Netherland Project, has called it "the fullest account of the province, its geography, the Indians who inhabited it, and its prospects…It has been said that had it not been written in <a href="../../wp/d/Dutch_language.htm" title="Dutch language">Dutch</a>, it would have gone down as one of the great works of <!--del_lnk--> American colonial literature." <p>Van der Donck is a central figure in <!--del_lnk--> Russell Shorto's <i>The Island at the Centre of the World</i>, which argues, based on newly translated records from the colony, that he is a great early American patriot, forgotten by history because of the eventual English conquest of New Netherland.<p>Today, he is also recognized as a sympathetic early <!--del_lnk--> Native American <!--del_lnk--> ethnographer, having learned the languages and observed many of the customs of the <!--del_lnk--> Mahicans and <!--del_lnk--> Mohawks. His descriptions of their practices are cited in many modern works, such as the 2005 book <i><!--del_lnk--> 1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus</i>.<p>
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</script><a id="Early_life" name="Early_life"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Early life</span></h2>
<p>Van der Donck was born in approximately 1618, in the town of <!--del_lnk--> Breda in the southern <a href="../../wp/n/Netherlands.htm" title="Netherlands">Netherlands</a>. His family was well connected on his mother's side, and her father, <!--del_lnk--> Adriaen van Bergen, was remembered as a national hero for helping free Breda from <a href="../../wp/s/Spain.htm" title="Spain">Spanish</a> forces during the course of the <!--del_lnk--> Eighty Years' War.<p>In 1638, Van der Donck entered the <!--del_lnk--> University of Leiden as a law student. <!--del_lnk--> Leiden had rapidly become an intellectual centre due to Dutch religious freedom and the lack of censorship. There, he was probably influenced by several radical legal thinkers such as <!--del_lnk--> Hugo Grotius, who emphasized reasoning from <!--del_lnk--> natural law over appealing to historical authorities. Despite a booming Dutch economy, upon becoming a jurist in 1641, Van der Donck decided to go to the <!--del_lnk--> New World. To this end, he approached the <i><!--del_lnk--> patroon</i> <!--del_lnk--> Kiliaen van Rensselaer, securing a post as <i><!--del_lnk--> schout</i>, a combination of sheriff and prosecutor, for his large, semi-independent estate, <!--del_lnk--> Rensselaerwyck, located near modern <!--del_lnk--> Albany.<p><a id="In_New_Netherland" name="In_New_Netherland"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">In New Netherland</span></h2>
<p><a id="Rensselaerwyck" name="Rensselaerwyck"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Rensselaerwyck</span></h3>
<p>In 1641, Van der Donck sailed to the New World aboard <i>Den Eykenboom</i> (<i>The Oak Tree</i>). He was immediately impressed by the land, which, in contrast with the Netherlands, was thickly forested, hilly, and full of wildlife. Once in his post, he attracted the ire of Van Rensselaer with his independence. This manifested itself first when the <i>schout</i> selected one of the patroon's finest stallions for himself and then decided that his appointed farm was poorly chosen and simply picked another site.<p>The patroon expected Van der Donck's primary concern to be the colony's profit rather than the colonists' welfare. According to Van Rensselaer, his duty was "to seek my advantage and protect me against loss." This was to consist mainly of cracking down on the <!--del_lnk--> black market and catching those who ran away before their service contracts expired. Instead, Van der Donck ignored Van Rensselaer's orders when told to collect late rent from those who obviously could not pay, protested that colonists could not swear binding oaths of loyalty on behalf of their servants, and began organizing improvements to various mills and the construction of a brickyard. Van Rensselaer's letters indicate that he became increasingly frustrated with his <i>schout'</i>s behaviour, chiding him, "From the beginning you have acted not as officer but as director."<p>In his employer's eyes, Van der Donck also spent a disturbing amount of time exploring the surroundings. During these excursions, he learned a great deal about the land and its inhabitants, often neglecting his duties as <i>schout</i> in his eagerness to observe and document as much as he could about this new land. He met local Indians, such as the Mahicans and the Mohawks, ate their food, and became adept at their language. Van der Donck recorded their customs, beliefs, medicine, political structure, and technology in an objective and detailed way.<p>Unsatisfied in his post and realizing the potential of the land, Van der Donck eventually began to use his contacts amongst the Indians to negotiate for land in the <!--del_lnk--> Catskills, where he wanted to found his own colony. When Van Rensselaer learned that he sought to acquire neighboring land to his own, he snapped it up first. Van der Donck's contract as <i>schout</i> was not renewed when its term expired in 1644.<p><a id="Early_political_activism" name="Early_political_activism"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Early political activism</span></h3>
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<div style="width:272px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/4/484.jpg.htm" title="Negotiating peace with the Indians"><img alt="Negotiating peace with the Indians" height="230" longdesc="/wiki/Image:New_Netherland_-_smoking_the_peace_pipe.jpg" src="../../images/4/484.jpg" width="270" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/4/484.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Negotiating peace with the Indians</div>
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<p>In <!--del_lnk--> New Amsterdam, disgruntled colonists had been sending ineffective complaints to the <!--del_lnk--> Dutch West India Company about the <!--del_lnk--> Director-General of New Netherland <!--del_lnk--> Willem Kieft, who had begun a bloody war with the Indians against the advice of the <!--del_lnk--> council of twelve men. Kieft's war badly damaged relations and trade between the Indians and the Dutch, made life more dangerous for colonists living in outlying areas, and drained the colony's resources. He exacerbated his relationship with the already financially strained colonists by enacting a tax on beaver skins and beer to fund the war.<p>In 1645, Kieft tried to mend relations with the Indians and asked Van der Donck to assist as a guide and interpreter. At the negotiations, Kieft found himself in the awkward position of coming without the necessary gifts that accompanied a request for discussions of treaties. Van der Donck had not informed Kieft of this important component to negotiations in advance, but happened to have brought an appropriate amount of <i>sewant</i> (<i><!--del_lnk--> wampum</i>), which he loaned to Kieft.<p>In return for this favour, Kieft granted Van der Donck 24,000 <!--del_lnk--> acres (97 km²) on the mainland north of <!--del_lnk--> Manhattan in 1646. He named the estate <i><!--del_lnk--> Colen Donck</i> and built several mills along what is now called <!--del_lnk--> Saw Mill River. The estate was so large that locals referred to him as the <i><!--del_lnk--> Jonkheer</i> ("young gentleman" or "squire"), a word from which the name "<!--del_lnk--> Yonkers" is derived. Van der Donck had already married the Englishwoman Mary Doughty, whose father had lost his land after irking Kieft.<p>Kieft remained out of favour with the colonists in New Amsterdam. Adriaen van der Donck stepped into this environment of political unrest and used his rhetorical legal skills to give voice to the disaffected colonists. Upon his arrival, the tone of the colonists' petitions suddenly changes. While ostensibly putting himself at Kieft's disposal as lawyer and translator, he was working with disgruntled members of the community to get Kieft recalled and convince the company of the need for a Dutch-style representative government in New Amsterdam.<p>The Dutch West India Company did decide to remove Kieft from his post in 1647, citing the terrible damage caused to trade by his war against the Indians. But rather than yield to the colonists' requests for the establishment of local government, the company decided that a stronger Director-General would succeed in squelching political dissent. They chose <!--del_lnk--> Peter Stuyvesant. Despite this change, Van der Donck continued his flurry of documents against Kieft, apparently using his example now solely to make a case for the creation of a local government.<p><a id="Board_of_Nine" name="Board_of_Nine"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Board of Nine</span></h3>
<p>Van der Donck set about culturing a friendship with Stuyvesant upon his arrival in May 1647. Stuyvesant tried to take a firm hand with the colonists — it was noted that anyone who opposed him "hath as much as the sun and moon against him" — but eventually he had to agree to the creation of a permanent advisory board. Following a Dutch tradition, eighteen people would be elected, from whom Stuyvesant would choose nine to serve. Van der Donck's <!--del_lnk--> politicking eventually won him Stuyvesant's approval and selection by his new peers as "President of the Commonality" in 1648.<p>Within days, the <!--del_lnk--> Board of Nine declared itself independent of the company. They sought Stuyvesant's blessing for a mission to <a href="../../wp/t/The_Hague.htm" title="The Hague">The Hague</a> to ask the Dutch <!--del_lnk--> States General to take over management of the colony. Van der Donck interviewed the inhabitants of New Amsterdam and meticulously documented their many grievances against the West India Company, Kieft, and Stuyvesant. He planned to synthesize their complaints into a single document to be presented to the States General. Feeling betrayed by Van der Donck, Stuyvesant arrested him, removed him from the Board of Nine, and seized his papers to use as evidence of <!--del_lnk--> treason.<p>Despite this, on <!--del_lnk--> July 26, <!--del_lnk--> 1649, eleven current and former members of the Board signed the <i>Petition of the Commonality of New Netherland</i>, which requested that the States General take action to encourage economic freedom and force local government like that in the Netherlands, removing the colony from the company's control. Van der Donck was one of three men selected to travel to the Netherlands to present this request, along with a description of the colony written primarily by Van der Donck entitled <i>Remonstrance of New Netherland</i>. The latter makes the case that the colony is unusually valuable and in danger of being lost due to mismanagement under the Dutch West India Company.<p><a id="Return_to_the_Netherlands" name="Return_to_the_Netherlands"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Return to the Netherlands</span></h2>
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<div style="width:302px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/4/488.jpg.htm" title="The Jansson-Visscher map of the American Northeast first published by Van der Donck"><img alt="The Jansson-Visscher map of the American Northeast first published by Van der Donck" height="253" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Jansson-Visscher_map.jpg" src="../../images/4/488.jpg" width="300" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/4/488.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> The Jansson-Visscher map of the American Northeast first published by Van der Donck</div>
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<p>While in the Netherlands, Van der Donck engaged in political and <!--del_lnk--> public relations campaigns in addition to organizing groups of new colonists for New Netherland. He repeatedly presented his case to the States General opposite a representative sent by Stuyvesant, <!--del_lnk--> Cornelius van Tienhoven.<p><a id="Public_relations_campaign" name="Public_relations_campaign"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Public relations campaign</span></h3>
<p>The case before the States General was delayed because of disruptions within the Dutch government caused by <!--del_lnk--> William II of Orange. During this delay, Van der Donck turned his attention to public relations. In 1650, he printed his <i>Remonstrance</i> as a pamphlet. His enthusiastic description of the land and its potential created much excitement about New Netherland; so many were suddenly eager to immigrate that ships were forced to turn away paying passengers. A Dutch West India Company director wrote, "Formerly New Netherland was never spoken of, and now heaven and earth seem to be stirred up by it and every one tries to be the first in selecting the best pieces [of land] there."<p>To go alongside the <i>Remonstrance</i>, Van der Donck commissioned a map of the colony, the <!--del_lnk--> Jansson-Visscher map. It showed New Netherland along the original Dutch territoral claim from Cape Hinlopen just south of the Delaware Bay at 38 degrees to the start of New England at 42 degrees and included drawings of typical Indian villages, wild game, and the town of New Amsterdam. The map itself remained the definitive map of the area for over a century, cementing many Dutch place names. It would be reprinted thirty-one times before the mid-18th century.<p><a id="The_States_General.27s_decision" name="The_States_General.27s_decision"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">The States General's decision</span></h3>
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<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/5/509.jpg.htm" title="A page from Van der Donck's Description of New Netherland"><img alt="A page from Van der Donck's Description of New Netherland" height="248" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Page_from_Beschryvinge_van_Nieuw-Nederlant.jpg" src="../../images/5/509.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/5/509.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> A page from Van der Donck's <i>Description of New Netherland</i></div>
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<p>Apparently, Van der Donck's decision to go public paid off, because in April 1650, the States General issued a provisional order that the West India Company create a more liberal form of government to encourage emigration to the Dutch colony. They produced their final decision in 1652: the Dutch West India Company was forced to order Stuyvesant to set up a <!--del_lnk--> municipal government. A <!--del_lnk--> municipal charter was enacted in New Amsterdam on <!--del_lnk--> February 2, <!--del_lnk--> 1653. The States General also drafted a letter in April 1652 demanding the recall of Stuyvesant to the Netherlands, which Van der Donck would personally deliver to the director governor.<p>Van der Donck prepared to return to New Amsterdam having successfully secured a liberal government for the colony without the restrictions of the Dutch West India Company and national support for emigrating colonists from the Netherlands to the colonies. He was also reinstated as President of the Board of Nine and would be a leader in the new government.<p>Before Van der Donck could sail for home, the <!--del_lnk--> First Anglo-Dutch War broke out, and his hopes for New Amsterdam suddenly and unexpectedly fell apart. The States General feared experimenting in local government in a time of war, and so rescinded their decision.<p>Defeated, Van der Donck tried to return to New Netherland but, as a demonstrated troublemaker, he was detained. In the meantime, he took a <i>Supremus in jure</i> degree at the University of Leiden. Still eager to promote the colony, he also wrote a comprehensive description of its geography and native peoples based on material in his earlier <i>Remonstrance</i>.<p>Due to the war, the publication of Van der Donck's <i>Beschryvinge van Nieuw-Nederlant</i> (<i>Description of New Netherland</i>) was delayed until 1655, but was wildly popular, going into a second edition the very next year. However, it was not published in English until 1841, and even then only in a poor translation that eliminated subtleties and often even reversed the intended meaning.<p><a id="Return_to_New_Amsterdam" name="Return_to_New_Amsterdam"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Return to New Amsterdam</span></h2>
<p>On <!--del_lnk--> May 26, <!--del_lnk--> 1653, in the hopes of finally being allowed to return home, Van der Donck sent the following petition to the Dutch West India Company directors:<dl>
<dd>The undersigned, Adriaen van der Donck, humbly requests consent and passport of the Board to go to New Netherland, offering to resign the commission previously given to him as President of the community, or otherwise as its deputy, and...to accept no office whatever it may be, but rather to live in private peacefully and quietly as a common inhabitant, submitting to the orders and commands of the Company or those enacted by its director. </dl>
<p>This promise seemed to satisfy the directors, and Van der Donck received permission to return to New Netherland. Giving up public office was apparently not enough, though: once home he was denied the right to continue practicing law because there was no one of "sufficient ability and the necessary qualifications...to act and plead against the said Van der Donck". These restrictions seem to have not hindered his behind- the-scenes efforts: another political uprising against Stuyvesant broke out just weeks after Van der Donck's return.<p>There is no record of Adriaen van der Donck's death, but he was alive during the summer of 1655, and a statement by Stuyvesant in early 1656 seems to indicate that he was dead. He probably died at his farm in one of a series of Indian raids in September 1655, called the <!--del_lnk--> Peach Tree War. He was survived in New Netherland by his wife and by his parents, whom he had separately convinced to immigrate.<div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adriaen_van_der_Donck"</div>
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<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">Advertising</h1>
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<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.Business_Studies.Business.htm">Business</a>; <a href="../index/subject.Everyday_life.Everyday_life.htm">Everyday life</a></h3>
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<td><b><!--del_lnk--> Marketing</b></td>
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<td><b>Key concepts</b></td>
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<p><!--del_lnk--> Product / <!--del_lnk--> Price / <!--del_lnk--> Promotion<br /><!--del_lnk--> Placement / <!--del_lnk--> Service / <!--del_lnk--> Retail<br /><!--del_lnk--> Marketing research<br /><!--del_lnk--> Marketing strategy<br /><!--del_lnk--> Marketing management<br />
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<td><b>Promotion</b></td>
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<p><strong class="selflink">Advertising</strong> / <!--del_lnk--> Branding<br /><!--del_lnk--> Direct marketing / <!--del_lnk--> Personal Sales<br /><!--del_lnk--> Product placement / <!--del_lnk--> Public relations<br /><!--del_lnk--> Publicity / <!--del_lnk--> Sales promotion<br />
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<td><b>Promotional media</b></td>
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<p><!--del_lnk--> Billboard / <a href="../../wp/b/Broadcasting.htm" title="Broadcasting">Broadcasting</a><br /><!--del_lnk--> Computer games / <!--del_lnk--> Online media<br /><a href="../../wp/n/Newspaper.htm" title="Newspaper">Newspapers</a> / <!--del_lnk--> Magazines</td>
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<div style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/0/47.jpg.htm" title="Billboards and street advertising in Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan, (2005)"><img alt="Billboards and street advertising in Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan, (2005)" height="321" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Japan_Tokyo_Shinjuku_billboards_11_014.jpg" src="../../images/0/47.jpg" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/0/47.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Billboards and street advertising in <!--del_lnk--> Shinjuku, <a href="../../wp/t/Tokyo.htm" title="Tokyo">Tokyo</a>, <a href="../../wp/j/Japan.htm" title="Japan">Japan</a>, (2005)</div>
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<p><b>Advertising</b> is drawing public attention to goods and services by promois performed through a variety of media. It is an important part of an overall promotional strategy. Other components of the promotional mix include <!--del_lnk--> publicity, <!--del_lnk--> public relations, <!--del_lnk--> personal selling, and <!--del_lnk--> sales promotion.<p>
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</script><a id="History" name="History"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">History</span></h2>
<p>In <a href="../../wp/a/Ancient_history.htm" title="Ancient history">ancient</a> times the most common form of advertising was by <!--del_lnk--> word of mouth; however, <!--del_lnk--> commercial messages and <!--del_lnk--> political campaign displays have been found in the ruins of <a href="../../wp/p/Pompeii.htm" title="Pompeii">Pompeii</a>. Egyptians used <!--del_lnk--> papyrus to create sales messages and wall posters, while <!--del_lnk--> lost-and-found advertising on papyrus was common in <a href="../../wp/a/Ancient_Greece.htm" title="Ancient Greece">Greece</a> and <a href="../../wp/a/Ancient_Rome.htm" title="Ancient Rome">Rome</a>. Wall or rock painting for commercial advertising is another manifestation of an ancient media advertising form, which is present to this day in many parts of <a href="../../wp/a/Asia.htm" title="Asia">Asia</a>, <a href="../../wp/a/Africa.htm" title="Africa">Africa</a>, and <a href="../../wp/s/South_America.htm" title="South America">South America</a>. For instance, the tradition of wall painting can be traced back to <a href="../../wp/i/India.htm" title="India">Indian</a> <!--del_lnk--> rock-art paintings that goes back to 4000 BC. As printing developed in the 15th and 16th century, advertising expanded to include handbills. In the 17th century advertisements started to appear in weekly newspapers in England.<p>These early print ads were used mainly to promote books,and newspapers which became increasingly affordable thanks to the <!--del_lnk--> printing press, and medicines, which were increasingly sought after as disease ravaged Europe. However, <!--del_lnk--> false advertising and so-called "<!--del_lnk--> quack" ads became a problem, which ushered in regulation of advertising content.<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/0/48.jpg.htm" title="A print advertisement for the 1913 issue of the Encyclopædia Britannica"><img alt="A print advertisement for the 1913 issue of the Encyclopædia Britannica" height="158" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Ad_Encyclopaedia-Britannica_05-1913.jpg" src="../../images/0/48.jpg" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/0/48.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> A print advertisement for the 1913 issue of the <i><a href="../../wp/e/Encyclop%25C3%25A6dia_Britannica.htm" title="Encyclopædia Britannica">Encyclopædia Britannica</a></i></div>
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<div style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/0/49.jpg.htm" title="Edo period advertising flier from 1806 for a traditional medicine called Kinseitan"><img alt="Edo period advertising flier from 1806 for a traditional medicine called Kinseitan" height="318" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Edo_period_advertising_in_Japan.jpg" src="../../images/0/49.jpg" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/0/49.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Edo period advertising flier from 1806 for a traditional medicine called <i>Kinseitan</i></div>
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<p>As the economy was expanding during the 19th century, the need for advertising grew at the same pace. In the <a href="../../wp/u/United_States.htm" title="United States">United States</a>, classified ads became popular, filling pages of newspapers with small print messages promoting all kinds of goods. The success of this advertising format led to the growth of mail-order advertising such as the <!--del_lnk--> Sears Catalog, at one time referred to as the "Farmer's Bible". In 1843 the first <!--del_lnk--> advertising agency was established by <!--del_lnk--> Volney Palmer in <a href="../../wp/p/Philadelphia.htm" title="Philadelphia">Philadelphia</a>. At first the agencies were just brokers for ad space in newspapers, but by the 20th century, advertising agencies started to take over responsibility for the content as well.<p>The 1960s saw advertising transform into a modern, more scientific approach in which creativity was allowed to shine, producing unexpected messages that made advertisements more tempting to consumers' eyes. The <!--del_lnk--> Volkswagen ad campaign featuring such headlines as "Think Small" and "Lemon" ushered in the era of modern advertising by promoting a "position" or "unique selling proposition" designed to associate each brand with a specific idea in the reader or viewer's mind.<p>The late 1980s and early 1990s saw the introduction of <!--del_lnk--> cable television and particularly <!--del_lnk--> MTV. Pioneering the concept of the <!--del_lnk--> music video, MTV ushered in a new type of advertising: the consumer tunes in <i>for</i> the advertisement, rather than it being a byproduct or afterthought. As <!--del_lnk--> cable (and later <!--del_lnk--> satellite) television became increasingly prevalent, "specialty" channels began to emerge, and eventually entire channels, such as <!--del_lnk--> QVC and <!--del_lnk--> Home Shopping Network and <!--del_lnk--> ShopTV, devoted to advertising merchandise, where again the consumer tuned in <i>for</i> the ads.<p>Marketing through the <a href="../../wp/i/Internet.htm" title="Internet">Internet</a> opened new frontiers for advertisers and led to the "<!--del_lnk--> dot-com" boom of the 1990s. Entire corporations operated solely on advertising revenue, offering everything from coupons to free Internet access. At the turn of the 21st century, the <!--del_lnk--> search engine <a href="../../wp/g/Google.htm" title="Google">Google</a> revolutionized online advertising by emphasizing contextually relevant, unobtrusive ads intended to help, rather than inundate, users. This has led to a plethora of similar efforts and an increasing trend of <!--del_lnk--> interactive advertising.<p>The share of advertising spending relative to total economic output (<!--del_lnk--> GDP) has changed little across large changes in <!--del_lnk--> media. For example, in the U.S. in <!--del_lnk--> 1925, the main advertising media were <!--del_lnk--> newspapers, <!--del_lnk--> magazines, signs on <!--del_lnk--> streetcars, and outdoor <!--del_lnk--> posters. Advertising spending as a share of U.S. <!--del_lnk--> GDP was about 2.6% in <!--del_lnk--> 1925. By 1998, <a href="../../wp/t/Television.htm" title="Television">television</a> and <a href="../../wp/r/Radio.htm" title="Radio">radio</a> had become major advertising media. Nonetheless, advertising spending as a share of <!--del_lnk--> GDP was slightly lower -- about 2.4%.<!--del_lnk--> <p>A recent advertising innovation is "<!--del_lnk--> guerrilla promotions", which involve unusual approaches such as staged encounters in public places, giveaways of products such as cars that are covered with brand messages, and interactive advertising where the viewer can respond to become part of the advertising message. This reflects an increasing trend of interactive and "embedded" ads, such as via <!--del_lnk--> product placement, having consumers vote through <!--del_lnk--> text messages, and various innovations utilizing <!--del_lnk--> social networking sites (e.g. <!--del_lnk--> Myspace).<p><a id="Product_Advertising" name="Product_Advertising"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Public service advertising</span></h3>
<p>The same advertising techniques used to promote commercial goods and services can be used to inform, educate and motivate the public about non-commercial issues, such as AIDS, political ideology, energy conservation, religious recruitment, and deforestation.<p>Advertising, in its non-commercial guise, is a powerful educational tool capable of reaching and motivating large audiences. "Advertising justifies its existence when used in the public interest - it is much too powerful a tool to use solely for commercial purposes." - Attributed to Howard Gossage by David Ogilvy<p>Public service advertising, non-commercial advertising, public interest advertising, cause marketing, and social marketing are different terms for (or aspects of) the use of sophisticated advertising and marketing communications techniques (generally associated with commercial enterprise) on behalf of non-commercial, public interest issues and initiatives.<p>In the United States, the granting of television and radio licenses by the FCC is contingent upon the station broadcasting a certain amount of public service advertising. To meet these requirements, many broadcast stations in America air the bulk of their required Public Service Announcements during the late night or early morning when the smallest percentage of viewers are watching, leaving more day and prime time commercial slots available for high-paying advertisers.<p>Public service advertising reached its height during World Wars I and II under the direction of several governments. Famous comments on advertising include: "Don't tell my mother I work in an advertising agency - she thinks I play piano in a whorehouse." ~ Jacques Seguela<p><a id="Type" name="Type"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Type</span></h2>
<h2> <span class="mw-headline">Impact</span></h2>
<dl>
<dd>"<i>Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted; the trouble is, I don't know which half.</i>" - <!--del_lnk--> John Wanamaker, father of modern advertising.</dl>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/0/52.jpg.htm" title="Billboard, New York City, (2005)"><img alt="Billboard, New York City, (2005)" height="270" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Smithwick%27s_ale_billboard_NYC_May_2005.jpg" src="../../images/0/52.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/0/52.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Billboard, New York City, (2005)</div>
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<p>The impact of advertising has been a matter of considerable debate and many different claims have been made in different contexts. During debates about the banning of cigarette advertising, a common claim from cigarette manufacturers was that cigarette advertising does not encourage people to smoke who would not otherwise. The (eventually successful) opponents of advertising, on the other hand, claim that advertising does in fact increase consumption.<p>According to many media sources, the past experience and state of mind of the person subjected to advertising may determine the impact that advertising has. Children under the age of four may be unable to distinguish advertising from other television programs, whilst the ability to determine the truthfulness of the message may not be developed until the age of 8.<p><a id="Public_perception_of_the_medium" name="Public_perception_of_the_medium"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Public perception of the medium</span></h3>
<p>As advertising and marketing efforts become increasingly ubiquitous in modern Western societies, the industry has come under criticism of groups such as <!--del_lnk--> AdBusters via culture jamming which criticizes the media and consumerism using advertising's own techniques. The industry is accused of being one of the engines powering a convoluted economic mass production system which promotes consumption. Recognizing the social impact of advertising, <!--del_lnk--> Mediawatch-uk, a British special interest group, works to educate consumers about how they can register their concerns with advertisers and regulators. It has developed educational materials for use in schools. The award-winning book, Made You Look <i>How Advertising Works and Why You Should Know,</i> by former Mediawatch (a feminist organisation founded by <!--del_lnk--> Ann Simonton not linked to mediawatch-uk) president Shari Graydon, provides context for these issues for young readers.<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:152px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/192/19222.jpg.htm" title="iPod advertisement wrapped around a train. Minneapolis, Minnesota, US, (2005)"><img alt="iPod advertisement wrapped around a train. Minneapolis, Minnesota, US, (2005)" height="101" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Wrap_advertising_light_rail.jpg" src="../../images/0/53.jpg" width="150" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/192/19222.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div><a href="../../wp/i/IPod.htm" title="IPod">iPod</a> advertisement wrapped around a train. Minneapolis, Minnesota, US, (2005)</div>
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<p>Public interest groups are increasingly suggesting that access to the mental space targeted by advertisers should be taxed, in that at the present moment that space is being freely taken advantage of by advertisers with no compensation paid to the members of the public who are thus being intruded upon. This kind of tax would be a <!--del_lnk--> Pigovian tax in that it would act to reduce what is now increasingly seen as a public nuisance. Efforts to that end are gathering momentum, with Arkansas and Maine considering bills to implement such taxation. Florida enacted such a tax in 1987 but was forced to repeal it after six months, as a result of a concerted effort by national commercial interests, which withdrew planned conventions, causing major losses to the tourism industry, and cancelled advertising, causing a loss of 12 million dollars to the broadcast industry alone.<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:202px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/0/54.jpg.htm" title="Billboard in Lund, Sweden, saying "One Night Stand?" (2005)"><img alt="Billboard in Lund, Sweden, saying "One Night Stand?" (2005)" height="267" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Utomhusreklam_i_Lund.jpg" src="../../images/0/54.jpg" width="200" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/0/54.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Billboard in <!--del_lnk--> Lund, <a href="../../wp/s/Sweden.htm" title="Sweden">Sweden</a>, saying "One Night Stand?" (2005)</div>
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<h2> <span class="mw-headline">Regulation</span></h2>
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<p>There have been increasing efforts to protect the public interest by regulating the content and the reach of advertising. Some examples are the ban on television tobacco advertising imposed in many countries, and the total ban on advertising to children under twelve imposed by the Swedish government in 1991. Though that regulation continues in effect for broadcasts originating within the country, it has been weakened by the <!--del_lnk--> European Court of Justice, which has found that Sweden was obliged to accept whatever programming was targeted at it from neighboring countries or via satellite.<p>In Europe and elsewhere there is a vigorous debate on whether and how much advertising to children should be regulated. This debate was exacerbated by a report released by the <!--del_lnk--> Kaiser Family Foundation in February 2004 which suggested that food advertising targeting children was an important factor in the epidemic of childhood obesity in the United States.<p>In many countries - namely New Zealand, South Africa, Canada, and many European countries - the advertising industry operates a system of self-regulation. Advertisers, advertising agencies and the media agree on a code of advertising standards that they attempt to uphold. The general aim of such codes is to ensure that any advertising is 'legal, decent, honest and truthful'. Some self-regulatory organizations are funded by the industry, but remain independent, with the intent of upholding the standards or codes (like the <!--del_lnk--> Advertising Standards Authority in the UK).<p>Naturally, many advertisers view governmental regulation or even self-regulation as intrusion of their freedom of speech or a necessary evil. Therefore, they employ a wide-variety of linguistic devices to bypass regulatory laws (e.g. giving English words in bold and French translations in fine print to deal with the Article 12 of the 1994 <!--del_lnk--> Toubon Law limiting the use of English in French advertising); see Bhatia and Ritchie 2006:542. The advertising of controversial products such as cigarettes and condoms is subject to government regulation in many countries. For instance, the tobacco industry is required by law in India and Pakistan to display warnings cautioning consumers about the health hazards of their products. Linguistic variation is often used by advertising as a creative device to reduce the impact of such requirement.<p><a id="Future" name="Future"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Future</span></h2>
<p>With the dawn of the Internet have come many new advertising opportunities. <!--del_lnk--> Popup, <!--del_lnk--> Flash, <!--del_lnk--> banner, <!--del_lnk--> advergaming, and email advertisements (the last often being a form of spam) abound.<p>Each year, greater sums are paid to obtain a commercial spot during the <!--del_lnk--> Super Bowl, which is by most measures considered to be the most important football game of the year. Companies attempt to make these commercials sufficiently entertaining that members of the public will actually want to watch them.<p>Another problem is people recording shows on DVRs (ex. <!--del_lnk--> TiVo). These devices allow users to record the programs for later viewing enabling them to fast forward through commercials. Additionally, as more seasons or “Boxed Sets” come out of <!--del_lnk--> Television shows; fewer people are watching their shows on TV. However, the fact that these sets are <b>sold</b>, means that the company will additionally receive profits from the sales of these sets. To counter this effect, many advertisers have opted for <!--del_lnk--> product placement on TV shows like <!--del_lnk--> Survivor.<p>Particularly since the rise of "entertaining" advertising, some people may like an advert enough that they wish to watch it later or show a friend. In general, the advertising community has not yet made this easy, although some have used the Internet to widely distribute their adverts to anyone wishing to see or hear them.<p>Another significant trend to note for the future of advertising is the growing importance of niche or targeted ads. Also brought about by the Internet and the theory of <!--del_lnk--> The Long Tail, advertisers will have an increasing ability to reach narrow audiences. In the past, the most efficient way to deliver a message was to blanket the largest mass market audience possible. However, usage tracking, customer profiles and the growing popularity of niche content brought about by everything from blogs to social networking sites, provides advertisers with audiences that are smaller but much better defined, leading to ads that are more relevant to viewers and more effective for companies marketing products. Among others, <!--del_lnk--> Comcast Spotlight is one such advertiser employing this method in their <!--del_lnk--> video on demand menus. These advertisements are targeted to a specific group and can be viewed by anyone wishing to find out more about a particular business or practice at any time, right from their home. This causes the viewer to become proactive and actually choose what advertisements they want to view.<div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advertising"</div>
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<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">Aesthetics</h1>
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<p><b>Aesthetics</b> (also spelled <b>esthetics</b> or <b>æsthetics</b>) is a branch of <!--del_lnk--> value theory which studies <!--del_lnk--> sensory or sensori-emotional values, sometimes called <!--del_lnk--> judgments of <!--del_lnk--> sentiment or <!--del_lnk--> taste. Aesthetics is closely associated with the philosophy of <a href="../../wp/a/Art.htm" title="Art">art</a>.<p>
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</script><a id="Etymology" name="Etymology"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Etymology</span></h2>
<p>The term aesthetics comes from the <!--del_lnk--> Greek <i><span class="polytonic" lang="grc" xml:lang="grc">αἰσθητική</span></i> "aisthetike" and was coined by the philosopher <!--del_lnk--> Alexander Gottlieb Baumgarten in 1735 to mean "the science of how things are known via the senses." The term aesthetics was used in <a href="../../wp/g/German_language.htm" title="German language">German</a>, shortly after Baumgarten introduced its Latin form (<i>Aesthetica</i>), but was not widely used in <a href="../../wp/e/English_language.htm" title="English language">English</a> until the beginning of the 19th century. However, much the same study was called studying the "standards of taste" or "judgments of taste" in English, following the vocabulary set by <a href="../../wp/d/David_Hume.htm" title="David Hume">David Hume</a> prior to the introduction of the term "aesthetics."<p><a id="What_is_an_aesthetic_judgment.3F" name="What_is_an_aesthetic_judgment.3F"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">What is an aesthetic judgment?</span></h2>
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<div style="width:152px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/0/56.jpg.htm" title="Many see natural beauty folded within petals of a rose."><img alt="Many see natural beauty folded within petals of a rose." height="229" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Red_rose.jpg" src="../../images/0/56.jpg" width="150" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/0/56.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Many see natural beauty folded within petals of a <!--del_lnk--> rose.</div>
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<p>Judgments of aesthetic value clearly rely on our ability to discriminate at a sensory level. Aesthetics examines what makes something <!--del_lnk--> beautiful, <!--del_lnk--> sublime, <!--del_lnk--> disgusting, fun, <!--del_lnk--> cute, silly, <!--del_lnk--> entertaining, pretentious, <!--del_lnk--> discordant, <!--del_lnk--> harmonious, <!--del_lnk--> boring, <a href="../../wp/h/Humour.htm" title="Humor">humorous</a>, or <!--del_lnk--> tragic. A wine-drinker with an unrefined palate may miss much of the subtlety of a fine vintage.<p>Aesthetic judgments usually go beyond sensory discrimination. For <a href="../../wp/d/David_Hume.htm" title="David Hume">David Hume</a>, delicacy of taste is not merely "the ability to detect all the ingredients in a composition" but also our sensibility "to pains as well as pleasures, which escape the rest of mankind." Thus, the sensory discrimination is linked to capacity to pleasure. For <a href="../../wp/i/Immanuel_Kant.htm" title="Immanuel Kant">Immanuel Kant</a> "enjoyment" is the result when pleasure arises from sensation, but judging something to be "beautiful" has a third requirement: sensation must give rise to pleasure by engaging our capacities of reflective contemplation. Judgments of beauty are sensory, emotional, and intellectual all at once.<p><a id="What_factors_go_into_an_aesthetic_judgment.3F" name="What_factors_go_into_an_aesthetic_judgment.3F"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">What factors go into an aesthetic judgment?</span></h3>
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<p>Judgments of aesthetic value seem to often involve many other kinds of issues as well. Responses such as disgust show that sensory detection is linked in instinctual ways to facial expressions, and even behaviors like the gag reflex. Yet disgust can often be a learned or cultural issue too; as Darwin pointed out, seeing a stripe of soup in a man's beard is disgusting even though soup is not itself disgusting. Aesthetic judgments may be linked to emotions or, like emotions, partially embodied in our physical reactions. Seeing a sublime view of a landscape may give us a reaction of awe, which might manifest physically as an increased heart rate or widened eyes. These subconscious reactions may even be partly constitutive of what makes our judgment a judgment that the landscape is sublime.<p>Likewise, aesthetic judgments may be culturally conditioned to some extent. Victorians in Britain often saw African sculpture as ugly, but just a few decades later, Edwardian audiences saw the same sculptures as being beautiful. Evaluations of beauty may well be linked to desirability, perhaps even to sexual desirability. Thus, judgments of aesthetic value can become linked to judgments of economic, political, or moral value. We might judge a <!--del_lnk--> Lamborghini to be beautiful partly because it is desirable as a status symbol, or we might judge it to be repulsive partly because it signifies for us over-consumption of gasoline and offends our political or moral values.<div class="thumb tright">
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<p>Aesthetic judgments can often be very fine-grained and internally contradictory. Likewise aesthetic judgments seem to often be at least partly intellectual and interpretative. It is what a thing means or symbolizes for us that is often what we are judging. Modern aestheticians have asserted that will and desire were almost dormant in aesthetic experience yet preference and choice have seemed important aesthetics to some 20th century thinkers. Thus aesthetic judgments might be seen to be based on the senses, emotions, intellectual opinions, will, desires, culture, preferences, values, subconscious behaviour, conscious decision, training, instinct, sociological institutions, or some complex combination of these, depending on exactly which theory one employs.<p><a id="Are_different_art_forms_beautiful.2C_disgusting.2C_or_boring_in_the_same_way.3F" name="Are_different_art_forms_beautiful.2C_disgusting.2C_or_boring_in_the_same_way.3F"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Are different art forms beautiful, disgusting, or boring in the same way?</span></h3>
<p>A third major topic in the study of aesthetic judgment is how they are unified across art forms. We can call a person, a house, a symphony, a fragrance, and a mathematical proof beautiful. What characteristics do they share which give them that status? What possible feature could a proof and a fragrance both share in virtue of which they both count as beautiful? What makes a painting beautiful may be quite different from what makes music beautiful, which suggests that each art form has its own system for the judgement of aesthetics.<p>Or, perhaps the identification of beauty is a conditioned response, built into a culture or context. Is there some underlying unity to aesthetic judgment and is there some way to articulate the similarities of a beautiful house, beautiful proof, and beautiful sunset? Likewise there has been long debate on how perception of beauty in the natural world, especially including perceiving the human form as beautiful, is supposed to relate to perceiving beauty in <a href="../../wp/a/Art.htm" title="Art">art</a> or <!--del_lnk--> artifacts.<p><a id="Aesthetics_and_the_philosophy_of_art" name="Aesthetics_and_the_philosophy_of_art"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Aesthetics and the philosophy of art</span></h2>
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<p>It is not uncommon to find aesthetics used as a synonym for the philosophy of <a href="../../wp/a/Art.htm" title="Art">art</a>, although it is also not uncommon to find thinkers insisting that we distinguish these two closely related fields.<p><a id="What_counts_as_.22art.3F.22" name="What_counts_as_.22art.3F.22"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">What counts as "art?"</span></h3>
<p>How best to define the term “art” is a subject of much contention; many books and journal articles have been published arguing over even the basics of what we mean by the term “art”. Theodor Adorno claimed in 1969 “It is self-evident that nothing concerning art is self-evident any more.” Indeed, it is not even clear anymore who has the right to define art. Artists, philosophers, anthropologists, psychologists and even programmers all use the notion of art in their respective fields, and give it operational definitions that are not very similar to each others. Further it is clear that even the basic meaning of the term "<a href="../../wp/a/Art.htm" title="Art">art</a>" has changed several times over the centuries, and has changed within the 20th century as well.<p>The main recent sense of the word “art” is roughly as an abbreviation for <i><b>creative art</b></i> or “<a href="../../wp/f/Fine_art.htm" title="Fine art">fine art</a>.” Here we mean that skill is being used to express the artist’s creativity, or to engage the audience’s aesthetic sensibilities, or to draw the audience towards consideration of the “finer” things. Often, if the skill is being used in a lowbrow or practical way, people will consider it a <!--del_lnk--> craft instead of art, yet many thinkers have defended practical and lowbrow forms as being just as much art as the more lofty forms. Likewise, if the skill is being used in a commercial or industrial way it may be considered <!--del_lnk--> design instead of art, or contrariwise these may be defended as art forms, perhaps called <!--del_lnk--> applied art. Some thinkers, for instance, have argued that the difference between fine art and applied art has more to do with value judgments made about the art than any clear definitional difference.<p>Even as late as 1912 it was normal in the West to assume that all art aims at beauty, and thus that anything that wasn't trying to be beautiful couldn't count as art. The <a href="../../wp/c/Cubism.htm" title="Cubism">cubists</a>, <a href="../../wp/d/Dada.htm" title="Dada">dadaists</a>, <a href="../../wp/i/Igor_Stravinsky.htm" title="Igor Stravinsky">Stravinsky</a>, and many later art movements struggled against this conception that beauty was central to the definition of art, with such success that, according to Danto, “Beauty had disappeared not only from the advanced art of the 1960’s but from the advanced philosophy of art of that decade as well.” Perhaps some notion like “expression” (in <!--del_lnk--> Croce’s theories) or “counter-environment” (in <!--del_lnk--> McLuhan’s theory) can replace the previous role of beauty.<p>Perhaps (as in <!--del_lnk--> Kennick's theory) no definition of art is possible anymore. Perhaps art should be thought of as a cluster of related concepts in a <a href="../../wp/l/Ludwig_Wittgenstein.htm" title="Ludwig Wittgenstein">Wittgensteinian</a> fashion (as in <!--del_lnk--> Weitz or <!--del_lnk--> Beuys). Another approach is to say that “art” is basically a sociological category, that whatever art schools and museums and artists get away with is considered art regardless of formal definitions. This "institutional definition of art" has been championed by <!--del_lnk--> George Dickie. Most people did not consider the depiction of a <!--del_lnk--> Brillo Box or a store-bought <!--del_lnk--> urinal to be art until <a href="../../wp/a/Andy_Warhol.htm" title="Andy Warhol">Andy Warhol</a> and <!--del_lnk--> Marcel Duchamp (respectively) placed them in the context of art (i.e., the <!--del_lnk--> art gallery), which then provided the association of these objects with the values that define art.<p>Proceduralists often suggest that it is the process by which a work of art is created or viewed that makes it art, not any inherent feature of an object, or how well received it is by the institutions of the art world after its introduction to society at large. For <!--del_lnk--> John Dewey, for instance, if the writer intended a piece to be a poem, it is one whether other poets acknowledge it or not. Whereas if exactly the same set of words was written by a journalist, intending them as shorthand notes to help him write a longer article later, these would not be a poem. <a href="../../wp/l/Leo_Tolstoy.htm" title="Leo Tolstoy">Leo Tolstoy</a>, on the other hand, claims that what makes something art or not is how it is experienced by its audience, not by the intention of its creator. Functionalists like <!--del_lnk--> Monroe Beardsley argue that whether or not a piece counts as art depends on what function it plays in a particular context; the same Greek vase may play a non-artistic function in one context (carrying wine), and an artistic function in another context (helping us to appreciate the beauty of the human figure). '<p><a id="What_should_we_judge_when_we_judge_art.3F" name="What_should_we_judge_when_we_judge_art.3F"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">What should we judge when we judge art?</span></h3>
<p>Art can be tricky at the metaphysical and ontological levels as well as at the value theory level. When we see a performance of <!--del_lnk--> Hamlet, how many works of art are we experiencing, and which should we judge? Perhaps there is only one relevant work of art, the whole performance, which many different people have contributed to, and which will exist briefly and then disappear. Perhaps the manuscript by Shakespeare is a distinct work of art from the play by the troupe, which is also distinct from the performance of the play by this troupe on this night, and all three can be judged, but are to be judged by different standards.<p>Perhaps every person involved should be judged separately on his or her own merits, and each costume or line is its own work of art (with perhaps the director having the job of unifying them all). Similar problems arise for music, film and even painting. Am I to judge the painting itself, the work of the painter, or perhaps the painting in its context of presentation by the museum workers?<p>These problems have been made even thornier by the rise of <!--del_lnk--> conceptual art since the 1960s. Warhol’s famous <!--del_lnk--> Brillo Boxes are nearly indistinguishable from actual Brillo boxes at the time. It would be a mistake to praise Warhol for the design of his boxes (which were designed by James Harvey), yet the conceptual move of exhibiting these boxes as art in a museum together with other kinds of paintings is Warhol's. Are we judging Warhol’s concept? His execution of the concept in the medium? The curator’s insight in letting Warhol display the boxes? The overall result? Our experience or interpretation of the result? Ontologically, how are we to think of the work of art? Is it a physical object? Several objects? A class of objects? A mental object? A fictional object? An abstract object? An event?<p><a id="What_should_art_be_like.3F" name="What_should_art_be_like.3F"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">What should art be like?</span></h3>
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<div style="width:202px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/0/62.jpg.htm" title="Jackson Pollock's Galaxy, a part of the Joslyn Art Museum's permanent collection."><img alt="Jackson Pollock's Galaxy, a part of the Joslyn Art Museum's permanent collection." height="258" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Jackson_Pollock_Galaxy.jpg" src="../../images/0/62.jpg" width="200" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/0/62.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Jackson Pollock's <i>Galaxy</i>, a part of the <!--del_lnk--> Joslyn Art Museum's permanent collection.</div>
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<p>Many goals have been argued for art, and aestheticians often argue that some goal or another is superior in some way. <!--del_lnk--> Clement Greenberg, for instance, argued in 1960 that each artistic medium should seek that which makes it unique among the possible mediums and then purify itself of anything other than expression of its own uniqueness as a form. The <a href="../../wp/d/Dada.htm" title="Dada">Dadaist</a> <!--del_lnk--> Tristan Tzara on the other hand saw the function of art in 1918 as the destruction of a mad social order. “We must sweep and clean. Affirm the cleanliness of the individual after the state of madness, aggressive complete madness of a world abandoned to the hands of bandits.” Formal goals, creative goals, self-expression, political goals, spiritual goals, philosophical goals, and even more perceptual or aesthetic goals have all been popular pictures of what art should be like.<p><a id="What_is_the_value_of_art.3F" name="What_is_the_value_of_art.3F"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">What is the value of art?</span></h3>
<p>Closely related to the question of what art should be like is the question of what its value is. Is art a means of gaining knowledge of some special kind? Does it give insight into the human condition? How does art relate to <a href="../../wp/s/Science.htm" title="Science">science</a> or <a href="../../wp/r/Religion.htm" title="Religion">religion</a>? Is art perhaps a tool of education, or indoctrination, or enculturation? Does art make us more moral? Can it uplift us spiritually? Is art perhaps politics by other means? Is there some value to sharing or expressing emotions? Might the value of art for the artist be quite different than it is for the audience?<p>Might the value of art to society be quite different than its value to individuals? Do the values of arts differ significantly from form to form? Working on the intended value of art tends to help define the relations between art and other endeavors. Art clearly does have spiritual goals in many settings, but then what exactly is the difference between religious art and religion <i>per se</i>? Is every religious ritual a piece of performance art, so that religious ritual is simply a subset of art?<p><a id="History_of_Aesthetics" name="History_of_Aesthetics"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">History of Aesthetics</span></h2>
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<div style="width:152px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/0/63.jpg.htm" title="Bronze sculpture, thought to be either Poseidon or Zeus, National Archaeological Museum of Athens"><img alt="Bronze sculpture, thought to be either Poseidon or Zeus, National Archaeological Museum of Athens" height="113" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Poseidon.jpg" src="../../images/0/63.jpg" width="150" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/0/63.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div><!--del_lnk--> Bronze sculpture, thought to be either <!--del_lnk--> Poseidon or <a href="../../wp/z/Zeus.htm" title="Zeus">Zeus</a>, <!--del_lnk--> National Archaeological Museum of Athens</div>
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<p><a id="Ancient_aesthetics" name="Ancient_aesthetics"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Ancient aesthetics</span></h3>
<p>We have examples of <!--del_lnk--> pre-historic art, but they are rare, and the context of their production and use is not very clear, so we can little more than guess at the aesthetic doctrines that guided their production and interpretation.<p><!--del_lnk--> Ancient art was largely, but not entirely, based on the six great ancient civilizations: <a href="../../wp/a/Ancient_Egypt.htm" title="Ancient Egypt">Egypt</a>, <a href="../../wp/m/Mesopotamia.htm" title="Mesopotamia">Mesopotamia</a>, <a href="../../wp/a/Ancient_Greece.htm" title="Ancient Greece">Greece</a>, <a href="../../wp/a/Ancient_Rome.htm" title="Ancient Rome">Rome</a>, <a href="../../wp/i/Indus_Valley_Civilization.htm" title="Indus Valley Civilization">India</a>, and <a href="../../wp/c/China.htm" title="China">China</a>. Each of these centers of early civilization developed a unique and characteristic style in its art. Greece had the most influence on the development of aesthetics in the West. This period of Greek art saw a veneration of the human physical form and the development of corresponding skills to show musculature, poise, beauty and anatomically correct proportions.<p><a href="../../wp/a/Ancient_Greece.htm" title="Ancient Greece">Greek</a> philosophers initially felt that aesthetically appealing objects were beautiful in and of themselves. <a href="../../wp/p/Plato.htm" title="Plato">Plato</a> felt that beautiful objects incorporated proportion, <!--del_lnk--> harmony, and unity among their parts. Similarly, in the "<!--del_lnk--> Metaphysics" <a href="../../wp/a/Aristotle.htm" title="Aristotle">Aristotle</a> found that the universal elements of beauty were order, <a href="../../wp/s/Symmetry.htm" title="Symmetry">symmetry</a>, and definiteness.<p><a id="Non-Western_aesthetics" name="Non-Western_aesthetics"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Non-Western aesthetics</span></h3>
<p>In <!--del_lnk--> Islamic art early aesthetics rejected portrayal of Allah, human beings, or created beings (as these might tempt people into idolatry), although these <!--del_lnk--> aniconist strictures were gradually loosened and only the strictest of Muslims reject human portraiture today. Further, Allah was taken to be immune to representation via imagery. So Islamic aesthetics emphasized the decorative function of art, or its religious functions via non-representational forms. Geometric patterns, floral patterns, <!--del_lnk--> arabesques, and abstract forms were common, as was calligraphy. Order and unity were common themes.<p><!--del_lnk--> Indian art evolved with an emphasis on inducing special spiritual or philosophical states in the audience, or with representing them symbolically. According to <!--del_lnk--> Kapila Vatsyayan, "Classical <!--del_lnk--> Indian architecture, <!--del_lnk--> sculpture, <!--del_lnk--> painting, <!--del_lnk--> literature (kaavya), <!--del_lnk--> music, and <!--del_lnk--> dancing evolved their own rules conditioned by their respective media, but they shared with one another not only the underlying spiritual beliefs of the Indian religio-philosophic mind, but also the procedures by which the relationships of the symbol and the spiritual states were worked out in detail."<p><!--del_lnk--> Chinese art has a long history of varied styles and emphases. In ancient times philosophers were already arguing about aesthetics. <a href="../../wp/c/Confucius.htm" title="Confucius">Confucius</a> emphasized the role of the arts and humanities (especially music and poetry) in broadening human nature and aiding “li” (etiquette, the rites) in bringing us back to what is essential about humanity. His opponent <!--del_lnk--> Mozi, however, argued that music and fine arts were classist and wasteful, benefiting the rich but not the common people.<p>By the 4th century CE, artists were debating in writing over the proper goals of art as well. <!--del_lnk--> Gu Kaizhi has 3 surviving books on this theory of painting, for example, and it's not uncommon to find later artist/scholars who both create art and write about the creating of art. Religious and philosophical influence on art was common (and diverse) but never universal; it is easy to find art that largely ignores philosophy and religion in almost every Chinese time period.<p>Sub-Saharan <!--del_lnk--> African art existed in many forms and styles prior to colonialization, and with fairly little influence from outside Africa. Most of it followed traditional forms and the aesthetic norms were handed down orally rather than being committed to writing. Sculpture and performance art are prominent, and abstract and partially abstracted forms are valued, and were valued long before influence from the Western tradition began in earnest.<p><a id="Western_medieval_aesthetics" name="Western_medieval_aesthetics"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Western medieval aesthetics</span></h3>
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<div style="width:202px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/115/11585.jpg.htm" title="Lorsch Gospels 778–820. Charlemagne's Court School."><img alt="Lorsch Gospels 778–820. Charlemagne's Court School." height="281" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Codexaureus_25.jpg" src="../../images/0/65.jpg" width="200" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/115/11585.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div><!--del_lnk--> Lorsch Gospels 778–820. <a href="../../wp/c/Charlemagne.htm" title="Charlemagne">Charlemagne's</a> Court School.</div>
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<p>Surviving <!--del_lnk--> medieval art is highly religious in focus, and typically was funded by the <a href="../../wp/r/Roman_Catholic_Church.htm" title="Roman Catholic Church">Church</a>, powerful ecclesiastical individuals, or wealthy secular patrons. Often the pieces have an intended liturgical function, such as altar pieces or statuary. Realism was typically not an important goal, but being religiously uplifting was.<p>Reflection on the nature and function of art and aesthetic experiences follows similar lines. St. <!--del_lnk--> Bonaventure’s “Retracing the Arts to Theology” is typical and discusses the skills of the artisan as gifts given by God for the purpose of disclosing God to mankind via four “lights”: the light of skill in mechanical arts which discloses the world of artifacts, as guided by the light of sense perception which discloses the world of natural forms, as guided by the light of philosophy which discloses the world of intellectual truth, as guided by the light of divine wisdom which discloses the world of saving truth.<p>As the medieval world shifts into the <a href="../../wp/r/Renaissance.htm" title="Renaissance">Renaissance</a> art again returns to focus on this world and on secular issues of human life. The philosophy of art of the ancient Greeks and Romans is re-appropriated.<p><a id="Modern_aesthetics" name="Modern_aesthetics"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Modern aesthetics</span></h3>
<p>From the late 17th to the early 20th century Western aesthetics underwent a slow revolution into what is often called <!--del_lnk--> modernism. <a href="../../wp/g/Germany.htm" title="Germany">German</a> and <!--del_lnk--> British thinkers emphasized <!--del_lnk--> beauty as the key component of art and of the aesthetic experience, and saw art as necessarily aiming at beauty.<p>For <!--del_lnk--> Baumgarten aesthetics is the science of the sense experiences, a younger sister of logic, and beauty is thus the most perfect kind of knowledge that sense experience can have. For <a href="../../wp/i/Immanuel_Kant.htm" title="Immanuel Kant">Kant</a> the aesthetic experience of beauty is a judgment of a subjective but universal truth, since all people should agree that “this <!--del_lnk--> rose is beautiful” if it in fact is. However, beauty cannot be reduced to any more basic set of features. For <!--del_lnk--> Schiller aesthetic appreciation of beauty is the most perfect reconciliation of the sensual and rational parts of human nature.<p>For <!--del_lnk--> Hegel all culture is a matter of "absolute spirit" coming to be manifest to itself, stage by stage. Art is the first stage in which the absolute spirit is manifest immediately to sense-perception, and is thus an objective rather than subjective revelation of beauty. For <!--del_lnk--> Schopenhauer aesthetic contemplation of beauty is the most free that the pure intellect can be from the dictates of will; here we contemplate perfection of form without any kind of worldly agenda, and thus any intrusion of utility or politics would ruin the point of the beauty.<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/117/11746.jpg.htm" title="William Hogarth, self-portrait, 1745"><img alt="William Hogarth, self-portrait, 1745" height="234" longdesc="/wiki/Image:William_Hogarth_006.jpg" src="../../images/0/66.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/117/11746.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div><a href="../../wp/w/William_Hogarth.htm" title="William Hogarth">William Hogarth</a>, self-portrait, 1745</div>
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<p>The British were largely divided into intuitionist and analytic camps. The intuitionists believed that aesthetic experience was disclosed by a single mental faculty of some kind. For the <a href="../../wp/e/Earl_of_Shaftesbury.htm" title="Earl of Shaftesbury">Earl of Shaftesbury</a> this was identical to the moral sense, beauty just is the sensory version of moral goodness.<p>For <!--del_lnk--> Hutcheson beauty is disclosed by an inner mental sense, but is a subjective fact rather than an objective one. Analytic theorists like <!--del_lnk--> Lord Kames, <a href="../../wp/w/William_Hogarth.htm" title="William Hogarth">William Hogarth</a>, and <a href="../../wp/e/Edmund_Burke.htm" title="Edmund Burke">Edmund Burke</a> hoped to reduce beauty to some list of attributes. Hogarth, for example, thinks that beauty consists of (1) fitness of the parts to some design; (2) variety in as many ways as possible; (3) uniformity, regularity or symmetry, which is only beautiful when it helps to preserve the character of fitness; (4) simplicity or distinctness, which gives pleasure not in itself, but through its enabling the eye to enjoy variety with ease; (5) intricacy, which provides employment for our active energies, leading the eye "a wanton kind of chase"; and (6) quantity or magnitude, which draws our attention and produces admiration and awe. Later analytic aestheticians strove to link beauty to some scientific theory of psychology (such as <!--del_lnk--> James Mill) or biology (such as <!--del_lnk--> Herbert Spencer).<p><a id="Post-modern_aesthetics" name="Post-modern_aesthetics"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Post-modern aesthetics</span></h3>
<p>As late as the <!--del_lnk--> Bloomsbury Group or <!--del_lnk--> Roger Fry’s exhibitions of “Post-Impressionist” art in 1910 and 1912 there is a pervasive assumption in the West that all art does and should aim at beauty, although <!--del_lnk--> Matisse and others are beginning to challenge this. Over the 20th century there is a fairly steady revolt against beauty as the cornerstone of aesthetics or art. Often attempts to integrate the aesthetic sensibilities of Western and non-Western cultures are an important component of post-modern aesthetics. Various attempts have been made to replace the central role of beauty with some other notion that can hold art and aesthetics together.<p><!--del_lnk--> Croce suggested that “expression” is central in the way that beauty was once thought to be central. <!--del_lnk--> George Dickie suggested that the sociological institutions of the art world were the glue binding art and sensibility into unities. <!--del_lnk--> Marshall McLuhan suggested that art always functions as a "counter-environment" designed to make visible what is usually invisible about a society. <!--del_lnk--> Theodor Adorno felt that aesthetics could not proceed without confronting the role of the culture industry in the commodification of art and aesthetic experience.<p><a id="Aesthetics_in_particular_fields_and_art_forms" name="Aesthetics_in_particular_fields_and_art_forms"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Aesthetics in particular fields and art forms</span></h2>
<p><a id="Visual_arts" name="Visual_arts"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Visual arts</span></h3>
<p>Aesthetic considerations within the <a href="../../wp/v/Visual_arts.htm" title="Visual arts">visual arts</a> are usually associated with the sense of <!--del_lnk--> vision. A painting or sculpture, however, is also perceived spatially by recognized associations and context, and even to some extent by the senses of smell, hearing, and touch. The form of the work can be subject to an aesthetic as much as the content.<p>In painting, the aesthetic convention that we see a three-dimensional representation rather than a two-dimensional canvas is so well understood that most people do not realize that they are making an aesthetic interpretation. This notion is the basis of <!--del_lnk--> abstract impressionism. In the United States during the postwar period, the "push-pull" theories of <!--del_lnk--> Hans Hofmann, positing a relation between colour and perceived depth, strongly influenced a generation of prominent abstract painters, many of whom studied under Hofmann and were generally associated with <!--del_lnk--> abstract expressionism. Hofmann's general attitude toward abstraction as virtually a moral imperative for the serious painter was also extremely influential.<p>
<br /> Some aesthetic effects available in visual arts include variation, juxtaposition, repetition, field effects, symmetry/asymmetry, perceived mass, subliminal structure, linear dynamics, tension and repose, pattern, contrast, perspective, 3 dimensionality, movement, rhythm, unity/Gestalt, matrixiality and proportion.<p><a id="Maps" name="Maps"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Maps</span></h3>
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<div style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/0/68.jpg.htm" title="Qin player Wu Jinglüe 吳景略"><img alt="Qin player Wu Jinglüe 吳景略" height="224" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Wu_Jinglue.jpg" src="../../images/0/68.jpg" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/0/68.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div><a href="../../wp/g/Guqin.htm" title="Guqin">Qin</a> player Wu Jinglüe 吳景略</div>
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<p>Aesthetics in cartography relates to the visual experience of map reading and can take two forms: responses to the map itself as an aesthetic object (e.g., through detail, colour, and form) and also the subject of the map symbolised, often the landscape (e.g., a particular expression of terrain which forms an imagined visual experience of the aesthetic).<p>Cartographers make aesthetic judgments when designing maps to ensure that the content forms a clear expression of the theme(s). Antique maps are perhaps especially revered due to their aesthetic value, which may seem to be derived from their styles of ornamentation. As such, aesthetics are often wrongly considered to be a by-product of design. If it is taken that aesthetic judgments are produced within a certain social context, they are fundamental to the cartographer's symbolisation and as such are integral to the function of maps.<p><a id="Music" name="Music"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Music</span></h3>
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<p>Some of the aesthetic elements expressed in <a href="../../wp/m/Music.htm" title="Music">music</a> include lyricism, <!--del_lnk--> harmony, hypnotism, emotiveness, temporal dynamics, volume dynamics, resonance, playfulness, colour, subtlety, elatedness, depth, and mood (see <!--del_lnk--> musical development). Aesthetics in music are often believed to be highly sensitive to their context: what sounds good in modern American <!--del_lnk--> rock might sound terrible in the context of the early <!--del_lnk--> baroque age.<p><a id="Performing_arts" name="Performing_arts"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Performing arts</span></h3>
<p><!--del_lnk--> Performing arts appeal to our aesthetics of storytelling, grace, balance, class, timing, strength, shock, humor, costume, irony, beauty, drama, suspense, and sensuality. Whereas live stage performance is usually constrained by the physical reality at hand, film performance can further add the aesthetic elements of large-scale action, fantasy, and a complex interwoven musical <!--del_lnk--> score. <!--del_lnk--> Performance art often consciously mixes the aesthetics of several forms. <!--del_lnk--> Role-playing games are sometimes seen as a performing art with an aesthetic structure of their own, called <!--del_lnk--> RPG theory.<p><a id="Literature" name="Literature"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Literature</span></h3>
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<p>In <a href="../../wp/p/Poetry.htm" title="Poetry">poetry</a>, <!--del_lnk--> short stories, <a href="../../wp/n/Novel.htm" title="Novel">novels</a> and <!--del_lnk--> non-fiction, authors use a variety of techniques to appeal to our aesthetic values. Depending on the type of writing an author may employ rhythm, illustrations, structure, time shifting, juxtaposition, dualism, imagery, fantasy, suspense, analysis, humor/cynicism, and thinking aloud.<p>In literary aesthetics, the study of "effect" illuminates the deep structures of reading and receiving literary works. These effects may be broadly grouped by their modes of writing and the relationship that the reader assumes with time. <!--del_lnk--> Catharsis is the effect of dramatic completion of action in time. <!--del_lnk--> Kairosis is the effect of novels whose characters become integrated in time. <!--del_lnk--> Kenosis is the effect of lyric poetry which creates a sense of emptiness and timelessness.<p><a id="Gastronomy" name="Gastronomy"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Gastronomy</span></h3>
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<div style="width:168px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/0/69.jpg.htm" title="A selection of desserts"><img alt="A selection of desserts" height="252" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Desserts.jpg" src="../../images/0/69.jpg" width="166" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">A selection of desserts</div>
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<p>Although <!--del_lnk--> food is a basic and frequently experienced commodity, careful attention to the aesthetic possibilities of foodstuffs can turn eating into <!--del_lnk--> gastronomy. Chefs inspire our aesthetic enjoyment through the visual sense using colour and arrangement; they inspire our senses of taste and smell using <!--del_lnk--> spices, diversity/contrast, anticipation, seduction, and decoration/garnishes. In regard to <a href="../../wp/d/Drinking_water.htm" title="Drinking water">drinking water</a>, there are formal criteria for aesthetic value including <!--del_lnk--> odour, <a href="../../wp/c/Color.htm" title="Colour">colour</a>, <!--del_lnk--> total dissolved solids and clarity. There are numerical standards in the <!--del_lnk--> USA for aesthetic acceptability of these parameters.<p><a id="Information_technology" name="Information_technology"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Information technology</span></h3>
<p>Aesthetics in information technology has focused upon the study of human-computer interaction and creating user-friendly devices and software applications; aesthetically pleasing "graphical user interfaces" have been shown to improve productivity. Software itself has aesthetic dimensions ("software aesthetics"), as do information-technology-mediated processes and experiences such as computer video games and virtual reality simulations. <!--del_lnk--> Digital culture is a distinct aesthetic to judge the appeal of digital environments such as browsers, websites, and icons, as well as visual and aural art produced exclusively with digital technologies. The notion of <!--del_lnk--> cyberspace has sometimes been linked to the concept of the <!--del_lnk--> sublime.<p><a id="Mathematics" name="Mathematics"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Mathematics</span></h3>
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<p>The aesthetics of <a href="../../wp/m/Mathematics.htm" title="Mathematics">mathematics</a> are often compared with music and poetry. Hungarian mathematician <!--del_lnk--> Paul Erdős expressed his views on the indescribable beauty of mathematics when he said "Why are numbers beautiful? It's like asking why is <!--del_lnk--> Beethoven's Ninth Symphony beautiful." Math appeals to the "senses" of logic, order, novelty, elegance, and discovery. Some concepts in math with specific aesthetic application include sacred ratios in <a href="../../wp/g/Geometry.htm" title="Geometry">geometry</a>, the intuitiveness of axioms, the complexity and intrigue of fractals, the solidness and regularity of polyhedra, and the serendipity of relating theorems across disciplines.<p><a id="Neuroesthetics" name="Neuroesthetics"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Neuroesthetics</span></h3>
<p><!--del_lnk--> Cognitive science has also considered aesthetics, with the advent of <!--del_lnk--> neuroesthetics, pioneered by <!--del_lnk--> Semir Zeki, which seeks to explain the prominence of great art as an embodiment of biological principles of the brain, namely that great works of art capture the essence of things just as vision and the brain capture the essentials of the world from the ever-changing stream of sensory input.<p><a id="Industrial_design" name="Industrial_design"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Industrial design</span></h3>
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<div style="width:152px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/0/70.jpg.htm" title="Ludwig Mies van der Rohes Barcelona chair (1929)"><img alt="Ludwig Mies van der Rohes Barcelona chair (1929)" height="142" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Barcelona.jpg" src="../../images/0/70.jpg" width="150" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/0/70.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div><!--del_lnk--> Ludwig Mies van der Rohes <!--del_lnk--> Barcelona chair (1929)</div>
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<p>Beyond providing functional characteristics, designers heed many aesthetic qualities to improve the marketability of manufactured products: smoothness, shininess/reflectivity, texture, pattern, curviness, colour, simplicity, usability, velocity, symmetry, naturalness, and modernism. The staff of the Design Aesthetics section focuses on design, appearance and the way people perceive products. Design aesthetics is interested in the appearance of products; the explanation and meaning of this appearance is studied mainly in terms of social and cultural factors. The distinctive focus of the section is research and education in the field of sensory modalities in relation to product design. These fields of attention generate design baggage that enables engineers to design products, systems, and services, and match them to the correct field of use.<p><a id="Architecture_and_interior_design" name="Architecture_and_interior_design"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Architecture and interior design</span></h3>
<p>Although structural integrity, cost, the nature of building materials, and the functional utility of the building contribute heavily to the design process, architects can still apply aesthetic considerations to buildings and related <a href="../../wp/a/Architecture.htm" title="Architecture">architectural</a> structures. Common aesthetic design principles include ornamentation, edge delineation, texture, flow, solemnity, symmetry, colour, granularity, the interaction of sunlight and shadows, transcendence, and harmony.<p><!--del_lnk--> Interior designers, being less constrained by structural concerns, have a wider variety of applications to appeal to aesthetics. They may employ color, colour harmony, wallpaper, ornamentation, furnishings, fabrics, textures, lighting, various floor treatments, as well as adhere to aesthetic concepts such as <!--del_lnk--> feng shui.<p><a id="Urban_life" name="Urban_life"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Urban life</span></h3>
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<div style="width:352px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/0/71.jpg.htm" title="Towns and cities have been planned with aesthetics in mind; here in Bristol (England), 19th century private sector development was designed to appear attractive."><img alt="Towns and cities have been planned with aesthetics in mind; here in Bristol (England), 19th century private sector development was designed to appear attractive." height="229" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Clifton_suspension_bridge_from_hotwells_600.jpg" src="../../images/0/71.jpg" width="350" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/0/71.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Towns and cities have been planned with aesthetics in mind; here in <a href="../../wp/b/Bristol.htm" title="Bristol">Bristol</a> (England), 19th century private sector development was designed to appear attractive.</div>
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<p>Nearly half of mankind lives in cities; although it represents a lofty goal, <!--del_lnk--> planning and achieving urban aesthetics (<!--del_lnk--> beautification) involves a good deal of historical luck, happenstance, and indirect gestalt. Nevertheless, aesthetically pleasing cities share certain traits: ethnic and cultural variety, numerous microclimates that promote a diversity of vegetation, sufficient public transportation, a range of build-out (or zoning) that creates both densely and sparsely populated areas, <!--del_lnk--> sanitation to foster clean streets and <!--del_lnk--> graffiti removal (or co-ordination), scenic neighboring geography (oceans or mountains), public spaces and events such as <a href="../../wp/p/Park.htm" title="Park">parks</a> and <!--del_lnk--> parades, musical variety through local radio or street musicians, and enforcement of laws that abate noise, crime, and pollution.<p><a id="Landscape_design" name="Landscape_design"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Landscape design</span></h3>
<p><!--del_lnk--> Landscape designers draw upon design elements such as axis, line, landform, horizontal and vertical planes, texture, and scale to create aesthetic variation within the landscape. They may additionally make use of aesthetic elements such as pools or fountains of water, plants, seasonal variance, stonework, fragrance, exterior lighting, statues, and lawns.<p><a id="Fashion_Design" name="Fashion_Design"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Fashion Design</span></h3>
<p>Fashion designers use a variety of techniques to allow people to express the truth about their unconscious minds by way of their clothing. To create wearable personality designers use fabric, cut, colour, scale, references to the past, texture, colour harmony, distressing, transparency, insignia, accessories, beading and embroidery.<p><a id="See_also" name="See_also"></a><div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aesthetics"</div>
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<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.Science.Biology.Mammals.htm">Mammals</a></h3>
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<td colspan="3">Baluchi Hound<br /> Sage Baluchi<br /> Tazi</td>
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<td colspan="3"><a href="../../wp/a/Afghanistan.htm" title="Afghanistan">Afghanistan</a></td>
</tr>
<tr style="background-color: pink;">
<th colspan="3">Classification and breed standards</th>
</tr>
<tr style="text-align: left;">
<th><!--del_lnk--> FCI:</th>
<td>Group 10 Section 1 #228</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Stds</td>
</tr>
<tr style="text-align: left;">
<th><!--del_lnk--> AKC:</th>
<td>Hound</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Stds</td>
</tr>
<tr style="text-align: left;">
<th><!--del_lnk--> ANKC:</th>
<td>Group 4 - (Hounds)</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Stds</td>
</tr>
<tr style="text-align: left;">
<th><!--del_lnk--> CKC:</th>
<td>Group 2 - (Hounds)</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Stds</td>
</tr>
<tr style="text-align: left;">
<th style="white-space: nowrap;"><!--del_lnk--> KC (UK):</th>
<td>Hound</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Stds</td>
</tr>
<tr style="text-align: left;">
<th><!--del_lnk--> NZKC:</th>
<td>Hounds</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Stds</td>
</tr>
<tr style="text-align: left;">
<th><!--del_lnk--> UKC:</th>
<td>Sighthounds and Pariah Dogs</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Stds</td>
</tr>
</table>
<p>The <b>Afghan Hound</b> is a very old <!--del_lnk--> sighthound <a href="../../wp/d/Dog.htm" title="Dog">dog</a> <!--del_lnk--> breed. Distinguished by its thick, fine, silky coat and its tail with a ring curl at the end, the breed acquired its unique features in the cold mountains of <a href="../../wp/a/Afghanistan.htm" title="Afghanistan">Afghanistan</a>, where it was originally used to hunt <!--del_lnk--> wolves, <a href="../../wp/f/Fox.htm" title="Fox">foxes</a>, and <a href="../../wp/g/Gazelle.htm" title="Gazelle">gazelles</a>.<p>
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<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:152px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/150/15048.jpg.htm" title="This Afghan is black and brindle; however, the photo shows it with a reddish tinge to the coat, which can occur in a black-coated dog."><img alt="This Afghan is black and brindle; however, the photo shows it with a reddish tinge to the coat, which can occur in a black-coated dog." height="127" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Afghan-Hound.jpg" src="../../images/150/15048.jpg" width="150" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/150/15048.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> This Afghan is black and brindle; however, the photo shows it with a reddish tinge to the coat, which can occur in a black-coated dog.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>The Afghan Hound is high-stationed, standing 24 to 29 inches (63-74 cm) in height and weighing 45 to 60 pounds (20-30 kg). The coat may be any colour, but white markings, particularly on the head, are discouraged; many individuals have a black facial mask. Some are almost white, but particolor hounds (white with islands of red or black) are not acceptable and may indicate impure breeding. The long, fine-textured coat requires considerable care and grooming. The long topknot and the shorter-haired saddle on the back in the mature dog are distinctive features of the Afghan Hound coat. The high hipbones and unique small ring on the end of the tail are also characteristics of the breed.<p><a id="Temperament" name="Temperament"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Temperament</span></h2>
<p>The temperament of the typical Afghan Hound can be aloof and dignified, but happy and clownish when playing. The breed has a reputation among dog trainers of having a relatively low "obedience intelligence" as defined by author <!--del_lnk--> Stanley Coren. <!--del_lnk--> The Afghan Hound has many cat-like tendencies and is not slavish in its <!--del_lnk--> obedience as are some other breeds. The Afghan hound has a leaning towards independence. Owners should not be surprised if their Afghan hounds sometimes choose to ignore commands. Although seldom used today for hunting in <a href="../../wp/e/Europe.htm" title="Europe">Europe</a> and <a href="../../wp/u/United_States.htm" title="United States">America</a> where they are popular, Afghans are frequent participants in <!--del_lnk--> lure coursing events and are also popular as <!--del_lnk--> show dogs.<p><a id="Health" name="Health"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Health</span></h2>
<p>Afghans hounds are a relatively healthy breed; major health issues are <!--del_lnk--> allergies, and <a href="../../wp/c/Cancer.htm" title="Cancer">cancer</a>. Sensitivity to <!--del_lnk--> anesthesia is an issue the Afghan hound shares with the rest of the <!--del_lnk--> sighthound group, as sighthounds have relatively low levels of body fat.<p>Afghan hounds as a whole are a fairly long-lived breed, often living 13-14 years.<p><a id="History" name="History"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">History</span></h2>
<p>The breed was always thought to date back at least to the pre-Christian era, and recent discoveries by researchers studying ancient DNA have revealed that the Afghan Hound is in fact one of the most <!--del_lnk--> ancient dog breeds, dating back for many thousands of years. Its original native name, <i>Tazi</i>, betrays its connection to the very similar <!--del_lnk--> Tasy breed of <a href="../../wp/r/Russia.htm" title="Russia">Russia</a>. The proximity of southern <a href="../../wp/r/Russia.htm" title="Russia">Russia</a> and <a href="../../wp/a/Afghanistan.htm" title="Afghanistan">Afghanistan</a> argue for a common origin for both breeds.<p>Initially, Afghan people refused to sell their national dog to outsiders; the breed was not seen in <a href="../../wp/e/Europe.htm" title="Europe">Europe</a> and <a href="../../wp/u/United_States.htm" title="United States">America</a> until after the turn of the <a href="../../wp/2/20th_century.htm" title="20th century">20th century</a>. <!--del_lnk--> AKC and <!--del_lnk--> CKC did not recognize the Afghan Hound until the 1930s.<p>On August 3, 2005, Korean scientist <!--del_lnk--> Hwang Woo-Suk announced that his team of researchers had become the first team to successfully <!--del_lnk--> clone a dog. The dog, an Afghan Hound, was named <!--del_lnk--> Snuppy. Later that year, a pattern of lies and fraud by <!--del_lnk--> Hwang Woo-Suk came to light, throwing in doubt all his claims. Snuppy, nonetheless, was <!--del_lnk--> a genuine clone, and thus the first cloned dog in history.<p><a id="Famous_Afghans" name="Famous_Afghans"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Famous Afghans</span></h2>
<ul>
<li>Rita from <!--del_lnk--> Oliver & Company<li><!--del_lnk--> Snuppy (see above)<li><!--del_lnk--> What-a-Mess<li>Brainy Barker from <!--del_lnk--> Krypto the Superdog</ul>
<p><a id="External_links" name="External_links"></a><div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afghan_Hound"</div>
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<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">Afghanistan</h1>
<div id="bodyContent">
<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.Geography.Geography_of_Asia.Asian_Countries.htm">Asian Countries</a>; <a href="../index/subject.Countries.htm">Countries</a></h3>
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<table class="infobox geography" style="width:23em;">
<tr>
<td align="center" class="mergedtoprow" colspan="2" style="line-height:1.2em; font-size:1.2em;"><b><span style="line-height:1.33em;"><big>د افغانستان اسلامي جمهوریت</big><br /><i>Da Afġānistān Islāmī jomhoriyat</i><br /><big>جمهوری اسلامی افغانستان</big><br /><i>Jamhorīyē Eslāmī-ye Afġānistān</i></span></b><br /><b><span style="line-height:1.33em;">Islamic Republic of Afghanistan</span></b></td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedrow">
<td align="center" class="maptable" colspan="2" style="padding:0.4em 0.8em 0.4em 0.8em;">
<table style="margin:0 auto; background:none; text-align:center;" width="100%">
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align:middle; text-align:center;" width="50%"><span style="border:1px solid #bbbbbb; display:table-cell;"><a class="image" href="../../images/6/604.png.htm" title="Flag of Afghanistan"><img alt="Flag of Afghanistan" height="83" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Afghanistan.svg" src="../../images/158/15831.png" width="125" /></a></span></td>
<td style="vertical-align:middle; text-align:center;" width="50%"><a class="image" href="../../images/158/15832.png.htm" title="Emblem of Afghanistan"><img alt="Emblem of Afghanistan" height="87" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Coat_of_arms_of_Afghanistan.svg" src="../../images/158/15832.png" width="85" /></a></td>
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<tr>
<td><small><!--del_lnk--> Flag</small></td>
<td><small><!--del_lnk--> Emblem</small></td>
</tr>
</table>
</td>
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<tr>
<td colspan="2" style="line-height:1.2em; text-align:center;"><!--del_lnk--> Anthem: <i><!--del_lnk--> Suroudi Milli</i></td>
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<tr>
<td colspan="2" style="text-align:center; padding:0.4em 1em 0.4em 1em;">
<div class="center">
<div class="floatnone"><span><a class="image" href="../../images/158/15833.png.htm" title="Location of Afghanistan"><img alt="Location of Afghanistan" height="115" longdesc="/wiki/Image:LocationAfghanistan.png" src="../../images/158/15833.png" width="250" /></a></span></div>
</div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedtoprow">
<td><!--del_lnk--> <b>Capital</b><br /><!--del_lnk--> (and largest city)</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Kabul<br /><small><span class="plainlinksneverexpand"><!--del_lnk--> 34°31′N 69°08′E</span></small></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th><span style="white-space: nowrap;"><!--del_lnk--> Official languages</span></th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Pashto<br /><!--del_lnk--> Persian (<i><!--del_lnk--> Darī</i>)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-top:solid 1px Gainsboro; vertical-align:top;"><b><a href="../../wp/l/List_of_countries_by_system_of_government.htm" title="List of countries by system of government">Government</a></b></td>
<td style="border-top:solid 1px Gainsboro; vertical-align:top;"><!--del_lnk--> Islamic Republic</td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedrow">
<td> - <!--del_lnk--> President</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Hamid Karzai</td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedrow">
<td> - <!--del_lnk--> Vice President</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Ahmad Zia Massoud</td>
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<tr class="mergedbottomrow">
<td> - <!--del_lnk--> Vice President</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Karim Khalili</td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedtoprow">
<th><!--del_lnk--> Independence</th>
<td>from the <a href="../../wp/u/United_Kingdom.htm" title="United Kingdom">United Kingdom</a> </td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedrow">
<td> - Declared</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> August 8, <!--del_lnk--> 1919 </td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedbottomrow">
<td> - Recognized</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> August 19, <!--del_lnk--> 1919 </td>
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<tr class="mergedtoprow">
<th colspan="2"><!--del_lnk--> Area</th>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedrow">
<td> - Total</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> 652,090 km² (<!--del_lnk--> 41st)<br /> 251,772 sq mi </td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedrow">
<td> - Water (%)</td>
<td>n/a</td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedtoprow">
<th colspan="2"><!--del_lnk--> Population</th>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedrow">
<td> - 2005 estimate</td>
<td>29,863,000 (<!--del_lnk--> 38th)</td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedrow">
<td> - 1979 census</td>
<td>13,051,358</td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedbottomrow">
<td> - <!--del_lnk--> Density</td>
<td>46/km² (<!--del_lnk--> 150th)<br /> 119/sq mi</td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedtoprow">
<th><!--del_lnk--> GDP (<!--del_lnk--> PPP)</th>
<td>2006 estimate</td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedrow">
<td> - Total</td>
<td>$31.9 billion (<!--del_lnk--> 91st)</td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedbottomrow">
<td> - Per capita</td>
<td>$1,310 (<!--del_lnk--> 162nd)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th><b><!--del_lnk--> HDI</b> (2003)</th>
<td>n/a (<font color="gray">n/a</font>) (<!--del_lnk--> unranked)</td>
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<tr>
<th><a href="../../wp/c/Currency.htm" title="Currency">Currency</a></th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Afghani <small>(Af)</small> (<code><!--del_lnk--> AFN</code>)</td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedtoprow">
<th><a href="../../wp/t/Time_zone.htm" title="Time zone">Time zone</a></th>
<td>(<!--del_lnk--> UTC+4:30)</td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedbottomrow">
<td> - Summer (<!--del_lnk--> DST)</td>
<td>(<!--del_lnk--> UTC+4:30)</td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedtoprow">
<th><!--del_lnk--> Internet TLD</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> .af</td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedbottomrow">
<th><!--del_lnk--> Calling code</th>
<td>+93</td>
</tr>
</table>
<p><b>Afg<u>h</u>ānistān</b>, officially the <b>Islamic Republic of Afghanistan</b> (<!--del_lnk--> Pashto:<b><big>د افغانستان اسلامي جمهوریت</big></b> , <!--del_lnk--> Persian: <b><big>جمهوری اسلامی افغانستان</big></b> ), is a <!--del_lnk--> landlocked country at the crossroads of <a href="../../wp/a/Asia.htm" title="Asia">Asia</a> and the <a href="../../wp/m/Middle_East.htm" title="Middle East">Middle East</a>. Generally considered a part of <!--del_lnk--> Central Asia, it is sometimes ascribed to a regional <!--del_lnk--> bloc in either <!--del_lnk--> South Asia or the Middle East, as it has religious, ethno-linguistic, and geographic links with most of its neighbours. It is largely bordered by <a href="../../wp/p/Pakistan.htm" title="Pakistan">Pakistan</a> in the south and east, <a href="../../wp/i/Iran.htm" title="Iran">Iran</a> in the west, <a href="../../wp/t/Turkmenistan.htm" title="Turkmenistan">Turkmenistan</a>, <a href="../../wp/u/Uzbekistan.htm" title="Uzbekistan">Uzbekistan</a> and <a href="../../wp/t/Tajikistan.htm" title="Tajikistan">Tajikistan</a> in the north, and the <a href="../../wp/p/People%2527s_Republic_of_China.htm" title="People's Republic of China">People's Republic of China</a> in the far east. The name Afghanistan means "Land of the <a href="../../wp/p/Pashtun_people.htm" title="Pashtun people">Afghans</a>".<p>Afghanistan is a mosaic of ethnic groups, and a crossroads between the <!--del_lnk--> East and <!--del_lnk--> West. It was an ancient focal point of trade and migration. The region of modern Afghanistan has seen many invaders come and go, including the <a href="../../wp/p/Persian_Empire.htm" title="Persian Empire">Persians</a>, <a href="../../wp/a/Alexander_the_Great.htm" title="Alexander the great">Greeks</a>, <!--del_lnk--> Arabs, <!--del_lnk--> Turks, <!--del_lnk--> Mongols, <a href="../../wp/g/Great_Britain.htm" title="Great Britain">British</a> and the <a href="../../wp/s/Soviet_Union.htm" title="Soviet Union">Soviets</a>. Afghanistan was created as a nation in 1747 by <!--del_lnk--> Ahmad Shah Durrani. In 1919, following the <!--del_lnk--> Anglo-Afghan wars, the country gained full independence from the <a href="../../wp/g/Great_Britain.htm" title="Great Britain">UK</a> over its <!--del_lnk--> foreign affairs.<p>Since 1979, Afghanistan has suffered almost continuous conflict, beginning with the <!--del_lnk--> Soviet invasion followed by a <!--del_lnk--> civil war and finally by the <!--del_lnk--> 2001 US invasion, in which the ruling <!--del_lnk--> Taliban government was toppled. In December 2001, the <!--del_lnk--> United Nations Security Council authorized the creation of an <!--del_lnk--> International Security Assistance Force. This force, composed of <!--del_lnk--> US and <a href="../../wp/n/NATO.htm" title="NATO">NATO</a> troops, has been involved in assisting the government of President <!--del_lnk--> Hamid Karzai in establishing authority across the country.<p>
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</script><a id="Name" name="Name"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Name</span></h2>
<dl>
<dd>
</dl>
<p>The name <i>Af<u>gh</u>ānistān</i> literally translates to <i>Land of the Afghans</i>. Its modern usage derives from the word <i>Afghan</i>. The <!--del_lnk--> Pashtuns began using the term Afghan as a name for themselves from at least the Islamic period and onwards. According to W. K. Frazier Tyler, M. C. Gillet and several other scholars, <i>"The word Afghan first appears in history in the <!--del_lnk--> Hudud-al-Alam in 982 AD."</i> The last part of the name <i>Af<u>gh</u>ānistān</i> (-<i>istān</i>) originates from the <!--del_lnk--> Persian suffix <i>-stān</i> (<i>country</i> or <i>land</i>).<p>The <!--del_lnk--> Encyclopædia Iranica states:<table align="center" cellpadding="10" class="cquote" style="border-collapse:collapse; background-color:transparent; border-style:none;">
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="20">
<div style="position:relative; width:20px; height:20px; overflow:hidden;">
<div style="position:absolute; font-size:20px; overflow:hidden; line-height:20px; letter-spacing:20px;"><strong class="selflink"><span style="text-decoration:none;" title="Afghanistan"> </span></strong></div><a class="image" href="../../images/1/147.png.htm" title="Afghanistan"><img alt="Afghanistan" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Cquote1.png" src="../../images/1/147.png" width="20" /></a></div>
</td>
<td>From a more limited, ethnological point of view, "Af<u>gh</u>ān" is the term by which the Persian-speakers of Afghanistan (and the non-Paštō-speaking ethnic groups generally) designate the Paštūn. The equation [of] <i>Afghan</i> [and] <i>Paštūn</i> has been propagated all the more, both in and beyond Afghanistan, because the Paštūn tribal confederation is by far the most important in the country, numerically and politically [...] The term "Af<u>gh</u>ān" has probably designated the Paštūn since ancient times. Under the form <i>Avagānā</i>, this ethnic group is first mentioned by the Indian astronomer Varāha Mihira in the beginning of the <!--del_lnk--> 6th century A.D. in his <i>Brahat-samahita</i>.</td>
<td valign="bottom" width="20">
<div style="position:relative; width:20px; height:20px; overflow:hidden;">
<div style="position:absolute; font-size:20px; overflow:hidden; line-height:20px; letter-spacing:20px;"><strong class="selflink"><span style="text-decoration:none;" title="Afghanistan"> </span></strong></div><a class="image" href="../../images/1/148.png.htm" title="Afghanistan"><img alt="Afghanistan" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Cquote2.png" src="../../images/1/148.png" width="20" /></a></div>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
<p>The term <i>"Afghanistan"</i> was mentioned by <!--del_lnk--> Mughal Emperor <a href="../../wp/b/Babur.htm" title="Babur">Babur</a> in his <!--del_lnk--> memoirs of AD 1525, referring to the areas south of Kabul which were inhabited by Pashtuns (called <i>"Afghans"</i> by Babur). Later, the English word <i>"Afghanland"</i> that appeared in various treaties in the 19th century, dealing with the Pashtun territories in <!--del_lnk--> Kandahar as well as south of Kabul, was translated as <i>"Afghanistan"</i> by Afghan authorities and was extended to the entire kingdom during the reign of <!--del_lnk--> Abdur Rahman Khan. It became the official name of the country in <!--del_lnk--> 1919, after Afghanistan gained its full independence from the British, and was confirmed as such in <!--del_lnk--> 1964 by Afghanistan's first national constitution. <p>Regarding the nation's name <i>"Afghanistan"</i>, the <!--del_lnk--> Encyclopædia Of Islam states:<table align="center" cellpadding="10" class="cquote" style="border-collapse:collapse; background-color:transparent; border-style:none;">
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="20">
<div style="position:relative; width:20px; height:20px; overflow:hidden;">
<div style="position:absolute; font-size:20px; overflow:hidden; line-height:20px; letter-spacing:20px;"><strong class="selflink"><span style="text-decoration:none;" title="Afghanistan"> </span></strong></div><a class="image" href="../../images/1/147.png.htm" title="Afghanistan"><img alt="Afghanistan" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Cquote1.png" src="../../images/1/147.png" width="20" /></a></div>
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<td>Af<u>gh</u>ānistān has borne that name only since the middle of the 18th century, when the supremacy of the Afghan race (<!--del_lnk--> Pashtuns) became assured: previously various districts bore distinct apellations, but the country was not a definite political unit, and its component parts were not bound together by any identity of race or language. The earlier meaning of the word was simply “the land of the Afghans”, a limited territory which did not include many parts of the present state but did comprise large districts now either independent or within the boundary of Pakistan.</td>
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<div style="position:absolute; font-size:20px; overflow:hidden; line-height:20px; letter-spacing:20px;"><strong class="selflink"><span style="text-decoration:none;" title="Afghanistan"> </span></strong></div><a class="image" href="../../images/1/148.png.htm" title="Afghanistan"><img alt="Afghanistan" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Cquote2.png" src="../../images/1/148.png" width="20" /></a></div>
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<p>In the <a href="../../wp/m/Middle_Ages.htm" title="Middle Ages">Middle Ages</a>, up to the <a href="../../wp/1/18th_century.htm" title="18th century">18th century</a>, the region was known as <!--del_lnk--> <u>Kh</u>orāsān. Several important centers of <u>Kh</u>orāsān are thus located in modern Afghanistan, such as <!--del_lnk--> Balkh, <!--del_lnk--> Herat, <!--del_lnk--> Ghazni and <!--del_lnk--> Kabul. <p><a id="History" name="History"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">History</span></h2>
<p>Excavation of prehistoric sites suggests that humans were living in what is now Afghanistan at least 50,000 years ago, and that farming communities of the area were among the earliest in the world.<p>Afghanistan is a country at a unique nexus point where numerous Eurasian civilizations have interacted and often fought, and was an important site of early historical activity. Through the ages, the <!--del_lnk--> Hindu Kush has been home to the <!--del_lnk--> Aryans (<!--del_lnk--> Indo-Iranians: <!--del_lnk--> Indo-Aryans, <!--del_lnk--> Persians, <!--del_lnk--> Medes, <!--del_lnk--> Parthians, etc.). It also has been invaded by a host of people, including the <!--del_lnk--> Greeks, <!--del_lnk--> Mauryans, <!--del_lnk--> Kushans, <!--del_lnk--> Hepthalites, <!--del_lnk--> Arabs, <!--del_lnk--> Mongols, <!--del_lnk--> Turks, <a href="../../wp/u/United_Kingdom.htm" title="United Kingdom">British</a>, <a href="../../wp/s/Soviet_Union.htm" title="Soviet Union">Soviets</a>, and most recently by the <a href="../../wp/u/United_States.htm" title="United States">Americans</a>. On other occasions, native entities have invaded surrounding regions to form empires of their own.<p>Between 2000 and 1200 <!--del_lnk--> BC, waves of <!--del_lnk--> Indo-European-speaking <!--del_lnk--> Aryans are thought to have flooded into this part of <a href="../../wp/a/Asia.htm" title="Asia">Asia</a> which now consists of modern-day Afghanistan, <a href="../../wp/i/Iran.htm" title="Iran">Iran</a>, <a href="../../wp/t/Turkmenistan.htm" title="Turkmenistan">Turkmenistan</a>, <a href="../../wp/u/Uzbekistan.htm" title="Uzbekistan">Uzbekistan</a>, <a href="../../wp/t/Tajikistan.htm" title="Tajikistan">Tajikistan</a>, <a href="../../wp/p/Pakistan.htm" title="Pakistan">Pakistan</a> and others, setting up a nation that during the rule of <!--del_lnk--> Medes and the <a href="../../wp/p/Persian_Empire.htm" title="Persian Empire">Persian Empire</a> became known as Aryānām Xšaθra or <!--del_lnk--> Airyānem Vāejah. Later, during the rule of <!--del_lnk--> Ashkanian, <!--del_lnk--> Sasanian and after, it was called Erānshahr ايرانشهر (<i>Irānshæhr</i>) meaning "Dominion of the <!--del_lnk--> Aryans", which included large parts of <a href="../../wp/m/Mesopotamia.htm" title="Mesopotamia">Mesopotamia</a>, the <!--del_lnk--> Caucasus, <a href="../../wp/a/Armenia.htm" title="Armenia">Armenia</a>, <a href="../../wp/a/Azerbaijan.htm" title="Azerbaijan">Azerbaijan</a>, <a href="../../wp/i/Iran.htm" title="Iran">Iran</a> and modern-day Central Asia (Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, the western part of Pakistan, etc.).<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:202px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/158/15834.jpg.htm" title="Buddhas of Bamyan were the largest Buddha statues in the world, dating back to 1st century A.D."><img alt="Buddhas of Bamyan were the largest Buddha statues in the world, dating back to 1st century A.D." height="269" longdesc="/wiki/Image:GBA8.jpg" src="../../images/158/15834.jpg" width="200" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/158/15834.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div><!--del_lnk--> Buddhas of Bamyan were the largest Buddha statues in the world, dating back to 1st century A.D.</div>
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<p>It has been speculated that <!--del_lnk--> Zoroastrianism might have originated in what is now Afghanistan between 1800 to 800 BC. Ancient <!--del_lnk--> Eastern Iranian languages, such as <!--del_lnk--> Avestan, may have been spoken in this region around a similar time-line with the rise of Zoroastrianism. By the middle of the 6th century BC, the <a href="../../wp/p/Persian_Empire.htm" title="Persian Empire">Persian Empire</a> of the <!--del_lnk--> Achaemenids supplanted the <!--del_lnk--> Median Empire and incorporated what was known as <!--del_lnk--> Persia to Greeks within its boundaries; and by 330 BC, <a href="../../wp/a/Alexander_the_Great.htm" title="Alexander the Great">Alexander the Great</a> had invaded Afghanistan and conquered the surrounding regions. Following Alexander's brief occupation, the <!--del_lnk--> Hellenistic successor states of the <!--del_lnk--> Seleucids and <!--del_lnk--> Greco-Bactrians controlled the area, while the <!--del_lnk--> Mauryas from India annexed the southeast for a time and introduced <a href="../../wp/b/Buddhism.htm" title="Buddhism">Buddhism</a> to the region until the area returned to the Bactrian rule.<p>During the 1st century <a href="../../wp/a/Anno_Domini.htm" title="AD">AD</a>, the <!--del_lnk--> Tocharian <!--del_lnk--> Kushans created a vast dynasty in <!--del_lnk--> Khorasan, bringing the Buddhism culture into this territory. <!--del_lnk--> Kushanians were then defeated by <a href="../../wp/s/Sassanid_Empire.htm" title="Sassanid Empire">Sassanids</a> in the 3rd century AD. Sassanids ruled up to the 7th century, when Muslim Arab armies conquered the Sassanid Empire in the <!--del_lnk--> Battle of al-Qādisiyyah.<p>The <!--del_lnk--> Arab Empire initially annexed parts of western Afghanistan in 652 AD, then conquered north of Afghanistan by 809 AD and administered that region as <!--del_lnk--> Khorasan. Over time much of the local population converted to Islam. The region of modern Afghanistan became the centre of various important empires, including the <!--del_lnk--> Ghaznavid Empire (962-1151), founded by a local Afghan ruler from <!--del_lnk--> Ghazni named <!--del_lnk--> Mahmud Ghaznavi. This empire was replaced by the <!--del_lnk--> Ghorid Empire (1151-1219), founded by another local Afghan ruler, <!--del_lnk--> Muhammad Ghori, whose domains laid the foundations for the <!--del_lnk--> Delhi Sultanate in <a href="../../wp/i/India.htm" title="India">India</a>.<p>In <!--del_lnk--> 1219, the region was overrun by the <!--del_lnk--> Mongols under <a href="../../wp/g/Genghis_Khan.htm" title="Genghis Khan">Genghis Khan</a>, who devastated the land. Their rule continued with the <!--del_lnk--> Ilkhanates, and was extended further following the invasion of <a href="../../wp/t/Timur.htm" title="Timur">Timur Lang</a>, a ruler from Central Asia. In 1504, <a href="../../wp/b/Babur.htm" title="Babur">Babur</a>, a descendant of both Timur Lang and Genghis Khan, established the <!--del_lnk--> Mughal Empire with its capital at <!--del_lnk--> Kabul. By the early 1700s, the region of present-day Afghanistan was controlled by three ruling groups: Uzbeks to the north, <!--del_lnk--> Safavids to the west and the remaining larger area by the Mughals.<p>In <!--del_lnk--> 1709, <!--del_lnk--> Mirwais Khan Hotak, a local Afghan (<a href="../../wp/p/Pashtun_people.htm" title="Pashtun people">Pashtun</a>) from the <!--del_lnk--> Ghilzai clan, overthrew and killed <!--del_lnk--> Gurgin Khan, the <!--del_lnk--> Safavid governor of <!--del_lnk--> Kandahar. Mirwais Khan successfully defeated the Persian Safavids, who were attempting to convert the local population of Kandahar from <!--del_lnk--> Sunni to <!--del_lnk--> Shia sect of <a href="../../wp/i/Islam.htm" title="Islam">Islam</a>. Mirwais held the region of Kandahar until his death in 1715 and was succeeded by his son Mahmud Hotak. In 1722, Mahmud Hotak led an <!--del_lnk--> Afghan army to <!--del_lnk--> Isfahan, sacked the city and proclaimed himself <!--del_lnk--> Shah of Persia (meaning <i>King of Persia</i>). The <!--del_lnk--> Afghan dynasty was eventually removed from power by a new ruler, <!--del_lnk--> Nadir Shah of Persia.<p>In 1738, Nadir Shah conquered Kandahar; in the same year he occupied <!--del_lnk--> Ghazni, Kabul and <!--del_lnk--> Lahore. On June 19, 1747, Nadir Shah was assassinated, possibly planned by his nephew <!--del_lnk--> Ali Qoli. In the same year, one of Nadir Shah's high-ranking military generals, <!--del_lnk--> Ahmad Shah Abdali, a Pashtun from the <!--del_lnk--> Abdali clan, called for a <!--del_lnk--> loya jirga following Nadir Shah's assassination. The Afghans came together at Kandahar and unanimously chose Ahmad Shah to be the King, who changed his last name to <i><!--del_lnk--> Durrani</i> (meaning <i>Pearl</i>).<p>By 1751, Ahmad Shah Durrani managed to conquer and rule the entire present-day Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Khorassan region of Iran, along with <a href="../../wp/d/Delhi.htm" title="Delhi">Delhi</a> in <a href="../../wp/i/India.htm" title="India">India</a>. In <!--del_lnk--> 1772, Ahmad Shah retired to his home in <!--del_lnk--> Maruf, Kandahar, where he died peacefully. He was succeeded by his son, <!--del_lnk--> Timur Shah Durrani, who transferred the capital from Kandahar to Kabul. Timur died in 1793 and was finally succeeded by his son <!--del_lnk--> Zaman Shah Durrani.<p>During the 19th century, following the <!--del_lnk--> Anglo-Afghan wars (fought 1839-1842, 1878-1880, and lastly in 1919) and the ascension of the <!--del_lnk--> Barakzai Pashtun dynasty, Afghanistan saw much of its territory and autonomy ceded to the <a href="../../wp/u/United_Kingdom.htm" title="United Kingdom">United Kingdom</a>. The UK exercised a great deal of influence, and it was not until King <!--del_lnk--> Amanullah Khan acceded to the throne in 1919 (see "<!--del_lnk--> The Great Game") that Afghanistan regained complete independence. During the period of British intervention in Afghanistan, ethnic Pashtun territories were divided by the <!--del_lnk--> Durand Line, and this would lead to strained relations between Afghanistan and <!--del_lnk--> British India – and later the new state of Pakistan – over what came to be known as the <!--del_lnk--> Pashtunistan debate.<p>The longest period of stability in Afghanistan was between 1933 and 1973, when the country was under the rule of King <!--del_lnk--> Zahir Shah. However, in 1973, Zahir's brother-in-law, <!--del_lnk--> Sardar Mohammed Daoud launched a bloodless coup. Daoud and his entire family were murdered in 1978 when the <a href="../../wp/c/Communism.htm" title="Communist">communist</a> <!--del_lnk--> People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan launched a coup known as the <!--del_lnk--> Great Saur Revolution and took over the government.<p>Opposition against, and conflict within, the series of communist governments that followed, was considerable. As part of a <a href="../../wp/c/Cold_War.htm" title="Cold War">Cold War</a> strategy, in 1979 the <!--del_lnk--> United States government under President <a href="../../wp/j/Jimmy_Carter.htm" title="Jimmy Carter">Jimmy Carter</a> and National Security Advisor <!--del_lnk--> Zbigniew Brzezinski began to covertly fund and train anti-government <!--del_lnk--> Mujahideen forces through the Pakistani secret service agency known as <!--del_lnk--> Inter Services Intelligence (ISI), who were derived from discontented Muslims in the country who opposed the official atheism of the Marxist regime. In order to bolster the local Communist forces, the Soviet Union—citing the 1978 Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Good Neighborliness that had been signed between the two countries —intervened on <!--del_lnk--> December 24, <!--del_lnk--> 1979. The Soviet occupation resulted in a mass exodus of over 5 million Afghans who moved into <!--del_lnk--> refugee camps in neighboring Pakistan and Iran. More than 3 million settled in Pakistan alone. Faced with mounting international pressure and the loss of approximately 15,000 Soviet soldiers as a result of Mujahideen opposition forces trained by the United States, Pakistan, and other foreign governments, the Soviets withdrew ten years later, in 1989. For more details, see <!--del_lnk--> Soviet war in Afghanistan.<p>The Soviet withdrawal from the <!--del_lnk--> Democratic Republic of Afghanistan was seen as an ideological victory in the US, which had backed the Mujahideen through three US presidential administrations in order to counter Soviet influence in the vicinity of the oil-rich <a href="../../wp/p/Persian_Gulf.htm" title="Persian Gulf">Persian Gulf</a>. Following the removal of the Soviet forces in 1989, the US and its allies lost interest in Afghanistan and did little to help rebuild the war-ravaged country or influence events there. The USSR continued to support President <!--del_lnk--> Najibullah (formerly the head of the secret service, Khad) until his downfall in 1992. However, the absence of the Soviet forces resulted in the downfall of the pro-communist government as it steadily lost ground to the guerrilla forces.<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:202px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/158/15838.jpg.htm" title="Soviet troops withdrawing from Afghanistan in 1988."><img alt="Soviet troops withdrawing from Afghanistan in 1988." height="133" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Evstafiev-afghan-apc-passes-russian.jpg" src="../../images/158/15838.jpg" width="200" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/158/15838.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Soviet troops withdrawing from Afghanistan in 1988.</div>
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<p>The result of the fighting was that the vast majority of the elites and intellectuals had escaped to take refuge abroad, a dangerous leadership vacuum thereby coming into existence. Fighting continued among the various Mujahideen factions, eventually giving rise to a state of warlordism. The most serious fighting during this growing civil conflict occurred in 1994, when 10,000 people were killed in Kabul. The chaos and corruption that dominated post-Soviet Afghanistan in turn spawned the rise of the <!--del_lnk--> Taliban, who were mostly <!--del_lnk--> Pashtuns from <!--del_lnk--> Kandahar.<p>The Taliban developed as a politico-religious force, and eventually seized Kabul in 1996. By the end of 2000, the Taliban were able to capture 95% of the country, aside from the opposition (<!--del_lnk--> Afghan Northern Alliance) strongholds primarily found in the northeast corner of <!--del_lnk--> Badakhshan Province. The Taliban sought to impose a strict interpretation of Islamic <i><!--del_lnk--> Sharia</i> law and were later implicated as terrorists, most notably by harbouring and supporting <a href="../../wp/o/Osama_bin_Laden.htm" title="Osama bin Laden">Osama bin Laden</a>'s <!--del_lnk--> Al-Qaeda network.<p>During the Taliban's seven-year rule, much of the population experienced restrictions on their freedom and violations of their human rights. Women were banned from jobs, girls forbidden to attend schools or universities. Those who resisted were punished. Communists were systematically eradicated and the strict Islamic <!--del_lnk--> Sharia law was imposed. The Taliban also managed to nearly eradicate the majority of the opium production by 2001. <p>Following the <a href="../../wp/s/September_11%252C_2001_attacks.htm" title="September 11, 2001 attacks">September 11, 2001 attacks</a>, the United States launched <!--del_lnk--> Operation Enduring Freedom, a military campaign to destroy the Al-Qaeda terrorist network operating in Afghanistan and overthrow their host (the Taliban). The US made common cause with the Afghan Northern Alliance to achieve its ends.<p>In December 2001, major leaders from the Afghan opposition groups and diaspora met in <!--del_lnk--> Bonn, <a href="../../wp/g/Germany.htm" title="Germany">Germany</a>, and agreed on a <!--del_lnk--> plan for the formulation of a new democratic government that resulted in the inauguration of <!--del_lnk--> Hamid Karzai, a Pashtun from Kandahar, as Chairman of the <!--del_lnk--> Afghan Interim Authority.<p>After a nationwide <i><!--del_lnk--> Loya Jirga</i> in 2002, Karzai was chosen by the representatives to assume the title as President of Afghanistan. In 2003, the country convened a Constitutional Loya Jirga (Council of Elders) and ratified a new <!--del_lnk--> constitution the following year. Hamid Karzai was elected President in a nation-wide election in October 2004. Legislative elections were held in September 2005. The National Assembly--the first freely elected legislature in Afghanistan since 1973--sat in December 2005, and was noteworthy for the inclusion of women as voters, candidates, and elected members.<p>As the country continued to rebuild and recover, as of late 2006, it was still struggling against widespread poverty, continued warlordism, poor <a href="../../wp/i/Infrastructure.htm" title="Infrastructure">infrastructure</a>, possibly the largest concentration of <!--del_lnk--> land mines and other unexploded ordinance on earth, as well as a huge illegal <!--del_lnk--> poppy and <!--del_lnk--> heroin trade. Afghanistan also remains subject to occasionally violent political jockeying. The landmine problem persists; in 2002, the <!--del_lnk--> Red Cross recorded 409 landmine deaths in Afghanistan, one of the highest mine tolls anywhere. The country continues to grapple with the <!--del_lnk--> Taliban insurgency, the threat of attacks from a few remaining al-Qaeda, and instability, particularly in the north, caused by the remaining semi-independent warlords.<p><a id="Politics" name="Politics"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Politics</span></h2>
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<div style="width:202px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/158/15841.jpg.htm" title="The current President of Afghanistan, Hamid Karzai."><img alt="The current President of Afghanistan, Hamid Karzai." height="180" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Hamid_Karzai_2006-09-26.jpg" src="../../images/158/15841.jpg" width="200" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/158/15841.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> The current <!--del_lnk--> President of Afghanistan, <!--del_lnk--> Hamid Karzai.</div>
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<p>Politics in Afghanistan has historically consisted of power struggles, bloody <!--del_lnk--> coups and unstable transfers of power. With the exception of a <!--del_lnk--> military junta, the country has been governed by nearly every system of government over the past century, including a <a href="../../wp/m/Monarchy.htm" title="Monarchy">monarchy</a>, <!--del_lnk--> republic, <!--del_lnk--> theocracy and <!--del_lnk--> communist state. The constitution ratified by the <!--del_lnk--> 2003 Loya jirga restructured the government as an <a href="../../wp/i/Islamic_republic.htm" title="Islamic republic">Islamic republic</a> consisting of three branches, (<!--del_lnk--> executive, <!--del_lnk--> legislative, and <!--del_lnk--> judiciary).<p>Afghanistan is currently led by President <!--del_lnk--> Hamid Karzai, who was elected in October 2004. While supporters have praised Karzai's efforts to promote national reconciliation and a growing economy, critics charge him with failing to rein in the country's warlords, inability to stem corruption and the growing drug trade, and the slow pace of reconstruction. The current <!--del_lnk--> parliament was elected in 2005. Among the elected officials were former mujahadeen, Taliban members, communists, <!--del_lnk--> reformists, and <!--del_lnk--> Islamic fundamentalists. 28% of the delegates elected were women, 3% more than the 25% minimum guaranteed under the constitution. This made Afghanistan, long known under the Taliban for its oppression of women, one of the leading countries in terms of female representation.<p>The <!--del_lnk--> Supreme Court of Afghanistan is currently led by Chief Justice <!--del_lnk--> Abdul Salam Azimi, a former university professor who had been legal advisor to the president. The previous court, appointed during the time of the interim government, had been dominated by fundamentalist religious figures, including Chief Justice <!--del_lnk--> Faisal Ahmad Shinwari. The court had issued numerous questionable rulings, such as banning <!--del_lnk--> cable television, seeking to ban a candidate in the 2004 presidential election and limiting the rights of women, as well as overstepping its constitutional authority by issuing rulings on subjects not yet brought before the court. The current court is seen as more moderate and led by more <!--del_lnk--> technocrats than the previous court, although it has yet to issue any rulings.<p><a id="Administrative_divisions" name="Administrative_divisions"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Administrative divisions</span></h2>
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<p>Afghanistan is administratively divided into thirty-four <!--del_lnk--> provinces (<i>velayat</i>), which are further subdivided into <!--del_lnk--> districts.<table width="100%">
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<p> 1 <!--del_lnk--> Badakhshan<br /> 2 <!--del_lnk--> Badghis<br /> 3 <!--del_lnk--> Baghlan<br /> 4 <!--del_lnk--> Balkh<br /> 5 <!--del_lnk--> Bamyan<br /> 6 <!--del_lnk--> Daykundi<br /> 7 <!--del_lnk--> Farah<br /> 8 <!--del_lnk--> Faryab<br /> 9 <!--del_lnk--> Ghazni<br /> 10 <!--del_lnk--> Ghowr<br /> 11 <!--del_lnk--> Helmand<br /> 12 <!--del_lnk--> Herat<br /> 13 <!--del_lnk--> Jowzjan<br /> 14 <!--del_lnk--> Kabul<br /> 15 <!--del_lnk--> Kandahar<br /> 16 <!--del_lnk--> Kapisa<br /> 17 <!--del_lnk--> Khost<br />
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<p>18 <!--del_lnk--> Konar<br /> 19 <!--del_lnk--> Kunduz<br /> 20 <!--del_lnk--> Laghman<br /> 21 <!--del_lnk--> Lowgar<br /> 22 <!--del_lnk--> Nangarhar<br /> 23 <!--del_lnk--> Nimruz<br /> 24 <!--del_lnk--> Nurestan<br /> 25 <!--del_lnk--> Oruzgan<br /> 26 <!--del_lnk--> Paktia<br /> 27 <!--del_lnk--> Paktika<br /> 28 <!--del_lnk--> Panjshir<br /> 29 <!--del_lnk--> Parvan<br /> 30 <!--del_lnk--> Samangan<br /> 31 <!--del_lnk--> Sare Pol<br /> 32 <!--del_lnk--> Takhar<br /> 33 <!--del_lnk--> Vardak<br /> 34 <!--del_lnk--> Zabol</td>
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<div style="width:302px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/158/15842.png.htm" title="Map showing the provinces of Afghanistan."><img alt="Map showing the provinces of Afghanistan." height="231" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Afghanistan_provinces_numbered.png" src="../../images/158/15842.png" width="300" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/158/15842.png.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Map showing the provinces of Afghanistan.</div>
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<p><a id="Geography" name="Geography"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Geography</span></h2>
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<p>Afghanistan is a land-locked, <!--del_lnk--> mountainous, central Asian country, with plains in the north and southwest. The highest point, at 7485 m (24,557 <!--del_lnk--> ft) above sea level, is <!--del_lnk--> Nowshak. Large parts of the country are dry, and fresh water supplies are limited. Afghanistan has a continental climate, with hot summers and cold winters. The country is frequently subject to <a href="../../wp/e/Earthquake.htm" title="Earthquake">earthquakes</a>.<p>At 249,984 <!--del_lnk--> mi² (647,500 <!--del_lnk--> km²), Afghanistan is the world's 41st-largest country (after <a href="../../wp/m/Myanmar.htm" title="Burma">Burma</a>). It is comparable in size to <a href="../../wp/s/Somalia.htm" title="Somalia">Somalia</a>, and is somewhat smaller than the US state of <!--del_lnk--> Texas.<p>The country's natural resources include <a href="../../wp/c/Copper.htm" title="Copper">copper</a>, <a href="../../wp/z/Zinc.htm" title="Zinc">zinc</a> and <!--del_lnk--> iron ore in central areas; precious and semi-precious stones such as <!--del_lnk--> lapis, <!--del_lnk--> emerald and <!--del_lnk--> azure in the north-east and east; and potentially significant <!--del_lnk--> oil and <a href="../../wp/g/Gas.htm" title="Gas">gas</a> reserves in the north. However, these significant mineral and energy resources remain largely untapped due to the effects of the Soviet invasion and the subsequent civil war.<p><a id="Economy" name="Economy"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Economy</span></h2>
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<div style="width:172px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/158/15843.jpg.htm" title="A Business Center in Kabul"><img alt="A Business Center in Kabul" height="203" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Kabul_Business_Center.jpg" src="../../images/158/15843.jpg" width="170" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/158/15843.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> A Business Centre in Kabul</div>
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<p>Afghanistan is an extremely impoverished country, one of the world's poorest and least developed nations. Two-thirds of the population lives on less than <!--del_lnk--> US 2 dollars a day. The economy has suffered greatly from the recent political and military unrest since the 1979-80 Soviet invasion and subsequent conflicts, while severe drought added to the nation's difficulties in 1998-2001.<p>The economically active population in 2002 was about 11 million (out of a total of an estimated 29 million). While there are no official unemployment rate estimates available, it is evident that it is high. The number of non-skilled young people is estimated at 3 million, which is likely to increase by some 300,000 per annum.<p>As much as one-third of Afghanistan's <!--del_lnk--> GDP comes from growing poppy and illicit drugs including <!--del_lnk--> opium and its two derivatives, <a href="../../wp/m/Morphine.htm" title="Morphine">morphine</a> and <!--del_lnk--> heroin, as well as <!--del_lnk--> hashish production.<p>On a positive note, international efforts to rebuild Afghanistan led to the formation of the <!--del_lnk--> Afghan Interim Authority (AIA) as a result of the December 2001 Bonn Agreement, and later addressed at the Tokyo Donors Conference for Afghan Reconstruction in January 2002, where US 4.5 billion dollars were committed in a trust fund to be administered by the <a href="../../wp/w/World_Bank_Group.htm" title="World Bank Group">World Bank Group</a>. Priority areas for reconstruction include the rebuilding of the educational system, health, and sanitation facilities, enhancement of administrative capacity, the development of the agricultural sector, and the rebuilding of road, energy, and telecommunication links.<p>According to a 2004 report by the <!--del_lnk--> Asian Development Bank, the present reconstruction effort is two-pronged: first it focuses on rebuilding critical physical infrastructure, and second, on building modern public sector institutions from the remnants of Soviet style planning to ones that promote market-led development. But macroeconomic planning and management at present is hampered by poor information, weak service delivery systems, and less than adequate law enforcement.<p>One of the main drivers for the current economic recovery is the return of over 4 million refugees from neighbouring countries and the West, who brought with them fresh energy, entrepreneurship and wealth-creating skills as well as much needed funds to <!--del_lnk--> start up businesses. What is also helping is the estimated US 2-3 billion dollars in international assistance every year, the partial recovery of the agricultural sector, and the reestablishment of market institutions. Private developments are also beginning to get underway.<p>While the country's current account deficit is largely financed with the "donor money", only a small portion – about 15% – is provided directly to the government budget. The rest is provided to non-budgetary expenditure and donor-designated projects through the <a href="../../wp/u/United_Nations.htm" title="United Nations">United Nations</a> system and <!--del_lnk--> non-governmental organizations. The government had a central budget of only $350 million dollars in 2003 and an estimated $550 million in 2004. The country's foreign exchange reserves totals about $500 million. Revenue is mostly generated through customs, as income and corporate tax bases are negligible.<p>Inflation had been a major problem until 2002. However, the depreciation of the Afghani in 2002 after the introduction of the new notes (which replaced 1,000 old Afghani by 1 new Afghani) coupled with the relative stability compared to previous periods has helped prices to stabilize and even decrease between December 2002 and February 2003, reflecting the turnaround appreciation of the new Afghani currency. Since then, the index has indicated stability, with a moderate increase toward late 2003.<p>The Afghan government and international donors seem to remain committed to improving access to basic necessities, infrastructure development, education, housing and economic reform. The central government is also focusing on improved revenue collection and public sector expenditure discipline. The rebuilding of the financial sector seems to have been so far successful. Money can now be transferred in and out of the country via official banking channels and according to accepted international norms. A new law on private investment provides three to seven-year <!--del_lnk--> tax holidays to eligible companies and a four-year exemption from exports <!--del_lnk--> tariffs and duties.<p>While these improvements will help rebuild a strong basis for the nation in the future, for now, the majority of the population continues to suffer from insufficient food, clothing, housing, medical care, and other problems exacerbated by military operations and political uncertainties. The government is not strong enough to collect customs duties from all the provinces due to the power of the warlords. Fraud is widespread and "corruption is rife within all Afghan government organs, and central authority is barely felt in the lawless south and south-west".<p>The real good news for Afghanistan is that it has great potentials to come out of poverty very quick and become a normal stable country. This is due to many reports showing that the country has possession of mass amounts of highly demanding natural resources and minerals. According to the US Geological Survey and the Afghan Ministry of Mines and Industry, Afghanistan may be possessing 15.6 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, 1.6 billion barrels of oil and up to 1,325 million barrels of natural gas liquids. This could mark the turning point in Afghanistan’s reconstruction efforts. Energy exports could generate the revenue that Afghan officials need to modernize the country’s infrastructure and expand economic opportunities for the beleaguered and fractious population. Other reports suggest that the country has huge amounts of gold, copper, coal, iron ore and other rich minerals.<p><a id="People" name="People"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">People</span></h2>
<p><a id="Demographics" name="Demographics"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Demographics</span></h3>
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<p>The population of Afghanistan is divided into a wide variety of ethnic groups. Because a systematic census has not been held in the country in decades, exact figures about the size and composition of the various ethnic groups are not available. Therefore most figures are approximations only. According to the CIA World Factbook, an approximate ethnic group distribution is as follows:<div class="center">
</div>
<p>The Encyclopædia Britannica gives a slightly different list for various ethnolinguistic groups in Afghanistan :<ul>
<li>49% <!--del_lnk--> Pashtun<li>18% <!--del_lnk--> Tajik (including <!--del_lnk--> Farsiwan and <!--del_lnk--> Qezelbash)<li>9% <!--del_lnk--> Hazara<li>8% <!--del_lnk--> Uzbek<li>4% <!--del_lnk--> Aimak<li>3% <!--del_lnk--> Turkmen<li>9% other</ul>
<p>Based on official census numbers from the 1960s to the 1980s, as well as information found in main - mostly scholarly - sources, the <!--del_lnk--> Encyclopædia Iranica gives the following list:<ul>
<li>36.4% <!--del_lnk--> Pashtun<li>33.6% <!--del_lnk--> Tajik (including <!--del_lnk--> Farsiwan and <!--del_lnk--> Qezelbash)<li>8.0% <!--del_lnk--> Hazara<li>8.0% <!--del_lnk--> Uzbek<li>3.2% <!--del_lnk--> Aimak<li>1.6% <!--del_lnk--> Baloch<li>9.2% other</ul>
<p><a id="Languages" name="Languages"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Languages</span></h3>
<p>The <!--del_lnk--> CIA factbook on languages spoken in Afghanistan is as follows: <!--del_lnk--> Pashto 35% (in gray) and <!--del_lnk--> Persian (<!--del_lnk--> Dari) 50% (in pink), both <!--del_lnk--> Indo-European languages from the <!--del_lnk--> Iranian languages sub-family. Others include <!--del_lnk--> Turkic languages (primarily <!--del_lnk--> Uzbek and <!--del_lnk--> Turkmen) 9% (in green), as well as 30 minor languages 4% (primarily <!--del_lnk--> Balochi (in orange) and <!--del_lnk--> Pashai (in blue) and Nuristasni (in purple). Bilingualism is common.<p>According to the <!--del_lnk--> Encyclopædia Iranica, the <!--del_lnk--> Persian language is the mother tongue of roughly 1/3 of Afghanistan's population, while - at the same time - it is the most widely used language of the country, spoken by ca. 90% of the population. It further states that Pashto is spoken by ca. 50% of the population.<p><a id="Religions" name="Religions"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Religions</span></h3>
<p>Religiously, Afghans are over 99% <!--del_lnk--> Muslims: approximately 74-89% <!--del_lnk--> Sunni and 9-25% <!--del_lnk--> Shi'a (estimates vary). Afghanistan was once home to an ancient <a href="../../wp/j/Jew.htm" title="Jew">Jewish</a> community, numbering approximately 5,000 in 1948 . (<i>See <!--del_lnk--> Bukharan Jews</i>.) Most Jewish families fled the country after the 1979 Soviet invasion, and only one individual, <!--del_lnk--> Zablon Simintov, remains today. With the fall of the Taliban, a number of <!--del_lnk--> Sikhs have returned to <!--del_lnk--> Kabul, <!--del_lnk--> Kandahar, <!--del_lnk--> Nangarhar and <!--del_lnk--> Ghazni provinces of Afghanistan.<p><a id="Largest_cities" name="Largest_cities"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Largest cities</span></h3>
<p>The only city in Afghanistan with over one million residents is its capital, <!--del_lnk--> Kabul. The other major cities in the country are, in order of population size, <!--del_lnk--> Kandahar, <!--del_lnk--> Herat, <!--del_lnk--> Mazari Sharif, <!--del_lnk--> Jalalabad, <!--del_lnk--> Ghazni and <!--del_lnk--> Kunduz.<p><a id="Culture" name="Culture"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Culture</span></h2>
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<p>Afghans display pride in their religion, country, ancestry, and above all, their independence. Like other highlanders, Afghans are regarded with mingled apprehension and condescension, for their high regard for personal honour, for their <!--del_lnk--> clan loyalty and for their readiness to carry and use arms to settle disputes. As clan warfare / internecine feuding has been one of their chief occupations since time immemorial, this individualistic trait has made it difficult for foreign invaders to hold the region.<p>Afghanistan has a complex history that has survived either in its current cultures or in the form of various languages and monuments. However, many of the country's historic monuments have been damaged in recent wars. The two famous <!--del_lnk--> statues of Buddha in the <!--del_lnk--> Bamyan Province were destroyed by the Taliban, who regarded them as <a href="../../wp/i/Idolatry.htm" title="Idolatry">idolatrous</a>. Other famous sites include the very cities of <!--del_lnk--> Kandahar, <!--del_lnk--> Herat, <!--del_lnk--> Ghazni and <!--del_lnk--> Balkh. The <!--del_lnk--> Minaret of Jam, in the <!--del_lnk--> Hari Rud valley, is a <a href="../../wp/w/World_Heritage_Site.htm" title="World Heritage Site">UNESCO World Heritage site</a>. The cloak worn by <!--del_lnk--> Prophet Mohammad is stored inside the famouse Khalka Sharifa in Kandahar City.<p>The people of Afghanistan are prominent horsemen as the national <a href="../../wp/s/Sport.htm" title="Sport">sport</a> is <!--del_lnk--> Buzkashi, similar to Polo, but instead which a <a href="../../wp/d/Domestic_goat.htm" title="Goat">goat</a> carcass is used instead of a ball. <a href="../../wp/a/Afghan_Hound.htm" title="Afghan hound">Afghan hounds</a> (a type of running <a href="../../wp/d/Dog.htm" title="Dog">dog</a>) also originated from Afghanistan.<p>Although literacy levels are very low, classic <a href="../../wp/p/Persian_literature.htm" title="Persian literature">Persian poetry</a> plays a very important role in Afghan culture. Poetry has always been one of the major educational pillars in <a href="../../wp/i/Iran.htm" title="Iran">Iran</a> and, consequently, Afghanistan, to the level that it has integrated itself into culture. Persian culture has, and continues to, exert a great influence over Afghan culture. Private poetry competition events known as “musha’era” are quite common even among ordinary people. Almost every home owns one or more poetry collection of some sort, even if it is not read often.<p>The eastern dialects of the <!--del_lnk--> Persian language are popularly known as "<!--del_lnk--> Dari" outside of <a href="../../wp/i/Iran.htm" title="Iran">Iran</a>. The name itself derives from "Pārsī-e Darbārī", meaning <i>Persian of the royal courts</i>. The ancient term <i>Darī</i> - one of the original names of the <!--del_lnk--> Persian language - was revived in the Afghan constitution of 1964, and was intended <i>"to signify that Afghans consider their country the cradle of the language. Hence, the name</i> Fārsī<i>, the langue of <!--del_lnk--> Fārs, is strictly avoided."</i><p>Many of the famous <!--del_lnk--> Iranian poets of 10th to 15th centuries stem from where is now known as Afghanistan. They were mostly also scholars in many disciplines like languages, natural sciences, medicine, religion and astronomy. Examples are <!--del_lnk--> Mowlānā Rumi, who was born and educated in Balkh in the 13th century and moved to Konya in modern-day Turkey, <!--del_lnk--> Sanaayi Ghaznavi (12th century, native of Ghazni provice), <!--del_lnk--> Jāmī of Herāt (15th century, native of Jam-e-Herat in western Afghanistan), <!--del_lnk--> Nizām ud-Dīn Alī Sher Navā'ī, (15th century, Herat province). Most of these individuals were of Persian (<!--del_lnk--> Tājīk) ethnicity who still form the second-largest ethnic group in Afghanistan. Also, some of the contemporary Persian language poets and writers, who are relatively well-known in both Iran and Afghanistan include <!--del_lnk--> Ustad Betab, <!--del_lnk--> Khalilullah Khalili, Sufi Ghulam Nabi Ashqari,, <!--del_lnk--> Qahar Asey, <!--del_lnk--> Parwin Pazwak and others. In 2003, Khaled Hosseini published The Kiterunner which though fiction, captured much of the history, politics and culture experienced in Afghanistan from the 1930s to present day.<p>In addition to poets and authors, numerous <!--del_lnk--> Iranian scientists have had their origins lie in where it's now called Afghanistan. Most notable was <!--del_lnk--> Avicenna (Abu Alī Hussein ibn Sīnā) whose father hailed from <!--del_lnk--> Balkh. Ibn Sīnā, who travelled to <!--del_lnk--> Isfahan later in life to establish a medical school there, is known by some scholars as "the father of modern medicine". George Sarton called ibn Sīnā "the most famous scientist of Islam and one of the most famous of all races, places, and times." His most famous works are <i>The Book of Healing</i> and <i>The Canon of Medicine</i>, also known as the Qanun. Ibn Sīnā's story even found way to the contemporary English literature through <!--del_lnk--> Noah Gordon's <i><!--del_lnk--> The Physician</i>, now published in many languages.<p>Before the Taliban gained power, the city of Kabul was home to many musicians who were masters of both traditional and modern Afghan music, especially during the <!--del_lnk--> Nauroz-celebration. Kabul in the middle part of the 20th century has been likened to <a href="../../wp/v/Vienna.htm" title="Vienna">Vienna</a> during the 18th and 19th centuries.<p>The tribal system, which orders the life of most people outside metropolitan areas, is potent in political terms. Men feel a fierce loyalty to their own tribe, such that, if called upon, they would assemble in arms under the tribal chiefs and local clan leaders (Khans). In theory, under Islamic law, every believer has an obligation to bear arms at the ruler's call (<!--del_lnk--> Ulul-Amr).<p>Heathcote considers the tribal system to be the best way of organizing large groups of people in a country that is geographically difficult, and in a society that has an uncomplicated lifestyle - from a materialistic point of view.<p><a id="Education" name="Education"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Education</span></h2>
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<p>In the spring of 2003, it was estimated that 30% of Afghanistan's 7,000 schools had been very seriously damaged during more than two decades of civil war. Only half of the schools were reported to have clean water, while fewer than an estimated 40% had adequate sanitation. Education for boys was not a priority during the Taliban regime, and girls were banished from schools outright.<p>As regards the poverty and violence of their surroundings, a study in 2002 by the <!--del_lnk--> Save the Children Fund said Afghan children were resilient and courageous. The study credited the strong institutions of family and community.<p>Up to four million Afghan children, possibly the largest number ever, are believed to have enrolled for class for the school year beginning in March of 2003. Education is available for both girls and boys.<p>Literacy of the entire population is estimated at 36%, the male literacy rate is 51% and female literacy is 21%.<p>Another aspect of education that is rapidly changing in Afghanistan is the face of <!--del_lnk--> higher education. Following the fall of the Taliban, <!--del_lnk--> Kabul University was reopened to both male and female students. In 2006, the <!--del_lnk--> American University of Afghanistan <!--del_lnk--> will open its doors, with support from <!--del_lnk--> USAID <!--del_lnk--> and other donors. With the aim of providing a world-class, English-language, co-educational learning environment in Afghanistan, the university will take students from Afghanistan and the region.<p><a id="Communications_and_technology" name="Communications_and_technology"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Communications and technology</span></h2>
<p>Afghanistan has rapidly increased in communications technology, and has embarked on wireless companies, television channels, and commercial international airlines. Afghan telecommunications companies, <!--del_lnk--> Afghan Wireless and <!--del_lnk--> Roshan, have boasted increase in rapid cellular phone usage. Afghanistan's commercial airlines, <!--del_lnk--> Ariana Afghan Airlines, now serves flights to <!--del_lnk--> London Heathrow, <a href="../../wp/f/Frankfurt.htm" title="Frankfurt">Frankfurt</a>, <a href="../../wp/m/Madrid.htm" title="Madrid">Madrid</a>, <a href="../../wp/r/Rome.htm" title="Rome">Rome</a>, <a href="../../wp/d/Dubai.htm" title="Dubai">Dubai</a> and <a href="../../wp/i/Istanbul.htm" title="Istanbul">Istanbul</a> to and from <!--del_lnk--> Kabul and <!--del_lnk--> Herat.<ul>
<li>Afghanistan's local television channels include: <ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Aina TV<li><!--del_lnk--> Ariana TV<li><!--del_lnk--> Ariana Afghanistan TV<li>Lamar TV<li>Shamshad TV<li><!--del_lnk--> Tolo TV</ul>
</ul>
<p>Afghanistan has also improved in vehicle conditions with <!--del_lnk--> Toyota, <!--del_lnk--> Land Rover, <!--del_lnk--> BMW and <!--del_lnk--> Hyundai dealerships all over Kabul, and a huge import of fine second-hand vehicles from <!--del_lnk--> UAE on display in Kandahar. Afghanistan, however, still is a long way from major modern technological advancements, but is on the fast road to that goal.<p><a id="Views_of_Afghanistan" name="Views_of_Afghanistan"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Views of Afghanistan</span></h2>
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<p><!--del_lnk--> Bamyan</div>
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<p><!--del_lnk--> Ghazni</div>
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<p><!--del_lnk--> Herat</div>
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<p><!--del_lnk--> Kabul</div>
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<p><!--del_lnk--> Kandahar</div>
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<p><!--del_lnk--> Mazari Sharif</div>
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<p><!--del_lnk--> Tora Bora</div>
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<p><a id="See_also" name="See_also"></a><div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afghanistan"</div>
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<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">Africa</h1>
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<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.Geography.African_Geography.htm">African Geography</a></h3><div class="soslink"> SOS Children works in 44 African Countries. For more information see <a href="../../wp/a/Africa_A.htm" title="SOS Children in Africa">SOS Children in Africa</a></div>
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<div style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/4/415.png.htm" title="A world map showing the continent of Africa."><img alt="A world map showing the continent of Africa." height="127" longdesc="/wiki/Image:LocationAfrica.png" src="../../images/158/15855.png" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/4/415.png.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> A world map showing the continent of Africa.</div>
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<p><b>Africa</b> is the world's second-largest and second most-populous <a href="../../wp/c/Continent.htm" title="Continent">continent</a>, after <a href="../../wp/a/Asia.htm" title="Asia">Asia</a>. At about 30,221,532 <!--del_lnk--> km² (11,668,545 <!--del_lnk--> mi²) including adjacent islands, it covers 6.0% of the <a href="../../wp/e/Earth.htm" title="Earth">Earth</a>'s total surface area, and 20.4% of the total land area. With more than 890,000,000 people (as of 2005) in 61 territories, it accounts for about 14% of the world's <!--del_lnk--> human population.<p>The continent is surrounded by the <a href="../../wp/m/Mediterranean_Sea.htm" title="Mediterranean Sea">Mediterranean Sea</a> to the north, the <a href="../../wp/s/Suez_Canal.htm" title="Suez Canal">Suez Canal</a> and the <a href="../../wp/r/Red_Sea.htm" title="Red Sea">Red Sea</a> to the northeast, the <a href="../../wp/i/Indian_Ocean.htm" title="Indian Ocean">Indian Ocean</a> to the southeast, and the <a href="../../wp/a/Atlantic_Ocean.htm" title="Atlantic Ocean">Atlantic Ocean</a> to the west.<p>Africa straddles the <!--del_lnk--> equator and encompasses numerous climate areas; it is the only continent to stretch from the northern <a href="../../wp/t/Temperate.htm" title="Temperate">temperate</a> to southern temperate zones. Because of the lack of natural regular <!--del_lnk--> precipitation and <a href="../../wp/i/Irrigation.htm" title="Irrigation">irrigation</a>, as well as virtually no <a href="../../wp/g/Glacier.htm" title="Glacier">glaciers</a> or mountain aquifer systems there is no natural moderating effect on the climate except near the coasts.<p>Although European speculation about the nature of Africa south of Sahara (<!--del_lnk--> Aethiopia) dates back more than two millennia, Africa is generally assumed to be the continent longest inhabited by human beings.<p>
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</script><a id="Etymology" name="Etymology"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Etymology</span></h2>
<p><!--del_lnk--> Afri was the name of several peoples who dwelt in <a href="../../wp/n/North_Africa.htm" title="North Africa">North Africa</a> near the provincial capital, <!--del_lnk--> Carthage. The Roman suffix "-ca" denotes "country or land".<p>Other etymologies that have been postulated for the ancient name 'Africa' with less support include:<dl>
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<li>the <a href="../../wp/l/Latin.htm" title="Latin">Latin</a> word <i>aprica</i>, meaning "sunny";<li>the <!--del_lnk--> Greek word <i>aphrike</i>, meaning "without cold." This was proposed by historian <!--del_lnk--> Leo Africanus (1488-1554), who suggested the Greek word <i>phrike</i> (φρίκη, meaning "cold and horror"), combined with the negating prefix "a-", thus indicating a land free of cold and horror. However, as the change of sound from <i>ph</i> to <i>f</i> in Greek is datable to about the 10th century, it is unlikely this is the origin.</ul>
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<p>Roman Ancient Africa lay to the west of <a href="../../wp/e/Egypt.htm" title="Egypt">Egypt</a>, while "Asia" was used to refer to <!--del_lnk--> Anatolia and lands to the east. A definite line was drawn between the two continents by the geographer <a href="../../wp/p/Ptolemy.htm" title="Ptolemy">Ptolemy</a> (85 - 165 AD), indicating <!--del_lnk--> Alexandria along the <!--del_lnk--> Prime Meridian and making the <a href="../../wp/s/Suez_Canal.htm" title="Suez Canal">isthmus of Suez</a> and the <a href="../../wp/r/Red_Sea.htm" title="Red Sea">Red Sea</a> the boundary between <a href="../../wp/a/Asia.htm" title="Asia">Asia</a> and Africa. As <a href="../../wp/e/Europe.htm" title="Europe">Europeans</a> came to understand the real extent of the continent, the idea of <i>Africa</i> expanded with their knowledge.<p><a id="Geography" name="Geography"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Geography</span></h2>
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<div style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/127/12742.jpg.htm" title="A composite satellite image of Africa."><img alt="A composite satellite image of Africa." height="281" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Africa_satellite_orthographic.jpg" src="../../images/158/15856.jpg" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/127/12742.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> A composite satellite image of Africa.</div>
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<p>Africa is the largest of the three great southward projections from the main mass of the Earth's exposed surface. Separated from <a href="../../wp/e/Europe.htm" title="Europe">Europe</a> by the <a href="../../wp/m/Mediterranean_Sea.htm" title="Mediterranean Sea">Mediterranean Sea</a>, it is joined to Asia at its northeast extremity by the <a href="../../wp/s/Suez_Canal.htm" title="Suez Canal">Isthmus of Suez</a> (transected by the <a href="../../wp/s/Suez_Canal.htm" title="Suez Canal">Suez Canal</a>), 130 km (80 miles) wide. (<!--del_lnk--> Geopolitically, <a href="../../wp/e/Egypt.htm" title="Egypt">Egypt</a>'s <!--del_lnk--> Sinai Peninsula east of the Suez Canal is often considered part of Africa, as well.<!--del_lnk--> <!--del_lnk--> ) From the most northerly point, <!--del_lnk--> Ras ben Sakka in <a href="../../wp/t/Tunisia.htm" title="Tunisia">Tunisia</a> (37°21' N), to the most southerly point, <!--del_lnk--> Cape Agulhas in <a href="../../wp/s/South_Africa.htm" title="South Africa">South Africa</a> (34°51'15" S), is a distance of approximately 8,000 km (5,000 miles); from <!--del_lnk--> Cape Verde, 17°33'22" W, the westernmost point, to <!--del_lnk--> Ras Hafun in <a href="../../wp/s/Somalia.htm" title="Somalia">Somalia</a>, 51°27'52" E, the most easterly projection, is a distance of approximately 7,400 km (4,600 miles). The coastline is 26,000 km (16,100 miles) long, and the absence of deep indentations of the shore is illustrated by the fact that Europe, which covers only <!--del_lnk--> 10,400,000 km² (4,010,000 square miles) — about a third of the surface of Africa — has a coastline of 32,000 km (19,800 miles).<p>Africa's largest country is <a href="../../wp/s/Sudan.htm" title="Sudan">Sudan</a>, and its smallest country is the <a href="../../wp/s/Seychelles.htm" title="Seychelles">Seychelles</a>, an <!--del_lnk--> archipelago off the east coast. The smallest nation on the continental mainland is <a href="../../wp/t/The_Gambia.htm" title="The Gambia">The Gambia</a>.<p><a id="Climate.2C_fauna.2C_and_flora" name="Climate.2C_fauna.2C_and_flora"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Climate, fauna, and flora</span></h3>
<p>The climate of Africa ranges from <!--del_lnk--> tropical to <!--del_lnk--> subarctic on its highest peaks. Its northern half is primarily <a href="../../wp/d/Desert.htm" title="Desert">desert</a> or <!--del_lnk--> arid, while its central and southern areas contain both <!--del_lnk--> savanna <!--del_lnk--> plains and very dense <!--del_lnk--> jungle (<a href="../../wp/r/Rainforest.htm" title="Rainforest">rainforest</a>) regions. In between, there is a convergence where vegetation patterns such as <!--del_lnk--> sahel, and <!--del_lnk--> steppe dominate.<p>Africa boasts perhaps the world's largest combination of highest density and "range of freedom" of <!--del_lnk--> wild animal populations and diversity, with wild populations of large <a href="../../wp/c/Carnivore.htm" title="Carnivore">carnivores</a> (such as <a href="../../wp/l/Lion.htm" title="Lion">lions</a>, <a href="../../wp/h/Hyena.htm" title="Hyena">hyenas</a>, and <a href="../../wp/c/Cheetah.htm" title="Cheetah">cheetahs</a>) and <a href="../../wp/h/Herbivore.htm" title="Herbivore">herbivores</a> (such as <!--del_lnk--> buffalo, <!--del_lnk--> deer, <a href="../../wp/e/Elephant.htm" title="Elephant">elephants</a>, <a href="../../wp/c/Camel.htm" title="Camel">camels</a>, and <a href="../../wp/g/Giraffe.htm" title="Giraffe">giraffes</a>) ranging freely on primarily open nonprivate plains, as well as jungle creatures (including <!--del_lnk--> snakes and <!--del_lnk--> primates) and <!--del_lnk--> aquatic life (<a href="../../wp/c/Crocodile.htm" title="Crocodile">crocodiles</a> and <!--del_lnk--> amphibians, for example).<p><a id="History" name="History"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">History</span></h2>
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<div style="width:302px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/180/18082.jpg.htm" title="Map of Africa 1890"><img alt="Map of Africa 1890" height="402" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Afryka_1890.jpg" src="../../images/158/15857.jpg" width="300" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/180/18082.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Map of Africa 1890</div>
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<p>Africa is the <!--del_lnk--> oldest inhabited territory on earth, with the <a href="../../wp/h/Human.htm" title="Human">human</a> <!--del_lnk--> species <a href="../../wp/m/Mitochondrial_Eve.htm" title="Mitochondrial Eve">originating</a> from the continent. During the middle of the twentieth century, <a href="../../wp/a/Anthropology.htm" title="Anthropology">anthropologists</a> discovered many <a href="../../wp/f/Fossil.htm" title="Fossil">fossils</a> and evidence of human occupation perhaps as early as 7 million years ago. Fossil remains of several species of early apelike humans thought to have <!--del_lnk--> evolved into modern man, such as <i><!--del_lnk--> Australopithecus afarensis</i> (<!--del_lnk--> radiometrically dated to c. 3.9-3.0 million years <!--del_lnk--> BC), <i><!--del_lnk--> Paranthropus boisei</i> (c. 2.3-1.4 million BC) and <i><!--del_lnk--> Homo ergaster</i> (c. 600,000-1.9 million BC) have been discovered.<p>The <a href="../../wp/i/Ishango_bone.htm" title="Ishango bone">Ishango bone</a>, dated to about 25,000 years ago, shows <!--del_lnk--> tallies in <!--del_lnk--> mathematical notation. Throughout humanity's <!--del_lnk--> prehistory, Africa (like all other continents) had no <!--del_lnk--> nation states, and was instead inhabited by groups of <!--del_lnk--> hunter-gatherers such as the <!--del_lnk--> Khoi and <!--del_lnk--> San.<p>Although there are absolutely no records, theorists think that by 130,000 BC the bulk of Africa's populations inhabited the Sahara, which was at that time a fertile valley criss-crossed by rivers. Artful incisions in African ocher made around this time are the oldest images in the world. In 70,000 BC Africa suffered an extinction of 30% of its wildlife species. According to this theory, in 30,000 BC the world entered the last major ice age. As a result of this, the Sahara Desert reached up to the Ethiopian Highlands. Central Africa's mountain ranges were covered by ice flow. The River Nile, north of <a href="../../wp/k/Khartoum.htm" title="Khartoum">Khartoum</a>, disappeared.<p>At the end of the ice age guessed to have been around 10,500 BC, the Sahara had become a green fertile valley again, and its African populations returned from the interior and coastal highlands in Sub-Saharan Africa. However, the warming and drying climate meant that by 5000 BC the Sahara region was becoming increasingly drier. The population trekked out of the Sahara region towards the Nile Valley below the <!--del_lnk--> Second Cataract where they made permanent or semi-permanent settlements. A major climatic recession occurred, lessening the heavy and persistent rains in Central and <!--del_lnk--> Eastern Africa. Since then dry conditions have prevailed in Eastern Africa, especially in <a href="../../wp/e/Ethiopia.htm" title="Ethiopia">Ethiopia</a> in the last 200 years.<p>The domestication of cattle in Africa precedes agriculture and seems to have existed alongside hunter-gathering cultures. It is speculated that by 6000 BC cattle were already domesticated in North Africa . In the Sahara-Nile complex, people domesticated many animals including the pack ass, and a small screw horned goat which was common from Algeria to Nubia.<p>Agriculturally, the first cases of domestication of plants for agricultural purposes occurred in the <!--del_lnk--> Sahel region circa 5000 BC, when <a href="../../wp/s/Sorghum.htm" title="Sorghum">sorghum</a> and African <a href="../../wp/r/Rice.htm" title="Rice">rice</a> began to be cultivated. Around this time, and in the same region, the small <!--del_lnk--> guinea fowl became domesticated.<p>According to the <i>Oxford Atlas of World History</i>, in the year 4000 BC the climate of the Sahara started to become drier at an exceedingly fast pace. This climate change caused lakes and rivers to shrink rather significantly and caused increasing <!--del_lnk--> desertification. This, in turn, decreased the amount of land conducive to settlements and helped to cause migrations of farming communities to the more tropical climate of <!--del_lnk--> West Africa.<p>By 3000 BC agriculture arose independently in both the tropical portions of <!--del_lnk--> West Africa, where African <!--del_lnk--> yams and oil palms were domesticated, and in <a href="../../wp/e/Ethiopia.htm" title="Ethiopia">Ethiopia</a>, where <a href="../../wp/c/Coffee.htm" title="Coffee">coffee</a> and <!--del_lnk--> teff became domesticated. No animals were independently domesticated in these regions, although domestication did spread there from the <!--del_lnk--> Sahel and <a href="../../wp/n/Nile.htm" title="Nile">Nile</a> regions. Agricultural crops were also adopted from other regions around this time as pearl <!--del_lnk--> millet, <!--del_lnk--> cowpea, <!--del_lnk--> groundnut, <a href="../../wp/c/Cotton.htm" title="Cotton">cotton</a>, <!--del_lnk--> watermelon and <!--del_lnk--> bottle gourds began to be grown agriculturally in both West Africa and the Sahel Region while finger millet, <!--del_lnk--> peas, <!--del_lnk--> lentil and <!--del_lnk--> flax took hold in Ethiopia.<p>The international phenomenon known as the <!--del_lnk--> Beaker culture began to affect western North Africa. Named for the distinctively shaped ceramics found in graves, the Beaker culture is associated with the emergence of a warrior mentality. North African rock art of this period depicts animals but also places a new emphasis on the human figure, equipped with weapons and adornments. People from the <a href="../../wp/a/African_Great_Lakes.htm" title="African Great Lakes">Great Lakes Region of Africa</a> settled along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea to become the proto-Canaanites who dominated the lowlands between the Jordan River, the Mediterranean and the Sinai Desert.<p>By the 1st millennium BC <!--del_lnk--> ironworking had been introduced in Northern Africa and quickly began spreading across the Sahara into the northern parts of sub-saharan Africa and by 500 BC metalworking began to become commonplace in West Africa, possibly after being introduced by the <!--del_lnk--> Carthaginians. Ironworking was fully established by roughly 500 BC in areas of East and West Africa, though other regions didn't begin ironworking until the early centuries AD. Some copper objects from Egypt, North Africa, Nubia and Ethiopia have been excavated in West Africa dating from around 500 BC time period, suggesting that trade networks had been established by this time.<p><a id="Early_civilizations_and_trade" name="Early_civilizations_and_trade"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Early civilizations and trade</span></h3>
<p>About 3300 BC, the historical record opens in Africa with the rise of literacy in the <!--del_lnk--> Pharaonic-ruled civilisation of <a href="../../wp/a/Ancient_Egypt.htm" title="Ancient Egypt">Ancient Egypt</a>, which continued, with varying levels of influence over other areas, until 343 BC. Prominent <a href="../../wp/c/Civilization.htm" title="Civilization">civilizations</a> at different times include <!--del_lnk--> Carthage, the <!--del_lnk--> Kingdom of Aksum, the <!--del_lnk--> Nubian kingdoms, the empires of the <!--del_lnk--> Sahel (<!--del_lnk--> Kanem-Bornu, <!--del_lnk--> Ghana, <!--del_lnk--> Mali, and <!--del_lnk--> Songhai), <!--del_lnk--> Great Zimbabwe, and the <!--del_lnk--> Kongo.<p>After the Sahara had become a desert it did not present an impenetrable barrier for travellers between north and south. Even prior to the introduction of the <a href="../../wp/c/Camel.htm" title="Camel">camel</a> the use of oxen for desert crossing was common, and trade routes followed oases that were strung across the desert. The camel was first brought to Egypt by the <a href="../../wp/p/Persian_Empire.htm" title="Persian Empire">Persians</a> after 525 BC, although large herds did not become common enough in North Africa to establish the <!--del_lnk--> trans-Saharan trade until the eighth century AD. The <!--del_lnk--> Sanhaja <!--del_lnk--> Berbers were the first to exploit this.<p>Pre-colonial Africa possessed perhaps as many as 10,000 different states and polities <!--del_lnk--> characterised by different sorts of political organisation and rule. These included small family groups of hunter-gatherers such as the <!--del_lnk--> San people of southern Africa; larger, more structured groups such as the family clan groupings of the <a href="../../wp/b/Bantu.htm" title="Bantu">Bantu</a>-speaking people of central and southern Africa and heavily-structured clan groups in the <a href="../../wp/h/Horn_of_Africa.htm" title="Horn of Africa">Horn of Africa</a>, the Sahelian Kingdoms, and autonomous city-states such as the <!--del_lnk--> Swahili coastal trading towns of the <a href="../../wp/e/East_Africa.htm" title="East Africa">East African</a> coast, whose trade network extended as far as <a href="../../wp/c/China.htm" title="China">China</a>.<p>In 1414, the Chinese admiral <a href="../../wp/z/Zheng_He.htm" title="Zheng He">Zheng He</a> visited Africa's east coast. In 1482, the <a href="../../wp/p/Portugal.htm" title="Portugal">Portuguese</a> established the first of many trading stations along the coast of Ghana at <!--del_lnk--> Elmina. The chief commodities dealt in were slaves, gold, ivory and spices. The European discovery of the Americas in 1492 was followed by a great development of the <!--del_lnk--> slave trade, which, before the Portuguese era, had been an overland trade almost exclusively, and never confined to any one continent.<p>In <!--del_lnk--> West Africa, the decline of the <a href="../../wp/a/Atlantic_slave_trade.htm" title="Atlantic slave trade">Atlantic slave trade</a> in the <!--del_lnk--> 1820s caused dramatic economic shifts in local polities. The gradual decline of slave-trading, prompted by a lack of demand for slaves in the <!--del_lnk--> New World, increasing anti-slavery legislation in Europe and America, and the <a href="../../wp/r/Royal_Navy.htm" title="Royal Navy">Royal Navy</a>'s increasing presence off the West African coast, obliged African states to adopt new economies. The largest powers of West Africa: the <!--del_lnk--> Asante Confederacy, the <!--del_lnk--> Kingdom of Dahomey, and the <!--del_lnk--> Oyo Empire, adopted different ways of adapting to the shift. Asante and Dahomey concentrated on the development of "legitimate commerce" in the form of <a href="../../wp/p/Palm_oil.htm" title="Palm oil">palm oil</a>, <a href="../../wp/c/Cocoa.htm" title="Cocoa">cocoa</a>, <!--del_lnk--> timber and <a href="../../wp/g/Gold.htm" title="Gold">gold</a>, forming the bedrock of West Africa's modern export trade. The Oyo Empire, unable to adapt, collapsed into civil wars. <p><a id="Pre-colonial_exploration" name="Pre-colonial_exploration"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Pre-colonial exploration</span></h3>
<p>In the mid nineteenth century European and particularly British explorers became interested in exploring the heart of the continent and opening the area for trade, mining and other commercial exploitation. In addition, there was a desire to convert the inhabitants to <a href="../../wp/c/Christianity.htm" title="Christianity">Christianity</a>. The central area of Africa was still largely unknown to Europeans at this time. <a href="../../wp/d/David_Livingstone.htm" title="David Livingstone">David Livingstone</a> explored the continent between 1852 and his death in 1873; amongst other claims to fame, he was the first European to see the <!--del_lnk--> Victoria Falls. A prime goal for explorers was to locate the source of the <!--del_lnk--> River Nile. Expeditions by <a href="../../wp/r/Richard_Francis_Burton.htm" title="Richard Francis Burton">Burton</a> and <!--del_lnk--> Speke (1857-1858) and Speke and <!--del_lnk--> Grant (1863) located <a href="../../wp/l/Lake_Tanganyika.htm" title="Lake Tanganyika">Lake Tanganyika</a> and <a href="../../wp/l/Lake_Victoria.htm" title="Lake Victoria">Lake Victoria</a>. The latter was eventually proven as the source of the Nile. With subsequent expeditions by <!--del_lnk--> Baker and <a href="../../wp/h/Henry_Morton_Stanley.htm" title="Henry Morton Stanley">Stanley</a>, Africa was well explored by the end of the century and this was to lead the way for the <!--del_lnk--> colonization which followed.<p><a id="Colonialism_and_the_.22scramble_for_Africa.22" name="Colonialism_and_the_.22scramble_for_Africa.22"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Colonialism and the "scramble for Africa"</span></h3>
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<div style="width:295px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/118/11862.png.htm" title="Map showing European claimants to the African continent at the beginning of World War I"><img alt="Map showing European claimants to the African continent at the beginning of World War I" height="334" longdesc="/wiki/Image:ColonialAfrica.png" src="../../images/158/15858.png" width="293" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/118/11862.png.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div><i>Map showing European claimants to the African continent at the beginning of <a href="../../wp/w/World_War_I.htm" title="World War I">World War I</a></i></div>
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<p>In the late nineteenth century, the European <!--del_lnk--> imperial powers staged a major "<a href="../../wp/s/Scramble_for_Africa.htm" title="Scramble for Africa">scramble for Africa</a>" and occupied most of the continent, creating many <!--del_lnk--> colonial nation states, and leaving only two independent nations: <a href="../../wp/l/Liberia.htm" title="Liberia">Liberia</a>, an independent state part-settled by <!--del_lnk--> African Americans; and <!--del_lnk--> Orthodox Christian <a href="../../wp/e/Ethiopia.htm" title="Abyssinia">Abyssinia</a> (known today as <a href="../../wp/e/Ethiopia.htm" title="Ethiopia">Ethiopia</a>). This colonial occupation continued until after the conclusion of <a href="../../wp/w/World_War_II.htm" title="World War II">World War II</a>, when all the colonial states gradually obtained formal independence.<p><!--del_lnk--> Colonialism had a destabilizing effect on what had been a number of ethnic groups that is still being felt in African politics. Before European influence, national borders were not much of a concern, with Africans generally following the practice of other areas of the world, such as the Arabian Peninsula, where a group's territory was congruent with its military or trade influence. The European insistence of drawing borders around territories to isolate them from those of other colonial powers often had the effect of separating otherwise contiguous political groups, or forcing traditional enemies to live side by side with no buffer between them. For example, although the <a href="../../wp/c/Congo_River.htm" title="Congo River">Congo River</a> appears to be a natural geographic boundary, there were groups that otherwise shared a <a href="../../wp/l/Language.htm" title="Language">language</a>, <a href="../../wp/c/Culture.htm" title="Culture">culture</a> or other similarity living on both sides. The division of the land between <a href="../../wp/b/Belgium.htm" title="Belgium">Belgium</a> and <a href="../../wp/f/France.htm" title="France">France</a> along the river isolated these groups from each other. Those who lived in Saharan or <a href="../../wp/s/Sub-Saharan_Africa.htm" title="Sub-Saharan Africa">Sub-Saharan Africa</a> and traded across the continent for centuries often found themselves crossing borders that existed only on European maps.<p>In nations that had substantial European populations, for example <!--del_lnk--> Rhodesia (now <a href="../../wp/z/Zimbabwe.htm" title="Zimbabwe">Zimbabwe</a>) and <a href="../../wp/s/South_Africa.htm" title="South Africa">South Africa</a>, systems of second-class citizenship were often set up in order to give Europeans <!--del_lnk--> political power far in excess of their numbers. In the <!--del_lnk--> Congo Free State, personal property of King <!--del_lnk--> Leopold II of Belgium, the native population was submitted to inhumane treatments, and a near slavery status assorted with forced labor. However, the lines were not always drawn strictly across racial lines. In <a href="../../wp/l/Liberia.htm" title="Liberia">Liberia</a>, citizens who were descendants of American slaves had a political system for over 100 years that gave ex-slaves and natives to the area roughly equal <!--del_lnk--> legislative power despite the fact the ex-slaves were outnumbered ten to one in the general population. The inspiration for this system was the <a href="../../wp/u/United_States_Senate.htm" title="United States Senate">United States Senate</a>, which had balanced the power of free and slave states despite the much-larger population of the former.<p>Europeans often changed the balance of power, created ethnic divides where they did not previously exist, and introduced a cultural dichotomy detrimental to the native inhabitants in the areas they controlled. For example, in what are now <a href="../../wp/r/Rwanda.htm" title="Rwanda">Rwanda</a> and <a href="../../wp/b/Burundi.htm" title="Burundi">Burundi</a>, two ethnic groups <!--del_lnk--> Hutus and <a href="../../wp/t/Tutsi.htm" title="Tutsi">Tutsis</a> had merged into one culture by the time German colonists had taken control of the region in the nineteenth century. No longer divided by ethnicity as intermingling, intermarriage, and merging of cultural practices over the centuries had long since erased visible signs of a culture divide, <a href="../../wp/b/Belgium.htm" title="Belgium">Belgium</a> instituted a policy of racial categorization upon taking control of the region, as racial based categorization and philosophies was a fixture of the European culture of that time. The term <a href="../../wp/h/Hutu.htm" title="Hutu">Hutu</a> originally referred to the agricultural-based <a href="../../wp/b/Bantu.htm" title="Bantu">Bantu</a>-speaking peoples that moved into present day Rwanda and Burundi from the West, and the term <a href="../../wp/t/Tutsi.htm" title="Tutsi">Tutsi</a> referred to Northeastern cattle-based peoples that migrated into the region later. The terms described a person's economic class; individuals who owned roughly 10 or more cattle were considered Tutsi, and those with fewer were considered Hutu, regardless of ancestral history. This was not a strict line but a general rule of thumb, and one could move from Hutu to Tutsi and vice versa.<p>The Belgians introduced a racialized system; European-like features such as fairer skin, ample height, narrow noses were seen as more ideally <!--del_lnk--> Hamitic, and belonged to those people closest to Tutsi in ancestry, who were thus given power amongst the colonized peoples. Identity cards were issued based on this philosophy.<p><a id="Post-colonial_Africa" name="Post-colonial_Africa"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Post-colonial Africa</span></h3>
<p>Today, Africa contains 53 independent and sovereign countries, which mostly still have the borders drawn during the era of European colonialism.<p>Since colonialism, African states have frequently been hampered by instability, corruption, violence, and <!--del_lnk--> authoritarianism. The vast majority of African nations are <!--del_lnk--> republics that operate under some form of the <!--del_lnk--> presidential system of rule. Few nations in Africa have been able to sustain <a href="../../wp/d/Democracy.htm" title="Democracy">democratic</a> governments, and many have instead cycled through a series of brutal <!--del_lnk--> coups and <a href="../../wp/m/Military_dictatorship.htm" title="Military dictatorship">military dictatorships</a>. A number of Africa's post-colonial political leaders were military generals who were poorly educated and ignorant on matters of governance. Great instability, however, was mainly the result of marginalization of other ethnic groups and graft under these leaders. For <!--del_lnk--> political gain, many leaders fanned ethnic conflicts that had been exacerbated, or even created, by colonial rule. In many countries, the <!--del_lnk--> military was perceived as being the only group that could effectively maintain order, and it ruled many nations in Africa during the 1970s and early 1980s. During the period from the early 1960s to the late 1980s, Africa had more than 70 coups and 13 presidential <!--del_lnk--> assassinations. Border and territorial disputes were also common, with the European-imposed borders of many nations being widely contested through armed conflicts.<p><a href="../../wp/c/Cold_War.htm" title="Cold War">Cold War</a> conflicts between the <a href="../../wp/u/United_States.htm" title="United States">United States</a> and the <a href="../../wp/s/Soviet_Union.htm" title="Soviet Union">Soviet Union</a>, as well as the policies of the <!--del_lnk--> International Monetary Fund, also played a role in instability. When a country became independent for the first time, it was often expected to align with one of the two <!--del_lnk--> superpowers. Many countries in <!--del_lnk--> Northern Africa received Soviet military aid, while many in Central and Southern Africa were supported by the <a href="../../wp/u/United_States.htm" title="United States">United States</a>, <a href="../../wp/f/France.htm" title="France">France</a> or both. The 1970s saw an escalation, as newly independent <a href="../../wp/a/Angola.htm" title="Angola">Angola</a> and <a href="../../wp/m/Mozambique.htm" title="Mozambique">Mozambique</a> aligned themselves with the <a href="../../wp/s/Soviet_Union.htm" title="Soviet Union">Soviet Union</a> and the West and <a href="../../wp/s/South_Africa.htm" title="South Africa">South Africa</a> sought to contain Soviet influence. Some countries were ruled by communist parties that sought to impose Soviet policies resulting in atrocities such as the Ethiopian famine of 1985-89.<p><a id="Politics" name="Politics"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Politics</span></h2>
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<p>The <a href="../../wp/a/African_Union.htm" title="African Union">African Union</a> (AU), is a federation consisting of all of Africa's states apart from Morocco. The union was formed, with <a href="../../wp/a/Addis_Ababa.htm" title="Addis Ababa">Addis Ababa</a> as its capital, on <!--del_lnk--> June 26, <!--del_lnk--> 2001. In July 2004, the capital of the African Union was relocated to <!--del_lnk--> Midrand, in the AU Constituent Republic of South Africa. However, the <!--del_lnk--> AU Commission has its headquarters at <a href="../../wp/a/Addis_Ababa.htm" title="Addis Ababa">Addis Ababa</a>. There is a policy in effect to decentralise the African Federation's institutions so that they are shared by all the states<p>The African Union, not to be confused with the AU Commission, is formed by an <!--del_lnk--> Act of Union which aims to transform the <!--del_lnk--> African Economic Community, a federated commonwealth, into a state, under established international conventions. The African Union has a parliamentary government, known as the <!--del_lnk--> African Union Government, consisting of legislative, judicial and executive organs, and led by the African Union President and Head of State, who is also the President of the <!--del_lnk--> Pan African Parliament. A person becomes AU President by being elected to the PAP, and subsequently gaining majority support in the PAP.<p>President <!--del_lnk--> Gertrude Ibengwe Mongella is the Head of State and Chief of Government of the African Union, by virtue of the fact that she is the President of the <!--del_lnk--> Pan African Parliament. She was elected by Parliament in its inaugural session in March 2004, for a term of five years. The PAP consists of 265 legislators, five from each constituent state of the African Union. Over 21% of the members of the PAP are female.<p>The powers and authority of the President of the African Parliament derive from the <!--del_lnk--> Union Act, and the <!--del_lnk--> Protocol of the Pan African Parliament, as well as the inheritance of presidential authority stipulated by African treaties and by international treaties, including those subordinating the Secretary General of the <!--del_lnk--> OAU Secretariat (AU Commission) to the PAP. The government of the AU consists of all-union (federal), regional, state, and municipal authorities, as well as hundreds of institutions, that together manage the day-to-day affairs of the institution.<p>Failed state policies, inequitable global trade practices, and the effects of global climate change have resulted in many widespread <a href="../../wp/f/Famine.htm" title="Famine">famines</a>, and significant portions of Africa remain with distribution systems unable to disseminate enough food or water for the population to survive. What had before colonialism been the source for 90% of the world's gold has become the poorest continent on earth, its former riches enjoyed by those on other continents. The spread of <!--del_lnk--> disease is also rampant, especially the spread of the <a href="../../wp/h/HIV.htm" title="Human immunodeficiency virus">human immunodeficiency virus</a> (HIV) and the associated <!--del_lnk--> acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS), which has become a deadly <!--del_lnk--> epidemic on the continent. Despite numerous hardships, there have been some signs the continent has hope for the future. <a href="../../wp/d/Democracy.htm" title="Democracy">Democratic governments</a> seem to be spreading, though they are not yet the majority (The <!--del_lnk--> National Geographic Society claims 13 African nations can be considered truly democratic). Many nations have recognized basic <!--del_lnk--> human rights for all <!--del_lnk--> citizens and have created independent <!--del_lnk--> judiciaries.<p>There are clear signs of increased networking among African organisations and states. In the civil war in the <a href="../../wp/d/Democratic_Republic_of_the_Congo.htm" title="Democratic Republic of the Congo">Democratic Republic of the Congo</a> (former <!--del_lnk--> Zaire), rather than rich, non-African countries intervening, neighbouring African countries became involved (see also <a href="../../wp/s/Second_Congo_War.htm" title="Second Congo War">Second Congo War</a>). Since the conflict began in 1998, the estimated death toll has reached 4 million. Many observers suggest that the conflict played a role similar to that of <a href="../../wp/w/World_War_II.htm" title="World War II">World War II</a>, after which European countries integrated their societies in such a way that war between them becomes unthinkable. Political associations such as the <a href="../../wp/a/African_Union.htm" title="African Union">African Union</a> offer hope for greater co-operation and peace between the continent's many countries. Extensive human rights abuses still occur in several parts of Africa, often under the oversight of the state. Most of such violations occur for political reasons, often as a side effect of civil war. Countries where major human rights violations have been reported in recent times include the <a href="../../wp/d/Democratic_Republic_of_the_Congo.htm" title="Democratic Republic of the Congo">Democratic Republic of the Congo</a>, <a href="../../wp/s/Sierra_Leone.htm" title="Sierra Leone">Sierra Leone</a>, <a href="../../wp/l/Liberia.htm" title="Liberia">Liberia</a>, <a href="../../wp/s/Sudan.htm" title="Sudan">Sudan</a>, and <a href="../../wp/c/C%25C3%25B4te_d%2527Ivoire.htm" title="Côte d'Ivoire">Côte d'Ivoire</a>.<p><a id="Economy" name="Economy"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Economy</span></h2>
<dl>
<dd>
</dl>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:349px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/158/15860.png.htm" title="African Economic Community map"><img alt="African Economic Community map" height="335" longdesc="/wiki/Image:RECs_of_the_AEC.png" src="../../images/158/15860.png" width="347" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/158/15860.png.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div><!--del_lnk--> African Economic Community map</div>
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<p>Due largely to the effects of colonialism, corrupt governments and <a href="../../wp/d/Despotism.htm" title="Despotism">despotism</a>, Africa is the world's poorest inhabited continent. According to the <a href="../../wp/u/United_Nations.htm" title="United Nations">United Nations</a>' Human Development Report in <!--del_lnk--> 2003, the bottom 25 ranked nations (151st to 175th) were all African nations. <!--del_lnk--> <p>While rapid growth in <a href="../../wp/c/China.htm" title="China">China</a> and now <a href="../../wp/i/India.htm" title="India">India</a>, and moderate growth in <a href="../../wp/l/Latin_America.htm" title="Latin America">Latin America</a>, has lifted millions beyond subsistence living, Africa has gone backwards in terms of foreign <!--del_lnk--> trade, <!--del_lnk--> investment, and <!--del_lnk--> per capita <!--del_lnk--> income. This <a href="../../wp/p/Poverty.htm" title="Poverty">poverty</a> has widespread effects, including lower <!--del_lnk--> life expectancy, <!--del_lnk--> violence, and <!--del_lnk--> instability -- factors intertwined with the continent's poverty.<p>Some areas, notably <a href="../../wp/b/Botswana.htm" title="Botswana">Botswana</a> and <a href="../../wp/s/South_Africa.htm" title="South Africa">South Africa</a>, have experienced economic success, including the opening of the <!--del_lnk--> Johannesburg Stock Exchange. This is partly due to its wealth of <!--del_lnk--> natural resources, being the world's leading producer of both <a href="../../wp/g/Gold.htm" title="Gold">gold</a> and <a href="../../wp/d/Diamond.htm" title="Diamond">diamonds</a>, and partly due to its well-established legal system. South Africa also has access to financial capital, numerous markets, skilled labor, and first world infrastructure in much of the country. Other African countries are making comparable progress, such as <a href="../../wp/g/Ghana.htm" title="Ghana">Ghana</a>, <a href="../../wp/k/Kenya.htm" title="Kenya">Kenya</a>, <a href="../../wp/c/Cameroon.htm" title="Cameroon">Cameroon</a> and <a href="../../wp/e/Egypt.htm" title="Egypt">Egypt</a>.<p><a href="../../wp/n/Nigeria.htm" title="Nigeria">Nigeria</a> sits on one of the largest proven oil reserves in the world and has the highest population among nations in Africa, with one of the fastest-growing economies in the world.<p>From 1995 to 2005, economic growth picked up, averaging 5% in 2005. However some countries experienced much higher growth (10+%) in particular, <a href="../../wp/a/Angola.htm" title="Angola">Angola</a>, <a href="../../wp/s/Sudan.htm" title="Sudan">Sudan</a> and <a href="../../wp/e/Equatorial_Guinea.htm" title="Equatorial Guinea">Equatorial Guinea</a>, all three of which have recently begun extracting their petroleum reserves.<p><a id="Demographics" name="Demographics"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Demographics</span></h2>
<p>Africa's population has grown rapidly since the mid 1800s when vast tracts of Africa were depopulated by slavery. The last 40 years have seen a rapid increase in population, and so Africa has a relatively young population. In some African states people under 25 years of age account for 50% of the population.<p>Speakers of <!--del_lnk--> Bantu languages (part of the Niger-Congo family) are the majority in southern, central and east Africa proper. But there are also several <!--del_lnk--> Nilotic groups in East Africa, and a few remaining <!--del_lnk--> indigenous Khoisan ('<!--del_lnk--> San' or '<!--del_lnk--> Bushmen') and <!--del_lnk--> Pygmy peoples in southern and central Africa, respectively. Bantu-speaking Africans also predominate in Gabon and Equatorial Guinea, and are found in parts of southern Cameroon and southern Somalia. In the <!--del_lnk--> Kalahari Desert of Southern Africa, the distinct people known as the Bushmen (also "San", closely related to, but distinct from "<!--del_lnk--> Hottentots") have long been present. The San are physically distinct from other Africans and are the indigenous people of southern Africa. Pygmies are the pre-Bantu indigenous peoples of central Africa.<p>The peoples of <a href="../../wp/n/North_Africa.htm" title="North Africa">North Africa</a> comprise two main groups; <!--del_lnk--> Berber and <a href="../../wp/a/Arabic_language.htm" title="Arabic language">Arabic</a>-speaking peoples in the west, and <!--del_lnk--> Egyptians in the east. The <!--del_lnk--> Arabs who arrived in the seventh century introduced the <a href="../../wp/a/Arabic_language.htm" title="Arabic language">Arabic language</a> and <a href="../../wp/i/Islam.htm" title="Islam">Islam</a> to North Africa. The Semitic <!--del_lnk--> Phoenicians, the European <a href="../../wp/a/Ancient_Greece.htm" title="Ancient Greece">Greeks</a>, <a href="../../wp/a/Ancient_Rome.htm" title="Ancient Rome">Romans</a> and <!--del_lnk--> Vandals settled in North Africa as well. Berbers still make up the majority in <a href="../../wp/m/Morocco.htm" title="Morocco">Morocco</a>, while they are a significant minority within <a href="../../wp/a/Algeria.htm" title="Algeria">Algeria</a>. They are also present in <a href="../../wp/t/Tunisia.htm" title="Tunisia">Tunisia</a> and <a href="../../wp/l/Libya.htm" title="Libya">Libya</a>. The <!--del_lnk--> Tuareg and other often-nomadic peoples are the principal inhabitants of the Saharan interior of North Africa. <!--del_lnk--> Nubians are a <!--del_lnk--> Nilo-Saharan-speaking group (though many also speak Arabic), who developed an ancient civilization in northeast Africa.<p>During the past century or so, small but economically important colonies of <!--del_lnk--> Lebanese and <!--del_lnk--> Chinese have also developed in the larger coastal cities of <!--del_lnk--> West and <a href="../../wp/e/East_Africa.htm" title="East Africa">East Africa</a>, respectively.<p>Some <a href="../../wp/e/Ethiopia.htm" title="Ethiopia">Ethiopian</a> and <a href="../../wp/e/Eritrea.htm" title="Eritrea">Eritrean</a> groups (like the <!--del_lnk--> Amhara and <!--del_lnk--> Tigrayans, collectively known as "<!--del_lnk--> Habesha") speak <!--del_lnk--> Semitic languages. The <!--del_lnk--> Oromo and <!--del_lnk--> Somali peoples speak <!--del_lnk--> Cushitic languages, but some Somali clans trace their founding to legendary Arab founders. <a href="../../wp/s/Sudan.htm" title="Sudan">Sudan</a> and <a href="../../wp/m/Mauritania.htm" title="Mauritania">Mauritania</a> are divided between a mostly Arabized north and a native African south (although the "Arabs" of Sudan clearly have a predominantly native African ancestry themselves). Some areas of East Africa, particularly the island of <!--del_lnk--> Zanzibar and the Kenyan <!--del_lnk--> island of Lamu, received Arab Muslim and <!--del_lnk--> Southwest Asian settlers and merchants throughout the <a href="../../wp/m/Middle_Ages.htm" title="Middle Ages">Middle Ages</a> and in antiquity.<p>Beginning in the sixteenth century, Europeans such as the <a href="../../wp/p/Portugal.htm" title="Portugal">Portuguese</a> and <a href="../../wp/n/Netherlands.htm" title="Netherlands">Dutch</a> began to establish <!--del_lnk--> trading posts and <!--del_lnk--> forts along the coasts of western and southern Africa. Eventually, a large number of Dutch augmented by French <!--del_lnk--> Huguenots and <!--del_lnk--> Germans settled in what is today <a href="../../wp/s/South_Africa.htm" title="South Africa">South Africa</a>. Their descendants, the <!--del_lnk--> Afrikaners and the <!--del_lnk--> Coloureds, are the largest European-descended groups in Africa today. In the nineteenth century, a second phase of colonization brought a large number of French and <!--del_lnk--> British settlers to Africa. The Portuguese settled mainly in Angola, but also in Mozambique. The French settled in large numbers in <a href="../../wp/a/Algeria.htm" title="Algeria">Algeria</a> where they became known collectively as <i><!--del_lnk--> pieds-noirs</i>, and on a smaller scale in other areas of North and West Africa as well as in Madagascar. The British settled chiefly in South Africa as well as the colony of <!--del_lnk--> Rhodesia, and in the highlands of what is now <a href="../../wp/k/Kenya.htm" title="Kenya">Kenya</a>. Germans settled in what is now <a href="../../wp/t/Tanzania.htm" title="Tanzania">Tanzania</a> and <a href="../../wp/n/Namibia.htm" title="Namibia">Namibia</a>, and there is still a population of German-speaking white Namibians. Smaller numbers of European soldiers, businessmen, and officials also established themselves in administrative centers such as <a href="../../wp/n/Nairobi.htm" title="Nairobi">Nairobi</a> and <a href="../../wp/d/Dakar.htm" title="Dakar">Dakar</a>. Decolonization during the 1960s often resulted in the mass emigration of European-descended settlers out of Africa — especially from Algeria, Angola, Kenya and Rhodesia. However, in South Africa and Namibia, the white minority remained politically dominant after independence from Europe, and a significant population of Europeans remained in these two countries even after <a href="../../wp/l/Liberal_democracy.htm" title="Liberal democracy">democracy</a> was finally instituted at the end of the <a href="../../wp/c/Cold_War.htm" title="Cold War">Cold War</a>. South Africa has also become the preferred destination of white Anglo-Zimbabweans, and of migrants from all over southern Africa.<p>European colonization also brought sizeable groups of <!--del_lnk--> Asians, particularly people from the <!--del_lnk--> Indian subcontinent, to British colonies. Large <!--del_lnk--> Indian communities are found in South Africa, and smaller ones are present in Kenya, Tanzania, and some other southern and east African countries. The large Indian community in <a href="../../wp/u/Uganda.htm" title="Uganda">Uganda</a> was expelled by the dictator <!--del_lnk--> Idi Amin in 1972, though many have since returned. The islands in the <a href="../../wp/i/Indian_Ocean.htm" title="Indian Ocean">Indian Ocean</a> are also populated primarily by people of Asian origin, often mixed with Africans and Europeans. The <!--del_lnk--> Malagasy people of <a href="../../wp/m/Madagascar.htm" title="Madagascar">Madagascar</a> are a <!--del_lnk--> Malay people, but those along the coast are generally mixed with Bantu, Arab, Indian and European origins. Malay and Indian ancestries are also important components in the group of people known in South Africa as <!--del_lnk--> Cape Coloureds (people with origins in two or more races and continents).<p><a id="Languages" name="Languages"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Languages</span></h2>
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<div style="width:302px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/152/15299.png.htm" title="Map showing the distribution of African language families and some major African languages. Afro-Asiatic extends from the Sahel to Southwest Asia. Niger-Congo is divided to show the size of the Bantu sub-family."><img alt="Map showing the distribution of African language families and some major African languages. Afro-Asiatic extends from the Sahel to Southwest Asia. Niger-Congo is divided to show the size of the Bantu sub-family." height="329" longdesc="/wiki/Image:African_language_families.png" src="../../images/158/15861.png" width="300" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/152/15299.png.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Map showing the distribution of African language families and some major African languages. <!--del_lnk--> Afro-Asiatic extends from the <!--del_lnk--> Sahel to <!--del_lnk--> Southwest Asia. <!--del_lnk--> Niger-Congo is divided to show the size of the <!--del_lnk--> Bantu sub-family.</div>
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<div style="width:282px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/158/15862.png.htm" title="Many African countries today have more than one "official language"."><img alt="Many African countries today have more than one "official language"." height="305" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Official_LanguagesMap-Africa.png" src="../../images/158/15862.png" width="280" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/158/15862.png.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Many African countries today have more than one "official language".</div>
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<p>By most estimates, Africa contains well over a thousand <a href="../../wp/l/Language.htm" title="Language">languages</a>, some have estimated it to be over two thousand languages (most of African rather than European origin). Africa is the most <!--del_lnk--> polyglot continent in the world; it is not rare to find individuals there who fluently speak not only several African languages, but one or two European ones as well. There are four major <!--del_lnk--> language families native to Africa.<ul>
<li>The <!--del_lnk--> <i>Afro-Asiatic</i> languages are a language family of about 240 languages and 285 million people widespread throughout <a href="../../wp/e/East_Africa.htm" title="East Africa">East Africa</a>, North Africa, the Sahel, and <!--del_lnk--> Southwest Asia.<li>The <!--del_lnk--> <i>Nilo-Saharan</i> language family consists of more than a hundred languages spoken by 30 million people. Nilo-Saharan languages are mainly spoken in <a href="../../wp/c/Chad.htm" title="Chad">Chad</a>, <a href="../../wp/e/Ethiopia.htm" title="Ethiopia">Ethiopia</a>, <a href="../../wp/k/Kenya.htm" title="Kenya">Kenya</a>, <a href="../../wp/s/Sudan.htm" title="Sudan">Sudan</a>, <a href="../../wp/u/Uganda.htm" title="Uganda">Uganda</a>, and northern <a href="../../wp/t/Tanzania.htm" title="Tanzania">Tanzania</a>.<li>The <!--del_lnk--> <i>Niger-Congo</i> language family covers much of Sub-Saharan Africa and is probably the largest language family in the world in terms of different languages. A substantial number of them are the <!--del_lnk--> Bantu languages spoken in much of sub-Saharan Africa.<li>The <!--del_lnk--> <i>Khoisan</i> languages number about 50 and are spoken in Southern Africa by approximately 120 000 people. Many of the Khoisan languages are <!--del_lnk--> endangered. The <!--del_lnk--> Khoi and <!--del_lnk--> San peoples are considered the original inhabitants of this part of Africa.</ul>
<p>Following <!--del_lnk--> colonialism, nearly all African countries adopted <!--del_lnk--> official languages that originated outside the continent, although several countries nowadays also use various languages of native origin (such as <!--del_lnk--> Swahili) as their official language. In numerous countries, <a href="../../wp/e/English_language.htm" title="English language">English</a> and <a href="../../wp/f/French_language.htm" title="French language">French</a> are used for communication in the public sphere such as government, commerce, education and the media. <a href="../../wp/a/Arabic_language.htm" title="Arabic language">Arabic</a>, <a href="../../wp/p/Portuguese_language.htm" title="Portuguese language">Portuguese</a>, <a href="../../wp/a/Afrikaans.htm" title="Afrikaans">Afrikaans</a> and <!--del_lnk--> Malagasy are other examples of originally non-African languages that are used by millions of Africans today, both in the public and private spheres.<p><a id="Culture" name="Culture"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Culture</span></h2>
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<p>African culture is characterised by a fairly uniform system of social values informed by historic processes that underpin its social organization. The most striking feature of African culture is the almost uniform nature of African <!--del_lnk--> paralanguage, those non-verbal elements of communication used to modify meaning and convey emotion. Like south Europeans, Africans tend to be expressive, warm and engaged. African paralanguage is rooted in a complex of historical relations and ancient spiritual beliefs that have succeeded in transcending race, language, politics, and the twin tragedies of slavery and <!--del_lnk--> colonization of Africa.<p>The paralinguistic expressions of Africans, and the fundamental social aspirations, are easily identifiable and are rooted in a strong and deeply engrained ancient philosophy that requires their continuation and augmentation even in the face of massive social and geopolitical shifts caused by demographic change.<p>Modern African culture is characterised by conflicted responses to <!--del_lnk--> Arab imperialism and <!--del_lnk--> European imperialism. Increasingly, beginning in the late 1990s, Africans are reasserting their identity. In <a href="../../wp/n/North_Africa.htm" title="North Africa">North Africa</a> especially the rejection of the label <!--del_lnk--> Arab or <a href="../../wp/e/Europe.htm" title="European">European</a> has resulted in an upsurge of demands for special protection of indigenous <!--del_lnk--> Amazigh languages and culture in Morocco, Egypt, Algeria and Tunisia. The emergence of <!--del_lnk--> Pan-Africanism since the fall of <!--del_lnk--> apartheid has heightened calls for a renewed sense of African identity. In South Africa, intellectuals from settler communities of European descent increasingly identify as African for cultural rather than geographical or racial reasons. Famously, some have undergone ritual ceremonies to become members of the <a href="../../wp/z/Zulu.htm" title="Zulu">Zulu</a> or other community.<p>The similarities between the cultures of different ethnic and national groups give Africa the appearance of overlapping cultures. In fact the nature of the African culture consists of a continuum of related spiritual elements. Where cultural fault-lines do occur, they tend to decay rapidly into the more robust and stimulating elements that defined the African spiritualism. Cultural fault-lines, however, are evident between those Africans who have assimilated Western or Occidental lifestyles and Africans observing or practicing old African ethics and traditions.<p>Much of the traditional African culture has become impoverished as a result of years of neglect and suppression by colonial and neo-colonial regimes. There is now a resurgence in the attempts to rediscover and revalourize African traditional culture, under such movements as the <!--del_lnk--> African Renaissance led by <!--del_lnk--> Thabo Mbeki, <!--del_lnk--> Afrocentrism led by an influential group of scholars including <!--del_lnk--> Molefi Asante, as well as the increasing recognition of traditional spiritualism through decriminalization of <!--del_lnk--> Voudoo and other forms of spirituality. In recent years African traditional culture has become synonymous with rural poverty and subsistence farming.<p>Urban culture in Africa, now associated with Western values, is a great contrast from traditional African urban culture which was once rich and enviable even by modern Western standards. African cities such as <!--del_lnk--> Loango, <!--del_lnk--> M'banza Congo, <a href="../../wp/t/Timbuktu.htm" title="Timbuktu">Timbuktu</a>, <!--del_lnk--> Thebes, <!--del_lnk--> Meroe and others had served as the world's most affluent urban and industrial centers, clean, well-laid out, and full of universities, libraries, and temples. This image of traditional African urban living is in deep contrast to European cities that were unclean, crowded and disorganised...characteristics that they have retained for the most part.<p>The main and most enduring cultural fault-line in Africa is the divide between traditional <!--del_lnk--> pastoralists and <a href="../../wp/a/Agriculture.htm" title="Agriculture">agriculturalists</a>. The divide is not, and never was based on economic competition, but rather on the colonial racial policy that identified pastoralists as constituting a different race from agriculturalists, and enforcing a form of <!--del_lnk--> apartheid between the two cultures beginning in the 1880s and lasting until the 1960s. Although European colonial powers were largely industrial, many of the administrators and philosophers, whose writings provided rationale for colonialism, applied quasi-scientific eugenics policies and racist politics on Africans in experiments of misguided social engineering.<p>Most of the racial recategorization of Africans to fit European stereotypes was contradictory and incoherent. However, because their legalism and laws that emanated from these policies were backed by police force, the scientific establishment and economic power, Africans reacted by either conforming to the new rules, or rejecting them in favour of Pan-Africanism. All across Africa communities and individuals were measured by colonial eugenics boards and reassigned identities and ethnicities based on vague science. The schools taught that in general Africans who resembled Europeans in some physical or cultural aspect were superior to other Africans and deserved more privileges. This caused animosity, incited by other Europeans - socialists and communists - who identified Africans according to dubious classes also modelled on European concerns.<p>The easiest way to divide Africans was along economic lines. Pastoralists, agriculturalists, hunter-gatherers and Westernised Africans, all formed distinctly identifiable cultures each of which came to play a different and disfiguring role in Africa's modern politics. The Westernised Africans, specifically <a href="../../wp/s/Senegal.htm" title="Senegal">Senegalese</a> and Sudanese Nubians from urban centers such as Dakar and Khartoum, were used to serve as the bulk of colonial troops against the rural Africans. Pastoralists were radicalised by the wholesale confiscation of grazing lands in favour of plantations. Agriculturalists came into conflict for land and water with pastoralists after the traditional sharing arrangements had been destroyed by colonial policies.<p>In addition, a growing body of speculative anthropology and <!--del_lnk--> race science made false claims about the superiority and inferiority of Africans with different cultural and economic backgrounds. The vast majority of the scholarship on Africa was extraneous and catered to the demand for exotic and outlandish representations of Africa. The enforcement of the government decrees and policies tended to produce effects that confirmed the prejudices of the European colonialists.<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:192px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/258/25867.jpg.htm" title="75,000 year old Nassarius shell beads found in Blombos Cave, South Africa"><img alt="75,000 year old Nassarius shell beads found in Blombos Cave, South Africa" height="119" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Nassarius_shellbeads_South_Africa.jpg" src="../../images/158/15863.jpg" width="190" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/258/25867.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> 75,000 year old <i><!--del_lnk--> Nassarius</i> shell beads found in <!--del_lnk--> Blombos Cave, <a href="../../wp/s/South_Africa.htm" title="South Africa">South Africa</a></div>
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<p><!--del_lnk--> African art and <!--del_lnk--> architecture reflect the diversity of African cultures. The oldest existing examples of art from Africa are 75,000 year old <!--del_lnk--> beads made from <i><!--del_lnk--> Nassarius</i> shells that were found in <!--del_lnk--> Blombos Cave. The <a href="../../wp/g/Great_Pyramid_of_Giza.htm" title="Great Pyramid of Giza">Great Pyramid of Giza</a> in <a href="../../wp/e/Egypt.htm" title="Egypt">Egypt</a> was the world's tallest architectural accomplishment for 4,000 years until the creation of the <!--del_lnk--> Eiffel Tower. The Ethiopian complex of <!--del_lnk--> monolithic churches at <!--del_lnk--> Lalibela, of which the <!--del_lnk--> Church of St. George is representative, is regarded as another marvel of engineering.<p><a id="Music_and_dance" name="Music_and_dance"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Music and dance</span></h3>
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<p>The <!--del_lnk--> music of Africa is one of its most dynamic art forms. Egypt has long been a cultural focus of the Arab world, while remembrance of the rhythms of sub-Saharan Africa, in particular west Africa, was transmitted through the <a href="../../wp/a/Atlantic_slave_trade.htm" title="Atlantic slave trade">Atlantic slave trade</a> to modern <!--del_lnk--> samba, <!--del_lnk--> blues, <a href="../../wp/j/Jazz.htm" title="Jazz">jazz</a>, <a href="../../wp/r/Reggae.htm" title="Reggae">reggae</a>, <!--del_lnk--> rap, and <!--del_lnk--> rock and roll. Modern music of the continent includes the highly complex choral singing of southern Africa and the dance rhythms of <a href="../../wp/s/Soukous.htm" title="Soukous">soukous</a>, dominated by the <!--del_lnk--> music of the Democratic Republic of Congo. Recent developments include the emergence of <!--del_lnk--> African hip hop, in particular a form from <a href="../../wp/s/Senegal.htm" title="Senegal">Senegal</a> blended with traditional <!--del_lnk--> mbalax, and <!--del_lnk--> Kwaito, a South African variant of <!--del_lnk--> house music. <a href="../../wp/a/Afrikaans.htm" title="Afrikaans">Afrikaans</a> music, also found in South Africa, is idiosyncratic being composed mostly of traditional <!--del_lnk--> Boer music, while more recent immigrant communities have introduced the music of their homes to the continent.<p>Indigenous musical and dance traditions of Africa are maintained by oral traditions and they are distinct from the music and dance styles of <a href="../../wp/n/North_Africa.htm" title="North Africa">North Africa</a> and <a href="../../wp/s/Southern_Africa.htm" title="Southern Africa">Southern Africa</a>. <!--del_lnk--> Arab influences are visible in North African music and dance and in Southern Africa western influences are apparent due to <!--del_lnk--> colonization.<p>Many African languages are <!--del_lnk--> tone languages, in which pitch level determines the meaning. This also finds expression in African musical melodies and rhythms. A variety of musical instruments are used, including <!--del_lnk--> drums (most widely used), <!--del_lnk--> bells, <!--del_lnk--> musical bow, <!--del_lnk--> lute, <a href="../../wp/f/Flute.htm" title="Flute">flute</a>, and <a href="../../wp/t/Trumpet.htm" title="Trumpet">trumpet</a>.<p>African dances are important mode of communication and dancers use gestures, <!--del_lnk--> masks, <!--del_lnk--> costumes, <!--del_lnk--> body painting and a number of visual devices. With <!--del_lnk--> urbanization and <!--del_lnk--> modernization, modern African dance and music exhibit influences assimilated from several other cultures.<p><a id="Religion" name="Religion"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Religion</span></h2>
<p>Africans profess a wide variety of religious beliefs <!--del_lnk--> , with <a href="../../wp/c/Christianity.htm" title="Christianity">Christianity</a> and <a href="../../wp/i/Islam.htm" title="Islam">Islam</a> being the most widespread. Approximately 46.3% of all Africans are Christians and another 40.5% are Muslims. Roughly 11.8% of Africans primarily follow indigenous <!--del_lnk--> African religions. A small number of Africans are Hindu, or have beliefs from the <a href="../../wp/j/Judaism.htm" title="Judaism">Judaic tradition</a>. Examples of <!--del_lnk--> African Jews are the <!--del_lnk--> Beta Israel, <!--del_lnk--> Lemba peoples and the <!--del_lnk--> Abayudaya of Eastern Uganda.<p>The indigenous Sub-Saharan African religions tend to revolve around <!--del_lnk--> animism and <!--del_lnk--> ancestor worship. A common thread in traditional belief systems was the division of the <!--del_lnk--> spiritual world into "helpful" and "harmful". Helpful <!--del_lnk--> spirits are usually deemed to include ancestor spirits that help their descendants, and powerful spirits that protect entire communities from natural disaster or attacks from enemies; whereas harmful spirits include the <!--del_lnk--> souls of murdered victims who were buried without the proper <!--del_lnk--> funeral rites, and spirits used by hostile spirit <!--del_lnk--> mediums to cause illness among their enemies. While the effect of these early forms of worship continues to have a profound influence, belief systems have evolved as they interact with other religions.<p>The formation of the <!--del_lnk--> Old Kingdom of <a href="../../wp/e/Egypt.htm" title="Egypt">Egypt</a> in the <!--del_lnk--> third millennium BCE marked the first known complex religious system on the continent. Around the <!--del_lnk--> ninth century BCE, <!--del_lnk--> Carthage (in present-day <a href="../../wp/t/Tunisia.htm" title="Tunisia">Tunisia</a>) was founded by the Phoenicians, and went on to become a major cosmopolitan centre where <a href="../../wp/d/Deity.htm" title="Deity">deities</a> from neighboring Egypt, <a href="../../wp/a/Ancient_Rome.htm" title="Ancient Rome">Rome</a> and the <!--del_lnk--> Etruscan city-states were worshipped. Today, many Jewish peoples also live in North Africa, particularly in Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco.<p>The <!--del_lnk--> Ethiopian Orthodox Church and the <!--del_lnk--> Eritrean Orthodox Church officially date from the <!--del_lnk--> fourth century, and are thus one of the first established <a href="../../wp/c/Christianity.htm" title="Christianity">Christian</a> churches anywhere. At first, Christian Orthodoxy made gains in modern-day Sudan and other neighbouring regions. However, after the spread of Islam, growth was slow and restricted to the highlands.<p>Islam entered Africa as Arab Muslims conquered North Africa between 640 and 710, beginning with Egypt. They settled in Mogadishu, Melinde, Mombasa, Kilwa, and Sofala, following the sea trade down the coast of <a href="../../wp/e/East_Africa.htm" title="East Africa">East Africa</a>, and diffusing through the Sahara desert into the interior of Africa -- following in particular the paths of Muslim traders. Muslims were also among the Asian peoples who later settled in British-ruled Africa.<p>Many Sub-Saharan Africans were converted to <!--del_lnk--> West European forms of Christianity during the colonial period. In the last decades of the twentieth century, various sects of <!--del_lnk--> Charismatic Christianity rapidly grew. A number of Roman Catholic African bishops were even mentioned as possible <a href="../../wp/p/Pope.htm" title="Pope">papal</a> candidates in 2005. African Christians appear to be more socially conservative than their co-religionists in much of the industrialized world, which has quite recently led to tension within <!--del_lnk--> denominations such as the <a href="../../wp/a/Anglican_Communion.htm" title="Anglican Communion">Anglican</a> and <!--del_lnk--> Methodist Churches.<p>The <!--del_lnk--> African Initiated Churches have experienced significant growth in the twentieth and twenty first centuries.<p><a id="Territories_and_regions" name="Territories_and_regions"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Territories and regions</span></h2>
<p>The countries in this table are categorised according to the <!--del_lnk--> scheme for geographic subregions used by the United Nations, and data included are per sources in cross-referenced articles. Where they differ, provisos are clearly indicated.<table align="right">
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<div style="width:202px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/158/15864.png.htm" title="Regions of Africa: ██ Northern Africa ██ Western Africa ██ Middle Africa ██ Eastern Africa ██ Southern Africa"><img alt="Regions of Africa: ██ Northern Africa ██ Western Africa ██ Middle Africa ██ Eastern Africa ██ Southern Africa" height="218" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Africa-regions.png" src="../../images/158/15864.png" width="200" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/158/15864.png.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div><!--del_lnk--> Regions of Africa: <span style="margin:0px; font-size:90%; display:block;"><span style="border:none; background-color:#0000FF; color:#0000FF;">██</span> <a href="../../wp/n/North_Africa.htm" title="North Africa">Northern Africa</a></span> <span style="margin:0px; font-size:90%; display:block;"><span style="border:none; background-color:#00FF00; color:#00FF00;">██</span> <!--del_lnk--> Western Africa</span> <span style="margin:0px; font-size:90%; display:block;"><span style="border:none; background-color:#FF00FF; color:#FF00FF;">██</span> <!--del_lnk--> Middle Africa</span> <span style="margin:0px; font-size:90%; display:block;"><span style="border:none; background-color:#FFC000; color:#FFC000;">██</span> <a href="../../wp/e/East_Africa.htm" title="East Africa">Eastern Africa</a></span> <span style="margin:0px; font-size:90%; display:block;"><span style="border:none; background-color:#FF0000; color:#FF0000;">██</span> <a href="../../wp/s/Southern_Africa.htm" title="Southern Africa">Southern Africa</a></span></div>
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<div style="width:202px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/55/5533.jpg.htm" title="Physical map of Africa."><img alt="Physical map of Africa." height="219" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Topography_of_africa.jpg" src="../../images/158/15865.jpg" width="200" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/55/5533.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Physical map of Africa.</div>
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<div style="width:202px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/158/15866.jpg.htm" title="Satellite photo of Africa."><img alt="Satellite photo of Africa." height="230" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Africa_Satellite.jpg" src="../../images/158/15866.jpg" width="200" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/158/15866.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Satellite photo of Africa.</div>
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</td>
</tr>
</table>
<table border="1" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" style="border:1px solid #aaa; border-collapse:collapse">
<tr bgcolor="#ECECEC">
<th>Name of region and<br /> territory, with <!--del_lnk--> flag</th>
<th><!--del_lnk--> Area<br /> (km²)</th>
<th><!--del_lnk--> Population<br /> (<!--del_lnk--> 1 July <!--del_lnk--> 2002 est.)</th>
<th><!--del_lnk--> Population density<br /> (per km²)</th>
<th><a href="../../wp/c/Capital.htm" title="Capital">Capital</a></th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="5" style="background:#eee;"><b><!--del_lnk--> Eastern Africa</b>:</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/10/1055.png.htm" title="Burundi"><img alt="Burundi" height="13" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Burundi.svg" src="../../images/10/1055.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/b/Burundi.htm" title="Burundi">Burundi</a></td>
<td align="right">27,830</td>
<td align="right">6,373,002</td>
<td align="right">229.0</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Bujumbura</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/4/406.png.htm" title="Comoros"><img alt="Comoros" height="13" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_the_Comoros.svg" src="../../images/4/406.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/c/Comoros.htm" title="Comoros">Comoros</a></td>
<td align="right">2,170</td>
<td align="right">614,382</td>
<td align="right">283.1</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Moroni</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/4/405.png.htm" title="Djibouti"><img alt="Djibouti" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Djibouti.svg" src="../../images/4/405.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/d/Djibouti.htm" title="Djibouti">Djibouti</a></td>
<td align="right">23,000</td>
<td align="right">472,810</td>
<td align="right">20.6</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Djibouti</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/4/407.png.htm" title="Eritrea"><img alt="Eritrea" height="11" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Eritrea.svg" src="../../images/4/407.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/e/Eritrea.htm" title="Eritrea">Eritrea</a></td>
<td align="right">121,320</td>
<td align="right">4,465,651</td>
<td align="right">36.8</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Asmara</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/10/1030.png.htm" title="Ethiopia"><img alt="Ethiopia" height="11" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Ethiopia.svg" src="../../images/10/1030.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/e/Ethiopia.htm" title="Ethiopia">Ethiopia</a></td>
<td align="right">1,127,127</td>
<td align="right">67,673,031</td>
<td align="right">60.0</td>
<td><a href="../../wp/a/Addis_Ababa.htm" title="Addis Ababa">Addis Ababa</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/15/1549.png.htm" title="Kenya"><img alt="Kenya" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Kenya.svg" src="../../images/15/1549.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/k/Kenya.htm" title="Kenya">Kenya</a></td>
<td align="right">582,650</td>
<td align="right">31,138,735</td>
<td align="right">53.4</td>
<td><a href="../../wp/n/Nairobi.htm" title="Nairobi">Nairobi</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/69/6930.png.htm" title="Madagascar"><img alt="Madagascar" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Madagascar_%28bordered%29.svg" src="../../images/69/6930.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/m/Madagascar.htm" title="Madagascar">Madagascar</a></td>
<td align="right">587,040</td>
<td align="right">16,473,477</td>
<td align="right">28.1</td>
<td><a href="../../wp/a/Antananarivo.htm" title="Antananarivo">Antananarivo</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/15/1550.png.htm" title="Malawi"><img alt="Malawi" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Malawi.svg" src="../../images/15/1550.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/m/Malawi.htm" title="Malawi">Malawi</a></td>
<td align="right">118,480</td>
<td align="right">10,701,824</td>
<td align="right">90.3</td>
<td><a href="../../wp/l/Lilongwe.htm" title="Lilongwe">Lilongwe</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/62/6232.png.htm" title="Mauritius"><img alt="Mauritius" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Mauritius.svg" src="../../images/62/6232.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/m/Mauritius.htm" title="Mauritius">Mauritius</a></td>
<td align="right">2,040</td>
<td align="right">1,200,206</td>
<td align="right">588.3</td>
<td><a href="../../wp/p/Port_Louis.htm" title="Port Louis">Port Louis</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/5/526.png.htm" title="Mayotte"><img alt="Mayotte" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_France.svg" src="../../images/5/526.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/m/Mayotte.htm" title="Mayotte">Mayotte</a> (<a href="../../wp/f/France.htm" title="France">France</a>)</td>
<td align="right">374</td>
<td align="right">170,879</td>
<td align="right">456.9</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Mamoudzou</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/15/1551.png.htm" title="Mozambique"><img alt="Mozambique" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Mozambique.svg" src="../../images/15/1551.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/m/Mozambique.htm" title="Mozambique">Mozambique</a></td>
<td align="right">801,590</td>
<td align="right">19,607,519</td>
<td align="right">24.5</td>
<td><a href="../../wp/m/Maputo.htm" title="Maputo">Maputo</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/5/526.png.htm" title="Réunion"><img alt="Réunion" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_France.svg" src="../../images/5/526.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/r/R%25C3%25A9union.htm" title="Réunion">Réunion</a> (<a href="../../wp/f/France.htm" title="France">France</a>)</td>
<td align="right">2,512</td>
<td align="right">743,981</td>
<td align="right">296.2</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Saint-Denis</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/15/1553.png.htm" title="Rwanda"><img alt="Rwanda" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Rwanda.svg" src="../../images/15/1553.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/r/Rwanda.htm" title="Rwanda">Rwanda</a></td>
<td align="right">26,338</td>
<td align="right">7,398,074</td>
<td align="right">280.9</td>
<td><a href="../../wp/k/Kigali.htm" title="Kigali">Kigali</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/82/8203.png.htm" title="Seychelles"><img alt="Seychelles" height="11" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_the_Seychelles.svg" src="../../images/82/8203.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/s/Seychelles.htm" title="Seychelles">Seychelles</a></td>
<td align="right">455</td>
<td align="right">80,098</td>
<td align="right">176.0</td>
<td><a href="../../wp/v/Victoria%252C_Seychelles.htm" title="Victoria, Seychelles">Victoria</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/4/403.png.htm" title="Somalia"><img alt="Somalia" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Somalia.svg" src="../../images/4/403.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/s/Somalia.htm" title="Somalia">Somalia</a></td>
<td align="right">637,657</td>
<td align="right">7,753,310</td>
<td align="right">12.2</td>
<td><a href="../../wp/m/Mogadishu.htm" title="Mogadishu">Mogadishu</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/15/1555.png.htm" title="Tanzania"><img alt="Tanzania" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Tanzania.svg" src="../../images/15/1555.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/t/Tanzania.htm" title="Tanzania">Tanzania</a></td>
<td align="right">945,087</td>
<td align="right">37,187,939</td>
<td align="right">39.3</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Dodoma</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/188/18805.png.htm" title="Uganda"><img alt="Uganda" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Uganda.svg" src="../../images/15/1556.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/u/Uganda.htm" title="Uganda">Uganda</a></td>
<td align="right">236,040</td>
<td align="right">24,699,073</td>
<td align="right">104.6</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Kampala</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/15/1557.png.htm" title="Zambia"><img alt="Zambia" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Zambia.svg" src="../../images/15/1557.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/z/Zambia.htm" title="Zambia">Zambia</a></td>
<td align="right">752,614</td>
<td align="right">9,959,037</td>
<td align="right">13.2</td>
<td><a href="../../wp/l/Lusaka.htm" title="Lusaka">Lusaka</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/15/1558.png.htm" title="Zimbabwe"><img alt="Zimbabwe" height="11" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Zimbabwe.svg" src="../../images/15/1558.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/z/Zimbabwe.htm" title="Zimbabwe">Zimbabwe</a></td>
<td align="right">390,580</td>
<td align="right">11,376,676</td>
<td align="right">29.1</td>
<td><a href="../../wp/h/Harare.htm" title="Harare">Harare</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="5" style="background:#eee;"><b><!--del_lnk--> Middle Africa</b>:</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/15/1543.png.htm" title="Angola"><img alt="Angola" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Angola.svg" src="../../images/15/1543.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/a/Angola.htm" title="Angola">Angola</a></td>
<td align="right">1,246,700</td>
<td align="right">10,593,171</td>
<td align="right">8.5</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Luanda</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/5/546.png.htm" title="Cameroon"><img alt="Cameroon" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Cameroon.svg" src="../../images/5/546.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/c/Cameroon.htm" title="Cameroon">Cameroon</a></td>
<td align="right">475,440</td>
<td align="right">16,184,748</td>
<td align="right">34.0</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Yaoundé</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/15/1538.png.htm" title="Central African Republic"><img alt="Central African Republic" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_the_Central_African_Republic.svg" src="../../images/15/1538.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/c/Central_African_Republic.htm" title="Central African Republic">Central African Republic</a></td>
<td align="right">622,984</td>
<td align="right">3,642,739</td>
<td align="right">5.8</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Bangui</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/15/1539.png.htm" title="Chad"><img alt="Chad" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Chad.svg" src="../../images/15/1539.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/c/Chad.htm" title="Chad">Chad</a></td>
<td align="right">1,284,000</td>
<td align="right">8,997,237</td>
<td align="right">7.0</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> N'Djamena</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/15/1546.png.htm" title="Republic of the Congo"><img alt="Republic of the Congo" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_the_Republic_of_the_Congo.svg" src="../../images/15/1546.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/r/Republic_of_the_Congo.htm" title="Republic of the Congo">Congo</a></td>
<td align="right">342,000</td>
<td align="right">2,958,448</td>
<td align="right">8.7</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Brazzaville</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/15/1545.png.htm" title="Democratic Republic of the Congo"><img alt="Democratic Republic of the Congo" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_the_Democratic_Republic_of_the_Congo.svg" src="../../images/15/1545.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/d/Democratic_Republic_of_the_Congo.htm" title="Democratic Republic of the Congo">Democratic Republic of the Congo</a></td>
<td align="right">2,345,410</td>
<td align="right">55,225,478</td>
<td align="right">23.5</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Kinshasa</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/15/1547.png.htm" title="Equatorial Guinea"><img alt="Equatorial Guinea" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Equatorial_Guinea.svg" src="../../images/15/1547.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/e/Equatorial_Guinea.htm" title="Equatorial Guinea">Equatorial Guinea</a></td>
<td align="right">28,051</td>
<td align="right">498,144</td>
<td align="right">17.8</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Malabo</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/15/1548.png.htm" title="Gabon"><img alt="Gabon" height="17" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Gabon.svg" src="../../images/15/1548.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/g/Gabon.htm" title="Gabon">Gabon</a></td>
<td align="right">267,667</td>
<td align="right">1,233,353</td>
<td align="right">4.6</td>
<td><a href="../../wp/l/Libreville.htm" title="Libreville">Libreville</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/82/8202.png.htm" title="São Tomé and Príncipe"><img alt="São Tomé and Príncipe" height="11" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Sao_Tome_and_Principe.svg" src="../../images/82/8202.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/s/S%25C3%25A3o_Tom%25C3%25A9_and_Pr%25C3%25ADncipe.htm" title="São Tomé and Príncipe">São Tomé and Príncipe</a></td>
<td align="right">1,001</td>
<td align="right">170,372</td>
<td align="right">170.2</td>
<td><a href="../../wp/s/S%25C3%25A3o_Tom%25C3%25A9.htm" title="São Tomé">São Tomé</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="5" style="background:#eee;"><b><!--del_lnk--> Northern Africa</b>:</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/3/398.png.htm" title="Algeria"><img alt="Algeria" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Algeria_%28bordered%29.svg" src="../../images/3/398.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/a/Algeria.htm" title="Algeria">Algeria</a></td>
<td align="right">2,381,740</td>
<td align="right">32,277,942</td>
<td align="right">13.6</td>
<td><a href="../../wp/a/Algiers.htm" title="Algiers">Algiers</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/72/7234.png.htm" title="Egypt"><img alt="Egypt" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Egypt.svg" src="../../images/3/386.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/e/Egypt.htm" title="Egypt">Egypt</a></td>
<td align="right">1,001,450</td>
<td align="right">70,712,345</td>
<td align="right">70.6</td>
<td><a href="../../wp/c/Cairo.htm" title="Cairo">Cairo</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/3/393.png.htm" title="Libya"><img alt="Libya" height="11" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Libya.svg" src="../../images/3/393.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/l/Libya.htm" title="Libya">Libya</a></td>
<td align="right">1,759,540</td>
<td align="right">5,368,585</td>
<td align="right">3.1</td>
<td><a href="../../wp/t/Tripoli.htm" title="Tripoli">Tripoli</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/3/395.png.htm" title="Morocco"><img alt="Morocco" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Morocco.svg" src="../../images/3/395.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/m/Morocco.htm" title="Morocco">Morocco</a></td>
<td align="right">446,550</td>
<td align="right">31,167,783</td>
<td align="right">69.8</td>
<td><a href="../../wp/r/Rabat.htm" title="Rabat">Rabat</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/3/394.png.htm" title="Sudan"><img alt="Sudan" height="11" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Sudan.svg" src="../../images/3/394.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/s/Sudan.htm" title="Sudan">Sudan</a></td>
<td align="right">2,505,810</td>
<td align="right">37,090,298</td>
<td align="right">14.8</td>
<td><a href="../../wp/k/Khartoum.htm" title="Khartoum">Khartoum</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/3/396.png.htm" title="Tunisia"><img alt="Tunisia" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Tunisia.svg" src="../../images/3/396.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/t/Tunisia.htm" title="Tunisia">Tunisia</a></td>
<td align="right">163,610</td>
<td align="right">9,815,644</td>
<td align="right">60.0</td>
<td><a href="../../wp/t/Tunis.htm" title="Tunis">Tunis</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/10/1029.png.htm" title="Western Sahara"><img alt="Western Sahara" height="11" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Western_Sahara.svg" src="../../images/10/1029.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/w/Western_Sahara.htm" title="Western Sahara">Western Sahara</a> </td>
<td align="right">266,000</td>
<td align="right">256,177</td>
<td align="right">1.0</td>
<td><a href="../../wp/e/El_Aai%25C3%25BAn.htm" title="El Aaiún">El Aaiún</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="5"><i>Southern Europe dependencies in Northern Africa</i>:</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/78/7852.png.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="13" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_the_Canary_Islands.svg" src="../../images/158/15867.png" width="20" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Canary Islands (<a href="../../wp/s/Spain.htm" title="Spain">Spain</a>)</td>
<td align="right">7,492</td>
<td align="right">1,694,477</td>
<td align="right">226.2</td>
<td><a href="../../wp/l/Las_Palmas_de_Gran_Canaria.htm" title="Las Palmas de Gran Canaria">Las Palmas de Gran Canaria</a>,<br /><!--del_lnk--> Santa Cruz de Tenerife</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/158/15868.png.htm" title="Ceuta"><img alt="Ceuta" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Ceuta.svg" src="../../images/158/15868.png" width="22" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Ceuta (Spain)</td>
<td align="right">20</td>
<td align="right">71,505</td>
<td align="right">3,575.2</td>
<td>—</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/158/15869.png.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="13" longdesc="/wiki/Image:MadeiraFlag.png" src="../../images/158/15869.png" width="20" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Madeira Islands (<a href="../../wp/p/Portugal.htm" title="Portugal">Portugal</a>)</td>
<td align="right">797</td>
<td align="right">245,000</td>
<td align="right">307.4</td>
<td><a href="../../wp/f/Funchal.htm" title="Funchal">Funchal</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> <img alt="Melilla" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Melilla.gif" src="../../images/1x1white.gif" title="This image is not present because of licensing restrictions" width="22" /> <!--del_lnk--> Melilla (Spain)</td>
<td align="right">12</td>
<td align="right">66,411</td>
<td align="right">5,534.2</td>
<td>—</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="5" style="background:#eee;"><b><a href="../../wp/s/Southern_Africa.htm" title="Southern Africa">Southern Africa</a></b>:</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/15/1544.png.htm" title="Botswana"><img alt="Botswana" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Botswana.svg" src="../../images/15/1544.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/b/Botswana.htm" title="Botswana">Botswana</a></td>
<td align="right">600,370</td>
<td align="right">1,591,232</td>
<td align="right">2.7</td>
<td><a href="../../wp/g/Gaborone.htm" title="Gaborone">Gaborone</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/81/8183.png.htm" title="Lesotho"><img alt="Lesotho" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Lesotho.svg" src="../../images/81/8183.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/l/Lesotho.htm" title="Lesotho">Lesotho</a></td>
<td align="right">30,355</td>
<td align="right">2,207,954</td>
<td align="right">72.7</td>
<td><a href="../../wp/m/Maseru.htm" title="Maseru">Maseru</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/15/1552.png.htm" title="Namibia"><img alt="Namibia" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Namibia.svg" src="../../images/15/1552.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/n/Namibia.htm" title="Namibia">Namibia</a></td>
<td align="right">825,418</td>
<td align="right">1,820,916</td>
<td align="right">2.2</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Windhoek</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/14/1448.png.htm" title="South Africa"><img alt="South Africa" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_South_Africa.svg" src="../../images/14/1448.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/s/South_Africa.htm" title="South Africa">South Africa</a></td>
<td align="right">1,219,912</td>
<td align="right">43,647,658</td>
<td align="right">35.8</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Bloemfontein, <a href="../../wp/c/Cape_Town.htm" title="Cape Town">Cape Town</a>, <a href="../../wp/p/Pretoria.htm" title="Pretoria">Pretoria</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/15/1554.png.htm" title="Swaziland"><img alt="Swaziland" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Swaziland.svg" src="../../images/15/1554.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/s/Swaziland.htm" title="Swaziland">Swaziland</a></td>
<td align="right">17,363</td>
<td align="right">1,123,605</td>
<td align="right">64.7</td>
<td><a href="../../wp/m/Mbabane.htm" title="Mbabane">Mbabane</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="5" style="background:#eee;"><b><!--del_lnk--> Western Africa</b>:</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/7/786.png.htm" title="Benin"><img alt="Benin" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Benin.svg" src="../../images/7/786.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/b/Benin.htm" title="Benin">Benin</a></td>
<td align="right">112,620</td>
<td align="right">6,787,625</td>
<td align="right">60.3</td>
<td><a href="../../wp/p/Porto-Novo.htm" title="Porto-Novo">Porto-Novo</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/10/1044.png.htm" title="Burkina Faso"><img alt="Burkina Faso" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Burkina_Faso.svg" src="../../images/10/1044.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/b/Burkina_Faso.htm" title="Burkina Faso">Burkina Faso</a></td>
<td align="right">274,200</td>
<td align="right">12,603,185</td>
<td align="right">46.0</td>
<td><a href="../../wp/o/Ouagadougou.htm" title="Ouagadougou">Ouagadougou</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/81/8173.png.htm" title="Cape Verde"><img alt="Cape Verde" height="13" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Cape_Verde.svg" src="../../images/81/8173.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/c/Cape_Verde.htm" title="Cape Verde">Cape Verde</a></td>
<td align="right">4,033</td>
<td align="right">408,760</td>
<td align="right">101.4</td>
<td><a href="../../wp/p/Praia.htm" title="Praia">Praia</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/5/540.png.htm" title="Côte d'Ivoire"><img alt="Côte d'Ivoire" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Cote_d%27Ivoire.svg" src="../../images/5/540.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/c/C%25C3%25B4te_d%2527Ivoire.htm" title="Côte d'Ivoire">Côte d'Ivoire</a></td>
<td align="right">322,460</td>
<td align="right">16,804,784</td>
<td align="right">52.1</td>
<td><a href="../../wp/a/Abidjan.htm" title="Abidjan">Abidjan</a>, <a href="../../wp/y/Yamoussoukro.htm" title="Yamoussoukro">Yamoussoukro</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/15/1533.png.htm" title="The Gambia"><img alt="The Gambia" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_The_Gambia.svg" src="../../images/15/1533.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/t/The_Gambia.htm" title="The Gambia">Gambia</a></td>
<td align="right">11,300</td>
<td align="right">1,455,842</td>
<td align="right">128.8</td>
<td><a href="../../wp/b/Banjul.htm" title="Banjul">Banjul</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/15/1542.png.htm" title="Ghana"><img alt="Ghana" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Ghana.svg" src="../../images/15/1542.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/g/Ghana.htm" title="Ghana">Ghana</a></td>
<td align="right">239,460</td>
<td align="right">20,244,154</td>
<td align="right">84.5</td>
<td><a href="../../wp/a/Accra.htm" title="Accra">Accra</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/15/1534.png.htm" title="Guinea"><img alt="Guinea" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Guinea.svg" src="../../images/15/1534.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/g/Guinea.htm" title="Guinea">Guinea</a></td>
<td align="right">245,857</td>
<td align="right">7,775,065</td>
<td align="right">31.6</td>
<td><a href="../../wp/c/Conakry.htm" title="Conakry">Conakry</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/15/1535.png.htm" title="Guinea-Bissau"><img alt="Guinea-Bissau" height="11" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Guinea-Bissau.svg" src="../../images/15/1535.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/g/Guinea-Bissau.htm" title="Guinea-Bissau">Guinea-Bissau</a></td>
<td align="right">36,120</td>
<td align="right">1,345,479</td>
<td align="right">37.3</td>
<td><a href="../../wp/b/Bissau.htm" title="Bissau">Bissau</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/15/1540.png.htm" title="Liberia"><img alt="Liberia" height="12" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Liberia.svg" src="../../images/15/1540.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/l/Liberia.htm" title="Liberia">Liberia</a></td>
<td align="right">111,370</td>
<td align="right">3,288,198</td>
<td align="right">29.5</td>
<td><a href="../../wp/m/Monrovia.htm" title="Monrovia">Monrovia</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/15/1536.png.htm" title="Mali"><img alt="Mali" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Mali.svg" src="../../images/15/1536.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/m/Mali.htm" title="Mali">Mali</a></td>
<td align="right">1,240,000</td>
<td align="right">11,340,480</td>
<td align="right">9.1</td>
<td><a href="../../wp/b/Bamako.htm" title="Bamako">Bamako</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/4/402.png.htm" title="Mauritania"><img alt="Mauritania" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Mauritania.svg" src="../../images/4/402.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/m/Mauritania.htm" title="Mauritania">Mauritania</a></td>
<td align="right">1,030,700</td>
<td align="right">2,828,858</td>
<td align="right">2.7</td>
<td><a href="../../wp/n/Nouakchott.htm" title="Nouakchott">Nouakchott</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/15/1541.png.htm" title="Niger"><img alt="Niger" height="19" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Niger.svg" src="../../images/15/1541.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/n/Niger.htm" title="Niger">Niger</a></td>
<td align="right">1,267,000</td>
<td align="right">10,639,744</td>
<td align="right">8.4</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Niamey</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/7/787.png.htm" title="Nigeria"><img alt="Nigeria" height="11" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Nigeria.svg" src="../../images/7/787.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/n/Nigeria.htm" title="Nigeria">Nigeria</a></td>
<td align="right">923,768</td>
<td align="right">129,934,911</td>
<td align="right">140.7</td>
<td><a href="../../wp/a/Abuja.htm" title="Abuja">Abuja</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/81/8198.png.htm" title="Saint Helena"><img alt="Saint Helena" height="11" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Saint_Helena.svg" src="../../images/81/8198.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/s/Saint_Helena.htm" title="Saint Helena">Saint Helena</a> (<a href="../../wp/u/United_Kingdom.htm" title="United Kingdom">UK</a>)</td>
<td align="right">410</td>
<td align="right">7,317</td>
<td align="right">17.8</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Jamestown</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/10/1045.png.htm" title="Senegal"><img alt="Senegal" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Senegal.svg" src="../../images/10/1045.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/s/Senegal.htm" title="Senegal">Senegal</a></td>
<td align="right">196,190</td>
<td align="right">10,589,571</td>
<td align="right">54.0</td>
<td><a href="../../wp/d/Dakar.htm" title="Dakar">Dakar</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/15/1537.png.htm" title="Sierra Leone"><img alt="Sierra Leone" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Sierra_Leone.svg" src="../../images/15/1537.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/s/Sierra_Leone.htm" title="Sierra Leone">Sierra Leone</a></td>
<td align="right">71,740</td>
<td align="right">5,614,743</td>
<td align="right">78.3</td>
<td><a href="../../wp/f/Freetown.htm" title="Freetown">Freetown</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/5/549.png.htm" title="Togo"><img alt="Togo" height="14" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Togo.svg" src="../../images/5/549.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/t/Togo.htm" title="Togo">Togo</a></td>
<td align="right">56,785</td>
<td align="right">5,285,501</td>
<td align="right">93.1</td>
<td><a href="../../wp/l/Lom%25C3%25A9.htm" title="Lomé">Lomé</a></td>
</tr>
<tr style="font-weight:bold;">
<td>Total</td>
<td align="right">30,368,609</td>
<td align="right">843,705,143</td>
<td align="right">27.8</td>
</tr>
</table>
<p>
<br />
<p><a id="See_also" name="See_also"></a><div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Africa"</div>
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<h2>Africa Child Sponsorship Country List</h2>
<p>Projects in 44 countries. Click on each name below for details of our established activities in that country. Please note that some of these pages are not updated in respect of Community AIDS orphan projects, see <a href="../../wp/p/Projects_By_Country.htm">Africa AIDS Orphan projects</a></p><img src="../../wp/m/Map_Africa.gif" alt="Africa Map" usemap="#where_we_help_map">
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<area alt="Algeria" shape="POLY" coords="131,18,127,24,97,31,91,39,102,45,117,57,146,81,161,72,177,64,178,62,170,52,173,45,170,32,171,29,165,23,165,14,168,12,168,5,164,2,147,2,137,2,130,4,129,11,131,18" href="../../wp/a/Algeria_A.htm">
<area alt="Angola" shape="POLY" coords="218,196,208,200,202,196,198,190,192,190,186,188,180,193,180,201,181,204,183,204,185,210,185,215,178,223,178,231,177,232,177,239,180,238,182,236,189,241,194,238,201,238,211,241,221,244,230,244,229,240,226,235,224,230,224,223,234,216,226,209,224,205,223,199,218,196" href="../../wp/a/Angola_A.htm">
<area alt="Benin" shape="POLY" coords="130,134,134,134,135,123,139,116,138,110,133,109,130,111,130,118,130,127,130,134" href="../../wp/b/Benin_B.htm">
<area alt="Botswana" shape="POLY" coords="227,245,224,246,221,252,221,261,216,265,216,275,219,283,223,284,232,276,238,279,241,278,243,275,245,272,256,262,248,252,238,245,232,248,227,245" href="../../wp/b/Botswana_B.htm">
<area alt="Burkina Faso" shape="POLY" coords="116,97,106,103,97,112,98,114,104,117,115,111,117,113,125,110,127,106,124,97,116,97" href="../../wp/b/Burkina_Faso_A.htm">
<area alt="Burundi" shape="CIRCLE" coords="264,180, 7" href="../../wp/b/Burundi_A.htm">
<area alt="Cameroon" shape="POLY" coords="173,157,181,154,184,155,187,153,195,154,195,153,190,140,192,131,191,127,189,122,192,118,191,116,181,125,175,137,170,134,166,138,167,139,161,147,161,150,163,149,165,148,165,155,170,154,172,154,173,157" href="../../wp/c/Cameroon_A.htm">
<area alt="Cape Verde" shape="POLY" coords="0,83,1,85,5,87,9,85,11,81,9,77,5,75,1,77,0,79,0,83" href="../../wp/c/Cape_Verde_A.htm">
<area alt="Central African Republic" shape="POLY" coords="192,141,195,147,196,150,198,151,208,147,216,141,224,143,236,140,248,139,248,138,239,133,231,126,231,121,226,118,221,123,213,124,201,133,194,137,192,141" href="../../wp/c/Central_African_Republic_A.htm">
<area alt="Chad" shape="POLY" coords="194,68,199,79,196,85,197,93,190,99,188,103,189,106,193,108,194,114,195,118,192,123,195,132,214,124,223,116,226,113,225,110,225,100,231,95,232,88,231,81,223,79,214,75,200,63,194,68" href="../../wp/c/Chad_A.htm">
<area alt="Cote d'Ivoire" shape="POLY" coords="105,139,105,129,109,121,96,115,89,113,83,114,83,121,80,126,85,136,82,141,82,142,88,138,94,138,99,137,105,139" href="../../wp/c/Cote_Divoire.htm">
<area alt="Democratic Republic of the Congo" shape="POLY" coords="206,149,217,141,228,144,235,141,240,142,248,139,257,144,265,143,271,152,263,160,263,167,259,174,261,177,262,183,269,198,260,200,257,208,260,215,266,217,265,224,259,222,252,216,245,217,239,214,231,214,226,209,224,198,220,196,214,197,209,200,199,189,195,189,187,187,179,191,175,184,181,180,189,181,197,176,199,169,208,158,205,155" href="../../wp/c/Congo.htm">
<area alt="Egypt" shape="POLY" coords="237,67,238,69,242,70,254,70,275,68,283,62,272,45,274,44,274,34,269,27,260,29,250,32,247,29,234,29,234,33,233,36,236,51,237,67" href="../../wp/e/Egypt_A.htm">
<area alt="Equatorial Guinea" shape="CIRCLE" coords="167,159, 7" href="../../wp/e/Equatorial_Guinea_A.htm">
<area alt="Ethiopia" shape="POLY" coords="301,100,294,103,287,116,278,128,294,137,309,147,315,142,319,144,334,136,341,131,346,125,344,123,329,123,313,102,305,102,301,100" href="../../wp/e/Ethiopia_A.htm">
<area alt="Gambia, The" shape="POLY" coords="37,89,43,91,50,91,54,93,51,98,38,98,37,92,37,89" href="../../wp/g/Gambia_A.htm">
<area alt="Ghana" shape="POLY" coords="122,135,122,127,124,120,122,114,114,114,108,118,111,123,107,128,109,135,106,141,110,141,115,139,122,135" href="../../wp/g/Ghana_A.htm">
<area alt="Guinea" shape="POLY" coords="55,116,66,111,71,114,74,120,79,124,81,121,82,112,79,104,71,104,58,102,47,109,52,116,55,116" href="../../wp/g/Guinea_A.htm">
<area alt="Guinea-Bissau" shape="POLY" coords="46,109,56,102,49,99,44,98,40,99,39,100,45,107,46,109" href="../../wp/g/Guinea_Bissau.htm">
<area alt="Kenya" shape="POLY" coords="321,169,317,164,316,149,319,145,314,145,308,150,304,147,298,145,285,143,289,157,283,165,289,170,296,175,312,182,315,175,321,169" href="../../wp/k/Kenya_A.htm">
<area alt="Lesotho" shape="CIRCLE" coords="253,299, 8" href="../../wp/l/Lesotho_A.htm">
<area alt="Liberia" shape="POLY" coords="79,141,83,134,73,122,68,126,64,130,79,141" href="../../wp/l/Liberia_A.htm">
<area alt="Madagascar" shape="POLY" coords="349,225,347,228,346,231,339,234,331,237,329,244,329,251,328,258,325,263,325,271,328,277,332,284,345,278,351,257,353,256,357,245,359,237,360,221,357,217,354,218,349,225" href="../../wp/m/Madagascar_A.htm">
<area alt="Malawi" shape="POLY" coords="286,208,282,208,277,223,277,227,283,230,287,236,291,237,294,230,288,224,286,216,287,212,286,208" href="../../wp/m/Malawi_A.htm">
<area alt="Mali" shape="POLY" coords="75,87,67,90,67,96,70,100,70,103,79,103,80,101,84,111,89,110,91,110,94,111,98,106,104,102,116,95,123,96,130,93,135,95,140,95,144,88,145,81,134,75,124,66,114,57,104,49,102,50,102,59,99,64,99,72,98,77,97,80,99,87,94,91,84,91,75,87" href="../../wp/m/Mali_A.htm">
<area alt="Mauritius" shape="POLY" coords="393,258,395,263,400,265,405,263,405,263,405,253,405,253,400,251,395,253,393,258" href="../../wp/m/Mauritius_A.htm">
<area alt="Morocco" shape="POLY" coords="106,8,95,10,92,16,90,22,85,25,82,29,74,30,83,34,88,36,91,36,96,29,113,25,129,17,128,8,123,3,115,3,113,0,110,2,106,8" href="../../wp/m/Morocco_A.htm">
<area alt="Mozambique" shape="POLY" coords="316,211,310,216,306,214,299,214,292,216,288,219,290,226,295,231,293,233,293,237,289,240,287,234,279,228,267,232,267,233,271,235,275,236,281,241,280,245,279,248,277,257,271,265,275,273,274,276,274,282,275,284,277,284,280,277,291,273,291,266,292,265,291,260,288,255,295,250,301,244,308,242,318,233,318,226,317,223,316,219,316,211" href="../../wp/m/Mozambique_A.htm">
<area alt="Namibia" shape="POLY" coords="191,279,192,280,199,292,207,293,214,291,214,286,217,281,214,273,214,264,219,260,219,250,220,245,214,244,209,242,203,242,197,240,192,242,187,243,182,239,176,239,178,249,188,263,191,279" href="../../wp/n/Namibia_A.htm">
<area alt="Niger" shape="POLY" coords="180,63,164,74,155,79,147,81,142,96,134,96,127,98,131,105,138,109,141,107,143,104,150,101,156,106,158,104,164,107,171,108,176,103,181,105,195,92,195,85,196,79,193,71,187,65,180,63" href="../../wp/n/Niger_A.htm">
<area alt="Nigeria" shape="POLY" coords="161,144,164,137,171,131,173,133,176,132,177,129,177,127,184,119,192,110,185,106,180,108,176,106,171,110,169,108,161,108,157,108,155,109,150,104,144,105,141,111,141,116,135,125,134,131,135,136,143,138,149,144,161,144" href="../../wp/n/Nigeria_A.htm">
<area alt="Rwanda" shape="CIRCLE" coords="262,170, 7" href="../../wp/r/Rwanda_A.htm">
<area alt="Senegal" shape="POLY" coords="47,80,39,87,45,91,50,89,55,93,52,97,53,98,68,100,61,84,47,80" href="../../wp/s/Senegal_A.htm">
<area alt="Sierra Leone" shape="POLY" coords="63,130,63,128,67,125,71,121,69,116,65,114,62,116,59,117,56,117,54,119,57,122,57,126,60,128,63,130" href="../../wp/s/Sierra_Leone_A.htm">
<area alt="Somalia" shape="POLY" coords="330,115,324,112,329,120,337,122,345,122,348,125,336,138,329,142,321,145,318,151,320,157,319,161,323,168,325,162,329,159,332,155,338,153,349,141,353,134,356,125,358,124,361,116,361,106,363,104,359,103,352,106,346,109,337,111,330,115" href="../../wp/s/Somalia_A.htm">
<area alt="South Africa" shape="POLY" coords="274,295,276,291,276,287,271,290,268,284,272,280,273,273,267,263,258,263,247,273,246,275,241,280,235,281,232,279,222,287,219,286,215,286,210,296,205,294,201,294,203,302,205,303,208,310,207,315,208,321,214,325,216,325,217,323,224,322,230,319,235,322,239,321,242,322,245,320,249,319,261,307,274,295" href="../../wp/s/South_Africa_A.htm">
<area alt="Sudan" shape="POLY" coords="235,89,232,97,227,103,227,109,228,112,228,115,232,119,233,125,246,137,254,141,261,143,267,146,269,146,270,145,276,145,282,142,283,141,290,142,284,135,276,128,283,119,288,111,291,101,291,90,298,82,294,81,293,78,292,72,289,67,286,63,277,69,258,69,252,73,244,72,238,73,237,77,233,81,233,85,235,89" href="../../wp/s/Sudan_A.htm">
<area alt="Swaziland" shape="CIRCLE" coords="272,286, 9" href="../../wp/s/Swaziland_A.htm">
<area alt="Tanzania" shape="POLY" coords="313,188,305,180,295,174,287,171,280,166,270,172,268,179,266,182,262,184,266,191,269,199,280,202,289,210,288,212,295,214,303,214,303,212,310,213,314,209,311,199,311,193,313,188" href="../../wp/t/Tanzania_A.htm">
<area alt="Togo" shape="POLY" coords="128,135,130,120,129,114,129,109,125,115,124,120,122,125,122,134,125,136,128,132,128,135" href="../../wp/t/Togo_A.htm">
<area alt="Tunisia" shape="POLY" coords="166,22,173,28,176,21,175,17,177,11,176,8,177,4,172,2,169,3,167,14,166,22" href="../../wp/t/Tunisia_A.htm">
<area alt="Uganda" shape="POLY" coords="271,146,269,155,263,162,262,165,264,168,272,168,287,156,283,146,277,146,271,146" href="../../wp/u/Uganda_A.htm">
<area alt="Zambia" shape="POLY" coords="260,202,258,211,264,214,266,220,260,225,253,217,243,216,235,215,226,224,228,235,232,246,236,242,243,244,259,235,267,230,276,227,278,219,281,212,281,205,278,205,275,205,273,202,266,200,260,202" href="../../wp/z/Zambia_A.htm">
<area alt="Zimbabwe" shape="POLY" coords="279,240,263,235,253,239,244,246,252,253,259,262,268,262,270,264,274,259,276,253,279,240" href="../../wp/z/Zimbabwe_A.htm">
</map><p class="country_links"><a href="../../wp/a/Algeria_A.htm">Algeria</a> <a href="../../wp/a/Angola_A.htm">Angola</a> <a href="../../wp/b/Benin_B.htm">Benin</a> <a href="../../wp/b/Botswana_B.htm">Botswana</a> <a href="../../wp/b/Burkina_Faso_A.htm">Burkina Faso</a> <a href="../../wp/b/Burundi_A.htm">Burundi</a> <a href="../../wp/c/Cote_Divoire.htm">Côte d'Ivoire</a> <a href="../../wp/c/Cameroon_A.htm">Cameroon</a> <a href="../../wp/c/Cape_Verde_A.htm">Cape Verde</a> <a href="../../wp/c/Central_African_Republic_A.htm">Central African Republic</a> <a href="../../wp/c/Chad_A.htm">Chad</a> <a href="../../wp/c/Congo.htm">Democratic Republic of the Congo</a> <a href="../../wp/e/Egypt_A.htm">Egypt</a> <a href="../../wp/e/Equatorial_Guinea_A.htm">Equatorial Guinea</a> <a href="../../wp/e/Ethiopia_A.htm">Ethiopia</a> <a href="../../wp/g/Gambia_A.htm">Gambia, The</a> <a href="../../wp/g/Ghana_A.htm">Ghana</a> <a href="../../wp/g/Guinea_A.htm">Guinea</a> <a href="../../wp/g/Guinea_Bissau.htm">Guinea-Bissau</a> <a href="../../wp/k/Kenya_A.htm">Kenya</a> <a href="../../wp/l/Lesotho_A.htm">Lesotho</a> <a href="../../wp/l/Liberia_A.htm">Liberia</a> <a href="../../wp/m/Madagascar_A.htm">Madagascar</a> <a href="../../wp/m/Malawi_A.htm">Malawi</a> <a href="../../wp/m/Mali_A.htm">Mali</a> <a href="../../wp/m/Mauritius_A.htm">Mauritius</a> <a href="../../wp/m/Morocco_A.htm">Morocco</a> <a href="../../wp/m/Mozambique_A.htm">Mozambique</a> <a href="../../wp/n/Namibia_A.htm">Namibia</a> <a href="../../wp/n/Niger_A.htm">Niger</a> <a href="../../wp/n/Nigeria_A.htm">Nigeria</a> <a href="../../wp/r/Rwanda_A.htm">Rwanda</a> <a href="../../wp/s/Senegal_A.htm">Senegal</a> <a href="../../wp/s/Sierra_Leone_A.htm">Sierra Leone</a> <a href="../../wp/s/Somalia_A.htm">Somalia</a> <a href="../../wp/s/South_Africa_A.htm">South Africa</a> <a href="../../wp/s/Sudan_A.htm">Sudan</a> <a href="../../wp/s/Swaziland_A.htm">Swaziland</a> <a href="../../wp/t/Tanzania_A.htm">Tanzania</a> <a href="../../wp/t/Togo_A.htm">Togo</a> <a href="../../wp/t/Tunisia_A.htm">Tunisia</a> <a href="../../wp/u/Uganda_A.htm">Uganda</a> <a href="../../wp/z/Zambia_A.htm">Zambia</a> <a href="../../wp/z/Zimbabwe_A.htm">Zimbabwe</a> </p>
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<div align="center"> <h2>Africa Charity Aids Projects</h2>
<p>SOS Children is the world's largest charity dedicated to giving a new family to orphans and supporting the remaining family of children orphaned by Aids. We help Aids Orphans and other orphaned children in almost every country in Africa. Details of our charity's projects helping Aids Orphans in the community in Africa can be found by following these links:
</p><p><a href="../../wp/a/Aids_Africa.htm" title="General Aids Africa Information">General Aids Africa Information</a></p><p>
<a href="../../wp/o/Our_Strategy.htm" title="Aids Orphan Strategy">Strategy for Aids Orphans</a><br>
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<p><a href="../../wp/a/Aids_Angola_Africa.htm">Aids Orphans in Angola</a><br /><a href="../../wp/a/Aids_Benin_Africa.htm">Aids Orphans in Benin</a><br /><a href="../../wp/a/Aids_Botswana_Africa.htm">Aids Orphans in Botswana</a><br /><a href="../../wp/a/Aids_Burundi_Africa.htm">Aids Orphans in Burundi</a><br /><a href="../../wp/a/Aids_Cameroon_Africa.htm">Aids Orphans in Cameroon</a><br /><a href="../../wp/a/Aids_Central_African_Republic.htm">Aids Orphans in the Central African Republic</a><br /><a href="../../wp/a/Aids_Congo_Africa.htm">Aids Orphans in Congo</a><br /><a href="../../wp/a/Aids_Ethiopia_Africa.htm">Aids Orphans in Ethiopia</a><br /><a href="../../wp/a/Aids_Guinea_Africa.htm">Aids Orphans in Guinea</a><br /><a href="../../wp/a/Aids_Guinea_Bissau_Africa.htm">Aids Orphans in Guinea Bissau</a><br /><a href="../../wp/a/Aids_Ivory_Coast_Africa.htm">Aids Orphans in the Ivory Coast</a><br /><a href="../../wp/a/Aids_Kenya_Africa.htm">Aids Orphans in Kenya</a><br /><a href="../../wp/a/Aids_Lesotho_Africa.htm">Aids Orphans in Lesotho</a><br /><a href="../../wp/a/Aids_Liberia_Africa.htm">Aids Orphans in Liberia</a><br /><a href="../../wp/a/Aids_Madagascar_Africa.htm">Aids Orphans in Madagascar</a><br /><a href="../../wp/a/Aids_Malawi_Africa.htm">Aids Orphans in Malawi</a><br /><a href="../../wp/a/Aids_Mali_Africa.htm">Aids Orphans in Mali</a><br /><a href="../../wp/a/Aids_Mozambique_Africa.htm">Aids Orphans in Mozambique</a><br /><a href="../../wp/a/Aids_Namibia_Africa.htm">Aids Orphans in Namibia</a><br /><a href="../../wp/a/Aids_Niger_Africa.htm">Aids Orphans in Niger</a><br /><a href="../../wp/a/Aids_Nigeria_Africa.htm">Aids Orphans in Nigeria</a><br /><a href="../../wp/a/Aids_Senegal_Africa.htm">Aids Orphans in Senegal</a><br /><a href="../../wp/a/Aids_Sierra_Leone_Africa.htm">Aids Orphans in Sierra Leone</a><br /><a href="../../wp/a/Aids_Angola_Africa.htm">Aids Orphans in Somalia</a><br /><a href="../../wp/a/Aids_Uganda_Africa.htm">Aids Orphans in Uganda</a><br /><a href="../../wp/a/Aids_Zambia_Africa.htm">Aids Orphans in Zambia</a><br /><a href="../../wp/a/Aids_Zimbabwe_Africa.htm">Aids Orphans in Zimbabwe</a></p>
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<h2>Africa Child Sponsorship Country List</h2>
<p>We have children in our care in 44 countries. Click on the country on the Africa map or each name below for details of our established orphan communities in that country. Please note that some of these pages are not updated in respect of Community AIDS orphan projects, for which the above links are better.</p><img src="../../wp/m/Map_Africa.gif" alt="Africa Map" usemap="#where_we_help_map">
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<area alt="Africa: Algeria" shape="POLY" coords="131,18,127,24,97,31,91,39,102,45,117,57,146,81,161,72,177,64,178,62,170,52,173,45,170,32,171,29,165,23,165,14,168,12,168,5,164,2,147,2,137,2,130,4,129,11,131,18" href="../../wp/a/Algeria_A.htm">
<area alt="Africa: Angola" shape="POLY" coords="218,196,208,200,202,196,198,190,192,190,186,188,180,193,180,201,181,204,183,204,185,210,185,215,178,223,178,231,177,232,177,239,180,238,182,236,189,241,194,238,201,238,211,241,221,244,230,244,229,240,226,235,224,230,224,223,234,216,226,209,224,205,223,199,218,196" href="../../wp/a/Angola_A.htm">
<area alt="Africa: Benin" shape="POLY" coords="130,134,134,134,135,123,139,116,138,110,133,109,130,111,130,118,130,127,130,134" href="../../wp/b/Benin_B.htm">
<area alt="Africa: Botswana" shape="POLY" coords="227,245,224,246,221,252,221,261,216,265,216,275,219,283,223,284,232,276,238,279,241,278,243,275,245,272,256,262,248,252,238,245,232,248,227,245" href="../../wp/b/Botswana_B.htm">
<area alt="Africa: Burkina Faso" shape="POLY" coords="116,97,106,103,97,112,98,114,104,117,115,111,117,113,125,110,127,106,124,97,116,97" href="../../wp/b/Burkina_Faso_A.htm">
<area alt="Africa: Burundi" shape="CIRCLE" coords="264,180, 7" href="../../wp/b/Burundi_A.htm">
<area alt="Africa: Cameroon" shape="POLY" coords="173,157,181,154,184,155,187,153,195,154,195,153,190,140,192,131,191,127,189,122,192,118,191,116,181,125,175,137,170,134,166,138,167,139,161,147,161,150,163,149,165,148,165,155,170,154,172,154,173,157" href="../../wp/c/Cameroon_A.htm">
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<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">African American literature</h1>
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<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.Language_and_literature.Literature_types.htm">Literature types</a></h3>
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<p><b>African American literature</b> is <a href="../../wp/l/Literature.htm" title="Literature">literature</a> written by, about, and sometimes specifically for <!--del_lnk--> African Americans. The <!--del_lnk--> genre began during the 18th and 19th centuries with writers such as poet <!--del_lnk--> Phillis Wheatley and orator <a href="../../wp/f/Frederick_Douglass.htm" title="Frederick Douglass">Frederick Douglass</a>, reached an early high point with the <!--del_lnk--> Harlem Renaissance, and continues today with authors such as <!--del_lnk--> Toni Morrison, <!--del_lnk--> Maya Angelou and <!--del_lnk--> Walter Mosley being ranked among the top writers in the United States. Among the themes and issues explored in African American literature are the role of African Americans within the larger American society, African American culture, <!--del_lnk--> racism, <a href="../../wp/s/Slavery.htm" title="Slavery">slavery</a>, and <!--del_lnk--> equality.<p>As African Americans' place in American society has changed over the centuries, so, too, have the foci of African American literature. Before the <a href="../../wp/a/American_Civil_War.htm" title="American Civil War">American Civil War</a>, African American literature primarily focused on the issue of <a href="../../wp/s/Slavery.htm" title="Slavery">slavery</a>, as indicated by the popular subgenre of <!--del_lnk--> slave narratives. At the turn of the 20th century, books by authors such as <!--del_lnk--> W.E.B. DuBois and <!--del_lnk--> Booker T. Washington debated whether to confront or appease racist attitudes in the United States. During the <!--del_lnk--> American Civil Rights movement, authors like <!--del_lnk--> Richard Wright and <!--del_lnk--> Gwendolyn Brooks wrote about issues of <!--del_lnk--> racial segregation and <!--del_lnk--> black nationalism. Today, African American literature has become accepted as an integral part of <!--del_lnk--> American literature, with books such as <i><!--del_lnk--> Roots: The Saga of an American Family</i> by <!--del_lnk--> Alex Haley, <i><!--del_lnk--> The Colour Purple</i> by <!--del_lnk--> Alice Walker, and <i><!--del_lnk--> Beloved</i> by Toni Morrison achieving both best-selling and award-winning status.<p>
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</script><a id="Characteristics" name="Characteristics"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Characteristics</span></h2>
<p>African American literature tends to focus on themes of particular interest to <!--del_lnk--> Black people, for example, the role of African Americans within the larger American society and issues such as <!--del_lnk--> African American culture, <!--del_lnk--> racism, <a href="../../wp/r/Religion.htm" title="Religion">religion</a>, <a href="../../wp/s/Slavery.htm" title="Slavery">slavery</a>, freedom, and <!--del_lnk--> equality. This focus began with the earliest African American writings, such as the slave narrative genre in the early 19th century, and continues through the work of many modern-day authors.<p>Another characteristic of African American literature is its strong tradition of incorporating oral poetry into itself. There are many examples of oral poetry in African American culture, including <!--del_lnk--> spirituals, African American <!--del_lnk--> gospel music, <!--del_lnk--> blues and <a href="../../wp/r/Rapping.htm" title="Rapping">rap</a>. This oral poetry also shows up in the African American tradition of <!--del_lnk--> Christian <!--del_lnk--> sermons, which make use of deliberate repetition, cadence and alliteration. All of these examples of oral poetry have made their way into African American literature.<p>However, while these characteristics exist on many levels of African American literature, they are not the exclusive definition of the genre. As with any type of literature, there are disagreements as to the genre's definitions and which authors and works should be included. Some people include in African American literature writings by African Americans which lack black characters and situations and are not particularly targeted at black audiences, such as, for example, much of the earlier work of bestselling novelist <!--del_lnk--> Frank Yerby and that of <!--del_lnk--> science fiction writer <!--del_lnk--> Samuel R. Delany. Yerby, whose historical fiction with white protagonists earned him the title "king of the costume novel," became the first African American to write a bestselling novel, <i>The Foxes of Harrow</i>. The work of Delany, who is outspokenly <!--del_lnk--> gay, often has treated issues of sexual identity and social bias. While Delany does not specifically address these issues in an African American context, many consider him a leading voice in African American literature.<p><a id="History" name="History"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">History</span></h2>
<p><a id="Early_African_American_literature" name="Early_African_American_literature"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Early African American literature</span></h3>
<p>Just as <!--del_lnk--> African American history predates the emergence of the <a href="../../wp/u/United_States.htm" title="United States">United States</a> as an independent country, so too does African American literature have similarly deep roots.<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:162px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/0/73.jpg.htm" title="Phillis Wheatley"><img alt="Phillis Wheatley" height="188" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Phillis_Wheatley.jpg" src="../../images/0/73.jpg" width="160" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/0/73.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Phillis Wheatley</div>
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<p>Among the first prominent African American authors was poet <!--del_lnk--> Phillis Wheatley (1753–84), who published her book <i>Poems on Various Subjects</i> in 1773, three years before American independence. Born in <a href="../../wp/s/Senegal.htm" title="Senegal">Senegal</a>, <a href="../../wp/a/Africa.htm" title="Africa">Africa</a>, Wheatley was captured and sold into <a href="../../wp/s/Slavery.htm" title="Slavery">slavery</a> at the age of seven. Brought to America, she was owned by a Boston merchant. Even though she initially spoke no English, by the time she was sixteen she had mastered the language. Her poetry was praised by many of the leading figures of the <!--del_lnk--> American Revolution, including <a href="../../wp/g/George_Washington.htm" title="George Washington">George Washington</a>, who personally thanked her for a poem she wrote in his honour. Despite this, many white people found it hard to believe that a Black woman could be so intelligent as to write poetry. As a result, Wheatley had to defend herself in court by proving she actually wrote her own poetry. Some critics cite Wheatley's successful defense as the first recognition of African American literature.<p>Another early African American author was <!--del_lnk--> Jupiter Hammon (1711–1806?). Hammon, considered the first published Black writer in America, published his poem "An Evening Thought: Salvation by Christ with Penitential Cries" as a <!--del_lnk--> broadside in early 1761. In 1778 he wrote an <!--del_lnk--> ode to <!--del_lnk--> Phillis Wheatley, in which he discussed their shared humanity and common bonds. In 1786, Hammon gave his well-known <!--del_lnk--> Address to the Negroes of the State of New York. Hammon wrote the speech at age seventy-six after a lifetime of <a href="../../wp/s/Slavery.htm" title="Slavery">slavery</a> and it contains his famous quote, "If we should ever get to <!--del_lnk--> Heaven, we shall find nobody to reproach us for being black, or for being slaves." Hammon's speech also promoted the idea of a gradual <!--del_lnk--> emancipation as a way of ending slavery. It is thought that Hammon stated this plan because he knew that slavery was so entrenched in American society that an immediate emancipation of all slaves would be difficult to achieve. Hammon apparently remained a slave until his death. His speech was later reprinted by several groups opposed to slavery.<p><!--del_lnk--> William Wells Brown (1814–84) and <!--del_lnk--> Victor Séjour (1817–74) produced the earliest works of fiction by African American writers. Séjour was born free in <!--del_lnk--> New Orleans and moved to <a href="../../wp/f/France.htm" title="France">France</a> at the age of 19. There he published his <!--del_lnk--> short story "<!--del_lnk--> Le Mulâtre" ("The <!--del_lnk--> Mulatto") in 1837; the story represents the first known fiction by an African American, but written in <a href="../../wp/f/French_language.htm" title="French language">French</a> and published in a French journal, it had apparently no influence on later American literature. Séjour never returned to African American themes in his subsequent works. Brown, on the other hand, was a prominent <!--del_lnk--> abolitionist, <!--del_lnk--> lecturer, <!--del_lnk--> novelist, <!--del_lnk--> playwright, and <!--del_lnk--> historian. Born into slavery in the <a href="../../wp/s/Southern_United_States.htm" title="Southern United States">Southern United States</a>, Brown escaped to the North, where he worked for abolitionist causes and was a prolific writer. Brown wrote what is considered to be the first novel by an African American, <i><!--del_lnk--> Clotel; or, The President's Daughter</i> (1853). The novel is based on what was at that time considered to be a rumor about <a href="../../wp/t/Thomas_Jefferson.htm" title="Thomas Jefferson">Thomas Jefferson</a> fathering a daughter with his slave, <!--del_lnk--> Sally Hemings.<p>However, because the novel was published in England, the book is not considered the first African American novel published in the United States. This honour instead goes to <!--del_lnk--> Harriet Wilson, whose novel <i>Our Nig</i> (1859) details the difficult lives of Northern free Blacks.<p><a id="Slave_narratives" name="Slave_narratives"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Slave narratives</span></h3>
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<p>A subgenre of African American literature which began in the middle of the 19th century is the slave narrative. At the time, the controversy over <a href="../../wp/s/Slavery.htm" title="Slavery">slavery</a> led to impassioned literature on both sides of the issue, with books like <!--del_lnk--> Uncle Tom's Cabin (1852) representing the abolitionist view of the evils of slavery, while the so-called <!--del_lnk--> Anti-Tom literature by white, southern writers like <!--del_lnk--> William Gilmore Simms represented the pro-slavery viewpoint.<p>To present the true reality of slavery, a number of former slaves such as <!--del_lnk--> Harriet Jacobs and <a href="../../wp/f/Frederick_Douglass.htm" title="Frederick Douglass">Frederick Douglass</a> wrote slave narratives, which soon became a mainstay of African American literature. Some six thousand former slaves from <a href="../../wp/n/North_America.htm" title="North America">North America</a> and the <!--del_lnk--> Caribbean wrote accounts of their lives, with about 150 of these published as separate books or pamphlets.<p>Slave narratives can be broadly categorized into three distinct forms: tales of religious redemption, tales to inspire the abolitionist struggle, and tales of progress. The tales written to inspire the abolitionist struggle are the most famous because they tend to have a strong autobiographical motif. Many of them are now recognized as the most literary of all 19th-century writings by African Americans, with two of the best-known being Frederick Douglass's autobiography and <i><!--del_lnk--> Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl</i> by <!--del_lnk--> Harriet Jacobs (1861).<p><a id="Frederick_Douglass" name="Frederick_Douglass"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Frederick Douglass</span></h3>
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<p>While Frederick Douglass (c. 1818–95) first came to public attention as an orator and as the author of his autobiographical slave narrative, he eventually became the most prominent African American of his time and one of the most influential lecturers and authors in American history.<p>Born into slavery in Maryland, Douglass eventually escaped and worked for numerous abolitionist causes. He also edited a number of newspapers. Douglass' best-known work is his autobiography, <i>Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave</i>, which was published in 1845. At the time some critics attacked the book, not believing that a black man could have written such an eloquent work. Despite this, the book was an immediate <!--del_lnk--> bestseller.<p>Douglas later revised and expanded his autobiography, which was republished as <i>My Bondage and My Freedom</i> (1855). In addition to serving in a number of political posts during his life, he also wrote numerous influential articles and essays.<p><a id="Post-slavery_era" name="Post-slavery_era"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Post-slavery era</span></h3>
<p>After the end of slavery and the American Civil War, a number of African American authors continued to write nonfiction works about the condition of African Americans in the country.<p>Among the most prominent of these writers is <!--del_lnk--> W.E.B. Du Bois (1868–1963), one of the original founders of the <!--del_lnk--> NAACP. At the turn of the century, Du Bois published a highly influential collection of essays titled <!--del_lnk--> The Souls of Black Folk. The book's essays on race were groundbreaking and drew from DuBois's personal experiences to describe how African Americans lived in American society. The book contains Du Bois's famous quote: "The problem of the twentieth century is the problem of the colour-line." Du Bois believed that African Americans should, because of their common interests, work together to battle prejudice and inequity.<p>Another prominent author of this time period is <!--del_lnk--> Booker T. Washington (1856–1915), who in many ways represented opposite views from Du Bois. Washington was an educator and the founder of the <!--del_lnk--> Tuskegee Institute, a Black college in Alabama. Among his published works are <i>Up From Slavery</i> (1901), <i>The Future of the American Negro</i> (1899), <i>Tuskegee and Its People</i> (1905), and <i>My Larger Education</i> (1911). In contrast to Du Bois, who adopted a more confrontational attitude toward ending racial strife in America, Washington believed that Blacks should first lift themselves up and prove themselves the equal of whites before asking for an end to racism. While this viewpoint was popular among some Blacks (and many whites) at the time, Washington's political views would later fall out of fashion.<p>A third writer who gained attention during this period in the US, though not American, was the <a href="../../wp/j/Jamaica.htm" title="Jamaica">Jamaican</a> <!--del_lnk--> Marcus Garvey (1887–1940), a publisher, journalist, and crusader for Black <a href="../../wp/n/Nationalism.htm" title="Nationalism">nationalism</a>. He is best known as a champion of Black nationalism and the "back-to-Africa" movement, which encouraged people of African ancestry to return to their ancestral homeland. He wrote a number of essays and nonfiction books.<p><!--del_lnk--> Paul Lawrence Dunbar, who often wrote in the rural, <!--del_lnk--> black dialect of the day, was the first African American poet to gain national prominence. His first book of poetry, <i>Oak and Ivy</i>, was published in 1893. Much of Dunbar's work, such as <i>When Malindy Sings</i> (1906), which includes photographs taken by the <!--del_lnk--> Hampton Institute Camera Club, and <i>Joggin' Erlong</i> (1906) provide revealing glimpses into the lives of rural African-Americans of the day. Though Dunbar died young, he was a prolific poet, essayist, novelist (among them <i>The Uncalled</i>, 1898 and <i>TheFanatics</i>, 1901) and short story writer.<p>Even though Du Bois, Washington, and Garvey were the leading African American intellectuals and authors of their time, other African American writers also rose to prominence. Among these is <!--del_lnk--> Charles W. Chesnutt, a well-known essayist.<p><a id="Harlem_Renaissance" name="Harlem_Renaissance"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Harlem Renaissance</span></h3>
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<p>The <!--del_lnk--> Harlem Renaissance from 1920 to 1940 brought new attention to African American literature. While the Harlem Renaissance, based in the African American community in <!--del_lnk--> Harlem in <a href="../../wp/n/New_York_City.htm" title="New York City">New York City</a>, existed as a larger flowering of social thought and culture—with numerous Black artists, musicians, and others producing classic works in fields from jazz to theatre—the renaissance is perhaps best known for the literature that came out of it.<p>Among the most famous writers of the renaissance is poet <!--del_lnk--> Langston Hughes. Hughes first received attention in the 1922 poetry collection, <i>The Book of American Negro Poetry</i>. This book, edited by James Weldon Johnson, featured the work of the period's most talented poets (including, among others, <!--del_lnk--> Claude McKay, who also published three novels, <i>Home to Harlem</i>, <i>Banjo</i> and <i>Banana Bottom</i> and a collection of short stories). In 1926, Hughes published a collection of poetry, <i>The Weary Blues</i>, and in 1930 a novel, <i>Not Without Laughter</i>. Perhaps, Hughes' most famous poem is "The Negro Speaks of Rivers," which he wrote as a young teen. His single, most recognized character is Jesse B. Simple, a plainspoken, pragmatic <!--del_lnk--> Harlemite whose comedic observations appeared in Hughes's columns for the <i><!--del_lnk--> Chicago Defender</i> and the <i><!--del_lnk--> New York Post</i>. <i>Simple Speaks His Mind</i> (1950) is, perhaps, the best-known collection of Simple stories published in book form. Until his death in 1967, Hughes published nine volumes of poetry, eight books of short stories, two novels, and a number of <!--del_lnk--> plays, <!--del_lnk--> children's books, and translations.<p>Another famous writer of the renaissance is novelist <!--del_lnk--> Zora Neale Hurston, author of the classic novel <i>Their Eyes Were Watching God</i> (1937). Altogether, Hurston wrote 14 books which ranged from <a href="../../wp/a/Anthropology.htm" title="Anthropology">anthropology</a> to <!--del_lnk--> short stories to novel-length fiction. Because of Hurston's gender and the fact that her work was not seen as socially or politically relevant, her writings fell into obscurity for decades. Hurston's work was rediscovered in the 1970s in a famous essay by <!--del_lnk--> Alice Walker, who found in Hurston a role model for all female African American writers.<p>While Hurston and Hughes are the two most influential writers to come out of the Harlem Renaissance, a number of other writers also became well known during this period. They include <!--del_lnk--> Jean Toomer, who wrote <i>Cane</i>, a famous collection of stories, poems, and sketches about rural and urban Black life, and <!--del_lnk--> Dorothy West, author of the novel <i>The Living is Easy</i>, which examined the life of an <!--del_lnk--> upper-class Black family. Another popular renaissance writer is <!--del_lnk--> Countee Cullen, who described everyday black life in his poems (such as a trip he made to Baltimore, which was ruined by a racial insult). Cullen's books include the poetry collections <i>Colour</i> (1925), <i>Copper Sun</i> (1927), and <i>The Ballad of the Brown Girl</i> (1927). <!--del_lnk--> Frank Marshall Davis's poetry collections <i>Black Man's Verse</i> (1935) and <i>I am the American Negro</i> (1937), published by <!--del_lnk--> Black Cat Press, earned him critical acclaim. Author <!--del_lnk--> Wallace Thurman also made an impact with his novel <i>The Blacker the Berry: A Novel of Negro Life</i> (1929), which focused on intraracial prejudice between lighter-skinned and darker-skinned <!--del_lnk--> African Americans.<p>The Harlem Renaissance marked a turning point for African American literature. Prior to this time, books by African Americans were primarily read by other Black people. With the renaissance, though, African American literature—as well as black fine art and performance art—began to be absorbed into mainstream American culture.<p><a id="Civil_Rights_Movement_era" name="Civil_Rights_Movement_era"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Civil Rights Movement era</span></h3>
<p>A large migration of African Americans began during <a href="../../wp/w/World_War_I.htm" title="World War I">World War I</a>, hitting its high point during <a href="../../wp/w/World_War_II.htm" title="World War II">World War II</a>. During this <!--del_lnk--> Great Migration, Black people left the racism and lack of opportunities in the American South and settled in northern cities like <a href="../../wp/c/Chicago.htm" title="Chicago">Chicago</a>, where they found work in factories and other sectors of the economy.<p>This migration produced a new sense of independence in the Black community and contributed to the vibrant Black urban culture seen during the Harlem Renaissance. The migration also empowered the growing <!--del_lnk--> American Civil Rights movement, which made a powerful impression on Black writers during the 1940s, '50s and '60s. Just as Black activists were pushing to end segregation and racism and create a new sense of Black nationalism, so too were Black authors attempting to address these issues with their writings.<p>One of the first writers to do so was <!--del_lnk--> James Baldwin, whose work addressed issues of race and <!--del_lnk--> sexuality. Baldwin, who is best known for his novel <i><!--del_lnk--> Go Tell it on the Mountain</i>, wrote deeply personal stories and essays while examining what it was like to be both Black and <!--del_lnk--> homosexual at a time when neither of these identities was accepted by American culture. In all, Baldwin wrote nearly 20 books, including such classics as <i><!--del_lnk--> Another Country</i> and <i><!--del_lnk--> The Fire Next Time</i>.<p>Baldwin's idol and friend was author <!--del_lnk--> Richard Wright, whom Baldwin called "the greatest Black writer in the world for me". Wright is best known for his novel <i><!--del_lnk--> Native Son</i> (1940), which tells the story of Bigger Thomas, a Black man struggling for acceptance in Chicago. Baldwin was so impressed by the novel that he titled a collection of his own essays <i><!--del_lnk--> Notes of a Native Son</i>, in reference to Wright's novel. However, their friendship fell apart due to one of the book's essays, "Everybody's Protest Novel," which criticized <i>Native Son</i> for lacking credible characters and psychological complexity. Among Wright's other books are the semiautobiographical novel <i><!--del_lnk--> Black Boy</i> (1945), <i>The Outsider</i> (1953), and <i>White Man, Listen!</i> (1957).<p>The other great novelist of this period is <!--del_lnk--> Ralph Ellison, best known for his novel <i><!--del_lnk--> Invisible Man</i>, which won the <!--del_lnk--> National Book Award in 1953. Even though Ellison did not complete another novel during his lifetime, <i>Invisible Man</i> was so influential that it secured his place in literary history. After Ellison's death, a second novel, <i>Juneteenth</i>, was pieced together from the 2,000-plus pages he had written over 40 years.<div class="thumb tright">
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<p>The Civil Rights time period also saw the rise of female Black poets, most notably <!--del_lnk--> Gwendolyn Brooks, who became the first African American to win the <!--del_lnk--> Pulitzer Prize when it was awarded for her 1949 book of poetry, <i>Annie Allen</i>. Along with Brooks, other female poets who became well known during the 1950s and '60s are <!--del_lnk--> Nikki Giovanni and <!--del_lnk--> Sonia Sanchez.<p>During this time, a number of playwrights also came to national attention, notably <!--del_lnk--> Lorraine Hansberry, whose play <i><!--del_lnk--> A Raisin in the Sun</i> focuses on a poor Black family living in Chicago. The play won the 1959 New York Drama Critics' Circle Award. Another playwright who gained attention was <!--del_lnk--> Amiri Baraka, who wrote controversial off-Broadway plays. In more recent years, Baraka has become known for his poetry and music criticism.<p>It is also worth noting that a number of important essays and books about human rights were written by the leaders of the Civil Rights Movement. One of the leading examples of these is <a href="../../wp/m/Martin_Luther_King%252C_Jr..htm" title="Martin Luther King, Jr.">Martin Luther King, Jr.</a>'s "<!--del_lnk--> Letter from Birmingham Jail".<p><a id="Recent_history" name="Recent_history"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Recent history</span></h3>
<p>Beginning in the 1970s, African American literature reached the mainstream as books by Black writers continually achieved best-selling and award-winning status. This was also the time when the work of African American writers began to be accepted by academia as a legitimate genre of American literature.<p>As part of the larger <!--del_lnk--> Black Arts Movement, which was inspired by the Civil Rights and <!--del_lnk--> Black Power Movements, African American literature began to be defined and analyzed. A number of scholars and writers are generally credited with helping to promote and define African American literature as a genre during this time period, including fiction writers Toni Morrison and Alice Walker and poet James Emanuel.<p><!--del_lnk--> James Emanuel took a major step toward defining African American literature when he edited (with Theodore Gross) <i>Dark Symphony: Negro Literature in America,</i> the first collection of black writings released by a major publisher. This anthology, and Emanuel's work as an educator at the <!--del_lnk--> City College of New York (where he is credited with introducing the study of <!--del_lnk--> African-American <a href="../../wp/p/Poetry.htm" title="Poetry">poetry</a>), heavily influenced the birth of the genre. Other influential African American anthologies of this time included <i>Black Fire: An Anthology of Afro-American Writing</i>, edited by <!--del_lnk--> LeRoi Jones (now known as Amiri Baraka) and Larry Neal in 1968 and <i>The Negro Caravan</i>, co-edited by <!--del_lnk--> Sterling Brown, <!--del_lnk--> Arthur P. Davis and <!--del_lnk--> Ulysses Lee in 1969.<p><!--del_lnk--> Toni Morrison, meanwhile, helped promote Black literature and authors when she worked as an editor for <!--del_lnk--> Random House in the 1960s and '70s, where she edited books by such authors as <!--del_lnk--> Toni Cade Bambara and Gayl Jones. Morrison herself would later emerge as one of the most important African American writers of the 20th century. Her first novel, <i>The Bluest Eye</i>, was published in 1970. Among her most famous novels is <i><!--del_lnk--> Beloved</i>, which won the <!--del_lnk--> Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1988. This story describes a slave who found freedom but killed her infant daughter to save her from a life of slavery. Another important novel is <i><!--del_lnk--> Song of Solomon</i>, a tale about <!--del_lnk--> materialism and brotherhood. Morrison is the first African American woman to win the <!--del_lnk--> Nobel Prize in Literature.<p>In the 1970s novelist and poet <!--del_lnk--> Alice Walker wrote a famous essay that brought <!--del_lnk--> Zora Neale Hurston and her classic novel <i>Their Eyes Were Watching God</i> back to the attention of the literary world. In 1982, Walker won both the <!--del_lnk--> Pulitzer Prize and the <!--del_lnk--> American Book Award for her novel <i><!--del_lnk--> The Colour Purple</i>. An <!--del_lnk--> epistolary novel (a book written in the form of letters), <i>The Colour Purple</i> tells the story of Celie, a young woman who is sexually abused by her stepfather and then is forced to marry a man who physically <!--del_lnk--> abuses her. The novel was later made into a film by <!--del_lnk--> Steven Spielberg.<p>The 1970s also saw African American books topping the bestseller lists. Among the first books to do so was <i><!--del_lnk--> Roots: The Saga of an American Family</i> by <!--del_lnk--> Alex Haley. The book, a fictionalized account of Haley's family history—beginning with the kidnapping of Haley's ancestor <!--del_lnk--> Kunta Kinte in <a href="../../wp/t/The_Gambia.htm" title="The Gambia">Gambia</a> through his life as a slave in the United States—won the <!--del_lnk--> Pulitzer Prize and became a popular television <!--del_lnk--> miniseries. Haley also wrote <i><!--del_lnk--> The Autobiography of Malcolm X</i> in 1965.<p>Other important writers in recent years include <!--del_lnk--> literary fiction writers Gayl Jones, <!--del_lnk--> Ishmael Reed, <!--del_lnk--> Jamaica Kincaid, <!--del_lnk--> Randall Kenan, and <!--del_lnk--> John Edgar Wideman. African American poets have also garnered attention. <!--del_lnk--> Maya Angelou read a poem at <a href="../../wp/b/Bill_Clinton.htm" title="Bill Clinton">Bill Clinton</a>'s inauguration, <!--del_lnk--> Rita Dove won a Pulitzer Prize and served as <!--del_lnk--> Poet Laureate of the United States from 1993 to 1995, and <!--del_lnk--> Cyrus Cassells's <i>Soul Make a Path through Shouting</i> was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize in 1994. Cassells is a recipient of the <!--del_lnk--> William Carlos Williams Award. Lesser-known poets like <!--del_lnk--> Thylias Moss, and Natasha Trethewey also have been praised for their innovative work. Notable black playwrights include <!--del_lnk--> Ntozake Shange, who wrote <i>For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide/When the Rainbow is Enuf</i>; <!--del_lnk--> Ed Bullins; <!--del_lnk--> Suzan-Lori Parks; and the prolific <!--del_lnk--> August Wilson, who won two Pulitzer Prizes for his plays. Most recently, <!--del_lnk--> Edward P. Jones won the 2004 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for <i><!--del_lnk--> The Known World</i>, his novel about a black slaveholder in the antebellum South.<p>African American literature has also crossed over to <!--del_lnk--> genre fiction. A pioneer in this area is <!--del_lnk--> Chester Himes, who in the 1950s and '60s wrote a series of <!--del_lnk--> pulp fiction detective novels featuring "Coffin" Ed Johnson and "Gravedigger" Jones, two New York City police detectives. Himes paved the way for the later crime novels of <!--del_lnk--> Walter Mosley and <!--del_lnk--> Hugh Holton. African Americans are also represented in the genres of science fiction, fantasy and horror, with <!--del_lnk--> Samuel R. Delany, <!--del_lnk--> Octavia E. Butler, <!--del_lnk--> Steven Barnes, <!--del_lnk--> Tananarive Due, <!--del_lnk--> Robert Fleming, <!--del_lnk--> Brandon Massey, <!--del_lnk--> Charles R. Saunders, <!--del_lnk--> John Ridley, <!--del_lnk--> John M. Faucette, <!--del_lnk--> Sheree Thomas and <!--del_lnk--> Nalo Hopkinson being just a few of the well-known authors.<p>Finally, African American literature has gained added attention through the work of talk show host <!--del_lnk--> Oprah Winfrey, who repeatedly has leveraged her fame to promote literature through the medium of her <!--del_lnk--> Oprah's Book Club. At times, she has brought African American writers a far broader audience than they otherwise might have received.<p><a id="Critiques" name="Critiques"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Critiques</span></h2>
<p>While African American literature is well accepted in the United States, it is not without controversy. To the genre's supporters, African American literature exists both within and outside <!--del_lnk--> American literature and is helping to revitalize the country's writing. To critics, African American literature is part of a <!--del_lnk--> Balkanization of American literature. In addition, there are some within the African American community who do not like how their own literature sometimes showcases Black people.<p><a id="Existing_both_inside_and_outside_American_literature" name="Existing_both_inside_and_outside_American_literature"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Existing both inside and outside American literature</span></h3>
<p>According to <!--del_lnk--> James Madison University English professor Joanne Gabbin, African American literature exists both inside and outside American literature. "Somehow African American literature has been relegated to a different level, outside American literature, yet it is an integral part," she says.<p>This view of African American literature is grounded, in many ways, in the experience of Black people in the United States. Even though African Americans have long claimed an American identity, during most of United States history they were not accepted as full citizens. As a result, they were part of America while also being outside it.<p>The same can be said for African American literature. While it exists fully within the framework of a larger American literature, it also exists as its own entity. As a result, new styles of storytelling and unique voices are created in isolation. The benefit of this is that these new styles and voices can leave their isolation and help revitalize the larger literary world (McKay, 2004). This artistic pattern has held true with many aspects of <!--del_lnk--> African American culture over the last century, with <a href="../../wp/j/Jazz.htm" title="Jazz">jazz</a> and <a href="../../wp/h/Hip_hop_music.htm" title="Hip hop music">hip hop</a> being just two artistic examples that developed in isolation within the Black community before reaching a larger audience and eventually revitalizing American culture.<p>Whether African American literature will keep to this pattern in the coming years remains to be seen. Since the genre is already popular with mainstream audiences, it is possible that its ability to develop new styles and voices—or to remain "authentic," in the words of some critics—may be a thing of the past.<p><a id="Balkanization_of_American_literature.3F" name="Balkanization_of_American_literature.3F"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Balkanization of American literature?</span></h3>
<p>Despite these views, some <!--del_lnk--> conservative academics and intellectuals argue that African American literature only exists as part of a <!--del_lnk--> balkanization of literature over the last few decades or as an extension of the <!--del_lnk--> culture wars into the field of literature. According to these critics, literature is splitting into distinct and separate groupings because of the rise of <!--del_lnk--> identity politics in the United States and other parts of the world. These critics reject bringing identity politics into literature because this would mean that "only women could write about women for women, and only Blacks about Blacks for Blacks."<p>People opposed to this group-based approach to writing say that it limits the ability of literature to explore the overall human condition and, more importantly, judges ethnic writers merely on the basis of their race. These critics reject this judgment and say it defies the meaning of works like Ralph Ellison's <i>Invisible Man</i>, in which Ellison's main character is invisible because people see him as nothing more than a Black man. Others criticize special treatment of any ethnic-based genre of literature. For example, <!--del_lnk--> Robert Hayden, the first African-American <!--del_lnk--> Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress, once said (paraphrasing the comment by the black composer <!--del_lnk--> Duke Ellington about jazz and music), "There is no such thing as Black literature. There's good literature and bad. And that's all."<p>Proponents counter that the exploration of group and ethnic dynamics through writing actually deepens human understanding and that, previously, entire groups of people were ignored or neglected by American literature. (Jay, 1997)<p>The general consensus view appears to be that American literature is not breaking apart because of new genres like African American literature. Instead, American literature is simply reflecting the increasing diversity of the United States and showing more signs of diversity than ever before in its history (Andrews, 1997; McKay, 2004). This view is supported by the fact that many African American authors—and writers representing other minority groups—consistently reach the tops of the best-seller lists. If their literature only appealed to their individual ethnic groups, this would not be possible.<p><a id="African_American_criticism" name="African_American_criticism"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">African American criticism</span></h3>
<p>Some of the criticism of African American literature over the years has come, surprisingly enough, from within the African American community. This results from complaints that Black literature sometimes does not portray Black people in a positive light.<p>This clash of <a href="../../wp/a/Aesthetics.htm" title="Aesthetics">aesthetics</a> and racial politics has its beginnings in comments made by W.E.B DuBois in the NAACP publication <i>The Crisis</i>. For example, in 1921 he wrote, "We want everything that is said about us to tell of the best and highest and noblest in us. We insist that our Art and Propaganda be one." He added to this in 1926 by saying, "All Art is propaganda and ever must be, despite the wailing of the purists." DuBois and the editors of <i>The Crisis</i> consistently stated that literature was a tool in the struggle for African American political liberation.<p>DuBois's belief in the propaganda value of art showed most clearly when he clashed in 1928 with African American author <!--del_lnk--> Claude McKay over McKay's best-selling novel <i>Home to Harlem</i>. To DuBois, the novel's frank depictions of sexuality and the nightlife in Harlem only appealed to the "prurient demand[s]" of white readers and publishers looking for portrayals of Black "licentiousness." DuBois also said, "<i>Home to Harlem</i> ... for the most part nauseates me, and after the dirtier parts of its filth I feel distinctly like taking a bath." This criticism was repeated by others in the Black community when author <!--del_lnk--> Wallace Thurman published his novel <i>The Blacker the Berry</i> in 1929. This novel, which focused on intraracial prejudice between lighter-skinned and darker-skinned Blacks, infuriated many African Americans, who did not like such a public airing of their culture's "dirty laundry."<p>Naturally, many African American writers did not agree with the viewpoint that all Black literature should be propaganda, and instead stated that literature should present the truth about life and people. <!--del_lnk--> Langston Hughes articulated this view in his essay "The Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain" (1926), when he said that Black artists intended to express themselves freely no matter what the Black public or white public thought.<p>A more recent occurrence of this Black-on-Black criticism arose in charges by some critics that <!--del_lnk--> Alice Walker's novel <i><!--del_lnk--> The Colour Purple</i> unfairly attacked Black men. Walker later refuted these charges in her book <i>The Same River Twice: Honoring the Difficult</i>.<p><a id="See_also" name="See_also"></a><div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African_American_literature"</div>
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| ['Literature', 'Frederick Douglass', 'Slavery', 'American Civil War', 'Slavery', 'Religion', 'Slavery', 'Rapping', 'United States', 'Senegal', 'Africa', 'Slavery', 'George Washington', 'Slavery', 'France', 'French language', 'Southern United States', 'Thomas Jefferson', 'Slavery', 'Frederick Douglass', 'North America', 'Jamaica', 'Nationalism', 'New York City', 'Anthropology', 'World War I', 'World War II', 'Chicago', 'Martin Luther King, Jr.', 'Poetry', 'The Gambia', 'Bill Clinton', 'Jazz', 'Hip hop music', 'Aesthetics'] |
African_Black_Oystercatcher | <!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
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<th style="background: pink;"><span style="position:relative; float:right; font-size:70%;"><!--del_lnk--> i</span><b>African Black Oystercatcher</b></th>
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<td><a class="image" href="../../images/150/15023.jpg.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="188" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Haematopus_moquini_P1040458.JPG" src="../../images/150/15023.jpg" width="250" /></a><br />
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<center><!--del_lnk--> Conservation status</center>
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<div style="text-align:center"><a class="image" href="../../images/55/5523.png.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="53" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Status_iucn3.1_NT.svg" src="../../images/55/5523.png" width="200" /></a><br /><!--del_lnk--> Near Threatened (NT)</div>
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<td><a href="../../wp/a/Animal.htm" title="Animal">Animalia</a><br />
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<td>Phylum:</td>
<td><a href="../../wp/c/Chordate.htm" title="Chordate">Chordata</a><br />
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<td>Class:</td>
<td><a href="../../wp/b/Bird.htm" title="Bird">Aves</a><br />
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<td>Order:</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Charadriiformes<br />
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<td>Family:</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Haematopodidae<br />
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<td>Genus:</td>
<td><i>Haematopus</i><br />
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<td><span style="white-space: nowrap"><i><b>H. moquini</b></i></span><br />
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<td><i><b>Haematopus moquini</b></i><br /><small>(<!--del_lnk--> Bonaparte, <!--del_lnk--> 1856)</small></td>
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<p>The <b>African Black Oystercatcher</b>, <i>Haematopus moquini</i>, is a large <a href="../../wp/w/Wader.htm" title="Wader">wader</a> which is a resident breeder on the rocky coasts and islands of southern <a href="../../wp/a/Africa.htm" title="Africa">Africa</a>. This <!--del_lnk--> oystercatcher has a population of less than 5,000 adults.<p>The African Black Oystercatcher is a large and noisy <a href="../../wp/p/Plover.htm" title="Plover">plover-like</a> <!--del_lnk--> bird, with completely black <a href="../../wp/f/Feather.htm" title="Feather">plumage</a>, red legs and a strong broad red bill used for smashing or prying open <!--del_lnk--> molluscs such as <!--del_lnk--> mussels, or for finding <!--del_lnk--> earthworms. The sexes are similar in appearance, but juveniles are browner than adults.<p>The African Black Oystercatcher is unmistakable in flight with its all-dark plumage. The call is a distinctive loud piping, very similar to <!--del_lnk--> Common Pied Oystercatcher. That <a href="../../wp/b/Bird_migration.htm" title="Bird migration">migratory</a> species can occur as a vagrant in southern Africa, but its black-and-white plumage makes confusion impossible.<p>The nest is a bare scrape on pebbles or shingles. The female generally lays 2-4 <!--del_lnk--> eggs, which are incubated by both adults.<p>The scientific name commemorates the French naturalist <!--del_lnk--> Alfred Moquin-Tandon.<div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African_Black_Oystercatcher"</div>
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| ['Scientific classification', 'Animal', 'Chordate', 'Bird', 'Binomial nomenclature', 'Wader', 'Africa', 'Plover', 'Feather', 'Bird migration'] |
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<td><a class="image" href="../../images/150/15024.jpg.htm" title="African brush-tailed porcupine sold for meat in Cameroon"><img alt="African brush-tailed porcupine sold for meat in Cameroon" height="197" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Porcupine_bushmeat_in_Cameroon.jpg" src="../../images/150/15024.jpg" width="300" /></a><br />
<div style="text-align:center"><small>African brush-tailed porcupine sold for <!--del_lnk--> meat in <a href="../../wp/c/Cameroon.htm" title="Cameroon">Cameroon</a></small></div>
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<center><!--del_lnk--> Conservation status</center>
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<div style="text-align:center"><!--del_lnk--> <img alt="" height="53" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Status_iucn3.1_LC.svg" src="../../images/1x1white.gif" title="This image is not present because of licensing restrictions" width="200" /><br /><!--del_lnk--> Least Concern (LC)</div>
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<td><a href="../../wp/a/Animal.htm" title="Animal">Animalia</a><br />
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<td>Phylum:</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Chordata<br />
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<td>Class:</td>
<td><a href="../../wp/m/Mammal.htm" title="Mammal">Mammalia</a><br />
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<td>Order:</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Rodentia<br />
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<td><!--del_lnk--> Hystricomorpha<br />
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<td>Family:</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Hystricidae<br />
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<td>Genus:</td>
<td><i><!--del_lnk--> Atherurus</i><br />
</td>
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<td><span style="white-space: nowrap"><i><b>A. africanus</b></i></span><br />
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<td><i><b>Atherurus africanus</b></i><br /><small>(Gray, <!--del_lnk--> 1842)</small></td>
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<p>The <b>African Brush-Tailed Porcupine</b> (<i>Atherurus africanus</i>) is a species of <!--del_lnk--> rat-like <!--del_lnk--> Old World porcupine called "<!--del_lnk--> brush-tailed porcupines". The brush-tailed porcupines live in forests, usually at high elevations. They are <!--del_lnk--> nocturnal and during the day they sleep in <a href="../../wp/c/Cave.htm" title="Cave">caves</a> and burrows. The brush-tailed porcupine is one of the biggest <!--del_lnk--> rodents in <a href="../../wp/a/Africa.htm" title="Africa">Africa</a>, growing almost three feet long and weigh as much as eight pounds. It has an elongated rat-like face and body and short legs, tipped with clawed and webbed feet. Unlike most other porcupines, the brush-tailed porcupine has lighter and smaller quills. On the tail, these quills are thinner and brush-like. These can make noise when rattled. Brush-tailed porcupines live in small family groups of about eight members. Different family groups can share resources. When attacked by a <!--del_lnk--> predator, the porcupine raises its quills so it looks twice its size, rattles its tail quills, and stomps its feet. As with all porcupines, the brush-tailed porcupine would back into the attacker and inflict damage with its quills.<p>The brush-tailed porcupine is mostly herbivorous. When alone eating, the porcupines can be quite nervous. During the breeding season, males and females form pair bonds (just like how people go on dates) to get acquainted. The African brush-tailed porcupine has a long pregnancy compared to other rodents: 110 days at the longest. The young are born well-developed or <!--del_lnk--> precocial. Porcupines reach maturity at two years of age.<p>The meat of the African Brush-tailed Porcupine is very popular and is consumed in large quantities.<div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African_Brush-tailed_Porcupine"</div>
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<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.Science.Biology.Mammals.htm">Mammals</a></h3>
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<th style="background: pink;"><span style="position:relative; float:right; font-size:70%;"><!--del_lnk--> i</span><b>African Buffalo</b></th>
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<td><a class="image" href="../../images/150/15025.jpg.htm" title="19th century drawing"><img alt="19th century drawing" height="180" longdesc="/wiki/Image:African_Buffalo_Drawing_historic.jpg" src="../../images/150/15025.jpg" width="240" /></a><br />
<div style="text-align:center"><small>19th century drawing</small></div>
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<th>
<center><!--del_lnk--> Conservation status</center>
</th>
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<td style="">
<div style="text-align:center"><a class="image" href="../../images/19/1953.png.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="53" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Status_iucn2.3_CD.svg" src="../../images/19/1953.png" width="200" /></a><br /><!--del_lnk--> Conservation dependent (LR/cd)</div>
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<th style="background: pink;"><b><a href="../../wp/s/Scientific_classification.htm" title="Scientific classification">Scientific classification</a></b></th>
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<td>
<table cellpadding="2" style="margin:0 auto; text-align:left; background:white;">
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<td>Kingdom:</td>
<td><a href="../../wp/a/Animal.htm" title="Animal">Animalia</a><br />
</td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td>Phylum:</td>
<td><a href="../../wp/c/Chordate.htm" title="Chordate">Chordata</a><br />
</td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td>Subphylum:</td>
<td><a href="../../wp/v/Vertebrate.htm" title="Vertebrate">Vertebrata</a></td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td>(unranked)</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Synapsida<br />
</td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td>(unranked)</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Mammaliaformes<br />
</td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td>Class:</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Mammalia<br />
</td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td>Order:</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Artiodactyla<br />
</td>
</tr>
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<td>Family:</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Bovidae<br />
</td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td>Subfamily:</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Bovinae<br />
</td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td>Genus:</td>
<td><i><b>Syncerus</b></i><br /><small><!--del_lnk--> Hodgson, 1847</small></td>
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<td>Species:</td>
<td><span style="white-space: nowrap"><i><b>S. caffer</b></i></span><br />
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<th>
<center><a href="../../wp/b/Binomial_nomenclature.htm" title="Binomial nomenclature">Binomial name</a></center>
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<td><i><b>Syncerus caffer</b></i><br /><small>(<!--del_lnk--> Sparrman, <!--del_lnk--> 1779)</small></td>
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<th>
<center>Subspecies</center>
</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="padding: 0 .5em;">
<p><i>S. c. caffer</i><br /><i>S. c. nanus</i><br /><i>S. c. brachyceros</i><br /><i>S. c. mathewsi</i></td>
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<p>The <b>African Buffalo</b> or <b>Cape Buffalo</b> (<i>Syncerus caffer</i>) is a bovid from the family of the <!--del_lnk--> Bovidae. It is up to 1.7 meters high, 3 meters long, and can reach a weight of 1000 <!--del_lnk--> kilograms. On average, an adult male stands about 1.5 m high at the shoulder and weighs 680 kg, while a female is 10 - 15 cm shorter and weighs between 500 - 600 kg.<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/150/15026.jpg.htm" title="An African Buffalo Bull."><img alt="An African Buffalo Bull." height="135" longdesc="/wiki/Image:African_Buffalo.JPG" src="../../images/150/15026.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/150/15026.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> An African Buffalo Bull.</div>
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<p>The Cape Buffalo is not closely related to the Asian <a href="../../wp/w/Water_Buffalo.htm" title="Water Buffalo">Water Buffalo</a>, but its ancestry remains unclear. It is a very powerful creature, demanding respect from even a pride of <a href="../../wp/l/Lion.htm" title="Lion">lions</a> when paths cross. Other than humans, they have few natural <!--del_lnk--> predators and are capable of defending themselves against (and sometimes killing) <a href="../../wp/l/Lion.htm" title="Lion">lions</a>. Lions do kill and eat buffalo occasionally, but it typically takes multiple lions to bring down a single adult buffalo; fewer when it is injured or very old. The <!--del_lnk--> leopard and <!--del_lnk--> spotted hyena are a threat only to newborn calves. Crossbreeding with domestic <a href="../../wp/c/Cattle.htm" title="Cattle">cattle</a> has had only limited success, and the African Buffalo remains a wild animal.<p>Known as one of the "<!--del_lnk--> big five" in Africa, the Cape Buffalo can be a volatile and formidable beast, goring, trampling and killing several people a year. It is reputedly the most dangerous game animal, with the possible exception of the <a href="../../wp/h/Hippopotamus.htm" title="Hippopotamus">hippopotamus</a>.<p>Cape Buffalo occur from open savannah to thickly wooded country, and wallow when the opportunity presents itself. They are found in <a href="../../wp/e/Ethiopia.htm" title="Ethiopia">Ethiopia</a>, <a href="../../wp/s/Somalia.htm" title="Somalia">Somalia</a>, <a href="../../wp/z/Zambia.htm" title="Zambia">Zambia</a>, <a href="../../wp/z/Zimbabwe.htm" title="Zimbabwe">Zimbabwe</a>, <a href="../../wp/n/Namibia.htm" title="Namibia">Namibia</a>, <a href="../../wp/b/Botswana.htm" title="Botswana">Botswana</a>, <a href="../../wp/m/Mozambique.htm" title="Mozambique">Mozambique</a>, <a href="../../wp/s/South_Africa.htm" title="South Africa">South Africa</a>, <a href="../../wp/k/Kenya.htm" title="Kenya">Kenya</a> and <a href="../../wp/t/Tanzania.htm" title="Tanzania">Tanzania</a>.<p>The main herd consists of both sexes and all ages, though bachelor groups are also found. A male is recognizable by the thickness of his horns, and is called the "Boss." Bulls mature at eight years of age. Cows first calve at five years of age, after a <!--del_lnk--> gestation period of 11.5 months. Older bulls forced out of herds are commonly found in bachelor groups.<div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African_Buffalo"</div>
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| ['Scientific classification', 'Animal', 'Chordate', 'Vertebrate', 'Binomial nomenclature', 'Water Buffalo', 'Lion', 'Lion', 'Cattle', 'Hippopotamus', 'Ethiopia', 'Somalia', 'Zambia', 'Zimbabwe', 'Namibia', 'Botswana', 'Mozambique', 'South Africa', 'Kenya', 'Tanzania'] |
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<td><a class="image" href="../../images/150/15027.jpg.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="158" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Anhinga_rufa.jpg" src="../../images/150/15027.jpg" width="200" /></a><br />
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<center><!--del_lnk--> Conservation status</center>
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<td style="">
<div style="text-align:center"><!--del_lnk--> <img alt="" height="53" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Status_iucn3.1_LC.svg" src="../../images/1x1white.gif" title="This image is not present because of licensing restrictions" width="200" /><br /><!--del_lnk--> Least Concern (LC)</div>
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<th style="background: pink;"><b><a href="../../wp/s/Scientific_classification.htm" title="Scientific classification">Scientific classification</a></b></th>
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<td>Kingdom:</td>
<td><a href="../../wp/a/Animal.htm" title="Animal">Animalia</a><br />
</td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td>Phylum:</td>
<td><a href="../../wp/c/Chordate.htm" title="Chordate">Chordata</a><br />
</td>
</tr>
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<td>Class:</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Aves<br />
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<td>Order:</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Pelecaniformes<br />
</td>
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<tr valign="top">
<td>Family:</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Anhingidae<br />
</td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td>Genus:</td>
<td><i><!--del_lnk--> Anhinga</i><br />
</td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td>Species:</td>
<td><span style="white-space: nowrap"><i><b>A. rufa</b></i></span><br />
</td>
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<th>
<center><a href="../../wp/b/Binomial_nomenclature.htm" title="Binomial nomenclature">Binomial name</a></center>
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<tr style="text-align:center;">
<td><i><b>Anhinga rufa</b></i><br /><small>(<!--del_lnk--> Daudin, 1802)</small></td>
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<p>The <b>African Darter</b> (<i>Anhinga rufa</i> ), sometimes called the <b>Snakebird</b>, is a water bird of tropical sub-<a href="../../wp/s/Sahara.htm" title="Sahara">Saharan</a> <a href="../../wp/a/Africa.htm" title="Africa">Africa</a>.<p>This species builds a stick nest in a tree and lays 3-6 eggs. It often nests with <a href="../../wp/h/Heron.htm" title="Heron">herons</a>, <!--del_lnk--> egrets and cormorants.<p>It is a <a href="../../wp/c/Cormorant.htm" title="Cormorant">cormorant</a>-like fish-eating species with a very long neck which occurs in both saline and fresh water, especially near <!--del_lnk--> mangroves. It often swims with only the neck above water.<p>The male is mainly glossy black with white streaking, but females and immature birds are browner. The African Darter differs in appearance from Indian and American darters most recognisably by its thin white lateral neck stripe against a rufous background colour.<p>The African Darter is a member of the darter family, <!--del_lnk--> Anhingidae, and is closely related to <!--del_lnk--> American (<i>Anhinga anhinga</i>), <!--del_lnk--> Oriental (<i>Anhinga melanogaster</i>), and Australian (<i>Anhinga novaehollandiae</i>) Darters.<div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African_Darter"</div>
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| ['Scientific classification', 'Animal', 'Chordate', 'Binomial nomenclature', 'Sahara', 'Africa', 'Heron', 'Cormorant'] |
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<div style="width:281px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/150/15014.jpg.htm" title="The Great Lakes and the East African coastline as seen from space. The Indian Ocean can be seen to the right."><img alt="The Great Lakes and the East African coastline as seen from space. The Indian Ocean can be seen to the right." height="286" longdesc="/wiki/Image:GreatLakesAfrica.jpg" src="../../images/150/15014.jpg" width="279" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/150/15014.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> The Great Lakes and the East African coastline as seen from space. The <a href="../../wp/i/Indian_Ocean.htm" title="Indian Ocean">Indian Ocean</a> can be seen to the right.</div>
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<p>The <b>Great Lakes</b> of <a href="../../wp/a/Africa.htm" title="Africa">Africa</a> are a series of <!--del_lnk--> lakes in and around the <a href="../../wp/g/Great_Rift_Valley.htm" title="Great Rift Valley">Great Rift Valley</a>. They include Lake Victoria, the second largest <a href="../../wp/f/Fresh_water.htm" title="Fresh water">fresh water</a> lake in the world in terms of surface area, and Lake Tanganyika, the world's second largest in terms of volume as well as the second deepest. The Great Lakes are:<ul>
<li><a href="../../wp/l/Lake_Tanganyika.htm" title="Lake Tanganyika">Lake Tanganyika</a><li><a href="../../wp/l/Lake_Victoria.htm" title="Lake Victoria">Lake Victoria</a><li><a href="../../wp/l/Lake_Albert.htm" title="Lake Albert">Lake Albert</a><li><a href="../../wp/l/Lake_Edward.htm" title="Lake Edward">Lake Edward</a><li><a href="../../wp/l/Lake_Kivu.htm" title="Lake Kivu">Lake Kivu</a><li><a href="../../wp/l/Lake_Malawi.htm" title="Lake Malawi">Lake Malawi</a></ul>
<p>Some call only Lake Victoria, Lake Albert, and Lake Edward the Great Lakes as they are the only three that empty into the <!--del_lnk--> White Nile. Lake Tanganyika and Lake Kivu both empty into the <a href="../../wp/c/Congo_River.htm" title="Congo River">Congo River</a> system, while Lake Malawi is drained by the <!--del_lnk--> Shire River into the <a href="../../wp/z/Zambezi.htm" title="Zambezi">Zambezi</a>.<p><a id="Great_Lakes_region" name="Great_Lakes_region"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Great Lakes region</span></h2>
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<div style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/150/15015.png.htm" title="African Great Lakes"><img alt="African Great Lakes" height="115" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Location_GreatLakes-Africa.png" src="../../images/150/15015.png" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
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<p>Great Lakes also refers to the region around these lakes. These include the entirety of the nations of <a href="../../wp/r/Rwanda.htm" title="Rwanda">Rwanda</a>, <a href="../../wp/b/Burundi.htm" title="Burundi">Burundi</a>, and <a href="../../wp/u/Uganda.htm" title="Uganda">Uganda</a> as well as portions of the <a href="../../wp/d/Democratic_Republic_of_the_Congo.htm" title="Democratic Republic of the Congo">Democratic Republic of the Congo</a>, <a href="../../wp/t/Tanzania.htm" title="Tanzania">Tanzania</a>, and <a href="../../wp/k/Kenya.htm" title="Kenya">Kenya</a>.<p>It is one of the most densely populated areas of the world, with an estimated 107 million people living in the Great Lakes region. Because of past volcanic activity this part of Africa contains some of the world's best farmland. Its altitude also gives it a rather <a href="../../wp/t/Temperate.htm" title="Temperate">temperate</a> climate despite being right on the <!--del_lnk--> equator. This has left it out of the disease zone allowing widespread use of <!--del_lnk--> livestock, especially <a href="../../wp/c/Cattle.htm" title="Cattle">cattle</a> and <a href="../../wp/d/Domestic_goat.htm" title="Goat">goats</a>.<p>Because of the density of population and the agricultural surplus in the region the area became highly organized into a number of small states. The most powerful of these monarchies were Rwanda, Burundi, <!--del_lnk--> Buganda, and <!--del_lnk--> Bunyoro. Unusually for sub-Saharan Africa, the traditional borders were largely maintained by the colonial powers.<p>Being the long sought after source of the <a href="../../wp/n/Nile.htm" title="Nile">Nile</a>, the region had long been of interest to Europeans. The first Europeans to arrive in the region in any numbers were <!--del_lnk--> missionaries who had limited success in converting the locals, but did open the region to later colonization. The increased contact with the rest of the world led to a series of devastating <!--del_lnk--> epidemics affecting both humans and livestock. These decreased the region's population dramatically, by up to 60% in some areas. The region did not return to its precolonial population until the 1950s.<p>While seen as a region with great potential after independence, the region has in recent years been marred by civil war and immense violence, leaving the region in great poverty from which only Kenya and Tanzania are largely exempt.<p><a id="See_also" name="See_also"></a><div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African_Great_Lakes"</div>
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| ['Indian Ocean', 'Africa', 'Great Rift Valley', 'Fresh water', 'Lake Tanganyika', 'Lake Victoria', 'Lake Albert', 'Lake Edward', 'Lake Kivu', 'Lake Malawi', 'Congo River', 'Zambezi', 'Rwanda', 'Burundi', 'Uganda', 'Democratic Republic of the Congo', 'Tanzania', 'Kenya', 'Temperate', 'Cattle', 'Goat', 'Nile'] |
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<th style="background: pink;"><span style="position:relative; float:right; font-size:70%;"><!--del_lnk--> i</span><b>African Grey Hornbill</b></th>
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<th>
<center><!--del_lnk--> Conservation status</center>
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<td style="">
<div style="text-align:center"><!--del_lnk--> <img alt="" height="53" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Status_iucn3.1_LC.svg" src="../../images/1x1white.gif" title="This image is not present because of licensing restrictions" width="200" /><br /><!--del_lnk--> Least Concern (LC)</div>
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<th style="background: pink;"><b><a href="../../wp/s/Scientific_classification.htm" title="Scientific classification">Scientific classification</a></b></th>
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<td>Kingdom:</td>
<td><a href="../../wp/a/Animal.htm" title="Animal">Animalia</a><br />
</td>
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<td>Phylum:</td>
<td><a href="../../wp/c/Chordate.htm" title="Chordate">Chordata</a><br />
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<td>Class:</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Aves<br />
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<td>Order:</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Coraciiformes<br />
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<td>Family:</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Bucerotidae<br />
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<td>Genus:</td>
<td><i><!--del_lnk--> Tockus</i><br />
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<td>Species:</td>
<td><span style="white-space: nowrap"><i><b>T. nasutus</b></i></span><br />
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<center><a href="../../wp/b/Binomial_nomenclature.htm" title="Binomial nomenclature">Binomial name</a></center>
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<td><i><b>Tockus nasutus</b></i><br /><small>(<a href="../../wp/c/Carolus_Linnaeus.htm" title="Carolus Linnaeus">Linnaeus</a>, 1766)</small></td>
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<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/150/15028.png.htm" title="Distribution of African Grey Hornbill"><img alt="Distribution of African Grey Hornbill" height="180" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Tockus_nasutus_-_Distribution.png" src="../../images/150/15028.png" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/150/15028.png.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div><small>Distribution of African Grey Hornbill</small></div>
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<p>The <b>African Grey Hornbill</b>, <i>Tockus nasutus</i>, is a <!--del_lnk--> hornbill. Hornbills are a family of tropical <!--del_lnk--> near-passerine <a href="../../wp/b/Bird.htm" title="Bird">birds</a> found in the <!--del_lnk--> Old World.<p>The African Grey Hornbill is a widespread and common resident breeder in much of sub-<a href="../../wp/s/Sahara.htm" title="Sahara">Saharan</a> <a href="../../wp/a/Africa.htm" title="Africa">Africa</a> and into <!--del_lnk--> Arabia.<p>This is a bird mainly of open woodland and savannah. The female lays two to four white eggs in a tree hole, which is blocked off during incubation with a cement made of mud, droppings and fruit pulp. There is only one narrow aperture, just big enough for the male to transfer food to the mother and the chicks.<p>When the chicks and the female are too big to fit in the nest, the mother breaks out and rebuilds the wall, then both parents feed the chicks.<p>This species is a large bird, at 45cm in length, but is one of the smaller hornbills. It has mainly grey plumage, with the head, flight feathers and long tail being a darker shade. There is a white line down each side of the head and one on the back which is visible only in flight. The long curved bill is black and has a small casque and a creamy horizontal stripe.<p>Sexes are similar, but the male has a black bill, whereas the female has red on the mandibles. Immature birds are more uniformly grey. The flight is undulating. The similarly sized <!--del_lnk--> Red-billed Hornbill has uniformly grey plumage.<p>The African Grey Hornbill is omnivorous, taking insects, fruit and reptiles. It feeds mainly in trees.<p>This conspicuous bird advertises its presence with its piping <i>pee-o pee-o pee-o</i> call.<div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African_Grey_Hornbill"</div>
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| ['Scientific classification', 'Animal', 'Chordate', 'Binomial nomenclature', 'Carolus Linnaeus', 'Bird', 'Sahara', 'Africa'] |
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<th style="background: pink;"><span style="position:relative; float:right; font-size:70%;"><!--del_lnk--> i</span><b>African Grey Parrot</b></th>
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<td><a class="image" href="../../images/150/15030.jpg.htm" title="Congo African Grey Parrot Psittacus erithacus erithacus"><img alt="Congo African Grey Parrot Psittacus erithacus erithacus" height="301" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Buberel_Gray_parrot.jpg" src="../../images/150/15030.jpg" width="200" /></a><br />
<div style="text-align:center"><small>Congo African Grey Parrot<br /><i>Psittacus erithacus erithacus</i></small></div>
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<th>
<center><!--del_lnk--> Conservation status</center>
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<td style="">
<div style="text-align:center"><!--del_lnk--> <img alt="" height="53" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Status_iucn3.1_LC.svg" src="../../images/1x1white.gif" title="This image is not present because of licensing restrictions" width="200" /><br /><!--del_lnk--> Least Concern (LC)</div>
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<tr style="text-align:center;">
<th style="background: pink;"><b><a href="../../wp/s/Scientific_classification.htm" title="Scientific classification">Scientific classification</a></b></th>
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<td>
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<tr valign="top">
<td>Kingdom:</td>
<td><a href="../../wp/a/Animal.htm" title="Animal">Animalia</a><br />
</td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td>Phylum:</td>
<td><a href="../../wp/c/Chordate.htm" title="Chordate">Chordata</a><br />
</td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td>Class:</td>
<td><a href="../../wp/b/Bird.htm" title="Bird">Aves</a><br />
</td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td>Order:</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Psittaciformes<br />
</td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td>Family:</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Psittacidae<br />
</td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td>Genus:</td>
<td><i><b>Psittacus</b></i><br />
</td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td>Species:</td>
<td><span style="white-space: nowrap"><i><b>P. erithacus</b></i></span><br />
</td>
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<th>
<center><a href="../../wp/b/Binomial_nomenclature.htm" title="Binomial nomenclature">Binomial name</a></center>
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<td><i><b>Psittacus erithacus</b></i><br /><small><a href="../../wp/c/Carolus_Linnaeus.htm" title="Carolus Linnaeus">Linnaeus</a>, <!--del_lnk--> 1758</small></td>
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<th>
<center>Subspecies</center>
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<p><i>P. e. erithacus</i><br /><i>P. e. timneh</i></td>
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<p>The <b>African Grey Parrot</b> is a medium-sized <a href="../../wp/p/Parrot.htm" title="Parrot">parrot</a> of the <!--del_lnk--> genus <i>Psittacus</i>, native to <a href="../../wp/a/Africa.htm" title="Africa">Africa</a>. As the name implies, they are predominantly grey, with accents of white. Some of their feathers are very dark grey and others are a lighter grey colour. They have red or maroon tails depending on the <!--del_lnk--> subspecies. They feed primarily on nuts and fruits, supplemented by leafy matter.<p>
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</script><a id="Subspecies" name="Subspecies"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Subspecies</span></h2>
<p>There are two subspecies:<ul>
<li>Congo African Grey parrot, <i>Psittacus erithacus erithacus</i> - these are larger birds (about 12 inches/30cm long) with light grey feathers, deep red tails and black beaks.<li>Timneh African Grey parrot, <i>Psittacus erithacus timneh</i> - these are smaller in size, have a darker charcoal gray coloring, a darker maroon tail, and a light, horn colored upper mandible.</ul>
<p>Some avian enthusiasts (incorrectly) recognize a third subspecies, Ghana African Grey (<i>Psittacus erithacus princeps</i>). This bird is described to be similar to the Congo African greys, but darker and slightly smaller; however, scientifically this subspecies has not been found to be recognizable. Among breeders, there is said to be a fourth subspecies, the Cameroon African Grey, most often referred to as <i>the big silvers</i>.<p><a id="Mimicry_and_intelligence" name="Mimicry_and_intelligence"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Mimicry and intelligence</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/150/15031.jpg.htm" title="Congo African Grey Parrot"><img alt="Congo African Grey Parrot" height="240" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Graupapagei.jpg" src="../../images/150/15031.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/150/15031.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Congo African Grey Parrot</div>
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<p>While comparative judgements of <!--del_lnk--> animal intelligence are always very difficult to make objectively, <!--del_lnk--> Psittaciformes are generally regarded as being the most intelligent of <!--del_lnk--> birds. African grey parrots are particularly noted for their <!--del_lnk--> cognitive abilities, which are believed to have <a href="../../wp/e/Evolution.htm" title="Evolution">evolved</a> as a consequence of their history of <a href="../../wp/c/Cooperative.htm" title="Cooperative">cooperative</a> feeding on the ground in central Africa.<p><!--del_lnk--> Irene Pepperberg's extensive research with captive African greys, especially the individual known as <!--del_lnk--> Alex, has shown that these parrots are capable of associating human words with their meanings, at least to some extent. Ambitious claims of <a href="../../wp/l/Language.htm" title="Language">language</a> use have also been made for another African grey, <!--del_lnk--> N'kisi, who has a vocabulary of over one thousand words and speaks in sentences. Although there exists a great deal of debate as to just how well these birds actually understand the meaning of the words they speak, there is little doubt that Greys and other parrots (especially <!--del_lnk--> macaws and <!--del_lnk--> cockatoos), along with corvines (<a href="../../wp/c/Crow.htm" title="Crow">Crows</a>, <a href="../../wp/r/Raven.htm" title="Raven">Ravens</a>, and <!--del_lnk--> Jays), are highly intelligent in comparison with other birds.<p><a id="African_Grey_Parrots_as_Pets" name="African_Grey_Parrots_as_Pets"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">African Grey Parrots as Pets</span></h2>
<p>The history of African Grey parrots kept as pets dates back over 4,000 years. Some <a href="../../wp/e/Egypt.htm" title="Egypt">Egyptian</a> <!--del_lnk--> hieroglyphics clearly depict pet parrots. The ancient <a href="../../wp/a/Ancient_Greece.htm" title="Ancient Greece">Greeks</a> also valued parrots as pets, and this custom was later adopted by the Wealthy <a href="../../wp/a/Ancient_Rome.htm" title="Ancient Rome">Roman</a> families often kept parrots in ornate <!--del_lnk--> cages, and parrots were prized for their ability to talk. <a href="../../wp/h/Henry_VIII_of_England.htm" title="Henry VIII of England">King Henry VIII</a> of England also had an African Grey parrot. The Portuguese sailors kept them as companions on their long sea voyages.<p>Today, many African Grey parrots are hand reared by breeders for the pet trade and they make wonderful and very affectionate <!--del_lnk--> companion parrots; however, because they can be unpredictable at times, they may not be compatible with small children. African Grey parrots are very strong and they can bite with their strong beak and scratch with their talons. Pet owners often liken the experience of keeping an African Grey to raising a young child, both for the birds' intelligence and for the substantial time commitment which they require. While captive-born birds usually assimilate into their new households with relative ease, wild-caught African Grey parrots require considerably more time to adapt to living with humans, and have a tendency to growl and bite when they are approached. The Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species (<!--del_lnk--> CITES) has rendered all sales of captive wild parrots illegal.<p>African Grey parrots, like any pet parrot, are very high-maintenance pets, as they require a great deal of personal attention. While numbers vary with each source, most agree that three hours out of cage daily and 45 minutes of physical interaction is the minimum attention required for good mental health. African Greys – particularly Congo African Greys – are known to be shy around strangers, and tend to bond solely with their main caretaker if they do not interact with different people regularly. While inter-species friendships with other parrots are uncommon with African Greys, they require socialization with other parrots of any species.<p>African Greys require plenty of stimulating toys to keep them from becoming bored while confined to their cage. These toys should be rotated and switched out regularly so as to maintain the bird's interest; because of their high intelligence, they quickly become tired of . For an African Grey spending most of its day in the cage, 36"W x 24"D is a good cage size. The height of a cage is typically not important, except in the case of playtop cages that are taller than the owner, in which case the bird can become territorial. An African Grey who spends most of its time on a playstand and uses the cage solely for sleeping only needs a cage large enough so that the bird's wingspan doesn't touch the cage's sides and its head and tail do not touch the cage's top and bottom, respectively. The bar-spacing should from be ¾ inch to 1 inch. A companion African Grey should be kept in a <!--del_lnk--> bird-safe environment and placed in a busy part of the home, such as the living room, where the bird can occupy him- or herself in watching the household activities.<p>African Greys have special dietary requirements and should be fed plenty of calcium- and Vitamin A-rich foods, such as almonds, small amounts of cheese, or leafy greens like mustard greens, broccoli, etc. It is usual to give African grey parrots carefully calculated quantities of calcium and vitamin supplements. An excess of these added vitamins and minerals in an African Grey’s diet can lead to health problems. Only a few feathers should be clipped from the wings of an African Grey since they are heavy birds. Clipping too many feathers can severely impair flight and may lead to injuries as they may have a tendency to crash to the ground. If very young birds are wing clipped they may never gain full coordination and agility in flight. African Grey parrots' lifespans are up to about 50 years (or more) in captivity.<p><a id="Resources" name="Resources"></a><div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African_Grey_Parrot"</div>
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<th style="background: pink;"><span style="position:relative; float:right; font-size:70%;"><!--del_lnk--> i</span><b>African Jacana</b></th>
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<center><!--del_lnk--> Conservation status</center>
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<div style="text-align:center"><!--del_lnk--> <img alt="" height="53" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Status_iucn3.1_LC.svg" src="../../images/1x1white.gif" title="This image is not present because of licensing restrictions" width="200" /><br /><!--del_lnk--> Least Concern (LC)</div>
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<td>Kingdom:</td>
<td><a href="../../wp/a/Animal.htm" title="Animal">Animalia</a><br />
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<td>Phylum:</td>
<td><a href="../../wp/c/Chordate.htm" title="Chordate">Chordata</a><br />
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<td>Class:</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Aves<br />
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<td>Order:</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Charadriiformes<br />
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<td>Family:</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Jacanidae<br />
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<td>Genus:</td>
<td><i><!--del_lnk--> Actophilornis</i><br />
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<td>Species:</td>
<td><span style="white-space: nowrap"><i><b>A. africana</b></i></span><br />
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<center><a href="../../wp/b/Binomial_nomenclature.htm" title="Binomial nomenclature">Binomial name</a></center>
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<td><i><b>Actophilornis africana</b></i><br /><small>(<!--del_lnk--> Gmelin, <!--del_lnk--> 1789)</small></td>
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<p>The <b>African Jacana</b> (<i>Actophilornis africana</i>) is a <!--del_lnk--> jacana. The jacanas are a group of <a href="../../wp/w/Wader.htm" title="Wader">waders</a> in the family <!--del_lnk--> Charadriidae, which are identifiable by their huge feet and claws which enable them to walk on floating vegetation in the shallow lakes that are their preferred habitat. They are found worldwide within the tropical zone.<p><b>African Jacana</b> breeds throughout sub-<a href="../../wp/s/Sahara.htm" title="Sahara">Saharan</a> <a href="../../wp/a/Africa.htm" title="Africa">Africa</a>. It is sedentary apart from seasonal dispersion. It lays four black-marked brown eggs in a floating nest. The males, as in some other wader families like the <!--del_lnk--> phalaropes, take responsibility for incubation.<p>These are conspicuous and unmistakable <a href="../../wp/b/Bird.htm" title="Bird">birds</a>. They are 30cm long, but the females are larger than the males. They have chestnut upperparts with black wingtips, rear neck and eyestripe. The underparts are white, with a chestnut belly patch in adult birds. The blue bill extends up as a <a href="../../wp/c/Coot.htm" title="Coot">coot</a>-like head shield, and the legs and very long toes are grey.<p>The African Jacana's food is <a href="../../wp/i/Insect.htm" title="Insect">insects</a> and other invertebrates picked from the floating vegetation or the water’s surface.<div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African_Jacana"</div>
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| ['Scientific classification', 'Animal', 'Chordate', 'Binomial nomenclature', 'Wader', 'Sahara', 'Africa', 'Bird', 'Coot', 'Insect'] |
African_Penguin | <!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
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<th style="background: pink;"><span style="position:relative; float:right; font-size:70%;"><!--del_lnk--> i</span><b>African Penguin</b></th>
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<td><a class="image" href="../../images/150/15033.jpg.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="295" longdesc="/wiki/Image:508px-African.penguin.bristol.750pix_%28Pingstone%29.jpg" src="../../images/150/15033.jpg" width="250" /></a><br />
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<td>Kingdom:</td>
<td><a href="../../wp/a/Animal.htm" title="Animal">Animalia</a><br />
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<td>Phylum:</td>
<td><a href="../../wp/c/Chordate.htm" title="Chordate">Chordata</a><br />
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<td>Subphylum:</td>
<td><a href="../../wp/v/Vertebrate.htm" title="Vertebrate">Vertebrata</a><br />
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<td>Class:</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Aves<br />
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<td>Order:</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Sphenisciformes<br />
</td>
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<tr valign="top">
<td>Family:</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Spheniscidae<br />
</td>
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<tr valign="top">
<td>Genus:</td>
<td><i><!--del_lnk--> Spheniscus</i><br />
</td>
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<td>Species:</td>
<td><span style="white-space: nowrap"><i><b>S. demersus</b></i></span><br />
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<center><a href="../../wp/b/Binomial_nomenclature.htm" title="Binomial nomenclature">Binomial name</a></center>
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<td><i><b>Spheniscus demersus</b></i><br /><small>(<a href="../../wp/c/Carolus_Linnaeus.htm" title="Carolus Linnaeus">Linnaeus</a>, <!--del_lnk--> 1758)</small></td>
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<p>The <b>African Penguin</b> (<i>Spheniscus demersus</i>), also known as the <b>Jackass Penguin</b> (after its loud mating call), and the <b>Blackfooted Penguin</b>, is found on the south-western coast of <a href="../../wp/a/Africa.htm" title="Africa">Africa</a>, living in colonies on 24 islands between <a href="../../wp/n/Namibia.htm" title="Namibia">Namibia</a> and Algoa Bay, near <!--del_lnk--> Port Elizabeth, <a href="../../wp/s/South_Africa.htm" title="South Africa">South Africa</a>, with the largest colony on <!--del_lnk--> Dyer Island, near Kleinbaai. Two colonies were established by penguins in the 1980s on the mainland near Cape Town at <!--del_lnk--> Boulders Beach near <!--del_lnk--> Simon's Town and Stony Point in <!--del_lnk--> Betty's Bay. Mainland colonies probably only became possible in recent times due the reduction of predator numbers, although the Betty's Bay colony has been attacked by leopards. The only other mainland colony is in Namibia, but it is not known when this was established.<p>Boulders Beach is a popular tourist attraction, for the beach, swimming and the penguins. The penguins will allow people to approach them as close as a meter (three feet), and so are much photographed.<p>The closest relatives of the African Penguins are the <!--del_lnk--> Humboldt and <a href="../../wp/m/Magellanic_Penguin.htm" title="Magellanic Penguin">Magellanic</a> penguins found in southern <a href="../../wp/s/South_America.htm" title="South America">South America</a> and the <!--del_lnk--> Galápagos Penguin found in the <a href="../../wp/p/Pacific_Ocean.htm" title="Pacific Ocean">Pacific Ocean</a> near the <!--del_lnk--> equator. African Penguins like warm weather.<p>African Penguins grow to 68-70 cm (26.7-27.5 in) tall and weigh between 2 and 4 kilograms. They have a black stripe and black spots on the chest, the spots being unique for every penguin, like human fingerprints. They have pink <!--del_lnk--> sweat glands above their eyes. The hotter the penguin gets, the more blood is sent to these sweat glands so it may be cooled by the surrounding air, thus making the glands more pink. The males are larger than the females and have larger beaks, but their beaks are pointer than those of the Humboldt.<p>They breed throughout the year, the main breeding season starting in February. Females lay two eggs, with an <!--del_lnk--> incubation period of 38-42 days. They are a <!--del_lnk--> monogamous species and the lifelong partners take turns to <!--del_lnk--> incubate their eggs and feed their young. The <!--del_lnk--> moulting season is between October and February, with the majority of the birds moulting in November and December, after which they head out to sea to feed (since they do not feed during moulting season and remain on land). Their diet includes small <a href="../../wp/f/Fish.htm" title="Fish">fish</a> such as <!--del_lnk--> sardines and <!--del_lnk--> anchovies. The penguins obtain water from the fish they eat.<p>African Penguins have an average lifespan of 10-11 years, the females reaching sexual maturity at the age of 4 years, and males at the age of 5 years. The highest recorded age for a bird of this species has been 24, however several individual birds have lived to be up to 40 years old in aquarium settings. The current population (as of 2003) estimated at 179,000 adults, with 56,000 breeding pairs.<p>As recently as the mid-twentieth century, penguin eggs were considered a delicacy and were still being collected for sale. Unfortunately, the practice was to smash any eggs found a few days prior to gathering, in order to ensure that only fresh ones were sold. This added to the drastic decline of the penguin population around the Cape coast, a decline which was hastened by the removal of <!--del_lnk--> guano from islands for use as fertilizer, eliminating the burrowing material used by penguins. Penguins remain susceptible to pollution of their habitat by <!--del_lnk--> petrochemicals from spills, shipwrecks and cleaning of tankers while at sea.<p>Disaster struck on June 23, 2000, when the iron ore tanker <i>MV Treasure</i> sank between Robben Island and Dassen Island, oiling 19,000 adult penguins at the height of the best breeding season on record for this vulnerable species. The oiled birds were brought to an abandoned train repair warehouse in Cape Town to be cared for. An additional 19,500 un-oiled penguins were removed from Dassen Island before the oil slick reached their island, and were released 800 miles up the West coast. This gave workers enough time to clean up the oiled waters and shores before the birds could complete their long swim home. Tens of thousands of volunteers descended upon Cape Town to help with the rescue and rehabilitation process, which was overseen by IFAW (International Fund for Animal Welfare) and the <!--del_lnk--> South African Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds (SANCCOB), and took more than three months to complete. Although this was the largest animal rescue event in history, more than 91% of the penguins were successfully rehabilitated and released - an amazing feat that could not have been accomplished without such a tremendous international response.<p>The African Penguin is one of the species to which the <i>Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds</i> (<!--del_lnk--> AEWA) applies.<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="gallery">
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<div class="thumb" style="padding: 30px 0;"><a href="../../images/150/15034.jpg.htm" title="Image:African.penguin.bristol.2.750pix.jpg"><img alt="" height="86" src="../../images/150/15034.jpg" width="120" /></a></div>
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<p>African Penguins, showing the black arch-shape and black chest-spots</div>
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<div class="thumb" style="padding: 13px 0;"><a href="../../images/150/15035.jpg.htm" title="Image:African penguins.jpg"><img alt="" height="120" src="../../images/150/15035.jpg" width="90" /></a></div>
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<p>African Penguins on <!--del_lnk--> Boulders Beach near <a href="../../wp/c/Cape_Town.htm" title="Cape Town">Cape Town</a>.</div>
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<div class="thumb" style="padding: 13px 0;"><a href="../../images/150/15036.jpg.htm" title="Image:Jackass-Penguin.jpg"><img alt="" height="120" src="../../images/150/15036.jpg" width="98" /></a></div>
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<div class="thumb" style="padding: 13px 0;"><a href="../../images/103/10361.jpg.htm" title="Image:Penguin.jackass.arp.500pix.jpg"><img alt="" height="120" src="../../images/103/10361.jpg" width="101" /></a></div>
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<p>An albino African Penguin, born at Bristol Zoo, Bristol, England</div>
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| ['Scientific classification', 'Animal', 'Chordate', 'Vertebrate', 'Binomial nomenclature', 'Carolus Linnaeus', 'Africa', 'Namibia', 'South Africa', 'Magellanic Penguin', 'South America', 'Pacific Ocean', 'Fish', 'Cape Town'] |
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<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">African Union</h1>
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<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.Citizenship.Politics_and_government.htm">Politics and government</a></h3>
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<caption><big><b>African Union</b></big></caption>
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<td width="130px"><a class="image" href="../../images/202/20278.png.htm" title="Flag of the African Union, formerly used by the OAU"><img alt="Flag of the African Union, formerly used by the OAU" height="83" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_the_African_Union.svg" src="../../images/150/15016.png" width="125" /></a></td>
<td align="center" width="130px"><a class="image" href="../../images/150/15017.png.htm" title="Emblem of the African Union"><img alt="Emblem of the African Union" height="110" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Logo_of_the_African_Union.svg" src="../../images/150/15017.png" width="125" /></a></td>
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<td width="130px">(<!--del_lnk--> Flag)</td>
<td align="center" width="130px">(<!--del_lnk--> Emblem)</td>
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<td align="center" colspan="2"><small><!--del_lnk--> Anthem: <i><!--del_lnk--> Let Us All Unite and Celebrate Together</i></small></td>
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<td align="center" colspan="2" style="background:#fff;"><a class="image" href="../../images/150/15018.png.htm" title="Location of the African Union"><img alt="Location of the African Union" height="115" longdesc="/wiki/Image:LocationAfricanUnion.png" src="../../images/150/15018.png" width="250" /></a></td>
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<td><b>Capital</b></td>
<td><a href="../../wp/a/Addis_Ababa.htm" title="Addis Ababa">Addis Ababa</a>, <a href="../../wp/e/Ethiopia.htm" title="Ethiopia">Ethiopia</a></td>
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<td><b>Membership</b></td>
<td>53 member states</td>
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<td><b><!--del_lnk--> Official languages</b></td>
<td>The <!--del_lnk--> languages of Africa, as well as <a href="../../wp/a/Arabic_language.htm" title="Arabic language">Arabic</a>, <a href="../../wp/e/English_language.htm" title="English language">English</a>, <a href="../../wp/f/French_language.htm" title="French language">French</a>, and <a href="../../wp/p/Portuguese_language.htm" title="Portuguese language">Portuguese</a><small><sup></sup></small></td>
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<td valign="top"><b>Formation</b><br /> - As <!--del_lnk--> Organisation of African Unity<br /> - As AU</td>
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<br /> - <!--del_lnk--> May 25, <!--del_lnk--> 1963<br /> - <!--del_lnk--> July 9, <!--del_lnk--> 2002</td>
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<td><b><!--del_lnk--> Chairman of the African Union</b></td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Denis Sassou-Nguesso</td>
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<td><b><!--del_lnk--> Chairman of the Commission</b></td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Alpha Oumar Konaré</td>
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<td valign="bottom"><b><!--del_lnk--> Area</b><br />
<p> - Total</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> 1st if ranked<small><sup></sup></small><br />
<p><!--del_lnk--> 29,797,500 km<sup>2</sup></td>
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<td valign="bottom"><b><!--del_lnk--> Population</b><br />
<p> - Total (2005)<br /> - <!--del_lnk--> Density</td>
<td valign="bottom"><!--del_lnk--> 3rd if ranked<small><sup></sup></small><br />
<p>850 million<br /> 25.7 people/km²</td>
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<td valign="bottom"><b><!--del_lnk--> GDP</b> (2003)<br />
<p> - Total<br /> - Total<br /> - GDP/head<br /> - GDP/head</td>
<td valign="bottom"><!--del_lnk--> 16th if ranked<small><sup></sup></small><br />
<p> US$1.515 trillion (PPP)<br /> $0.514 trillion (Nominal)<br /> $1,896 (PPP)<br /> $643 (Nominal)</td>
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<td><b><a href="../../wp/c/Currency.htm" title="Currency">Currencies</a></b></td>
<td>Each member state has its own currency.</td>
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<td><b><a href="../../wp/t/Time_zone.htm" title="Time zone">Time zone</a></b></td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> UTC -1 to UTC +4</td>
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<td><b><!--del_lnk--> Internet TLD</b></td>
<td>Not standardized.</td>
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<td valign="bottom"><b><!--del_lnk--> Calling Codes</b></td>
<td>Not standardized.<small><sup></sup></small></td>
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<td colspan="2" style="font-size:80%"><cite id="fn_1">Note 1:</cite> Some member states have other official languages. <p><cite id="fn_2">Note 2:</cite> Rank if the AU's members are counted as a single country (other organisations are not counted in this way).<p><cite id="fn_3">Note 3:</cite> <small>Each member state has its own calling code beginning with +2.</small></td>
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<p><!--del_lnk--> Life in the <strong class="selflink">African Union</strong><br /><a class="image" href="../../images/202/20278.png.htm" title="Flag of the African Union"><img alt="Flag of the African Union" height="45" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_the_African_Union.svg" src="../../images/150/15019.png" width="67" /></a></th>
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<li><!--del_lnk--> Citizenship<li><!--del_lnk--> Culture<li><!--del_lnk--> Demographics<li><!--del_lnk--> Economy<li><!--del_lnk--> Education<li><!--del_lnk--> Enlargement<li><!--del_lnk--> Foreign relations</ul>
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<td width="50%">
<ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Geography<li><!--del_lnk--> History<li><!--del_lnk--> Languages<li><!--del_lnk--> Military<li><!--del_lnk--> Politics<li><!--del_lnk--> Sport<li><!--del_lnk--> Statistics</ul>
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<p>The <b>African Union</b> (<b>AU</b>) is an organisation consisting of fifty-three <a href="../../wp/a/Africa.htm" title="Africa">African</a> <!--del_lnk--> states. Established in 2001, the AU was formed as a successor to the amalgamated <!--del_lnk--> African Economic Community (AEC) and the <!--del_lnk--> Organisation of African Unity (OAU). Eventually, the AU aims to have a single currency and a single integrated defence force, as well as other institutions of state, including a cabinet for the AU Head of State. The purpose of the union is to help secure Africa's <a href="../../wp/d/Democracy.htm" title="Democracy">democracy</a>, <a href="../../wp/h/Human_rights.htm" title="Human rights">human rights</a>, and a <a href="../../wp/e/Economy_of_Africa.htm" title="Economy of Africa">sustainable economy</a>, especially by bringing an end to intra-African conflict and creating an effective common market.<p>
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</script><a id="Overview" name="Overview"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Overview</span></h2>
<p>The AU is governed by the <!--del_lnk--> AU Assembly of Heads of State and the <!--del_lnk--> Pan-African Parliament, which are both assisted by the <!--del_lnk--> AU Commission which constitutes one of the secretariats of the Pan African Parliament. The current President of the <!--del_lnk--> Pan African Parliament, <!--del_lnk--> Gertrude Mongella, is the Head of State of African Union. <!--del_lnk--> Denis Sassou-Nguesso, president of the AU state of the <a href="../../wp/r/Republic_of_the_Congo.htm" title="Republic of the Congo">Republic of the Congo</a> is the Chair of the AU Assembly of Heads of State and Government. <!--del_lnk--> Alpha Oumar Konare is the current Chairman of the African Union Commission, which serves as the Secretariat of the Pan African Parliament and a civil service of the African Union.<p>The AU covers the entire continent except for <a href="../../wp/m/Morocco.htm" title="Morocco">Morocco</a>, which opposes the membership of <a href="../../wp/w/Western_Sahara.htm" title="Western Sahara">Western Sahara</a> as the <!--del_lnk--> Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic. However, Morocco has a special status within the AU and benefits from the services available to all AU states from the institutions of the AU, such as the <!--del_lnk--> African Development Bank. Moroccan delegates also participate at important AU functions, and negotiations continue to try to resolve the conflict with the <!--del_lnk--> Polisario Front in <!--del_lnk--> Tindouf, <a href="../../wp/a/Algeria.htm" title="Algeria">Algeria</a> and <!--del_lnk--> parts of Western Sahara.<p>The AU's first military intervention in a member state was the May 2003 deployment of a peacekeeping force of soldiers from <a href="../../wp/s/South_Africa.htm" title="South Africa">South Africa</a>, <a href="../../wp/e/Ethiopia.htm" title="Ethiopia">Ethiopia</a>, and <a href="../../wp/m/Mozambique.htm" title="Mozambique">Mozambique</a> to <a href="../../wp/b/Burundi.htm" title="Burundi">Burundi</a> to oversee the implementation of the various agreements. AU troops are also deployed in <a href="../../wp/s/Sudan.htm" title="Sudan">Sudan</a> for peacekeeping in the <a href="../../wp/d/Darfur_conflict.htm" title="Darfur conflict">Darfur conflict</a>. In 1994 the OAU wasn't aware of the situation of the country and only provided some humanitarian help to the conflict.<p><a id="History_of_the_African_Union" name="History_of_the_African_Union"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">History of the African Union</span></h2>
<p>The historical foundations of the African Union originated in the <!--del_lnk--> Union of African States, an early <!--del_lnk--> confederation that was established by <!--del_lnk--> Kwame Nkrumah in the 1960s, as well as subsequent attempts to unite Africa, including the <!--del_lnk--> Organisation of African Unity (OAU), which was established on <!--del_lnk--> May 25, <!--del_lnk--> 1963, and the <!--del_lnk--> African Economic Community in 1981. Critics argued that the OAU in particular did little to protect the rights and liberties of African citizens from their own political leaders, often dubbing it the "Dictators' Club". <!--del_lnk--> <p>The idea of creating the AU was revived in the mid-1990s as a result of the efforts of the <!--del_lnk--> African Unification Front. The heads of state and government of the OAU issued the <!--del_lnk--> Sirte Declaration on <!--del_lnk--> September 9, <!--del_lnk--> 1999, calling for the establishment of an African Union. The Declaration was followed by summits at <a href="../../wp/l/Lom%25C3%25A9.htm" title="Lomé">Lomé</a> in 2000, when the <!--del_lnk--> Constitutive Act of the African Union was adopted, and at <a href="../../wp/l/Lusaka.htm" title="Lusaka">Lusaka</a> in 2001, when the plan for the implementation of the African Union was adopted.<p>The African Union was launched in <!--del_lnk--> Durban on <!--del_lnk--> July 9, <!--del_lnk--> 2002, by its first president, <a href="../../wp/s/South_Africa.htm" title="South Africa">South African</a> <!--del_lnk--> Thabo Mbeki, at the first session of the Assembly of the African Union. The second session of the Assembly was in <a href="../../wp/m/Maputo.htm" title="Maputo">Maputo</a> in 2003, and the third session in <a href="../../wp/a/Addis_Ababa.htm" title="Addis Ababa">Addis Ababa</a> on <!--del_lnk--> July 6, <!--del_lnk--> 2004.<p>Its Constitutive Act declares that it shall "invite and encourage the full participation of the <!--del_lnk--> African diaspora as an important part of our Continent, in the building of the African Union". The African Union Government has defined the African diaspora as "[consisting] of people of African origin living outside the continent, irrespective of their citizenship and nationality and who are willing to contribute to the development of the continent and the building of the African Union". <!--del_lnk--> <p><a id="Membership" name="Membership"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Membership</span></h2>
<dl>
<dd>
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<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:202px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/150/15020.png.htm" title="Map of the African Union."><img alt="Map of the African Union." height="229" longdesc="/wiki/Image:AfricanUnion-map.png" src="../../images/150/15020.png" width="200" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/150/15020.png.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Map of the African Union.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>The African Union has fifty-three members, embracing the whole of Africa except Mauritania (membership suspended) and Morocco (see below).<dl>
<dt>Current members</dl>
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<p><a class="image" href="../../images/3/398.png.htm" title="Flag of Algeria"><img alt="Flag of Algeria" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Algeria_%28bordered%29.svg" src="../../images/3/398.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/a/Algeria.htm" title="Algeria">Algeria</a><br /><a class="image" href="../../images/15/1543.png.htm" title="Flag of Angola"><img alt="Flag of Angola" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Angola.svg" src="../../images/15/1543.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/a/Angola.htm" title="Angola">Angola</a><br /><a class="image" href="../../images/7/786.png.htm" title="Flag of Benin"><img alt="Flag of Benin" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Benin.svg" src="../../images/7/786.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/b/Benin.htm" title="Benin">Benin</a><br /><a class="image" href="../../images/15/1544.png.htm" title="Flag of Botswana"><img alt="Flag of Botswana" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Botswana.svg" 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of Comoros" height="13" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_the_Comoros.svg" src="../../images/4/406.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/c/Comoros.htm" title="Comoros">Comoros</a><br /><a class="image" href="../../images/15/1545.png.htm" title="Flag of Democratic Republic of the Congo"><img alt="Flag of Democratic Republic of the Congo" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_the_Democratic_Republic_of_the_Congo.svg" src="../../images/15/1545.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/d/Democratic_Republic_of_the_Congo.htm" title="Democratic Republic of the Congo">Democratic Republic of the Congo</a><br /><a class="image" href="../../images/15/1546.png.htm" title="Flag of Republic of the Congo"><img alt="Flag of Republic of the Congo" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_the_Republic_of_the_Congo.svg" src="../../images/15/1546.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/r/Republic_of_the_Congo.htm" title="Republic of the Congo">Republic of the Congo</a><br /><a class="image" 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</td>
<td width="240px">
<p><a class="image" href="../../images/10/1030.png.htm" title="Flag of Ethiopia"><img alt="Flag of Ethiopia" height="11" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Ethiopia.svg" src="../../images/10/1030.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/e/Ethiopia.htm" title="Ethiopia">Ethiopia</a><br /><a class="image" href="../../images/15/1548.png.htm" title="Flag of Gabon"><img alt="Flag of Gabon" height="17" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Gabon.svg" src="../../images/15/1548.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/g/Gabon.htm" title="Gabon">Gabon</a><br /><a class="image" href="../../images/15/1533.png.htm" title="Flag of The Gambia"><img alt="Flag of The Gambia" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_The_Gambia.svg" src="../../images/15/1533.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/t/The_Gambia.htm" title="The Gambia">Gambia</a><br /><a class="image" href="../../images/15/1542.png.htm" title="Flag of Ghana"><img alt="Flag of Ghana" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Ghana.svg" src="../../images/15/1542.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/g/Ghana.htm" title="Ghana">Ghana</a><br /><a class="image" href="../../images/15/1534.png.htm" title="Flag of Guinea"><img alt="Flag of Guinea" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Guinea.svg" src="../../images/15/1534.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/g/Guinea.htm" title="Guinea">Guinea</a><br /><a class="image" href="../../images/15/1535.png.htm" title="Flag of Guinea-Bissau"><img alt="Flag of Guinea-Bissau" height="11" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Guinea-Bissau.svg" src="../../images/15/1535.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/g/Guinea-Bissau.htm" title="Guinea-Bissau">Guinea-Bissau</a><br /><a class="image" href="../../images/15/1549.png.htm" title="Flag of Kenya"><img alt="Flag of Kenya" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Kenya.svg" src="../../images/15/1549.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/k/Kenya.htm" title="Kenya">Kenya</a><br /><a class="image" href="../../images/81/8183.png.htm" title="Flag of Lesotho"><img alt="Flag of Lesotho" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Lesotho.svg" src="../../images/81/8183.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/l/Lesotho.htm" title="Lesotho">Lesotho</a><br /><a class="image" href="../../images/15/1540.png.htm" title="Flag of Liberia"><img alt="Flag of Liberia" height="12" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Liberia.svg" src="../../images/15/1540.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/l/Liberia.htm" title="Liberia">Liberia</a><br /><a class="image" href="../../images/3/393.png.htm" title="Flag of Libya"><img alt="Flag of Libya" height="11" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Libya.svg" src="../../images/3/393.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/l/Libya.htm" title="Libya">Libya</a><br /><a class="image" href="../../images/69/6930.png.htm" title="Flag of Madagascar"><img alt="Flag of Madagascar" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Madagascar_%28bordered%29.svg" src="../../images/69/6930.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/m/Madagascar.htm" title="Madagascar">Madagascar</a><br /><a class="image" href="../../images/15/1550.png.htm" title="Flag of Malawi"><img alt="Flag of Malawi" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Malawi.svg" src="../../images/15/1550.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/m/Malawi.htm" title="Malawi">Malawi</a><br /><a class="image" href="../../images/15/1536.png.htm" title="Flag of Mali"><img alt="Flag of Mali" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Mali.svg" src="../../images/15/1536.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/m/Mali.htm" title="Mali">Mali</a><br /><a class="image" href="../../images/62/6232.png.htm" title="Flag of Mauritius"><img alt="Flag of Mauritius" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Mauritius.svg" src="../../images/62/6232.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/m/Mauritius.htm" title="Mauritius">Mauritius</a><br /><a class="image" href="../../images/15/1551.png.htm" title="Flag of Mozambique"><img alt="Flag of Mozambique" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Mozambique.svg" src="../../images/15/1551.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/m/Mozambique.htm" title="Mozambique">Mozambique</a><br /><a class="image" href="../../images/15/1552.png.htm" title="Flag of Namibia"><img alt="Flag of Namibia" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Namibia.svg" src="../../images/15/1552.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/n/Namibia.htm" title="Namibia">Namibia</a><br /><a class="image" href="../../images/15/1541.png.htm" title="Flag of Niger Niger is two-thirds desert, and its misleading name, which means flowing water refers to the great river: The Niger."><img alt="Flag of Niger Niger is two-thirds desert, and its misleading name, which means flowing water refers to the great river: The Niger." height="19" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Niger.svg" src="../../images/15/1541.png" width="22" /></a> [[Niger Niger is two-thirds desert, and its misleading name, which means flowing water refers to the great river: The Niger.|Niger]]</td>
<td width="15px">
</td>
<td width="240px">
<p><a class="image" href="../../images/7/787.png.htm" title="Flag of Nigeria"><img alt="Flag of Nigeria" height="11" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Nigeria.svg" src="../../images/7/787.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/n/Nigeria.htm" title="Nigeria">Nigeria</a><br /><a class="image" href="../../images/15/1553.png.htm" title="Flag of Rwanda"><img alt="Flag of Rwanda" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Rwanda.svg" src="../../images/15/1553.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/r/Rwanda.htm" title="Rwanda">Rwanda</a><br /><a class="image" href="../../images/10/1029.png.htm" title="Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic"><img alt="Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic" height="10" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Western_Sahara.svg" src="../../images/150/15021.png" width="20" /></a> <a href="../../wp/w/Western_Sahara.htm" title="Western Sahara">Western Sahara</a> (<!--del_lnk--> SADR)<br /><a class="image" href="../../images/82/8202.png.htm" title="Flag of São Tomé and Príncipe"><img alt="Flag of São Tomé and Príncipe" height="11" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Sao_Tome_and_Principe.svg" src="../../images/82/8202.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/s/S%25C3%25A3o_Tom%25C3%25A9_and_Pr%25C3%25ADncipe.htm" title="São Tomé and Príncipe">São Tomé and Príncipe</a><br /><a class="image" href="../../images/10/1045.png.htm" title="Flag of Senegal"><img alt="Flag of Senegal" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Senegal.svg" src="../../images/10/1045.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/s/Senegal.htm" title="Senegal">Senegal</a><br /><a class="image" href="../../images/82/8203.png.htm" title="Flag of Seychelles"><img alt="Flag of Seychelles" height="11" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_the_Seychelles.svg" src="../../images/82/8203.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/s/Seychelles.htm" title="Seychelles">Seychelles</a><br /><a class="image" href="../../images/15/1537.png.htm" title="Flag of Sierra Leone"><img alt="Flag of Sierra Leone" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Sierra_Leone.svg" src="../../images/15/1537.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/s/Sierra_Leone.htm" title="Sierra Leone">Sierra Leone</a><br /><a class="image" href="../../images/4/403.png.htm" title="Flag of Somalia"><img alt="Flag of Somalia" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Somalia.svg" src="../../images/4/403.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/s/Somalia.htm" title="Somalia">Somalia</a><br /><a class="image" href="../../images/14/1448.png.htm" title="Flag of South Africa"><img alt="Flag of South Africa" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_South_Africa.svg" src="../../images/14/1448.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/s/South_Africa.htm" title="South Africa">South Africa</a><br /><a class="image" href="../../images/3/394.png.htm" title="Flag of Sudan"><img alt="Flag of Sudan" height="11" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Sudan.svg" src="../../images/3/394.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/s/Sudan.htm" title="Sudan">Sudan</a><br /><a class="image" href="../../images/15/1554.png.htm" title="Flag of Swaziland"><img alt="Flag of Swaziland" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Swaziland.svg" src="../../images/15/1554.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/s/Swaziland.htm" title="Swaziland">Swaziland</a><br /><a class="image" href="../../images/15/1555.png.htm" title="Flag of Tanzania"><img alt="Flag of Tanzania" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Tanzania.svg" src="../../images/15/1555.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/t/Tanzania.htm" title="Tanzania">Tanzania</a><br /><a class="image" href="../../images/5/549.png.htm" title="Flag of Togo"><img alt="Flag of Togo" height="14" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Togo.svg" src="../../images/5/549.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/t/Togo.htm" title="Togo">Togo</a><br /><a class="image" href="../../images/3/396.png.htm" title="Flag of Tunisia"><img alt="Flag of Tunisia" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Tunisia.svg" src="../../images/3/396.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/t/Tunisia.htm" title="Tunisia">Tunisia</a><br /><a class="image" href="../../images/188/18805.png.htm" title="Flag of Uganda"><img alt="Flag of Uganda" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Uganda.svg" src="../../images/15/1556.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/u/Uganda.htm" title="Uganda">Uganda</a><br /><a class="image" href="../../images/15/1557.png.htm" title="Flag of Zambia"><img alt="Flag of Zambia" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Zambia.svg" src="../../images/15/1557.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/z/Zambia.htm" title="Zambia">Zambia</a><br /><a class="image" href="../../images/15/1558.png.htm" title="Flag of Zimbabwe"><img alt="Flag of Zimbabwe" height="11" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Zimbabwe.svg" src="../../images/15/1558.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/z/Zimbabwe.htm" title="Zimbabwe">Zimbabwe</a></td>
<td width="15px">
<p>
<br />
<p>
<br />
</td>
</tr>
</table>
<dl>
<dt>Suspended members <dd><a class="image" href="../../images/4/402.png.htm" title="Flag of Mauritania"><img alt="Flag of Mauritania" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Mauritania.svg" src="../../images/4/402.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/m/Mauritania.htm" title="Mauritania">Mauritania</a> currently suspended following a <!--del_lnk--> coup d'état.<dt>Former members <dd><a class="image" href="../../images/3/395.png.htm" title="Flag of Morocco"><img alt="Flag of Morocco" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Morocco.svg" src="../../images/3/395.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/m/Morocco.htm" title="Morocco">Morocco</a> left predecessor organisation in 1984.</dl>
<p><a id="Morocco.27s_withdrawal" name="Morocco.27s_withdrawal"></a><h4> <span class="mw-headline">Morocco's withdrawal</span></h4>
<p>The only African state which is not a member of the African Union is <a href="../../wp/m/Morocco.htm" title="Morocco">Morocco</a> which chose to leave the AU's predecessor, the OAU, in 1984 when the other African countries supported the <!--del_lnk--> Sahrawi <a href="../../wp/n/Nationalism.htm" title="Nationalism">nationalist</a> <!--del_lnk--> Polisario Front's Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic. Some countries have since retracted their support for the Sahrawi Republic.<p><a id="Summits" name="Summits"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Summits</span></h2>
<table class="wikitable">
<tr>
<th>No.</th>
<th colspan="2">Host city/country</th>
<th>Date</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>1st</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Durban</td>
<td>South Africa</td>
<td>9-11 July 2002</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>2nd</td>
<td><a href="../../wp/m/Maputo.htm" title="Maputo">Maputo</a></td>
<td>Mozambique </td>
<td>10-11 July 2003</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
</td>
<td><i><!--del_lnk--> Sirte</i></td>
<td><i>Libya</i></td>
<td><i>February 2004</i> <sup>*</sup></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>3rd</td>
<td><a href="../../wp/a/Addis_Ababa.htm" title="Addis Ababa">Addis Ababa</a> </td>
<td>Ethiopia</td>
<td>6-8 July 2004</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>4th</td>
<td><a href="../../wp/a/Abuja.htm" title="Abuja">Abuja</a></td>
<td>Nigeria</td>
<td>24-31 January 2005</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>5th</td>
<td>Sirte</td>
<td>Libya</td>
<td>28 June - 5 July 2005</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>6th</td>
<td><a href="../../wp/k/Khartoum.htm" title="Khartoum">Khartoum</a></td>
<td>Sudan</td>
<td>16-24 January 2006</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>7th</td>
<td><a href="../../wp/b/Banjul.htm" title="Banjul">Banjul</a></td>
<td>The Gambia</td>
<td>25 June - 2 July 2006</td>
</tr>
</table>
<p><span style="font-size:90%;">* Extraordinary meeting.</span><p><a id="Organization" name="Organization"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Organization</span></h2>
<p>The current Head of State of the African Union is <!--del_lnk--> Gertrude Mongella, who is also the President of the <!--del_lnk--> Pan African Parliament. The <!--del_lnk--> Chairman of the African Union's Assembly of Heads of State is <!--del_lnk--> Denis Sassou-Nguesso, and the <!--del_lnk--> Chairman of the African Commission is <!--del_lnk--> Alpha Oumar Konaré.<p>The African Union has a number of official bodies:<dl>
<dt><!--del_lnk--> Pan-African Parliament (PAP) <dd>To become the highest legislative body of the African Union. The seat of the PAP is at <!--del_lnk--> Midrand, <a href="../../wp/s/South_Africa.htm" title="South Africa">South Africa</a>. The Parliament is composed of 265 elected representatives from all fifty-three AU states, and intended to provide popular and civil-society participation in the processes of democratic governance.</dl>
<dl>
<dt><!--del_lnk--> Assembly of the African Union <dd>Composed of heads of state and heads of government of AU states, the Assembly is currently the supreme governing body of the African Union. It is gradually devolving some of its decision-making powers to the Pan African Parliament. It meets once a year and makes its decisions by consensus or by a two-thirds majority. The <!--del_lnk--> current Chairman of the Assembly is <!--del_lnk--> Denis Sassou-Nguesso, president of <!--del_lnk--> Congo-Brazzaville.</dl>
<dl>
<dt><!--del_lnk--> African Commission <dd>The <!--del_lnk--> secretariat of the African Union, composed of ten commissioners and supporting staff and headquartered in <a href="../../wp/a/Addis_Ababa.htm" title="Addis Ababa">Addis Ababa</a>, <a href="../../wp/e/Ethiopia.htm" title="Ethiopia">Ethiopia</a>. In a similar fashion to its <a href="../../wp/e/European_Union.htm" title="European Union">European</a> counterpart, the <!--del_lnk--> European Commission, it is responsible for the administration and co-ordination of the AU's activities and meetings.</dl>
<dl>
<dt><!--del_lnk--> African Court of Justice <dd>To rule on <a href="../../wp/h/Human_rights.htm" title="Human rights">human rights</a> abuses in Africa. The court will consist of eleven judges elected by the Assembly. <a href="../../wp/k/Kenya.htm" title="Kenya">Kenya</a> and <a href="../../wp/u/Uganda.htm" title="Uganda">Uganda</a> have expressed interest in hosting the court.</dl>
<dl>
<dt><!--del_lnk--> Executive Council<dd>Composed of ministers designated by the governments of members states. It decides on matters such as foreign trade, social security, food, agriculture and communications, is accountable to the Assembly, and prepares material for the Assembly to discuss and approve.</dl>
<dl>
<dt><!--del_lnk--> Permanent Representatives' Committee <dd>Consisting of nominated permanent representatives of member states, the Committee prepares the work for the Executive Council. (European Union equivalent: the <!--del_lnk--> Committee of Permanent Representatives (COREPER)).</dl>
<dl>
<dt><!--del_lnk--> Peace and Security Council <dd>Proposed at the Lusaka Summit in 2001. It has fifteen members responsible for monitoring and intervening in conflicts, with an African force at its disposal. Similar in intent and operation to the <!--del_lnk--> Security Council of the <a href="../../wp/u/United_Nations.htm" title="United Nations">United Nations</a>.</dl>
<dl>
<dt><!--del_lnk--> Economic, Social and Cultural Council <dd>An advisory organ composed of professional and civic representatives, similar to the European <!--del_lnk--> Economic and Social Council.</dl>
<dl>
<dt><!--del_lnk--> Specialized Technical Committees <dd>These address Rural Economy and Agricultural Matters; Monetary and Financial Affairs; Trade, Customs, and Immigration Matters; Industry, Science and Technology, Energy, Natural Resources, and Environment; Transport, Communications, and Tourism; Health, Labor, and Social Affairs; Education, Culture, and Human Resources.</dl>
<dl>
<dt>Financial institutions <dd><!--del_lnk--> African Central Bank, <!--del_lnk--> African Investment Bank, <!--del_lnk--> African Monetary Fund.</dl>
<p><a id="Current_issues" name="Current_issues"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Current issues</span></h2>
<p>The AU faces many challenges, including health issues such as combating <a href="../../wp/m/Malaria.htm" title="Malaria">malaria</a> and the <a href="../../wp/a/AIDS.htm" title="AIDS">AIDS</a>/<a href="../../wp/h/HIV.htm" title="HIV">HIV</a> epidemic; political issues such as confronting <a href="../../wp/l/Liberal_democracy.htm" title="Liberal democracy">undemocratic</a> regimes and mediating in the many <!--del_lnk--> civil wars; economic issues such as improving the <!--del_lnk--> standard of living of millions of <a href="../../wp/p/Poverty.htm" title="Poverty">impoverished</a>, uneducated Africans; ecological issues such as dealing with recurring <a href="../../wp/f/Famine.htm" title="Famine">famines</a>, <!--del_lnk--> desertification, and lack of ecological <!--del_lnk--> sustainability; as well as the <a href="../../wp/i/International_law.htm" title="International law">legal</a> issue of the still-unfinished <!--del_lnk--> decolonization of <a href="../../wp/w/Western_Sahara.htm" title="Western Sahara">Western Sahara</a>.<p>In response to the ongoing <a href="../../wp/d/Darfur_conflict.htm" title="Darfur conflict">Darfur conflict</a> in <a href="../../wp/s/Sudan.htm" title="Sudan">Sudan</a>, the AU has <!--del_lnk--> deployed 7,000 peacekeepers, many from <a href="../../wp/r/Rwanda.htm" title="Rwanda">Rwanda</a>, to <!--del_lnk--> Darfur. While a donor's conference in <a href="../../wp/a/Addis_Ababa.htm" title="Addis Ababa">Addis Ababa</a> in 2005 helped raise funds to sustain the peacekeepers through that year and into 2006, as of July 2006, the AU has said it will pull out at the end of September when its mandate expires.<!--del_lnk--> Critics of the AU peacekeepers, including Dr. <!--del_lnk--> Eric Reeves, have said these forces are largely ineffective due to lack of funds, personnel, and expertise. Monitoring an area roughly the size of <a href="../../wp/f/France.htm" title="France">France</a> has made it even more difficult to sustain an effective mission. In June 2006, the United States <!--del_lnk--> Congress appropriated US$173 million for the AU force. Some, such as the <!--del_lnk--> Genocide Intervention Network, have called for <a href="../../wp/u/United_Nations.htm" title="United Nations">United Nations</a> (UN) or <a href="../../wp/n/NATO.htm" title="NATO">NATO</a> intervention to augment and/or replace the AU peacekeepers. The UN is currently considering deploying a force, though it would not likely enter the country until at least January, 2007.<!--del_lnk--> The underfunded and badly equipped AU mission expires on <!--del_lnk--> December 31, <!--del_lnk--> 2006 but so far there is no agreement on what will happen after that date.<!--del_lnk--> <p>In response to the death of <!--del_lnk--> Gnassingbé Eyadéma, president of <a href="../../wp/t/Togo.htm" title="Togo">Togo</a>, on <!--del_lnk--> February 5, <!--del_lnk--> 2005, AU leaders described the naming of his son <!--del_lnk--> Faure Gnassingbé the successor as a <!--del_lnk--> military coup. Togo's constitution calls for the speaker of parliament to succeed the president in the event of his death. By law, the parliament speaker must call national elections to choose a new president within sixty days. The AU's protest forced Gnassingbé to hold elections. Under heavy allegations of election fraud, he was officially elected President on <!--del_lnk--> May 4, <!--del_lnk--> 2005.<p>Also, on <!--del_lnk--> August 3, <!--del_lnk--> 2005 a coup occurred in <a href="../../wp/m/Mauritania.htm" title="Mauritania">Mauritania</a> that led the African Union to suspend the country from all organisational activities. The Military Council that took control of Mauritania promised to hold elections within two years.<p>Current conflicts also include the <!--del_lnk--> Casamance Conflict in Senegal; the <!--del_lnk--> Ituri Conflict, an extension of the <a href="../../wp/s/Second_Congo_War.htm" title="Second Congo War">Second Congo War</a>; the <!--del_lnk--> Ivorian Civil War; and the <!--del_lnk--> Somali Civil War, associated with <!--del_lnk--> Somaliland's claim for independence. There is still political fall-out from the <a href="../../wp/c/Chadian-Sudanese_conflict.htm" title="Chadian-Sudanese conflict">Chadian-Sudanese conflict</a>, <!--del_lnk--> North-South Conflict in Sudan, and the Ugandan conflict with the <a href="../../wp/l/Lord%2527s_Resistance_Army.htm" title="Lord's Resistance Army">Lord's Resistance Army</a>. Zimbabwe is also facing a political crisis.<p>However, the most serious issue to face Africa is not a dispute between nations, but rather the rapid spread of <a href="../../wp/h/HIV.htm" title="HIV">HIV</a> and the <a href="../../wp/a/AIDS.htm" title="AIDS">AIDS</a> pandemic. <a href="../../wp/s/Sub-Saharan_Africa.htm" title="Sub-Saharan Africa">sub-Saharan Africa</a> is by far the worst affected area in the world, and as the infection is now starting to claim lives by the millions. The epidemic has affected over 25% of the population of southern Africa, with South Africa, Botswana, Kenya, Namibia, and Zimbabwe all expected to have a decrease in life expectancy by an average of 6.5 years. The effects on South Africa, which composes 30% of the AU's economy, threatens to significantly stunt GDP growth, and thus internal and external trade for the continent.<p>Controversy arose at the 2006 summit when Sudan announced a candidate for the AU's chairmanship. Five member states threatened to withdraw support for a Sudanese candidate because of tensions over Darfur. Sudan ultimately withdrew its candidacy and Denis Sassou-Nguesso of the Republic of the Congo was elected to a one-year term.<p><a id="Economy" name="Economy"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Economy</span></h2>
<dl>
<dd>
</dl>
<p><a id="Languages" name="Languages"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Languages</span></h2>
<dl>
<dd>
</dl>
<p>The African Union promotes the use of <!--del_lnk--> African languages wherever possible in its official work. Its other working languages are <a href="../../wp/a/Arabic_language.htm" title="Arabic language">Arabic</a>, <a href="../../wp/e/English_language.htm" title="English language">English</a>, <a href="../../wp/f/French_language.htm" title="French language">French</a>, and <a href="../../wp/p/Portuguese_language.htm" title="Portuguese language">Portuguese</a>, although many other languages are used officially by some member states (e.g. <a href="../../wp/s/Spanish_language.htm" title="Spanish language">Spanish</a> is co-official with French in <a href="../../wp/e/Equatorial_Guinea.htm" title="Equatorial Guinea">Equatorial Guinea</a>.) Supplemental protocols to the African Union have made <!--del_lnk--> Swahili an official language of the African Union. Founded in 2001, the <!--del_lnk--> African Academy of Languages promotes the usage of and perpetuation of African languages amongst African people.<p><a id="Geography" name="Geography"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Geography</span></h2>
<dl>
<dd>
</dl>
<p><a id="Foreign_relations" name="Foreign_relations"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Foreign relations</span></h2>
<dl>
<dd>
</dl>
<p><a id="Symbols" name="Symbols"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Symbols</span></h2>
<p>The <!--del_lnk--> emblem of the African Union consists of a <a href="../../wp/g/Gold.htm" title="Gold">gold</a> ribbon bearing small interlocking <!--del_lnk--> red rings, from which palm leaves shoot up around an outer gold circle and an inner green circle, within which is a gold representation of Africa. The red interlinked rings stand for African solidarity and the blood shed for the liberation of Africa; the palm leaves, for peace; the gold, for Africa's wealth and bright future; the <!--del_lnk--> green, for African hopes and aspirations. To symbolise African unity, the silhouette of Africa is drawn without internal borders.<p>The <!--del_lnk--> flag of the African Union bears a broad green horizontal stripe, a narrow band of gold, the emblem of the African Union at the centre of a broad white stripe, another narrow gold band and a final broad green stripe. Again, the green and gold symbolise Africa's hopes and aspirations as well as its wealth and bright future, and the white represents the purity of Africa's desire for friends throughout the world.<p>The African Union has adopted a new anthem, <i><!--del_lnk--> Let Us All Unite and Celebrate Together</i>, and has the chorus <i>O sons and daughters of Africa, flesh of the sun and flesh of the sky, Let us make Africa the tree of life</i>.<div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African_Union"</div>
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| ['Addis Ababa', 'Ethiopia', 'Arabic language', 'English language', 'French language', 'Portuguese language', 'Currency', 'Time zone', 'Africa', 'Democracy', 'Human rights', 'Economy of Africa', 'Republic of the Congo', 'Morocco', 'Western Sahara', 'Algeria', 'South Africa', 'Ethiopia', 'Mozambique', 'Burundi', 'Sudan', 'Darfur conflict', 'Lomé', 'Lusaka', 'South Africa', 'Maputo', 'Addis Ababa', 'Algeria', 'Angola', 'Benin', 'Botswana', 'Burkina Faso', 'Burundi', 'Cameroon', 'Cape Verde', 'Central African Republic', 'Chad', 'Comoros', 'Democratic Republic of the Congo', 'Republic of the Congo', "Côte d'Ivoire", 'Djibouti', 'Egypt', 'Equatorial Guinea', 'Eritrea', 'Ethiopia', 'Gabon', 'The Gambia', 'Ghana', 'Guinea', 'Guinea-Bissau', 'Kenya', 'Lesotho', 'Liberia', 'Libya', 'Madagascar', 'Malawi', 'Mali', 'Mauritius', 'Mozambique', 'Namibia', 'Nigeria', 'Rwanda', 'Western Sahara', 'São Tomé and Príncipe', 'Senegal', 'Seychelles', 'Sierra Leone', 'Somalia', 'South Africa', 'Sudan', 'Swaziland', 'Tanzania', 'Togo', 'Tunisia', 'Uganda', 'Zambia', 'Zimbabwe', 'Mauritania', 'Morocco', 'Morocco', 'Nationalism', 'Maputo', 'Addis Ababa', 'Abuja', 'Khartoum', 'Banjul', 'South Africa', 'Addis Ababa', 'Ethiopia', 'European Union', 'Human rights', 'Kenya', 'Uganda', 'United Nations', 'Malaria', 'AIDS', 'HIV', 'Liberal democracy', 'Poverty', 'Famine', 'International law', 'Western Sahara', 'Darfur conflict', 'Sudan', 'Rwanda', 'Addis Ababa', 'France', 'United Nations', 'NATO', 'Togo', 'Mauritania', 'Second Congo War', 'Chadian-Sudanese conflict', "Lord's Resistance Army", 'HIV', 'AIDS', 'Sub-Saharan Africa', 'Arabic language', 'English language', 'French language', 'Portuguese language', 'Spanish language', 'Equatorial Guinea', 'Gold'] |
African_Wild_Dog | <!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
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<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">African Wild Dog</h1>
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<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.Science.Biology.Mammals.htm">Mammals</a></h3>
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<th style="background: pink;"><span style="position:relative; float:right; font-size:70%;"><!--del_lnk--> i</span><b>African Wild Dog</b></th>
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<td><a class="image" href="../../images/150/15038.jpg.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="167" longdesc="/wiki/Image:African_wild_dog_-_melbourne_zoo.jpg" src="../../images/150/15038.jpg" width="250" /></a><br />
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<th>
<center><!--del_lnk--> Conservation status</center>
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<td style="">
<div style="text-align:center"><!--del_lnk--> <img alt="" height="53" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Status_iucn3.1_EN.svg" src="../../images/1x1white.gif" title="This image is not present because of licensing restrictions" width="200" /><br /><!--del_lnk--> Endangered (EN)</div>
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<th style="background: pink;"><b><a href="../../wp/s/Scientific_classification.htm" title="Scientific classification">Scientific classification</a></b></th>
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<td>Kingdom:</td>
<td><a href="../../wp/a/Animal.htm" title="Animal">Animalia</a><br />
</td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td>Phylum:</td>
<td><a href="../../wp/c/Chordate.htm" title="Chordate">Chordata</a><br />
</td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td>Class:</td>
<td><a href="../../wp/m/Mammal.htm" title="Mammal">Mammalia</a><br />
</td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td>Order:</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Carnivora<br />
</td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td>Family:</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Canidae<br />
</td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td>Genus:</td>
<td><i><b>Lycaon</b></i><br /><small><!--del_lnk--> Brookes, 1827</small></td>
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<td>Species:</td>
<td><span style="white-space: nowrap"><i><b>L. pictus</b></i></span><br />
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<th>
<center><a href="../../wp/b/Binomial_nomenclature.htm" title="Binomial nomenclature">Binomial name</a></center>
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<td><i><b>Lycaon pictus</b></i><br /><small><!--del_lnk--> Temminck, 1820</small></td>
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<p>The <b>African Wild Dog</b>, <i>Lycaon pictus</i> also known as the <b>African Hunting Dog</b>, <b>Cape Hunting Dog</b> or <b>Painted Hunting Dog</b><!--del_lnk--> , is a mammal of the <!--del_lnk--> Canidae family, and thus related to the domestic <a href="../../wp/d/Dog.htm" title="Dog">dog</a>. It is the only <!--del_lnk--> species in monotypic <!--del_lnk--> genus, <i><b>Lycaon</b></i>, and the only species in the <!--del_lnk--> canid family to lack <!--del_lnk--> dewclaws on the forelimbs. They are, as their name indicates, found only in <a href="../../wp/a/Africa.htm" title="Africa">Africa</a>, especially in scrub <!--del_lnk--> savanna and other lightly wooded areas. The Latin name of the species means <i>painted wolf</i> and it is characteristic of the species that no two individuals have the same pattern of coat. The <!--del_lnk--> pelage is an irregular pattern of black, yellow, and white. Some areas of the body are nearly hairless, and the skin is black.<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/150/15039.jpg.htm" title="An African Wild Dog gnawing on a bone"><img alt="An African Wild Dog gnawing on a bone" height="270" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Lightmatter_African_painted_dog.jpg" src="../../images/150/15039.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/150/15039.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> An African Wild Dog gnawing on a bone</div>
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<p>African Wild Dogs hunt in packs. Their main prey are <!--del_lnk--> impala and similar medium sized <!--del_lnk--> ungulates. They're known for their stamina and for being clever hunters; they have been observed hunting prey in relays, or even blocking a potential escape route for prey. As a result, African Wild Dogs enjoy the highest kill per hunt rate of predators on the savannah (up to 98%). Members of a hunting pack vocalize to help coordinate their movements. Their voice is characterized by an unusual chirping or squeaking sound, similar to a bird. After a hunt, dogs will often regurgitate meat for members of the group that have stayed behind, including the old, the lame, the pups, and subordinate adults who have taken on the responsibility of caring for the pups. Their need for a large territory has led to the situation where today they are threatened with extinction. Their relatively small physique also makes them vulnerable to attacks by their competitors, <a href="../../wp/l/Lion.htm" title="Lion">lions</a> and <a href="../../wp/h/Hyena.htm" title="Hyena">hyenas</a>. The dogs are also killed by livestock herders and game hunters. They tend to be elusive and unlike most other members of the <!--del_lnk--> dog family, are extremely difficult to tame.<p>They have a highly complex social system, within which related adult members cooperate to produce a single litter of pups annually. The breeding female occupies a den while she bears the pups, usually selecting an abandoned <a href="../../wp/a/Aardvark.htm" title="Aardvark">aardvark</a> burrow for this purpose. Most populations have more males than females because more male pups appear in litters. It is very unusual among mammals to have this kind of gender bias. Females are more likely to disperse from the natal group, and they readily join packs which have no sexually mature female members. In packs with more than one female, only one will be allowed to breed, leading to vicious rivalry between females.<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/150/15040.jpg.htm" title="African Wild Dog seen in Kalahari National Park, Botswana"><img alt="African Wild Dog seen in Kalahari National Park, Botswana" height="152" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Wd4_ian_710_01.JPG" src="../../images/150/15040.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/150/15040.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> African Wild Dog seen in Kalahari National Park, Botswana</div>
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<p>The current estimate for remaining wild dogs in the wild is approximately 5,600. Of these, the majority live in the two remaining large populations associated with the Selous Game Reserve in Tanzania and the population centered in northern Botswana and eastern Namibia. Isolated populations persist in Zambia, Kenya, Mozambique, Zimbabwe and South Africa.<p><a id="See_also" name="See_also"></a><div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African_Wild_Dog"</div>
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| ['Scientific classification', 'Animal', 'Chordate', 'Mammal', 'Binomial nomenclature', 'Dog', 'Africa', 'Lion', 'Hyena', 'Aardvark'] |
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<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.Science.Biology.Insects_Reptiles_and_Fish.htm">Insects, Reptiles and Fish</a></h3>
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<th style="background: pink;"><span style="position:relative; float:right; font-size:70%;"><!--del_lnk--> i</span><b>African clawed frog</b></th>
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<td><a class="image" href="../../images/150/15041.jpg.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="169" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Xenopus_laevis.jpg" src="../../images/150/15041.jpg" width="240" /></a><br />
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<th>
<center><!--del_lnk--> Conservation status</center>
</th>
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<td style="">
<div style="text-align:center"><!--del_lnk--> <img alt="" height="53" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Status_iucn3.1_LC.svg" src="../../images/1x1white.gif" title="This image is not present because of licensing restrictions" width="200" /><br /><!--del_lnk--> Least Concern (LC)</div>
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<th style="background: pink;"><b><a href="../../wp/s/Scientific_classification.htm" title="Scientific classification">Scientific classification</a></b></th>
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<td>Kingdom:</td>
<td><a href="../../wp/a/Animal.htm" title="Animal">Animalia</a><br />
</td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td>Phylum:</td>
<td><a href="../../wp/c/Chordate.htm" title="Chordate">Chordata</a><br />
</td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td>Class:</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Amphibia<br />
</td>
</tr>
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<td>Order:</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Anura<br />
</td>
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<td>Family:</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Pipidae<br />
</td>
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<tr valign="top">
<td>Genus:</td>
<td><i><!--del_lnk--> Xenopus</i><br />
</td>
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<td>Species:</td>
<td><span style="white-space: nowrap"><i><b>X. laevis</b></i></span><br />
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<th>
<center><a href="../../wp/b/Binomial_nomenclature.htm" title="Binomial nomenclature">Binomial name</a></center>
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<td><i><b>Xenopus laevis</b></i><br /><small><!--del_lnk--> Daudin, 1802</small></td>
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<p>The <b>African clawed frog</b> (<i>Xenopus laevis</i>, also known as <i>platanna</i>) is a species of <a href="../../wp/s/South_Africa.htm" title="South Africa">South African</a> aquatic <a href="../../wp/f/Frog.htm" title="Frog">frog</a> of the genus <i><!--del_lnk--> Xenopus</i>. It is up to 12 cm long with a flattened head and body but no tongue. Its name derives from its three short claws on each of its hind feet, which it probably uses to stir up mud to hide it from predators.<p>Although <i>X. laevis</i> is not blessed with the short generation time and genetic simplicity generally desired in genetic <!--del_lnk--> model organisms, it is an important <!--del_lnk--> model organism in <!--del_lnk--> developmental biology. <i>X. laevis</i> takes 1 to 2 years to reach sexual maturity and, like most of its genus, it is <!--del_lnk--> tetraploid. However, it does have a large and easily manipulable embryo. The ease of manipulation in <!--del_lnk--> amphibian embryos has given them an important place in both historical and modern developmental biology. A related species, <i><!--del_lnk--> Xenopus tropicalis</i>, is now being promoted as a more viable model for genetics. <!--del_lnk--> Roger Wolcott Sperry used <i>X. laevis</i> for his famous experiments describing the development of the visual system. These experiments led to the formulation of the <!--del_lnk--> Chemoaffinity hypothesis.<div class="floatleft"><span><a class="image" href="../../images/150/15042.jpg.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="188" longdesc="/wiki/Image:African_Clawed_Frog_bw.jpg" src="../../images/150/15042.jpg" width="250" /></a></span></div>
<p><i>Xenopus</i> <!--del_lnk--> oocytes provide an important expression system for <!--del_lnk--> molecular biology. By injecting <!--del_lnk--> cDNA or <!--del_lnk--> cRNA into the developing oocyte, scientists can study the protein products in a controlled system. This allows rapid functional expression of manipulated <!--del_lnk--> cDNAs (or <!--del_lnk--> cRNA). This is particularly useful in <!--del_lnk--> electrophysiology, where the ease of recording from the oocyte makes expression of membrane channels attractive. One challenge of oocyte work is eliminating native proteins that might confound results, such as membrane channels native to the <!--del_lnk--> oocyte. Translation of proteins can be blocked or splicing of pre-mRNA can be modified by injection of <!--del_lnk--> Morpholino antisense oligos into the oocyte (for distribution throughout the embryo) or early embryo (for distribution only into daughter cells of the injected cell).<p><i>X. laevis</i> is also notable as having been a standard method of <!--del_lnk--> pregnancy testing. <!--del_lnk--> Human chorionic gonadotropin is a <!--del_lnk--> hormone found in substantial quantities in the <!--del_lnk--> urine of pregnant women; when injected into the female <i>X. laevis</i> it induces them to lay <!--del_lnk--> eggs.<p><a id="African_clawed_frogs_as_pets" name="African_clawed_frogs_as_pets"></a><div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African_clawed_frog"</div>
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<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.Science.Biology.Insects_Reptiles_and_Fish.htm">Insects, Reptiles and Fish</a></h3>
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<th style="background: pink;"><span style="position:relative; float:right; font-size:70%;"><!--del_lnk--> i</span><b>African dwarf frogs</b></th>
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<td><a class="image" href="../../images/150/15044.jpg.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="101" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Amplexus_of_ADF.jpg" src="../../images/150/15044.jpg" width="200" /></a><br />
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<th style="background: pink;"><b><a href="../../wp/s/Scientific_classification.htm" title="Scientific classification">Scientific classification</a></b></th>
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<td>Kingdom:</td>
<td><a href="../../wp/a/Animal.htm" title="Animal">Animalia</a><br />
</td>
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<tr valign="top">
<td>Phylum:</td>
<td><a href="../../wp/c/Chordate.htm" title="Chordate">Chordata</a><br />
</td>
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<td>Class:</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Amphibia<br />
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<td>Subclass:</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Lissamphibia<br />
</td>
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<td>Superorder:</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Batrachia<br />
</td>
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<td>Order:</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Anura<br />
</td>
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<td>Family:</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Pipidae<br />
</td>
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<td>Genus:</td>
<td><i><b>Hymenochirus</b></i><br /><small><!--del_lnk--> Boulenger, 1896</small></td>
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<center>Species</center>
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<p>See text.</td>
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<p><b>African dwarf frogs</b> of <!--del_lnk--> genus <i><b>Hymenochirus</b></i>, also known as <b>dwarf aquatic frogs</b> (ADF or DAF for short), are <a href="../../wp/f/Frog.htm" title="Frog">frogs</a> native to Sub Saharan <a href="../../wp/a/Africa.htm" title="Africa">Africa</a>. They are members of <!--del_lnk--> Family <!--del_lnk--> Pipidae.<p>They are entirely <!--del_lnk--> aquatic though they do break the water surface as they are air breathers. They are nearly blind at close range being far-sighted, but have keen sight 7 cm or further away. They rely on a sharp sense of smell and touch to find food. They are meat eaters and eat small insects, worms, fish meat and red <!--del_lnk--> mosquito larvae, also known as bloodworms (though this food should only be fed once a week in captivity). They are often sold in pet shops and can live in captivity for 10-20 years.<p>They are cousins to the larger <a href="../../wp/a/African_clawed_frog.htm" title="African clawed frog">African clawed frog</a>. When very young, African dwarf frogs can be confused with African clawed frogs, but may be distinguished by their heavily webbed toes. They are usually only an inch and a half in body length when fully grown; females are generally larger than the males.<p>The male makes a quiet mating call when sexually active; females are typically silent. At 6 months old, males reach sexual maturity, and can be identified by a red section of skin behind each armpit that appears as a result of gland development.<p><a id="Taxonomy" name="Taxonomy"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Taxonomy</span></h2>
<ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Zaire African Dwarf Clawed Frog, <i>Hymenochirus boettgeri</i><li><!--del_lnk--> Eastern African Dwarf Clawed Frog, <i>Hymenochirus boulengeri</i><li><!--del_lnk--> Western African Dwarf Clawed Frog, <i>Hymenochirus curtipes</i><li><i><!--del_lnk--> Hymenochirus feae</i></ul>
<p><a id="External_links" name="External_links"></a><div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African_dwarf_frog"</div>
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| ['Scientific classification', 'Animal', 'Chordate', 'Frog', 'Africa', 'African clawed frog'] |
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<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.History.General_history.htm">General history</a></h3>
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<div class="thumbinner" style="width:302px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/523/52300.jpg.htm" title="Slave transport in Africa, from a 19th century engraving"><img alt="Slave transport in Africa, from a 19th century engraving" class="thumbimage" height="174" longdesc="/wiki/Image:AfricanSlavesTransport.jpg" src="../../images/523/52300.jpg" width="300" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/523/52300.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Slave transport in Africa, from a 19th century engraving</div>
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<p>Trade in slaves, like most of the world, has carried on for thousands of years in Africa. The first main route passed through the Sahara. After the <!--del_lnk--> Age of Exploration, African slaves became part of the <a href="../../wp/a/Atlantic_slave_trade.htm" title="Atlantic slave trade">Atlantic slave trade</a>, from which comes the modern, Western conception of slavery as an institution of African-derived slaves and non-African slave owners. Despite its illegality, slavery <!--del_lnk--> continues in all parts of the world, including Africa.<script type="text/javascript">
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<p><a id="Slavery_within_Africa" name="Slavery_within_Africa"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Slavery within Africa</span></h2>
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<div class="thumbinner" style="width:302px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/523/52305.gif.htm" title="13th century Africa - simplified map of the main states, kingdoms and empires"><img alt="13th century Africa - simplified map of the main states, kingdoms and empires" class="thumbimage" height="300" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Africa_en.gif" src="../../images/523/52305.gif" width="300" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/523/52305.gif.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> 13th century Africa - simplified map of the main states, kingdoms and empires</div>
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<p>In most African societies, there was very little difference between the free peasants and the feudal vassal peasants. Vassals of the Songhay Muslim Empire were used primarily in agriculture; they paid tribute to their masters in crop and service but they were slightly restricted in custom and convenience. These non-free people were more an occupational caste, as their bondage was relative..<p>There is adequate evidence citing case after case of African control of segments of the trade. Several African nations such as the Ashanti of <a href="../../wp/g/Ghana.htm" title="Ghana">Ghana</a> and the Yoruba of <a href="../../wp/n/Nigeria.htm" title="Nigeria">Nigeria</a> had economies largely depending on the trade. African peoples such as the Imbangala of Angola and the Nyamwezi of Tanzania would serve as intermediaries or roving bands warring with other African nations to capture Africans for Europeans. Extenuating circumstances demanding exploration are the tremendous efforts European officials in Africa used to install rulers agreeable to their interests. They would actively favour one African group against another to deliberately ignite chaos and continue their slaving activities..<p>Slavery in the rigid form which existed in Europe and throughout the New World was not practiced in Africa nor in the Islamic Orient. "Slavery", as it is often referred to, in African cultures was generally more like indentured servitude: "slaves" were not made to be chattel of other men, nor enslaved for life. African "slaves" were paid wages and were able to accumulate property. They often bought their own freedom and could then achieve social promotion -just as freedman in ancient Rome- some even rose to the status of kings (e.g. <!--del_lnk--> Jaja of Opobo and <!--del_lnk--> Sunni Ali Ber). Similar arguments were used by western slave owners during the time of abolition, for example by John Wedderburn in <i><!--del_lnk--> Wedderburn v. Knight</i>, the case that ended legal recognition of slavery in <a href="../../wp/s/Scotland.htm" title="Scotland">Scotland</a> in 1776. Regardless of the legal options open to slave owners, rational cost-earning calculation and/or voluntary adoption of moral restraints often tended to mitigate (except with traders, who preferred to weed out the worthless weak individuals) the actual fate of slaves throughout history.<p><a id="Slavery_in_Songhai" name="Slavery_in_Songhai"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Slavery in Songhai</span></h3>
<p>In most African societies, there was very little difference between the free peasants and the feudal vassal peasants. Vassals of the <!--del_lnk--> Songhay Muslim Empire were used primarily in agriculture; they paid tribute to their masters in crop and service but they were slightly restricted in custom and convenience. These people were more an occupational caste, as their bondage was relative. In the Kanem Bornu Empire, vassals were three classes beneath the nobles. Marriage between captor and captive was far from rare, blurring the anticipated roles..<p><a id="Slavery_in_Ethiopia" name="Slavery_in_Ethiopia"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Slavery in Ethiopia</span></h3>
<p>Ethiopian slavery was essentially domestic. Slaves thus served in the houses of their masters or mistresses, and were not employed to any significant extent for productive purposes, Slaves were thus regarded as members of their owners' family, and were fed, clothed and protected. They generally roamed around freely and conducted business as free people. They had complete freedom of religion and culture. It had been banished by its <!--del_lnk--> Emperors numerous times starting with Emperor <!--del_lnk--> Tewodros II (r. 1855-1868), although not eradicated completely until 1923 with Ethiopia's ascension to the <a href="../../wp/l/League_of_Nations.htm" title="League of Nations">League of Nations</a>.<p><a id="Slaves_taken_from_Africa" name="Slaves_taken_from_Africa"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Slaves taken from Africa</span></h2>
<p><a id="Trans_Saharan_trade" name="Trans_Saharan_trade"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Trans Saharan trade</span></h3>
<p>The very earliest external <a href="../../wp/s/Slavery.htm" title="Slavery">slave</a> trade was the <!--del_lnk--> trans-Saharan slave trade. Although there had long been some trading up the <!--del_lnk--> Nile River and very limited trading across the western desert, the transportation of large numbers of slaves did not become viable until <a href="../../wp/c/Camel.htm" title="Camel">camels</a> were introduced from <!--del_lnk--> Arabia in the 10th century. By this point, a <!--del_lnk--> trans-Saharan trading network came into being to transport slaves north. It has been estimated that from the 10th to the 19th century some 6,000 to 7,000 slaves were transported north each year. Over time this added up to several million people moving north. Frequent intermarriages meant that the slaves were <!--del_lnk--> assimilated in North Africa. Unlike in the <!--del_lnk--> Americas, slaves in North Africa were mainly <!--del_lnk--> servants rather than <!--del_lnk--> labourers, and a greater number of females than males were taken, who were often employed as women of <!--del_lnk--> harems. It was also not uncommon to turn male slaves into <!--del_lnk--> eunuchs to serve as guardians to the <!--del_lnk--> harems.<p><a id="Indian_Ocean_trade" name="Indian_Ocean_trade"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Indian Ocean trade</span></h3>
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<div class="thumbinner" style="width:202px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/523/52307.jpg.htm" title="13th century slave market in the Yemen"><img alt="13th century slave market in the Yemen" class="thumbimage" height="243" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Slaves_Zadib_Yemen_13th_century_BNF_Paris.jpg" src="../../images/523/52307.jpg" width="200" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/523/52307.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> 13th century slave market in the Yemen</div>
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<p>The trade in slaves across the <a href="../../wp/i/Indian_Ocean.htm" title="Indian Ocean">Indian Ocean</a> also has a long history beginning with the control of sea routes by <!--del_lnk--> Arab traders in the ninth century. It is estimated that only a few thousand slaves were taken each year from the Red Sea and Indian Ocean coast. They were sold throughout the <a href="../../wp/m/Middle_East.htm" title="Middle East">Middle East</a> and <a href="../../wp/i/India.htm" title="India">India</a>. This trade accelerated as superior ships led to more trade and greater demand for labour on <!--del_lnk--> plantations in the region. Eventually, tens of thousands per year were being taken.<p><a id="Atlantic_Ocean_trade" name="Atlantic_Ocean_trade"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Atlantic Ocean trade</span></h3>
<p>The <a href="../../wp/a/Atlantic_slave_trade.htm" title="Atlantic slave trade">Atlantic slave trade</a> developed much later, but it would eventually be by far the largest and have the greatest impact. The first Europeans to arrive on the coast of <!--del_lnk--> Guinea were the <a href="../../wp/p/Portugal.htm" title="Portugal">Portuguese</a>; the first European to actually buy slaves in the region was <!--del_lnk--> Antão Gonçalves, a Portuguese explorer. Originally interested in trading mainly for <a href="../../wp/g/Gold.htm" title="Gold">gold</a> and <!--del_lnk--> spices, they set up colonies on the uninhabited islands of <!--del_lnk--> Sao Tome. In the 16th century the Portuguese settlers found that these volcanic islands were ideal for growing <a href="../../wp/s/Sugar.htm" title="Sugar">sugar</a>. Sugar growing is a labour-intensive undertaking and Portuguese settlers were difficult to attract due to the heat, lack of infrastructure, and hard life. To cultivate the sugar the Portuguese turned to large numbers of African slaves. <!--del_lnk--> Elmina Castle on the <!--del_lnk--> Gold Coast, originally built by African labor for the Portuguese in 1482 to control the gold trade, became an important depot for slaves that were to be transported to the <!--del_lnk--> New World.<p>Increasing penetration into the Americas by the Portuguese created more demand for labour in <a href="../../wp/b/Brazil.htm" title="Brazil">Brazil</a>--primarily for <!--del_lnk--> farming and <a href="../../wp/m/Mining.htm" title="Mining">mining</a>. To meet this demand, a trans-Atlantic slave trade soon developed. Slave-based economies quickly spread to the Caribbean and the southern portion of what is today the <a href="../../wp/u/United_States.htm" title="United States">United States</a>. These areas all developed an insatiable demand for slaves.<p>As European nations grew more powerful, especially Portugal, Spain, France and England, they began vying for control of the African slave trade, with little effect on the local African and Arab trading. Great Britain's existing colonies in the Lesser Antilles and their effective naval control of the Mid Atlantic forced other countries to abandon their enterprises due to inefficiency in cost. The English crown provided a charter giving the <!--del_lnk--> Royal African Company monopoly over the African slave routes until 1712.<p><a id="Why_African_Slaves.3F" name="Why_African_Slaves.3F"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Why African Slaves?</span></h2>
<p>In the late 15th century, Europeans (Spanish and Portuguese first) began to explore, colonize and conquer the territory in the <!--del_lnk--> Americas. The European colonists attempted to enslave some of the Native Americans to perform hard physical labor, but found them unaccustomed to hard agrarian labor and so familiar with the local environment that it was difficult to prevent their escape. Their lack of resistance to common European diseases was another factor against their suitability for slavery. The Europeans had also noted the <!--del_lnk--> West African practice of enslaving <!--del_lnk--> prisoners of war (a common phenomenon among many peoples on all of the continents). European colonial powers traded guns, brandy and other goods for these slaves, but this had little effect on the Arabian and African trade. The African slaves proved more resistant to European diseases than indigenous Americans, familiar with a tropical climate and accustomed to agricultural work.<!--del_lnk--> As a result, regular trade was soon established.<!--del_lnk--> <h2> <span class="mw-headline">Effects</span></h2>
<p><a id="Effect_on_the_economy_of_Africa" name="Effect_on_the_economy_of_Africa"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Effect on the economy of Africa</span></h3>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div class="thumbinner" style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/523/52309.jpg.htm" title="Cowrie shells were used as money in the slave trade"><img alt="Cowrie shells were used as money in the slave trade" class="thumbimage" height="199" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Different_cowries.jpg" src="../../images/523/52309.jpg" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/523/52309.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div><!--del_lnk--> Cowrie shells were used as money in the slave trade</div>
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<div class="thumb tleft">
<div class="thumbinner" style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/522/52298.jpg.htm" title="Two slightly differing Okpoho Manillas as used to purchase slaves"><img alt="Two slightly differing Okpoho Manillas as used to purchase slaves" class="thumbimage" height="241" longdesc="/wiki/Image:ManillaOkhapos.JPG" src="../../images/522/52298.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/522/52298.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div>
<center>Two slightly differing Okpoho <!--del_lnk--> Manillas as used to purchase slaves</center>
</div>
</div>
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<p>No scholars dispute the harm done to the slaves themselves, but the effect of the trade on African societies is much debated due to the apparent influx of capital to Africans. Proponents of the slave trade, such as <!--del_lnk--> Archibald Dalzel, argued that African societies were robust and not much affected by the ongoing trade. In the 19th century, European <!--del_lnk--> abolitionists, most prominently Dr. <!--del_lnk--> David Livingston, took the opposite view arguing that the fragile local economy and societies were being severely harmed by the ongoing trade. This view continued with scholars until the 1960s and 70s such as <!--del_lnk--> Basil Davidson, who conceded it might have had some benefits while still acknowledging its largely negative impact on Africa. Historian <!--del_lnk--> Walter Rodney estimates that by c.1770, the King of <!--del_lnk--> Dahomey was earning an estimated £250,000 per year by selling captive African soldiers and even his own people to the European slave-traders. Most of this money was spent on British-made firearms (of very poor quality) and industrial-grade alcohol.<p>Today, however, some scholars assert that slavery did not have a wholly disastrous effect on those left behind in Africa. Slaves were an expensive commodity, and traders received a great deal in exchange for each slave. At the peak of the slave trade, it is said that hundreds of thousands of muskets, vast quantities of cloth, gunpowder and metals were being shipped to Guinea. Guinea's trade with Europe at the peak of the slave trade—which also included significant exports of gold and ivory—was some 3.5 million pounds Sterling per year. By contrast, the trade of the <a href="../../wp/u/United_Kingdom.htm" title="United Kingdom">United Kingdom</a>, the economic superpower of the time, was about 14 million pounds per year over this same period of the late <a href="../../wp/1/18th_century.htm" title="18th century">18th century</a>. As <!--del_lnk--> Patrick Manning has pointed out, the vast majority of items traded for slaves were common rather than luxury goods. Textiles, iron ore, currency, and salt were some of the most important commodities imported as a result of the slave trade, and these goods were spread within the entire society raising the general standard of living.<p><a id="Effects_on_Europe.E2.80.99s_economy" name="Effects_on_Europe.E2.80.99s_economy"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Effects on Europe’s economy</span></h3>
<p><!--del_lnk--> Eric Williams had attempted to show the contribution of Africans on the basis of profits from the slave trade and slavery, and the employment of those profits to finance England’s industrialization process. He argues that the enslavement of Africans was an essential element to the Industrial Revolution, and that European wealth is a result of slavery. However, he argued that by the time of its abolition it had lost its profitability and it was in Britain's economic interest to ban it. Seymour Dreshcer and Robert Antsey have both presented evidence that the slave trade remained profitable until the end, and that reasons other than economics led to its cessation. Joseph Inikori have shown elsewhere that the British slave trade was more profitable than the critics of Williams would want us to believe.<p><a id="Demographics" name="Demographics"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Demographics</span></h3>
<p>The demographic effects of the slave trade are some of the most controversial and debated issues. Tens of millions of people were removed from Africa via the slave trade, and what effect this had on Africa is an important question. <!--del_lnk--> Walter Rodney argued that the export of so many people had been a demographic disaster and had left Africa permanently disadvantaged when compared to other parts of the world, and largely explains that continent's continued poverty. He presents numbers that show that Africa's population stagnated during this period, while that of Europe and Asia grew dramatically. According to Rodney all other areas of the economy were disrupted by the slave trade as the top merchants abandoned traditional industries to pursue slaving and the lower levels of the population were disrupted by the slaving itself.<p>Others have challenged this view. J.D. Fage compared the number effect on the continent as a whole. David Eltis has compared the numbers to the rate of emigration from Europe during this period. In the nineteenth century alone over 50 million people left Europe for the Americas, a far higher rate than were ever taken from Africa..<p>Others have challenged this view. Joseph E. Inikori argues the history of the region shows that the effects were still quite deleterious. He argues that the African economic model of the period was very different from the European, and could not sustain such population losses. Population reductions in certain areas also led to widespread problems. Inikori also notes that after the suppression of the slave trade Africa's population almost immediately began to rapidly increase, even prior to the introduction of modern medicines. Shahadah also states that the trade was not only of demographic significance, in aggregate population losses but also in the profound changes to settlement patterns, epidemiological exposure and reproductive and social development potential.<p>In addition, the majority of the slaves being taken to the Americas were male. So while the slave trade created an immediate drop in the population, its long term effects were less drastic..<p><a id="Legacy_of_racism" name="Legacy_of_racism"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Legacy of racism</span></h3>
<p><!--del_lnk--> Maulana Karenga states that the effects of slavery where "the morally monstrous destruction of human possibility involved redefining African humanity to the world, poisoning past, present and future relations with others who only know us through this stereotyping and thus damaging the truly human relations among peoples." . He cites that it constituted the destruction of culture, language, religion and human possibility.<p><a id="Abolition" name="Abolition"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Abolition</span></h2>
<p>Beginning in the late <a href="../../wp/1/18th_century.htm" title="18th century">18th century</a>, France was Europe's first country to abolish slavery, in 1794, but it was revived by <a href="../../wp/n/Napoleon_I_of_France.htm" title="Napoleon">Napoleon</a> in 1802, and banned for good in 1848. In 1807 the British Parliament passed the <!--del_lnk--> Abolition of the Slave Trade Act, under which captains of slave ships could be fined for each slave transported. This was later superseded by the 1833 Slavery Abolition Act, which freed all slaves in the British Empire. Abolition was then extended to the rest of Europe. The power of the <a href="../../wp/r/Royal_Navy.htm" title="Royal Navy">Royal Navy</a> was subsequently used to suppress the slave trade, and while some illegal trade, mostly with Brazil, continued, the Atlantic slave trade would be eradicated by the middle of the 19th century. The Saharan and Indian Ocean trades continued, however, and even increased as new sources of slaves became available. According to Mordechai Abir, with the Russian conquest of the <!--del_lnk--> Caucasus. The slave trade within Africa also increased. The British Navy could suppress much of the trade in the Indian Ocean, but the European powers could do little to affect the intra-continental trade.<p>The continuing anti-slavery movement in Europe became an excuse and a <!--del_lnk--> casus belli for the European conquest and colonisation of much of the African continent. In the late 19th century, the <a href="../../wp/s/Scramble_for_Africa.htm" title="Scramble for Africa">Scramble for Africa</a> saw the continent rapidly divided between Imperialistic Europeans, and an early but secondary focus of all <!--del_lnk--> colonial <!--del_lnk--> regimes was the suppression of slavery and the slave trade. In response to this public pressure, Ethiopia officially abolished slavery in <!--del_lnk--> 1932. By the end of the colonial period they were mostly successful in this aim, though slavery is still very active in Africa even though it has gradually moved to a <!--del_lnk--> wage economy. Independent nations attempting to westernise or impress Europe sometimes cultivated an image of slavery suppression, even as they, in the case of Egypt, hired European soldiers like <!--del_lnk--> Samuel White Baker's expedition up the Nile. Slavery has never been eradicated in Africa, and it commonly appears in states, such as <a href="../../wp/s/Sudan.htm" title="Sudan">Sudan</a>, in places where <a href="../../wp/l/Law.htm" title="Law">law</a> and <a href="../../wp/p/Peace.htm" title="Peace">order</a> have collapsed.. <i>See also <!--del_lnk--> Slavery in Sudan.</i><p><a id="External_links" name="External_links"></a><div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African_slave_trade"</div>
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<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">Afrikaans</h1>
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<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.Language_and_literature.Languages.htm">Languages</a></h3>
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<table class="infobox bordered" style="width:270px;">
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<th colspan="3" style="text-align: center; font-size:110%; color: black; background-color: lawngreen;">Afrikaans</th>
</tr>
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<td style="padding-left: 0.5em;">Spoken in:</td>
<td colspan="2" style="padding-left: 0.5em;"><a href="../../wp/s/South_Africa.htm" title="South Africa">South Africa</a> and <a href="../../wp/n/Namibia.htm" title="Namibia">Namibia</a> </td>
</tr>
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<td style="top; padding-left: 0.5em;">Region:</td>
<td colspan="2" style="padding-left: 0.5em;"><a href="../../wp/s/Southern_Africa.htm" title="Southern Africa">Southern Africa</a></td>
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<td style="padding-left: 0.5em;">Total speakers:</td>
<td colspan="2" style="padding-left: 0.5em;">16 million +</td>
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<td style="padding-left: 0.5em;"><!--del_lnk--> Language family:</td>
<td colspan="2" style="padding-left: 0.5em; text-align: left;"><!--del_lnk--> Indo-European<br /><span style="font-size:66%;"> </span><!--del_lnk--> Germanic<br /><span style="font-size:66%;"> </span><!--del_lnk--> West Germanic<br /><span style="font-size:66%;"> </span><!--del_lnk--> Low Franconian<br /><span style="font-size:66%;"> </span><b>Afrikaans</b> </td>
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<th colspan="3" style="text-align: center; color: black; background-color: lawngreen;">Official status</th>
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<td style="padding-left: 0.5em;">Official language of:</td>
<td colspan="2" style="padding-left: 0.5em;"><a href="../../wp/s/South_Africa.htm" title="South Africa">South Africa</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="padding-left: 0.5em;"><!--del_lnk--> Regulated by:</td>
<td colspan="2" style="padding-left: 0.5em;">Die Taalkommissie<br /> (The Language Commission of the South African Academy for Science and Arts)</td>
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<th colspan="3" style="text-align: center; color: black; background-color: lawngreen;">Language codes</th>
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<td style="padding-left: 0.5em;"><!--del_lnk--> ISO 639-1:</td>
<td colspan="2" style="padding-left: 0.5em;"><tt>af</tt></td>
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<td style="padding-left: 0.5em;"><!--del_lnk--> ISO 639-2:</td>
<td colspan="2" style="padding-left: 0.5em;"><tt>afr</tt></td>
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<td style="padding-left: 0.5em;"><!--del_lnk--> ISO/FDIS 639-3:</td>
<td colspan="2" style="padding-left: 0.5em;"><tt><!--del_lnk--> afr</tt> </td>
</tr>
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<td class="boilerplate metadata" colspan="3" style="padding: 0.5em;"><small><b>Note</b>: This page may contain <!--del_lnk--> IPA <!--del_lnk--> phonetic symbols in <!--del_lnk--> Unicode. See <!--del_lnk--> IPA chart for English for an <a href="../../wp/e/English_language.htm" title="English language">English</a>-<span class="Unicode">​</span>based pronunciation key.</small></td>
</tr>
</table>
<p><b>Afrikaans</b> is a <!--del_lnk--> Low Franconian language mainly spoken in <a href="../../wp/s/South_Africa.htm" title="South Africa">South Africa</a> and <a href="../../wp/n/Namibia.htm" title="Namibia">Namibia</a> with smaller numbers of speakers in <a href="../../wp/b/Botswana.htm" title="Botswana">Botswana</a>, <a href="../../wp/l/Lesotho.htm" title="Lesotho">Lesotho</a>, <a href="../../wp/s/Swaziland.htm" title="Swaziland">Swaziland</a>, <a href="../../wp/z/Zimbabwe.htm" title="Zimbabwe">Zimbabwe</a> and <a href="../../wp/z/Zambia.htm" title="Zambia">Zambia</a>. Due to the <!--del_lnk--> emigration of many <!--del_lnk--> Afrikaners, there are an additional estimated 300,000 Afrikaans-speakers in the <a href="../../wp/u/United_Kingdom.htm" title="United Kingdom">United Kingdom</a>, with other substantial communities found in <a href="../../wp/b/Brussels.htm" title="Brussels">Brussels</a>, <a href="../../wp/b/Belgium.htm" title="Belgium">Belgium</a>; <a href="../../wp/a/Amsterdam.htm" title="Amsterdam">Amsterdam</a>, <!--del_lnk--> the Netherlands; <a href="../../wp/p/Perth%252C_Western_Australia.htm" title="Perth, Western Australia">Perth</a>, <a href="../../wp/a/Australia.htm" title="Australia">Australia</a>; <a href="../../wp/t/Toronto.htm" title="Toronto">Toronto</a>, <a href="../../wp/c/Canada.htm" title="Canada">Canada</a>; and <a href="../../wp/a/Auckland.htm" title="Auckland">Auckland</a>, <a href="../../wp/n/New_Zealand.htm" title="New Zealand">New Zealand</a>. It is the primary language used by two related ethnic groups: the <!--del_lnk--> Afrikaners and the <!--del_lnk--> Coloureds or <i>kleurlinge</i>/<i>bruinmense</i> (including <!--del_lnk--> Basters, <!--del_lnk--> Cape Malays and <!--del_lnk--> Griqua). These two groups are collectively known as <i><b>Afrikaanses</b></i>, roughly meaning "the language community of Afrikaans-speakers". It is also spoken as a first language by many <!--del_lnk--> Tswana people in South Africa's North West Province.<p>Geographically, the Afrikaans language is the majority language of the western one-third of South Africa (<!--del_lnk--> Northern and <!--del_lnk--> Western Cape, spoken at home by 69% and 58%, respectively). It is also the largest first language in the adjacent southern one-third of Namibia (<!--del_lnk--> Hardap and <!--del_lnk--> Karas, where it is the first language of 43% and 41%, respectively). It is the most widely used second language throughout both of these countries for the population as a whole, although the younger generation has better proficiency in <a href="../../wp/e/English_language.htm" title="English language">English</a>.<p>The name <i>Afrikaans</i> is simply the <a href="../../wp/d/Dutch_language.htm" title="Dutch language">Dutch</a> word for <i>African</i>, i.e. the African form of the Dutch language. The dialect became known as "<!--del_lnk--> Cape Dutch". Later, Afrikaans was sometimes also referred to as "African Dutch" or "Kitchen Dutch", although some now consider these terms <!--del_lnk--> pejorative. Afrikaans was considered a Dutch <!--del_lnk--> dialect until the late <a href="../../wp/1/19th_century.htm" title="19th century">19th century</a>, when it began to be recognised as a distinct language, and it gained equal status with Dutch and English as an official language in South Africa in 1925. Dutch remained an official language until the new 1961 constitution finally stipulated the two official languages in South Africa to be Afrikaans and English (although, curiously, the 1961 constitution still had a sub-clause stipulating that the word "Afrikaans" was also meant to be referring to the Dutch language). The 1925 decision led Dutch to enter disuse and be replaced by Afrikaans for all purposes.<p>There are basically three dialects, of which the <!--del_lnk--> northeastern variant (which developed into a literary language in the <!--del_lnk--> Transvaal) forms the basis of the <!--del_lnk--> written standard. Within the Dutch-speaking zones of the <a href="../../wp/n/Netherlands.htm" title="Netherlands">Netherlands</a>, <a href="../../wp/b/Belgium.htm" title="Belgium">Belgium</a> and <a href="../../wp/s/Suriname.htm" title="Suriname">Suriname</a>, there is greater divergence among the dialects than there is between standard Dutch and standard Afrikaans. Although Afrikaans knows some typical Hollandic tones, there particularly exist striking similarities between Afrikaans and <!--del_lnk--> Zeeuws (the dialect of the <!--del_lnk--> Zeeland province of the Netherlands which has also similarities with <a href="../../wp/w/West_Flemish.htm" title="West Flemish">West Flemish</a>). Zeeland is a coastal province of the Netherlands and most of the Dutch spoken in former Dutch colonies is very much influenced by Zeeuws/the Zeeland dialect as many people from Zeeland were involved in The Netherlands' emperial/colonial expansion.<p>It was originally the dialect that developed among the <!--del_lnk--> Afrikaner <!--del_lnk--> Protestant <!--del_lnk--> settlers and the indentured or <a href="../../wp/s/Slavery.htm" title="Slavery">slave</a> workforce brought to the <!--del_lnk--> Cape area in southwestern South Africa by the <!--del_lnk--> Dutch East India Company (<a href="../../wp/d/Dutch_language.htm" title="Dutch language">Dutch</a>: <span lang="nl" xml:lang="nl"><i>Verenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie — VOC</i></span>, Afrikaans: <i>Nederlandse Oos-Indiese Kompanjie</i> - NOIK) between <!--del_lnk--> 1652 and <!--del_lnk--> 1705. A relative majority of these first settlers were from the <!--del_lnk--> United Provinces (now <a href="../../wp/n/Netherlands.htm" title="Netherlands">Netherlands</a>), though there were also many from <a href="../../wp/g/Germany.htm" title="Germany">Germany</a>, a considerable number from <a href="../../wp/f/France.htm" title="France">France</a>, and some from <a href="../../wp/n/Norway.htm" title="Norway">Norway</a>, <a href="../../wp/p/Portugal.htm" title="Portugal">Portugal</a>, <a href="../../wp/s/Scotland.htm" title="Scotland">Scotland</a>, and various other countries. The indentured workers and slaves were <!--del_lnk--> South Indians, <!--del_lnk--> Malays, and <!--del_lnk--> Malagasy in addition to the indigenous <!--del_lnk--> Khoi and <!--del_lnk--> Bushmen.<p>
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</script><a id="History" name="History"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">History</span></h2>
<p>Afrikaans is <a href="../../wp/l/Linguistics.htm" title="Linguistics">linguistically</a> closely related to <a href="../../wp/1/17th_century.htm" title="17th century">17th</a> and <a href="../../wp/1/18th_century.htm" title="18th century">18th century</a> Dutch dialects spoken in North and South <!--del_lnk--> Holland and, by extension, to modern Dutch. Today, speakers of each language can make themselves understood fairly easily by speakers of the other.<p>Afrikaans grammar and spelling is simpler than that of Dutch, in the same sense and to approximately the same degree that English grammar is simpler than German grammar. Afrikaans also has a more diverse vocabulary, including words of English, Indian, Malay, Malagasy, Khoi, San and Bantu origins. Other closely related languages include <!--del_lnk--> Low German spoken in northern Germany and the Netherlands, <a href="../../wp/g/German_language.htm" title="German language">German</a>, and <a href="../../wp/e/English_language.htm" title="English language">English</a>. Cape Dutch vocabulary diverged from the Dutch vocabulary spoken in the Netherlands over time as Cape Dutch absorbed words from other European <!--del_lnk--> settlers, slaves from East India and Indonesia's <!--del_lnk--> Malay, and native African languages. Research by <!--del_lnk--> J. A. Heese indicates that as of 1807, 36.8% of the ancestors of the White Afrikaans speaking population were of Dutch ancestry, 35% were German, 14.6% were French and 7.2% non-white (of African and/or Asian origins). Heese's figures are questioned by other researchers, however, and the non-white component, in particular, quoted by Heese is very doubtful.<p><a id="Standardization_of_Afrikaans" name="Standardization_of_Afrikaans"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Standardization of Afrikaans</span></h3>
<p>The linguist Paul Roberge suggests that the earliest "truly Afrikaans" texts are <!--del_lnk--> doggerel verse from <!--del_lnk--> 1795 and a dialogue transcribed by a Dutch traveller in <!--del_lnk--> 1825. Printed material among the Afrikaners at first used only proper European Dutch. By the mid-<a href="../../wp/1/19th_century.htm" title="19th century">19th century</a>, more and more were appearing in Afrikaans, which was very much still regarded as a set of spoken regional dialects.<p>In <!--del_lnk--> 1861, LH Meurant published his <i><span lang="af" xml:lang="af">Zamenspraak tusschen Klaas Waarzegger en Jan Twyfelaar</span>,</i> which is considered by some to be the first authoritative Afrikaans text. <!--del_lnk--> Abu Bakr Effendi also compiled his <!--del_lnk--> Arabic Afrikaans <!--del_lnk--> Islamic instruction book between <!--del_lnk--> 1862 and <!--del_lnk--> 1869, although this was only published and printed in <!--del_lnk--> 1877. The first Afrikaans grammars and dictionaries were published in 1875 by the <i><span lang="af" xml:lang="af"><!--del_lnk--> Genootskap vir Regte Afrikaners</span></i> ("Society for Real Afrikaners") in <a href="../../wp/c/Cape_Town.htm" title="Cape Town">Cape Town</a>.<p>The <!--del_lnk--> Boer Wars further strengthened the position of the new Dutch-like language. The <!--del_lnk--> official languages of the <!--del_lnk--> Union of South Africa were <a href="../../wp/e/English_language.htm" title="English language">English</a> and <a href="../../wp/d/Dutch_language.htm" title="Dutch language">Dutch</a> until Afrikaans was subsumed under Dutch on <!--del_lnk--> 5 May <!--del_lnk--> 1925.<p>The main Afrikaans dictionary is the <!--del_lnk--> Verklarende Handwoordeboek van die Afrikaanse Taal.<p><a id="Difference_between_Dutch_and_Afrikaans" name="Difference_between_Dutch_and_Afrikaans"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Difference between Dutch and Afrikaans</span></h3>
<p>Besides vocabulary, the most striking difference between Dutch and Afrikaans is its much more regular grammar, which is likely the result of extensive contact with one or more <!--del_lnk--> creole languages based on the Dutch language spoken by the relatively large number of non-Dutch speakers (<!--del_lnk--> Khoikhoi, <!--del_lnk--> German, <!--del_lnk--> French, <!--del_lnk--> Cape Malay, and speakers of different African languages) during the formation period of the language in the second half of the 17th century. In 1710, slaves outnumbered free settlers, and the language was developing among speakers who had little occasion to write or analyse their new dialect.<p>There are many different theories about how Afrikaans came to be. The Afrikaans School has long seen Afrikaans as a natural development from the South-Hollandic Dutch dialect, but has also only considered the Afrikaans as spoken by the Whites. The Afrikaans School has also rejected all alternative ideas.<p>Most linguistics scholars today are certain that Afrikaans has been influenced by creole based on the South-Holland Dutch dialect. It is hard to trace this influence as there is no material written in Dutch-based creole languages besides a few sentences found in unrelated books often written by non-speakers.<p>Although much of the vocabulary of Afrikaans reflects its origins in 17th century South <a href="../../wp/h/Hollandic.htm" title="Hollandic">Hollandic</a> Dutch, it also contains words borrowed from Asian <!--del_lnk--> Malay (one of the oldest known Afrikaans texts used Arabic script; see <!--del_lnk--> Arabic Afrikaans), <!--del_lnk--> Malagasy, <a href="../../wp/p/Portuguese_language.htm" title="Portuguese language">Portuguese</a>, <a href="../../wp/f/French_language.htm" title="French language">French</a>, <!--del_lnk--> Khoi and San dialects, <a href="../../wp/e/English_language.htm" title="English language">English</a>, <!--del_lnk--> Xhosa and many other languages. Consequently, many words in Afrikaans are very different from Dutch, as demonstrated by the names of different fruits:<table class="wikitable">
<tr>
<th>Afrikaans</th>
<th><a href="../../wp/d/Dutch_language.htm" title="Dutch language">Dutch</a></th>
<th><a href="../../wp/e/English_language.htm" title="English language">English</a></th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>piesang*</td>
<td>banaan</td>
<td>banana</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>pynappel</td>
<td>ananas</td>
<td>pineapple</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>lemoen</td>
<td>sinaasappel</td>
<td>orange</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>suurlemoen**</td>
<td>citroen</td>
<td>lemon</td>
</tr>
</table>
<p>* from Malay <i>pisang</i> (via <!--del_lnk--> Dutch East Indies history), Piesang is also used in The Netherlands and Indonesia.<br /> ** suur = sour (which is essentially the same as the Dutch word 'zuur'). Lemoen or limoen is also used in standard Dutch.<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:302px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/150/15022.gif.htm" title="Provinces of South Africa in which a majority of the population are Afrikaans native speakers. Other provinces also have significant numbers of speakers."><img alt="Provinces of South Africa in which a majority of the population are Afrikaans native speakers. Other provinces also have significant numbers of speakers." height="217" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Afrikaansdistrib.gif" src="../../images/150/15022.gif" width="300" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/150/15022.gif.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div><!--del_lnk--> Provinces of South Africa in which a majority of the population are Afrikaans native speakers. Other provinces also have significant numbers of speakers.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p><a id="Grammar" name="Grammar"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Grammar</span></h2>
<dl>
<dd>
</dl>
<p><a id="Orthography" name="Orthography"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Orthography</span></h2>
<p>Written Afrikaans differs from Dutch in that the spelling reflects a phonetically simplified language, and so many consonants are dropped (see also the grammar section for a description of how consonant dropping affects the morphology of Afrikaans adjectives and nouns). The spelling is also considerably more phonetic than the Dutch counterpart. A notable feature is the indefinite article, which, as noted in the grammar section, is "<font color="green"><b>'n</b></font>", not "<font color="green"><b><span lang="nl" xml:lang="nl">een</span></b></font>" as in Dutch. "A book" is "<font color="green"><b><span lang="af" xml:lang="af">'n Boek</span></b></font>", whereas in Dutch it would be "<font color="green"><b><span lang="nl" xml:lang="nl">een boek</span></b></font>". (Note that "<font color="green"><b><span lang="af" xml:lang="af">'n</span></b></font>" is still allowed in Dutch; Afrikaans uses only "<font color="green"><b><span lang="af" xml:lang="af">'n</span></b></font>" where Dutch uses it next to "<font color="green"><b><span lang="nl" xml:lang="nl">een</span></b></font>". When letters are dropped an apostrophe is mandatory. Note that this "<font color="green"><b>'n</b></font>" is usually pronounced as a weak vowel (like the Afrikaans "<font color="green"><b>i</b></font>") and is not as a consonant.<p>Other features include the use of 's' instead of 'z', and therefore, 'South Africa' in Afrikaans is written as <i><span lang="nl" xml:lang="nl">Suid-Afrika</span></i>, whereas in Dutch it is <i><span lang="af" xml:lang="af">Zuid-Afrika</span></i>. (This accounts for <!--del_lnk--> .za being used as South Africa's <!--del_lnk--> internet top level domain.) The Dutch letter 'IJ' is written as 'Y', except where it replaces the Dutch <!--del_lnk--> suffix <i>—lijk</i>, as in <i><span lang="nl" xml:lang="nl">waarschijnlijk</span> = <span lang="af" xml:lang="af">waarskynlik</span></i>. Interesting to note that the use of the hard "k" is analogous to the pronunciation in parts of <a href="../../wp/f/Flanders.htm" title="Flanders">Flanders</a>, which was once part of the <!--del_lnk--> United Provinces, and whence many an <!--del_lnk--> Afrikaner came. Also surprising for many Dutch is the double negative, which could possibly be attributed to the French origins of many Afrikaners: <i><span lang="af" xml:lang="af">Moenie rook nie</span></i> ("Do not smoke not") — Do not smoke; compare to the French "<span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Ne fumez pas</span>".<p><a id="Comparison_with_Dutch.2C_German_and_English" name="Comparison_with_Dutch.2C_German_and_English"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Comparison with Dutch, German and English</span></h2>
<table class="wikitable">
<tr>
<th>Afrikaans</th>
<th><a href="../../wp/d/Dutch_language.htm" title="Dutch language">Dutch</a></th>
<th><a href="../../wp/g/German_language.htm" title="German language">German</a></th>
<th><a href="../../wp/e/English_language.htm" title="English language">English</a></th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>ag(t)</td>
<td>acht</td>
<td>acht</td>
<td>eight</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>aksie</td>
<td>actie/aktie</td>
<td>Aktion</td>
<td>action</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>asseblief</td>
<td>alstublieft/alsjeblieft<br /> (lit. "als het u/je belieft)</td>
<td>bitte<br /> (Afrikaans lit. trans. = "wenn es dir beliebt")</td>
<td>please<br /> (lit. "if it pleases you" - compare archaic "<!--del_lnk--> lief")</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>bed</td>
<td>bed</td>
<td>Bett</td>
<td>bed</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>dankie</td>
<td>dank je/dank u</td>
<td>danke</td>
<td>thank you</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>eggenoot</td>
<td>echtgenoot</td>
<td>Ehegatte (lit. "Ehegenosse")</td>
<td>spouse (Latin root)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>goeienaand</td>
<td>goedenavond<br /> goeienavond</td>
<td>guten Abend</td>
<td>good evening</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>lughawe</td>
<td>luchthaven<br /> vliegveld</td>
<td>Flughafen</td>
<td>airport (Latinate root)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>my</td>
<td>mij/mijn</td>
<td>mein</td>
<td>my</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>maak</td>
<td>maak</td>
<td>machen</td>
<td>make</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>nege</td>
<td>negen</td>
<td>neun</td>
<td>nine</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>oes</td>
<td>oogst</td>
<td>Ernte (Herbst=autumn)</td>
<td>harvest</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>oop</td>
<td>open</td>
<td>offen</td>
<td>open</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>oormôre</td>
<td>overmorgen</td>
<td>übermorgen</td>
<td>the day after tomorrow (lit. "overmorrow")</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>reën</td>
<td>regen</td>
<td>regen</td>
<td>rain</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>saam</td>
<td>tesamen/samen</td>
<td>zusammen</td>
<td>together (compare "same")</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>ses</td>
<td>zes</td>
<td>sechs</td>
<td>six</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>sewe</td>
<td>zeven</td>
<td>sieben</td>
<td>seven</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>skool</td>
<td>school</td>
<td>Schule</td>
<td>school</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>sleg</td>
<td>slecht</td>
<td>schlecht</td>
<td>bad (compare "slight")</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>vir</td>
<td>voor</td>
<td>für</td>
<td>for</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>voël</td>
<td>vogel</td>
<td>Vogel</td>
<td>bird, fowl</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>vry</td>
<td>vrij</td>
<td>frei</td>
<td>free</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>vyf</td>
<td>vijf</td>
<td>fünf</td>
<td>five</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>waarskynlik</td>
<td>waarschijnlijk</td>
<td>wahrscheinlich</td>
<td>likely (alternate root), probably (Latin root)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>winter</td>
<td>winter</td>
<td>Winter</td>
<td>winter</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>ys</td>
<td>ijs</td>
<td>Eis</td>
<td>ice</td>
</tr>
</table>
<p><a id="Sociolinguistics" name="Sociolinguistics"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Sociolinguistics</span></h2>
<p>Afrikaans is the first language of approximately 60% of South Africa's <!--del_lnk--> Whites, and over 90% of the "<!--del_lnk--> Coloured" (mixed-race) population. Large numbers of black South Africans, <!--del_lnk--> Indians, and English-speaking whites (<!--del_lnk--> Anglo-Africans) also speak it as a second language.<p>It is also widely spoken in <a href="../../wp/n/Namibia.htm" title="Namibia">Namibia</a>, where it has had constitutional recognition as a national, not official, language since independence in <!--del_lnk--> 1990. Prior to independence, Afrikaans, along with German, had equal status as an official language. There is a much smaller number of Afrikaans speakers among <a href="../../wp/z/Zimbabwe.htm" title="Zimbabwe">Zimbabwe</a>'s white minority, as most left the country in <!--del_lnk--> 1980.<p>Many South Africans living and working in <a href="../../wp/b/Belgium.htm" title="Belgium">Belgium</a>, <!--del_lnk--> The Netherlands, <a href="../../wp/a/Australia.htm" title="Australia">Australia</a>, <a href="../../wp/n/New_Zealand.htm" title="New Zealand">New Zealand</a>, <a href="../../wp/c/Canada.htm" title="Canada">Canada</a>, the <a href="../../wp/u/United_States.htm" title="United States">United States</a> and the <a href="../../wp/u/United_Kingdom.htm" title="United Kingdom">United Kingdom</a> are also Afrikaans speakers.<p>Afrikaans has been influential in the development of <!--del_lnk--> South African English. Many Afrikaans loanwords have found their way into South African English, such as "bakkie" ("pickup truck"), "<!--del_lnk--> braai" ("barbecue"), "takkies" ("sneakers", in Afrikaans <i>tekkies</i>). A few words in standard <a href="../../wp/e/English_language.htm" title="English language">English</a> are derived from Afrikaans, such as "<!--del_lnk--> trek" ("pioneering journey", in Afrikaans lit."pull" but used also for "migrate"), "spoor" ("animal track"), "veld" ("Southern African grassland" in Afrikaans lit. "field"), "boomslang" ("tree snake") and <!--del_lnk--> apartheid ("apartness").<p>In 1976, high school students in <!--del_lnk--> Soweto began a rebellion that contributed to the end of apartheid and the whites-only government of South Africa. This has been credited to that government's decision that Afrikaans rather than English be used as the language of instruction in non-White schools. However, many historians argue that the language issue was a catalyst for the rebellion rather than a major underlying cause (which was racial oppression). Afrikaans is more widely spoken than English (and is, in fact, spoken by a majority of residents in two of South Africa's nine provinces), so children may not have objected to the use of Afrikaans, per se. Some argue that it was the further directive, within the instructional language directive, that non-White (i.e., Black, Coloured and Indian) South African children be denied instruction in all but the most basic topics of mathematics, sciences, fine arts etc., on the theory they would never need to know those subjects because they would never have the occasion to use such an education; <i>see <a href="../../wp/h/History_of_South_Africa.htm" title="History of South Africa">History of South Africa</a>.</i><p>Under South Africa's democratic <!--del_lnk--> Constitution of <!--del_lnk--> 1996, Afrikaans remains an official language, and in addition to English, there are nine other official languages with which it now has equal status. The new dispensation means that Afrikaans is often downgraded in favour of English, or to accommodate the other official languages. In 1996, for example, the <!--del_lnk--> South African Broadcasting Corporation reduced the amount of <a href="../../wp/t/Television.htm" title="Television">television</a> airtime in Afrikaans, while <!--del_lnk--> South African Airways dropped its Afrikaans name <i><span lang="af" xml:lang="af">Suid-Afrikaanse Lugdiens</span></i> from its <!--del_lnk--> livery. Similarly, South Africa's <!--del_lnk--> diplomatic missions overseas now only display the name of the country in English and their host country's language, and not in Afrikaans.<p>In spite of these moves (which have upset many Afrikaans speakers), the language has remained strong, with Afrikaans newspapers and magazines continuing to have large circulation figures. Indeed the <!--del_lnk--> Huisgenoot, an Afrikaans language general interest family magazine, is the magazine with the largest readership in the country. In addition, a pay-TV channel in Afrikaans called <!--del_lnk--> KykNet was launched in <!--del_lnk--> 1999 and an Afrikaans music channel, <!--del_lnk--> MK89, in 2005. A large number of Afrikaans books also continue to be published every year.<p>Although Afrikaans has diverged from Dutch over the past three centuries, it still shares approximately 85 per cent of its vocabulary with that language, and Afrikaans speakers are able to learn Dutch within a comparatively short period of time. Native Dutch speakers pick up Afrikaans even more quickly, due to its simplified grammar. This has enabled Dutch companies to <!--del_lnk--> outsource their <!--del_lnk--> call centre operations to South Africa, thereby taking advantage of lower labour costs.<p><a id="International_view_of_Afrikaans" name="International_view_of_Afrikaans"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">International view of Afrikaans</span></h3>
<p>Outside of South Africa, there is a growing interest in the Afrikaans language, and it is currently taught at universities in Germany, Austria, Belgium, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic, Poland, Russia and Uzbekistan.<p>Nevertheless, the language is sometimes regarded with contempt. When the British design magazine <!--del_lnk--> Wallpaper* described Afrikaans as "the ugliest language in the world" (with reference to the <!--del_lnk--> Afrikaans Language Monument), South African <!--del_lnk--> billionaire <!--del_lnk--> Johann Rupert (chairman of the <!--del_lnk--> Richemont group), responded by withdrawing advertising for brands such as <!--del_lnk--> Cartier, <!--del_lnk--> Van Cleef & Arpels, <!--del_lnk--> Montblanc and <!--del_lnk--> Alfred Dunhill from the magazine <!--del_lnk--> .<p>In <i><!--del_lnk--> 2061: Odyssey Three</i>, <!--del_lnk--> Arthur C. Clarke states that Afrikaans is the world's best language to <!--del_lnk--> curse in, and that even relatively innocent conversation is "damaging to innocent bystanders."<p><a id="Afrikaans_phrases" name="Afrikaans_phrases"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Afrikaans phrases</span></h2>
<p>Afrikaans is a very centralised language, meaning that most of the vowels are pronounced in a very centralised (i.e. very <!--del_lnk--> schwa-like) way. There are many different dialects and different pronunciations — but the transcription should be fairly standard.<ul>
<li><b><span lang="af" xml:lang="af">Hallo! Hoe gaan dit?</span></b> <span class="IPA" title="Pronunciation in IPA">[ɦaləu ɦu xaˑn dət]</span> Hello! How are you?<li><b><span lang="af" xml:lang="af">Baie goed, dankie.</span></b> <span class="IPA" title="Pronunciation in IPA">[bajə xuˑt danki]</span> Very well, thanks.<li><b><span lang="af" xml:lang="af">Praat jy Afrikaans?</span></b> <span class="IPA" title="Pronunciation in IPA">[prɑˑt jəi afrikɑˑns]</span> Do you speak Afrikaans?<li><b><span lang="af" xml:lang="af">Praat jy Engels?</span></b> <span class="IPA" title="Pronunciation in IPA">[prɑˑt jəi ɛŋəls]</span> Do you speak English?<li><b><span lang="af" xml:lang="af">Ja.</span></b> <span class="IPA" title="Pronunciation in IPA">[jɑˑ]</span> Yes.<li><b><span lang="af" xml:lang="af">Nee.</span></b> <span class="IPA" title="Pronunciation in IPA">[neˑə]</span> No.<li><b><span lang="af" xml:lang="af">'n Bietjie.</span></b> <span class="IPA" title="Pronunciation in IPA">[ə biki]</span> A little.<li><b><span lang="af" xml:lang="af">Wat is jou naam?</span></b> <span class="IPA" title="Pronunciation in IPA">[vat əs jəu nɑˑm]</span> What is your name?<li><b><span lang="af" xml:lang="af">Die kinders praat Afrikaans.</span></b> <span class="IPA" title="Pronunciation in IPA">[di kənərs prɑˑt afrikɑˑns]</span> The children speak Afrikaans.</ul>
<p>An interesting sentence having the same meaning and written (but not pronounced) identically in Afrikaans and English is:<ul>
<li><b>My pen was in my hand.</b> (<span class="IPA" title="Pronunciation in IPA">[məi pɛn vas ən məi hɑnt]</span>)</ul>
<p>Similarly the sentence:<ul>
<li><b>My hand is in warm water.</b> (<span class="IPA" title="Pronunciation in IPA">[məi hɑnt əs ən varəm vɑˑtər]</span>)</ul>
<p>has almost identical meaning in Afrikaans and English although the Afrikaans <i>warm</i> corresponds more closely in meaning to English <i>hot</i> and Dutch <i>heet</i> (Dutch <i>warm</i> corresponds to English <i>warm</i>, but is closer to Afrikaans in pronunciation).<p><a id="Additional_information" name="Additional_information"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Additional information</span></h2>
<ul>
<li>Afrikaans has a monument erected in its honour. The <!--del_lnk--> Afrikaans Language Monument (<i><span lang="af" xml:lang="af">Afrikaanse Taalmonument</span></i>) is located near the Western Cape Province town of <!--del_lnk--> Paarl.<li>The letters <i>c, q</i> and <i>x</i> are rarely seen in Afrikaans, and words containing them are almost exclusively borrowings from French, English, Greek or Latin. This is usually because words which had <i>c</i> and <i>ch</i> in the original Dutch are spelt with <i>k</i> and <i>g</i> repectively in Afrikaans (in many dialects of Dutch (including the Hollandic ones), a <i>ch</i> is spoken as a <i>g</i>, which explains the use of the <i>g</i> in Afrikaans language). Similarly original <i>qu</i> and <i>x</i> are spelt <i>kw</i> and <i>ks</i> respectively. For example <i><span lang="af" xml:lang="af">ekwatoriaal</span></i> instead of "equatoriaal" and <i><span lang="af" xml:lang="af">ekskuus</span></i> instead of "excuus".<li>Afrikaans uses 26 letters, just like English, although it makes use of various punctuation marks to modify a letter: <b>è, é, ê, ë, î, ï, ô, û</b>, these should not however be regarded as special characters in addition to the 26 normal letters. <b><span lang="af" xml:lang="af">ʼn</span></b> is also regarded as two separate characters, and the "n" in '<b>n</b> may never be written in upper case. When used at the beginning of a sentence, the second word's first letter should be capitalized. <b><span lang="af" xml:lang="af">ʼn</span></b> is the Afrikaans equivalent of the English "a" eg: <b>Ek het <span lang="af" xml:lang="af">ʼn</span> hond</b> (I have a dog).</ul>
<p><a id="See_also" name="See_also"></a><div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afrikaans"</div>
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<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.People.Historical_figures.htm">Historical figures</a></h3>
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<div class="thumbinner" style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/531/53137.jpg.htm" title="The so-called 'Mask of Agamemnon'. Discovered by Heinrich Schliemann in 1876 at Mycenae. Whether it represents an individual, and who, remain unknown."><img alt="The so-called 'Mask of Agamemnon'. Discovered by Heinrich Schliemann in 1876 at Mycenae. Whether it represents an individual, and who, remain unknown." class="thumbimage" height="253" longdesc="/wiki/Image:MaskeAgamemnon.JPG" src="../../images/531/53137.jpg" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/531/53137.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> The so-called '<!--del_lnk--> Mask of Agamemnon'. Discovered by <!--del_lnk--> Heinrich Schliemann in <!--del_lnk--> 1876 at <!--del_lnk--> Mycenae. Whether it represents an individual, and who, remain unknown.</div>
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<p><b>Agamemnon</b> (<!--del_lnk--> Greek: <b><span class="polytonic" lang="grc" xml:lang="grc">Ἀγαμέμνων</span></b>) ("very resolute") is one of the most distinguished of the <a href="../../wp/g/Greek_mythology.htm" title="Greek mythology">Greek heroes</a>. He is the son of King <!--del_lnk--> Atreus of <!--del_lnk--> Mycenae and Queen <!--del_lnk--> Aerope,and brother of <!--del_lnk--> Menelaus. Because of the antiquity of the sources, it is not clear whether Agamemnon is a historical figure.<p>In alternative traditions Agamemnon is said to be the son of <!--del_lnk--> Pleisthenes (son of Atreus) and Aerope, or of <!--del_lnk--> Pleisthenes and Cleolla, daughter of <!--del_lnk--> Dias, making him the grandson, rather than the son, of Atreus. <!--del_lnk--> <script type="text/javascript">
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<p><a id="Early_life" name="Early_life"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Early life</span></h2>
<p>Agamemnon's father <!--del_lnk--> Atreus was murdered by <!--del_lnk--> Aegisthus, who took possession of the throne of Mycenae and ruled jointly with his father <!--del_lnk--> Thyestes. During this period Agamemnon and his brother, <!--del_lnk--> Menelaus, took refuge with <!--del_lnk--> Tyndareus, king of <!--del_lnk--> Sparta. There they respectively married Tyndareus' daughters <!--del_lnk--> Clytemnestra and <a href="../../wp/h/Helen.htm" title="Helen">Helen</a>. Agamemnon and Clytemnestra had five children: four daughters, <!--del_lnk--> Iphigeneia, <!--del_lnk--> Electra, <!--del_lnk--> Chrysothemis, and <!--del_lnk--> Iphianissa and one son, <!--del_lnk--> Orestes.<p>Menelaus succeeded Tyndareus in Sparta, while Agamemnon, with his brother's assistance, drove out Aegisthus and Thyestes to recover his father's kingdom. He extended his dominion by conquest and became the most powerful prince in Greece.<p>Agamemnon's family history, dating back to legendary king <!--del_lnk--> Pelops, had been marred by pederastic <!--del_lnk--> rape, <!--del_lnk--> murder, <!--del_lnk--> incest, and <!--del_lnk--> treachery. The Greeks believed this violent past brought misfortune upon the entire <!--del_lnk--> House of Atreus.<p><a id="The_Trojan_War" name="The_Trojan_War"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">The Trojan War</span></h2>
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<div class="thumbinner" style="width:152px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/531/53139.jpg.htm" title="The sacrifice of Iphigenia."><img alt="The sacrifice of Iphigenia." class="thumbimage" height="130" longdesc="/wiki/Image:300px-Iphigenia.jpg" src="../../images/531/53139.jpg" width="150" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/531/53139.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> The sacrifice of <!--del_lnk--> Iphigenia.</div>
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<p>Agamemnon gathered the reluctant Greek forces to sail for Troy. Preparing to depart from <!--del_lnk--> Aulis, which was a port in <!--del_lnk--> Boeotia, Agamemnon's army incurred the wrath of the goddess <!--del_lnk--> Artemis. There are several reasons throughout myth for such wrath: in <!--del_lnk--> Aeschylus' play <!--del_lnk--> Agamemnon, Artemis is angry for the young men who will die at Troy, whereas in <!--del_lnk--> Sophocles' <!--del_lnk--> Electra, Agamemnon has slain an animal sacred to Artemis, and subsequently boasted that he was Artemis' equal in hunting. Misfortunes, including a plague and a lack of wind, prevented the army from sailing. Finally, the prophet <!--del_lnk--> Calchas announced that the wrath of the goddess could only be propitiated by the sacrifice of Agamemnon's daughter <!--del_lnk--> Iphigeneia. Classical dramatizations differ on how willing either father or daughter were to this fate, some including such trickery as claiming she was to be married to <a href="../../wp/a/Achilles.htm" title="Achilles">Achilles</a>, but Agamemnon did eventually sacrifice Iphigeneia. Her death appeased Artemis, and the Greek army set out for Troy. Several alternatives to the human sacrifice have been presented in Greek mythology. Other sources claim that Agamemnon was prepared to kill his daughter, but that Artemis accepted a deer in her place, and whisked her to Taurus in <!--del_lnk--> Crimea. <!--del_lnk--> Hesiod said she became the goddess <!--del_lnk--> Hecate.<p>Agamemnon was the commander-in-chief of the Greeks during the Trojan War. During the fighting, Agamemnon killed <!--del_lnk--> Antiphus. Agamemnon's <!--del_lnk--> teamster, <!--del_lnk--> Halaesus, later fought with <!--del_lnk--> Aeneas in <a href="../../wp/i/Italy.htm" title="Italy">Italy</a>. The <i><!--del_lnk--> Iliad</i> tells the story of the quarrel between Agamemnon and Achilles in the final year of the war. Agamemnon took an attractive slave and spoil of war <!--del_lnk--> Briseis from Achilles. Achilles, the greatest warrior of the age, withdrew from battle in revenge and nearly cost the Greek armies the war.<p>Although not the equal of Achilles in bravery, Agamemnon was a dignified representative of kingly authority. As commander-in-chief, he summoned the princes to the council and led the army in battle. He took the field himself, and performed many heroic deeds until he was wounded and forced to withdraw to his tent. His chief fault was his overweening haughtiness. An over-exalted opinion of his position led him to insult <!--del_lnk--> Chryses and Achilles, thereby bringing great disaster upon the Greeks.<p>After the capture of Troy, <!--del_lnk--> Cassandra, doomed prophetess and daughter of <!--del_lnk--> Priam, fell to his lot in the distribution of the prizes of war.<p><a id="Return_to_Greece" name="Return_to_Greece"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Return to Greece</span></h2>
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<div class="thumbinner" style="width:302px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/531/53141.png.htm" title="The return of Agamemnon, from an 1879 illustration from Stories from the Greek Tragedians by Alfred Church."><img alt="The return of Agamemnon, from an 1879 illustration from Stories from the Greek Tragedians by Alfred Church." class="thumbimage" height="164" longdesc="/wiki/Image:The_Return_Of_Agamemnon_-_Project_Gutenberg_eText_14994.png" src="../../images/531/53141.png" width="300" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/531/53141.png.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> The return of Agamemnon, from an <!--del_lnk--> 1879 illustration from <i>Stories from the Greek Tragedians</i> by <!--del_lnk--> Alfred Church.</div>
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<p>After a stormy voyage, Agamemnon and Cassandra landed in <!--del_lnk--> Argolis or were blown off course and landed in Aegisthus' country. <!--del_lnk--> Clytemnestra, Agamemnon's wife, had taken a lover, <!--del_lnk--> Aegisthus, and they invited Agamemnon to a banquet at which he was treacherously slain. According to the account given by <!--del_lnk--> Pindar and the tragedians, Agamemnon was slain by his wife alone in a bath, a piece of cloth or a net having first been thrown over him to prevent resistance. Clytemnestra also killed Cassandra. Her wrath at the sacrifice of Iphigenia, and her jealousy of Cassandra, are said to have been the motives of her crime. Aegisthus and Clytemnestra then ruled Agamemnon's kingdom for a time, but the murder of Agamemnon was eventually avenged by his son Orestes with the help of Electra.<p><a id="Other_stories" name="Other_stories"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Other stories</span></h2>
<p><!--del_lnk--> Athenaeus tells a story of <!--del_lnk--> Argynnus, an <!--del_lnk--> eromenos of Agamemnon: "Agamemnon loved Argynnus, so the story goes, having seen him swimming in the <!--del_lnk--> Cephisus river; in which, in fact, he lost his life (for he constantly bathed in this river). Agamemnon was struck with great grief. He buried him, honored him with a tomb and a shrine, and founded there a temple of <!--del_lnk--> Aphrodite Argynnis." (The Deipnosophists of Athenaeus of Naucratis, Book XIII Concerning Women, p.3) This episode is also found in <!--del_lnk--> Clement of Alexandria (Protrepticus II.38.2), in <!--del_lnk--> Stephen of Byzantium <i>(Kopai</i> and <i>Argunnos),</i> and in <!--del_lnk--> Propertius, III with minor variations.<p>The fortunes of Agamemnon have formed the subject of numerous <!--del_lnk--> tragedies, ancient and modern, the most famous being the <!--del_lnk--> Oresteia of <!--del_lnk--> Aeschylus. In the legends of the <!--del_lnk--> Peloponnesus, Agamemnon was regarded as the highest type of a powerful monarch, and in <!--del_lnk--> Sparta he was worshipped under the title of <i>Zeus Agamemnon</i>. His tomb was pointed out among the ruins of <!--del_lnk--> Mycenae and at <!--del_lnk--> Amyclae.<p>Another account makes him the son of <!--del_lnk--> Pleisthenes (the son or father of <!--del_lnk--> Atreus), who is said to have been Aerope's first husband.<p>In works of art there is considerable resemblance between the representations of <a href="../../wp/z/Zeus.htm" title="Zeus">Zeus</a>, king of the gods, and Agamemnon, king of men. He is generally characterized by the <!--del_lnk--> sceptre and <!--del_lnk--> diadem, the usual attributes of kings.<p><a id="Agamemnon_in_fiction" name="Agamemnon_in_fiction"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Agamemnon in fiction</span></h2>
<p>Writers of time travel and historical novels often attempt to show the Trojan War "as it really happened", based on the archeological evidence of <!--del_lnk--> Mycenaean civilization. Such authors frequently use Agamemnon as the archetypical Mycenaean king, bringing life to old artifacts by dressing a familiar face in them. Of particular interest is <!--del_lnk--> S. M. Stirling's time-travel trilogy <i><!--del_lnk--> Island in the Sea of Time</i>, <i><!--del_lnk--> Against the Tide of Years</i> and <i><!--del_lnk--> On the Oceans of Eternity</i>, where the fate that befalls the House of Atreus is every bit as horrific as that traditionally portrayed. The horror is arranged by a time-travelling villain who is very well aware of the traditional accounts.<p>The <!--del_lnk--> noble <!--del_lnk--> Atreides family of the <!--del_lnk--> science fiction series <i><!--del_lnk--> Dune</i> by <!--del_lnk--> Frank Herbert trace their lineage back to Agamemnon (note that the surname, Atreides, is derived from Agamemnon's father's name, <i><!--del_lnk--> Atreus</i>). An important Atreides ancestor also adopts the name <!--del_lnk--> Agamemnon in the series' <!--del_lnk--> back-story.<p>Agamemnon is also mentioned in William Butler Yeats poem "<!--del_lnk--> Leda and the Swan".<p>Agamemnon makes an appearance in the film <i><!--del_lnk--> Time Bandits</i>, played by <a href="../../wp/s/Sean_Connery.htm" title="Sean Connery">Sean Connery</a>, although his depiction in the film seems more reminiscent of <a href="../../wp/o/Odysseus.htm" title="Odysseus">Odysseus</a>. Masks very similar to the famous <!--del_lnk--> Mask of Agamemnon are also used in the film.<p>He also appeared in the 2004 film <i><!--del_lnk--> Troy</i>, played by <a href="../../wp/s/Scotland.htm" title="Scotland">Scottish</a> actor <!--del_lnk--> Brian Cox. <i>Troy</i> departs from the traditional accounts in numerous places; in the case of Agamemnon, he is portrayed as power-mad, and is killed for his rapaciousness during the fall of Troy.<p>The phrase "Thus falls of the house of Agamemnon" was used in a delirious stupor by Steve Rhodes during an episode of <i><!--del_lnk--> Married with Children</i>.<p>Agamemnon also appears in the <a href="../../wp/w/William_Shakespeare.htm" title="William Shakespeare">Shakespearean</a> play <i><!--del_lnk--> Troilus and Cressida</i>.<p>Agamemnon appears in Microsoft Game Studios' <i><!--del_lnk--> Age of Mythology</i>. His role in the game broadly reflects his role in the Trojan War.<p>Agamemnon appears as a character in the novels <i><!--del_lnk--> Ilium</i> and <i><!--del_lnk--> Olympos</i> by <!--del_lnk--> Dan Simmons, in the future replaying of the Trojan War.<p>In his book <i><!--del_lnk--> Where Troy Once Stood</i>, <a href="../../wp/n/Netherlands.htm" title="Netherlands">Dutch</a>-born writer Iman Wilkens links Argos and Agamemnon with the <a href="../../wp/b/Bible.htm" title="Bible">Biblical</a> <!--del_lnk--> Gog and Magog.<p>The folk band <!--del_lnk--> The Mountain Goats has a song titled "Against Agamemnon", although direct textual references to Agamemnon himself are rather vague.<p>Agamemnon was used as the name of the <!--del_lnk--> Earth Alliance <i>Omega</i> class destroyer, first captained by John Sheridan in <i><!--del_lnk--> Babylon 5</i>, by J M <!--del_lnk--> Straczynski.<p>The name Agamemnon was also used to denote a class of space battleship used in the anime <!--del_lnk--> Gundam Seed and it's sequel <!--del_lnk--> Gundam Seed Destiny<p>In <!--del_lnk--> Christine Brooke-Rose's novel <i>Amalgamemnon</i>, she uses the world of Greek mythology to demonstrate a character oppressed by a male dominated society. As she feels confinied by many male conventions, the term "amalga" is added to the name, in order to signify an amalgamation of oppression.<div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agamemnon"</div>
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<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">Age of Enlightenment</h1>
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<p>The <i><b>Age of Enlightenment</b></i> refers to either the <!--del_lnk--> eighteenth century in <!--del_lnk--> European philosophy, or the longer period including the seventeenth century and the <!--del_lnk--> Age of Reason. It can more narrowly refer to the historical intellectual movement <i>The Enlightenment</i>, which advocated <!--del_lnk--> Reason as a means to establishing an authoritative system of <a href="../../wp/a/Aesthetics.htm" title="Aesthetics">aesthetics</a>, <a href="../../wp/e/Ethics.htm" title="Ethics">ethics</a>, <a href="../../wp/g/Government.htm" title="Government">government</a>, and <a href="../../wp/l/Logic.htm" title="Logic">logic</a>, which would allow human beings to obtain objective truth about the universe. Emboldened by the revolution in <a href="../../wp/p/Physics.htm" title="Physics">physics</a> commenced by <a href="../../wp/i/Isaac_Newton.htm" title="Isaac Newton">Newtonian</a> <!--del_lnk--> kinematics, Enlightenment thinkers argued that same kind of systematic thinking could apply to all forms of human activity.<p>The intellectual leaders regarded themselves as a courageous elite who would lead the world into progress from a long period of doubtful <!--del_lnk--> tradition, irrationality, superstition, and tyranny, which they imputed to the <i><a href="../../wp/d/Dark_Ages.htm" title="Dark Ages">Dark Ages</a></i>. The movement helped create the intellectual framework for the <!--del_lnk--> American and <a href="../../wp/f/French_Revolution.htm" title="French Revolution">French Revolutions</a>, the <!--del_lnk--> Latin American independence movement, and the <!--del_lnk--> Polish Constitution of May 3; and led to the rise of classical <a href="../../wp/l/Liberalism.htm" title="Liberalism">liberalism</a> and <a href="../../wp/c/Capitalism.htm" title="Capitalism">capitalism</a>. It is matched with the high <a href="../../wp/b/Baroque.htm" title="Baroque">baroque</a> and classical eras in music, and the <!--del_lnk--> neo-classical period in the arts; it receives contemporary attention as being one of the central models for many movements in the <!--del_lnk--> modern period.<p>The enlightenment was mirrored by the Jewish <!--del_lnk--> Haskalah, which in Western Europe and particularly in Germany resulted in the elevation and eventual replacement of <!--del_lnk--> Yiddish by <!--del_lnk--> Hebrew, as well as the Jewish reform and Zionist Nationalist movements.<p>
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<p>Another important movement in 18th century philosophy, closely related to it, focused on belief and piety. Some of its proponents, such as <!--del_lnk--> George Berkeley, attempted to demonstrate rationally the existence of a supreme being. Piety and belief in this period were integral to the exploration of <!--del_lnk--> natural philosophy and <a href="../../wp/e/Ethics.htm" title="Ethics">ethics</a>, in addition to <a href="../../wp/p/Politics.htm" title="Politics">political</a> theories of the age. However, prominent Enlightenment philosophers such as <!--del_lnk--> Thomas Paine, <a href="../../wp/v/Voltaire.htm" title="Voltaire">Voltaire</a>, <a href="../../wp/j/Jean-Jacques_Rousseau.htm" title="Jean-Jacques Rousseau">Jean-Jacques Rousseau</a>, and <a href="../../wp/d/David_Hume.htm" title="David Hume">David Hume</a> questioned and attacked the existing institutions of both <!--del_lnk--> Church and <!--del_lnk--> State.<p>The 19th century also saw a continued rise of <a href="../../wp/e/Empiricism.htm" title="Empiricism">empirical</a> philosophical ideas and their application to <a href="../../wp/p/Political_economy.htm" title="Political economy">political economy</a>, <a href="../../wp/g/Government.htm" title="Government">government</a> and sciences such as <a href="../../wp/p/Physics.htm" title="Physics">physics</a>, <a href="../../wp/c/Chemistry.htm" title="Chemistry">chemistry</a> and <a href="../../wp/b/Biology.htm" title="Biology">biology</a>.<p>The Enlightenment (if thought of as a short period) was preceded by the <!--del_lnk--> Age of Reason or (if thought of as a long period) by the <a href="../../wp/r/Renaissance.htm" title="Renaissance">Renaissance</a> and the <!--del_lnk--> Reformation. It was followed by <a href="../../wp/r/Romanticism.htm" title="Romanticism">Romanticism</a>.<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:227px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/71/7127.jpg.htm" title="William Blake's Newton as a divine geometer (1795)"><img alt="William Blake's Newton as a divine geometer (1795)" height="167" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Newton-WilliamBlake.jpg" src="../../images/0/81.jpg" width="225" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
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<p>The boundaries of the Enlightenment cover much of the seventeenth century as well, though others term the previous era "<!--del_lnk--> The Age of Reason." For the present purposes, these two eras are <!--del_lnk--> split; however, it is equally acceptable to think of them conjoined as one long period.<p>Europe had been ravaged by religious wars; when peace in the political situation had been restored, after the <!--del_lnk--> Peace of Westphalia and the <!--del_lnk--> English Civil War, an intellectual upheaval overturned the accepted belief that mysticism and revelation are the primary sources of knowledge and wisdom—which was blamed for fomenting political instability. Instead, (according to those that split the two periods), the Age of Reason sought to establish axiomatic philosophy and absolutism as foundations for knowledge and stability. Epistemology, in the writings of <!--del_lnk--> Michel de Montaigne and <a href="../../wp/r/Ren%25C3%25A9_Descartes.htm" title="René Descartes">René Descartes</a>, was based on extreme skepticism and inquiry into the nature of "knowledge." The goal of a philosophy based on self-evident axioms reached its height with <a href="../../wp/b/Baruch_Spinoza.htm" title="Baruch Spinoza">Baruch (Benedictus de) Spinoza</a>'s Ethics, which expounded a pantheistic view of the universe where God and Nature were one. This idea then became central to the Enlightenment from Newton through to Jefferson. The ideas of <a href="../../wp/b/Blaise_Pascal.htm" title="Blaise Pascal">Pascal</a>, <a href="../../wp/g/Gottfried_Leibniz.htm" title="Gottfried Leibniz">Leibniz</a>, <a href="../../wp/g/Galileo_Galilei.htm" title="Galileo Galilei">Galileo</a> and other philosophers of the previous period also contributed to and greatly influenced the Enlightenment; for instance, according to E. Cassirer, Leibniz’s treatise On Wisdom ". . . identified the central concept of the Enlightenment and sketched its theoretical programme" (Cassirer 1979: 121–123). There was a wave of change across European thinking, exemplified by Newton's <!--del_lnk--> natural philosophy, which combined mathematics of <!--del_lnk--> axiomatic proof with mechanics of physical observation, a coherent system of verifiable predictions, which set the tone for what followed Newton's <i><a href="../../wp/p/Philosophiae_Naturalis_Principia_Mathematica.htm" title="Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica">Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica</a></i> in the century after.<p>The Age of Enlightenment is also prominent in the history of Judaism, perhaps because of its conjunction with increased social acceptance of Jews in some western European states, especially those who were not orthodox or who converted to the officially sanctioned version of Christianity.<p><a id="Key_conflicts_within_Enlightenment-period_philosophy" name="Key_conflicts_within_Enlightenment-period_philosophy"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Key conflicts within Enlightenment-period philosophy</span></h2>
<p>As with theology, philosophy became a source of partisan debate, with different schools attempting to develop rationales for their viewpoints, which then, in turn, became generally accepted. Thus philosophers such as <!--del_lnk--> Spinoza searched for a metaphysics of ethics. This trend later influenced <!--del_lnk--> pietism and eventually <!--del_lnk--> transcendental searches such as those by <a href="../../wp/i/Immanuel_Kant.htm" title="Immanuel Kant">Immanuel Kant</a>.<p>Religion was linked to another concept which inspired a great amount of Enlightenment thought, namely the rise of the <!--del_lnk--> Nation-state. In medieval and Renaissance periods, the state was restricted by the need to work through a host of intermediaries. This system existed because of poor communication, where localism thrived in return for loyalty to some central organization. With the improvements in transportation, organization, navigation and finally the influx of gold and silver from trade and conquest, however, the state assumed more and more authority and power. Intellectuals responded with a series of theories on the purpose of, and limits of state power. Therefore, during The Enlightenment <!--del_lnk--> absolutism was cemented and a string of philosophers reacted by advocating limitation, from <a href="../../wp/j/John_Locke.htm" title="John Locke">John Locke</a> forward, who influenced both <a href="../../wp/v/Voltaire.htm" title="Voltaire">Voltaire</a> and <a href="../../wp/j/Jean-Jacques_Rousseau.htm" title="Jean-Jacques Rousseau">Jean-Jacques Rousseau</a>. Enlightenment ideas influenced organisations seeking to effect state and social development, such as the <!--del_lnk--> Freemasons and <!--del_lnk--> Illuminati. And they ultimately had a profound effect on the actions of politically active individuals worldwide.<p>Within the period of the Enlightenment, these issues began to be explored in the question of what constituted the proper relationship of the citizen to the monarch or the state. The idea that <!--del_lnk--> society is a contract between individual and some larger entity, whether society or state, continued to grow throughout this period. A series of philosophers, including <!--del_lnk--> Rousseau, <!--del_lnk--> Montesquieu, <a href="../../wp/d/David_Hume.htm" title="David Hume">Hume</a> and <a href="../../wp/t/Thomas_Jefferson.htm" title="Thomas Jefferson">Jefferson</a> advocated this idea. Furthermore, thinkers of this age advocated the idea that nationality had a basis beyond mere preference. Philosophers such as <!--del_lnk--> Johann Gottfried von Herder reasserted the idea from Greek antiquity that <a href="../../wp/l/Language.htm" title="Language">language</a> had a decisive influence on cognition and thought, and that the meaning of a particular book or text was open to deeper exploration based on deeper connections, an idea now called <!--del_lnk--> hermeneutics. The original focus of his scholarship was to delve into the meaning in the <a href="../../wp/b/Bible.htm" title="Bible">Bible</a> and in order to gain a deeper understanding of it. These two concepts - of the contractual nature between the state and the citizen, and the reality of the nation beyond that contract, had a decisive influence in the development of <a href="../../wp/l/Liberalism.htm" title="Liberalism">liberalism</a>, <a href="../../wp/d/Democracy.htm" title="Democracy">democracy</a> and constitutional government which followed.<p>At the same time, the integration of <a href="../../wp/a/Algebra.htm" title="Algebra">algebraic thinking</a>, acquired from the Islamic world over the previous two centuries, and <a href="../../wp/g/Geometry.htm" title="Geometry">geometric thinking</a> which had dominated Western mathematics and philosophy since at least <!--del_lnk--> Eudoxus, precipitated a scientific and mathematical revolution. Sir Isaac Newton's greatest claim to prominence came from a systematic application of algebra to geometry, and synthesizing a workable <a href="../../wp/c/Calculus.htm" title="Calculus">calculus</a> which was applicable to scientific problems. The Enlightenment was a time when the solar system was truly discovered: with the accurate calculation of orbits, such as <!--del_lnk--> Halley's comet, the discovery of the first planet since antiquity, <!--del_lnk--> Uranus by <!--del_lnk--> William Herschel, and the calculation of the mass of the Sun using Newton's theory of universal gravitation. These series of discoveries had a momentous effect on both pragmatic commerce and philosophy. The excitement engendered by creating a new and orderly vision of the world, as well as the need for a philosophy of science which could encompass the new discoveries, greatly influenced both religious and secular ideas. If Newton could order the cosmos with natural philosophy, so, many argued, could political philosophy order the body politic.<p>Within the Enlightenment, two main theories contended to be the basis of that ordering: divine right and natural law. It might seem that divine right would yield absolutist ideas, and that natural law would lead to theories of liberty. The writing of <!--del_lnk--> Jacques-Benigne Bossuet (1627-1704) set the paradigm for the divine right: that the universe was ordered by a reasonable God, and therefore his representative on earth had the powers of that God. The orderliness of the cosmos was seen as proof of God; therefore it was a proof of the power of monarchy. Natural law, began, not as a reaction against divinity, but instead, as an abstraction: God did not rule arbitrarily, but through natural laws that he enacted on earth. <a href="../../wp/t/Thomas_Hobbes.htm" title="Thomas Hobbes">Thomas Hobbes</a>, though an absolutist in government, drew this argument in <i><!--del_lnk--> Leviathan</i>. Once the concept of natural law was invoked, however, it took on a life of its own. If natural law could be used to bolster the position of the monarchy, it could also be used to assert the rights of subjects of that monarch, that if there were natural laws, then there were <!--del_lnk--> natural rights associated with them, just as there are rights under man-made laws.<p>What both theories had in common was the need for an orderly and comprehensible function of government. The "Enlightened Despotism" of, for example, <!--del_lnk--> Catherine the Great of Russia and <!--del_lnk--> Frederick the Great of Prussia (a state within The Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation), is not based on mystical appeals to authority, but on the pragmatic invocation of state power as necessary to hold back chaotic and anarchic warfare and rebellion. Frederick the Great was raised by his French governess, importing the Enlightenment to "Germany." Regularization and standardization were seen as good things because they allowed the state to reach its power outwards over the entirety of its domain and because they liberated people from being entangled in endless local custom. Additionally, they expanded the sphere of economic and social activity.<p>Thus rationalization, standardization and the search for fundamental unities occupied much of the Enlightenment and its arguments over proper methodology and nature of understanding. The culminating efforts of the Enlightenment: for example the economics of <a href="../../wp/a/Adam_Smith.htm" title="Adam Smith">Adam Smith</a>, the physical chemistry of <a href="../../wp/a/Antoine_Lavoisier.htm" title="Antoine Lavoisier">Antoine Lavoisier</a>, the idea of evolution pursued by <a href="../../wp/j/Johann_Wolfgang_Goethe.htm" title="Johann Wolfgang Goethe">Johann Wolfgang Goethe</a>, the declaration by Jefferson of inalienable rights, in the end overshadowed the idea of divine right and direct alteration of the world by the hand of God. It was also the basis for overthrowing the idea of a completely rational and comprehensible universe, and led, in turn, to the metaphysics of Hegel and <a href="../../wp/r/Romanticism.htm" title="Romanticism">Romanticism</a>.<p><a id="Role_of_the_Enlightenment_in_later_philosophy" name="Role_of_the_Enlightenment_in_later_philosophy"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Role of the Enlightenment in later philosophy</span></h2>
<p>The Enlightenment occupies a central role in the justification for the movement known as <!--del_lnk--> modernism. The neo-classicizing trend in modernism came to see itself as being a period of rationality which was overturning foolishly established traditions, and therefore analogized itself to the Encyclopediasts and other philosophes. A variety of 20th century movements, including <a href="../../wp/l/Liberalism.htm" title="Liberalism">liberalism</a> and <!--del_lnk--> neo-classicism traced their intellectual heritage back to the Enlightenment, and away from the purported emotionalism of the 19th century. Geometric order, rigor and reductionism were seen as virtues of the Enlightenment. The modern movement points to <!--del_lnk--> reductionism and <!--del_lnk--> rationality as crucial aspects of Enlightenment thinking of which it is the inheritor, as opposed to irrationality and emotionalism. In this view, the Enlightenment represents the basis for modern ideas of <a href="../../wp/l/Liberalism.htm" title="Liberalism">liberalism</a> against <!--del_lnk--> superstition and <!--del_lnk--> intolerance. Influential philosophers who have held this view are <!--del_lnk--> Jürgen Habermas and <!--del_lnk--> Isaiah Berlin.<p>This view asserts that the Enlightenment was the point where Europe broke through what historian Peter Gay calls "the sacred circle," where previous dogma circumscribed thinking. The Enlightenment is held, in this view, to be the source of critical ideas, such as the centrality of <!--del_lnk--> freedom, <a href="../../wp/d/Democracy.htm" title="Democracy">democracy</a> and <!--del_lnk--> reason as being the primary values of a society. This view argues that the establishment of a contractual basis of rights would lead to the market mechanism and <a href="../../wp/c/Capitalism.htm" title="Capitalism">capitalism</a>, the <!--del_lnk--> scientific method, religious and racial <!--del_lnk--> tolerance, and the organization of states into self-governing republics through democratic means. In this view, the tendency of the <!--del_lnk--> philosophes in particular to apply rationality to every problem is considered to be the essential change. From this point on, thinkers and writers were held to be free to pursue the truth in whatever form, without the threat of sanction for violating established ideas.<p>With the end of the <a href="../../wp/w/World_War_II.htm" title="World War II">Second World War</a> and the rise of <!--del_lnk--> post-modernity, these same features came to be regarded as liabilities - excessive specialization, failure to heed traditional wisdom or provide for unintended consequences, and the romanticization of Enlightenment figures - such as the <!--del_lnk--> Founding Fathers of the United States, prompted a backlash against both Science and Enlightenment based dogma in general. Philosophers such as <!--del_lnk--> Michel Foucault are often understood as arguing that the age of reason had to construct a vision of unreason as being demonic and subhuman, and therefore evil and befouling, whence by analogy to argue that rationalism in the modern period is, likewise, a construction. In their book, <i><!--del_lnk--> Dialectic of Enlightenment</i>, <!--del_lnk--> Max Horkheimer and <!--del_lnk--> Theodor Adorno wrote a penetrating critique of what they perceived as the contradictions of Enlightenment thought: Enlightenment was seen as being at once liberatory and, through the domination of <!--del_lnk--> instrumental rationality tending towards totalitarianism.<p>Alternatively, the Enlightenment was used as a powerful symbol to argue for the supremacy of rationalism and rationalization, and therefore any attack on it was connected to despotism and madness, for example in the writings of <!--del_lnk--> Gertrude Himmelfarb.<p>
<br />
<p><a id="Important_figures_of_the_Enlightenment_era" name="Important_figures_of_the_Enlightenment_era"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Important figures of the Enlightenment era</span></h2>
<ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Kant | <!--del_lnk--> French Encyclopédistes | <a href="../../wp/v/Voltaire.htm" title="Voltaire">Voltaire</a> | <a href="../../wp/g/Gottfried_Leibniz.htm" title="Leibniz">Leibniz</a> | <!--del_lnk--> Lord Monboddo, <a href="../../wp/j/Jean-Jacques_Rousseau.htm" title="Jean-Jacques Rousseau">Jean-Jacques Rousseau</a> | <!--del_lnk--> Condorcet | <!--del_lnk--> Helvétius | <!--del_lnk--> Fontenelle | <!--del_lnk--> Olympe de Gouges | <!--del_lnk--> Ignacy Krasicki | <!--del_lnk--> Francois Quesney | <!--del_lnk--> Benedict Spinoza | <!--del_lnk--> Cesare Beccaria | <a href="../../wp/a/Adam_Smith.htm" title="Adam Smith">Adam Smith</a> | <a href="../../wp/i/Isaac_Newton.htm" title="Isaac Newton">Isaac Newton</a> | <!--del_lnk--> John Wilkes | <a href="../../wp/a/Antoine_Lavoisier.htm" title="Antoine Lavoisier">Antoine Lavoisier</a> | <!--del_lnk--> Mikhail Lomonosov | <!--del_lnk--> Mikhailo Shcherbatov | <!--del_lnk--> Ekaterina Dashkova | <!--del_lnk--> Montesquieu | <!--del_lnk--> Mary Wollstonecraft |<li><!--del_lnk--> Jean le Rond d'Alembert (1717-1783) <i>French</i>. Mathematician and physicist, one of the editors of <i>Encyclopédie</i><li><!--del_lnk--> Thomas Abbt (1738-1766) <i>German</i>. Promoted what would later be called <a href="../../wp/n/Nationalism.htm" title="Nationalism">Nationalism</a> in <i>Vom Tode für's Vaterland</i> (On dying for one's nation).<li><!--del_lnk--> Pierre Bayle (1647-1706) <i>French</i>. Literary critic known for <i>Nouvelles de la république des lettres</i> and <i>Dictionnaire historique et critique</i>.<li><!--del_lnk--> G.L. Buffon (1707-1788) <i>French</i>. Author of "L'Histoire Naturelle" who considered <a href="../../wp/n/Natural_selection.htm" title="Natural Selection">Natural Selection</a> and the similarities between humans and apes.<li><!--del_lnk--> James Burnett Lord Monboddo <i>Scottish</i>. Philosopher, <!--del_lnk--> jurist, pre-<a href="../../wp/e/Evolution.htm" title="Evolution">evolutionary</a> thinker and contributor to <a href="../../wp/l/Linguistics.htm" title="Linguistics">linguistic</a> <a href="../../wp/e/Evolution.htm" title="Evolution">evolution</a>. See <!--del_lnk--> Scottish Enlightenment<li><!--del_lnk--> James Boswell (1740-1795) <i>Scottish</i>. Biographer of <!--del_lnk--> Samuel Johnson, helped established the norms for writing <!--del_lnk--> Biography in general.<li><a href="../../wp/e/Edmund_Burke.htm" title="Edmund Burke">Edmund Burke</a> (1729-1797) <i>Irish</i>. Parliamentarian and political philosopher, best known for pragmatism, considered important to both <a href="../../wp/l/Liberalism.htm" title="Liberalism">liberal</a> and <!--del_lnk--> conservative thinking.<li><!--del_lnk--> Denis Diderot (1713-1784) <i>French</i>. Founder of the <i>Encyclopédie</i>, speculated on <!--del_lnk--> free will and attachment to material objects, contributed to the theory of literature.<li><!--del_lnk--> Ignacy Krasicki (1735-1801) <i>Polish</i>. Outstanding poet of the Polish Enlightenment, hailed by contemporaries as "the Prince of Poets." After the election of <!--del_lnk--> Stanisław August Poniatowski as king of <a href="../../wp/p/Poland.htm" title="Poland">Poland</a> in 1764, Krasicki became the new King's confidant and chaplain. He participated in the King's famous "Thursday dinners" and co-founded the Monitor, the preeminent periodical of the Polish Enlightenment, sponsored by the King. Consecrated Bishop of Warmia in 1766, Krasicki thereby also became an ex-officio Senator of the <a href="../../wp/p/Polish-Lithuanian_Commonwealth.htm" title="Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth">Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth</a>.<li><a href="../../wp/b/Benjamin_Franklin.htm" title="Benjamin Franklin">Benjamin Franklin</a> (1706-1790) <i>American</i>. Statesman, scientist, political philosopher, pragmatic deist, author. As a philosopher known for his writings on nationality, economic matters, aphorisms published in <i>Poor Richard's Alamanac</i> and polemics in favour of American Independence. Involved with writing the <!--del_lnk--> Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of 1787.<li><a href="../../wp/e/Edward_Gibbon.htm" title="Edward Gibbon">Edward Gibbon</a> (1737-1794) <i>English</i>. Historian best known for his <i><!--del_lnk--> Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire</i>.<li><!--del_lnk--> Johann Gottfried von Herder <i>German</i>. Theologian and Linguist. Proposed that language determines thought, introduced concepts of ethnic study and nationalism, influential on later Romantic thinkers. Early supporter of democracy and republican <!--del_lnk--> self rule.<li><a href="../../wp/d/David_Hume.htm" title="David Hume">David Hume</a> <i>Scottish</i>. Historian, philosopher and economist. Best known for his <a href="../../wp/e/Empiricism.htm" title="Empiricism">empiricism</a> and <!--del_lnk--> scientific skepticism, advanced doctrines of <!--del_lnk--> naturalism and material causes. Influenced Kant and Adam Smith.<li><a href="../../wp/i/Immanuel_Kant.htm" title="Immanuel Kant">Immanuel Kant</a> (1724-1804) <i>German</i>. Philosopher and physicist. Established critical philosophy on a systematic basis, proposed a material theory for the origin of the solar system, wrote on ethics and morals. Influenced by Hume and Isaac Newton. Important figure in German Idealism, and important to the work of <!--del_lnk--> Fichte and <!--del_lnk--> Hegel.<li><a href="../../wp/t/Thomas_Jefferson.htm" title="Thomas Jefferson">Thomas Jefferson</a> (1743-1826) <i>American</i>. Statesman, political philosopher, educator. As a philosopher best known for the <i><a href="../../wp/u/United_States_Declaration_of_Independence.htm" title="United States Declaration of Independence">United States Declaration of Independence</a></i> (1776) and his interpretation of the <i><a href="../../wp/u/United_States_Constitution.htm" title="United States Constitution">United States Constitution</a></i> (1787) which he pursued as president. Argued for natural rights as the basis of all states, argued that violation of these rights negates the contract which bind a people to their rulers and that therefore there is an inherent "Right to Revolution."<li><!--del_lnk--> Adam Weishaupt (1748-1830) <i>German</i> who founded the Order of the Illuminati.<li><!--del_lnk--> Hugo Kołłątaj (1750-1812) <i>Polish</i>. He was active in the Commission for National Education and the Society for Elementary Textbooks, and reformed the Kraków Academy, of which he was rector in 1783-1786. An organizer of the townspeople's movement, in 1789 he edited a memorial from the cities. He co-authored the Polish <!--del_lnk--> Constitution of May 3, 1791, and founded the Assembly of Friends of the Government Constitution to assist in the document's implementation. In 1791-1792 he served as Crown Vice Chancellor. In 1794 he took part in the <!--del_lnk--> Kościuszko Uprising, co-authoring its Uprising Act (March 24, 1794) and <!--del_lnk--> Proclamation of Połaniec (May 7, 1794), heading the Supreme National Council's Treasury Department, and backing the Uprising's left, Jacobin wing.<li><!--del_lnk--> Gotthold Ephraim Lessing (1729-1781) <i>German</i> Dramatist, critic, political philosopher. Created theatre in the German language, began reappraisal of Shakespeare to being a central figure, and the importance of classical dramatic norms as being crucial to good dramatic writing, theorized that the centre of political and cultural life is the middle class.<li><a href="../../wp/j/John_Locke.htm" title="John Locke">John Locke</a> (1632-1704) <i>English</i> Philosopher. Important empricist who expanded and extended the work of Francis Bacon and Thomas Hobbes. Seminal thinker in the realm of the relationship between the state and the individual, the contractual basis of the state and the rule of law. Argued for personal liberty with respect to <a href="../../wp/p/Property.htm" title="Property">property</a>.<li><!--del_lnk--> Leandro Fernández de Moratín (1760-1828) <i>Spanish</i>. Dramatist and translator, support of <!--del_lnk--> republicanism and free thinking. Transitional figure to Romanticism.<li><!--del_lnk--> Montesquieu (1689-1755) <i>French</i> political thinker. He is famous for his articulation of the theory of separation of powers, taken for granted in modern discussions of government and implemented in many constitutions all over the world.<li><!--del_lnk--> Nikolay Novikov (1744-1818) <i>Russian</i>. Philanthropist and journalist who sought to raise the culture of Russian readers and publicly argued with the Empress. See <!--del_lnk--> Russian Enlightenment for other prominent figures.<li><!--del_lnk--> Thomas Paine (1737-1809) <i>English</i>. Pamphleteer, Deist, and polemicist, most famous for <i>Common Sense</i> attacking England's domination of the colonies in America.<li><!--del_lnk--> Gaspar Melchor de Jovellanos. Main figure of the Spanish Enlightment. Preminent stateman.</ul>
<p><a id="External_links" name="External_links"></a><div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Age_of_Enlightenment"</div>
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<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.IT.Websites_and_the_Internet.htm">Websites and the Internet</a></h3>
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<p>An <b>aggregator</b> or <b>news aggregator</b> or <b>feed reader</b> is <!--del_lnk--> client software that uses a <!--del_lnk--> web feed to retrieve <!--del_lnk--> syndicated web content such as <!--del_lnk--> weblogs, <a href="../../wp/p/Podcasting.htm" title="Podcasting">podcasts</a>, <!--del_lnk--> vlogs, and <!--del_lnk--> mainstream <a href="../../wp/m/Mass_media.htm" title="Mass media">mass media</a> <!--del_lnk--> websites, or in the case of a <!--del_lnk--> search aggregator, a customized set of search results.<p>
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</script><a id="Functions" name="Functions"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Functions</span></h2>
<p>Aggregators reduce the time and effort needed to regularly check websites for updates, creating a unique information space or "personal newspaper." Once subscribed to a feed, an aggregator is able to check for new content at user-determined intervals and retrieve the update. The content is sometimes described as being "pulled" to the subscriber, as opposed to "pushed" with <!--del_lnk--> email or <!--del_lnk--> IM. Unlike recipients of some "pushed" information, the aggregator user can easily unsubscribe from a feed.<p>Aggregator features are being built into portal sites such as <!--del_lnk--> My Yahoo! and <a href="../../wp/g/Google.htm" title="Google">Google</a>; modern <!--del_lnk--> web browsers; e-mail programs like <!--del_lnk--> Mozilla Thunderbird; Apple's <a href="../../wp/i/ITunes.htm" title="ITunes">iTunes</a>, which serves as a podcast aggregator and other applications. Devices such as <!--del_lnk--> mobile phones and <!--del_lnk--> Tivo video recorders (already aggregating television programs) also incorporate <!--del_lnk--> XML aggregators.<p>The aggregator provides a consolidated view of the content in a single browser display or desktop application. Such applications are also referred to as <b>RSS readers</b>, <b>feed readers</b>, <b>feed aggregators</b>, <b>news readers</b> or <b>search aggregators</b>.<p>The syndicated content an aggregator will retrieve and interpret is usually supplied in the form of <a href="../../wp/r/RSS_%2528file_format%2529.htm" title="RSS (file format)">RSS</a> or other <!--del_lnk--> XML-formatted data, such as <!--del_lnk--> RDF/XML or <!--del_lnk--> Atom.<p><a id="Clouds" name="Clouds"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Clouds</span></h2>
<p>A small number of news aggregators have the ability to register to <i>clouds</i>, a web service that notifies the aggregator of updates to a feed, eliminating the need for periodic pulling. This approach attempts to produce a more efficient use of bandwidth, though the overhead associated with registering a cloud can mean no net savings. It also introduces issues of scalability and a single point of failure among others. In the time since the cloud concept was introduced in <!--del_lnk--> 2000, very few sources have implemented it.<p><a id="Categories" name="Categories"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Categories</span></h2>
<p><a id="Online_version" name="Online_version"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Online version</span></h3>
<p>Online versions of this type of software are websites selling or providing aggregation services for free; these sites are typically provided by <!--del_lnk--> ISPs and internet portals. The RSS feeds allow users to check recently changed versions in comparison to previous updates. This allows only 'fresh data' to be viewed, reducing bandwidth demands on the provider's hardware and users. Because the aggregator is online, it can be accessed anywhere by any user who is connected to the internet. More advanced ways of integrating feeds are provided by <!--del_lnk--> Ajax desktops, which allow users to aggregate <!--del_lnk--> OPML files, email services and documents in <!--del_lnk--> Google Docs & Spreadsheets as well as feeds in a single interface.<p>Lately, a large number of online news aggregators made their way on our Internet search results. The success of the technology comes from two perspectives:<ul>
<li><i>first</i> - a large amount of online content can be put together in a short period of time and that is what most of search engines out there like;<li><i>second</i> – the advertising capabilities can be enormous as the ad content can be delivered more targeted and “by the second”.</ul>
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<p>The desktop version of this type of software is designed to satisfy the task of controlling subscriptions and supervising the RSS feeds that the user has selected. The <!--del_lnk--> GUI of this type of software is normally a three-panel composition-like communication software like for instance an <!--del_lnk--> e-mail client, but browser versions are available -- normally run on a <!--del_lnk--> LAN. Publication is made through web-servers so that global access is possible. Additional facilities may be integrated into aggregators such as audio players, blog editors, internet browsers and e-mail clients.<p><a id="OEM.2FMeta_news_feeds" name="OEM.2FMeta_news_feeds"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">OEM/Meta news feeds</span></h3>
<p>These services (e.g. <!--del_lnk--> All Headline News (AHN) and Moreover) provide aggregate content to news portals and search engines, not necessarily direct to end users. Usually, to integrate feeds to a HTML page a combination of <!--del_lnk--> JavaScript/<!--del_lnk--> XML/<a href="../../wp/a/Ajax_%2528programming%2529.htm" title="Ajax (programming)">AJAX</a> technology is used.<p><a id="External_links" name="External_links"></a><div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aggregator"</div>
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<li><!--del_lnk--> Nihilism<li><strong class="selflink">Agnosticism</strong><li><!--del_lnk--> Uncertainty<li><!--del_lnk--> Probability<li><!--del_lnk--> Estimation<li><!--del_lnk--> Belief<li><!--del_lnk--> Justified true belief<li><!--del_lnk--> Certainty<li><!--del_lnk--> Determinism</ul>
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<p><b>Agnosticism</b> (from the <!--del_lnk--> Greek <i>a</i>, meaning "without" and <i><!--del_lnk--> gnosis</i>, "<!--del_lnk--> knowledge", translating to <i>unknowable</i>) is the <a href="../../wp/p/Philosophy.htm" title="Philosophy">philosophical</a> view that the <!--del_lnk--> truth value of certain claims — particularly <!--del_lnk--> theological claims regarding <!--del_lnk--> metaphysics, <!--del_lnk--> afterlife or the existence of <a href="../../wp/g/God.htm" title="God">God</a>, <!--del_lnk--> god(s), or <a href="../../wp/d/Deity.htm" title="Deity">deities</a> — is unknown or (possibly) inherently unknowable. Some agnostics take a stronger view that the concept of a deity is incoherent, thus meaningless and irrelevant to life. The term is used to describe those who are unconvinced or noncommittal about the existence of <a href="../../wp/d/Deity.htm" title="Deity">deities</a> as well as about other matters of <a href="../../wp/r/Religion.htm" title="Religion">religion</a>. Early Christian church leaders used the <!--del_lnk--> Greek word <i><!--del_lnk--> gnosis</i> (knowledge) to describe "spiritual knowledge". "Agnostic" came from the union of it to the Greek / Latin prefix <i>a</i>, and was originally coined by <!--del_lnk--> Thomas Henry Huxley in <!--del_lnk--> 1869 to describe his philosophy. Agnosticism is not to be confused with religious views opposing the doctrine of <!--del_lnk--> gnosis and <!--del_lnk--> Gnosticism— these are religious concepts that are not generally related to agnosticism.<p>Agnostics claim that either it is not possible to have <i>absolute</i> or <i>certain</i> knowledge or, alternatively, that while certainty <i>may</i> be possible, they personally have no knowledge. Agnosticism in both cases involves some form of <!--del_lnk--> skepticism. Data collection services often display the common use of the term, distinct from <a href="../../wp/a/Atheism.htm" title="Atheism">atheism</a> in its lack of disputing the existence of deities.<p>Agnostics are normally listed alongside categories such as <!--del_lnk--> atheist and <!--del_lnk--> non-religious, although this may be misleading. For example prominent agnostics such as <!--del_lnk--> Aleksander Kwaśniewski and <!--del_lnk--> Michelle Bachelet have been notably Christian in their outlook.<p>
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</script><a id="Qualifying_agnosticism" name="Qualifying_agnosticism"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Qualifying agnosticism</span></h2>
<p>Critics of the term "agnostic" claim that there is nothing distinctive in being agnostic because even many <!--del_lnk--> theists do not claim to know god(s) exists -- only to believe it. Under this asserted distinction between the words "belief" and "knowledge," agnosticism has recently started suffering from terminological ambiguity. While critics maintain the distinction is not contrived; others reject the distinction as trifling. By contrast, compare:<ul>
<li>"I believe god(s) exist(s)" means that "I know god(s) exist(s)".<li>"I believe god(s) exist(s)" can still mean "I <i>don't know if</i> god(s) exist(s)".</ul>
<p>If this distinction is accepted, the term agnostic becomes orthogonal to theism without further qualifiers, and many qualifiers become contradictory unless the distinction is accepted. If this distinction is ultimately accepted by the larger public, the group formerly described by the term will again find themselves without a label, because the qualifiers provided would be inappropriate for their philosophy.<p>Recently suggested variations include:<ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Strong agnosticism (also called hard agnosticism, closed agnosticism, strict agnosticism, absolute agnosticism)—the view that the question of the existence or nonexistence of god(s) are unknowable by nature or that human beings are ill-equipped to judge the evidence.<li><!--del_lnk--> Weak agnosticism (also called soft agnosticism, open agnosticism, empirical agnosticism, temporal agnosticism)—the view that the existence or nonexistence of god(s) is currently unknown but is not necessarily unknowable, therefore one will withhold judgment until/if more evidence is available.<li><!--del_lnk--> Apathetic agnosticism—the view that there is no proof either existence or nonexistence of god(s), but since god(s) (if exist) appear unconcerned for the universe or the welfare of its inhabitants, the question is largely academic.<li><!--del_lnk--> Ignosticism—the view that the concept of god(s) as a being is meaningless because it has no verifiable consequences, therefore it cannot be usefully discussed as having existence or nonexistence. (See <!--del_lnk--> scientific method)</ul>
<ul>
<li>Model agnosticism—the view that philosophical and metaphysical questions are not ultimately verifiable but that a model of malleable assumption should be built upon rational thought. This branch of agnosticism does not focus on a deity's existence.<li><!--del_lnk--> Agnostic theism (also called religious agnosticism)—the view of those who do not claim to <i>know</i> existence of god(s), but still <i>believe</i> in such an existence. (<i>See <!--del_lnk--> Knowledge vs. Beliefs</i>)<li>Agnostic spiritualism—the view that there may or may not be a god(s), while maintaining a general personal belief in a <!--del_lnk--> spiritual aspect of reality, particularly without distinct religious basis, or adherence to any established doctrine or <!--del_lnk--> dogma.<li><!--del_lnk--> Relative Agnosticism-This is similar to Agnostic spiritualism, but with the added view that if it was empirically proven that god(s) do or do not exist, it would not affect the beliefs of the Relative Agnostic.<li><!--del_lnk--> Agnostic atheism—the view of those who do not know of the existence or nonexistence of god(s), and do not believe in god(s).</ul>
<p><a id="Philosophical_opinions" name="Philosophical_opinions"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Philosophical opinions</span></h2>
<p>Among the most famous agnostics (in the original sense) have been <!--del_lnk--> Thomas Henry Huxley, <!--del_lnk--> Robert G. Ingersoll and <a href="../../wp/b/Bertrand_Russell.htm" title="Bertrand Russell">Bertrand Russell</a>.<p><a id="Thomas_Henry_Huxley" name="Thomas_Henry_Huxley"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline"><!--del_lnk--> Thomas Henry Huxley</span></h3>
<p>Agnostic views are as old as <!--del_lnk--> philosophical skepticism, but the terms agnostic and agnosticism were created by Huxley to sum up his thoughts on contemporary developments of metaphysics about the "unconditioned" (Hamilton) and the "unknowable" (<!--del_lnk--> Herbert Spencer). It is important, therefore, to discover Huxley's own views on the matter. Though Huxley began to use the term "agnostic" in 1869, his opinions had taken shape some time before that date. In a letter of September 23, 1860, to Charles Kingsley, Huxley discussed his views extensively:<dl>
<dd>I neither affirm nor deny the immortality of man. I see no reason for believing it, but, on the other hand, I have no means of disproving it. I have no <i>a priori</i> objections to the doctrine. No man who has to deal daily and hourly with nature can trouble himself about <i>a priori</i> difficulties. Give me such evidence as would justify me in believing in anything else, and I will believe that. Why should I not? It is not half so wonderful as the conservation of force or the indestructibility of matter. . . .</dl>
<dl>
<dd>It is no use to talk to me of analogies and probabilities. I know what I mean when I say I believe in the law of the inverse squares, and I will not rest my life and my hopes upon weaker convictions. . . .</dl>
<dl>
<dd>That my personality is the surest thing I know may be true. But the attempt to conceive what it is leads me into mere verbal subtleties. I have champed up all that chaff about the ego and the non-ego, noumena and phenomena, and all the rest of it, too often not to know that in attempting even to think of these questions, the human intellect flounders at once out of its depth.</dl>
<p>And again, to the same correspondent, <!--del_lnk--> May 6, <!--del_lnk--> 1863:<dl>
<dd>I have never had the least sympathy with the <!--del_lnk--> a priori reasons against <!--del_lnk--> orthodoxy, and I have by nature and disposition the greatest possible antipathy to all the atheistic and <!--del_lnk--> infidel school. Nevertheless I know that I am, in spite of myself, exactly what the <!--del_lnk--> Christian would call, and, so far as I can see, is justified in calling, atheist and infidel. I cannot see one shadow or tittle of evidence that the great unknown underlying the phenomenon of the universe stands to us in the relation of a Father [who] loves us and cares for us as Christianity asserts. So with regard to the other great Christian dogmas, immortality of soul and future state of rewards and punishments, what possible objection can I—who am compelled perforce to believe in the immortality of what we call Matter and Force, and in a very unmistakable present state of rewards and punishments for our deeds—have to these doctrines? Give me a scintilla of evidence, and I am ready to jump at them.</dl>
<p>Of the origin of the name agnostic to describe this attitude, Huxley gave the following account:<dl>
<dd>So I took thought, and invented what I conceived to be the appropriate title of "agnostic." It came into my head as suggestively antithetic to the "gnostic" of Church history, who professed to know so much about the very things of which I was ignorant. To my great satisfaction the term took.</dl>
<p>Huxley's agnosticism is believed to be a natural consequence of the intellectual and philosophical conditions of the <!--del_lnk--> 1860s, when clerical intolerance was trying to suppress scientific discoveries which appeared to clash with a literal reading of the <!--del_lnk--> Book of Genesis and other established <a href="../../wp/j/Jew.htm" title="Jewish">Jewish</a> and Christian doctrines. Agnosticism should not, however, be confused with <!--del_lnk--> natural theology, <!--del_lnk--> deism, <!--del_lnk--> pantheism, or other science positive forms of <!--del_lnk--> theism.<p>By way of clarification, Huxley states, "In matters of the intellect, follow your reason as far as it will take you, without regard to any other consideration. And negatively: In matters of the intellect, do not pretend that conclusions are certain which are not demonstrated or demonstrable" (Huxley, <i>Agnosticism</i>, 1889). While A. W. Momerie has noted that this is nothing but a definition of <!--del_lnk--> honesty, Huxley's usual definition goes beyond mere honesty to insist that these metaphysical issues are fundamentally unknowable.<p><a id="Robert_G._Ingersoll" name="Robert_G._Ingersoll"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline"><!--del_lnk--> Robert G. Ingersoll</span></h3>
<p>An Illinois lawyer and politician who evolved into a well-known and sought-after orator in 19th century America, and who has been referred to as the "Great Agnostic."<p>In an 1896 lecture titled <i>Why I Am An Agnostic</i>, Ingersoll related what led him to believe in agnosticism and articulated that belief with:<dl>
<dd>Is there a supernatural power -- an arbitrary mind -- an enthroned God -- a supreme will that sways the tides and currents of the world -- to which all causes bow? I do not deny. I do not know -- but I do not believe. I believe that the natural is supreme -- that from the infinite chain no link can be lost or broken -- that there is no supernatural power that can answer prayer -- no power that worship can persuade or change -- no power that cares for man.</dl>
<dl>
<dd>I believe that with infinite arms Nature embraces the all -- that there is no interference -- no chance -- that behind every event are the necessary and countless causes, and that beyond every event will be and must be the necessary and countless effects.</dl>
<dl>
<dd>Is there a God? I do not know. Is man immortal? I do not know. One thing I do know, and that is, that neither hope, nor fear, belief, nor denial, can change the fact. It is as it is, and it will be as it must be.</dl>
<p>In the conclusion of the speech he simply sums up the agnostic belief as:<dl>
<dd>We can be as honest as we are ignorant. If we are, when asked what is beyond the horizon of the known, we must say that we do not know.</dl>
<p><a id="Bertrand_Russell" name="Bertrand_Russell"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline"><a href="../../wp/b/Bertrand_Russell.htm" title="Bertrand Russell">Bertrand Russell</a></span></h3>
<p>Bertrand Russell's <!--del_lnk--> pamphlet, <i>Why I Am Not a Christian,</i> based on a speech delivered in 1927 and later included in a book of the same title, is considered a classic statement of agnosticism. The essay briefly lays out Russell’s objections to some of the <!--del_lnk--> arguments for the existence of God before discussing his moral objections to Christian teachings. He then calls upon his readers to "stand on their own two feet and look fair and square at the world," with a "fearless attitude and a free intelligence."<p>In 1939, Russell gave a lecture on <i>The existence and nature of God</i>, in which he characterised himself as an agnostic. He said:<dl>
<dd>The existence and nature of God is a subject of which I can discuss only half. If one arrives at a negative conclusion concerning the first part of the question, the second part of the question does not arise; and my position, as you may have gathered, is a negative one on this matter.</dl>
<p>However, later in the same lecture, discussing modern non-anthropomorphic concepts of God, Russell states:<dl>
<dd>That sort of God is, I think, not one that can actually be disproved, as I think the omnipotent and benevolent creator can.</dl>
<p>In Russell's 1947 pamphlet, <i>Am I An Atheist Or An Agnostic?</i> (subtitled <i>A Plea For Tolerance In The Face Of New Dogmas</i>), he ruminates on the problem of what to call himself:<dl>
<dd>As a philosopher, if I were speaking to a purely philosophic audience I should say that I ought to describe myself as an Agnostic, because I do not think that there is a conclusive argument by which one prove that there is not a God.</dl>
<dl>
<dd>On the other hand, if I am to convey the right impression to the ordinary man in the street I think I ought to say that I am an Atheist, because when I say that I cannot prove that there is not a God, I ought to add equally that I cannot prove that there are not the Homeric gods.</dl>
<p>In his 1953 essay, <i>What Is An Agnostic?</i> Russell states:<dl>
<dd>An agnostic thinks it impossible to know the truth in matters such as God and the future life with which Christianity and other religions are concerned. Or, if not impossible, at least impossible at the present time.</dl>
<p>However, later in the essay, Russell says:<dl>
<dd>I think that if I heard a voice from the sky predicting all that was going to happen to me during the next twenty-four hours, including events that would have seemed highly improbable, and if all these events then produced to happen, I might perhaps be convinced at least of the existence of some superhuman intelligence.</dl>
<p>Note that he didn't say "supreme" or "supernatural" intelligence, as these terms are metaphysically loaded.<div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agnosticism"</div>
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<p><b>Agriculture</b> (a term which encompasses <b>farming</b>) is the process of producing <a href="../../wp/f/Food.htm" title="Food">food</a>, <!--del_lnk--> feed, <!--del_lnk--> fibre and other goods by the systematic raising of plants and animals.<p><i>Agri</i> is from Latin <i>ager</i>, meaning "a field", and <i>culture</i> is from Latin <i>cultura</i>, meaning "cultivation" in the strict sense of <i><!--del_lnk--> tillage of the soil</i>. A literal reading of the English word yields: <i>tillage of the soil of a field</i>. In modern usage, the word <i>Agriculture</i> covers all activities essential to food/feed/fibre production, including all techniques for raising and processing <!--del_lnk--> livestock. Agriculture is also short for the study of the practice of agriculture—more formally known as <!--del_lnk--> agricultural science. The <!--del_lnk--> history of agriculture is closely linked to <a href="../../wp/h/History_of_the_world.htm" title="History of the world">human history</a>, and agricultural developments have been crucial factors in <!--del_lnk--> social change, including the specialization of human activity.<p>42% of the world's laborers are employed in agriculture, making it by far the most common <!--del_lnk--> occupation. However, agricultural production accounts for less than 5% of the <!--del_lnk--> Gross World Product (an aggregate of all <!--del_lnk--> Gross Domestic Products).<!--del_lnk--> <div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:372px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/163/16363.jpg.htm" title="A farmer in Germany working the land in the traditional way, with horse and plough."><img alt="A farmer in Germany working the land in the traditional way, with horse and plough." height="278" longdesc="/wiki/Image:HorseAndPlough.jpg" src="../../images/163/16363.jpg" width="370" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/163/16363.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> A <!--del_lnk--> farmer in <a href="../../wp/g/Germany.htm" title="Germany">Germany</a> working the land in the traditional way, with <a href="../../wp/h/Horse.htm" title="Horse">horse</a> and <!--del_lnk--> plough.</div>
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</script><a id="Overview" name="Overview"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Overview</span></h2>
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<div style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/163/16364.jpg.htm" title="Tea plantation in Java, Indonesia."><img alt="Tea plantation in Java, Indonesia." height="188" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Agriculture---Rice.jpg" src="../../images/163/16364.jpg" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/163/16364.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div><a href="../../wp/t/Tea.htm" title="Tea">Tea</a> plantation in <!--del_lnk--> Java, <a href="../../wp/i/Indonesia.htm" title="Indonesia">Indonesia</a>.</div>
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<div style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/163/16365.jpg.htm" title="Farming with a tractor in Sweden."><img alt="Farming with a tractor in Sweden." height="188" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Ford_tractor%2C_Sweden.jpg" src="../../images/163/16365.jpg" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/163/16365.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Farming with a <!--del_lnk--> tractor in <a href="../../wp/s/Sweden.htm" title="Sweden">Sweden</a>.</div>
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<dd><i>"Oh Farmers, Pray That Your Summers Be Wet And Your Winters Clear." - <a href="../../wp/v/Virgil.htm" title="Virgil">Virgil</a></i></dl>
<p>Farming refers to a wide range agricultural production work, covering a large spectrum of operation scales (acerage, output, etc), practices, and commercial inclination. At one end of this spectrum, the <!--del_lnk--> subsistence farmer farms a small area with limited resource inputs, and produces only enough <a href="../../wp/f/Food.htm" title="Food">food</a> to meet the needs of his/her family.<p>At the other end of the spectrum is commercial <!--del_lnk--> intensive agriculture, including <!--del_lnk--> industrial agriculture. Such farming involves large fields and/or numbers of animals, large resource inputs (pesticides, and fertilizers, etc.), and a high level of <!--del_lnk--> mechanization. These operations generally attempt to maximize financial income from <!--del_lnk--> produce or <!--del_lnk--> livestock.<p>Modern agriculture extends well beyond the traditional production of food for humans and <!--del_lnk--> animal feeds. Other agricultural production goods include <a href="../../wp/f/Flower.htm" title="Flower">cut flowers</a>, ornamental and <!--del_lnk--> nursery plants, <!--del_lnk--> timber, <a href="../../wp/f/Fertilizer.htm" title="Fertilizer">fertilizers</a>, <!--del_lnk--> animal hides, <!--del_lnk--> leather, industrial chemicals (<!--del_lnk--> starch, <a href="../../wp/s/Sugar.htm" title="Sugar">sugar</a>, <a href="../../wp/e/Ethanol.htm" title="Ethanol">ethanol</a>, <a href="../../wp/a/Alcohol.htm" title="Alcohol">alcohols</a> and <!--del_lnk--> plastics), <!--del_lnk--> fibers (<a href="../../wp/c/Cotton.htm" title="Cotton">cotton</a>, <!--del_lnk--> wool, <!--del_lnk--> hemp, and <!--del_lnk--> flax), fuels (<!--del_lnk--> methane from <!--del_lnk--> biomass, <a href="../../wp/b/Biodiesel.htm" title="Biodiesel">biodiesel</a>) and both legal and illegal drugs (<!--del_lnk--> biopharmaceuticals, <a href="../../wp/t/Tobacco.htm" title="Tobacco">tobacco</a>, <!--del_lnk--> marijuana, <!--del_lnk--> opium, <!--del_lnk--> cocaine).<p>The 20th Century saw massive changes in agricultural practice, particularly in agricultural chemistry. Agricultural chemistry includes the application of chemical fertilizer, chemical insecticides (see <!--del_lnk--> Pest control), and chemical <!--del_lnk--> fungicides, soil makeup, analysis of agricultural products, and nutritional needs of farm animals. Beginning in the <!--del_lnk--> Western world, the <!--del_lnk--> green revolution spread many of these changes to farms throughout the world, with varying success.<p>Other recent changes in agriculture include <!--del_lnk--> hydroponics, <!--del_lnk--> plant breeding, hybridization, <!--del_lnk--> gene manipulation, better management of soil nutrients, and improved <!--del_lnk--> weed control. <!--del_lnk--> Genetic engineering has yielded crops which have capabilities beyond those of naturally occurring plants, such as higher yields and disease resistance. Modified seeds germinate faster, and thus can be grown in an extended growing area. Genetic engineering of plants has proven controversial, particularly in the case of <!--del_lnk--> herbicide-resistant plants.<p>Engineers may develop plans for <a href="../../wp/i/Irrigation.htm" title="Irrigation">irrigation</a>, <!--del_lnk--> drainage, <!--del_lnk--> conservation and sanitary engineering, particularly important in normally arid areas which rely upon constant irrigation, and on large scale farms.<p>The packing, processing, and marketing of agricultural products are closely related activities also influenced by science. Methods of quick-freezing and dehydration have increased the markets for farm products (see <!--del_lnk--> Food preservation; <!--del_lnk--> Meat packing industry).<p>Animals, including horses, mules, oxen, camels, llamas, alpacas, and dogs, are often used to cultivate <!--del_lnk--> fields, harvest <!--del_lnk--> crops and transport farm products to markets. <!--del_lnk--> Animal husbandry means breeding and raising animals for meat or to harvest animal products (like milk, eggs, or wool) on a continual basis. Mechanization has enormously increased farm efficiency and productivity in Western agriculture (see <!--del_lnk--> Agricultural machinery).<p>Airplanes, helicopters, trucks and tractors are used in Western agriculture for seeding, spraying operations for insect and disease control, <!--del_lnk--> Aerial topdressing and transporting perishable products. Radio and television disseminate vital weather reports and other information such as market reports that concern farmers. Computers have become an essential tool for farm management.<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/163/16366.jpg.htm" title="Farming, ploughing rice paddy, in Indonesia."><img alt="Farming, ploughing rice paddy, in Indonesia." height="188" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Farming-on-Indonesia.jpg" src="../../images/163/16366.jpg" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/163/16366.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Farming, ploughing rice paddy, in <a href="../../wp/i/Indonesia.htm" title="Indonesia">Indonesia</a>.</div>
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<p>According to the <!--del_lnk--> National Academy of Engineering in the US, agricultural mechanization is one of the 20 greatest engineering achievements of the 20th century. Early in the century, it took one American farmer to produce food for 2.5 people. Today, due to advances in agricultural technology , a single farmer can feed over 130 people <!--del_lnk--> . This comes at a cost, however. A large energy input, often from <a href="../../wp/f/Fossil_fuel.htm" title="Fossil fuel">fossil fuel</a>, are required to maintain such high levels of output.<p>In recent years, some aspects of intensive <!--del_lnk--> industrial agriculture have been the subject of increasing discussion. The widening <!--del_lnk--> sphere of influence held by large seed and chemical companies, meat packers and food processors has been a source of concern both within the farming community and for the general public. Another issue is the type of feed given to some animals that can cause <!--del_lnk--> Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy in cattle. There has also been concern because of the disastrous effect that intensive agriculture has on the environment. In the US, for example, fertilizer has been running off into the Mississippi for years and has caused a <!--del_lnk--> dead spot in the Gulf of Mexico, where the Mississippi empties. Intensive agriculture also depletes the fertility of the land over time, potentially leading to <!--del_lnk--> Desertification.<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/163/16367.jpg.htm" title="A Field"><img alt="A Field" height="131" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Fields_of_gold.jpg" src="../../images/163/16367.jpg" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/163/16367.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> A Field</div>
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<p>The patent protection given to companies that develop new types of seed using <!--del_lnk--> genetic engineering has allowed seed to be licensed to farmers in much the same way that computer software is licensed to users. This has changed the balance of power in favour of the seed companies, allowing them to dictate terms and conditions previously unheard of. The Indian activist and scientiest <!--del_lnk--> Vandana Shiva argues that these companies are guilty of <!--del_lnk--> biopiracy.<p><a href="../../wp/s/Soil.htm" title="Soil">Soil</a> <!--del_lnk--> conservation and <!--del_lnk--> nutrient management have been important concerns since the 1950s, with the best farmers taking a <!--del_lnk--> stewardship role with the land they operate. However, increasing contamination of waterways and wetlands by nutrients like <a href="../../wp/n/Nitrogen.htm" title="Nitrogen">nitrogen</a> and <a href="../../wp/p/Phosphorus.htm" title="Phosphorus">phosphorus</a> are of concern in many countries.<p>Increasing consumer awareness of agricultural issues has led to the rise of <!--del_lnk--> community-supported agriculture, <!--del_lnk--> local food movement, <!--del_lnk--> Slow Food, and commercial <!--del_lnk--> organic farming.<p><a id="History" name="History"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">History</span></h2>
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<div style="width:232px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/163/16368.gif.htm" title="Ancient Egyptian farmer"><img alt="Ancient Egyptian farmer" height="194" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Ancient_egyptian_farmer.gif" src="../../images/163/16368.gif" width="230" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/163/16368.gif.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Ancient Egyptian farmer</div>
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<p><a id="Ancient_Origins" name="Ancient_Origins"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Ancient Origins</span></h3>
<p>Developed independently by geographically distant populations, evidence suggests that agriculture first appeared in <!--del_lnk--> Southwest Asia, in the <a href="../../wp/f/Fertile_Crescent.htm" title="Fertile Crescent">Fertile Crescent</a> area of <a href="../../wp/m/Mesopotamia.htm" title="Mesopotamia">Mesopotamia</a>. Around 9,500 B.C., farmers first began to select and cultivate food plants with specific characteristics. Though there is evidence of earlier use of wild cereals, it wasn't until after 9,500 B.C. that the eight so-called <!--del_lnk--> founder crops of agriculture appear: first <!--del_lnk--> emmer and <!--del_lnk--> einkorn wheat, then hulled <a href="../../wp/b/Barley.htm" title="Barley">barley</a>, <a href="../../wp/p/Pea.htm" title="Pea">peas</a>, <!--del_lnk--> lentils, <!--del_lnk--> bitter vetch, <!--del_lnk--> chick peas and <!--del_lnk--> flax.<p>By 7000 B.C., sowing and harvesting reached <a href="../../wp/e/Egypt.htm" title="Egypt">Egypt</a>. By 6000 B.C., farming was entrenched on the banks of the Nile River. About this time, agriculture was developed independently in the Far East, with <a href="../../wp/r/Rice.htm" title="Rice">rice</a>, rather than wheat, the primary crop. By 5000 B.C., <a href="../../wp/s/Sumer.htm" title="Sumer">Sumerians</a> had developed core agricultural techniques including large scale intensive cultivation of land, <!--del_lnk--> mono-cropping, organized <a href="../../wp/i/Irrigation.htm" title="Irrigation">irrigation</a>, and use of a specialized <!--del_lnk--> labour force.<p>Evidence suggests that <a href="../../wp/m/Maize.htm" title="Maize">Maize</a> was first domesticated in the Americas around 3000-2700 B.C. The <a href="../../wp/p/Potato.htm" title="Potato">potato</a>, the <!--del_lnk--> tomato, the <!--del_lnk--> pepper, <!--del_lnk--> squash, several varieties of <!--del_lnk--> bean, and several other plants were also developed in the New World, as was extensive <!--del_lnk--> terracing of steep hillsides in much of <a href="../../wp/a/Andes.htm" title="Andes">Andean</a> <a href="../../wp/s/South_America.htm" title="South America">South America</a>.<p><!--del_lnk--> Roman agriculture built on techniques pioneered by the Sumerians, with a specific emphasis on the cultivation of crops for trade and export.<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:232px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/163/16369.jpg.htm" title="Sumerian Harvester's sickle, 3000 BCE. Baked clay. Field Museum."><img alt="Sumerian Harvester's sickle, 3000 BCE. Baked clay. Field Museum." height="173" longdesc="/wiki/Image:ClaySumerianSickle.jpg" src="../../images/163/16369.jpg" width="230" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/163/16369.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div><a href="../../wp/s/Sumer.htm" title="Sumer">Sumerian</a> Harvester's sickle, 3000 BCE. Baked clay. <!--del_lnk--> Field Museum.</div>
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<p><a id="Agriculture_in_the_Middle_Ages" name="Agriculture_in_the_Middle_Ages"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Agriculture in the Middle Ages</span></h3>
<p>During the Middle Ages, Muslim farmers in North Africa and the Near East developed and disseminated agricultural technologies including irrigation systems based on <!--del_lnk--> hydraulic and <!--del_lnk--> hydrostatic principles, the use of machines such as <!--del_lnk--> norias, and the use of water raising machines, dams, and reservoirs. Muslims also wrote location-specific Farming manuals, and were instrumental in the wider adoption of crops including sugar cane, rice, citrus fruit, apricots, cotton, artichokes, aubergines, and saffron. Muslims also brought lemons, oranges, cotton, almonds, figs and sub-tropical crops such as bananas to Spain.<p><a id="Renaissance_to_Present_Day" name="Renaissance_to_Present_Day"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Renaissance to Present Day</span></h3>
<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/163/16370.jpg.htm" title="A tractor ploughing an alfalfa field"><img alt="A tractor ploughing an alfalfa field" height="176" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Agriculture_%28Plowing%29_CNE-v1-p58-H.jpg" src="../../images/163/16370.jpg" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/163/16370.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> A <!--del_lnk--> tractor ploughing an <!--del_lnk--> alfalfa field</div>
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<p>The invention of a <!--del_lnk--> three field system of crop rotation during the <a href="../../wp/m/Middle_Ages.htm" title="Middle Ages">Middle Ages</a>, and the importation of the Chinese-invented <!--del_lnk--> moldboard plow, vastly improved agricultural efficiency.<p>After 1492, a global exchange of previously local crops and livestock breeds occurred. Key crops involved in this exchange included the <!--del_lnk--> tomato, <a href="../../wp/m/Maize.htm" title="Maize">maize</a>, <a href="../../wp/p/Potato.htm" title="Potato">potato</a>, <a href="../../wp/c/Cocoa.htm" title="Cocoa">cocoa</a>, <a href="../../wp/t/Tobacco.htm" title="Tobacco">tobacco</a>, and <a href="../../wp/c/Coffee.htm" title="Coffee">coffee</a>.<p>By the early 1800s, agricultural practices, particularly careful selection of hardy strains and cultivars, had so improved that yield per land unit was many times that seen in the Middle Ages. With the rapid rise of <!--del_lnk--> mechanization in the late 19th and 20th centuries, particularly in the form of the <!--del_lnk--> tractor, farming tasks could be done with a speed and on a scale previously impossible. These advances have led to efficiencies enabling certain modern farms in the United States, Argentina, Israel, Germany and a few other nations to output volumes of high quality produce per land unit at what may be the practical limit.<p><a id="Crops" name="Crops"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Crops</span></h2>
<p><a id="World_production_of_major_crops_in_2004" name="World_production_of_major_crops_in_2004"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">World production of major crops in 2004</span></h3>
<p>Specific crops are cultivated in distinct <!--del_lnk--> growing regions throughout the world. In millions of metric tons, based on <!--del_lnk--> FAO estimates.<table align="left" class="wikitable">
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<th colspan="2">Top agricultural products, by crop types<br /> (million metric tons) 2004 data</th>
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<td><a href="../../wp/c/Cereal.htm" title="Cereal">Cereals</a></td>
<td align="right">2,264</td>
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<td><a href="../../wp/v/Vegetable.htm" title="Vegetable">Vegetables</a> and <!--del_lnk--> melons</td>
<td align="right">866</td>
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<td><!--del_lnk--> Roots and <!--del_lnk--> Tubers</td>
<td align="right">715</td>
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<td><a href="../../wp/m/Milk.htm" title="Milk">Milk</a></td>
<td align="right">619</td>
</tr>
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<td><a href="../../wp/f/Fruit.htm" title="Fruit">Fruit</a></td>
<td align="right">503</td>
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<td><a href="../../wp/m/Meat.htm" title="Meat">Meat</a></td>
<td align="right">259</td>
</tr>
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<td><!--del_lnk--> Oilcrops</td>
<td align="right">133</td>
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<td><a href="../../wp/f/Fish.htm" title="Fish">Fish</a> (2001 estimate)</td>
<td align="right">130</td>
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<td><a href="../../wp/e/Egg_%2528food%2529.htm" title="Egg (food)">Eggs</a></td>
<td align="right">63</td>
</tr>
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<td><!--del_lnk--> Pulses</td>
<td align="right">60</td>
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<td><!--del_lnk--> Vegetable Fibre</td>
<td align="right">30</td>
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<td colspan="2"><i>Source:<br /><!--del_lnk--> Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)</i><!--del_lnk--> </td>
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<th colspan="2">Top agricultural products, by individual crops<br /> (million metric tons) 2004 data</th>
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<td><!--del_lnk--> Sugar Cane</td>
<td align="right">1,324</td>
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<td><a href="../../wp/m/Maize.htm" title="Maize">Maize</a></td>
<td align="right">721</td>
</tr>
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<td><a href="../../wp/w/Wheat.htm" title="Wheat">Wheat</a></td>
<td align="right">627</td>
</tr>
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<td><a href="../../wp/r/Rice.htm" title="Rice">Rice</a></td>
<td align="right">605</td>
</tr>
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<td><a href="../../wp/p/Potato.htm" title="Potato">Potatoes</a></td>
<td align="right">328</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Sugar Beet</td>
<td align="right">249</td>
</tr>
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<td><a href="../../wp/s/Soybean.htm" title="Soybean">Soybean</a></td>
<td align="right">204</td>
</tr>
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<td><!--del_lnk--> Oil Palm Fruit</td>
<td align="right">162</td>
</tr>
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<td><a href="../../wp/b/Barley.htm" title="Barley">Barley</a></td>
<td align="right">154</td>
</tr>
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<td><!--del_lnk--> Tomato</td>
<td align="right">120</td>
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<td colspan="2"><i>Source:<br /><!--del_lnk--> Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)</i><!--del_lnk--> </td>
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<p><a id="Crop_improvement" name="Crop_improvement"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Crop improvement</span></h3>
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<div style="width:232px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/163/16371.jpg.htm" title="Tractor and wagon"><img alt="Tractor and wagon" height="173" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Ueberladewagen.jpg" src="../../images/163/16371.jpg" width="230" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/163/16371.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div><!--del_lnk--> Tractor and wagon</div>
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<div style="width:232px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/163/16372.jpg.htm" title="An agricultural scientist records corn growth"><img alt="An agricultural scientist records corn growth" height="151" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Cropscientist.jpg" src="../../images/163/16372.jpg" width="230" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/163/16372.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> An agricultural scientist records corn growth</div>
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<div style="width:232px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/163/16373.jpg.htm" title="Netting protecting wine grapes from birds"><img alt="Netting protecting wine grapes from birds" height="153" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Bird_netting.jpg" src="../../images/163/16373.jpg" width="230" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/163/16373.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Netting protecting wine grapes from birds</div>
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<p>Domestication of plants is done in order to increase yield, improve disease resistance and drought tolerance, ease harvest and to improve the taste and <a href="../../wp/n/Nutrition.htm" title="Nutrition">nutritional</a> value and many other characteristics. Centuries of careful selection and breeding have had enormous effects on the characteristics of crop plants. Plant breeders use greenhouses and other techniques to get as many as three generations of plants per year so that they can make improvements all the more quickly.<p>Plant selection and breeding in the 1920s and '30s improved <!--del_lnk--> pasture (grasses and clover) in New Zealand. Extensive radiation mutagenesis efforts (i.e. primitive genetic engineering) during the 1950s produced the modern commercial varieties of grains such as wheat, corn and barley.<p>For example, average yields of corn (<a href="../../wp/m/Maize.htm" title="Maize">maize</a>) in the USA have increased from around 2.5 tons per hectare (40 bushels per acre) in 1900 to about 9.4 t/ha (150 bushels per acre) in 2001. Similarly, worldwide average wheat yields have increased from less than 1 t/ha in 1900 to more than 2.5 t/ha in 1990. <a href="../../wp/s/South_America.htm" title="South America">South American</a> average wheat yields are around 2 t/ha, <a href="../../wp/a/Africa.htm" title="Africa">African</a> under 1 t/ha, <a href="../../wp/e/Egypt.htm" title="Egypt">Egypt</a> and Arabia up to 3.5 to 4 t/ha with irrigation. In contrast, the average wheat yield in countries such as <a href="../../wp/f/France.htm" title="France">France</a> is over 8 t/ha. Variation in yields are due mainly to variation in climate, genetics, and the use or non-use of intensive farming techniques (use of fertilizers, chemical <!--del_lnk--> pest control, growth control to avoid lodging). [Conversion note: 1 bushel of wheat = 60 pounds (lb) ≈ 27.215 kg. 1 bushel of corn = 56 pounds ≈ 25.401 kg]<p>In industrialized agriculture, crop "improvement" has often reduced nutritional and other qualities of food plants to serve the interests of producers. After mechanical tomato-harvesters were developed in the early 1960s, agricultural scientists bred tomatoes that were harder and less nutritious (Friedland and Barton 1975). In fact, a major longitudinal study of nutrient levels in numerous <!--del_lnk--> vegetables showed significant declines in the last 50 years; garden vegetables in the U.S. today contain on average 38 percent less vitamin B2 and 15 percent less vitamin C (Davis and Riordan 2004).<p>Very recently, <!--del_lnk--> genetic engineering has begun to be employed in some parts of the world to speed up the selection and breeding process. The most widely used modification is a <!--del_lnk--> herbicide resistance gene that allows plants to tolerate exposure to glyphosate, which is used to control weeds in the crop. A less frequently used but more controversial modification causes the plant to produce a toxin to reduce damage from insects (c.f. <!--del_lnk--> Starlink).<p>There are specialty producers who raise less common types of livestock or plants.<p><!--del_lnk--> Aquaculture, the farming of <a href="../../wp/f/Fish.htm" title="Fish">fish</a>, <!--del_lnk--> shrimp, and <!--del_lnk--> algae, is closely associated with agriculture.<p><a href="../../wp/b/Beekeeping.htm" title="Beekeeping">Apiculture</a>, the culture of bees, traditionally for <a href="../../wp/h/Honey.htm" title="Honey">honey</a>—increasingly for crop <!--del_lnk--> pollination.<p><i>See also</i> : <a href="../../wp/b/Botany.htm" title="Botany">botany</a>, <!--del_lnk--> <p><a id="Environmental_problems" name="Environmental_problems"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Environmental problems</span></h2>
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<div style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/163/16374.jpg.htm" title="Severe soil erosion in a wheat field near Washington State University, US (c.2005)"><img alt="Severe soil erosion in a wheat field near Washington State University, US (c.2005)" height="378" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Soil_erosion1.jpg" src="../../images/163/16374.jpg" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/163/16374.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Severe <!--del_lnk--> soil erosion in a wheat field near <!--del_lnk--> Washington State University, US (c.2005)</div>
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<p>Agriculture may often cause environmental problems because it changes natural environments and produces harmful by-products. Some of the negative effects are:<ul>
<li>Surplus of <a href="../../wp/n/Nitrogen.htm" title="Nitrogen">nitrogen</a> and <a href="../../wp/p/Phosphorus.htm" title="Phosphorus">phosphorus</a> in <a href="../../wp/r/River.htm" title="River">rivers</a> and <!--del_lnk--> lakes<li>Detrimental effects of <!--del_lnk--> herbicides, <!--del_lnk--> fungicides, <!--del_lnk--> insecticides, and other <!--del_lnk--> biocides<li>Conversion of natural <!--del_lnk--> ecosystems of all types into <a href="../../wp/a/Arable_land.htm" title="Arable land">arable land</a><li>Consolidation of diverse <!--del_lnk--> biomass into a few species<li><!--del_lnk--> Soil erosion<li>Depletion of <!--del_lnk--> minerals in the <a href="../../wp/s/Soil.htm" title="Soil">soil</a><li><!--del_lnk--> Particulate matter, including <a href="../../wp/a/Ammonia.htm" title="Ammonia">ammonia</a> and <!--del_lnk--> ammonium off-gasing from animal waste contributing to <!--del_lnk--> air pollution<li><a href="../../wp/w/Weed.htm" title="Weed">Weeds</a> - <!--del_lnk--> feral plants and animals<li>Odour from agricultural <!--del_lnk--> waste<li><a href="../../wp/s/Soil_salination.htm" title="Soil salination">Soil salination</a></ul>
<p>Agriculture is cited as a significant adverse impact to biodiversity in many nations' <!--del_lnk--> Biodiversity Action Plans, due to reduction of forests and other <!--del_lnk--> habitats when new lands are converted to farming. Some critics also include agriculture as a cause of <a href="../../wp/g/Global_warming.htm" title="Global warming">current global climate change</a>.<p><a id="Policy" name="Policy"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Policy</span></h2>
<p><!--del_lnk--> Agricultural policy focuses on the goals and methods of agricultural production. At the policy level, common goals of agriculture include:<ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Food safety: Ensuring that the food supply is free of contamination.<li><!--del_lnk--> Food security: Ensuring that the food supply meets the population's needs.<li><!--del_lnk--> Food quality: Ensuring that the food supply is of a consistent and known quality.</ul>
<ul>
<li>Conservation<li>Environmental impact<li>Economic stability</ul>
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<div style="width:302px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/163/16375.jpg.htm" title="Satellite image of circular crop fields characteristic of center pivot irrigation in Haskell County, Kansas in late June 2001. Healthy, growing crops are green. Corn would be growing into leafy stalks by then. Sorghum, which resembles corn, grows more slowly and would be much smaller and therefore, possibly paler. Wheat is a brilliant gold as harvest occurs in June. Fields of brown have been recently harvested and plowed under or lie fallow for the year."><img alt="Satellite image of circular crop fields characteristic of center pivot irrigation in Haskell County, Kansas in late June 2001. Healthy, growing crops are green. Corn would be growing into leafy stalks by then. Sorghum, which resembles corn, grows more slowly and would be much smaller and therefore, possibly paler. Wheat is a brilliant gold as harvest occurs in June. Fields of brown have been recently harvested and plowed under or lie fallow for the year." height="287" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Crops_Kansas_AST_20010624.jpg" src="../../images/163/16375.jpg" width="300" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/163/16375.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Satellite image of circular crop fields characteristic of <!--del_lnk--> centre pivot irrigation in <!--del_lnk--> Haskell County, Kansas in late June 2001. Healthy, growing crops are green. <a href="../../wp/m/Maize.htm" title="Maize">Corn</a> would be growing into leafy stalks by then. <a href="../../wp/s/Sorghum.htm" title="Sorghum">Sorghum</a>, which resembles corn, grows more slowly and would be much smaller and therefore, possibly paler. <a href="../../wp/w/Wheat.htm" title="Wheat">Wheat</a> is a brilliant gold as harvest occurs in June. Fields of brown have been recently harvested and plowed under or lie <!--del_lnk--> fallow for the year.</div>
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<div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agriculture"</div>
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<h2>Aids Africa Children: HIV / AIDS Orphans</h2>
<img src="../../wp/s/SOS_Family_Strengthening1.jpg" width="446" height="500" alt="Aids Orphans in Malawi" class="left" /><p>We are all becoming more and more aware of the scale of human suffering caused by HIV/AIDS in Africa, especially for the children who are orphaned and often lose siblings to AIDS. </p><p>SOS Children has grassroots projects in most countries in Africa (see <a href="../../wp/a/Africa_B.htm">Africa Charity</a> projects) working at a simple level giving practical support to children. <strong>Last year, thanks to people like you, SOS Children supported 53,000 more AIDS orphans in their old family home. Three visits a week with practical help, food, medicine and love. Children are saved one by one and every contribution or small regular <a href="../../wp/r/Regular_Donations.htm">donation</a> helps us to help another child.</strong></p><p>However, there is so much more to do...Our project co-ordinator, Jenny, visited the Chadza region of Malawi on the outskirts of Lilongwe. Jenny writes: <em>"SOS Children works with communities there through village development committees to identify children orphaned by AIDS. I met one of these children, a girl called Lahema, she is eight years old and cares for her younger brother and sister who are both HIV positive. Having watched her parents die and now caring for her dying siblings it is hard to imagine how she can smile. She was happy to meet me and obviously pleased to see Lonnie the SOS Children nurse who accompanied me. Lonnie visits Lahema 3 times a week to provide her with medicine, food, money and clothes. Lonnie is also the only adult Lahema can share her fears with and ask for advice.</em>"</p><h3>AIDS in Africa background</h3>
<img src="../../wp/a/Aids_Orphans1.jpg" width="300" height="205" alt="SOs Children Family Strengthening" class="left" /><p>There is an epidemic of AIDS engulfing much of Africa, especially sub-Saharan Africa. In some African countries it is estimated that 40% of the working-age population has contracted HIV, with younger and more successful workers being most likely to be affected. However, this is never uniform across a population; 40% of a whole African country will mean there are areas where virtually everyone has contracted HIV/AIDS. The worst affected countries include Swaziland, Botswana, Zimbabwe and Lesotho. In places like these, village after village has no young adults left. The scale of the problem is overwhelming.</p><p>It is hard to know how to approach such a situation. SOS Children has developed a <a href="../../wp/b/Best_Practice.htm">strategy for AIDS orphans</a> in Africa where we do not move children from their familiar background but strengthen their community to look after them. SOS has projects helping more than 52,000 African children orphaned by AIDS in more than twenty African countries, and is growing as fast as you allow us to. We are continually improving our approach with the exchange of experience and best practice. Details of more established projects, such as all our Children's Villages in Africa can be found on our Africa Pages. More about our AIDS orphan programmes are divided into Central and East Africa AIDS Orphan projects and Southern Africa AIDS orphan projects.</p><img src="../../wp/h/Hiv_Aids_Zambia_Small.jpg" width="220" height="176" alt="HIV in Zambia" class="left" /><p>Inevitably many of those affected are the parents of young children. When parents start to develop full-blown AIDS, they cannot work and need to be looked after. But the situation is so bad that in parts of Africa no adults are able to help. The children not only have the distress of seeing their parents become weaker and weaker but they no longer have anyone providing for them and often have to try to help care for their parents. It is not unusual to find very young children or some of their brothers and sisters, with AIDS (about half of all children of HIV-affected African mothers end up with AIDS themselves), orphaned and caring for toddlers. It is estimated that 90% of the world’s HIV-infected children live in Africa, and more than half a million die of AIDS each year.</p><h3>AIDS in Africa: the way forward?</h3>
<p>So is this a hopeless situation? No, it is tragic but not hopeless. At present, for those infected with HIV/AIDS all we can try to ensure is that they are loved and cared for as they grow weaker. For the many young children in Africa who do not have HIV/AIDS, we can make a huge difference. The difference between love and abandonment, between a group of young children scavenging for scraps and a small child-led family with adequate nourishment and even the chance of school.</p>
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<h2>AIDS Africa Best Practice</h2>
<p><strong>SOS Social Centre Mbabane, Swaziland Family Carer Programme</strong></p><p><strong>Programme Description</strong></p><p>The SOS/Salvation Army Family Carer Programme has been operating since November 2001 and reaches orphaned and vulnerable children and their families living in two districts (Msunduza and Sidwashini) of the greater Mbabane area, through community volunteers: “Family Carers” who conduct home visits. Programme beneficiaries are able to access a range of services provided by SOS including material support (food, school uniforms and material), educational support (school fees, basic literacy classes for school drop-outs) and medical support. Income generating activities include a sewing and a garden project because the ultimate goal of the programme is the self reliance of the families. The programme is delivered with support from the Salvation Army Community Care Team (SACCT), which assists by delivering home-based care to ill adults. </p><p>The programme provides material and social support to 150 families which are either child-headed or grandparent-headed households or a household with a chronically ill single parent, at an average cost of US$20 per month/child beneficiary. </p><p>By working with community members and other stakeholders, the programme is expanding its operations into more communities within the SOS Children’s Village catchment area.</p><h3>Relevant standard and good practice</h3>
<p><strong>Our programmes are targeted towards the most vulnerable children, their families & communities</strong></p><p>Community-based research provides a basis to develop an orphan register.</p><p><strong>Highlights</strong><br />The development of an orphan register provides a basis for delivering services to the most vulnerable children. Community-based research involves potential beneficiaries with problem identification, and encourages the community to take ownership of the problem. </p><p><strong>Description</strong><br />In September 2003, the programme conducted a baseline study of the problems of orphaned and vulnerable children in ten districts of Mbabane and Nhlangano (Swaziland’s two major cities), in order to support the expansion of the programme. The research was community-based and took a participatory approach to researching the needs of potential beneficiaries by involving community members through household questionnaires, community meetings, interviews with orphans and their caregivers, and focus group discussions. </p><p>The research sought to determine the communities’ definition of an orphan, identify the prevalence of orphaned children and child-headed households in the communities, their material and psycho-social needs, and the issues associated with caring for them. Once the final report was produced, the results of the research were shared with community members and interested stakeholders in community meetings, which laid the foundation to rally their support. </p><p>Besides establishing the groundwork to develop relevant programming for the right beneficiaries, the research has familiarised the communities with SOS so that when the programme begins to deliver services, people will already know the organisation. </p><p>The study identified 2,700 orphans, which has formed the basis to create an “orphan register” in each community that can be used to expand programme operations and directly target the orphans. The orphan register was developed through a multi-step process: Firstly, the programme sought the assistance of “Rural Health Motivators” to compile a list in their designated communities. Rural Health Motivators are community members trained by the government to teach basic health and hygiene in their communities, some of whom participated in focus groups for the research as well. Once these lists were compiled they were reviewed by community leaders and submitted to SOS for cross-checking, which entails conducting site visits and checking appropriate documentation such as birth and death certificates. </p><p>The result is to have a complete list, containing important information on the children such as their name, location, family status, name of their school and grade. By engaging communities in the process of identifying and registering orphans, they are encouraged to take greater responsibility for the children. </p><p>The research has also led to the formation of the Orphaned and Vulnerable Children (OVC) Steering Committee, composed of other NGOs, members of parliament and stakeholders who have an interest in collaborating on this work. Forming the committee has been an avenue for SOS Swaziland (and the existing Family Carer Programme) to raise its profile as a leader in the area of care and support for orphans and vulnerable children in the NGO community, and to identify potential partners for cooperation. </p><p>As a result of these activities, the Government of Swaziland has taken an active interest in the programme’s work. Government representatives attended the meetings, sharing the results of the research, and the Prime Minister’s office has sought advice from the programme on how to establish an orphan register. The Department of Education has committed to sponsoring a proportion of the children identified by the register to attend school for free, and the members of parliament sitting on the OVC Steering Committee are active in advocating for the government to provide social grants for the care of orphans. </p><p><strong>Lessons learnt</strong><br />Although it is important to engage community members in identifying potential beneficiaries, it is equally important to crosscheck results in order to ensure that people are not taking advantage of the process and using it to assist only relatives and friends. </p><p><strong>Key people</strong><br />Maphangisa Dlamini, the Programme Coordinator, has been expressly tasked with expanding the programme and is responsible for involving community members and other stakeholders in programme development. Maphangisa, who is a nurse by profession, entered the field in order to specialize in community health. When he joined Red Cross he became increasingly involved in HIV/AIDS issues, where he saw people dying hopelessly. This made him want to focus more on children, and that is what led him to join SOS. Maphangisa feels that when you address children’s needs, there is the opportunity for preventing the spread of HIV/AIDS, rather than just its mitigation. </p><p>He believes the programme uses a good approach by building families’ capacity to address the problem. “You can’t ignore the influence it has on the family, which is the primary safety net when addressing any problem”, he observes. He also believes that the programme should mobilise the community to address its own problems “We shouldn’t be dancing alone; we should involve the community, identifying the problem and sharing it with us.”</p><p>Read more about SOS Children's work in <a href="../../wp/s/Swaziland_A.htm">Swaziland</a></p>
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<h2>AIDS Africa Best Practice</h2>
<p><strong>SOS Community Social Centre Qwa Qwa, South Africa</strong></p><p><strong>Programme Description</strong></p><p>The Community Social Centre is piloting a form of alternative foster care through “community family homes” that are located in the community, built and equipped by SOS. These homes provide long-term family-based care to local children, which is delivered by a volunteer foster mother from the community. The project has been developed in close cooperation with the local municipal government, the tribal authority and the Department of Social Development. </p><p>In addition to the long-term care, the programme is developing community-based responses for the care and support of orphans and vulnerable children who are not suitable for the community family homes. Activities focus on enabling children to remain within their community of origin by building and strengthening the capacity of the families. The families are offered a range of social and material support whilst strong emphasis is put on developing the self-reliance of the families. The activities are being developed in close cooperation with local partners. </p><p>The existing community family homes have a capacity of 24 children, and the community-based child care and support programmes aim to serve 500 children/125 families in the greater community. The programme runs at an average cost ratio of US$18 per month/child beneficiary. </p><p><strong>Relevant standard and good practice</strong></p><p>Planning and evaluation ensure that programmes are relevant & effective.</p><p>Local stakeholders are actively involved at every stage of the planning and establishment of the programme. </p><p><strong>Highlights</strong></p><ul><li><p>The programme works hand-in-hand with all local stakeholders.</p></li><li><p>Child Care Committees mobilise communities and guarantee community ownership.</p></li></ul><p><strong>Description</strong></p><p>The Department of Social Development (DoSD) was consulted in the very beginning to share our plans about piloting an alternative form of foster care and exchange on how these plans fit with the department’s approach to the care and support of vulnerable children. Since they have perceived the project as both relevant and cost-effective, they have become actively involved in the further development and support. The location for this pilot project has been selected according to the following criteria: </p><ul><li><p>High numbers of orphans and vulnerable children according to census data and foster placement statistics</p></li><li><p>Limited community resources to respond to the situation of orphans and vulnerable children.</p></li><li><p>Degree of genuine community support and commitment to collaborate.</p></li><li><p>Basic educational and health care services.</p></li></ul><p>In consultation with the DoSD it was agreed the project would be established in the Free State province within the Maluti-a-Phofung municipality and within the former Qwa Qwa homeland. In the next step, relationships with key stakeholders were established; the initial consultation process also included the Executive Mayor and district municipality, as well as the House of Traditional Leaders. All these entities perceived the project as both relevant and cost-effective and became actively involved in the further projects development and support. Together with the DoSD and the municipality it was decided that the village Makeneng (within Ward 19) would be most suitable as the location for establishing the community family homes given the high level of already existing community commitment. The child-care and support programme would not only focus on Makeneng but also on the other two villages within Ward 19. </p><p>The DoSD assisted with the recruitment and training of key staff members and the Tribal Council allocated land (Permission to Occupy Certificate), temporary office space and other in-kind contributions. </p><p>Leutloa Moteetee (SOS representative) negotiated land with Chief M. Green Mohale. Further on it was decided that community participation and ownership of the programme would be best secured through Community Child Care Committees. The Local Aids Council has already initiated the establishment, training and support of such committees, however the proper functioning of these committees still needed to be developed. The purpose of such forums is to identify orphans and vulnerable children, assess their needs, coordinate initiatives, evaluate the effectiveness of services available to them, create awareness and build capacity within the community. The SOS Project Coordinator who was formerly employed by the Department of Social Development has experience in establishing such Child Care Committees from two communities where she previously worked, and thus was able to make a valuable contribution in facilitating the establishment of such committees. </p><p><strong>Community members</strong> </p><p>The Executive Committee is chaired by the ward councillor and consists of representatives from each village, preferably nominated by the communities themselves. The SOS Social Centre coordinator meets with the executive committee weekly to give advice, guidance and support and to facilitate the establishment of sub-committees in each village. The sub-committees are made up of representatives from relevant groups, organisations and institutions within the community, who are involved in the care and support of orphans and vulnerable children. </p><p>The child care forum’s executive committee carried out a baseline survey and based on this information, a register of orphans and vulnerable children was compiled. Together with the child care forum’s sub-committees, criteria for the most vulnerable target group were defined. Mass community meetings in each of the three villages were held to share the plans of the SOS support programme with community members. </p><p>After that a participatory research was conducted to find out from the households caring for orphans and vulnerable children about their social and economic situation and to identify available resources that could be used to address their own problems. Particular emphasis was given to children’s participation in this process, to ensure that their voice was heard and ultimately reflected in the programme action plan. </p><p><strong>Lessons learnt</strong></p><p>Establishing relationships with the stakeholders is not done by a one-off meeting. This relationship needs to be nurtured and kept alive: stakeholders are to be constantly informed about the programmers development and included in any decision making process. When working with set community structures and with various stakeholders, we have to be aware to balance different perspectives and vested interests and guard against becoming a vehicle for political interest groups. </p><p><strong>Key people</strong></p><p>Douglas Reed has been working for SOS Children’s Villages in the regions of Southern Africa I+II for almost 12 years. He has worked in many different roles at different levels of the organisation and as such gained valuable insights in all aspects of our work. Over time he has moved across from focusing on the work of SOS Children’s Villages, to supporting the development of prevention and family strengthening programmes in Africa. As the Community Development Advisor for Southern Africa II he was strongly involved in the set-up of the Community Social Centre in Qwa Qwa. “Our organisation was born from a recognition of the plight of orphans and vulnerable children, and from a desire to respond to their situation in a relevant and meaningful way. Following from this, we cannot ignore the unprecedented orphan crisis that has been unfolding on our doorstep and have to take action, to reach many more children than we have ever reached before. For me, the families and communities of these children hold the key to effectively addressing their situation. We have to recognise that ultimately families are responsible for the protection and care of their own children, and that the wider community has a valuable role to play in supporting vulnerable families. Whatever we do, it must be rooted in the firm belief that families and the community can find the best solutions and that they have the capacity to bring them into reality. SOS can only support them to make it happen.”</p>
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<h2>AIDS Africa Best Practice</h2>
<p><strong>SOS Social Centre Waterfalls, Zimbabwe Community Outreach Programme</strong> </p><p><strong>Programme Description</strong><br />Driven by the motto: <em>Let’s give the children a future</em>, the Community Outreach Programme activities started at the beginning of 2002. It aims to provide holistic care to children who have lost both or one parent or are living with terminally ill parent(s) in two of Harare’s high-density suburb’s (Glen Norah, Glen View). They could be living with a grandparent, extended family or living alone as children. Former staff accommodation facilities within the SOS Children’s Village Waterfalls were converted to house the office and a storage room for the Social Centre programme. The programme activities specifically addresses the needs of children as identified in the needs analysis exercise carried out at programme inception. </p><p>The four main intervention areas are: </p><p><strong>Education</strong>:<br />Support with school fees, extra tutorial lessons, school uniforms and material, vocational training possibilities<br /><strong>Health</strong>:<br />Access to health services and medication life skills workshops for children and guardians, parenting workshops, psychosocial support, supplementary food,<br /><strong>Livelihood</strong>:<br />Facilitate income generating activities<br /><strong>Accommodation</strong>:<br />Legal assistance to prevent loss of property for children, assistance to obtain legal documents (birth/death certificates) </p><p>There are currently about 1,300 children enrolled and the programme runs at an average cost of US$15 per month/child beneficiary. </p><p><strong>Relevant standard and good practice</strong><br /><ul><li><p>We support vulnerable children in order to assure their immediate survival and development rights.</p></li><li><p>A holistic support package is tailored to meet the basic survival and development needs of the child.</p></li></ul><p><strong>Highlights</strong><br />The individual child is at the very centre of every support intervention. The intervention package ensures access to basic services/facilities with a sustainability component built in. Income Generating Activities guarantee long-term sustainability of the family. All details of the beneficiary child are kept in an electronically database which facilitates planning, monitoring and evaluation. </p><p><strong>Description</strong><br />Through the participatory planning process, the SOS program is well known in the community and various community members and the leadership make referrals of children who are eligible to be enrolled. The eligibility criteria for enrolment are: </p><ul><li><p>Double orphan or living with chronically ill parent(s) or abandoned for more than five years</p></li><li><p>Below sixteen years of age and willing to attend formal school</p></li><li><p>Resident in the designated area for at least six months</p></li><li><p>No significant benefits from other organisations</p></li><li><p>Willingness of family/guardian to get involved in self sustainability activities and programmes</p></li></ul> </p><p>The SOS Social Centre staff verifies the information through home visits and physical verification of the death and birth certificates and completes the enrolment form as well as seeking authority from the guardian to take photographs as part of documentation and fund raising purposes. All details of the child are kept in an electronically database. The child is given a photographic ID card which allows them to access the respective services. </p><p><strong>Education</strong>: There are elected school representatives that form the linking pin to the Social Centre programme. They facilitate that all the educational needs for the SOS programme beneficiaries are catered for, including material, psychosocial support and tutorial support.<br /><strong>Health</strong>: Cooperation with the local clinics and pharmacies were established and programme beneficiaries can access services with their ID card. Through the consultation of a nutritionist an effective monthly food supplement package is distributed to the children. Life skills workshops for children and guardians are organised tackling issues like: Who am I, puberty, the child headed family, study skills, child rights, child abuse, communication, HIV/AIDS, behaviour change, relationship skills.<br /><strong>Accommodation</strong>:Good cooperation with a lawyer and the police have been established which helps in obtaining legal documents (title deeds, birth and death certificates) for the beneficiaries.<br /><strong>Livelihood</strong>: Income Generating Activities are encouraged (for example): </p><p>This is one of the entrepreneurial grandmothers, head of a 12 people household. She loves to interact with people and has always dreamt about running her own little shop. She went through business skills training, organised by SOS and conducted by a consultant. The training covered topics like generating and analysing business ideas, drawing up a business plan, costing, buying procedures, pricing, record keeping, marketing, negotiation skills, customer care, communication and more. As a successful graduate of this training she was then provided with a loan by SOS to set up and stock her own tuck shop, just outside her home. After a period of only 6 month she has paid the loan back. In the first month of operation she was guided and advised by the business consultant and received refresher training courses. Today, her business is running successfully and she is a competent and proud businesswoman. </p><p><strong>Lessons learnt</strong><br /><ul><li><p>During the first years of the intervention, our activities focused to assure the immediate survival needs/rights of the child but now our focus is more on activities to enhance the self sustainability of the family.</p></li><li><p>Besides material support we need to strengthen the psychosocial support given to harmonise the relationship between the guardian and the child.</p></li><li><p>To establish and monitor income generating activities and loan schemes is very resource intensive thus a partnership with the local NGO WDSCU (Women Development Savings & Credit Union) is currently being established.</p></li></ul>
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<h2>AIDS Africa Best Practice</h2>
<p><strong> SOS Social Centre Mbabane, Swaziland Family Carer Programme </strong><br /><strong> Programme Description </strong><br />The SOS/Salvation Army Family Carer Programme has been operating since November 2001 and reaches orphaned and vulnerable children and their families living in two districts (Msunduza and Sidwashini) of the greater Mbabane area, through community volunteers: “Family Carers” who conduct home visits. Programme beneficiaries are able to access a range of services provided by SOS including material support (food, school uniforms and material), educational support (school fees, basic literacy classes for school drop-outs) and medical support. Income generating activities include a sewing and a garden project because the ultimate goal of the programme is the self reliance of the families. The programme is delivered with support from the Salvation Army Community Care Team (SACCT), which assists by delivering home-based care to ill adults. </p><p>The programme provides material and social support to 150 families which are either child-headed or grandparent-headed households or a household with a chronically ill single parent at an average cost of US$20 per month/child beneficiary. </p><p>By working with community members and other stakeholders, the programme is expanding its operations into more communities within the SOS Children’s Village catchments area. </p><p><strong> Relevant standard and good practice </strong><br /><strong> We support vulnerable children in order to assure their immediate survival and development rights </strong></p><p>Family Carer (community volunteers) conduct regular home visits to vulnerable families to ensure children’s basic survival and development needs are met. </p><p><strong> Highlights </strong><br />Community volunteers are capacitated to provide support to members of their own community. Children and families are provided with a reliable caregiver who they can count on to offer consistent social support, and through whom they can access a broader range of social and material assistance. Our programme is structured to be responsive to individual needs as they arise, which is reinforced by staff dedication. </p><p><strong> Description </strong><br />The support programme works directly through the Family Carers, 22 community volunteers, who live in the same neighbourhoods as the households they assist. The programme coordinators of SOS and the Salvation Army identified and trained the Family Carers. The training included such topics as child care and nutrition, care for disabled children, parenting skills, and counselling. The SOS Mothers also attended the training, and provided insights on parenting skills for vulnerable children. The Carers were then each assigned to 4 households out of the child-headed and grandparent-headed households which were defined as particularly vulnerable during a conducted household survey. The Family Carers, who receive a monthly stipend from SOS, conduct weekly home visits to their assigned families, giving material as well as psychosocial support and providing written reports to the Programme’s Assistant Coordinator when they meet once a month. </p><p>An essential element of the programme is the human support that is provided to families. The regular visits by the Family Carers provide the children with a reliable caregiver who they can count on to consistently offer social support, especially in the case of child-headed households or where parents are ill. The Carers visit more often if the family experiences a crisis, and play a crucial role in helping children deal with bereavement and stress. They are always aware of the ongoing challenges faced by these households. The Family Carer visits child-headed families and are extremely diligent in reporting problems, both through their written visitation reports and through direct communication with the Assistant Coordinator. </p><p>The main components of assistance offered by the programme are food parcels, educational support, amelioration of living conditions and medical referrals: </p><p>Food parcels are distributed once a month to needy families, and twice a month to child-headed households. A communal garden is being developed on a plot of land, donated by the community, to grow vegetables to supplement the food parcels and encourage families to become less dependent on them. Self reliance of the families is encouraged through backyard gardens and the provision of seedlings. Educational support is provided through paying for the children’s school fees and uniforms. Children who have fallen behind in school or are too old to attend are offered basic classes at the SOS Children’s Village to assist them in catching up or to ensure they have basic reading and writing skills. A number of children and youth have already graduated from this support programme and were successfully re-integrated into the school system. </p><p>The programme has responded to the poor housing conditions of several child-headed households by building them sturdy, concrete homes with extra rooms for them to rent out, which are currently providing the households with a source of on-going income. </p><p>The programme also helps families who require medical attention. When the Family Carers identify cases where either parent[s"> or children are ill, the Assistant Coordinator is able to call upon Salvation Army Community Care Team (SACCT) to deliver home-based care, or she arranges hospital appointments. If a programme beneficiary is diagnosed with HIV/AIDS or suspects that s/he may be infected, then s/he can be referred to Swaziland AIDS Support Organisation (SASO), whose office is housed within SOS, for access to treatment and counselling. The Programme has an agreement with SASO, which allows both organisations to refer their clients to one another’s programmes. </p><p><strong> Lessons learnt </strong><br />The nature of the Family Carers’ work is very strenuous and emotionally draining. </p><p>Therefore it is essential to maintain close contact with the volunteers, provide them with a regular forum to voice their concerns and give on-going recognition and appreciation. An ongoing challenge is to capacitate and motivate the families to become more self reliant and not to rely solely on the programmes material support. We are seeking ways to determine criteria about excluding beneficiaries, who may be eligible, but don’t show any commitment to take self responsibility. </p><p><strong> Key people </strong><br /><strong> Thandeka Magongo</strong>, the Assistant Programme Coordinator, coordinates the day-to-day activities of the programme and works directly with the Family Carers to monitor beneficiary families. Thandeka says again and again that she loves working in the field with the families, especially the children. Her philosophy is “all work starts from the field and goes from there”. Thandeka is convinced that you live a longer and more fulfilling life if you are challenged by your work. Working with vulnerable children provides this challenge for Thandeka: “I want to help these children “to become someone some day”, so that they too can make a contribution to their community.” </p><p>The <strong> 22 Family Carers</strong>, 21 women and 1 man, are an integral part of the programme. The Carers feel that as members of the community they are in an important position to help their neighbours, as they have a good understanding of the issues within their own communities. They stress the importance of their work in terms of meeting the children’s need for love and support. They believe that the children they assist will not go anywhere without parental guidance, support and someone to listen to them, a role which they work to fulfil. The Carers take their work very seriously and are dedicated to improving the programme.</p>
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<h2>AIDS Africa Best Practice</h2>
<p><strong> SOS Social Centre Mamelodi, South Africa </strong></p><p><strong> Programme Description </strong><br />The Social Centre serves as a base where HIV/AIDS-affected children and families can access essential services. Vulnerable families are assisted with material support (food parcels), educational support (school uniforms and supplies) and other support to meet their basic household needs. Families caring for orphans are assisted to access government foster care grants by a contract social worker. A support group has formed for parents living with HIV/AIDS. They received training in income-generating activities. </p><p>The Social Centre also has community-based activities. A partnership has been formed with Tateni home-based care organisation to deliver care to families containing people living with HIV/AIDS and orphaned children. Trained volunteers conduct home visits to these families to provide assistance with housework, childcare, and palliative care. </p><p>The Edu-care Programme provides support to community daycare centres, in order to build their capacity to deliver higher quality of care to vulnerable children and to become more financially sustainable. </p><p>Approximately 450 children are receiving some form of support from the Centres’ programming and an additional 2,400 children through the Edu-care programme of which approximately 20% are orphans and vulnerable children. </p><p><strong> Relevant standard and good practice </strong></p><p>We support families to build their capacity to protect & care for their children.</p><p>Care takers of orphans and vulnerable children receive assistance to access government grants .</p><p><strong> Highlights </strong><br />By enabling the families to access government grants, a sustainable source of income is created for the families and it mitigates factors that lead to child abandonment. </p><p><strong> Description </strong><br />The most vulnerable families (child-headed, grandparent-headed and chronically ill headed households) receive material support while they are assisted in accessing government social grants. </p><p>Child care government grants are available for caretakers of orphans and vulnerable children in South Africa. The application process however is quite a tedious and bureaucratic process which many care takers struggle to go through due to their advanced age or low levels of literacy. </p><p>An experienced contract social worker, who is paid by SOS per successful case, has been appointed to assist the care takers during the application process and to take the cases to court on behalf of the families. This reduces the waiting time significantly and ensures the timely receipt of financial support. Once the families start receiving grants, they are obviously removed from the SOS material support scheme. </p><p><strong> Lessons learnt </strong><br />Although the families are receiving financial support through the government grants, further non-material assistance (i.e. supervised study/homework opportunities, youth activities, psychosocial support for care takers etc.) to improve the caretaker’s abilities is necessary. </p><p><strong> Key people<br />Dudu Skosana</strong>, who is a social worker by profession, is the programme manager and was responsible for establishing the Social Centre. She feels that working with the community is important because it empowers the community to become more self-sufficient, and creates the opportunity to educate community members about HIV/AIDS and positive thinking. Her personal motivation for becoming involved in this kind of work is to give people hope. “No matter how small the effort is, it gives affected people hope that someone out there cares,” she says.</p>
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<h2>AIDS Africa Best Practice</h2>
<p><strong>SOS Social Centre Lusaka, Zambia Social Outreach Programme</strong></p><p><strong>Programme Description</strong><br />The programme became operational in April 2002 and pursues the mission to reach out to vulnerable grandparent and child-headed households in the high-density urban communities (townships) surrounding the SOS Children’s Village in Lusaka. It aims to alleviate the negative impact of poverty and to mitigate conditions that lead to the situation of street children and orphans. The programme intervenes in the communities through identified community based informal political and structural organisations. It works closely with community leaders who have organised themselves in Community Orphan and Vulnerable Children Committees. Each target community identified a volunteer to work closely with the beneficiaries as the Community Mobilisers and who is also a linking pin between the community and the SOS Social Centre. The programme has employed a two pronged strategy; namely to deal with the short term impact and effects of poverty and disease while strongly supporting initiatives that lead to long term mitigation of the negative consequences of these factors. Immediate needs are met through food supplementation, paying child headed rental, educational scholarships, clothing, medical treatment and psycho social counselling. Long term sustainability is targeted through family capacity building: skills training for youths, house improvement, skills for income generating activities, psychosocial training for care givers and developing child and youth talents & recreation through drama and sports. Over 700 persons are currently being assisted in 4 different communities at an average cost of US$13 per month/beneficiary and expansion plans into new communities, whilst drawing on the existing experiences, are well under way.</p><p><strong>Relevant standard and good practice</strong></p><p>We support families to build their capacity to protect & care for their children.</p><p>Immediate material needs are addressed through a household support plan which includes capacity building strategies for the family members</p><p><strong>Highlights</strong><br />We see the beneficiaries as our partners and make sure that with each intervention a contribution and effort from their side is made as well. As a result of the participatory process the community members themselves take action to address problems.</p><p><strong>Description</strong><br />The main areas of support identified through the Participatory Households Needs Assessment were food supplementation, medical care and home based care, child education, skills training for youths, skills for income generating activities, house improvement and tenure security. Based on these findings, an individual household support plan was drawn up. However the material support is to be seen as a supplement, in order not to create dependency, except for child headed households where the needs are currently fully met so that the children can focus on their education.</p><p><strong>Empowerment approach:</strong><br />Educational scholarships and school material are provided for children who stopped going to school due to the inability of their guardians to meet the school costs. In addition to this, arrangements were made to assist these children with additional classes either during the holidays or on the weekends to enable them to catch up. SOS makes sure that a part of the teacher’s allowance for these extra classes is provided by the beneficiaries. <strong>Medical care</strong> is provided by the SOS Medical Center due to its geographical proximity. Given the need for home based care which was revealed by the baseline study, the Community Committee themselves took action and formed home based care volunteer groups for which SOS organised the relevant training. In order to build the capacity of families to provide long-term security for the children, the following strategies are pursued:<br /><ul><li><p><strong>Food security</strong>: Through the provision of seeds and fertilisers to families that have enough land to grow their own food, families have been able to feed themselves.</p></li><li><p><strong>House improvements</strong> and the adding on of extra rooms which can be rented out and thus income is generated.</p></li><li><p>Empowerment through <strong>property ownership</strong>: Operating in substandard dwelling areas around Lusaka we realised that 98% of the households in our catchments areas do not have legal title deeds. We saw it fit to intervene in this problem area as land and housing are one of the great assets of the poor. Similarly, the lack of legal ownership of the housing plots makes children especially vulnerable as their guardians cannot write a will on land property that is declared as squatter by the law. Consequently, when the guardians die, children cannot claim right to inherit the property as there is no legal document to support the claim. The non-availability of title deeds and later on wills is a recipe for property grabbing. We organised a workshop on the Housing and Land Acts and started respective sensitisation and awareness campaigns amongst the households as well as the local municipal officials and legal bodies to address this problem, particularly those that cannot afford to pay for the title deeds.The workshop was co-financed by SOS and the World Bank. The households are now in the process of obtaining title deeds and making wills for their children.</p></li><li><p><strong>Parental capacity building</strong>: Guardians and heads of child headed homes have been trained in parental skills, psychosocial support and paralegal. This was necessitated by the multiple problems family heads go through in taking care of children who are, in most cases, emotionally and psychologically traumatised and abused, and in other cases, the victims of property grabbing.</p></li></ul><p><strong>Lessons learnt</strong><br />Building the capacity of families is a complex and multidisciplinary venture and thus the establishment of strong partnerships with other service providers is essential.</p><p><strong>Key people</strong><br />The <strong>Community Mobiliser</strong>, a committed community member, is elected by the COVCC to be in direct contact with the beneficiaries and a linking pin to the SOS social centre coordinator. Each is assigned to 25-30 households which he visits regularly to give the necessary emotional, psychosocial and material support. Since the inception of the programme 2 years ago there has been no turn-over of community mobilisers! They are not employed by SOS but given the amount of time they spend on household support, they get a small subsistence allowance from SOS. <strong>Fred Sakala</strong> (26) says: “I come from this community, I know the situation of the children. People are dying and leaving behind children who are very vulnerable. I felt that I needed to give my time and efforts to help these children.” Fred, with the help of SOS, completed his certificate in Social Work and is now taking evening studies for his Diploma at the University of Zambia.</p>
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<p><strong> SOS Social Centre Lilongwe, Malawi </strong></p><p><strong> Programme Description </strong></p><p>The programme was established at the beginning of 2002 to focus directly on the needs of those affected and infected by HIV/AIDS in the villages surrounding the SOS Children’s Village. The goal is to assist child-headed and grandparent-headed families on an outreach basis which means that the SOS staff members go out to the communities to work with them. The programme activities address and help to alleviate the educational, medical, nutritious and skills training needs that are identified by the community members. A long term objective is to develop very strong community partnership in the villages and build the capacity and competence of these villages by forming and training village committees to assist their own people. Former staff accommodation facilities within the SOS Children’s Village Lilongwe were converted to house the office for the Social Centre programme. The programme is currently active in seven villages with a population of over 13,635 people and where 595 households are caring for 1,200 orphans. Expansion plans to work with more villages are well under way. The programme currently runs at an average cost ratio of US$4.50 per month/child beneficiary. </p><p><strong> Relevant standard and good practice </strong></p><p>We support communities to support vulnerable children and their families.</p><p>The programme mobilises community-based organisations, facilitates self-organisation and channels all support through the community structures. </p><p><strong> Highlights </strong></p><ul> <li><p> The community is recognised as a partner and respectively the establishment of functioning community structures is facilitated. </p></li><li><p> Whilst ensuring that the most vulnerable children are receiving the care they need, it is crucial to work with the people in the communities so that they are able to take on the vision of care for the children. </p></li><li><p> All skills are transferred to the community and experts developed. </p></li></ul><p><strong> Description </strong></p><p>In order to ensure community participation of all activities the following structure was established. Basically all activities are channelled through the Village Development Committee and, where it seemed necessary, a particular sub-committee is formed to oversee a specific area of intervention. </p><p><strong>Project Management Committee</strong> (chairperson of each village committee + traditional leader). Oversees the implementation of projects and activities in the area </p><p><strong>Village Development Committee</strong> (1 in each of the villages involved)- meet twice a month (1 week /month to plan, last week/month to evaluate), SOS is not a member of the committees, we just facilitate the process.</p><p><strong> Home based care</strong> for orphans <strong> HIV/AIDS </strong> awareness campaigns and chronically ill persons: through drama, songs and games, identified volunteers, SOS <strong> “Go back to school” </strong> campaigns organised/provided training and basic material, SOS nurse visits patients as part of the out- reach clinic and gives advice to the volunteers. </p><p><strong> Water and Sanitation improvement </strong></p><p>Meeting of village health committee to discuss health issues. The community takes ownership of the need for solutions to fight the HIV/AIDS pandemic and respectively the OVCs situation. </p><p>In order to build the capacity of the Village Development Committees it was necessary to train them in the following areas: </p><p>o Concept of participation </p><p>o Concept of development </p><p>o Concept of self-reliance </p><p>o Concept of community mobilisation </p><p>o Concept of communication </p><p>o Concept of leadership </p><p>o Rights of a child </p><p>o HIV/AIDS facts </p><p>Examples of support actions: <strong> Food security programme </strong> is done on community and household level. At community level, each village has a garden in which they grow maize. The village chiefs provided land. The community themselves provide labour while officials from the Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation provided technical advice. SOS provided seed and fertiliser on loan. At household level, each house keeping orphans was given seed and fertiliser. A careful assessment was done to ensure that the recipient deserved the loan and that they really have land on which to grow the crop. There are some households that did not receive the loan despite keeping orphans. These are those that are either able households or those that have no land at all. Both the village and individual households paid back the loan 100 % in kind after the harvest which is kept for any arising food shortages during the year as well as for support of other households that may not have been benefited yet. <strong> Educational Scholarships </strong> are given to school-drops (due to lack of school fees) as identified by the village development committee. </p><p><strong> Lessons learnt </strong></p><p>Staff members need skills in participatory processes, so it is worthwhile training and investing into your staff. It helps to ask yourself regularly: How can we justify that this intervention is not a handout? </p><p><strong> Key people </strong></p><p>The key staff of the current activities is the project head and two field officers, one with a nursing background and one with a community mobilisation background. <strong> Alex Nugwo </strong> , field officer says: “I have been liking community development work for a long time. My job is to make the communities understand their capacities as human beings. I enjoy designing a participatory process and to think through all the different planning steps of a project to make it a “life-long” process, this is very encouraging. I like it when communities develop a “WE” feeling and really understand that it is “THEIR” problem that needs to be solved. <strong> Franciwell Phiri </strong>, project head: “I like to empower my staff, to guide them to understand what community development work means. I am looking forward to that day, when the SOS staff will only sit in their offices and the community members will approach us as trustworthy and accountable partners to seek for advice, guidance and support - that’s our ultimate goal.”</p>
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<p><strong> SOS Social Centre Nelspruit, South Africa<br />Community-based child care & support programme Tekwane, South Africa </strong></p><p><strong>Programme Description </strong></p><p>This community-based child care & support programme is a joint initiative between SOS Children’s Villages in Nelspruit, the Siyasitana Home Based Care group in Tekwane (approximately 20 km from Nelspruit) and the Tekwane Clinic and began in 2002. The overall aim of the programme is to prevent children from becoming orphaned or abandoned and to strengthen the capacity of the Tekwane community and families to care for orphaned and abandoned children. The programme activities focus on issues as identified through participatory research and are rendered to approximately 150 OVCs by 18 community volunteers based on specific needs which are reviewed on a regular basis. </p><p>Services include regular home visits to ensure the psychological, physical, security and educational well-being of the children, legal and material assistance, counselling services, assistance with income generating projects, training and capacity building of community volunteers and training for potential foster parents. </p><p>The programme currently runs at an average cost ratio of US$4 per month/child beneficiary. </p><p>Based on this experience and its lessons learnt, the social center programme Nelspruit is expanding its support activities into Kanyamazane, a neighbouring community of Tekwane, to assists around 300 children. </p><p><strong> Relevant standard and good practice </strong></p><p>We work together with partners to achieve common goals.</p><p>The partnership with a local home based care group proves to be valuable when joining hands to support orphans and vulnerable children. </p><p><strong> Highlights </strong></p><ul> <li><p> The home based care group shares the SOS vision and mission, and targets the same families and households.</p></li><li><p> Children are affected by HIV/AIDS long before they are orphaned: the home based care group renders services to terminally ill people who are at the same time parents or caregivers to children and as such the partnership is an effective complement without duplicating services.</p></li><li><p> A clearly defined action plan states the assigned responsibilities of the different organisations involved. As a result of the joined efforts a Community Executive Committee was formed which ensures community participation and mobilisation </p></li> </ul><p><strong>Description </strong></p><p>Entering the partnership with Siyasitana home based care group was a natural “match” as we were looking for relevant stakeholders in Tekwane to support our intentions to assist orphans and vulnerable children. Siyasitana was already working within the community, they were well accepted and have already built up a network of community volunteers which do home visits to care for sick adults, train family members to care for the sick, provide counselling and promote primary health care. Through their involvement in the community they come across the plight of many orphans and vulnerable children. However, due to limited resources Siyasitana was not able to care for these children adequately. Jointly a participatory planning process was embarked on with the aim of establishing a community-based child care and support programme. The community volunteers were capacitated to not only care for the sick family members but to extend their services to orphans and vulnerable children. </p><p>As a result of the joint planning process, an action plan was drawn up which clearly states the respective responsibilities of both organisations. Here is one example from the action plan: </p><p><strong> Activity: </strong> Home Visits<br /><strong> Purpose: </strong> Ensure that the psychological and physical security and educational needs of children are provided for.<br /><strong> Siyasitana </strong>: Provide spiritual, psychological and emotional support. Clean patients. Clean houses. Cook.<br /><strong> SOS Children’s Villages </strong>: Provide backup support if needed. Provide services of a social worker. Facilitate training. Refer households to other organisations or services if needs are better served elsewhere.</p><p>The Community Executive Committee, which was formed as a result of the joint efforts, consists of representatives from various community stakeholders: churches, government, civic and political groups, NGOs. This committee is crucial in securing community support for the programme, identifying community needs and priorities, identifying families with vulnerable children and identifying and mobilising existing community resources that add value to the programme. </p><p><strong>Lessons learnt </strong></p><ul> <li><p> The role of SOS in the partnership can easily be misunderstood: Known as an international, “supposedly” well-off NGO, the volunteers expected incentives from SOS although they can actually access government funding. Therefore address expectations from volunteers in terms of incentives right from the start. </p></li><li><p> Volunteers don’t always render their commitment altruistically: We will try to choose volunteers out of the beneficiaries group and consider a good mix of ages amongst them. </p></li><li><p> When engaging into a partnership, consider time to get to know each other and eventually consider time and resources to capacitate the partner depending on how well the partner organisation is already managed. </p></li> </ul><p><strong> Key people </strong> </p><p><strong> Sizakele Malambe </strong> , who is a social worker by profession, is the project coordinator for community development programmes for SOS Nelspruit. She is most enthused by working with communities and partners because she likes to motivate them to work for the good of the children. The challenges and all the problems that she is trying to resolve within her working environment, keep her going - “… that’s how you grow,” she says firmly.</p>
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<h2>AIDS Africa Best Practice</h2>
<p><strong>SOS Social Centre Mamelodi, South Africa </strong></p><p><strong> Programme Description </strong></p><p>The Social Centre serves as a base where HIV/AIDS-affected children and families can access essential services. Vulnerable families are assisted with material support (food parcels), educational support (school uniforms and supplies) and other support to meet their basic household needs. Families caring for orphans are assisted to access government foster care grants by a contract social worker. A support group has formed for parents living with HIV/AIDS. They receive training in income-generating activities. </p><p>The Social Centre also has community-based activities. A partnership has been formed with Tateni home-based care organisation to deliver care to families containing people living with HIV/AIDS and orphaned children. Trained volunteers conduct home visits to these families to provide assistance with housework, childcare, and palliative care. </p><p>The Edu-care Programme provides support to community daycare centres, in order to build their capacity to deliver higher quality of care to vulnerable children and to become more financially sustainable. </p><p>Approximately 450 children are receiving some form of support from the Centres’ programming and an additional 2,400 children through the Edu-care programme of which approximately 20% are orphans and vulnerable children. </p><p>Further information contact <a href="mailto:[email protected]">[email protected]</a></p><p><strong> Relevant standard and good practice </strong></p><p>We work together with partners to achieve common goals.</p><p>Partnership with ‘Tateni’ home-based care organisation. </p><p><strong> Highlights </strong></p><p>The partnership combines the organisations’ individual areas of expertise to enhance the quality of care provided to programme beneficiaries. Shared resources are effectively used to offer a wider range of social services to vulnerable families, and to avoid duplication of efforts. Through one another, the organisations benefit from increased access to resources and funding. </p><p><strong> Description </strong></p><p>The Social Centre has formed a partnership with Tateni, a home-based care organisation, in the form of the Legodimo la Tsepo (“haven of hope”) community-based childcare and support programme. The programme was built by combining the areas of expertise offered by each of the organisations. Tateni has extensive experience in providing home-based care and support to terminally ill adults, and as a result, they already had well-established relationships with HIV/AIDS-affected households. However, in order to extend Tateni’s capacity to care for orphans and vulnerable children living within these affected households, they needed to draw on SOS’s wealth of childcare experience. SOS trained Tatenti’s home-care volunteers by upgrading their knowledge and skills to address childcare-related issues and to ensure a certain standard of care. The training covered such topics as child development and learning, healthcare, trauma counselling, and children affected by HIV/AIDS and their rights. SOS was able to use Tateni’s existing database of orphans and vulnerable children with ill parents, to build the programme. </p><p>The Tateni volunteers visit vulnerable, AIDS-affected families in their assigned districts several times a week, assisting with housework, palliative care, children’s home work, and providing social support (counselling) to the families. They refer the most vulnerable cases that they encounter to the Social Centre for material support. It is a two-way referral system; SOS also refers children and families who come directly to the Social Centre on to Tateni in order to receive home-based care. SOS subsidises the volunteers’ stipend, and provides ongoing guidance on childcare-related issues. The volunteers write monthly reports on their assigned families, which are submitted to their supervisor at Tateni, who then updates the SOS Social Centre Project Coordinator. </p><p>Programme beneficiaries are able to access the services of two full-time social workers at Tateni, and are assisted by a contract social worker employed by the SOS Social Centre to help them secure government foster care grants. The Social Centre benefits financially as a result of this partnership from both in-kind contributions and access to donations received by Tateni. For example, Tateni has supplemented the Social Centre’s food parcels with donations it has received, and Tateni volunteers help out with distributing a proportion of the parcels. The two organisations will be jointly establishing community childcare forums using funding secured by Tateni from German Agro Action (GAA) and IBIS for this pilot project. </p><p><strong> Lessons learnt </strong></p><ul> <li><p> Volunteers providing home-based care services to AIDS-affected families need ongoing support in terms of constant debriefing and follow-up training, since delivering this kind of assistance can be very strenuous and emotionally draining. </p></li><li><p>In order to identify and reach the most vulnerable children, both organisations agree that it is important to involve the community, an area which the programme still needs to develop further. This is the prime motivation for establishing childcare forums in each of the target communities, in order to extend programme coverage. </p></li> </ul><p><strong>Key people </strong></p><p><strong> Veronica Khosa </strong>is the coordinator and founder of Tateni home-based care organisation. She sought out the partnership with SOS in order to address the overwhelming orphan problem she was confronted with when terminally ill patients who were receiving care from her organisation passed away. “When SOS agreed to partner I was so happy to know that I was not alone - I had someone else to share burden.” When Veronica established Tateni it was the first home-based care project in South Africa. Formerly employed as a government nurse, Veronica was confronted by the fact that the hospitals had very little to offer PLWHAs in the way of care. She realised that to address the needs of people who were ill, their families had to be taught how to care for them. With regard to children from affected families, Veronica remarks, “How would you discover the situation of children that need care, unless you go into the homes?" Veronica hopes that the partnership between SOS and Tateni will be able to further expand into the community and reach out to even more needy children. </p><p>The programme is carried out by the <strong> Tateni Home </strong>Carers, who are trained volunteers. They each have assigned families, whom they visit several times a week to care for children and ill family members. The Home Carers believe that the partnership with SOS is important on account of SOS’s ability to be immediately responsive to their client’s material needs. They describe the most rewarding aspect of their work as being able to gain the trust and friendship of their clients, and the satisfaction they receive from making someone happy.</p>
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<h2>AIDS Africa Best Practice</h2>
<p><strong>SOS Social Centre Lilongwe, Malawi </strong></p><p><strong> Programme Description </strong></p><p>The programme was established at the beginning of 2002 to focus directly on the needs of those affected and infected by HIV/AIDS in the villages surrounding the SOS Children’s Village. The goal is to assist child-headed and grandparent-headed families on an outreach basis which means that the SOS staff members go out to the communities to work with them. The programme activities address and help to alleviate the educational, medical, nutritious and skills training needs that are identified by the community members. A long term objective is to develop very strong community partnership in the villages and build the capacity and competence of these villages by forming and training village committees to assist their own people. Former staff accommodation facilities within the SOS Children’s Village Lilongwe were converted to house the office for the Social Centre programme. The programme is currently active in seven villages with a population of over 13,635 people and where 595 households are caring for 1,200 orphans. Expansion plans to work with more villages are well under way. The programme currently runs at an average cost ratio of US$4.50 per month/child beneficiary. </p><p><strong>Relevant standard and good practice</strong></p><p><strong>Planning and evaluation ensure that programmes are relevant & effective</strong></p><p>A participatory step-by-step process that builds on the knowledge and resources within the community and that aims at self-reliance as the long-term goal is applied. </p><p><strong> Description </strong></p><p>Seven villages adjacent to the SOS Children’s Village Lilongwe were chosen to be the target area to start-off the programme. Malawi has a very clear traditional leadership structure in the villages and thus, in a first step we met with traditional chiefs and village leaders of all the villages we intended to work with to introduce the SOS Children’s Village organiation, to learn what is already taken place, to inform them about our planned programme activities and to seek their mandate for cooperation. This step is very crucial in order to guarantee full community ownership of the programme. </p><p>After having been assured of their full support and commitment to the programme a meeting with all relevant stakeholders (City and District Assemblies, Social Welfare, other NGOs) was held to create awareness about the SOS project, to understand better their activities and explore possible areas of cooperation. Out of this meeting it was recommended that a baseline study was conducted to fill information gaps in order to effectively plan with the community. The focus of the study was on the child and issues that affect the development of the child. Special attention was paid to OVCs. The study was conducted by an external consultant and qualitative in nature. It captured people’s perceptions on what affects them, which in turn has a bearing on a child. </p><p>The results of this baseline study were shared and discussed in feedback meetings with the respective communities. These meetings were a turning point for many community members because they began to reflect on the results and internalise the situation as theirs. The awareness process had started. These meetings were also an opportunity to find out from the communities “how” they felt the processes were to be managed. Communities generally agreed that processes would best be managed by a village level community committee. This necessitated the setting up of what we call <strong>Village Development Committees </strong> (VDC) in each village. This committee consists of 10 elected community members and takes responsibility to mobilise the communities on all development initiatives. They form a direct interface between the community and SOS and are a referral point for any development undertaking in the villages. Currently they are recognised by not only SOS but also other development partners that include NGOs and government. The committee normally meets twice a month: in the first week of the month they meet to discuss the planned development actions in the village and in the last week of the month they evaluate the progress. In order to capacitate the committees, SOS organised appropriate leadership training. The design of the training focused on the concepts of development, community participation, community mobilisation, community empowerment, leadership, self-reliance, and communication and rights of a child. </p><p>An overall project management committee was put in place. This is a community committee that comprises the chiefs of the seven villages and the chairpersons of each VDC. Their main function is to oversee the implementation of various projects and activities in the area. We also organise study tours for community members so that they can learn from their counterparts in other villages. </p><p>The process of identifying and selecting beneficiaries was done by all stakeholders (VDC, SOS, other NGOs and government representatives). Key to choosing who benefitted were community members themselves based on what they saw as constituting vulnerability. In planning meetings with the VDC and other stakeholders, action plans were drawn up that clearly highlight the shared responsibility between the community, SOS and the other stakeholders. Monitoring and evaluation was incorporated throughout the whole process. An internal regional cross-programme evaluation is soon to be conducted by colleagues from Zambia and Zimbabwe, followed by an external evaluation after the programme has run for 5 years. </p><p><strong> Lessons learnt </strong></p><ul> <li><p> Be patient when establishing a community development process - it takes time because you are working on the “software” of a person, on attitudes that need to be changed. </p></li><li><p> Be focused, you have to have a clear vision on what you want to do and don’t change it in the middle of the project because that creates confusion and the trust from all stakeholders is questioned. </p></li><li><p> Once community members are set ‘on fire’, they keep on going: For example, when expanding into new communities -the VDC of the existing programme went to their counter villages and introduced the programme to them. </p></li> </ul><p>All key staff and other resources such as vehicles, computers, furniture etc. should be defined together with the programme coordinator and prior to beginning a programme. Trust your community - believe that any community is capable of doing something for itself. </p><p><strong> Key people </strong></p><p><strong> Franciwell Phiri </strong> is the project head of the programme and has got a professional background in community development. “I have always believed in the capacities of a community to find their own solutions to problems, all they need is some advice, guidance and support. Due to harsh economic circumstances, people have lost their confidence in themselves, they have lost that sense of capability and we must bring back that lost confidence to the communities."</p>
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<h2>Angola: African Beauty and Tragedy</h2>
<p>The Republic of Angola is on the coast of south-west Africa, bordered to the south by Namibia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the east and north. </p><p>It has breathtaking scenery and pure white beaches, and is one of Africa's most beautiful countries. With its vast reserves of diamonds, it is also potentially one of the wealthiest. But most of its 13 million people live in grinding poverty as a result of over 25 years of civil war that finally ended in 2002</p><h3>Aids in Angola</h3>
<img src="../../wp/a/Angola_Africa.jpg" width="400" height="249" alt="Life in Angola" class="left" /><p>Angola, as well as recovering from the affects of a prolonged civil war, is having to come to terms with a rising rate of HIV/AIDS. Nearly 4% of the adult population is affected and more than 100,000 children were orphaned as a result of HIV/AIDS in 2003 (source UNICEF). Malaria is a bigger problem.</p><p>SOS Children is working in Benguela and Lubango reaching out to Aids orphans and other vulnerable children and their families in the local communities. SOS Children works with the local health departments and other NGOs on prevention through education and voluntary testing. We directly confront the HIV/AIDS pandemic by our work with the government health department. We are working with a local NGO to do widespread voluntary testing for HIV/AIDS.</p>
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<h2>Aids in Benin, Africa</h2>
<img src="../../wp/s/Sos_Children_Benin_Africa.jpg" width="400" height="249" alt="SOS Children in Benin, Africa" class="left" /><p>Francophone Benin in north-west Africa has one of Africa's rare democratic systems and is relatively economically stable. However, infant and maternal mortality are high, as is female illiteracy. Poverty and illness are widespread.</p><p>In Benin there are estimated to be more than 42,000 children orphaned as a result of HIV/AIDS and over 200,000 people living with HIV/AIDS. Both these figures are thought to be underestimates because of inadequate monitoring and the low take up of voluntary testing. </p><p>SOS Children is working in three centres - Abomey-Calavi, Dassa-Zoume and Natitingou - providing counselling to orphaned and vulnerable children and their families in the local communities.</p><p>In order to help the benefitting families to stay within their communities with our support, the project name was changed from “HIV/AIDS Programme” to “Family Strengthening Programme.” Similarly, for benefitting children, “Orphans and Vulnerable Children” is used instead of “AIDS Child Orphans.” The advantage here is that it guarantees the respect of benefitting children in the community and guards them against stigmatisation.</p><p>In conjunction with Social Welfare Centres (set up by the government), the SOS staff and local social workers identified about 100 children who could benefit from the assistance of the SOS Children’s Villages in Benin within the framework of the programme.</p>
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<h2>Aids Orphans in Botswana, Africa</h2>
<img src="../../wp/s/Sos_Child_Botswana_Africa.jpg" width="250" height="399" alt="SOS Child in Botswana, Africa" class="left" /><p>The Republic of Botswana is in southern Africa, north of South Africa and to the west of Zimbabwe, with Namibia on its eastern border. Since independence in 1966 there have been many impressive social and economic improvements. Ninety-seven per cent of the 1.5 million population have access to safe water, and with free primary education access to learning is high with over 84 per cent of children enrolled. A tremendous African success story until HIV/AIDS arrived. </p><p>Now, Botswana has, according to most estimates, one of the highest infection rates for HIV/AIDS. 37% of the adult population is affected. 120,000 children were orphaned as a result of HIV/AIDS, 75% of all orphans. (source UNICEF). </p><p>This is having a dramatic impact on the relatively high standards achieved since independence. The number of children orphaned as a result of HIV/AIDS is estimated to be between 60, and 80,000. </p><p>SOS Children works with the National Aids Co-ordinating Agency which has set up the Botswana-Baylor Children's Centre of Excellence to provide treatment and care for children affected by HIV/AIDS, including funding of countrywide community based HIV/AIDS organizations. SOS Children works to accept more children into our direct care. We are asked regularly to take in children from home-based care which has failed. A third SOS Children’s Village will be built in Serowe. This village will be built in three stages starting in the second half of 2006. </p><p>This country has been in the forefront of HIV/AIDS treatment for children and adults, and has had nearly 40 years experience of Government assistance and foreign assistance for destitutes and others in need. The result of this experience is that the role to be played by SOS Children’s Village is its traditional role of long term full time care of orphaned and abandoned children. </p><p>Children are being admitted over the ideal age because whole families have lost parents due to AIDS. Many of these children have never been to school and have no academic potential. This has forced us to find practical training in centres throughout the country where the less academically able can learn practical skills.</p>
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<h2>Burundi; war, poverty and misfortune</h2>
<p>The Republic of Burundi in Central Africa is one of the continent's smallest countries and one of the world's poorest. Eight years of civil war, in which over 200,000 people lost their lives, have destroyed much of the infrastructure. Food, medicine and electricity are still in short supply. A lack of basic social services and limited economic opportunities mean most of the people are subject to continuing disease, trauma and displacement.</p><h3>Aids Orphans in Burundi</h3>
<img src="../../wp/s/Sos_Child_Burundi_Africa.jpg" width="250" height="399" alt="SOS Child in Burundi, Africa" class="left" /><p>In Burundi, the incidence of HIV/AIDS continues to rise ,especially in rural areas. An estimated 20 per cent of the country’s urban population and six per cent of the rural population are HIV positive. Infection rates in girls aged 15 to 19 are four times greater than boys of the same age. There are an estimated 230,000 children orphaned by HIV/AIDS in the country, 30% of all orphans. (Source UNICEF). </p><p> SOS Children works with NGOs in Burundi to support the work to prevent and treat HIV/AIDS and related diseases. This is done through so-called "Anti-AIDS Clubs" in Bujumbura, Gitega, Muyinga and Rutana. Reaching out to families in the local communities, SOS Children provides voluntary testing, education materials for schools and anti-retrovirals.</p><p>Bujumbura: The partnership with the Government, World Food Programme (WFP) and the National Council for Fight against AIDS (NCFA) is well developed. The SOS Children's Village,Bujumbura receives food from WFP. NCFA helps HIV/AIDS Orphans and other vulnerable children with anti-retroviral drugs. The partnership with the Government involves the three relevant ministries - Ministry of Social Action and Woman Promotion, Ministry of Public Health and the Ministry of National Education. Co-operation with UNICEF is a continuing priority. </p><p>Working with a doctor from Muyinga and a nurse from Uvira, patients are given anti-retrovirals (ARVs) and their progress monitored. ARVs are provided by the Burundi Initiative Strengthening for the Prevention and the Taking Care of Persons living with HIV/AIDS. </p><p>In one group of voluntary testing for HIV/AIDS, 76.5% were negative, 20.3% were positive and 3.1% were doubtful. As part of the programme to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases, condoms were distributed. </p><p>Muyinga: As part of our programme of strengthening the family, we have increased substantially the number of children we are helping within their biological or foster families. Heads of families who are affected by HIV/AIDS continue to receive medical care including anti-retrovirals. The results are very encouraging. </p><p>Gitega: Within the Family Strengthening Programme, SOS Children has organised the training of volunteers within the local community to follow-up the beneficiaries in their households. This training dealt with generalities on HIV/AIDS, its transmission and its prevention as well as caring of people living with HIV/AIDS. It was organised by two specialists, members of the provincial committee of fight against AIDS in Gitega province. SOS CHildren has also set up income generating activities. Our aim is to strengthen the families of orphans and vulnerable children.</p>
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<h2>Cameroon; poor, young and in debt</h2>
<img src="../../wp/s/Sos_School_Child_Cameroon_Africa.jpg" width="399" height="250" alt="sos-school-child-cameroon-africa" class="left" /><p>Cameroon is on the shores of the Gulf of Guinea. The current state was created in 1961 following the unification of two former colonies, one British and one French. Poverty is everywhere, with over 50 per cent of the population living below the poverty line, particularly women and children.</p><p>Just over half of the population is under 20 years old and infant and under-five mortality rates are on the increase. Debt servicing is a significant drain on government resources. Growing defence expenditure and widespread corruption also impacts considerably on the provision of basic services such as education and health.</p><h3>Aids Orphans in Cameroon, Africa</h3>
<p>Cameroon, like many sub-Saharan countries, faces poverty which is made worse by the affects of the HIV/AIDS pandemic. Nearly 7% of the adult population is affected by HIV/AIDS. There were an estimated 240,000 orphans in 2003 as a result of HIV/AIDS, 26% of all orphans (Source UNICEF)</p><p>SOS Children has implemented a community outreach programme to more than 5,000 orphaned and vulnerable children and their families in three areas in and around the capital Yaounde. This programme includes the supply of anti-retroviral drugs. In addition staff of the SOS Children's Village as well as people from the local community have learnt about living with HIV/AIDS from anHIV-infected patient. </p><p>As part of the Family Strengthening Programme, SOS Children has supported families in Mbalmayo, Douala and Yaoundé with food medicines and education. In addition courses on health education and on sex education have been introduced at the primary school to try to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS.</p>
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<h2>Central African Republic: Forgotten heart of Africa</h2>
<img src="../../wp/c/Car_Youth.jpg" width="250" height="399" alt="car-youth" class="left" /><p>Central African Republic is in the heart of Africa. It has some of the highest densities of lowland gorillas and forest elephants in Africa, but despite this tourist potential and abundant water and mineral resources, it is one of the continent's least developed countries and one of the poorest in the region.</p><h3>Aids Orphans in Central African Republic</h3>
<p>CAR is one of Africa's poorest countries and the level of poverty has worsened especially for children since the failed coup in 2001. The incidence of HIV/AIDS has increased. 13.5% of the adult population is affected. 110,000 children were orphaned in 2003 as a result of HIV/AIDS, 38% of all orphans (source UNICEF). </p><p>SOS Children works in partnership with UNICEF to develop an awareness, education and prevention programme through its school and the Medical and Social centres in Bangui, reaching out to nearly 6,000 orphaned and vulnerable children and their families</p>
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<h2>Congo: Endless and bloody conflict</h2>
<img src="../../wp/s/SOS_In_Congo.jpg" width="399" height="250" alt="SOS-in-Congo" class="left" /><p>The fighting in the Democratic Republic of Congo (formerly Zaire) has received little attention from the world's media, yet it is one of the bloodiest conflicts the world has known since the Second World War. In less than five years, an estimated 3.3 million people are thought to have been killed, the vast majority of them civilians.</p><h3>Aids Orphans in the Congo</h3>
<p>As Congo recovers from five years of civil war, SOS Children is working to support orphaned and vulnerable children and their families. In the fight against HIV/AIDS, much of this work is done in conjunction with Medecins Sans Frontiere and other NGOs. Just over 4% of the adult population is affected. 770,000 children were orphaned as a result of HIV/AIDS, 18% of all orphans. </p><p>SOS Children focuses on prevention through education in schools and in so called "Anti-AIDS Clubs" as well as with voluntary testing. SOS Children is working to help prevent the abandonment of children because of HIV/AIDS and related illnesses.</p><p>Direct help is given to children who are orphans as a result of HIV/AIDS. In addition the idea of prevention is introduced to children in the SOS Primary Schools. </p><p>Bukavu: The SOS Medical Centre works with Medecins Sans Frontiere to give local communities information and education about prevention and the importance of voluntary testing. In addition SOS Children works with local doctors.</p>
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<h2>Ethiopia; famine stricken</h2>
<img src="../../wp/p/Prizing_Giving_SOS_Ethiopia.jpg" width="399" height="250" alt="School prize giving in SOS Ethipia" class="left" /><p>Today, Ethiopia remains one of Africa's poorest countries, with a very low income per capita - less than £6 per month - and a population that is almost two-thirds illiterate. Continuing food and water shortages are causing high levels of malnutrition, and the incidence of communicable diseases is rising. The already limited educational opportunities are being further disrupted by the displacement of families and the struggle for survival, taking away children's opportunities to acquire basic life-skills.</p><h3>Aids Orphans in Ethiopia</h3>
<p>Food and water shortages in Ethiopia have been followed by an increase in the incidence of HIV/AIDS. It is estimated that 4.4% of the population is affected, that 720,000 children were orphaned as a result of HIV/AIDS, 18% of all orphans, and that 200,000 children are living with HIV/AIDS (Source UNICEF). </p><p>The most affected regions are the southern and eastern parts of the country. This poses a big challenge not only to SOS Children but also to the government and other NGOs. Ethiopia is experiencing an increase in the number of street children and families from rural communities migrating to urban slums. Consequently, it does not have the capacity to care for the increased number of street children and street families. SOS Children in Ethiopia aims to increase the quality and quantity of its child care working with other NGOs.<br />In Keranyo, Addis Ababa, the SOS Medical Centre continues to grow. Volunteers have been trained in home based care for HIV patients. In addition, the SOS Social and Medical Centre project co-coordinator Tadesse Alemu has begun networking with other NGOs to increase the use of SOS Children's Villages resources. The networking includes monthly meetings where information can be shared and fed into a database so that resources are not duplicated. The database can provide the names of children and parents who would benefit from SOS Children's Villages services such as day care and home based care. The networking group is called 'Timret Le Hiwot' (Nation for Life).</p><p>Despite international co-operation, peace agreements and economic growth, the country is still being ravaged by the effects of HIV/AIDS. The most affected regions are the southern and eastern parts of the country. This poses a big challenge not only to SOS Children but also to the government and other NGOs. There is an increase in the number of street children, street families and of slums, which affects the ability to care.</p>
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<h2>GUINEA</h2>
<p>Guinea like all sub-Saharan African countries has thousands of children orphaned as a result of HIV/AIDS. UNICEF estimated in 2006 that there were 420,000 orphans of which 35,000 are as a result of HIV/AIDS. The consequence is that these children have to leave school early and go to work in order to survive.</p><p>SOS Children works in Guinea to support orphaned and vulnerable children affected by HIV/AIDS as part of its programmes to strengthen the family and to prevent children from being abandoned. This work will include working with local community organisations, helping selected families by meeting some of their basic needs including school fees and helping these families to become self-reliant.</p><p>Conakry: Through the Family Strengthening Programme, SOS Children in Guinea will help 125 children from 25 families who have been affected by HIV/AIDS. In addition awareness of HIV/AIDS among children, young people and adults will be raised.</p><p>N’Zerekore: Through the Family Strengthening Programme, SOS Children in Guinea will help 125 children from 25 families who have been affected by HIV/AIDS. This support will help to strengthen the families and to prevent child abandonment because of poverty and help children stay in their families and communities</p>
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<h2>GUINEA-BISSAU</h2>
<p>Average life expectancy in Guinea-Bissau is about 47 years. The infant mortality rate is about 108.72 per 1000 new-born babies. In addition, the steadily growing HIV/AIDS rate in Guinea-Bissau is a big problem. According to some estimates, 10% of all adults are infected. This puts great pressure on child-care organisations such as SOS Children.</p><p>Since 2003, SOS Children's Villages Guinea-Bissau has been increasingly involved with local community organisations to help with the provision of drinking water, medical care and HIV/AIDS awareness campaigns. ). A good example of this is the construction of a well by SOS Children's Villages in Bissau which ensures supply with fresh drinking water for approximately 12,000 people. Twenty-five children, whose parents died of AIDS, have been identified to benefit from SOS scholarships. SOS Children's Villages Guinea-Bissau will pay for these children’s school fees to ensure they have a good education.</p><p>SOS Children's Villages Guinea-Bissau is working with the National Technical Secretariat of Fight against AIDS in Guinea-Bissau (STNLS) to develop family-strengthening programmes. STNLS is part of the Ministry of Health and is managing a budget of US$7,000,000 donated by the World Bank to the government of Guinea-Bissau for prevention and fight against HIV/AIDS. Through the family strengthening programmes SOS Children's Villages Guinea-Bissau will help an additional 200 vulnerable children and their families.</p><p>In Gabu, the SOS Children’s village is working with the local community through a Regional Steering Committee to support the fight against HIV/AIDS that affects Gabu’s local community.</p>
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<h2>IVORY COAST</h2>
<p>In Ivory Coast, about 7% of the adult population is affected by HIV/AIDS and about one-third of all orphans - 310,000 - have become orphans as a result of HIV/AIDS. HIV/AIDS affects children's lives in many ways: it makes them vulnerable to malnutrition which in turn causes them to miss school and so they are forced to work in order to survive. The fact that such a large number of children are infected seriously impedes economic growth; orphans who are infected in turn become HIV positive parents. </p><p>SOS Children supports families and communities, especially orphans and vulnerable children, to help to break this vicious circle and in the fight against HIV/AIDS and poverty.</p><h3>FAMILY STRENGTHENING PROGRAMME IN THE IVORY COAST</h3>
<p>It is becoming more and more difficult for extended families to take care of children as the number of orphans increases. In addition, since the civil war which began in September 2002, many of the families have had to care for several children in addition to their own. Their ability to provide the help that they have traditionally given is very limited or even non-existent. In addition to this, husbands of women who are known to be HIV positive are often pressured by their relatives to abandon these women and their children.</p><p>SOS Children's Villages' family strengthening programme in the Ivory Coast aims to:<br />• make it easier for children to have basic health care, a balanced diet and an education<br />• ensure that families acquire the skills and knowledge they need to meet their children's needs<br />• support local communities so that they can take care of orphans themselves.</p><p>SOS Children's Villages works with local community organisations to identify orphaned and vulnerable children and their families who are in need of help. Once a month, a food package is given to families, according to the number of children in the family. The SOS Medical Centre provides basic care. Local community groups provide psychological and legal support. Children who have dropped out of school are encouraged to get vocational training, for example dressmaking for young girls.</p><p>SOS Children also works with local community groups to help families with vulnerable children to generate income. Working with four such groups SOS Children has already helped 168 families, with 376 children who had an income of less than 60p a day. These families are unable to provide for their children.</p><p>The programme's priority is to give back to the families a sense of human dignity, particularly by involving them in income-generating activities. In the first 18 months of this programme, 64 families have learnt how to manage a small business. The programme has already had a very positive impact. The families' incomes have increased. Amala, for example, has made a profit from selling fish and intends to open an oil palm plantation; Dona, a grandmother who cares for several small children, has bought a second refrigerator to enable her to sell more cold water, ice-cream and fruit juice. </p><p>SOS Children will continue to support these families by:<br />• encouraging them to be self-sufficient in the long-term: managing their own finances, helping their children to progress and improving their living conditions<br />• developing and consolidating the capacity of local community groups to support the development of orphaned and vulnerable children<br />• creating family committees in each district, led by the people who are taking part in the programme, to manage the programme themselves. </p><p>SOS Children has opened clinics in both Abobo-Gare and Aboisso to help families and children in need especially those affected by HIV/AIDS. This includes helping local communities with food, medicine, school fees, setting up self-help projects.</p>
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<h2>Aids Orphans in Kenya</h2>
<img src="../../wp/s/Sos_Child_Art_Kenya_Africa.jpg" width="400" height="250" alt="sos-child-art-kenya-africa" class="left" /><p>Nearly 7% of the adult population of Kenya is affected by HIV/AIDS. There are more than 600,000 children who are orphans as a result of HIV/AIDS - 38% of all orphans. HIV/AIDS is a major cause of infant and child illness and mortality. SOS Children is working in Nairobi developing a Family Care Centre to support orphaned and vulnerable children and their families affected by HIV/AIDS. The programme includes voluntary counselling and testing and where appropriate supplying anti-retroviral drugs.</p><p>In Nairobi, the SOS Social Centre has, since January 2004, had a small medical centre, which has been promoting awareness of HIV/AIDS, doing testing and providing support and counselling to the community - about 5000 beneficiaries. The SOS Social Centre also works with the local Masai community to promote HIV/AIDS prevention using traditional cultural channels.</p>
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<h2>Aids Orphans in Lesotho</h2>
<img src="../../wp/s/Sos_Child_Lesotho_Africa.jpg" width="250" height="400" alt="SOS Child in Lesotho Africa" class="left" /><p>Lesotho has one of the highest rates of incidence of HIV/AIDS in Africa. 29% of the adult population is affected. There are 100,000 children who are orphans as a result of HIV/AIDS. That is 55% of all orphans. In Maseru, the capital of Lesotho, the rate of incidence is 40%.</p><h3>Maseru Aids Orphans</h3>
<p>In Maseru, SOS Children has worked, since June 2003, to support orphaned and vulnerable children and their families, with a community-based child-care and support programme. This focuses in particular on children who are orphans living alone or living with relatives and children whose parents are chronically ill. In the school, SOS Children works with the Ministry of Education to provide advice and information on the HIV/AIDS pandemic. In the SOS Social and Medical Centres, SOS Children is working with the Ministries of Health and Social Welfare, reaching out to 1000 orphaned and vulnerable children and their families every month, providing voluntary counselling and testing and where appropriate anti-retroviral drugs.</p>
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<h2>LIBERIA</h2>
<p>According to UNICEF, the rate of prevalence of HIV/AIDS among the adult population is 6% but is in fact probably higher. There are estimated to be over 36,000 orphans as a result of HIV/AIDS which is over 15% of all orphans. </p><p>SOS Children in Liberia has developed Family Strengthen Programmes to help prevent abandonment. The SOS Social Centre and the SOS Medical Centre in Monrovia work to support over 11,500 vulnerable children and their families in the Greater Monrovia area.<br />SOS Children works with Health and Social Services to target families in the greatest need, especially children and families infected or affected with HIV/AIDS. 48 families are currently benefiting from this programme, which gives these families health services, food, school tuition and help with developing income generating activities to empower these families and make them self-supporting.</p><p>SOS Children works with Ministry of Health and Social Welfare and the National AIDS Control Program (NACP) to supply HIV patients with anti-retroviral drugs. This part of the programme requires special trained staff - nurses and social workers - to help patients with counselling and specific and health care. The objective is to improve the quality of their lives, and help them be active members of their communities. The programme will be extended to meet the greatest need in rural areas.</p><h3>SOS SOCIAL CENTRE MONROVIA</h3>
<p>Nothing can be more painful than being rejected by your own husband. Mama went though it and knows what it is. She is just one person of the thousands who have been helped by SOS Children’s Family Strengthening Programme. Things are getting better and she wanted to share her experience.</p><p>Mama's mother and father lived with their three children in a modern house before the Liberian civil war. The father died leaving them under the sole care of their mother. Unfortunately, during the Liberian civil war, the family house was completely destroyed by a rocket explosion and Mama left to live with the man she was to marry. Her mother, brother and sister moved into a little hut owned by their uncle.</p><p>Once married, Mama used to sell fish to help her husband meet their family’s daily needs. The family had two children, Sarah and William and lived in the West Point Community, a suburb of Monrovia, Liberia's capital. Mama's health began to deteriorate. "I sought medical attention several times, but my condition became even worse", she said. She was taken to the Sisters of Charity, a hospice that caters for terminally ill patients. She was diagnosed HIV positive and was showing symptoms of AIDS. She remained at the Sisters of Charity until she regained strength. Once discharged, she immediately went back home to her husband and children. </p><p>As soon as she returned home her husband told her to leave the house because of the stigma associated with the Sisters of Charity Hospice. "I had no other choice than to politely leave, taking along my two children to my aged mother's hut, where my younger brother and sister lived", she explains.</p><p>Mama could no longer continue her fish business to support her family because of her illness. So the family had to live on handouts from friends and sympathisers to sustain themselves. Mama joined the Mother Pattern College of Health Sciences Support Group for People Living with HIV/AIDS to help her regain her self-confidence. </p><p>Social workers from the SOS Social Centre Monrovia met Mama during one of their visits to the Mother Pattern's Support Group. Mama told them her story. A quick check with the local community showed the urgency of her need for support. The family is now being provided with medication, food, help with school fees and regular counselling. Mama's children, Sarah and William, are at school. Mama's family is also one of the families on the programme that are about to be empowered through income generating activity support. She now sells daily provisions near her house. As Mama says, this will "keep me from using too much energy that may negatively affect my health". The family is now stronger and happy. "Thank God for SOS Children's Villages", Mama always says.</p>
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<h2>MADAGASCAR</h2>
<p>Madagascar has an adult prevalent rate of 1.7 according to UNICEF. There are about 30,000 orphans as a result of HIV/AIDS which is 3% of all orphans. Every day five babies are born HIV positive. Children make up about 50% of the population. So although the situation on the island is not as bad as in the rest of Africa, the potential for the HIV/AIDS epidemic to grow is high.</p><h3>SOCIAL CENTRES IN MADAGASCAR</h3>
<p>SOS Children has been working in Madagascar since 1986 and over the years has developed community outreach programmes through eight social centres that focus on childcare and three medical centres that provide out patient care.</p>
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<h2>MALAWI</h2>
<p>The situation for children in Malawi is still dire, according to a report from UNICEF in January 2006. The main causes are a deadly combination of chronic poverty, poor weather, a bad harvest, a high prevalence of HIV/AIDS and an outbreak of cholera. Malawi has an extremely high prevalence of HIV/AIDS, which affects an estimated 16% of people aged 15 to 49 and accounts for about 70% of hospital deaths. Half a million children are so-called AIDS orphans which is half of all orphans. Many are now cared for by relatives who are already under economic hardships.<br />HIV/AIDS affects nearly a million people, including 83,000 children. Nearly a third of infected mothers pass the virus to their babies. Half of Malawi’s million orphans have lost one or both parents to AIDS. In 2004 only 4,000 people were receiving anti-retroviral drugs. A year later this had increased to only 33,000. </p><p>SOS Children has been working in Malawi since 1992 caring for orphaned and abandoned children and their families. Today the emphasis more and more is on preventing abandonment and strengthening the family.</p><h3>LILONGWE</h3>
<p>The SOS Medical Centre was opened in 1997 to provide holistic health care for the people living in the local community. The medical centre works with the Ministry of Health and other relevant organisations and has two distinct programme - a clinic and a children’s rehabilitation programme - designed to meet the needs of the local community.<br />Since 2003, the medical centre has focussed more on the issues relating to the HIV/AIDS pandemic. SOS Children has expanded its services to provide the following:<br />• Voluntary counselling and testing, both in the clinic itself and in the local community.<br />• Education sessions regarding HIV/AIDS<br />• ARV treatment for people over 13 years of age<br />• Nutrition support for people living with HIV/AIDS<br />• Education brochures regarding HIV/AIDS<br />• Group counselling sessions<br />• Couple counselling sessions<br />• Prophylactic treatment<br />• Condom distribution<br />SOS Children also works with other organisations that provide<br />• home-based care.<br />• prevention of mother to child transmission<br />• ARV treatment for children under 13 years of age and complicated cases.<br />The Children’s Rehabilitation Programme offers physiotherapy, occupational therapy, speech<br />therapy and special education to children with disabilities. A significant portion of these children<br />are HIV positive. Since the progression of HIV/AIDS is much faster in children than in adults we<br />are often the first to refer parents of possibly HIV infected children for counselling and testing.<br />In Lilongwe SOS Children works with a number of organisations including<br />• DACC (District Aids Coordinating Committee)<br />• National AIDS Commission<br />• Home Based Care Network<br />• NAPHAM (National Association of People living with HIV/Aids in Malawi,<br />• MANASO (Malawi Network of AIDS Service Organizations)<br />• MANET (Malawi AIDS Network)<br />• District Health Office of the Ministry of Health and Population<br />• Population Services International<br />• ABC Community Clinic<br />• UNAIDS<br />• Kamuzu Central Hospital, Bottom Hospital and various other clinics and health centres<br />• Lilongwe Diocese Home Based Care<br />• Joint Rehabilitation Committee for Lilongwe<br />The SOS Social Centre, through its Home Based Care programme identifies and supports terminally ill patients. The aim is to enable them to live longer so their children can stay longer with their parents or guardians. It also helps to prepare children for the eventual death of their parents. Many receive anti-retroviral drugs and are able to return to a normal life and participate in the care of their children again. As a result of the large number of people involved in the Home Based Care programme, a strong local HIV/AIDS Support Group emerged. This comprises of men and women positively living with HIV/AIDS.</p><h3>Mr Chituwi Regains His Health</h3>
<p>Mr. Bernard Chituwi* is a fifty two year old man with a wife and ten children, who lives near the SOS Children's Village Lilongwe. Mr Chituwi heard on the radio that the SOS Medical Centre Lilongwe has both the equipment and the staff to provide testing for HIV as well as pre- and post-test counselling. The medical centre is also able to treat opportunistic infections and prescribe anti-retroviral drugs should a test prove positive for the virus.</p><p> In August 2004, Mr Chituwi became ill. He had persistent fevers, dizziness and was very lethargic. In October, he decided to visit the clinic, where he was seen by our clinician. Mr Chituwi was referred to our counselling and testing service. He was tested and was found to be HIV positive. The clinician found him to be suitable for anti-retroviral therapy.</p><p>At the beginning of November, he started his treatment. After the two weeks, during a follow up session with the clinician, Mr Chituwi said that he felt much better, the fevers had subsided and his appetite improved. Mr Chituwi continues taking anti-retroviral drugs and is careful not to get re-infected or to infect others. </p><p>Mr Chituwi says, "I appreciate very much what SOS Medical Center Lilongwe and its staff have been able to do for me. They have saved my life. Without them I would have been six feet under the ground and forgotten. Now I am able to work and feed my family, pay school fees for my children. I can participate in community development activities in my area, I can go out to relax at football matches, wedding ceremonies etc. I really appreciate everything that has happened since I first visited the clinic".</p><h3>MZUZU</h3>
<p>Since 2004, the SOS Social Centre in Mzuzu has been coordinating an outreach programme in the local community. It reaches up to 1.500 people per year and provides them with school fees and materials, counselling, psychosocial support, improved housing and access to basic medical treatment.</p>
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<h2>MALI</h2>
<p>According to UNICEF, the adult prevalance rate for HIV/AIDS is less than 2%. However more than 10% of all orphans are orphaned as a result of HIV/AIDS and 50% of the populatation is under the age of 18.<br />SOS Children works in partnership with UNICEF in Mali to support and help children. A family strengthening programme was set up in the SOS Social Centre at Socoura in 2006.</p>
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<h2>MOZAMBIQUE</h2>
<p>HIV/AIDS is one of the greatest challenges facing Mozambique. The HIV/AIDS prevalence rate continues to increase. According to UNICEF, 12% of 15- to 49-year-olds are estimated to be living with HIV/AIDS, as are more than 90,000 children under age 15. Less than 3% of eligible children are receiving antiretroviral treatment. 470,000 children are so-called AIDS orphans, nearly a third of all orphans. The problems are not helped by the fact that less than 40% of the people has access to basic health services, largely due to a shortage of trained medical personnel.</p><p>SOS Children has been working in Mozambique since 1987 in three locations - Maputo, Pemba and Tete. Since 2002, there has been an extra focus on strengthening families and preventing abandonment, especially among families of orphaned and vulnerable children affected by HIV/AIDS. SOS Children works in partnership with a number of organisations including the Ministry of Health, the HIV/AIDS control commission and Medicine Sans Frontieres.</p><h3>MAPUTO</h3>
<p>In 2002, the SOS Social Centre in Maputo began working specifically to help families in the local community affected by HIV/AIDS. The aim is to support families so they are strengthened and to help children to grow up with their biological families. The care is home-based and aims to improve the living conditions of the families and to give them psycho-social support. The SOS Social Centre also supports two community kindergartens for between 100 and 120 children in each. Children are given a proper meal based on the doctor’s recommendations. 2,000 children and their families receive support through this outreach programme. </p><p>The HIV/AIDS programme focuses on prevention and awareness through public education involving the local community. The social centre through community volunteers gives out information at health centres and schools where both old and young are able to get HIV/AIDS information and counselling. Awareness events are held in public places such as the social centre and markets and draw large crowds of both young and old. </p><p>The programme also provides practical care and support to families living with HIV/AIDS. This support includes a monthly food parcel consisting of rice, maize meal, sugar, cooking oil and beans. 20 volunteers from the local community run counselling sessions during the weekly home visits.</p><h3>PEMBA</h3>
<p>The SOS Social Centre opened in 2002. Like the SOS Social Centre, Maputo, the SOS Social Centre in Pemba helps families in the local community affected by HIV/AIDS. The aim is to support families so they are strengthened and to help children to grow up with their biological families. The care is home-based and aims to improve the living conditions of the families and to give them psycho-social support. The SOS Social Centre also supports two community kindergartens for between 100 and 120 children in each. Children are given a proper meal based on the doctor’s recommendations. 2,000 children and their families receive support through this outreach programme.</p><h3>TETE</h3>
<p>In 2004 the SOS Social Centre, Tete opened, giving help to families in the local community affected by HIV/AIDS. The aim is to support families so they are strengthened and to help children to grow up with their biological families. The care is primarily home-based. It also supports a number of community kindergartens, provides meals for between 100 and 120 children at each and supports a school placement programme. In addition families are supported in income generating activities. Up to 2,000 children and their families receive support through this outreach programme.</p>
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<h2>NAMIBIA</h2>
<p>The prevalence of HIV/AIDS is high - over 21% of the adult population. In the poorest parts of the country the rate is estimated to be even higher. UNICEF estimates that there are nearly 60,000 orphans as a result of HIV/AIDS, which is about 50% of all orphans</p><p>For SOS Children in Namibia, the priority is to strengthen the families and to prevent abandonment National figures are showing an increase in the mortality rate due to HIV/Aids, resulting in an escalation in vulnerability amongst the Namibian children. SOS Children works with the local communities near its three SOS Children’s Villages in Swakopmund, Tsumeb and Windhoek.</p>
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<h2>NIGERIA</h2>
<p>The incidence of HIV/AIDS among the adult population is estimated by UNICEF to be 5.4%. This is a national average. The figure in Abuja, the federal capital is over 12%. HIV/AIDS treatment and prevention including reducing mother-to-child transmission of HIV/AIDS is a high priority for both government and NGOs. UNICEF estimates that there are over 1.8 million orphans as a result of HIV/AIDS. This is more than a quarter of all orphans.<br />SOS Children in Nigeria works with other NGOs which have programmes involved with the prevention and treatment of HIV/AIDS. This supplements the Family Strengthening Programmes of the SOS Social Centres.</p><h3>SOS SOCIAL CENTRE ISOLO - LAGOS</h3>
<p>SOS Children began working in Nigeria in 1973 in Isolo, a suburb of Lagos. In 2004, in response to the growing needs of the local community, the SOS Social Centre began working to help inparticular children from families affected by HIV/AIDS. This included practical help with payment of rent and school fees and donations of clothing and food as well as counselling and medical care in cooperation with the local authorities and other NGOs.</p><h3>SOS SOCIAL CENTRE EJIGBO - LAGOS</h3>
<p>As part of SOS Children's development of its Family Strengthening Programme, the SOS Social Centre Ejigbo opened in 2004. Ejigbo is a suburb of Lagos and is about seven miles from the SOS Children's village at Isolo. The social centre works with the Lagos State AIDS Control Agency and provides counselling services with the collaboration of Medecins Sans Frontiere and Head High International.</p><h3>SOS SOCIAL CENTRE OWU-IJEBU</h3>
<p>The SOS Children's village at Owu-Ijebu opened in 1996. In 2004, the SOS Social Centre opened to support families affected by HIV/AIDS as part of its family strengthening programme. The social centre supports children from 50 families who were orphaned as a result of HIV/AIDS. This help includes paying for school fees and education materials as well as food and medecines.</p><h3>SOS SOCIAL CENTRE GWAGWALADA - ABUJA</h3>
<p>As part of the SOS Children's Village planned (2006/7) to be opened in Gwagwalada a suburb of Abuja, the federal capital of Nigeria, there will be an SOS Social Centre. The numbers of health centres and hospitals in the area are inadequate to meet the needs of the majority of the territory's ever increasing population. Primary health care and community outreach programmes will be provided for the local community. This will include HIV/AIDS prevention, treatment and counselling.</p>
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<h2>SENEGAL</h2>
<p>Senegal has one of the lowest rates of HIV/AIDS in the region. Also infant mortality and maternal mortality levels are, according to UNICEF, moderate in Senegal. However, immunisation has been declining in recent years and progress in education has been slow.<br />SOS Children has been working in Senegal since 1977 supporting orphaned and vulnerable children and their families. The work in Senegal includes a Family Strengthening Programme and support through a mother and child clinic in Kaolack.</p>
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<h2>SIERRA LEONE</h2>
<p>Sierra Leone is still (2006) recovering from the affects of the civil war that devastated the country and its people in the 1990s. Statistics about the prevalence of HIV/AIDS are not available from UNICEF. however it is clear that children are particularly vulnerable as the infant mortality rare is about 30%. UNICEF is working in collaboration with international and local non-governmental organisations such as SOS Children's Villages in the campaign to fight against HIV/AIDS.</p>
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<h2>SOMALIA</h2>
<p>Somalia has been in the grip of a civil war since 1990 and has had no stable government for most of the time since then. Consequently, there is little statistical information on the prevalence of HIV/AIDS nor of infant mortality. Much of the work of SOS Children's Villages is focussed on bringing emergency medical help the people of Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia. This has included feeding and vaccination programmes and medical treatment as well as a temporary camp for orphaned children and an emergency hospital, often operating under shellfire.</p>
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<h2>South Africa</h2>
<p>South Africa has one of the higest incidences of HIV/AIDS - 21.5% of the adult population. In addition it is esotimated that there are over 1 million AIDS orphans which is half of all orphans.<br />SOS Children's Villages has worked specifically on projects supporting families affected by HIV/AIDS since January 2002 based on its seven SOS Children's Villages. In addition it has established one pilot project to focus on community support with plans for a further two depending on the outcome of the pilot project.</p><h3>SOS CHILDREN IN SOUTH AFRICA</h3>
<p>Mamelodi: 90 families with children affected by the HIV/AIDS pandemic receive direct support with their educational, medical and food needs. Key areas include HIV/AIDS prevention/awareness campaigns, life skills training on how to live with HIV/AIDS. </p><p>Ennerdale: As well as the community support programme where support and assistance (food-parcels, clothing, education, counselling, medical care, income generating activities) is given to 350 children/families affected by HIV/AIDS, other activities include: </p><ul><li><p>A Youth Arts and Cultural Programme - an HIV Drama presented three times a week.<br /></p></li><li><p>PLWA (People Living With AIDS) Support Group - counselling, support, food<br /></p></li><li><p>Young Mothers’ Support Group - personal hygiene, how to care for a baby, breastfeeding.</p></li><li><p>Behavioural Change Programme - sexuality, use of condoms and abstention.</p></li></ul><p>Cape Town: The programme supports 100 needy families in townships around the SOS Children's Village, working in conjunction with local community organisations. This includes: parental training to carers, training on income-generating activities, payment of tuition for school children, ongoing counselling support to the children/families, health/medical support for ill children, food parcels and basic clothing. </p><p>Port Elisabeth: The Community Development Programme works in the Walmer Township close to the SOS Children's Village, working in partnership with community based organisations. The 170 beneficiaries of the programme receive food-parcels, clothing, help with school fees and medical care. In the Missionvale community SOS Children's Villages is helping to improve the kindergarten. </p><p>Pietermaritzburg: The Community Programme, working with the Department of Social Welfare, supports 200 child-headed families in communities around the SOS Children's Village by providing monthly food parcels, clothing, school fees and uniforms, food for infants who are HIV positive. In addition, twelve individuals from HIV/AIDS affected families are given basic sewing skills and business management skills, additionally they are provided with lunch and bus fare on a day to day basis. The main aim is to help them to start their own small businesses in their communities. The third part of the community programme currently helps six local kindergartens - teaching materials, food, building work. </p><p>Nelspruit: The SOS Social Centre Nelspruit works with the Tekwane Home Based Care Group, to help 50 families affected by HIV/AIDS. </p><p>Umtata: SOS Children's Villages is working with the local hospice to help 350 families and their children who are affected by HIV/AIDS. This includes clothing, food and blankets, school fees and uniforms, income generating possibilities as well as psychosocial and emotional support. In addition the SOS Social Centre in Umtata is running an HIV/AIDS Information/Resource Centre, working with an HIV/AIDS support group. Workshops are organised in local schools on HIV/AIDS awareness, sexuality. Secondary school students, who are HIV+, are given referrals and support. </p><p>Qwa Qwa: A new project is being piloted to test the effectiveness of a low-cost community-based SOS Children's Village (four family houses with 24 children) to care for and support HIV/AIDS orphans. In addition support is given to 500 children in 125 families in the wider community. The project director works closely with the local community, which takes an active role in running the project.</p>
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<h2>SUDAN</h2>
<p>Sudan is the largest country in Africa, on the shores of the Red Sea between Ethiopia, Eritrea and Egypt. It is one of the poorest countries in the world. The biggest challenge facing governments and NGOs in Sudan is the plight of nearly 2 million refugee children in Darfur. The poor living conditions of children in the refugee camps can only make the incidence of HIV/AIDS rise. Currently (2005) the incidence is relatively low - 2.3%. There is no estimate of the number of AIDS orphans.</p><p>SOS Children, through the SOS Social Centres, has been suppoprting the local community with health and education programmes. In addition the charity is supporting and implementing the national and regional programme - Unite for Children Unite against HIV/AIDS</p>
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<h2>SWAZILAND</h2>
<p>Swaziland is in southeast Africa, bordered by Mozambique and South Africa. It is one of the world’s last remaining absolute monarchies. Two-thirds of Swazis live in poverty, most of them in rural areas. Nearly 40 per cent are HIV-positive, giving Swaziland the highest HIV prevalence rate in the world - 38.8% of the adult population. The situation is likely to worsen as the rate among 20- to 30-year olds is nearly 50%. 65% of orphans are AIDS orphans. The goal for government and NGOs is to increase access to anti-retroviral drugs, promote awareness and prevent transmission.</p><h3>SOS CHILDREN IN SWAZILAND</h3>
<p>The target groups for the projects are:<br /><ul><li><p>Child headed families </p></li><li><p>Grandparent led/headed families.</p></li><li><p>Families headed by other relatives.</p></li></ul><p>The charity will primarily support 60 families around 300 orphaned children within the townships.The project will provide home-based care. 15 community volunteers will be responsible for 4 to 5 families each and provide what is necessary for their individual family circumstances. The main objective is to help families stay together in their traditional communities avoiding desperate situations which typically lead to child abandonment.</p><p>The community volunteers will provide:</p><ul><li><p>Information about HIV/AIDS</p></li><li><p>Care for the sick and needy</p></li><li><p>School fee support</p></li><li><p>Help and counselling</p></li><li><p>Vocational training and income generating activities</p></li><li><p>Psychological treatment - after the loss of loved ones</p></li><li><p>Health services and medical treatment</p></li></ul><p>The project will emphasise the involvement of children in the participatory decision making over their own future and the measures that will be taken.<br />Our charity focuses on assisting children to be self-sufficient and grow independently.</p><p>MBABANE: This small AIDS project focuses on the two townships of Sidvwashini and Msunduza on the outskirts of the capital Mbabane. These two townships have, as a result of the AIDS-pandemic, the highest mortality rate in Swaziland. More than 25 percent of all adults are infected with HIV/AIDS. The living standards for the majority are below the poverty line. Pure water, sewerage systems and other sanitary installations are not available.</p>
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<img src="../../wp/s/Sos_Children_Uganda_Africa.jpg" width="400" height="250" alt="sos-children-uganda-africa" class="left" /><p>In Uganda, the incidence of HIV is just over 4% of the adult population. There were nearly 1 million orphans as a result of HIV/AIDS, that is 50% of all orphans. It is estimated that every year 14,000 children die as a result of HIV/AIDS and that every day 40 children are infected.</p><p>SOS Children works with the Ministry of Health and with UNICEF at the SOS Medical Centre, Kakiri to give training and raise awareness to prevent, in particular, mother to child transmission. Also in Kakiri the school runs awareness programmes. In Gulu, the SOS Social Centre provides community support through voluntary counselling and testing and information on preventing mother to child transmission.</p>
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<img src="../../wp/s/Sos_Child_Zambia_Africa.jpg" width="251" height="400" alt="sos-child-zambia-africa" class="left" /><p>Zambia has a relatively high incidence of HIV/AIDS - 16.5% of the adult population - and over 50% of orphans are as a result of HIV/AIDS. The situation is aggravated by drought which leads to famine which makes children and their mothers more vulnerable to disease especially HIV/AIDS related illness.</p><p>SOS Children works to support children from families affected by HIV/AIDS. The SOS Social Centres in Kitwe and in Lusaka link with local schools to raise awareness and to identify children at particular risk.</p>
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<img src="../../wp/s/Sos_Child_Zimbabwe_Africa.jpg" width="250" height="400" alt="sos-child-zimbabwe-africa" class="left" /><p>Zimbabwe has a high incidence of HIV/AIDS - nearly 25% of the adult population and one in five orphans are as a result of HIV/AIDS. The current political instability has resulted in a limited capacity for social support. This has been exacerbated by drought. The outcome has been an increase in the number of orphaned and vulnerable children. Nationally the National Aids council of Zimbabwe has set up District Aids Committees with the support of USAID.</p><h3>SOS Children's Zimbabwe Projects</h3>
<p>SOS Children works with the Ministries of Health and Child Welfare and the District Aids Committees to develop programmes that help to strength families.</p><p>In Bindura, the SOS Social Centre has, since 2003, been co-ordinating an AIDS outreach programme. This programme reaches out to 2,000 children a year and provides them and their families with food, school fees, basic medical treatment, counselling and psychosocial support. Families affected by HIV/AIDS are offered support to improve their housing and their living conditions. Priority is given to children who have lost both parents and now live with grandparents, older siblings or other relatives, as well as those whose parents are seriously ill.</p><p>In Bulawayo, the SOS Social Centre has, since 2003, been co-ordinating an AIDS outreach programme. This programme reaches out to 2,000 children a year and provides them and their families with food, school fees, basic medical treatment, counselling and psychosocial support. Families affected by HIV/AIDS are offered support to improve their housing and their living conditions. Priority is given to children who have lost both parents and now live with grandparents, older siblings or other relatives, as well as those whose parents are seriously ill.</p><p>In Waterfalls, Harare the SOS Social Centre has, since 2002, co-ordinated an AIDS outreach programme with the aim of supporting children and families affected by HIV/AIDS in their own community. Following consultation with the local authorities, Glen Norah, a heavily populated suburb of Harare was chosen. Priority is given to children who have lost both parents and now live with grandparents, older siblings or other relatives, as well as those whose parents are seriously ill. The most urgent need was to provide food, basic medical treatment and to support the education of children. In addition the programme aims to improve housing and living conditions. This programme reaches out to up to 2,000 children a year. The long-term goal of this programme is to develop within the local community - people and organisations - full understanding of HIV/AIDS , so that, in the future, the programme is self-supporting within the local community.</p>
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<h2>World AIDS Day: providing practical support</h2><p><strong>30/11/2006</strong></p>
<img src="../../wp/2/20061129_1401_aids_mthatha_counsellor_art.jpg" width="220" height="147" alt="AIDS counsellor, Mthatha, South Africa" class="left" /><p>Zanana may only be 26 years old, but she has already learned more about life than some people many years older. Zanana is HIV-positive, out of work, and shunned by others around her. Despite this, she is embracing life as a volunteer counsellor at the SOS Social Centre in Mthatha, South Africa, which operates from the local SOS Children's Village. "For me, being HIV-positive and living a positive life go hand in hand," she said.</p><p>Zanana holds support group meetings for more than 30 people from the Mthatha community every week for two or three hours. HIV-positive people come together in an environment of acceptance to discuss their problems, challenges and fears. "When I was diagnosed at the clinic I didn't know what to do or what it was all about. I didn't believe I was HIV-positive because I didn't feel sick. Now I know that you can be healthy and still have the disease," said one member. The group meetings are a place where members receive advice on issues such as grant applications. "Some people can wait up to two years before they receive any financial assistance from their applications," added Zanana.</p><img src="../../wp/2/20061129_1404_aids_mthatha_bus_art.jpg" width="220" height="147" alt="SOS volunteers tackling HIV/AIDS, Mthatha, South Africa" class="right" /><p>The groups also discuss issues such as how to bring up children and help them deal with the possibility of losing a parent, dealing with and attending funerals, learning to live a positive life as well as practical advice on coping with the physical effects of the disease. </p><p>"When my family found out I was HIV-positive, they bought me my own spoon and dish so that my things would not mix with theirs. I am now stigmatised and isolated, together with my eight-year-old daughter," recalled one member of the group. Another said, "My family is only interested in me when I have money. Otherwise, they don't want me." </p><p>Zanana believes the group support and counselling at the SOS Social Centre is having a very positive effect on these peoples' lives. "Because of this stigmatisation, some of the members do not want to disclose their HIV-positive status to their families. The group can help them with this. We tell them that no one is alone. We are all HIV-positive so we can all help each other." </p><p>Some of the group's members live many kilometres from the SOS Children's Village, but they try not to miss a meeting. "Transport for some of our members is a problem. Sometimes they will walk for an hour or more just to get to the meeting," said Zanana, who, together with SOS nurse Olive, often venture out on home visits. They visit sick members at their homes to wash and feed them. As part of her volunteer work Zanana also conducts HIV/AIDS education/information sessions with SOS children, youth, mothers and teachers. She also travels to hospitals and clinics, where she shares her positive message.</p><h3>Takling AIDS in Africa</h3>
<p>The SOS Social Centre in Mthatha is just one of many hundreds of projects supporting families and communities affected by the HIV/AIDS pandemic. Read more about SOS Children's work tackling <a href="../../wp/a/Aids_Africa.htm">HIV/AIDS in Africa</a>.</p><p><strong>Relevant Countries:</strong> <a href="../../wp/s/South_Africa_A.htm">South Africa</a>.</p>
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<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">Airbus</h1>
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<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.Design_and_Technology.Air_and_Sea_transport.htm">Air & Sea transport</a></h3>
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<td colspan="2" style="text-align:center; font-size:120%;"><b>Airbus S.A.S.</b></td>
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<div class="floatnone"><span><!--del_lnk--> <img alt="Airbus logo" height="119" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Airbus_Logo.svg" src="../../images/1x1white.gif" title="This image is not present because of licensing restrictions" width="151" /></span></div>
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<th style="text-align:right; padding-right:0.75em;"><!--del_lnk--> Type</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Subsidiary</td>
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<th style="text-align:right; padding-right:0.75em;">Founded</th>
<td>1970 (Airbus Industrie)<br /> 2001 (Airbus S.A.S.)</td>
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<th style="text-align:right; padding-right:0.75em;">Headquarters</th>
<td>Toulouse, France</td>
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<th style="text-align:right; padding-right:0.75em;">Key people</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Louis Gallois, <!--del_lnk--> CEO<br /><!--del_lnk--> Hans Peter Ring, <!--del_lnk--> CFO<br /><!--del_lnk--> John Leahy, Sales Director<br /><!--del_lnk--> Fabrice Bregier, COO</td>
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<th style="text-align:right; padding-right:0.75em;"><a href="../../wp/i/Industry.htm" title="Industry">Industry</a></th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Aerospace</td>
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<th style="text-align:right; padding-right:0.75em;"><!--del_lnk--> Products</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Commercial airliners (<!--del_lnk--> list)</td>
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<th style="text-align:right; padding-right:0.75em;"><!--del_lnk--> Revenue</th>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/28/2890.png.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="10" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Green_Arrow_Up_Darker.svg" src="../../images/28/2890.png" width="10" /></a> <a href="../../wp/e/Euro.htm" title="Euro">€</a>23,500 million (<!--del_lnk--> 2005)</td>
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<th style="text-align:right; padding-right:0.75em;"><a href="../../wp/e/Employment.htm" title="Employment">Employees</a></th>
<td>55,000-57,000 </td>
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<th style="text-align:right; padding-right:0.75em;"><!--del_lnk--> Parent</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> EADS</td>
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<td><!--del_lnk--> www.airbus.com</td>
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<p><b>Airbus <!--del_lnk--> S.A.S.</b> is the <!--del_lnk--> aircraft manufacturing subsidiary of <!--del_lnk--> EADS N.V., a pan-European aerospace concern. Based at <!--del_lnk--> Toulouse, <a href="../../wp/f/France.htm" title="France">France</a> with significant operations in other European states, Airbus produces around half of the world's jet <!--del_lnk--> airliners, with most of the rest built by rival <!--del_lnk--> Boeing Commercial Airplanes, though the precise share varies on an annual basis.<script type="text/javascript">
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<p><a id="Overview" name="Overview"></a><h2><span class="mw-headline">Overview</span></h2>
<p>Airbus was incorporated in 2001 under French law as a simplified joint stock company or <i>S.A.S.</i> (<i>Société par Actions Simplifiée</i>). Airbus was formerly known as <i>Airbus Industrie.</i> The name is pronounced <span class="IPA" title="Pronunciation in IPA">/ˈɛəbʌs/</span> in <a href="../../wp/b/British_English.htm" title="British English">British English</a>, <!--del_lnk--> <span class="IPA" title="Pronunciation in IPA">/ɛʁbys/</span> in <a href="../../wp/f/French_language.htm" title="French language">French</a>, and <span class="IPA" title="Pronunciation in IPA">/ˈɛːɐbʊs/</span> in <a href="../../wp/g/German_language.htm" title="German language">German</a>.<p>Airbus was jointly held by EADS (80%) and <a href="../../wp/b/BAE_Systems.htm" title="BAE Systems">BAE Systems</a> (20%), Europe's two largest defence contractors. BAE Systems announced its intention to sell its 20% share of Airbus in April 2006 and exercised its <!--del_lnk--> put option in June 2006 to force EADS to buy the stake. The put option appointed investment bank <!--del_lnk--> Rothschild to establish an independent valuation. Rothschild's valuation, reported in 2006, was £1.9 billion (€2.75 billion), well below the expectations of BAE and EADS. Unhappy with the valuation, BAE appointed independent auditors to investigate the value of its 20% share. On 6 September 2006 the BAE board announced it would recommend to shareholders to sell its share for €2.75bn (£1.87bn or $3.53bn). <p>Airbus employs around 57,000 people at sixteen sites in four European countries: <a href="../../wp/g/Germany.htm" title="Germany">Germany</a>, <a href="../../wp/f/France.htm" title="France">France</a>, the <a href="../../wp/u/United_Kingdom.htm" title="United Kingdom">United Kingdom</a>, and <a href="../../wp/s/Spain.htm" title="Spain">Spain</a>. Final assembly production occurs at <!--del_lnk--> Toulouse (France) and <a href="../../wp/h/Hamburg.htm" title="Hamburg">Hamburg</a> (Germany). Airbus also has three subsidiaries in the <!--del_lnk--> USA, <a href="../../wp/j/Japan.htm" title="Japan">Japan</a> and <a href="../../wp/c/China.htm" title="China">China</a>.<p><a id="History" name="History"></a><h2><span class="mw-headline">History</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div class="thumbinner" style="width:302px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/0/95.jpg.htm" title="A340-600 at Farnborough Air Show, 2006."><img alt="A340-600 at Farnborough Air Show, 2006." class="thumbimage" height="140" longdesc="/wiki/Image:A340600JM.jpg" src="../../images/0/95.jpg" width="300" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/0/95.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div><!--del_lnk--> A340-600 at <!--del_lnk--> Farnborough Air Show, 2006.</div>
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<p><i>Airbus Industrie</i> began as a <!--del_lnk--> consortium of <a href="../../wp/e/Europe.htm" title="Europe">European</a> aviation firms to compete with <a href="../../wp/u/United_States.htm" title="United States">American</a> companies such as <!--del_lnk--> Boeing, <!--del_lnk--> McDonnell Douglas, and <!--del_lnk--> Lockheed. In the 1960s European aircraft manufacturers competed with each other as much as the American giants. In the mid-1960s tentative negotiations commenced regarding a European collaborative approach.<p>In September 1967 the German, French and British governments signed a Memorandum of understanding. In the months following this agreement both the French and British governments expressed doubts about the aircraft. Another problem was the requirement for a new engine (to be developed by <!--del_lnk--> Rolls-Royce, the RB207). In December 1968 the French and British partner companies, <!--del_lnk--> Sud Aviation and <!--del_lnk--> Hawker Siddeley proposed a revised configuration, the 250 seat Airbus A250. Renamed the A300B the aircraft would not require new engines, reducing development costs.<p>In 1969 the British government shocked its partners by withdrawing from the project. Given the participation by Hawker Siddeley up to that point, France and Germany were reluctant to take over their wing design. Thus the British company was allowed to continue as a major subcontractor. In 1978 Britain rejoined the consortium when <!--del_lnk--> British Aerospace (the merged Hawker Siddeley and BAC) purchased again a 20% share of the company.<p><a id="Formation_of_Airbus" name="Formation_of_Airbus"></a><h3><span class="mw-headline">Formation of Airbus</span></h3>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div class="thumbinner" style="width:302px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/151/15104.jpg.htm" title="Airbus A300, the first aircraft model launched by Airbus."><img alt="Airbus A300, the first aircraft model launched by Airbus." class="thumbimage" height="162" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Airbus_A300_B2_Zero-G.jpg" src="../../images/151/15104.jpg" width="300" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/151/15104.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div><!--del_lnk--> Airbus A300, the first aircraft model launched by Airbus.</div>
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<p>Airbus Industrie was formally set up in 1970 following an agreement between <!--del_lnk--> Sud-Aviation (<a href="../../wp/f/France.htm" title="France">France</a>) and Deutsche Airbus—itself a <a href="../../wp/g/Germany.htm" title="Germany">German</a> aerospace consortium consisting of <!--del_lnk--> Bölkow, <!--del_lnk--> Dornier, <!--del_lnk--> Flugzeug-Union Süd, <!--del_lnk--> HFB, <!--del_lnk--> Messerschmitt, <!--del_lnk--> TG Siebelwerke, and <!--del_lnk--> VFW. The grouping was joined by <!--del_lnk--> CASA of <a href="../../wp/s/Spain.htm" title="Spain">Spain</a> in 1971. Each company would deliver its sections as fully equipped, ready to fly items. The name "Airbus" was taken from a non-proprietary term used by the airline industry in the 1960s to refer to a commercial aircraft of a certain size and range, for this term was acceptable to the French linguistically.<p>In 1972 the A300 made its maiden flight and the first production model, the A300B2 entered service in 1974. Initially the success of the consortium was poor but by 1979 there were 81 aircraft in service. It was the launch of the <!--del_lnk--> A320 in 1981 that guaranteed Airbus as a major player in the aircraft market - the aircraft had over 400 orders before it first flew, compared to 15 for the A300 in 1972.<p>It was a fairly loose alliance but that changed shortly after major defence mergers in 2000. <!--del_lnk--> DaimlerChrysler Aerospace (successor to Deutsche Airbus), <!--del_lnk--> Aérospatiale-Matra (successor to Sud-Aviation) and CASA merged to form <!--del_lnk--> EADS. In 2001 BAE Systems (formerly British Aerospace) and EADS formed the <b>Airbus Integrated Company</b> to coincide with the development of the new <a href="../../wp/a/Airbus_A380.htm" title="Airbus A380">Airbus A380</a> which will seat 845 passengers and be the world's largest commercial passenger jet when it enters service in late 2007 according to the revised schedule announced in October of 2006.<p><a id="BAE_sale_and_A380_controversy" name="BAE_sale_and_A380_controversy"></a><h3><span class="mw-headline">BAE sale and A380 controversy</span></h3>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div class="thumbinner" style="width:302px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/151/15105.jpg.htm" title="Airbus A380, the largest passenger jet in the world, is set to enter commercial service in 2007."><img alt="Airbus A380, the largest passenger jet in the world, is set to enter commercial service in 2007." class="thumbimage" height="227" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Farnborough_air_show_2006_a380_landing.jpg" src="../../images/151/15105.jpg" width="300" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/151/15105.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div><a href="../../wp/a/Airbus_A380.htm" title="Airbus A380">Airbus A380</a>, the largest passenger jet in the world, is set to enter commercial service in 2007.</div>
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<p>On <!--del_lnk--> 6 April <!--del_lnk--> 2006 BBC News reported that BAE Systems was selling again its share, then "conservatively valued" at <!--del_lnk--> €3.5 billion (<!--del_lnk--> US$$4.17 bn). The move was seen by many analysts as a move to make partnerships with U.S. firms more feasible, in both financial and political terms. BAE originally sought to agree a price with EADS through an informal process. However due to the slow pace of negotiations and disagreements over price, BAE exercised its <!--del_lnk--> put option which saw investment bank <!--del_lnk--> Rothschild appointed to give an independent valuation.<p>In June 2006, Airbus became embroiled in a significant international controversy over its announcement of a further delay in the delivery of its A380. In the wake of the announcement, the value of associated stock plunged by up to a quarter in a matter of days, although it soon recovered somewhat. Allegations of insider trading on the part of <!--del_lnk--> Noël Forgeard, CEO of EADS, its majority corporate parent, promptly followed. The loss of associated value caused great concern on the part of BAE, <i><!--del_lnk--> The Independent</i> describing a "furious row" between BAE and EADS, with BAE believing the announcement was designed to depress the value of its share. A French shareholder group filed a class action lawsuit against EADS in a Dutch court for failing to inform investors of the financial implications of the A380 delays while airlines to which deliveries were promised are expected to demand compensation. As a result, EADS chief <!--del_lnk--> Noël Forgeard and Airbus <!--del_lnk--> CEO <!--del_lnk--> Gustav Humbert announced their resignations on <!--del_lnk--> 2 July <!--del_lnk--> 2006. Forgeard's severance package is expected to include three years of salary plus the 2005 bonus; a total of at least €6 million, possibly topping €7 million.<p>On <!--del_lnk--> 2 July <!--del_lnk--> 2006 Rothschild valued BAE's stake at £1.9 billion (€2.75 billion); well below the expectation of BAE, analysts and even EADS. On 5 July 2006 BAE appointed independent auditors to study why the value of its share of Airbus had fallen from the original estimates to the Rothschild valuation. They pushed back any potential sale until September at the earliest. On 6 September 2006 BAE agreed to sell its stake in Airbus to EADS for £1.87 billion (€2.75 billion, $3.53 billion), pending BAE shareholder approval. On 4 October shareholders voted in favour of the sale. <p>On <!--del_lnk--> 9 October <!--del_lnk--> 2006 <!--del_lnk--> Christian Streiff, Humbert's successor, resigned due to differences with parent company EADS over the amount of independence he would be granted in implementing his reorganization plan for Airbus. He will be succeeded by EADS co-CEO <!--del_lnk--> Louis Gallois. This brings Airbus under more direct control of its parent company.<p><a name="2007_restructuring"></a><h3><span class="mw-headline">2007 restructuring</span></h3>
<p>On 28 February 2007 CEO Louis Gallois announced the company's restructuring plans. Entitled Power<sup>8</sup>, the plan would see 10,000 jobs cut over four years; 4,300 in France, 3,700 in Germany, 1,600 in the UK and 400 in Spain. 5,000 of the 10,000 would be at sub contractors. Plants at <!--del_lnk--> Saint Nazaire, <!--del_lnk--> Varel and <!--del_lnk--> Laupheim face sell off or closure, while <!--del_lnk--> Meaulte, <!--del_lnk--> Nordenham and <!--del_lnk--> Filton are "open to investors". The announcements have resulted in Airbus unions in France to strike, with German Airbus workers possibly following <!--del_lnk--> .<p><a id="Civilian_products" name="Civilian_products"></a><h2><span class="mw-headline">Civilian products</span></h2>
<p>The Airbus product line started with the <!--del_lnk--> A300, the world's first twin-aisle, twin-engined aircraft. A shorter, re-winged, re-engined variant of the <!--del_lnk--> A300 is known as the <!--del_lnk--> A310. Building on its success, Airbus launched the <!--del_lnk--> A320 with its innovative <!--del_lnk--> fly-by-wire control system. The A320 has been, and continues to be, a great commercial success. The A318 and A319 are shorter derivatives with some of the latter under construction for the corporate <i>biz-jet</i> market (<!--del_lnk--> Airbus Corporate Jet). A stretched version is known as the A321 and is proving competitive with later models of the Boeing 737.<p>The longer range products, the twin-jet <!--del_lnk--> A330 and the four-engine <!--del_lnk--> A340, have efficient wings, enhanced by <!--del_lnk--> winglets. The Airbus <!--del_lnk--> A340-500 has an operating range of 16 700 kilometres (9000 nautical miles), the second longest range of any commercial jet after the Boeing 777-200LR (range of 17 446 km or 9420 nautical miles). The company is particularly proud of its use of <!--del_lnk--> fly-by-wire technologies and the common cockpit and systems in use throughout the aircraft family, which make it much easier to train crew.<p>Airbus is studying a replacement for the A320 series, tentatively dubbed <!--del_lnk--> NSR, for "New Short-Range aircraft."<p>In March 2006 Airbus announced the closing of the A300/A310 production line, ending over 30 years of production. The last delivery will take place in 2nd quarter 2007. Airbus intends to relocate Toulouse A320 final assembly activity to Hamburg, and A350/A380 production in the opposite direction as part of its <!--del_lnk--> Power8 organization plan begun under ex-CEO <!--del_lnk--> Christian Streiff.<p>Until its retirement in 2003, Airbus supplied replacement parts and service for the <a href="../../wp/c/Concorde.htm" title="Concorde">Concorde</a>.<table align="center" border="1" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="1" class="toccolours" style="border-collapse: collapse;">
<caption><b>Product list and details (date information from Airbus)</b></caption>
<tr bgcolor="#006699">
<td><b><font color="#FFFFFF"> Aircraft </font></b></td>
<td align="center"><b><font color="#FFFFFF"> Description </font></b></td>
<td><b><font color="#FFFFFF"> Seats </font></b></td>
<td><b><font color="#FFFFFF"> Max </font></b></td>
<td><b><font color="#FFFFFF"> Launch date </font></b></td>
<td><b><font color="#FFFFFF"> 1st flight </font></b></td>
<td><b><font color="#FFFFFF"> 1st delivery </font></b></td>
<td><b><font color="#FFFFFF"> Production to cease </font></b></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> A300</td>
<td>2 engine, twin aisle</td>
<td align="center">228-254</td>
<td align="center">361</td>
<td>May 1969</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> 28 October <!--del_lnk--> 1972</td>
<td>May 1974</td>
<td>July 2007</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> A310</td>
<td>2 engine, twin aisle, modified A300</td>
<td align="center">187</td>
<td align="center">279</td>
<td>July 1978</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> 3 April <!--del_lnk--> 1982</td>
<td>Dec 1985</td>
<td>July 2007</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> A318</td>
<td>2 engine, single aisle, shortened 6.17 m from A320</td>
<td align="center">107</td>
<td align="center">117</td>
<td>Apr 1999</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> 15 January <!--del_lnk--> 2002</td>
<td>Oct 2003</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> A319</td>
<td>2 engine, single aisle, shortened 3.77 m from A320</td>
<td align="center">124</td>
<td align="center">156</td>
<td>June 1993</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> 25 August <!--del_lnk--> 1995</td>
<td>Apr 1996</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> A320</td>
<td>2 engine, single aisle</td>
<td align="center">150</td>
<td align="center">180</td>
<td>Mar 1984</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> 22 February <!--del_lnk--> 1987</td>
<td>Mar 1988</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> A321</td>
<td>2 engine, single aisle, lengthened 6.94 m from A320</td>
<td align="center">185</td>
<td align="center">220</td>
<td>Nov 1989</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> 11 March <!--del_lnk--> 1993</td>
<td>Jan 1994</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> A330</td>
<td>2 engine, twin aisle.</td>
<td align="center">253-295</td>
<td align="center">406-440</td>
<td>June 1987</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> 2 November <!--del_lnk--> 1992</td>
<td>Dec 1993</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> A340</td>
<td>4 engine, twin aisle</td>
<td align="center">239-380</td>
<td align="center">420-440</td>
<td>June 1987</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> 25 October <!--del_lnk--> 1991</td>
<td>Jan 1993</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> A350</td>
<td>2 engine, twin aisle</td>
<td align="center">270-350</td>
<td align="center">
</td>
<td>Dec 2006</td>
<td>2011</td>
<td>mid 2013</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="../../wp/a/Airbus_A380.htm" title="Airbus A380">A380</a></td>
<td>4 engine, double deck, quad aisle</td>
<td align="center">555</td>
<td align="center">853</td>
<td>2002</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> 27 April <!--del_lnk--> 2005</td>
<td>Oct 2007</td>
</tr>
</table>
<p><a id="Military_products" name="Military_products"></a><h2><span class="mw-headline">Military products</span></h2>
<p>In January 1999 Airbus established a separate company, <!--del_lnk--> Airbus Military S.A.S., to undertake development and production of a turboprop powered <!--del_lnk--> tactical transport aircraft (the <!--del_lnk--> Airbus Military A400M.) The A400M is being developed by several <a href="../../wp/n/NATO.htm" title="NATO">NATO</a> members, <a href="../../wp/b/Belgium.htm" title="Belgium">Belgium</a>, <a href="../../wp/f/France.htm" title="France">France</a>, <a href="../../wp/g/Germany.htm" title="Germany">Germany</a>, <a href="../../wp/l/Luxembourg.htm" title="Luxembourg">Luxembourg</a>, <a href="../../wp/s/Spain.htm" title="Spain">Spain</a>, <a href="../../wp/t/Turkey.htm" title="Turkey">Turkey</a>, and the <a href="../../wp/u/United_Kingdom.htm" title="United Kingdom">UK</a>, as an alternative to the <!--del_lnk--> C-130 Hercules. Expansion in the military aircraft market will reduce, but not negate, Airbus' exposure to the effects of cyclical downturns in civil aviation.<ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> A400M<li><!--del_lnk--> A310 MRTT <i>(Multi Role <!--del_lnk--> Tanker Transport)</i><li><!--del_lnk--> A330 MRTT</ul>
<p><a id="Airliner_deliveries" name="Airliner_deliveries"></a><h2><span class="mw-headline">Competition with Boeing</span></h2>
<p>Airbus is in tight competition with Boeing every year for aircraft orders. Though both manufacturers have a broad product range in various segments from single-aisle to wide-body, both manufacturers' offerings do not always compete head-to-head. Instead they respond with models a bit smaller or a bit bigger than the other in order to plug any holes in demand and achieve a better edge. The A380, for example, is designed to be a bit bigger than the 747. The A350XWB competes with the high end of the 787 and the low end of the 777. The A320 is bigger than the 737-700 but smaller than the 737-800. The A321 is bigger than the 737-900 but smaller than the previous 757-200. Airlines see this as a benefit since they get a more complete product range from 100 seats to 500 seats than if both companies offered identical aircraft.<p>In recent years the <!--del_lnk--> Boeing 777 has outsold its Airbus counterparts, which include the A340 family as well as the A330-300. The smaller A330-200 competes with the <!--del_lnk--> 767, outselling its Boeing counterpart in recent years. The A380 is anticipated to further reduce sales of the Boeing 747, gaining Airbus a share of the market in very large aircraft, though frequent delays in in the A380 program have caused several customers to consider the refreshed <!--del_lnk--> 747-8. Airbus has also proposed the <!--del_lnk--> A350XWB to compete with the fast-selling <!--del_lnk--> Boeing 787, after being under great pressure from airlines to produce a competing model.<p>There are around 4,463 Airbus <a href="../../wp/a/Aircraft.htm" title="Aircraft">aircraft</a> in service, with Airbus managing to win over 50 per cent of aircraft orders in recent years. Airbus products are still outnumbered 6 to 1 by in-service Boeings (there are over 5,000 Boeing 737s alone in service). This however is indicative of historical success - Airbus made a late entry into the modern jet airliner market (1972 vs. 1958 for Boeing).<p>Airbus won a greater share of orders in 2003, 2004. It also delivered more aircraft in 2003, 2004, 2005 & 2006.<p>In 2005, Airbus made a claim to victory again with 1111 (1055 net), compared to 1029 (net of 1002) for Boeing However, Boeing won 55% of 2005 orders by value, due to that firm winning several important widebody sales at the expense of Airbus.<p>In 2006 Boeing won more orders by both measures.<p><a id="Orders" name="Orders"></a><h3><span class="mw-headline">Orders</span></h3>
<table border="2" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" style="margin: 1em 1em 1em 0; border: 1px #aaa solid; border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 95%;">
<tr>
<th style="color:#fff;font-weight:bold;background-color:#007000;padding:0.3em">
</th>
<th style="color:#fff;font-weight:bold;background-color:#007000;padding:0.3em">2006</th>
<th style="color:#fff;font-weight:bold;background-color:#007000;padding:0.3em">2005</th>
<th style="color:#fff;font-weight:bold;background-color:#007000;padding:0.3em">2004</th>
<th style="color:#fff;font-weight:bold;background-color:#007000;padding:0.3em">2003</th>
<th style="color:#fff;font-weight:bold;background-color:#007000;padding:0.3em">2002</th>
<th style="color:#fff;font-weight:bold;background-color:#007000;padding:0.3em">2001</th>
<th style="color:#fff;font-weight:bold;background-color:#007000;padding:0.3em">2000</th>
<th style="color:#fff;font-weight:bold;background-color:#007000;padding:0.3em">1999</th>
<th style="color:#fff;font-weight:bold;background-color:#007000;padding:0.3em">1998</th>
<th style="color:#fff;font-weight:bold;background-color:#007000;padding:0.3em">1997</th>
<th style="color:#fff;font-weight:bold;background-color:#007000;padding:0.3em">1996</th>
<th style="color:#fff;font-weight:bold;background-color:#007000;padding:0.3em">1995</th>
<th style="color:#fff;font-weight:bold;background-color:#007000;padding:0.3em">1994</th>
<th style="color:#fff;font-weight:bold;background-color:#007000;padding:0.3em">1993</th>
<th style="color:#fff;font-weight:bold;background-color:#007000;padding:0.3em">1992</th>
<th style="color:#fff;font-weight:bold;background-color:#007000;padding:0.3em">1991</th>
<th style="color:#fff;font-weight:bold;background-color:#007000;padding:0.3em">1990</th>
<th style="color:#fff;font-weight:bold;background-color:#007000;padding:0.3em">1989</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Airbus</td>
<td>824</td>
<td>1111</td>
<td>370</td>
<td>284</td>
<td>300</td>
<td>375</td>
<td>520</td>
<td>476</td>
<td>556</td>
<td>460</td>
<td>326</td>
<td>106</td>
<td>125</td>
<td>38</td>
<td>136</td>
<td>101</td>
<td>404</td>
<td>421</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Boeing</td>
<td>1058</td>
<td>1028</td>
<td>277</td>
<td>249</td>
<td>251</td>
<td>314</td>
<td>588</td>
<td>355</td>
<td>606</td>
<td>543</td>
<td>708</td>
<td>441</td>
<td>125</td>
<td>236</td>
<td>266</td>
<td>273</td>
<td>533</td>
<td>716</td>
</tr>
</table>
<p><a id="Deliveries" name="Deliveries"></a><h3><span class="mw-headline">Deliveries</span></h3>
<table border="2" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" style="margin: 1em 1em 1em 0; border: 1px #aaa solid; border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 95%;">
<tr>
<th style="color:#fff;font-weight:bold;background-color:#069;padding:0.3em">
</th>
<th style="color:#fff;font-weight:bold;background-color:#069;padding:0.3em">2006</th>
<th style="color:#fff;font-weight:bold;background-color:#069;padding:0.3em">2005</th>
<th style="color:#fff;font-weight:bold;background-color:#069;padding:0.3em">2004</th>
<th style="color:#fff;font-weight:bold;background-color:#069;padding:0.3em">2003</th>
<th style="color:#fff;font-weight:bold;background-color:#069;padding:0.3em">2002</th>
<th style="color:#fff;font-weight:bold;background-color:#069;padding:0.3em">2001</th>
<th style="color:#fff;font-weight:bold;background-color:#069;padding:0.3em">2000</th>
<th style="color:#fff;font-weight:bold;background-color:#069;padding:0.3em">1999</th>
<th style="color:#fff;font-weight:bold;background-color:#069;padding:0.3em">1998</th>
<th style="color:#fff;font-weight:bold;background-color:#069;padding:0.3em">1997</th>
<th style="color:#fff;font-weight:bold;background-color:#069;padding:0.3em">1996</th>
<th style="color:#fff;font-weight:bold;background-color:#069;padding:0.3em">1995</th>
<th style="color:#fff;font-weight:bold;background-color:#069;padding:0.3em">1994</th>
<th style="color:#fff;font-weight:bold;background-color:#069;padding:0.3em">1993</th>
<th style="color:#fff;font-weight:bold;background-color:#069;padding:0.3em">1992</th>
<th style="color:#fff;font-weight:bold;background-color:#069;padding:0.3em">1991</th>
<th style="color:#fff;font-weight:bold;background-color:#069;padding:0.3em">1990</th>
<th style="color:#fff;font-weight:bold;background-color:#069;padding:0.3em">1989</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Airbus</td>
<td>434</td>
<td>378</td>
<td>320</td>
<td>305</td>
<td>303</td>
<td>325</td>
<td>311</td>
<td>294</td>
<td>229</td>
<td>182</td>
<td>126</td>
<td>124</td>
<td>123</td>
<td>138</td>
<td>157</td>
<td>163</td>
<td>95</td>
<td>105</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Boeing</td>
<td>398</td>
<td>290</td>
<td>285</td>
<td>281</td>
<td>381</td>
<td>527</td>
<td>491</td>
<td>620</td>
<td>563</td>
<td>375</td>
<td>271</td>
<td>256</td>
<td>312</td>
<td>409</td>
<td>572</td>
<td>606</td>
<td>527</td>
<td>402</td>
</tr>
</table>
<p><a id="Subsidies" name="Subsidies"></a><h3><span class="mw-headline">Subsidies</span></h3>
<p>Boeing has continually protested over "launch aid" and other forms of government aid to Airbus, while Airbus has argued that Boeing receives illegal subsidies through military and research contracts and tax breaks.<p>In July 2004 <!--del_lnk--> Harry Stonecipher (then-Boeing <!--del_lnk--> CEO) accused Airbus of abusing a 1992 bilateral EU-US agreement providing for disciplines for large civil aircraft support from governments. Airbus is given reimbursable launch investment (RLI, called "launch aid" by the US) from European governments with the money being paid back with interest, plus indefinite royalties, but only if the aircraft is a commercial success. Airbus contends that this system is fully compliant with the 1992 agreement and <!--del_lnk--> WTO rules. The agreement allows up to 33 per cent of the programme cost to be met through government loans which are to be fully repaid within 17 years with interest and royalties. These loans are held at a minimum interest rate equal to the cost of government borrowing plus 0.25%, which would be below market rates available to Airbus without government support. Airbus claims that since the signature of the EU-U.S. Agreement in 1992, it has repaid European governments more than U.S.$6.7 billion and that this is 40% more than it has received..<p>Airbus argues that the <!--del_lnk--> pork barrel military contracts awarded to Boeing (the second largest U.S. defence contractor) are in effect a form of subsidy (see the Boeing <!--del_lnk--> KC-767 military contracting controversy). The significant U.S. government support of technology development via <!--del_lnk--> NASA also provides significant support to Boeing, as does the large tax breaks offered to Boeing which some claim are in violation of the 1992 agreement and <!--del_lnk--> WTO rules. In its recent products such as the <!--del_lnk--> 787, Boeing has also been offered substantial support from local and state governments. However it has been argued that in U.S. government support of technology development, anyone can benefit from the results; even Airbus can benefit from them.<p>In January 2005 the European Union and United States trade representatives, <!--del_lnk--> Peter Mandelson and <!--del_lnk--> Robert Zoellick (since replaced by <!--del_lnk--> Rob Portman) respectively, agreed to talks aimed at resolving the increasing tensions. These talks were not successful with the dispute becoming more acrimonious rather than approaching a settlement.<p><a id="World_Trade_Organization_litigation" name="World_Trade_Organization_litigation"></a><h3><span class="mw-headline">World Trade Organization litigation</span></h3>
<p>On <!--del_lnk--> 31 May <!--del_lnk--> 2005 the <a href="../../wp/u/United_States.htm" title="United States">United States</a> filed a case against the <a href="../../wp/e/European_Union.htm" title="European Union">European Union</a> for providing allegedly illegal subsidies to Airbus. Twenty-four hours later the European Union filed a complaint against the United States protesting support for Boeing.<p>Portman (from the USA) and Mandelson (from the EU) issued a joint statement stating: <i>"We remain united in our determination that this dispute shall not affect our cooperation on wider bilateral and multilateral trade issues. We have worked together well so far, and intend to continue to do so."</i><p>Tensions increased by the support for the Airbus A380 have erupted into a potential trade war due to the upcoming launch of the Airbus A350. Airbus would ideally like the A350 programme to be launched with the help of state loans covering a third of the development costs although it has stated it will launch without these loans if required. The A350 will compete with Boeing's most successful project in recent years, the 787 Dreamliner.<p>EU trade officials are questioning the funding provided by NASA, the Department of Defense (in particular in the form of R&D contracts that benefited Boeing) as well as funding from US states (in particular the State of Washington, the State of Kansas and the State of Illinois) for the launch of Boeing aircraft, in particular the <!--del_lnk--> 787.<p><a id="International_manufacturing_presence" name="International_manufacturing_presence"></a><h2><span class="mw-headline">International manufacturing presence</span></h2>
<div class="center">
<div class="thumb tnone">
<div class="thumbinner" style="width:652px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/151/15107.jpg.htm" title="The main Airbus factory in Toulouse lies just next to Toulouse Airport."><img alt="The main Airbus factory in Toulouse lies just next to Toulouse Airport." class="thumbimage" height="118" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Airbus_Toulouse_plant_entrance_DSC02696.jpg" src="../../images/151/15107.jpg" width="650" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/151/15107.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> The main Airbus factory in Toulouse lies just next to <!--del_lnk--> Toulouse Airport.</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>The three final assembly lines of Airbus are in <!--del_lnk--> Toulouse (France) (two assembly lines) and <a href="../../wp/h/Hamburg.htm" title="Hamburg">Hamburg</a> (Germany) (one assembly line). A fourth final assembly line, for the <!--del_lnk--> Airbus A400M, is under construction in <!--del_lnk--> Seville (Spain). It is estimated that this new assembly line will be operational by October 2006.<p>Airbus, however, has a number of other plants in different European locations, reflecting its foundation as a consortium. An original solution to the problem of moving aircraft parts between the different factories and the assembly plants is the use of "<!--del_lnk--> Beluga" specially enlarged jets, capable of carrying entire sections of fuselage of Airbus aircraft. This solution has also been investigated by Boeing, who retrofitted 3 of their 747 aircraft to transport the components of the 787. An exception to this scheme is the A380, whose fuselage and wings are too large for sections to be carried by the <!--del_lnk--> Beluga. Large A380 parts are brought by ship to <!--del_lnk--> Bordeaux, and then transported to the Toulouse assembly plant by a specially enlarged road.<p>North America is an important region to Airbus in terms of both aircraft sales and suppliers. 2,000 of the total of approximately 5,300 Airbus jetliners sold by Airbus around the world, representing every aircraft in its product line from the 107-seat A318 to the 565-passenger A380, are ordered by North American customers. According to Airbus, US contractors supporting an estimated 120,000 jobs earned estimated $5.5 billion (2003) worth of business. For example, one version of the A380 has 51% American content in terms of work share value.<p>EADS Airbus will be opening an assembly plant in <!--del_lnk--> Tianjin, <a href="../../wp/c/China.htm" title="China">China</a> for its A320 series airliners, to be operational in <!--del_lnk--> 2009. <!--del_lnk--> AVIC I and <!--del_lnk--> AVIC II will be EADS' local partners for the site, to which subassemblies will be sent from plants around the world.<p><a id="Workforce_by_countries" name="Workforce_by_countries"></a><h3><span class="mw-headline">Workforce by countries</span></h3>
<table border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="1">
<tr bgcolor="#006699">
<td><b><font color="#FFFFFF"> Country </font></b></td>
<td><b><font color="#FFFFFF"> Airbus direct employees </font></b></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="../../wp/f/France.htm" title="France">France</a></td>
<td align="right">19,358</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="../../wp/g/Germany.htm" title="Germany">Germany</a></td>
<td align="right">18,423</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="../../wp/u/United_Kingdom.htm" title="United Kingdom">United Kingdom</a></td>
<td align="right">8,688</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="../../wp/s/Spain.htm" title="Spain">Spain</a></td>
<td align="right">2,726</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="../../wp/u/United_States.htm" title="United States">United States</a></td>
<td align="right">405+</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="../../wp/p/People%2527s_Republic_of_China.htm" title="People's Republic of China">People's Republic of China</a></td>
<td align="right">100+</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><b>Total</b></td>
<td align="right">49,700+</td>
</tr>
</table>
<p><small><i>(Data as of <!--del_lnk--> December 31, <!--del_lnk--> 2003)</i></small><p><a id="Workforce_by_sites" name="Workforce_by_sites"></a><h3><span class="mw-headline">Workforce by sites</span></h3>
<table border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="1">
<tr bgcolor="#006699">
<td><b><font color="#FFFFFF"> Airbus site ¹ </font></b></td>
<td><b><font color="#FFFFFF"> Country </font></b></td>
<td><b><font color="#FFFFFF"> Workforce </font></b></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Toulouse<br /> (<!--del_lnk--> Saint-Martin-du-Touch, <!--del_lnk--> Colomiers, <!--del_lnk--> Blagnac)</td>
<td><a href="../../wp/f/France.htm" title="France">France</a><br />
<br />
</td>
<td align="right">14,133<br />
<br />
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="../../wp/h/Hamburg.htm" title="Hamburg">Hamburg</a><br /> (<!--del_lnk--> Finkenwerder, <!--del_lnk--> Stade, <!--del_lnk--> Buxtehude)</td>
<td><a href="../../wp/g/Germany.htm" title="Germany">Germany</a><br />
<br />
</td>
<td align="right">11,185<br />
<br />
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="../../wp/b/Bristol.htm" title="Bristol">Bristol</a> (<!--del_lnk--> Filton), <a href="../../wp/e/England.htm" title="England">England</a></td>
<td><a href="../../wp/u/United_Kingdom.htm" title="United Kingdom">UK</a></td>
<td align="right">4,379</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Broughton, <!--del_lnk--> Flintshire, <a href="../../wp/w/Wales.htm" title="Wales">Wales</a></td>
<td><a href="../../wp/u/United_Kingdom.htm" title="United Kingdom">UK</a></td>
<td align="right">4,309</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Bremen</td>
<td><a href="../../wp/g/Germany.htm" title="Germany">Germany</a></td>
<td align="right">3,051</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="../../wp/m/Madrid.htm" title="Madrid">Madrid</a> (<!--del_lnk--> Getafe, <!--del_lnk--> Illescas)</td>
<td><a href="../../wp/s/Spain.htm" title="Spain">Spain</a></td>
<td align="right">2,243</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Saint-Nazaire</td>
<td><a href="../../wp/f/France.htm" title="France">France</a></td>
<td align="right">2,227</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Nordenham</td>
<td><a href="../../wp/g/Germany.htm" title="Germany">Germany</a></td>
<td align="right">2,106</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Nantes</td>
<td><a href="../../wp/f/France.htm" title="France">France</a></td>
<td align="right">1,869</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Varel</td>
<td><a href="../../wp/g/Germany.htm" title="Germany">Germany</a></td>
<td align="right">1,172</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Albert (<!--del_lnk--> Méaulte)</td>
<td><a href="../../wp/f/France.htm" title="France">France</a></td>
<td align="right">1,129</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Laupheim</td>
<td><a href="../../wp/g/Germany.htm" title="Germany">Germany</a></td>
<td align="right">1,100</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Cadiz (<!--del_lnk--> Puerto Real)</td>
<td><a href="../../wp/s/Spain.htm" title="Spain">Spain</a></td>
<td align="right">483</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="../../wp/w/Washington%252C_D.C..htm" title="Washington, D.C.">Washington, D.C.</a> (<!--del_lnk--> Herndon, <!--del_lnk--> Ashburn)</td>
<td><a href="../../wp/u/United_States.htm" title="United States">USA</a></td>
<td align="right">165+</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Wichita</td>
<td><a href="../../wp/u/United_States.htm" title="United States">USA</a></td>
<td align="right">200+</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="../../wp/b/Beijing.htm" title="Beijing">Beijing</a></td>
<td><a href="../../wp/p/People%2527s_Republic_of_China.htm" title="People's Republic of China">PRC</a></td>
<td align="right">100+</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Tianjin</td>
<td><a href="../../wp/p/People%2527s_Republic_of_China.htm" title="People's Republic of China">PRC</a></td>
<td align="right">TBD</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Miami (<!--del_lnk--> Miami Springs)</td>
<td><a href="../../wp/u/United_States.htm" title="United States">USA</a></td>
<td align="right">100</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><b>Total</b></td>
<td>
</td>
<td align="right">49,700+</td>
</tr>
</table>
<p><small><i>(Data as of <!--del_lnk--> December 31, <!--del_lnk--> 2003)</i></small><p><small>¹ Name of the urban/metropolitan area appears first, then in parenthesis are the exact locations of the plants</small><p><a id="Airbus_Aircraft_Numbering_System" name="Airbus_Aircraft_Numbering_System"></a><h2><span class="mw-headline">Airbus Aircraft Numbering System</span></h2>
<p>The Airbus numbering system starts with the main aircraft model number (Ammm) followed by a dash and three digits (-sev) following the pattern Ammm-sev. The model number takes the form of the letter "A" followed by three digits (m), e.g. A320. The series number is a single digit (s). Two more digits after the series number represent the engine (e) and a version number (v). To use an A320-200 with IAE V2500-A1 engines as an example, the code is A320-2ev for the model and series number. Adding the engine manufacturer (for codes, see below), this makes the code now A320-23v. The version is 1, taking the code to A320-231.<p>An additional letter is sometimes used. These include, 'C' for a combi version (passenger/freighter), 'F' for a freighter model, 'R' for the long range model, and 'X' for the enhanced model.<p><a id="Engine_codes" name="Engine_codes"></a><h3><span class="mw-headline">Engine codes</span></h3>
<table border="2" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" style="margin: 1em 1em 1em 0; border: 1px #aaa solid; border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 95%;">
<tr bgcolor="#006699">
<th><b><font color="#FFFFFF"> Code </font></b></th>
<th><b><font color="#FFFFFF"> Manufacturing Company </font></b></th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>0</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> General Electric (GE)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>1</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> CFM International (GE/SNECMA)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>2</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Pratt & Whitney (P&W)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>3</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> International Aero Engines (R-R, P&W, Kawasaki, Mitsubishi, and Ishikawajima-Harima)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>4</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Rolls-Royce (R-R)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>6</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Engine Alliance (GE and P&W)</td>
</tr>
</table>
<div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airbus"</div>
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<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">Airbus A380</h1>
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<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.Design_and_Technology.Air_and_Sea_transport.htm">Air & Sea transport</a></h3>
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<table class="infobox" style="width:23em; font-size: 90%;">
<tr>
<th colspan="2" style="font-size: large; padding-bottom: 0.3em;">Airbus A380</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" style="text-align: center;">
<div style="border: 1px solid #AAAAAA;"><a class="image" href="../../images/231/23139.jpg.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="179" longdesc="/wiki/Image:1er_vol_de_l%27_A380.jpg" src="../../images/151/15108.jpg" width="250" /></a></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #aaa;">Maiden flight of the A380</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 7em;text-align:right;"><b>Type</b></td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Airliner</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align:right;"><b><!--del_lnk--> Manufacturer</b></td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Airbus S.A.S.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align:right;"><b><!--del_lnk--> Maiden flight</b></td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> 2005-<!--del_lnk--> 04-27</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align:right;"><b>Introduced</b></td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Planned for 2007 with <!--del_lnk--> Singapore Airlines</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align:right;"><b>Status</b></td>
<td>In <!--del_lnk--> flight testing</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align:right;"><b>Number built</b></td>
<td>Eight <!--del_lnk--> as of 2006</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align:right;"><b>Unit cost</b></td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> US$ 296 - 316 million <!--del_lnk--> as of 2006</td>
</tr>
</table>
<p>The <b>Airbus A380</b> is a <!--del_lnk--> double-deck, four-engined <!--del_lnk--> airliner manufactured by <a href="../../wp/a/Airbus.htm" title="Airbus">Airbus S.A.S.</a> It first flew on <!--del_lnk--> April 27, <!--del_lnk--> 2005 from <!--del_lnk--> Toulouse in <a href="../../wp/f/France.htm" title="France">France</a>. Commercial flights are scheduled to begin in 2007 after lengthy delays. During much of its development phase, the aircraft was known as the <b>Airbus A3XX</b>. The <!--del_lnk--> nickname <b>Superjumbo</b> has become associated with the A380.<p>The A380's upper deck extends along the entire length of the fuselage. This allows for a spacious cabin with 50% more floor space than the next largest airliner, the <!--del_lnk--> Boeing 747-400, providing seating for 555 people in standard <!--del_lnk--> three-class configuration or up to 853 people in full <!--del_lnk--> economy class configuration. Two models of the A380 are available. The A380-800, the passenger model, is the largest passenger airliner in the world, superseding the <a href="../../wp/b/Boeing_747.htm" title="Boeing 747">Boeing 747</a>. The other launch model, the A380-800F, will be one of the largest <!--del_lnk--> freight aircraft and will have a payload capacity exceeded only by the <!--del_lnk--> Antonov An-225.<p>The A380-800 has a maximum range of 15,000 <!--del_lnk--> kilometres (8,000 <!--del_lnk--> nmi, sufficient to fly from <a href="../../wp/c/Chicago.htm" title="Chicago">Chicago</a> to <a href="../../wp/s/Sydney.htm" title="Sydney">Sydney</a> nonstop), and a cruising speed of <!--del_lnk--> Mach 0.85 (about 900 km/h or 560 MPH at cruise altitude), similar to that of the <a href="../../wp/b/Boeing_747.htm" title="Boeing 747">Boeing 747</a>.<p>
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</script><a id="History" name="History"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">History</span></h2>
<p><a id="Development" name="Development"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Development</span></h3>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/151/15109.jpg.htm" title="The first completed A380 at the "A380 Reveal" event in Toulouse"><img alt="The first completed A380 at the "A380 Reveal" event in Toulouse" height="135" longdesc="/wiki/Image:A380_Reveal_1.jpg" src="../../images/151/15109.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/151/15109.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> The first completed A380 at the "A380 Reveal" event in Toulouse</div>
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</div>
<p>Airbus started the development of a very large airliner in the early <!--del_lnk--> 1990s, both to complete its own range of products and to break the dominance that <!--del_lnk--> Boeing had enjoyed in this market segment since the early <!--del_lnk--> 1970s with its <a href="../../wp/b/Boeing_747.htm" title="Boeing 747">747</a>. <!--del_lnk--> McDonnell Douglas pursued a similar strategy with its ultimately unsuccessful <!--del_lnk--> MD-12 design. As each manufacturer looked to build a successor to the 747, they knew there was room for only one new aircraft to be profitable in the 600 to 800 seat market segment. Each knew the risk of splitting such a <!--del_lnk--> niche market, as had been demonstrated by the simultaneous debut of the <!--del_lnk--> Lockheed L-1011 and the <!--del_lnk--> McDonnell Douglas DC-10: either aircraft met the market’s needs, but the market could profitably sustain only one model, eventually resulting in <!--del_lnk--> Lockheed's departure from the civil airliner business. In January 1993, Boeing and several companies in the Airbus consortium started a joint feasibility study of an aircraft known as the Very Large Commercial Transport (VLCT), aiming to form a partnership to share the limited market.<p>In June 1994, Airbus began developing its own very large airliner, designated the A3XX. Airbus considered several designs, including an odd side-by-side combination of two fuselages from the <!--del_lnk--> A340, which was Airbus’s largest jet at the time. The A3XX was pitted against the VLCT study and Boeing’s own <!--del_lnk--> New Large Aircraft successor to the 747, which evolved into the 747X, a stretched version of the 747 with the forebody "hump" extended rearwards to accommodate more passengers. The joint VLCT effort ended in July 1996, and Boeing suspended the 747X program in January 1997 – only to resurrect it several times before finally launching the <!--del_lnk--> 747-8 Intercontinental in November 2005. From 1997 to 2000, as the <!--del_lnk--> East Asian financial crisis darkened the market outlook, Airbus refined its design, targeting a 15 to 20 percent reduction in operating costs over the existing <!--del_lnk--> Boeing 747-400. The A3XX design converged on a double-decker layout that provided higher seat capacities than a traditional single-deck design.<p>On <!--del_lnk--> December 19, <!--del_lnk--> 2000, the supervisory board of newly restructured Airbus voted to launch a <a href="../../wp/e/Euro.htm" title="Euro">€</a> 8.8 billion program to build the A3XX, re-christened as the A380, with 55 orders from six launch customers. The A380 designation was a break from previous sequential Airbus designations because the numeral 8 resembles the double-deck cross section, and symbolizes good luck in some Asian cultures. The aircraft’s final configuration was frozen in early <!--del_lnk--> 2001, and manufacturing of the first A380 wing box component started on <!--del_lnk--> January 23, <!--del_lnk--> 2002. The development cost of the A380 had grown to € 11 billion when the first aircraft was completed.<p><a id="Testing" name="Testing"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Testing</span></h3>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/151/15110.jpg.htm" title="Flight test engineer's station on the lower deck of A380 F-WWOW at the 2006 Farnborough International Airshow"><img alt="Flight test engineer's station on the lower deck of A380 F-WWOW at the 2006 Farnborough International Airshow" height="135" longdesc="/wiki/Image:A380_teststation_fb06rs.jpg" src="../../images/151/15110.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/151/15110.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div><!--del_lnk--> Flight test engineer's station on the lower deck of A380 F-WWOW at the 2006 <!--del_lnk--> Farnborough International Airshow</div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/151/15111.jpg.htm" title="A380 F-WWDD in Emirates Airline livery at the 2005 Dubai Airshow"><img alt="A380 F-WWDD in Emirates Airline livery at the 2005 Dubai Airshow" height="118" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Emirates_A380_2.JPG" src="../../images/151/15111.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/151/15111.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> A380 F-WWDD in Emirates Airline livery at the 2005 <!--del_lnk--> Dubai Airshow</div>
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</div>
<p>The first A380 <!--del_lnk--> prototype, serial number 001 and registration <!--del_lnk--> F-WWOW, was unveiled at a ceremony in Toulouse on <!--del_lnk--> January 18, <!--del_lnk--> 2005. Its maiden flight took place at 8:29 <!--del_lnk--> UTC (10:29 a.m. local time) <!--del_lnk--> April 27, <!--del_lnk--> 2005. The prototype, equipped with <!--del_lnk--> Trent 900 engines, departed runway 32L of <!--del_lnk--> Toulouse Blagnac International Airport with a flight crew of six headed by <!--del_lnk--> test pilot Jacques Rosay, carrying 22 <!--del_lnk--> short tons (20 <!--del_lnk--> metric tons) of <!--del_lnk--> flight test instrumentation and water ballasts. The take-off weight of the aircraft was 421 tonnes (464 short tons); although this was only 75% of its maximum take-off weight, it was the heaviest take-off weight of any passenger airliner ever flown.<p>In mid-November 2005 the A380 embarked on a tour of Southeast Asia and Australia for promotional and for long-haul <!--del_lnk--> flight testing purposes, visiting <a href="../../wp/s/Singapore.htm" title="Singapore">Singapore</a>, <a href="../../wp/b/Brisbane.htm" title="Brisbane">Brisbane</a>, <a href="../../wp/s/Sydney.htm" title="Sydney">Sydney</a>, <a href="../../wp/m/Melbourne.htm" title="Melbourne">Melbourne</a> and <a href="../../wp/k/Kuala_Lumpur.htm" title="Kuala Lumpur">Kuala Lumpur</a>. During this tour, the colours of <!--del_lnk--> Singapore Airlines, <!--del_lnk--> Qantas and <!--del_lnk--> Malaysia Airlines were applied in addition to the Airbus house colours. On <!--del_lnk--> November 19, an A380 flew in full <!--del_lnk--> Emirates colours at the Dubai Air Show.<p>On <!--del_lnk--> January 10, <!--del_lnk--> 2006, the A380 made its first transatlantic flight to <!--del_lnk--> Medellín in <a href="../../wp/c/Colombia.htm" title="Colombia">Colombia</a>, to test engine performance at a high altitude airport. Its arrived in <a href="../../wp/n/North_America.htm" title="North America">North America</a> on <!--del_lnk--> February 6, when an A380 landed in <!--del_lnk--> Iqaluit, Nunavut in <a href="../../wp/c/Canada.htm" title="Canada">Canada</a> for cold-weather testing. The same aircraft then flew to <a href="../../wp/s/Singapore.htm" title="Singapore">Singapore</a> to participate in the Asian Aerospace 2006 exhibition, in full <!--del_lnk--> Singapore Airlines livery.<p>On <!--del_lnk--> March 26, <!--del_lnk--> 2006, the A380 underwent evacuation certification in <a href="../../wp/h/Hamburg.htm" title="Hamburg">Hamburg</a> in <a href="../../wp/g/Germany.htm" title="Germany">Germany</a>. The test, performed to meet regulatory requirements, involved evacuating 853 passengers and 20 crew from the aircraft within 90 seconds, with 8 of the 16 exits blocked. The evacuation was successfully completed in 78 seconds. Three days later, the A380 received <!--del_lnk--> European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and United States <!--del_lnk--> Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) approval to carry up to 853 passengers, indicating that the evacuation trial had met their certification standards.<p>Five A380s have been built for testing and demonstration purposes. The first A380 slated for delivery to a customer, serial number 003 and registration <!--del_lnk--> F-WWSA, took to the air in May 2006. The maiden flight of the first A380 with <!--del_lnk--> GP7200 engines (F-WWEA) took place on <!--del_lnk--> August 25, <!--del_lnk--> 2006.<p>On <!--del_lnk--> September 4, <!--del_lnk--> 2006 the first full passenger-carrying flight test took place. The aircraft flew from <!--del_lnk--> Toulouse with 474 Airbus employees on board, in the first of a series of flights to test passenger facilities and comfort. In November 2006, a further series of route proving flights took place to demonstrate the aircraft's performance for 150 flight hours under typical airline operating conditions.<p>As of November 2006, eight A380s have flown, and the five A380s in the test program have logged over 2,300 hours during 730 test flights. Airbus expects to obtain the A380 <!--del_lnk--> type certificate from the EASA and FAA by the end of 2006. During testing the A380 has visited 17 countries,<a href="../../wp/a/Australia.htm" title="Australia">Australia</a>, <a href="../../wp/c/Canada.htm" title="Canada">Canada</a>, <a href="../../wp/p/People%2527s_Republic_of_China.htm" title="People's Republic of China">China</a>, <a href="../../wp/c/Colombia.htm" title="Colombia">Colombia</a>, <a href="../../wp/e/Ethiopia.htm" title="Ethiopia">Ethiopia</a>, <a href="../../wp/f/France.htm" title="France">France</a>, <a href="../../wp/g/Germany.htm" title="Germany">Germany</a>, <a href="../../wp/i/Iceland.htm" title="Iceland">Iceland</a>, <a href="../../wp/i/Ireland.htm" title="Ireland">Ireland</a>, <a href="../../wp/j/Japan.htm" title="Japan">Japan</a>, <a href="../../wp/m/Malaysia.htm" title="Malaysia">Malaysia</a>, <a href="../../wp/s/Singapore.htm" title="Singapore">Singapore</a>, <a href="../../wp/s/South_Africa.htm" title="South Africa">South Africa</a>, <a href="../../wp/s/South_Korea.htm" title="South Korea">South Korea</a>, <a href="../../wp/s/Spain.htm" title="Spain">Spain</a>,<a href="../../wp/u/United_Arab_Emirates.htm" title="United Arab Emirates">United Arab Emirates</a> and the <a href="../../wp/u/United_Kingdom.htm" title="United Kingdom">United Kingdom</a>.<p><a id="Delivery_delays" name="Delivery_delays"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Delivery delays</span></h3>
<p>Initial production of the A380 was plagued by a series of delays attributed to the 500 kilometres (300 miles) of wiring in each aircraft. Airbus cited as underlying causes the complexity of the cabin wiring, its concurrent design and production, the use of two incompatible versions of the <!--del_lnk--> CATIA <!--del_lnk--> computer-aided design software, the high degree of customisation for each airline, and failures of <!--del_lnk--> configuration management (wiring in one section will not plug correctly into wiring in another). Over 80% of the wiring is supplied by <!--del_lnk--> Labinal, although this company has not been blamed for the delays. Deliveries would be pushed back by nearly two years.<p>Airbus announced the first delay in June 2005 and notified airlines that delivery would slip by six months, with <!--del_lnk--> Singapore Airlines receiving the first A380 in the last quarter of 2006, <!--del_lnk--> Qantas getting its first delivery in April 2007 and <!--del_lnk--> Emirates receiving aircraft before 2008. This reduced the number of planned deliveries by the end of 2009 from about 120 to 90-100.<p>On <!--del_lnk--> June 13, <!--del_lnk--> 2006 Airbus announced a second delay, with the delivery schedule undergoing an additional shift of six to seven months. Although the first delivery was still slated before the end of 2006, deliveries in 2007 would drop to only 9 aircraft, and deliveries by the end of 2009 would be cut to 70-80 aircraft. The announcement caused a 26% drop in the share price of Airbus's parent, <!--del_lnk--> EADS, and led to the departure of EADS CEO <!--del_lnk--> Noël Forgeard, Airbus CEO <!--del_lnk--> Gustav Humbert, and A380 program manager Charles Champion. In the wake of the new delay, <!--del_lnk--> Malaysia Airlines and <!--del_lnk--> ILFC were reported to be considering the cancellation of their orders. Launch customers Singapore Airlines, Emirates and Qantas also were reported to be angered by the delays and expecting compensation. However, on <!--del_lnk--> July 21, <!--del_lnk--> 2006 Singapore Airlines ordered a further 9 A380s and stated that Airbus had <i>"demonstrated to our satisfaction that the engineering design for the A380 is sound [and that] it has performed well in flight and certification tests and the delays in its delivery have been caused more by production, rather than technical, issues."</i><p>On <!--del_lnk--> October 3, <!--del_lnk--> 2006, upon completion of a review of the A380 program, the new CEO of Airbus, <!--del_lnk--> Christian Streiff, announced a third delay. The largest delay yet, it pushed the first delivery for Singapore Airlines to October 2007, to be followed by 13 deliveries in 2008, 25 in 2009, and the full production rate of 45 aircraft per year in 2010. The delay also increased the earnings shortfall projected by Airbus through 2010 to € 4.8 billion. The customer with the largest A380 order, Emirates, saw its first delivery pushed back to August 2008 and said as a result that it was considering scaling back its order, potentially in favour of the rival <!--del_lnk--> Boeing 747-8. <!--del_lnk--> Virgin Atlantic deferred its deliveries by four years, to 2013. Initial deliveries for the A380 freighter were delayed into 2010. The third delay was followed by the first cancellation to hit the A380 program, as <!--del_lnk--> FedEx dropped its order for ten A380F freighters in favour of 15 Boeing 777F freighters.<p><a id="Entry_into_service" name="Entry_into_service"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Entry into service</span></h3>
<p>Singapore Airlines plans to use its first aircraft, in a 485-seat configuration, on its <a href="../../wp/l/London.htm" title="London">London</a>–<a href="../../wp/s/Singapore.htm" title="Singapore">Singapore</a>–<a href="../../wp/s/Sydney.htm" title="Sydney">Sydney</a> (the <!--del_lnk--> kangaroo route) service. Subsequent routes for Singapore Airlines may include the Singapore–<!--del_lnk--> San Francisco route via <a href="../../wp/h/Hong_Kong.htm" title="Hong Kong">Hong Kong</a>, as well as direct flights to <a href="../../wp/p/Paris.htm" title="Paris">Paris</a> and <a href="../../wp/f/Frankfurt.htm" title="Frankfurt">Frankfurt</a>. Qantas has announced it will use the A380, in a 501-seat configuration, on its <a href="../../wp/m/Melbourne.htm" title="Melbourne">Melbourne</a> and <a href="../../wp/s/Sydney.htm" title="Sydney">Sydney</a> to <!--del_lnk--> Los Angeles routes. <!--del_lnk--> Air France's aircraft will be used on the <a href="../../wp/p/Paris.htm" title="Paris">Paris</a> to <a href="../../wp/m/Montreal.htm" title="Montreal">Montreal</a> and <!--del_lnk--> New York routes.<p><a id="Design" name="Design"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Design</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/151/15112.png.htm" title="A380 cabin cross section, showing economy class seating"><img alt="A380 cabin cross section, showing economy class seating" height="231" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Airbus_A380_cross_section.svg" src="../../images/151/15112.png" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/151/15112.png.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> A380 cabin cross section, showing economy class seating</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>The new Airbus is sold in two models. The <b>A380-800</b> can carry 555 passengers in a <!--del_lnk--> three-class configuration or up to 853 passengers in a single-class economy configuration. The range for the -800 model is 15,000 kilometres (8,000 nmi). The second model, the <b>A380-800F</b> freighter, will carry 150 <!--del_lnk--> tonnes of cargo 10,400 km (5,600 nmi).<p>Future variants may include an <b>A380-900</b> stretch seating about 650 passengers, a shortened <b>A380-700</b> seating about 455 passengers, and an extended range version with the same passenger capacity as the A380-800. The A380's wing is sized for a <!--del_lnk--> Maximum Take-Off Weight (MTOW) over 650 metric tonnes in order to accommodate these future versions, albeit with some strengthening required. The stronger wing (and structure) is used on the A380-800F freighter. This common design approach sacrifices some <!--del_lnk--> fuel efficiency on the A380-800 passenger model, but the sheer size of the aircraft, coupled with the significant advances in technology described below, are still expected to provide lower operating costs per passenger than all current 747 variants.<p><a id="Cockpit" name="Cockpit"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Cockpit</span></h3>
<p>Airbus used similar cockpit layout, procedures and handling characteristics to those of other Airbus aircraft, to reduce crew training costs. Accordingly, the A380 features an improved <!--del_lnk--> glass cockpit, and <!--del_lnk--> fly-by-wire flight controls linked to <!--del_lnk--> side-sticks.<p>The improved cockpit displays feature eight 15-by-20 cm (6-by-8-inch) <!--del_lnk--> liquid crystal displays, all of which are physically identical and interchangeable. These comprise two <!--del_lnk--> Primary Flight Displays, two navigation displays, one engine parameter display, one system display and two <!--del_lnk--> Multi-Function Displays. These MFDs are new with the A380, and provide an easy-to-use interface to the <!--del_lnk--> flight management system—replacing three multifunction control and display units. They include <!--del_lnk--> QWERTY keyboards and trackballs, interfacing with a <!--del_lnk--> graphical "<!--del_lnk--> point-and-click" display navigation system.<p><a id="Engines" name="Engines"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Engines</span></h3>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/151/15113.jpg.htm" title="A Rolls-Royce Trent 900 engine on the wing of an Airbus A380."><img alt="A Rolls-Royce Trent 900 engine on the wing of an Airbus A380." height="135" longdesc="/wiki/Image:A380-trent900.JPG" src="../../images/151/15113.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/151/15113.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> A <!--del_lnk--> Rolls-Royce <!--del_lnk--> Trent 900 engine on the wing of an Airbus A380.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>Either the <!--del_lnk--> Rolls-Royce <!--del_lnk--> Trent 900 or <!--del_lnk--> Engine Alliance <!--del_lnk--> GP7200 <!--del_lnk--> turbofans may power the A380. Both are derived from predecessors (<!--del_lnk--> GE90 and <!--del_lnk--> Trent 800) available on the <!--del_lnk--> Boeing 777. The Trent 900 is the scaled version of the <!--del_lnk--> Trent 800, but incorporating the swept-back fan and counter-rotating spools of the stillborn Trent 8107. The GP7200 has a GE90-derived core and PW4090-derived fan and low-pressure turbo-machinery. Noise reduction was a driving requirement for the A380, and particularly affects engine design. Both engine types meet the stringent QC/2 departure noise limits set by London's <!--del_lnk--> Heathrow Airport, which is expected to become a key destination for the A380.<p><a id="Advanced_materials" name="Advanced_materials"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Advanced materials</span></h3>
<p><!--del_lnk--> Composite materials make up 25% of the A380's airframe, by weight. <!--del_lnk--> Carbon-fibre reinforced plastic, <!--del_lnk--> glass-fibre reinforced plastic and <!--del_lnk--> quartz-fibre reinforced plastic are used extensively in wings, fuselage sections, tail surfaces, and doors. The A380 is the first commercial airliner with a central wing box made of carbon fibre reinforced plastic, and it is the first to have a wing cross-section that is smoothly contoured. Other commercial airliners have wings that are partitioned in sections. The flowing, continuous cross-section allows for maximum aerodynamic efficiency. <!--del_lnk--> Thermoplastics are used in the leading edges of the <!--del_lnk--> slats. The new material <!--del_lnk--> GLARE (GLAss-REinforced fibre metal laminate) is used in the upper fuselage and on the stabilizers' leading edges. This <a href="../../wp/a/Aluminium.htm" title="Aluminum">aluminium</a>-<a href="../../wp/f/Fiberglass.htm" title="Fiberglass">glass-fibre</a> <!--del_lnk--> laminate is lighter and has better corrosion and impact resistance than conventional aluminium <!--del_lnk--> alloys used in aviation. Unlike earlier composite materials, it can be repaired using conventional aluminium repair techniques.<p>Newer <a href="../../wp/w/Welding.htm" title="Welding">weldable</a> aluminium alloys are also used. This enables the widespread use of <!--del_lnk--> laser welding manufacturing techniques - eliminating rows of rivets and resulting in a lighter, stronger structure.<p><a id="Avionics_architecture" name="Avionics_architecture"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Avionics architecture</span></h3>
<p>The A380 employs an Integrated Modular Avionics (IMA) architecture, first used in advanced military aircraft such as the <!--del_lnk--> F-22 Raptor and the <!--del_lnk--> Eurofighter Typhoon. It is based on a <!--del_lnk--> commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) design. Many previous dedicated single-purpose avionics computers are replaced by dedicated software housed in onboard processor modules and servers. This cuts the number of parts, provides increased flexibility without resorting to customised avionics, and reduces costs by using commercially available computing power.<p>Together with IMA, the A380 avionics are very highly networked. The data communication networks use <!--del_lnk--> Avionics Full-Duplex Switched Ethernet, following the ARINC 664 standard. The data networks are switched <!--del_lnk--> full-duplexed <!--del_lnk--> star-topology and based on 100baseTX fast-Ethernet. This reduces the amount of wiring required and minimizes <!--del_lnk--> latency. <p>The Network Systems Server (NSS) is the heart of A380 paperless cockpit. It eliminates the bulky manuals and charts traditionally carried by the pilots. The NSS has enough inbuilt robustness to do away with onboard backup paper documents. The A380's network and server system stores data and offers electronic documentation, providing a required equipment list, navigation charts, performance calculations, and an aircraft logbook. All are accessible to the pilot from two additional 27 cm (11 inch) diagonal LCDs, each controlled by its own keyboard and control cursor device mounted in the foldable table in front of each pilot.<p><a id="Systems" name="Systems"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Systems</span></h3>
<p><!--del_lnk--> Power-by-wire flight control actuators are used for the first time in civil service, backing up the primary hydraulic flight control actuators. During certain manoeuvres, they augment the primary actuators. They have self-contained hydraulic and electrical power supplies. They are used as electro-hydrostatic actuators (EHA) in the aileron and elevator, and as electrical backup hydrostatic actuators (EBHA) for the rudder and some spoilers.<p>The aircraft's 350 bar (35 MPa or 5,000 psi) hydraulic system is an improvement over the typical 210 <!--del_lnk--> bar (21 <!--del_lnk--> MPa or 3,000 <!--del_lnk--> psi) system found in other commercial aircraft since the <!--del_lnk--> 1940s. First used in military aircraft, higher pressure hydraulics reduce the size of pipelines, actuators and other components for overall weight reduction. The 350 bar pressure is generated by eight de-clutchable hydraulic pumps. Pipelines are typically made from <a href="../../wp/t/Titanium.htm" title="Titanium">titanium</a> and the system features both fuel and air-cooled <!--del_lnk--> heat exchangers. The hydraulics system architecture also differs significantly from other airliners. Self-contained electrically powered hydraulic power packs, instead of a secondary hydraulic system, are the backups for the primary systems. This saves weight and reduces maintenance.<p>The A380 uses four 150 kVA variable-frequency electrical generators eliminating the constant speed drives for better reliability. The A380 uses aluminium power cables instead of copper for greater weight savings due to the number of cables used for an aircraft of this size and complexity. The electrical power system is fully computerized and many <!--del_lnk--> contactors and breakers have been replaced by solid-state devices for better performance and increased reliability.<p>The A380 features a bulbless illumination system. <!--del_lnk--> LEDs are employed in the cabin, cockpit, cargo and other fuselage areas. The cabin lighting features programmable multi-spectral LEDs capable of creating a cabin ambience simulating daylight, night or shades in between. On the outside of the aircraft, <!--del_lnk--> HID lighting is used to give brighter, whiter and better quality illumination. These two bulbless technologies provide brightness and a service life superior to traditional incandescent light bulbs.<p>The A380 was initially planned without <!--del_lnk--> thrust reversers, as Airbus believed it to have ample braking capacity. The <!--del_lnk--> FAA disagreed, and Airbus elected to fit only the two inboard engines with them. The two outboard engines do not go into reverse, to reduce the amount of debris blown up during landing. The A380 features electrically actuated thrust reversers, giving them better reliability than their pneumatic or hydraulic equivalents, in addition to saving weight.<p><a id="Passenger_amenities" name="Passenger_amenities"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Passenger amenities</span></h3>
<p>Initial publicity stressed the comfort and space of the A380's cabin, which offers room for such installations as relaxation areas, bars, duty-free shops, and beauty salons. One A380 customer likely to use innovative amenities is <!--del_lnk--> Virgin Atlantic Airways, which has a bar in Business Class on its aircraft, and has announced plans to include casinos, double beds, a gymnasium and showers on its A380s.<p>The A380 will expand the improvements that the 747 made — more seats and lower seat-distance costs — while providing wider seats and better amenities. At 555 passengers, the A380's seating capacity represents a 35% increase over the 747-400 in a standard three-class configuration, along with a nearly 50% larger cabin volume — producing more space per passenger. If, however, the plane is ordered in an all-economy-class configuration, it can hold up to 853 passengers, its maximum certified carrying capacity.<p><a id="Airport_compatibility" name="Airport_compatibility"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Airport compatibility</span></h3>
<p>The A380 was designed to fit within an 80 x 80 m airport gate, and can land or take off on any runway that can take a <a href="../../wp/b/Boeing_747.htm" title="Boeing 747">Boeing 747</a>. However, airports used by the A380 in commercial service may need infrastructure modifications. Its large wingspan can require some <!--del_lnk--> taxiway and <!--del_lnk--> apron reconfigurations, to maintain safe separation margins when two of the aircraft pass each other. Taxiway shoulders may be required to be paved to reduce the likelihood of foreign object damage caused to (or by) the outboard engines, which overhang more than 25 m (80 ft) from the centre line of the aircraft. Any taxiway or runway bridge must be capable of supporting the A380's maximum weight. The <!--del_lnk--> terminal gate must be sized such that the A380's wings do not block adjacent gates, and may also provide multiple <!--del_lnk--> jetway bridges for simultaneous boarding on both decks. Service vehicles with lifts capable of reaching the upper deck must be obtained, as well as <!--del_lnk--> tractors capable of handling the A380's maximum ramp weight.<p>The A380 test aircraft have begun a campaign of airport compatibility testing, to verify the modifications already made at several large airports. To date, the airports visited for compatibility testing include Brisbane, Frankfurt, Hong Kong, Johannesburg, Tokyo Narita, Kuala Lumpur, London Heathrow, Melbourne, Singapore, and Sydney.<p><a id="Production" name="Production"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Production</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/151/15114.jpg.htm" title="The A380 transporter Ville de Bordeaux"><img alt="The A380 transporter Ville de Bordeaux" height="116" longdesc="/wiki/Image:RoRo_ship_Ville_de_Bordeaux_in_Pauillac.jpg" src="../../images/151/15114.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/151/15114.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> The A380 transporter <i><!--del_lnk--> Ville de Bordeaux</i></div>
</div>
</div>
<p>Major structural sections of the A380 are built in <a href="../../wp/f/France.htm" title="France">France</a>, <a href="../../wp/g/Germany.htm" title="Germany">Germany</a>, <a href="../../wp/s/Spain.htm" title="Spain">Spain</a>, and the <a href="../../wp/u/United_Kingdom.htm" title="United Kingdom">United Kingdom</a>. Due to their size, they are brought to the assembly hall in <!--del_lnk--> Toulouse in <a href="../../wp/f/France.htm" title="France">France</a> by surface transportation, rather than by the <!--del_lnk--> Beluga aircraft used for other Airbus models. Components of the A380 are provided by suppliers from around the world; the five largest contributors, by value, are <!--del_lnk--> Rolls-Royce, <!--del_lnk--> SAFRAN, <!--del_lnk--> United Technologies, <!--del_lnk--> General Electric, and <!--del_lnk--> Goodrich.<p>The front and rear sections of the fuselage are loaded on an Airbus <!--del_lnk--> RORO ship, <!--del_lnk--> Ville de Bordeaux, in <a href="../../wp/h/Hamburg.htm" title="Hamburg">Hamburg</a> in northern <a href="../../wp/g/Germany.htm" title="Germany">Germany</a>, whence they are shipped to the <a href="../../wp/u/United_Kingdom.htm" title="United Kingdom">United Kingdom</a>. The wings, which are manufactured at <!--del_lnk--> Filton in <a href="../../wp/b/Bristol.htm" title="Bristol">Bristol</a> and <!--del_lnk--> Broughton in north <a href="../../wp/w/Wales.htm" title="Wales">Wales</a>, are transported by <!--del_lnk--> barge to <!--del_lnk--> Mostyn docks, where the ship adds them to its cargo. In <!--del_lnk--> Saint-Nazaire in western <a href="../../wp/f/France.htm" title="France">France</a>, the ship trades the fuselage sections from Hamburg for larger, assembled sections, some of which include the nose. The ship unloads in <!--del_lnk--> Bordeaux. Afterwards, the ship picks up the belly and tail sections by <!--del_lnk--> Construcciones Aeronáuticas SA in <!--del_lnk--> Cadiz in southern <a href="../../wp/s/Spain.htm" title="Spain">Spain</a>, and delivers them to Bordeaux. From there, the A380 parts are transported by barge to <!--del_lnk--> Langon, and by oversize road convoys to the assembly hall in <!--del_lnk--> Toulouse. New wider roads, canal systems and barges were developed to deliver the A380 parts. After assembly, the aircraft are flown to Hamburg to be furnished and painted. Airbus sized the production facilities and <!--del_lnk--> supply chain for a production rate of four A380s per month.<p><a id="Orders" name="Orders"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Orders</span></h2>
<p>Sixteen airlines have ordered the A380, including an order from aircraft lessor <!--del_lnk--> ILFC. A380 orders stand at 166, of which 157 are firm and 15 are freighter models. Airbus expects to sell a total of 750 aircraft, and estimates <!--del_lnk--> break-even at 420 units, increased from 270 due to delivery delays and the falling exchange rate of the <a href="../../wp/u/United_States_dollar.htm" title="United States dollar">US dollar</a>. Industry analysts anticipate between 400 and 880 sales by <!--del_lnk--> 2025. <!--del_lnk--> As of 2006, the unit cost of the A380 is <a href="../../wp/u/United_States_dollar.htm" title="United States dollar">US$</a> 296 to 316 million, depending on equipment installed.<table border="1" cellpadding="3" class="toccolours" style="border-collapse:collapse">
<caption><b>Orders sorted by airline</b></caption>
<tr bgcolor="#EFEFEF">
<th rowspan="2">Airline</th>
<th rowspan="2">EIS</th>
<th colspan="3">Type</th>
<th colspan="2">Engine</th>
</tr>
<tr bgcolor="#EFEFEF">
<th>A380-800</th>
<th>A380-800F</th>
<th>Options</th>
<th><!--del_lnk--> EA</th>
<th><!--del_lnk--> RR</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="left"><a class="image" href="../../images/5/526.png.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="13" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_France.svg" src="../../images/12/1296.png" width="20" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Air France</td>
<td>2009</td>
<td align="center">10</td>
<td align="center">
</td>
<td align="center">4</td>
<td bgcolor="#7BA05B"><font color="#7BA05B">*</font></td>
<td>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="left"><a class="image" href="../../images/5/584.png.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="13" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_the_People%27s_Republic_of_China.svg" src="../../images/41/4117.png" width="20" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> China Southern Airlines</td>
<td>2007</td>
<td align="center">5</td>
<td align="center">
</td>
<td align="center">
</td>
<td>
</td>
<td bgcolor="#4A6FFD"><font color="#4A6FFD">*</font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="left"><a class="image" href="../../images/0/12.png.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="10" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_the_United_Arab_Emirates.svg" src="../../images/72/7237.png" width="20" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Emirates</td>
<td>2008</td>
<td align="center">43</td>
<td align="center">
</td>
<td align="center">
</td>
<td bgcolor="#7BA05B"><font color="#7BA05B">*</font></td>
<td>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="left"><a class="image" href="../../images/0/12.png.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="10" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_the_United_Arab_Emirates.svg" src="../../images/72/7237.png" width="20" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Etihad Airways</td>
<td>2008</td>
<td align="center">4</td>
<td align="center">
</td>
<td align="center">
</td>
<td>
</td>
<td bgcolor="#4A6FFD"><font color="#4A6FFD">*</font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="left"><a class="image" href="../../images/6/695.png.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="11" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_the_United_States.svg" src="../../images/11/1140.png" width="20" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> ILFC</td>
<td align="center">
</td>
<td align="center">5</td>
<td align="center">5</td>
<td align="center">4</td>
<td bgcolor="#7BA05B"> 4</td>
<td>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="left"><a class="image" href="../../images/179/17939.png.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="13" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_India.svg" src="../../images/38/3802.png" width="20" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Kingfisher Airlines</td>
<td>2010</td>
<td align="center">5</td>
<td align="center">
</td>
<td align="center">
</td>
<td>
</td>
<td>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="left"><a class="image" href="../../images/142/14238.png.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="13" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_South_Korea.svg" src="../../images/11/1148.png" width="20" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Korean Air</td>
<td>2008</td>
<td align="center">5</td>
<td align="center">
</td>
<td align="center">3</td>
<td bgcolor="#7BA05B"><font color="#7BA05B">*</font></td>
<td>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="left"><a class="image" href="../../images/5/538.png.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="12" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Germany.svg" src="../../images/11/1143.png" width="20" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Lufthansa</td>
<td>2009</td>
<td align="center">15</td>
<td align="center">
</td>
<td align="center">10</td>
<td>
</td>
<td bgcolor="#4A6FFD"><font color="#4A6FFD">*</font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="left"><a class="image" href="../../images/5/597.png.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="10" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Malaysia.svg" src="../../images/72/7242.png" width="20" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Malaysia Airlines</td>
<td>2007</td>
<td align="center">6</td>
<td align="center">
</td>
<td align="center">
</td>
<td>
</td>
<td bgcolor="#4A6FFD"><font color="#4A6FFD">*</font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="left"><a class="image" href="../../images/7/785.png.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="10" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Australia.svg" src="../../images/13/1305.png" width="20" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Qantas</td>
<td>2007</td>
<td align="center">20</td>
<td align="center">
</td>
<td align="center">4</td>
<td>
</td>
<td bgcolor="#4A6FFD">
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="left"><a class="image" href="../../images/109/10992.png.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="8" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Qatar.svg" src="../../images/151/15115.png" width="20" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Qatar Airways</td>
<td>2009</td>
<td align="center">2</td>
<td align="center">
</td>
<td align="center">2</td>
<td>
</td>
<td>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="left"><a class="image" href="../../images/121/12175.png.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="13" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Singapore.svg" src="../../images/151/15116.png" width="20" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Singapore Airlines</td>
<td>2007</td>
<td align="center">19</td>
<td align="center">
</td>
<td align="center">6</td>
<td>
</td>
<td bgcolor="#4A6FFD">10</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="left"><a class="image" href="../../images/6/601.png.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="13" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Thailand.svg" src="../../images/13/1318.png" width="20" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Thai Airways International</td>
<td>
</td>
<td align="center">6</td>
<td align="center">
</td>
<td align="center">
</td>
<td>
</td>
<td>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="left"><a class="image" href="../../images/6/695.png.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="11" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_the_United_States.svg" src="../../images/11/1140.png" width="20" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> UPS</td>
<td>2010</td>
<td align="center">
</td>
<td align="center">10</td>
<td align="center">10</td>
<td bgcolor="#7BA05B"><font color="#7BA05B">*</font></td>
<td>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="left"><a class="image" href="../../images/7/789.png.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="10" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_the_United_Kingdom.svg" src="../../images/12/1293.png" width="20" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Virgin Atlantic</td>
<td>2013</td>
<td align="center">6</td>
<td align="center">
</td>
<td align="center">6</td>
<td>
</td>
<td bgcolor="#4A6FFD"><font color="#4A6FFD">*</font></td>
</tr>
<tr bgcolor="#EFEFEF">
<th colspan="2" style="text-align:left">Sub-totals</th>
<th>151</th>
<th>15</th>
<th rowspan="2">49</th>
<th>72</th>
<th>66</th>
</tr>
<tr bgcolor="#EFEFEF">
<th colspan="2" style="text-align:left">Total</th>
<th colspan="2">166</th>
<th colspan="2">138</th>
</tr>
</table>
<p>
<br />
<table border="1" cellpadding="3" class="toccolours" style="border-collapse:collapse">
<caption><b>Orders sorted by chronology</b></caption>
<tr bgcolor="#EFEFEF">
<th rowspan="2">Announcement<br /> Date</th>
<th rowspan="2">Confirmation<br /> Date</th>
<th rowspan="2">Airline</th>
<th rowspan="2">EIS</th>
<th colspan="3">Type</th>
<th colspan="2">Engine</th>
</tr>
<tr bgcolor="#EFEFEF">
<th>A380-800</th>
<th>A380-800F</th>
<th>Options</th>
<th><!--del_lnk--> EA</th>
<th><!--del_lnk--> RR</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="right"><!--del_lnk--> April 30, <!--del_lnk--> 2000</td>
<td align="right"><!--del_lnk--> July 24, <!--del_lnk--> 2000</td>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/0/12.png.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="10" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_the_United_Arab_Emirates.svg" src="../../images/72/7237.png" width="20" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Emirates</td>
<td align="center">2008</td>
<td align="center">5</td>
<td align="center">2</td>
<td>
</td>
<td bgcolor="#7BA05B"><font color="#7BA05B">*</font></td>
<td>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="right"><!--del_lnk--> July 24, <!--del_lnk--> 2000</td>
<td align="right"><!--del_lnk--> June 18, <!--del_lnk--> 2001</td>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/5/526.png.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="13" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_France.svg" src="../../images/12/1296.png" width="20" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Air France <!--del_lnk--> </td>
<td align="center">2009</td>
<td align="center">10</td>
<td>
</td>
<td align="center">4</td>
<td bgcolor="#7BA05B"><font color="#7BA05B">*</font></td>
<td>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="right"><!--del_lnk--> July 25, <!--del_lnk--> 2000</td>
<td align="right"><!--del_lnk--> June 17, <!--del_lnk--> 2001</td>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/6/695.png.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="11" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_the_United_States.svg" src="../../images/11/1140.png" width="20" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> ILFC</td>
<td>
</td>
<td align="center">5</td>
<td align="center">5</td>
<td align="center">4</td>
<td bgcolor="#7BA05B">
</td>
<td>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="right"><!--del_lnk--> September 29, <!--del_lnk--> 2000</td>
<td align="right"><!--del_lnk--> July 12, <!--del_lnk--> 2001</td>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/121/12175.png.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="13" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Singapore.svg" src="../../images/151/15116.png" width="20" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Singapore Airlines <!--del_lnk--> </td>
<td align="center">2007</td>
<td align="center">10</td>
<td>
</td>
<td align="center">15</td>
<td>
</td>
<td bgcolor="#4A6FFD"><font color="#4A6FFD">*</font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="right"><!--del_lnk--> November 29, <!--del_lnk--> 2000</td>
<td align="right"><!--del_lnk--> March 6, <!--del_lnk--> 2001</td>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/7/785.png.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="10" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Australia.svg" src="../../images/13/1305.png" width="20" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Qantas</td>
<td align="center">2007</td>
<td align="center">12</td>
<td>
</td>
<td align="center">12</td>
<td>
</td>
<td bgcolor="#4A6FFD"><font color="#4A6FFD">*</font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="right"><!--del_lnk--> December 15, <!--del_lnk--> 2000</td>
<td align="right"><!--del_lnk--> April 28, <!--del_lnk--> 2001</td>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/7/789.png.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="10" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_the_United_Kingdom.svg" src="../../images/12/1293.png" width="20" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Virgin Atlantic</td>
<td align="center">2013</td>
<td align="center">6</td>
<td>
</td>
<td align="center">6</td>
<td>
</td>
<td bgcolor="#4A6FFD"><font color="#4A6FFD">*</font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="right"><!--del_lnk--> January 16, <!--del_lnk--> 2001</td>
<td align="right"><!--del_lnk--> July 12, <!--del_lnk--> 2002</td>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/6/695.png.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="11" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_the_United_States.svg" src="../../images/11/1140.png" width="20" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> FedEx(cancelled) <!--del_lnk--> </td>
<td align="center">2010</td>
<td>
</td>
<td align="center">10</td>
<td align="center">10</td>
<td bgcolor="#7BA05B"><font color="#7BA05B">*</font></td>
<td>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="right"><!--del_lnk--> February 27, <!--del_lnk--> 2001</td>
<td align="right"><!--del_lnk--> June 20, <!--del_lnk--> 2003</td>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/109/10992.png.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="8" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Qatar.svg" src="../../images/151/15115.png" width="20" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Qatar Airways <!--del_lnk--> </td>
<td align="center">2009</td>
<td align="center">2</td>
<td>
</td>
<td align="center">2</td>
<td>
</td>
<td>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="right"><!--del_lnk--> November 4, <!--del_lnk--> 2001</td>
<td align="right">
</td>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/0/12.png.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="10" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_the_United_Arab_Emirates.svg" src="../../images/72/7237.png" width="20" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Emirates</td>
<td align="center">2008</td>
<td align="center">15</td>
<td align="center">
</td>
<td>
</td>
<td bgcolor="#7BA05B"><font color="#7BA05B">*</font></td>
<td>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="right"><!--del_lnk--> December 6, <!--del_lnk--> 2001</td>
<td align="right">
</td>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/5/538.png.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="12" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Germany.svg" src="../../images/11/1143.png" width="20" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Lufthansa<!--del_lnk--> </td>
<td align="center">2009</td>
<td align="center">15</td>
<td>
</td>
<td align="center">10</td>
<td>
</td>
<td bgcolor="#4A6FFD"><font color="#4A6FFD">*</font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="right"><!--del_lnk--> January 10, <!--del_lnk--> 2003</td>
<td align="right">
</td>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/5/597.png.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="10" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Malaysia.svg" src="../../images/72/7242.png" width="20" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Malaysia Airlines <!--del_lnk--> </td>
<td align="center">2007</td>
<td align="center">6</td>
<td>
</td>
<td>
</td>
<td>
</td>
<td bgcolor="#4A6FFD"><font color="#4A6FFD">*</font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="right"><!--del_lnk--> June 16, <!--del_lnk--> 2003</td>
<td align="right">
</td>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/0/12.png.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="10" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_the_United_Arab_Emirates.svg" src="../../images/72/7237.png" width="20" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Emirates</td>
<td align="center">2009</td>
<td align="center">21</td>
<td>
</td>
<td>
</td>
<td bgcolor="#7BA05B"><font color="#7BA05B">*</font></td>
<td>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="right"><!--del_lnk--> August 27, <!--del_lnk--> 2004</td>
<td align="right">
</td>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/6/601.png.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="13" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Thailand.svg" src="../../images/13/1318.png" width="20" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Thai Airways International</td>
<td align="center">2007/8</td>
<td align="center">6</td>
<td>
</td>
<td>
</td>
<td>
</td>
<td>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="right"><!--del_lnk--> January 10, <!--del_lnk--> 2005</td>
<td align="right">
</td>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/6/695.png.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="11" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_the_United_States.svg" src="../../images/11/1140.png" width="20" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> UPS <!--del_lnk--> </td>
<td align="center">2010</td>
<td>
</td>
<td align="center">10</td>
<td align="center">10</td>
<td bgcolor="#7BA05B"><font color="#7BA05B">*</font></td>
<td>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="right"><!--del_lnk--> January 18, <!--del_lnk--> 2005</td>
<td align="right">
</td>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/142/14238.png.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="13" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_South_Korea.svg" src="../../images/11/1148.png" width="20" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Korean Air <!--del_lnk--> </td>
<td align="center">2008</td>
<td align="center">5</td>
<td>
</td>
<td align="center">3</td>
<td bgcolor="#7BA05B"><font color="#7BA05B">*</font></td>
<td>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="right"><!--del_lnk--> January 31, <!--del_lnk--> 2005</td>
<td align="right">
</td>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/0/12.png.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="10" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_the_United_Arab_Emirates.svg" src="../../images/72/7237.png" width="20" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Etihad Airways <!--del_lnk--> </td>
<td align="center">2008</td>
<td align="center">4</td>
<td>
</td>
<td>
</td>
<td>
</td>
<td bgcolor="#4A6FFD"><font color="#4A6FFD">*</font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="right"><!--del_lnk--> January 31, <!--del_lnk--> 2005</td>
<td align="right">
</td>
<td align="left"><a class="image" href="../../images/5/584.png.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="13" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_the_People%27s_Republic_of_China.svg" src="../../images/41/4117.png" width="20" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> China Southern Airlines <!--del_lnk--> </td>
<td align="center">2007</td>
<td align="center">5</td>
<td>
</td>
<td>
</td>
<td>
</td>
<td bgcolor="#4A6FFD"><font color="#4A6FFD">*</font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="right"><!--del_lnk--> June 15, <!--del_lnk--> 2005</td>
<td align="right">
</td>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/179/17939.png.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="13" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_India.svg" src="../../images/38/3802.png" width="20" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Kingfisher Airlines</td>
<td align="center">2010</td>
<td align="center">5</td>
<td>
</td>
<td>
</td>
<td>
</td>
<td>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="right">May <!--del_lnk--> 2006</td>
<td align="right">
</td>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/0/12.png.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="10" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_the_United_Arab_Emirates.svg" src="../../images/72/7237.png" width="20" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Emirates</td>
<td align="center">
</td>
<td align="center">2</td>
<td align="center">-2</td>
<td>
</td>
<td bgcolor="#7BA05B"><font color="#7BA05B">*</font></td>
<td>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="right" bgcolor="#FFDDDD"><!--del_lnk--> July 23, <!--del_lnk--> 2006</td>
<td align="right" bgcolor="#FFDDDD">
</td>
<td bgcolor="#FFDDDD"><a class="image" href="../../images/121/12175.png.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="13" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Singapore.svg" src="../../images/151/15116.png" width="20" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Singapore Airlines <!--del_lnk--> </td>
<td bgcolor="#FFDDDD">
</td>
<td align="center" bgcolor="#FFDDDD">9</td>
<td bgcolor="#FFDDDD">
</td>
<td align="center" bgcolor="#FFDDDD">-9</td>
<td>
</td>
<td>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="right"><!--del_lnk--> October 29, <!--del_lnk--> 2006</td>
<td align="right">
</td>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/7/785.png.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="10" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Australia.svg" src="../../images/13/1305.png" width="20" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Qantas</td>
<td align="center">2008</td>
<td align="center">8</td>
<td>
</td>
<td align="center">-8</td>
<td>
</td>
<td bgcolor="#4A6FFD">
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="right"><!--del_lnk--> November 7, <!--del_lnk--> 2006</td>
<td align="right">
</td>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/6/695.png.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="11" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_the_United_States.svg" src="../../images/11/1140.png" width="20" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> FedEx </td>
<td align="center">n/a</td>
<td>
</td>
<td align="center">-10</td>
<td align="center">-10</td>
<td bgcolor="#7BA05B"> </td>
</tr>
<tr bgcolor="#EFEFEF">
<th colspan="4">Sub-Totals:</th>
<th align="center">151</th>
<th align="center">15</th>
<th align="center" rowspan="2">49</th>
<th align="center">72</th>
<th align="center">66</th>
</tr>
<tr bgcolor="#EFEFEF">
<th colspan="4">Totals</th>
<th colspan="2">166</th>
<th colspan="2">138</th>
</tr>
</table>
<p>Entries shaded in pink have been announced, but have not yet signed a firm contract.<p><a id="Technical_concerns" name="Technical_concerns"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Technical concerns</span></h2>
<p>Several concerns about the A380 have arisen. Airbus has said that it will address these concerns as required by the <!--del_lnk--> European Aviation Safety Agency and its American counterpart, the <!--del_lnk--> FAA, which must both issue a <!--del_lnk--> type certificate before the A380 can enter into service.<p><a id="Ground_operations" name="Ground_operations"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Ground operations</span></h3>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/151/15117.jpg.htm" title="The A380's 20-wheel main landing gear"><img alt="The A380's 20-wheel main landing gear" height="135" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Airbus_A380_Fahrwerk.jpg" src="../../images/151/15117.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/151/15117.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> The A380's 20-wheel main landing gear</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>Early critics claimed that the A380 would damage taxiways and other airport surfaces. However, the pressure exerted by its wheels is lower than that of a Boeing 747 or Boeing 777 because the A380 has 22 wheels, four more than the 747, and eight more than the 777. Airbus measured pavement loads using a 540-tonne (595 short tons) ballasted test rig, designed to replicate the landing gear of the A380. The rig was towed over a section of pavement at Airbus' facilities that had been specially instrumented with embedded load sensors.<p>Based on its wingspan, the American <!--del_lnk--> FAA classifies the A380 as a Design Group VI aircraft, requiring a width of 60 m (200 ft) for runways and 30 m (100 ft) for taxiways, compared to 45 m (150 ft) and 23 m (75 ft) for Design Group V aircraft such as the Boeing 747. Airbus claimed that the A380 could safely operate on Group V runways and taxiways, without the need for widening. The FAA first considered limiting the taxiing speed of the A380 to 25 km/h (15 mph) on Group V infrastructure, but has since issued waivers that do away with the speed restriction and some runway widening requirements.<p><!--del_lnk--> As of late 2005 there were concerns that the <!--del_lnk--> jet blast from the A380's engines could be dangerous to ground vehicles and airport terminal buildings, as more thrust is required to move its greater mass (590 t compared to 412.8 t for a 747). The FAA has established a commission to determine if new safety regulations seem necessary, and will make appropriate recommendations to the <!--del_lnk--> ICAO. According to <i><a href="../../wp/t/The_Wall_Street_Journal.htm" title="The Wall Street Journal">The Wall Street Journal</a></i>, "The debate is supposed to be entirely about safety, but industry officials and even some participants acknowledge that, at the very least, an overlay of diplomatic and trade tensions complicates matters." The FAA commission has stated it will not enact <!--del_lnk--> unilateral safeguards for the A380, only those imposed by the ICAO.<p><a id="Wake_turbulence" name="Wake_turbulence"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Wake turbulence</span></h3>
<p>The A380 generates more <!--del_lnk--> wake turbulence on takeoff and landing than existing aircraft types, requiring increased airport <!--del_lnk--> approach and departure spacing for following aircraft.<p>In <!--del_lnk--> 2005, the <!--del_lnk--> International Civil Aviation Organization recommended that provisional separation criteria for the A380 be substantially greater than for the 747 because preliminary <!--del_lnk--> flight test data suggested a stronger wake than the 747. These criteria were in effect while the A380 Wake Vortex Steering Group, with representatives from the <!--del_lnk--> JAA, <!--del_lnk--> Eurocontrol, the <!--del_lnk--> FAA and <a href="../../wp/a/Airbus.htm" title="Airbus">Airbus</a>, refined its 3-year study of the issue with additional <!--del_lnk--> flight testing. In September 2006, the working group presented its conclusions to the ICAO, which is expected to issue final guidance on the issue in November <!--del_lnk--> 2006.<p>The working group concluded that an aircraft trailing an A380 during approach needs to maintain a separation of 6 <!--del_lnk--> nm, 8 nm and 10 nm respectively for ICAO "Heavy", "Medium" and "Light" aircraft categories, instead of the traditional 4 nm, 5 nm and 6 nm spacing. However, the working group found no need to limit the A380's trailing distance behind another aircraft, potentially making up for some of the increased spacing behind the A380. On departure behind an A380, the working group concluded that "Heavy" aircraft are required to wait two minutes, and "Medium"/"Light" aircraft three minutes for time based operations. Finally, the working group did not recommend any restrictions on vertical or horizontal separation criteria during cruise.<p><a id="Wing_strength" name="Wing_strength"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Wing strength</span></h3>
<p>During the destructive wing strength certification test, the test wing of the A380 failed to meet the certification requirement of 150% of limit load. Limit load is the maximum load expected during operation in the design life of an aircraft. The test wing buckled between the inboard and outboard engines at 147% of limit load, as the wing tip reached a vertical deflection of 7.4 m (24.3 ft). Airbus initially stated that the test article represented an early design, and that the load requirement would be verified by analysis of changes already made. Subsequently, however, Airbus announced that modifications adding 30 kg to the wing would be made to provide the required strength.<p><a id="Cabin_pressurization" name="Cabin_pressurization"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Cabin pressurization</span></h3>
<p><!--del_lnk--> Joseph Mangan, a former employee of <!--del_lnk--> TTTech, has claimed the microprocessors produced by TTTech for the A380 are severely flawed. The microchips control the A380's cabin pressurization system; Mangan has stated that the combination of TTTech's microprocessor and a new architecture of valves could cause the A380 to undergo <!--del_lnk--> rapid decompression. This sudden drop in cabin pressure could cause the flight crew to lose consciousness and jeopardize safe flight. This allegation has been strongly rejected by both TTTech and Airbus parent <!--del_lnk--> EADS. Boeing has also said it is unaware of any problems with TTTech's chips. An <a href="../../wp/a/Austria.htm" title="Austria">Austrian</a> court has fined Mr. Mangan for violating its preliminary injunction against discussing his allegations pending court cases.<p><a id="Trivia" name="Trivia"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Trivia</span></h2>
<ul>
<li>The A380 was nicknamed <b>"Megaliner"</b> during early development within Airbus.<li>Each A380 contains 530 kilometres (330 miles) of cables, 100,000 wires, and 40,300 connectors.<li>Acclaimed film director <!--del_lnk--> Martin Scorsese is making a documentary film about the creation of the A380.<li>The fictional aircraft (the <b>E-474</b>) in the 2005 film <i><!--del_lnk--> Flightplan</i> clearly resembles an A380 in its general arrangement of full length upper and lower passenger decks and four turbofan engines. The number is obviously derived from the <a href="../../wp/b/Boeing_747.htm" title="Boeing 747">Boeing 747</a>. The nose, however, resembles the <!--del_lnk--> McDonnell Douglas MD-12.<li>Likewise, the experimental "Skyfleet" prototype plane from <!--del_lnk--> Casino Royale is also based on the A380.</ul>
<p><a id="Specifications" name="Specifications"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Specifications</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/19/1910.png.htm" title="A size comparison between four of the largest aircraft. Click to enlarge."><img alt="A size comparison between four of the largest aircraft. Click to enlarge." height="251" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Giant_planes_comparison.svg" src="../../images/151/15118.png" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/19/1910.png.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> A size comparison between four of the largest aircraft. Click to enlarge.</div>
</div>
</div>
<table class="wikitable">
<tr>
<th>Measurement</th>
<th>A380-800</th>
<th>A380F</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Cockpit crew</td>
<td align="center">Two</td>
<td align="center">Two</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Seating capacity</td>
<td align="center">555 (3-class)</td>
<td align="center">12 couriers</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Length</td>
<td align="center">73 m (239 ft 6 in)</td>
<td align="center">73 m (239 ft 6 in)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Span</td>
<td align="center">79.8 m (261 ft 10 in)</td>
<td align="center">79.8 m (261 ft 10 in)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Height</td>
<td align="center">24.1 m (79 ft 1 in)</td>
<td align="center">24.1 m (79 ft 1 in)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Wheelbase</td>
<td align="center">30.4 m (99 ft 8 in)</td>
<td align="center">30.4 m (99 ft 8 in)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Outside fuselage width</td>
<td align="center">7.14 m (23 ft 6 in)</td>
<td align="center">7.14 m (23 ft 6 in)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Floor width, main deck</td>
<td align="center">6.30 m (20 ft 8 in)</td>
<td align="center">6.30 m (20 ft 8 in)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Floor width, upper deck</td>
<td align="center">5.28 m (17 ft 4 in)</td>
<td align="center">5.28 m (17 ft 4 in)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Wing area</td>
<td align="center">845 m² (9,100 ft²)</td>
<td align="center">845 m² (9,100 ft²)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Operating empty weight</td>
<td align="center">276,800 kg (610,200 lb)</td>
<td align="center">252,200 kg (556,000 lb)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Maximum take-off weight</td>
<td align="center">560,000 kg (1,235,000 lb)</td>
<td align="center">590,000 kg (1,300,000 lb)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Maximum payload</td>
<td align="center">90,800 kg (200,000 lb)</td>
<td align="center">152,400 kg (336,000 lb)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Cruising speed</td>
<td align="center">0.85 Mach</td>
<td align="center">0.85 Mach</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Maximum speed</td>
<td align="center">0.89 Mach</td>
<td align="center">0.89 Mach</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Range at design load</td>
<td align="center">8,000 nm (15,000 km)</td>
<td align="center">5,600 nm (10,400 km)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Maximum fuel capacity</td>
<td align="center">310,000 L (81,890 U.S. gallons)</td>
<td align="center">310,000 L (81,890 U.S. gallons),<br /> 356,000 L (94,000 U.S. gallons) option</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Engines</td>
<td align="center">4 x GP7270 or Trent 970</td>
<td align="center">4 x GP7277 or Trent 977</td>
</tr>
</table>
<div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airbus_A380"</div>
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<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">Aircraft</h1>
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<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.Design_and_Technology.Air_and_Sea_transport.htm">Air & Sea transport</a></h3>
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<div style="width:352px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/231/23139.jpg.htm" title="An Airbus A380, currently the world's largest passenger airliner"><img alt="An Airbus A380, currently the world's largest passenger airliner" height="250" longdesc="/wiki/Image:1er_vol_de_l%27_A380.jpg" src="../../images/231/23139.jpg" width="350" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/231/23139.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> An <a href="../../wp/a/Airbus_A380.htm" title="Airbus A380">Airbus A380</a>, currently the world's largest passenger airliner</div>
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<p>An <b>aircraft</b> is any <!--del_lnk--> vehicle or <!--del_lnk--> craft capable of <a href="../../wp/e/Earth%2527s_atmosphere.htm" title="Earth's atmosphere">atmospheric</a> <!--del_lnk--> flight.<p>
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</script><a id="Categories_and_classification" name="Categories_and_classification"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Categories and classification</span></h2>
<p>Aircraft fall into two broad categories:<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:202px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/231/23140.jpg.htm" title="A hot air balloon takes off from Royal Victoria Park, Bath, England"><img alt="A hot air balloon takes off from Royal Victoria Park, Bath, England" height="254" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Yellow.balloon.takesoff.in.bath.arp.jpg" src="../../images/231/23140.jpg" width="200" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/231/23140.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> A hot air balloon takes off from Royal Victoria Park, Bath, England</div>
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<p><a id="Heavier_than_air" name="Heavier_than_air"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Heavier than air</span></h3>
<p>Heavier than air aircraft, or <!--del_lnk--> aerodynes, include <!--del_lnk--> autogyros, <!--del_lnk--> helicopters and <!--del_lnk--> gyrocopters, and conventional <!--del_lnk--> fixed-wing aircraft (aeroplanes). Fixed-wing aircraft generally use an <!--del_lnk--> internal-combustion engine in the form of a <!--del_lnk--> piston engine (with a <!--del_lnk--> propeller) or a <!--del_lnk--> turbine engine (<a href="../../wp/j/Jet_engine.htm" title="Jet engine">jet</a> or <!--del_lnk--> turboprop), to provide <!--del_lnk--> thrust that moves the craft forward through the air. The movement of air over the wings produces <!--del_lnk--> lift that causes the aircraft to fly. Exceptions include <!--del_lnk--> gliders which have no engines and gain their thrust, initially, from <!--del_lnk--> winches or tugs and then from gravity and thermal currents. For a glider to maintain its forward speed it must descend in relation to the air (but not necessarily in relation to the ground). Helicopters and autogyros use a spinning rotor (a <i>rotary wing</i>) to provide lift; helicopters also use the rotor to provide thrust. <!--del_lnk--> Gyrodynes are aircraft intermediate between helicopters and autogyros, whose rotor is sometimes powered (often by a jet at its tips) but which do not have a tail rotor. <!--del_lnk--> Heliplanes are combination aircraft with both a rotor and wings; they can take off and land vertically, and hover, like a helicopter, but use their wings for high speed flight. The abbreviation "<!--del_lnk--> VTOL" is applied to aircraft that can take off and land vertically. "<!--del_lnk--> STOL" stands for Short Take Off and Landing.<p><a id="Lighter_than_air" name="Lighter_than_air"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Lighter than air</span></h3>
<p><!--del_lnk--> Lighter than air <!--del_lnk--> aerostats: <!--del_lnk--> balloons and <a href="../../wp/a/Airship.htm" title="Airship">airships</a>. Aerostats use <!--del_lnk--> buoyancy to float in the air in much the same manner as ships float on the water. In particular, these aircraft use a relatively low density gas such as <a href="../../wp/h/Helium.htm" title="Helium">helium</a>, <a href="../../wp/h/Hydrogen.htm" title="Hydrogen">hydrogen</a> or heated air, to displace the air around the craft. The distinction between a balloon and an airship is that an airship has some means of controlling both its forward motion and steering itself, while balloons are carried along with the wind.<p><a id="Types_of_aircraft" name="Types_of_aircraft"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Types of aircraft</span></h3>
<p>There are several ways to classify aircraft. Below, we describe classifications by design, propulsion and usage.<p><a id="By_design" name="By_design"></a><h4> <span class="mw-headline">By design</span></h4>
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<div style="width:352px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/19/1910.png.htm" title="A size comparison of some of the largest aircraft in the world. The Airbus A380-800 (largest airliner), the Boeing 747-8, the Antonov An-225 (aircraft with the greatest payload) and the Hughes H-4 "Spruce Goose" (aircraft with greatest wingspan)."><img alt="A size comparison of some of the largest aircraft in the world. The Airbus A380-800 (largest airliner), the Boeing 747-8, the Antonov An-225 (aircraft with the greatest payload) and the Hughes H-4 "Spruce Goose" (aircraft with greatest wingspan)." height="489" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Giant_planes_comparison.svg" src="../../images/231/23141.png" width="350" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/19/1910.png.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> A size comparison of some of the largest aircraft in the world. The <a href="../../wp/a/Airbus_A380.htm" title="Airbus A380">Airbus A380-800</a> (largest airliner), the <a href="../../wp/b/Boeing_747.htm" title="Boeing 747">Boeing 747</a><!--del_lnk--> -8, the <!--del_lnk--> Antonov An-225 (aircraft with the greatest payload) and the <!--del_lnk--> Hughes H-4 "Spruce Goose" (aircraft with greatest wingspan).</div>
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<p>A first division by design among aircraft is between lighter-than-air, <b>aerostat</b>, and heavier-than-air aircraft, <b>aerodyne</b>.<p>Examples of lighter-than-air aircraft include non-steerable <!--del_lnk--> balloons, such as <a href="../../wp/h/Hot_air_balloon.htm" title="Hot air balloon">hot air balloons</a> and <!--del_lnk--> gas balloons, and steerable <a href="../../wp/a/Airship.htm" title="Airship">airships</a> (sometimes called dirigible balloons) such as <!--del_lnk--> blimps (that have non-rigid construction) and <!--del_lnk--> rigid airships that have an internal frame. The most successful type of rigid airship was the <!--del_lnk--> Zeppelin. Several accidents, such as the <!--del_lnk--> Hindenburg fire at <!--del_lnk--> Lakehurst, NJ, in <!--del_lnk--> 1937 led to the demise of large rigid airships.<p>In heavier-than-air aircraft, there are two ways to produce lift: aerodynamic lift and engine lift. In the case of aerodynamic lift, the aircraft is kept in the air by wings or rotors . With engine lift, the aircraft defeats gravity by use of <!--del_lnk--> vertical thrust. Examples of engine lift aircraft are <!--del_lnk--> rockets, and <!--del_lnk--> VTOL aircraft such as the <!--del_lnk--> Hawker-Siddeley Harrier.<p>Among aerodynamically lifted aircraft, most fall in the category of <!--del_lnk--> fixed-wing aircraft, where horizontal airfoils produce <!--del_lnk--> lift, by profiting from airflow patterns determined by <!--del_lnk--> Bernoulli's equation and, to some extent, the <!--del_lnk--> Coanda effect.<p>The forerunner of these type of aircraft is the <!--del_lnk--> kite. Kites depend upon the tension between the cord which anchors it to the ground and the force of the <a href="../../wp/w/Wind.htm" title="Wind">wind</a> currents. Much aerodynamic work was done with kites until test aircraft, wind tunnels and now computer modelling programs became available.<p>In a "conventional" configuration, the lift surfaces are placed in front of a control surface or <!--del_lnk--> tailplane. The other configuration is the <!--del_lnk--> canard where small horizontal control surfaces are placed forward of the wings, near the nose of the aircraft. Canards are becoming more common as <!--del_lnk--> supersonic <!--del_lnk--> aerodynamics grows more mature and because the forward surface contributes lift during straight-and-level flight.<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:302px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/231/23142.jpg.htm" title="A collection of NASA test aircraft"><img alt="A collection of NASA test aircraft" height="241" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Collection_of_military_aircraft.jpg" src="../../images/231/23142.jpg" width="300" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/231/23142.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> A collection of <!--del_lnk--> NASA test aircraft</div>
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<p>The number of lift surfaces varied in the pre-1950 period, as <!--del_lnk--> biplanes (two wings) and <!--del_lnk--> triplanes (three wings) were numerous in the early days of aviation. Subsequently most aircraft are <!--del_lnk--> monoplanes. This is principally an improvement in <!--del_lnk--> structures and not aerodynamics.<p>Other possibilities include the <!--del_lnk--> delta wing, where lift and horizontal control surfaces are often combined, and the <!--del_lnk--> flying wing, where there is no separate vertical control surface (e.g., the <!--del_lnk--> B-2 Spirit).<p>A variable-geometry wing (or "<!--del_lnk--> swing-wing") has also been employed in a few examples of combat aircraft, such as the <!--del_lnk--> F-111, <!--del_lnk--> Panavia Tornado, <!--del_lnk--> F-14 Tomcat and <!--del_lnk--> B-1 Lancer, among others.<p>The <!--del_lnk--> lifting body configuration is where the body itself produce lift. So far, the only significant practical application of the lifting body is in the <!--del_lnk--> Space Shuttle, but many aircraft generate lift from nothing other than wings alone.<p>A second category of aerodynamically lifted aircraft are the <!--del_lnk--> rotary-wing aircraft. Here, the lift is provided by rotating <!--del_lnk--> aerofoils or <!--del_lnk--> rotors. The best-known examples are the <!--del_lnk--> helicopter, the <!--del_lnk--> autogyro and the <!--del_lnk--> tiltrotor aircraft (such as the <!--del_lnk--> V-22 Osprey). Some craft have reaction-powered rotors with gas jets at the tips but most have one or more lift rotors powered from engine-driven shafts.<p>A further category might encompass the <!--del_lnk--> wing-in-ground-effect types, for example the Russian <!--del_lnk--> ekranoplan also nicknamed the "Caspian Sea Monster" and <a href="../../wp/h/Hovercraft.htm" title="Hovercraft">hovercraft</a>; most of the latter employing a skirt and achieving limited ground or water clearance to reduce friction and achieve speeds above those achieved by <a href="../../wp/b/Boat.htm" title="Boat">boats</a> of similar weight.<p>A recent innovation is a completely new class of aircraft, the <!--del_lnk--> fan wing. This uses a fixed wing with a forced airflow produced by cylindrical fans mounted above. It is (2005) in development in the <a href="../../wp/u/United_Kingdom.htm" title="United Kingdom">United Kingdom</a>.<p>And finally the flapping-wing <!--del_lnk--> ornithopter is a category of its own. These designs may have potential, but currently have no major practical applications.<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/231/23143.jpg.htm" title="Gossamer Albatross, a human-powered aircraft"><img alt="Gossamer Albatross, a human-powered aircraft" height="215" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Gossamer_Albatross_II.jpg" src="../../images/231/23143.jpg" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/231/23143.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div><!--del_lnk--> Gossamer Albatross, a <!--del_lnk--> human-powered aircraft</div>
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<p><a id="By_propulsion" name="By_propulsion"></a><h4> <span class="mw-headline">By propulsion</span></h4>
<p>Some types of aircraft, such as the balloon or <!--del_lnk--> glider, do not have any propulsion. Balloons drift with the wind, though normally the pilot can control the altitude either by heating the air or by releasing ballast, giving some directional control (since the wind direction changes with altitude). For gliders, takeoff takes place from a high location, or the aircraft is pulled into the air by a ground-based winch or vehicle, or towed aloft by a powered "tug" aircraft. <a href="../../wp/a/Airship.htm" title="Airship">Airships</a> combine a balloon's <!--del_lnk--> buoyancy with some kind of propulsion, usually <!--del_lnk--> propeller driven.<p>Until <a href="../../wp/w/World_War_II.htm" title="World War II">World War II</a>, the <!--del_lnk--> internal combustion piston engine was virtually the only type of propulsion used for powered aircraft. (See also: <!--del_lnk--> Aircraft engine.) The piston engine is still used in the majority of aircraft produced, since it is efficient at the lower altitudes used by small aircraft, but the <!--del_lnk--> radial engine (with the cylinders arranged in a circle around the <!--del_lnk--> crankshaft) has largely given way to the <!--del_lnk--> horizontally-opposed engine (with the cylinders lined up on two sides of the crankshaft). Water cooled <!--del_lnk--> V engines, as used in automobiles, were common in high speed aircraft, until they were replaced by jet and turbine power. Piston engines typically operate using <!--del_lnk--> avgas or regular gasoline, though some new ones are being designed to operate on diesel or jet fuel. Piston engines normally become less efficient above 7,000-8,000 ft (2100-2400 m) above sea level because there is less oxygen available for combustion; to solve that problem, some piston engines have mechanically powered compressors (blowers) or turbine-powered <!--del_lnk--> turbochargers or turbonormalizers that compress the air before feeding it into the engine; these piston engines can often operate efficiently at 20,000 ft (6100 m) above sea level or higher, altitudes that require the use of supplemental oxygen or <!--del_lnk--> cabin pressurization.<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/231/23144.jpg.htm" title="A turboprop-engined DeHavilland Twin Otter adapted as a floatplane"><img alt="A turboprop-engined DeHavilland Twin Otter adapted as a floatplane" height="167" longdesc="/wiki/Image:WestCoastAirFloatplane.jpg" src="../../images/231/23144.jpg" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/231/23144.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> A <!--del_lnk--> turboprop-engined <!--del_lnk--> DeHavilland Twin Otter adapted as a <!--del_lnk--> floatplane</div>
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<p>During the forties and especially following the <!--del_lnk--> 1973 energy crisis, development work was done on propellers with swept tips or even scimitar-shaped blades for use in high-speed commercial and military transports.<p>Pressurised aircraft, however, are more likely to use the <!--del_lnk--> turbine engine, since it is naturally efficient at higher altitudes and can operate above 40,000 ft. Helicopters also typically use turbine engines. In addition to turbine engines like the <!--del_lnk--> turboprop and <a href="../../wp/j/Jet_engine.htm" title="Jet engine">turbojet</a>, other types of high-altitude, high-performance engines have included the <!--del_lnk--> ramjet and the <!--del_lnk--> pulse jet. <!--del_lnk--> Rocket aircraft have occasionally been experimented with. They are restricted to rather specialised niches, such as <!--del_lnk--> spaceflight, where no oxygen is available for combustion (rockets carry their own oxygen).<p><a id="By_usage" name="By_usage"></a><h4> <span class="mw-headline">By usage</span></h4>
<p>The major distinction in aircraft usage is between <!--del_lnk--> military aviation, which includes all uses of aircraft for military purposes (such as combat, patrolling, search and rescue, reconnaissance, transport, and training), and <!--del_lnk--> civil aviation, which includes all uses of aircraft for non-military purposes.<p><a id="Military_aircraft" name="Military_aircraft"></a><h5> <span class="mw-headline"><!--del_lnk--> Military aircraft</span></h5>
<p>Combat aircraft like fighters or bombers represent only a minority of the category. Many civil aircraft have been produced in separate models for military use, such as the civil <!--del_lnk--> Douglas DC-3 airliner, which became the military <!--del_lnk--> C-47/C-53/R4D transport in the U.S. military and the "Dakota" in the UK and the <!--del_lnk--> Commonwealth. Even the small fabric-covered two-seater <!--del_lnk--> Piper J3 Cub had a military version, the L-4 liaison, observation and trainer aircraft. In the past, gliders and balloons have also been used as military aircraft; for example, balloons were used for observation during the <a href="../../wp/a/American_Civil_War.htm" title="American Civil War">American Civil War</a> and <a href="../../wp/w/World_War_I.htm" title="World War I">World War I</a>, and cargo gliders were used during <a href="../../wp/w/World_War_II.htm" title="World War II">World War II</a> to land troops.<p>Combat aircraft themselves, though used a handful of times for reconnaissance and <!--del_lnk--> surveillance during the <!--del_lnk--> Italo-Turkish War, did not come into widespread use until the <!--del_lnk--> Balkan War when <!--del_lnk--> first air-dropped bomb was invented and widely used by <!--del_lnk--> Bulgarian Air Force against <a href="../../wp/t/Turkey.htm" title="Turkey">Turkey</a>.<p>On <!--del_lnk--> January 24 <!--del_lnk--> 1913 the first naval co-operation mission took place by <!--del_lnk--> Greek Air Force planes above the Dardanelles. During <a href="../../wp/w/World_War_I.htm" title="World War I">World War I</a> many types of aircraft were adapted for attacking the ground or enemy vehicles/ships/guns/aircraft, and the first aircraft designed as <!--del_lnk--> bombers were born. In order to prevent the enemy from bombing, <!--del_lnk--> fighter aircraft were developed to intercept and shoot down enemy aircraft. <!--del_lnk--> Tankers were developed after <a href="../../wp/w/World_War_II.htm" title="World War II">World War II</a> to refuel other aircraft in mid-air, thus increasing their operational range. By the time of the <a href="../../wp/v/Vietnam_War.htm" title="Vietnam War">Vietnam War</a>, <!--del_lnk--> helicopters had come into widespread military use, especially for transporting, supplying, and supporting ground troops.<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/231/23146.jpg.htm" title="Interior of Qatar Airways flight"><img alt="Interior of Qatar Airways flight" height="135" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flight-interior.jpg" src="../../images/231/23146.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/231/23146.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div><!--del_lnk--> Interior of <!--del_lnk--> Qatar Airways flight</div>
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<p><a id="Civil_aviation" name="Civil_aviation"></a><h5> <span class="mw-headline">Civil aviation</span></h5>
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<div style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/231/23147.jpg.htm" title="Bell 206B JetRanger III helicopter"><img alt="Bell 206B JetRanger III helicopter" height="180" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Heli.g-code.750pix.jpg" src="../../images/231/23147.jpg" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/231/23147.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div><!--del_lnk--> Bell 206B JetRanger III <b><!--del_lnk--> helicopter</b></div>
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<p>Civil aviation includes both scheduled airline flights and <!--del_lnk--> general aviation, a catch-all covering other kinds of private and commercial use. The vast majority of flights flown around the world each day belong to the general aviation category, ranging from recreational balloon flying to civilian flight training to business trips to firefighting to medevac flights to cargo transportation on <!--del_lnk--> freight aircraft.<p>Within general aviation, the major distinction is between private flights (where the pilot is not paid for time or expenses) and commercial flights (where the pilot is paid by a customer or employer). Private pilots use aircraft primarily for personal travel, business travel, or recreation. Usually these private pilots own their own aircraft and take out loans from banks or specialized lenders to purchase them. Commercial general aviation pilots use aircraft for a wide range of tasks, such as flight training, pipeline surveying, passenger and freight transport, policing, crop dusting, and medical transport (<!--del_lnk--> medevac). Piston-powered propeller aircraft (single-engine or twin-engine) are especially common for both private and commercial general aviation, but even private pilots occasionally own and operate helicopters like the <!--del_lnk--> Bell JetRanger or turboprops like the <!--del_lnk--> Beechcraft King Air. Business jets are typically flown by commercial pilots, although there is a new generation of small jets arriving soon for private pilots.<p><a id="Future_Developments" name="Future_Developments"></a><h4> <span class="mw-headline">Future Developments</span></h4>
<p>A number of <!--del_lnk--> future aircraft development projects are under way, ranging from relatively simple aerodynamic enhancements (e.g addition of <!--del_lnk--> winglets) to the development of new engine technologies (e.g. <!--del_lnk--> Pratt and Whitney's <!--del_lnk--> Geared Turbofan) to all-new designs such as the <!--del_lnk--> Blended Wing-Body. The Peebles <!--del_lnk--> Fanwing is an example of a new approach to lift.<p>To date there has been only limited consideration of alternative fuels for aircraft. <a href="../../wp/h/Hydrogen.htm" title="Hydrogen">Hydrogen</a> is perhaps the most obvious alternative to existing <!--del_lnk--> kerosene/<!--del_lnk--> gasoline-type fuels, but the technical and infrastructural challenges inherent in developing a commercially usable hydrogen-powered aircraft are huge. The <a href="../../wp/r/Russia.htm" title="Russia">Russian</a> manufacturer <!--del_lnk--> Tupolev built a prototype hydrogen-powered version of the <!--del_lnk--> Tu-154 airliner, named the <!--del_lnk--> Tu-155, which made its first flight in <!--del_lnk--> 1989.<!--del_lnk--> <p><a id="See_also" name="See_also"></a><div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aircraft"</div>
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<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">Aircraft carrier</h1>
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<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.Design_and_Technology.Air_and_Sea_transport.htm">Air & Sea transport</a></h3>
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<div style="width:402px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/163/16377.jpg.htm" title="Four aircraft carriers, Principe-de-Asturias, USS Wasp, USS Forrestal and HMS Invincible (front-to-back), showing the difference in size between a supercarrier, light V/STOL carriers, and an amphibious carrier."><img alt="Four aircraft carriers, Principe-de-Asturias, USS Wasp, USS Forrestal and HMS Invincible (front-to-back), showing the difference in size between a supercarrier, light V/STOL carriers, and an amphibious carrier." height="214" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Principe-de-Asturias_Wasp_Forrestal_Invincible_1991_DN-ST-92-01129s.jpg" src="../../images/163/16377.jpg" width="400" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/163/16377.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Four aircraft carriers, <i>Principe-de-Asturias</i>, USS <i>Wasp</i>, USS <i>Forrestal</i> and HMS <i>Invincible</i> (front-to-back), showing the difference in size between a <!--del_lnk--> supercarrier, light <!--del_lnk--> V/STOL carriers, and an amphibious carrier.</div>
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<p>An <b>aircraft carrier</b> is a <!--del_lnk--> warship designed to deploy and recover <a href="../../wp/a/Aircraft.htm" title="Aircraft">aircraft</a> — in effect acting as a sea-going <!--del_lnk--> airbase. Aircraft carriers thus allow a <!--del_lnk--> naval force to project <!--del_lnk--> air power great distances without having to depend on local bases for land-based aircraft.<p>Modern navies that operate such ships treat aircraft carriers as the <!--del_lnk--> capital ship of the fleet, a role previously played by the <!--del_lnk--> battleship. The change, part of the growth of air power as a significant part of warfare, took place during <a href="../../wp/w/World_War_II.htm" title="World War II">World War II</a>. A battleship could fire hundreds of large caliber shells at a target and score possibly a dozen hits. Their maximum range was usually no more than thirty miles. However, an aircraft launched from a carrier could deliver "<!--del_lnk--> smart weapons" accurately at a range of over one hundred miles. Thus, the aircraft carrier could perform the original mission of the battleship, causing heavy damage to an enemy fleet at great distance and with superior accuracy. Due to the long range of the striking aircraft heavy armour was less of a requirement and because of this, for example during World War II, aircraft carriers were less expensive and time consuming to build than battleships. Unescorted carriers are considered vulnerable to attack by other ships, aircraft, submarines or missiles and therefore travel as part of a <!--del_lnk--> carrier battle group. Unlike other types of capital ships in the 20th century, aircraft carrier designs since World War II have been effectively unlimited by any consideration save budgetary, and the ships have ballooned in size accordingly: The large, modern <!--del_lnk--> <i>Nimitz</i> class of United States Navy carriers has a displacement nearly four times that of the World War II-era <!--del_lnk--> USS <i>Enterprise</i>.<p>
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</script><a id="Flight_deck" name="Flight_deck"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Flight deck</span></h2>
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<div style="width:202px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/163/16378.jpg.htm" title="Flight operations on the deck of USS Abraham Lincoln."><img alt="Flight operations on the deck of USS Abraham Lincoln." height="146" longdesc="/wiki/Image:FlightOps_launch.jpg" src="../../images/163/16378.jpg" width="200" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/163/16378.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Flight operations on the deck of <!--del_lnk--> USS <i>Abraham Lincoln</i>.</div>
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<p>The key aspect of the aircraft carrier is that it is, in effect, a runway at sea and modern aircraft carriers have a flat-top deck design that serves as a <!--del_lnk--> flight deck for <!--del_lnk--> take-off and <!--del_lnk--> landing of aircraft. Aircraft take off to the front, into the wind, and land from the rear. Carriers steam at speed, for example up to 35 <!--del_lnk--> knots (65 km/h), into the wind during take-off in order to increase the <!--del_lnk--> apparent wind speed, thereby reducing the speed of the aircraft relative to the ship. On some ships, a steam-powered <!--del_lnk--> catapult is used to propel the aircraft forward assisting the power of its engines and allowing it to take off in a shorter distance than would otherwise be required, even with the headwind effect of the ship's course. On other carriers, aircraft do not require assistance for take off — the requirement for assistance relates to aircraft design and performance. Conversely, when landing on a carrier, conventional aircraft rely upon a <!--del_lnk--> tailhook that catches on <!--del_lnk--> arrestor wires stretched across the deck to bring them to a stop in a shorter distance than normal. Other aircraft — <!--del_lnk--> helicopters and <!--del_lnk--> V/STOL (Vertical/Short Take-Off and Landing) designs — utilize their hover capability to land vertically and so require no assistance in speed reduction upon landing.<p>Conventional ("tailhook") aircraft rely upon a <!--del_lnk--> landing signal officer (LSO) to control the plane's landing approach, visually gauging altitude, attitude, and speed, and transmitting that data to the pilot. Before the angled deck emerged in the 1950s, LSOs used colored paddles to signal corrections to the pilot. From the late 1950s onward, visual landing aids such as mirrors provided information on proper <!--del_lnk--> glide slope, but LSOs still transmit voice calls to landing pilots by radio.<p>Since the early 1950s it has been common to direct the landing recovery area off to port at an angle to the line of the ship. The primary function of the angled deck landing area is to allow aircraft who miss the arresting wires, referred to as a "bolter", to become airborne again without the risk of hitting aircraft parked on the forward parts of the deck. The angled deck also allows launching of aircraft at the same time as others land.<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:302px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/163/16379.jpg.htm" title="F/A-18 Hornets on the flight deck of the Nimitz-class supercarrier Harry S. Truman"><img alt="F/A-18 Hornets on the flight deck of the Nimitz-class supercarrier Harry S. Truman" height="125" longdesc="/wiki/Image:USS_Harry_S_Truman_%28CVN-75%29_Flight_Deck.JPG" src="../../images/163/16379.jpg" width="300" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/163/16379.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div><!--del_lnk--> F/A-18 Hornets on the <!--del_lnk--> flight deck of the <!--del_lnk--> <i>Nimitz</i>-class <!--del_lnk--> supercarrier <!--del_lnk--> <i>Harry S. Truman</i></div>
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<p>The above deck areas of the warship (the <!--del_lnk--> bridge, flight <!--del_lnk--> control tower, and so on) are concentrated to the <!--del_lnk--> starboard side of the deck in a relatively small area called an "island". Very few carriers have been designed or built without an island and such a configuration has not been seen in a fleet sized carrier.<p>A more recent configuration, used by the British <a href="../../wp/r/Royal_Navy.htm" title="Royal Navy">Royal Navy</a>, has a 'ski-jump' ramp at the forward end of the flight deck. This was developed to help launch <!--del_lnk--> VTOL (or <!--del_lnk--> STOVL) aircraft (aircraft that are able to take off and land with little or no forward movement) such as the <!--del_lnk--> Sea Harrier. Although the aircraft are capable of flying vertically off the deck, using the ramp is more fuel efficient. As catapults and arrestor cables are unnecessary, carriers with this arrangement reduce weight, complexity, and space needed for equipment. The disadvantage of the ski jump — and hence, the reason this configuration has not appeared on American supercarriers — is the penalty that it exacts on aircraft size, payload and fuel load (and hence, range): Large, slow planes like the <!--del_lnk--> E-2 Hawkeye and heavily-laden strike fighters like the <!--del_lnk--> F/A-18E/F Super Hornet cannot use a ski jump because their high weight requires either a longer takeoff roll than is possible on a carrier deck (even on the large <!--del_lnk--> Russian aircraft carrier Kuznetsov, lightly-loaded <!--del_lnk--> Su-33 air superiority fighters require almost the entire length of the deck to take off) or catapult assistance.<p><a id="Common_types" name="Common_types"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Common types</span></h2>
<p>Over the course of the last century there have been several types of aircraft carrier, some of which are now obsolete. They can be generally categorized as follows:<p><a id="Initial_designs_and_inter-war_developments" name="Initial_designs_and_inter-war_developments"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Initial designs and inter-war developments</span></h3>
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<li><!--del_lnk--> Balloon carriers were used during in the 19th and early 20th century, mainly for observation purposes.<li><!--del_lnk--> Seaplane tenders, such as <!--del_lnk--> HMS <i>Engadine</i>, fell out of frontline use after the 1920s when carriers capable of handling conventional aircraft came into fleets and the superiority of landplanes over <!--del_lnk--> seaplanes in naval operations became firmly established<li>Standard carriers, such as <!--del_lnk--> HMS <i>Ark Royal</i>, typically 20,000 to 65,000 tonnes. Often known as "fleet carriers"<li>Flying aircraft carrier; <!--del_lnk--> an airship that can carry aircraft. Examples include <!--del_lnk--> USS <i>Akron</i> and <!--del_lnk--> <i>Macon</i></ul>
<p><a id="World_War_II_developments" name="World_War_II_developments"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">World War II developments</span></h3>
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<li><!--del_lnk--> Escort aircraft carriers, such as <!--del_lnk--> USS <i>Barnes</i>, were built only during World War II, and were used by the British Royal Navy and U.S. Navy<li><!--del_lnk--> Light aircraft carriers, such as <!--del_lnk--> USS <i>Independence</i>, were designed to primarily carry fighters<li><!--del_lnk--> CAM ships, such as <!--del_lnk--> SS <i>Michael E</i>, cargo carrying merchant ships which could launch but not retrieve fighter aircraft. These vessels were an emergency measure during World War II<li><!--del_lnk--> Merchant aircraft carriers (MACs), such as <!--del_lnk--> MV <i>Empire MacAlpine</i>, another emergency measure which saw cargo-carrying merchant ships equipped with flight decks<li><!--del_lnk--> Battlecarriers were created by the Imperial Japanese Navy to partially compensate for the loss of carrier strength at <a href="../../wp/b/Battle_of_Midway.htm" title="Battle of Midway">Midway</a>. Two of them were made from <!--del_lnk--> <i>Ise</i> class battleships during late 1943. The aft turrets were removed and replaced with a hangar, deck and catapult. The heavy cruiser <!--del_lnk--> <i>Mogami</i> concurrently received a similar conversion. With half a flight deck and half of a battleship's armament, the ships were singularly worthless and seldom left port.<li><!--del_lnk--> Submarine aircraft carriers, such as the French <!--del_lnk--> <i>Surcouf</i>, or the Japanese <!--del_lnk--> I-400 class submarines which were capable of carrying 3 <!--del_lnk--> Aichi <!--del_lnk--> M6A <i>Seiran</i> aircraft. The first of these were built in the 1920s</ul>
<p>Some <!--del_lnk--> cruisers and <!--del_lnk--> capital ships of the inter-war years often carried a catapult launched seaplane for reconnaissance and spotting the fall of the guns. It was launched by a catapult and recovered by crane from the water after landing. These were highly successful during World War II; there were many notable successes early in the war as shown by <!--del_lnk--> HMS <i>Warspite</i>’s <!--del_lnk--> Walrus during operations in the Norwegian fjords in 1940. The Japanese Rufe floatplane derived from the Zero was a formidable fighter with only a slight loss in flight performance, one of their pilots scored 26 kills in the Rufe; a score only bettered by a handful of American pilots throughout WW2. Other Japanese seaplanes launched from tenders and warships sank merchant ships and small-scale ground attacks. The culmination of the type was the American 300+ mph Curtis SC-1 SeaHawk which was actually a fighter aircraft like the Rufe in addition to a two-seat gunnery spotter and transport for an injured man in a litter. Spotter seaplane aircraft on U.S. Navy cruisers and battleships were in service until 1949.<p>By World War II, <!--del_lnk--> seaplane tenders were no longer considered as the main method to project air power at sea due to the lessened flight performance of their seaplanes over land and carrier-based planes. Carriers could operate conventional aircraft that could fly farther, faster, and carry more weapons, all while boasting greater performance. However, seaplane tenders in conjunction with PBY Catalina patrol bombers could range farther across the oceans than short-range carrier planes as the "eyes of the fleet" and rescued thousands of men stranded in the water who would have perished otherwise. As the end of the war neared, early helicopters were taking over many of the roles of <!--del_lnk--> seaplanes but at a marked loss in speed, range and flexibility that has not been regained to the present day. In the 1950s the aerodynamic limitations of seaplanes had finally been overcome; several seaplane designs were superior in performance to their land-based counterparts; the P-6M Seamaster patrol bomber and R3Y Tradewind "Flying LST" transport planes flew faster than the B-52 and the C-130; but in a power struggle with the ruling aircraft carrier bureaucracy were cancelled despite that their use in conjunction with special seaplane tenders would be more tactically and cost effective than large, vulnerable aircraft carriers operating shorter ranged and lesser payload aircraft.<p><a id="Post-war_developments" name="Post-war_developments"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Post-war developments</span></h3>
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<li><!--del_lnk--> Amphibious assault carriers, such as <!--del_lnk--> USS <i>Tarawa</i>, which often also serve the purpose of carrying and landing <!--del_lnk--> soldiers and operate a large contingent of helicopters for that purpose. Also known as "commando carriers" or "helicopter carriers".<li><!--del_lnk--> Anti-submarine warfare carriers, also known as "helicopter carriers."<li><!--del_lnk--> Supercarriers, such as <!--del_lnk--> USS <i>Nimitz</i>, typically 75,000 tonnes or greater. Powered by nuclear reactors and forming the core of a fleet designed to operate far from home.</ul>
<p>Many modern warships have <!--del_lnk--> helicopter landing capability and helicopter assault ships represent a new form of amphibious assault carrier.<p><a id="History_and_milestones" name="History_and_milestones"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">History and milestones</span></h2>
<p>Though aircraft carriers are given their definition with respect to fixed-wing aircraft, the first known instance of using a ship for airborne operations occurred in 1806, when the British Royal Navy's Lord <!--del_lnk--> Thomas Cochrane launched kites from the 32-gun frigate <i><!--del_lnk--> HMS Pallas</i> in order to drop propaganda leaflets on the French territory.<p><a id="Balloon_carriers" name="Balloon_carriers"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Balloon carriers</span></h3>
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<div style="width:152px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/163/16381.jpg.htm" title="The Union Army balloon Washington aboard the George Washington Parke Custis, towed by the tug Coeur de Lion."><img alt="The Union Army balloon Washington aboard the George Washington Parke Custis, towed by the tug Coeur de Lion." height="233" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Balloon_barge.jpg" src="../../images/163/16381.jpg" width="150" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/163/16381.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> The Union Army balloon <i>Washington</i> aboard the <i>George Washington Parke Custis</i>, towed by the tug <i>Coeur de Lion</i>.</div>
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<p>On <!--del_lnk--> July 12, <!--del_lnk--> 1849, the Austrian Navy ship <i>Vulcano</i> launched a manned hot air balloon in order to drop bombs on <!--del_lnk--> Venice, although the attempt failed due to contrary winds.<p>Later, during the <a href="../../wp/a/American_Civil_War.htm" title="American Civil War">American Civil War</a>, about the time of the <!--del_lnk--> Peninsula Campaign, gas-filled <!--del_lnk--> balloons were being used to perform reconnaissance on Confederate positions, the battles turned inland into the heavily forested areas of the Peninsula where balloons could not travel. A coal barge, the George Washington Parke Custis, was cleared of all deck rigging to accommodate the gas generators and apparatus of balloons. From the GWP Prof. <!--del_lnk--> Thaddeus S. C. Lowe, Chief Aeronaut of the <!--del_lnk--> Union Army Balloon Corps, made his first ascents over the <!--del_lnk--> Potomac River and telegraphed claims of the success of the first aerial venture ever made from a water-borne vessel. Other barges were converted to assist with the other military balloons transported about the eastern waterways. It is only fair to point out in deference to modern aircraft carriers that none of these Civil War crafts had ever taken to the high seas.<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/163/16382.jpg.htm" title="The Russian captive balloon carrier Russ in 1904."><img alt="The Russian captive balloon carrier Russ in 1904." height="122" longdesc="/wiki/Image:RussBalloonCarrier.jpg" src="../../images/163/16382.jpg" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/163/16382.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> The Russian captive balloon carrier <i>Russ</i> in 1904.</div>
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<p>Balloons launched from ships led to the development of <!--del_lnk--> balloon carriers, or balloon tenders, during <a href="../../wp/w/World_War_I.htm" title="World War I">World War I</a>, by the navies of Great Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Russia, and Sweden. About ten such "balloon tenders" were built, their main objective being aerial observation posts. These ships were either decommissioned or converted to <!--del_lnk--> seaplane tenders after the war.<p><a id="Seaplane_carriers" name="Seaplane_carriers"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Seaplane carriers</span></h3>
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<div style="width:302px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/163/16383.jpg.htm" title="The first seaplane carrier, the French La Foudre (right, with hangar and crane), with one of her Canard Voisin seaplanes taking off, during tactical exercises in June 1912."><img alt="The first seaplane carrier, the French La Foudre (right, with hangar and crane), with one of her Canard Voisin seaplanes taking off, during tactical exercises in June 1912." height="149" longdesc="/wiki/Image:CanardVoisinJune1912.jpg" src="../../images/163/16383.jpg" width="300" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/163/16383.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> The first seaplane carrier, the French <i><!--del_lnk--> La Foudre</i> (right, with hangar and crane), with one of her <i><!--del_lnk--> Canard Voisin</i> seaplanes taking off, during tactical exercises in June 1912.</div>
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<p>The invention of the <!--del_lnk--> seaplane in March 1910 with the French <i><!--del_lnk--> Le Canard</i> led to the earliest development of a ship designed to carry airplanes, albeit equipped with floats: in December <!--del_lnk--> 1911 appears the French Navy <i><!--del_lnk--> La Foudre</i>, the first <!--del_lnk--> seaplane carrier, and the first known carrier of <!--del_lnk--> airplanes. Commissioned as a seaplane tender, and carrying float-equipped planes under hangars on the main deck, from where they were lowered on the sea with a crane, she participated in tactical exercises in the Mediterranean in 1912. <i>La Foudre</i> was further modified in November 1913 with a 10 meters flat deck to launch her seaplanes.<p><!--del_lnk--> HMS <i>Hermes</i>, temporarily converted as an experimental seaplane carrier in April-May 1913, is also one of the first seaplane carriers, and the first experimental seaplane carrier of the British Navy. She was originally laid down as a merchant ship, but was converted on the building stocks to be a seaplane carrier for a few trials in 1913, before being converted again to a cruiser, and back again to a seaplane carrier in 1914. She served in the <!--del_lnk--> Dardanelles campaign and was sunk by a German submarine in October 1914. The first seaplane tender of the US Navy was the <!--del_lnk--> USS <i>Mississippi</i>, converted to that role in December 1913.<p><a id="Genesis_of_the_flat-deck_carrier" name="Genesis_of_the_flat-deck_carrier"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Genesis of the flat-deck carrier</span></h3>
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<td style="text-align: left;">"An airplane-carrying vessel is indispensable. These vessels will be constructed on a plan very different from what is currently used. First of all the deck will be cleared of all obstacles. It will be flat, as wide as possible without jeopardizing the nautical lines of the hull, and it will look like a landing field."</td>
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<td style="text-align: left;"><!--del_lnk--> Clément Ader, "<!--del_lnk--> L'Aviation Militaire", 1909</td>
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<p>As heavier-than-air aircraft developed in the early 20th century various navies began to take an interest in their potential use as scouts for their big gun warships. In <!--del_lnk--> 1909 the French inventor <!--del_lnk--> Clément Ader published in his book "<!--del_lnk--> L'Aviation Militaire" the description of a ship to operate airplanes at sea, with a flat flight deck, an island superstructure, deck elevators and a hangar bay. That year the US Naval Attaché in Paris sent a report on his observations.<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:152px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/163/16384.jpg.htm" title="Ely takes off fromUSS Birmingham, 14 November 1910."><img alt="Ely takes off fromUSS Birmingham, 14 November 1910." height="121" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Ely-takeoff.jpg" src="../../images/163/16384.jpg" width="150" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/163/16384.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Ely takes off from<br /> USS <i>Birmingham</i>, <!--del_lnk--> 14 November <!--del_lnk--> 1910.</div>
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<p>A number of experimental flights were made to test the concept. <!--del_lnk--> Eugene Ely was the first <!--del_lnk--> pilot to launch from a stationary ship in November 1910. He took off from a structure fixed over the forecastle of the US <!--del_lnk--> armored cruiser <!--del_lnk--> USS <i>Birmingham</i> at <!--del_lnk--> Hampton Roads, <!--del_lnk--> Virginia and landed nearby on <!--del_lnk--> Willoughby Spit after some five minutes in the air.<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:202px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/163/16385.jpg.htm" title="Ely lands on USS Pennsylvania, 18 January 1911."><img alt="Ely lands on USS Pennsylvania, 18 January 1911." height="149" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Ely_landing_on_Pennsylvania%2C_1910.jpg" src="../../images/163/16385.jpg" width="200" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/163/16385.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Ely lands on USS <i>Pennsylvania</i>,<br /><!--del_lnk--> 18 January <!--del_lnk--> 1911.</div>
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<p>On <!--del_lnk--> January 18, <!--del_lnk--> 1911 he became the first pilot to land on a stationary ship. He took off from the <!--del_lnk--> Tanforan racetrack and landed on a similar temporary structure on the aft of <!--del_lnk--> USS <i>Pennsylvania</i> anchored at the <!--del_lnk--> San Francisco waterfront — the improvised braking system of sandbags and ropes led directly to the arrestor hook and wires described above. His aircraft was then turned around and he was able to take off again. <!--del_lnk--> Commander Charles Samson, <a href="../../wp/r/Royal_Navy.htm" title="Royal Navy">RN</a>, became the first airman to take off from a moving warship on <!--del_lnk--> May 2, <!--del_lnk--> 1912. He took off in a <!--del_lnk--> Short S27 from the battleship <!--del_lnk--> HMS <i>Hibernia</i> while she steamed at 10.5 knots (19 km/h) during the <!--del_lnk--> Royal Fleet Review at <!--del_lnk--> Weymouth.<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:202px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/163/16386.jpg.htm" title="HMS Ark Royal, a seaplane carrier also equipped with two regular airplanes, was arguably the first modern aircraft carrier."><img alt="HMS Ark Royal, a seaplane carrier also equipped with two regular airplanes, was arguably the first modern aircraft carrier." height="97" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Ark_Royal_%281914%29.jpg" src="../../images/163/16386.jpg" width="200" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/163/16386.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div><!--del_lnk--> HMS <i>Ark Royal</i>, a seaplane carrier also equipped with two regular airplanes, was arguably the first modern aircraft carrier.</div>
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<p><!--del_lnk--> HMS <i>Ark Royal</i> was arguably the first modern aircraft carrier. She was originally laid down as a merchant ship, but was converted on the building stocks to be a hybrid airplane/ seaplane carrier. Launched in 1914, she served in the <!--del_lnk--> Dardanelles campaign and throughout World War I.<p>The first strike from a carrier against a land target took place on <!--del_lnk--> July 19, <!--del_lnk--> 1918. Seven <!--del_lnk--> Sopwith Camels launched from <!--del_lnk--> HMS <i>Furious</i> attacked the German <!--del_lnk--> Zeppelin base at <!--del_lnk--> Tondern, with two 50 lb bombs each. Several <a href="../../wp/a/Airship.htm" title="Airship">airships</a> and <!--del_lnk--> balloons were destroyed, but as the carrier had no method of recovering the aircraft safely, two of the pilots ditched their aircraft in the sea alongside the carrier while the others headed for neutral <a href="../../wp/d/Denmark.htm" title="Denmark">Denmark</a>.<p><a id="Inter-war_years" name="Inter-war_years"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Inter-war years</span></h3>
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<div style="width:152px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/163/16387.jpg.htm" title="The first full-length flat deck, HMS Argus in 1918"><img alt="The first full-length flat deck, HMS Argus in 1918" height="162" longdesc="/wiki/Image:H42235.jpg" src="../../images/163/16387.jpg" width="150" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/163/16387.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> The first full-length flat deck, <!--del_lnk--> HMS <i>Argus</i> in 1918</div>
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<p>The <!--del_lnk--> Washington Naval Treaty of 1922 placed strict limits on the tonnages of battleships and <!--del_lnk--> battlecruisers for the major naval powers after <a href="../../wp/w/World_War_I.htm" title="World War I">World War I</a>, as well as limits not only on the total tonnage for carriers, but also an upper limit on 27,000 tonnes for each ship. Although exceptions were made regarding the max ship tonnage (fleet units counted, experimental units did not), the total tonnage could not be exceeded. However, while all of the major navies were over-tonnage on battleships, they were all considerably under-tonnage on aircraft carriers. Consequently, many battleships and battlecruisers under construction (or in service) were converted into aircraft carriers. The first ship to have a full length flat deck was <!--del_lnk--> HMS <i>Argus</i> the conversion of which was completed in September 1918, with the <!--del_lnk--> U.S. Navy not following suit until 1920, when the conversion of <!--del_lnk--> USS <i>Langley</i> (an experimental ship which did not count against America's carrier tonnage) had completed. The first American fleet carriers would not join the service until <!--del_lnk--> 1928 (<!--del_lnk--> USS <i>Lexington</i> and <!--del_lnk--> <i>Saratoga</i>).<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:202px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/256/25679.jpg.htm" title="The first purpose-designed aircraft carrier to be commisionned, the Imperial Japanese Navy's Hōshō, in 1922. Though she was not the first purpose designed carrier that construction started on (HMS Hermes was), her construction finished sooner. Critics of this claim note the hull was still a modifed cruiser type and not a purpose designed hull, as on the British ship."><img alt="The first purpose-designed aircraft carrier to be commisionned, the Imperial Japanese Navy's Hōshō, in 1922. Though she was not the first purpose designed carrier that construction started on (HMS Hermes was), her construction finished sooner. Critics of this claim note the hull was still a modifed cruiser type and not a purpose designed hull, as on the British ship." height="168" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Japanese_aircraft_carrier_Hosho.jpg" src="../../images/163/16388.jpg" width="200" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/256/25679.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> The first purpose-designed aircraft carrier to be commisionned, the <a href="../../wp/i/Imperial_Japanese_Navy.htm" title="Imperial Japanese Navy">Imperial Japanese Navy</a>'s <!--del_lnk--> <i>Hōshō</i>, in 1922. Though she was not the first purpose designed carrier that construction started on (<!--del_lnk--> HMS <i>Hermes</i> was), her construction finished sooner. Critics of this claim note the hull was still a modifed cruiser type and not a purpose designed hull, as on the British ship.</div>
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<p>The first purpose-designed aircraft carrier to be developed was the <!--del_lnk--> HMS <i>Hermes</i>, although the first one to be commissioned was the Japanese <!--del_lnk--> <i>Hōshō</i> (commissioned in December 1922, followed by HMS <i>Hermes</i> in July 1923). <i>Hermes</i>' design preceded and influenced that of <i>Hōshō</i>, and its construction actually began earlier, but numerous tests, experiments and budget considerations delayed its commission.<p>By the late 1930s, aircraft carriers around the world typically carried three types of aircraft: <!--del_lnk--> torpedo bombers, also used for conventional bombings and <!--del_lnk--> reconnaissance; <!--del_lnk--> dive bombers, also used for reconnaissance (in the U.S. Navy, this type of aircraft were known as "scout bombers"); and <!--del_lnk--> fighters for fleet defence and bomber escort duties. Because of the restricted space on aircraft carriers, all these aircraft were of small, single-engined types, usually with <!--del_lnk--> folding wings to facilitate storage.<p><a id="Second_World_War" name="Second_World_War"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Second World War</span></h3>
<p>Aircraft carriers played a significant role in World War II. With seven aircraft carriers afloat, the British Royal Navy had a considerable numerical advantage at the start of the war as neither the Germans nor the Italians had carriers of their own. However, the vulnerability of carriers compared to traditional battleships when forced into a gun-range encounter was quickly illustrated by the sinking of <!--del_lnk--> HMS <i>Glorious</i> by <a href="../../wp/g/Germany.htm" title="Germany">German</a> battlecruisers during the Norwegian campaign in 1940.<p>This apparent weakness to battleships was turned on its head in November 1940 when <!--del_lnk--> HMS <i>Illustrious</i> launched a long-range strike on the Italian fleet at <!--del_lnk--> Taranto. This operation incapacitated three of the six battleships in the harbour at a cost of two of the 21 attacking <!--del_lnk--> Fairey Swordfish <!--del_lnk--> torpedo bombers. Carriers also played a major part in reinforcing <a href="../../wp/m/Malta.htm" title="Malta">Malta</a>, both by transporting planes and by defending convoys sent to supply the besieged island. The use of carriers prevented the <!--del_lnk--> Italian Navy and land-based German aircraft from dominating the <a href="../../wp/m/Mediterranean_Sea.htm" title="Mediterranean">Mediterranean</a> theatre.<p>In the Atlantic, aircraft from HMS <i>Ark Royal</i> and <!--del_lnk--> HMS <i>Victorious</i> were responsible for slowing <!--del_lnk--> <i>Bismarck</i> during May 1941. Later in the war, escort carriers proved their worth guarding convoys crossing the <!--del_lnk--> Atlantic and <!--del_lnk--> Arctic oceans.<p>Many of the major battles in the <!--del_lnk--> Pacific involved aircraft carriers. <a href="../../wp/j/Japan.htm" title="Japan">Japan</a> started the war with ten aircraft carriers, the largest and most modern carrier fleet in the world at that time. There were six American aircraft carriers at the beginning of the hostilities, although only three of them were operating in the Pacific.<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/163/16389.jpg.htm" title="Planes from the Japanese aircraft carrier Shokaku preparing the attack on Pearl Harbor."><img alt="Planes from the Japanese aircraft carrier Shokaku preparing the attack on Pearl Harbor." height="186" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Carrier_shokaku.jpg" src="../../images/163/16389.jpg" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/163/16389.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Planes from the Japanese aircraft carrier <!--del_lnk--> <i>Shokaku</i> preparing the attack on <a href="../../wp/a/Attack_on_Pearl_Harbor.htm" title="Attack on Pearl Harbor">Pearl Harbour</a>.</div>
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<p>Drawing on the 1939 Japanese development of low-depth runs for aerial torpedoes and the 1940 British aerial attack on the Italian fleet at <!--del_lnk--> Taranto, the 1941 Japanese surprise <a href="../../wp/a/Attack_on_Pearl_Harbor.htm" title="Attack on Pearl Harbor">attack on Pearl Harbour</a> was a clear illustration of the <!--del_lnk--> power projection capability afforded by a large force of modern carriers. Concentrating six flattops in a single striking unit marked a turning point in naval history, as no other nation had fielded anything comparable. (Though Germany and Italy began construction of carriers, neither were completed. Of the two, Germany's <i><!--del_lnk--> Graf Zeppelin</i> had the greater potential.)<p>Meanwhile, the Japanese began their advance through <!--del_lnk--> Southeast Asia and the <!--del_lnk--> sinking of <i>Prince of Wales</i> and <i>Repulse</i> by Japanese land-based aircraft drove home the need for this ship class for fleet defence from aerial attack. In April 1942, the Japanese fast carrier strike force ranged into the <!--del_lnk--> Indian Ocean and sank shipping, including the damaged and undefended carrier <!--del_lnk--> HMS <i>Hermes</i>. Smaller Allied fleets with inadequate aerial protection were forced to retreat or be destroyed. In the <!--del_lnk--> Coral Sea, US and Japanese fleets traded aircraft strikes in the first battle where neither side's ships sighted the other. At the <a href="../../wp/b/Battle_of_Midway.htm" title="Battle of Midway">Battle of Midway</a> four Japanese carriers were sunk by planes from three American carriers, and the battle is considered the turning point of the war in the Pacific.<p>Subsequently the US was able to build up large numbers of aircraft aboard a mixture of fleet, light and (newly commissioned) escort carriers, primarily with the introduction of the <!--del_lnk--> Essex class in 1943. These ships, around which were built the fast carrier task forces of the <!--del_lnk--> Third and <!--del_lnk--> Fifth Fleets, played a major part in winning the <!--del_lnk--> Pacific war. The eclipse of the battleship as the primary component of a fleet was clearly illustrated by the sinking of the largest battleship ever built, <!--del_lnk--> <i>Yamato</i>, by carrier-borne aircraft in 1945. Japan also built the largest aircraft carrier of the war, <!--del_lnk--> <i>Shinano</i>, which, like <i>Yamato</i>, was named after a Japanese province.<p><a id="Wartime_innovations" name="Wartime_innovations"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Wartime innovations</span></h2>
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<div style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/163/16390.jpg.htm" title="Japanese carrier Taihō with the hurricane bow."><img alt="Japanese carrier Taihō with the hurricane bow." height="73" longdesc="/wiki/Image:HIJMS_Taiho_02.jpg" src="../../images/163/16390.jpg" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/163/16390.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Japanese carrier <!--del_lnk--> <i>Taihō</i> with the hurricane bow.</div>
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<p>Combat experience proved that the British invention of the sealed "hurricane bow" which protected against storms was superior to any other use for the very front of the ship, be it machine-guns or a second flight deck. This became standard for British and American carriers. The Japanese carrier <!--del_lnk--> <i>Taihō</i> was the first of their ships to incorporate it.<p>Starting late in the war with the <!--del_lnk--> <i>Midway</i> class, American carriers had grown so large that it was no longer practical to continue the concept of designing the hangar deck to be the strength deck, and all subsequent American carriers have the flight deck as the strength deck, leaving only the island as superstructure.<p><a id="Light_Aircraft_Carriers" name="Light_Aircraft_Carriers"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Light Aircraft Carriers</span></h3>
<p>The loss of three major carriers in quick succession in the Pacific led the US Navy to develop the light carrier (CVL) from <!--del_lnk--> light cruiser hulls that had already been laid down. These were intended to add fighter squadrons to a task force, and were used in the US Navy only during World War II. The actual U.S. Navy classification was small aircraft carrier (CVL), not light. Prior to July <!--del_lnk--> 1943, they were just classified as aircraft carriers (CV).<p>The British Royal Navy made a similar design which served both them and <!--del_lnk--> Commonwealth countries after World War II. One of these carriers, India's <!--del_lnk--> INS <i>Viraat</i>, formerly <!--del_lnk--> HMS <i>Hermes</i>, is still being used.<p><a id="Escort_Carriers_and_Merchant_Aircraft_Carriers" name="Escort_Carriers_and_Merchant_Aircraft_Carriers"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Escort Carriers and Merchant Aircraft Carriers</span></h3>
<p>To protect Atlantic <!--del_lnk--> convoys, the British developed what they called <!--del_lnk--> Merchant Aircraft Carriers, which were merchant ships equipped with a flat deck for half a dozen aircraft. These operated with civilian crews, under merchant colors, and carried their normal cargo besides providing air support for the convoy. As there was no lift or hangar, aircraft maintenance was limited and the aircraft spent the entire trip sitting on the deck.<p>These served as stop-gap until dedicated <!--del_lnk--> escort carriers could be built in the US (US classification <i>CVE</i>). About a third of the size of a fleet carrier, it carried about two dozen aircraft for anti-submarine duties. Over one hundred were built or converted from merchantmen.<p>Escort carriers were built in the US from two basic hull designs: one from a merchant ship, and the other from a slightly larger, slightly faster tanker. Besides defending convoys, these were used to transport aircraft across the ocean. Nevertheless, some participated in the battles to liberate the <a href="../../wp/p/Philippines.htm" title="Philippines">Philippines</a>, notably the <!--del_lnk--> battle off Samar in which six escort carriers and their escorting destroyers briefly took on five Japanese battleships and bluffed them into retreating.<p><a id="Catapult_Aircraft_Merchantmen" name="Catapult_Aircraft_Merchantmen"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Catapult Aircraft Merchantmen</span></h3>
<p>As an emergency stop-gap before sufficient merchant aircraft carriers became available, the British provided air cover for convoys using <i>Catapult aircraft merchantman</i> (CAM ships) and <!--del_lnk--> merchant aircraft carriers. CAM ships were merchant vessels equipped with an aircraft, usually a battle-weary <!--del_lnk--> Hawker Hurricane, launched by a catapult. Once launched, the aircraft could not land back on the deck and had to ditch in the sea if it was not within range of land. Over two years, fewer than 10 launches were ever made, yet these flights did have some success: 6 bombers for the loss of a single pilot.<p><a id="Post-war_developments_2" name="Post-war_developments_2"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Post-war developments</span></h2>
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<div style="width:202px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/163/16392.jpg.htm" title="The USS Essex in heavy seas with a post-WW2 angled deck"><img alt="The USS Essex in heavy seas with a post-WW2 angled deck" height="159" longdesc="/wiki/Image:USS_Essex_%28CV-9%29_-_January_1960.jpg" src="../../images/163/16392.jpg" width="200" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/163/16392.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> The <!--del_lnk--> USS Essex in heavy seas with a post-WW2 angled deck</div>
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<p>Three major post-war developments came from the need to improve operations of jet-powered aircraft, which had higher weights and landing speeds than their propeller-powered forebearers.<p><a id="Angled_decks" name="Angled_decks"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Angled decks</span></h3>
<p>During the Second World War, aircraft would land on the flight deck parallel to the long axis of the ship's <!--del_lnk--> hull. Aircraft which had already landed would be parked on the deck at the bow end of the flight deck. A crash barrier was raised behind them to stop any landing aircraft which overshot the landing area because its landing hook missed the arrestor cables. If this happened, it would often cause serious damage or injury and even, if the crash barrier was not strong enough, destruction of parked aircraft.<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/163/16393.jpg.htm" title="An F-14D Tomcat sits poised for launch on one of four steam-powered catapults aboard the nuclear powered aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis."><img alt="An F-14D Tomcat sits poised for launch on one of four steam-powered catapults aboard the nuclear powered aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis." height="351" longdesc="/wiki/Image:F-14D_Tomcat_on_USS_John_C._Stennis.jpg" src="../../images/163/16393.jpg" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/163/16393.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> An F-14D Tomcat sits poised for launch on one of four steam-powered catapults aboard the nuclear powered aircraft carrier USS <i>John C. Stennis</i>.</div>
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<div style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/163/16394.jpg.htm" title="Landing optics of Charles de Gaulle"><img alt="Landing optics of Charles de Gaulle" height="161" longdesc="/wiki/Image:FS_CdG_Optics.jpg" src="../../images/163/16394.jpg" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/163/16394.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Landing optics of <i><!--del_lnk--> Charles de Gaulle</i></div>
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<p>An important development of the early 1950s was the British invention of the angled deck, where the runway was canted at an angle of a few degrees across the ship. If an aircraft misses the arrestor cables, the pilot only needs to increase <!--del_lnk--> engine power to maximum to get airborne again and will not hit the parked aircraft because the angled deck points out over the sea. The <!--del_lnk--> USS <i>John C. Stennis</i> is an example of an aircraft carrier that utilizes the concept of an angled landing deck.<p><a id="Steam_catapults" name="Steam_catapults"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Steam catapults</span></h3>
<p>The modern <!--del_lnk--> steam-powered catapult, powered by steam from the ship's <!--del_lnk--> boilers or reactors, was invented by Commander C.C. Mitchell <!--del_lnk--> RNVR. It was widely adopted following trials on <!--del_lnk--> HMS <i>Perseus</i> between 1950 and 1952 which showed it to be more powerful and reliable than the compressed air catapults which had been introduced in the 1930s.<p><a id="Landing_systems" name="Landing_systems"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Landing systems</span></h3>
<p>Another British invention was the glide-slope indicator (also known as a "meatball"). This was a gyroscopically-controlled lamp (which used a <!--del_lnk--> Fresnel lens) on the port side of the deck which could be seen by the aviator who was about to land, indicating to him whether he was too high or too low in relation to the desired glidepath. It also took into account the effect of the waves on the flight deck. The device became a necessity as the landing speed of aircraft increased.<p><a id="Nuclear_age" name="Nuclear_age"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Nuclear age</span></h3>
<p>The US Navy prematurely attempted to become a strategic nuclear force with the project to build <!--del_lnk--> <i>United States</i>, termed CVA, with the "A" signifying "atomic". This ship would have carried twin-propeller bombers, each of which could carry an atomic bomb. The project was cancelled under pressure from the newly-created <!--del_lnk--> United States Air Force, and the letter "A" was re-cycled to mean "attack." But this only delayed the growth of carriers. <a href="../../wp/n/Nuclear_weapon.htm" title="Nuclear weapon">Nuclear weapons</a> would put to sea despite Air Force objections in 1955 aboard <!--del_lnk--> USS <i>Forrestal</i>, and by the end of the fifties the Navy had a series of nuclear-armed attack aircraft.<p>The US Navy also built aircraft carriers powered by nuclear reactors. <!--del_lnk--> USS <i>Enterprise</i> was the first aircraft carrier to be powered in this way and subsequent supercarriers took advantage of this technology to increase their endurance. The only other nation to have followed the US lead is France with <!--del_lnk--> <i>Charles de Gaulle</i>.<p><a id="Helicopters" name="Helicopters"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Helicopters</span></h3>
<p>The post-war years also saw the development of the helicopter with different capabilities to a fighter aircraft. Whereas fixed-wing aircraft are suited to air-to-air combat and air-to-surface attack, helicopters are used to transport equipment and personnel and can be used in an <!--del_lnk--> anti-submarine warfare role with dipped sonar and missiles.<p>In the late 1950s and early 1960s, the UK converted some of its old carriers into Commando Carriers, sea-going helicopter airfields like <!--del_lnk--> HMS <i>Bulwark</i>. To militate against the expensive connotations of the term "aircraft carrier", the new <!--del_lnk--> <i>Invincible</i> class carriers were originally designated "through deck cruisers" and were initially helicopter only craft to operate as escort carriers. The arrival of the Sea Harrier meant they could carry fixed wing aircraft despite their short flight deck.<p><a id="Post-Second_World_War_conflicts" name="Post-Second_World_War_conflicts"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Post-Second World War conflicts</span></h2>
<p><a id="UN_carrier_operations_in_the_Korean_War" name="UN_carrier_operations_in_the_Korean_War"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">UN carrier operations in the Korean War</span></h3>
<p>The United Nations command began carrier operations against the <!--del_lnk--> North Korean Army on <!--del_lnk--> July 3, <!--del_lnk--> 1950 in response to the invasion of <a href="../../wp/s/South_Korea.htm" title="South Korea">South Korea</a>. <!--del_lnk--> Task Force 77 consisted at that time of the carriers <!--del_lnk--> USS <i>Valley Forge</i> and <!--del_lnk--> HMS <i>Triumph</i>. Before the armistice of <!--del_lnk--> July 27, <!--del_lnk--> 1953, 12 U.S. carriers served 27 tours in the <!--del_lnk--> Sea of Japan as part of the Task Force 77.<p>A second carrier unit, Task Force 95, served as a blockade force in the <!--del_lnk--> Yellow Sea off the west coast of North Korea. The task force consisted of a <!--del_lnk--> Commonwealth light carrier (<!--del_lnk--> HMSs <!--del_lnk--> <i>Triumph</i>, <!--del_lnk--> <i>Theseus</i>, <!--del_lnk--> <i>Glory</i>, <!--del_lnk--> <i>Ocean</i>, and <i><!--del_lnk--> HMAS Sydney)</i> and usually a U.S. escort carrier (<!--del_lnk--> USS <!--del_lnk--> <i>Badoeng Strait</i>, <!--del_lnk--> <i>Bairoko</i>, <!--del_lnk--> <i>Point Cruz</i>, <!--del_lnk--> <i>Rendova</i>, and <!--del_lnk--> <i>Sicily</i>).<p>Over 301,000 carrier strikes were flown during the Korean War: 255,545 by the aircraft of Task Force 77; 25,400 by the Commonwealth aircraft of Task Force 95, and 20,375 by the escort carriers of Task Force 95. United States Navy and Marine Corps carrier-based combat losses were 541 aircraft. The <!--del_lnk--> Fleet Air Arm lost 86 aircraft in combat, and the <!--del_lnk--> Fleet Air Arm of Australia 15.<p><a id="U.S._carrier_operations_in_Southeast_Asia" name="U.S._carrier_operations_in_Southeast_Asia"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">U.S. carrier operations in Southeast Asia</span></h3>
<p>The United States Navy fought "the most protracted, bitter, and costly war" (René Francillon) in the history of naval aviation from <!--del_lnk--> August 2, <!--del_lnk--> 1964 to <!--del_lnk--> August 15, <!--del_lnk--> 1973 in the waters of the <a href="../../wp/s/South_China_Sea.htm" title="South China Sea">South China Sea</a>. Operating from two deployment points (<!--del_lnk--> Yankee Station and <!--del_lnk--> Dixie Station), carrier aircraft supported combat operations in <!--del_lnk--> South Vietnam and conducted bombing operations in conjunction with the <!--del_lnk--> U.S. Air Force in <!--del_lnk--> North Vietnam under <!--del_lnk--> Operations Flaming Dart, <!--del_lnk--> Rolling Thunder, and <!--del_lnk--> Linebacker.<p>21 aircraft carriers (all operational attack carriers during the era except <!--del_lnk--> <i>John F. Kennedy</i>) deployed to <!--del_lnk--> Task Force 77 of the U.S. <!--del_lnk--> Seventh Fleet, conducting 86 war cruises and operating 9,178 total days on the line in the <!--del_lnk--> Gulf of Tonkin. 530 aircraft were lost in combat and 329 more in operational accidents, causing the deaths of 377 naval aviators, with 64 others reported missing and 179 taken <!--del_lnk--> prisoner-of-war. 205 officers and men of the ship's complements of three carriers (<!--del_lnk--> <i>Forrestal</i>, <!--del_lnk--> <i>Enterprise</i>, and <!--del_lnk--> <i>Oriskany</i>) were killed in major shipboard fires.<p><a id="Falklands_War" name="Falklands_War"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Falklands War</span></h3>
<p>During the <!--del_lnk--> Falklands War the United Kingdom was able to win a conflict 8,000 miles (13,000 km) from home in large part due to the use of the full size carrier HMS <i>Hermes</i> and the smaller <!--del_lnk--> HMS <i>Invincible</i>. The Falklands showed the value of a <!--del_lnk--> VSTOL aircraft — the <!--del_lnk--> Hawker-Siddeley Harrier (the RN Sea Harrier and press-ganged RAF Harriers) in defending the fleet and assault force from shore based aircraft and for attacking the enemy. Helicopters from the carriers were used to deploy troops and pick up the wounded.<p><a id="Operations_in_the_Gulf" name="Operations_in_the_Gulf"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Operations in the Gulf</span></h3>
<p>The US has also made use of carriers in the <a href="../../wp/p/Persian_Gulf.htm" title="Persian Gulf">Persian Gulf</a>, <a href="../../wp/a/Afghanistan.htm" title="Afghanistan">Afghanistan</a> and to protect its interests in the Pacific. During the <!--del_lnk--> 2003 invasion of Iraq US aircraft carriers served as the primary base of US air power. Even without the ability to place significant numbers of aircraft in Middle Eastern airbases, the United States was capable of carrying out significant air attacks from carrier-based squadrons. Recently, US aircraft carriers, such as the USS <i>Ronald Reagan</i> provided air support for counter-insurgency operations in Iraq.<p><a id="Aircraft_carriers_today" name="Aircraft_carriers_today"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Aircraft carriers today</span></h2>
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<div style="width:202px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/163/16396.jpg.htm" title="Four modern aircraft carriers of various types – USS John C. Stennis, Charles de Gaulle, HMS Ocean and USS John F. Kennedy — and escort vessels on operations in 2002"><img alt="Four modern aircraft carriers of various types – USS John C. Stennis, Charles de Gaulle, HMS Ocean and USS John F. Kennedy — and escort vessels on operations in 2002" height="122" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Fleet_5_nations.jpg" src="../../images/163/16396.jpg" width="200" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/163/16396.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Four modern aircraft carriers of various types – <!--del_lnk--> USS <i>John C. Stennis</i>, <!--del_lnk--> <i>Charles de Gaulle</i>, <!--del_lnk--> HMS <i>Ocean</i> and <!--del_lnk--> USS <i>John F. Kennedy</i> — and escort vessels on operations in 2002</div>
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<p>Aircraft carriers are generally the largest ships operated by <!--del_lnk--> navies; a <!--del_lnk--> <i>Nimitz</i> class carrier powered by two <!--del_lnk--> nuclear reactors and four <!--del_lnk--> steam turbines is 1092 feet (333 m) long and costs about $4.5 billion. The United States has the majority of aircraft carriers with a dozen in service and a dozen in reserve, and its aircraft carriers are a cornerstone of American power projection capability.<p>Nine countries maintain aircraft carriers: <a href="../../wp/u/United_States.htm" title="United States">United States</a>, <a href="../../wp/u/United_Kingdom.htm" title="United Kingdom">United Kingdom</a>, <a href="../../wp/f/France.htm" title="France">France</a>, <a href="../../wp/r/Russia.htm" title="Russia">Russia</a>, <a href="../../wp/i/Italy.htm" title="Italy">Italy</a>, <a href="../../wp/i/India.htm" title="India">India</a>, <a href="../../wp/s/Spain.htm" title="Spain">Spain</a>, <a href="../../wp/b/Brazil.htm" title="Brazil">Brazil</a>, and <a href="../../wp/t/Thailand.htm" title="Thailand">Thailand</a>. In addition the <a href="../../wp/p/People%2527s_Republic_of_China.htm" title="People's Republic of China">People's Republic of China</a>'s <!--del_lnk--> People's Liberation Army Navy possesses the former <a href="../../wp/s/Soviet_Union.htm" title="Soviet Union">Soviet</a> aircraft carrier <!--del_lnk--> <i>Varyag</i>, but most naval analysts believe that they have no intention to operate it, but instead are using <i>Varyag</i> to learn about carrier operations for future Chinese aircraft carriers. <a href="../../wp/c/Canada.htm" title="Canada">Canada</a>, the People's Republic of China, <a href="../../wp/j/Japan.htm" title="Japan">Japan</a>, <a href="../../wp/p/Pakistan.htm" title="Pakistan">Pakistan</a>, <a href="../../wp/a/Australia.htm" title="Australia">Australia</a>, <a href="../../wp/c/Chile.htm" title="Chile">Chile</a> and <a href="../../wp/s/Singapore.htm" title="Singapore">Singapore</a> also operate vessels capable of carrying and operating multiple helicopters.<p>Aircraft carriers are generally accompanied by a number of other ships, to provide protection for the relatively unwieldy carrier, to carry supplies, and to provide additional offensive capabilities. This is often termed a battle group or carrier group, sometimes a <!--del_lnk--> carrier battle group.<p>In the early 21st century, worldwide aircraft carriers are capable of carrying about 1250 aircraft. US carriers account for over 1000 of these; the second leading country, the United Kingdom fields around 66 aircraft. The United Kingdom and France are both undergoing a major expansion in carrier capability (with a <!--del_lnk--> common ship class), but the United States will still maintain a very large lead.<p><a id="Future_aircraft_carriers" name="Future_aircraft_carriers"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Future aircraft carriers</span></h2>
<p>Several nations which currently possess aircraft carriers are in the process of planning new classes to replace current ones.<p><a id="British_Royal_Navy" name="British_Royal_Navy"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">British Royal Navy</span></h3>
<p>The <a href="../../wp/r/Royal_Navy.htm" title="Royal Navy">Royal Navy</a> is currently planning two new larger STOVL aircraft carriers (as yet only known as <!--del_lnk--> CVF) to replace the three <!--del_lnk--> <i>Invincible</i> class carriers currently in service. These two ships are expected to be named <!--del_lnk--> HMS <i>Queen Elizabeth</i> and <!--del_lnk--> HMS <i>Prince of Wales</i>. They will be able to operate about 50 aircraft and will have a displacement of around 60,000 tonnes. The two ships are due to enter service in 2012 and 2015 respectively. Their primary aircraft complement will be made up of <a href="../../wp/f/F-35_Lightning_II.htm" title="F-35 Lightning II">F-35 Lightning IIs</a>, and their ship's company will number around 1000.<p>The two ships will be the largest warships ever built for the Royal Navy. Initially to be configured for STOVL operations, the carriers are to be adaptable to allow any type of future generation of aircraft to operate from them.<p><a id="Chinese_People.27s_Liberation_Army_Navy" name="Chinese_People.27s_Liberation_Army_Navy"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy</span></h3>
<p>In June 2005, it was reported by boxun.com that the <a href="../../wp/p/People%2527s_Republic_of_China.htm" title="People's Republic of China">People's Republic of China</a> would build a US$362 million aircraft carrier with a displacement of 78,000 tonnes, to be built by the enclosed Jiangnan Shipyard in <a href="../../wp/s/Shanghai.htm" title="Shanghai">Shanghai</a>.The ship is suppose to carry around 70 4th generation jet aircraft (may carry 5th generation jet aircraft when available) The report was denied by Chinese defense official <i>Zhang Guangqin</i>. Previous talks to purchase an aircraft carrier from Russia and France have not borne fruit. On March 10, 2006, <!--del_lnk--> People's Liberation Army Lt. Gen. <!--del_lnk--> Wang Zhiyuan announced that the People's Republic of China will research and build an aircraft carrier to develop a CVBG in 3 to 5 years. Observers say the first carrier would be deployed to secure energy supply lines in the <a href="../../wp/s/South_China_Sea.htm" title="South China Sea">South China Sea</a>. Fighters included on the carrier may include the J-10B and a modified SU-30MKK.<p><a id="French_Marine_Nationale" name="French_Marine_Nationale"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">French <i>Marine Nationale</i></span></h3>
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<div style="width:202px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/52/5240.jpg.htm" title="The Charles De Gaulle nuclear-powered aircraft carrier."><img alt="The Charles De Gaulle nuclear-powered aircraft carrier." height="118" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Gaule96.jpg" src="../../images/52/5240.jpg" width="200" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/52/5240.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> The <i>Charles De Gaulle</i> nuclear-powered aircraft carrier.</div>
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<p>The <!--del_lnk--> French Navy has set in motion plans for a <!--del_lnk--> second CTOL aircraft carrier, to supplement <i><!--del_lnk--> Charles de Gaulle</i>. The design is to be much larger, in the range of 65- – 74,000 tonnes, and will not be nuclear-powered like Charles de Gaulle. There are plans to buy the third carrier of the current <!--del_lnk--> Royal Navy design for <!--del_lnk--> CATOBAR operations (the <!--del_lnk--> Thales/<a href="../../wp/b/BAE_Systems.htm" title="BAE Systems">BAE Systems</a> design for the Royal Navy is for a STOVL carrier which is reconfigureable to CATOBAR operations).<p><a id="Indian_Navy" name="Indian_Navy"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Indian Navy</span></h3>
<p><a href="../../wp/i/India.htm" title="India">India</a> started the construction of a 37,500 tonne, 252 meter-long <!--del_lnk--> Indigenous Aircraft Carrier in April 2005. The new carrier will cost US$762 million and will operate <!--del_lnk--> MiG 29K 'Fulcrum', Naval <!--del_lnk--> HAL LCA and Sea Harrier aircraft along with the Indian-made helicopter <!--del_lnk--> HAL Dhruv. The ship will be powered by four turbine engines and when completed will have a range of 7,500 nautical miles, carrying 160 officers, 1400 sailors, and 30 aircraft. The carrier is being constructed by a state-run shipyard in southern India.<p>In 2004, India also bought <!--del_lnk--> <i>Admiral Gorshkov</i> from <a href="../../wp/r/Russia.htm" title="Russia">Russia</a> for US$1.5 billion. It is most likely to be named the <!--del_lnk--> INS Vikramaditya, and is expected to join the <!--del_lnk--> Indian Navy in 2008 after a refit.<p><a id="Italian_Marina_Militare" name="Italian_Marina_Militare"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Italian <i>Marina Militare</i></span></h3>
<p>The construction of the conventional powered <i><!--del_lnk--> Marina Militare</i> STOVL aircraft carrier <!--del_lnk--> <i>Cavour</i> began in 2001. It is being built by <!--del_lnk--> Fincantieri of Italy. After much delay, <i>Cavour</i> is expected to enter service in 2008 to complement the Marina Militare aircraft carrier <!--del_lnk--> <i>Giuseppe Garibaldi</i>. A second aircraft carrier in the 25-30,000 tonne range is much desired by the Italian Navy, to replace the already decommissioned helicopter carrier <!--del_lnk--> <i>Vittorio Veneto</i>, but for budgetary reasons all further development is on hold. It is provisionally called <!--del_lnk--> Alcide de Gasperi.<p><a id="Royal_Australian_Navy" name="Royal_Australian_Navy"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Royal Australian Navy</span></h3>
<p>The Royal Australian Navy is currently investing in two <!--del_lnk--> Canberra class large amphibious ships, which will either be the French <!--del_lnk--> <i>Mistral</i> class or the Spanish <!--del_lnk--> <i>Buque de Proyección Estratégica</i> design. While the Navy has not considered operating fixed-wing aircraft from the ships, it has been suggested by commentators that they also operate aircraft such as the <a href="../../wp/f/F-35_Lightning_II.htm" title="F-35 Lightning II">F-35B</a>. Both to be in service by 2012.<p><a id="Russian_Navy" name="Russian_Navy"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Russian Navy</span></h3>
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<div style="width:202px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/163/16398.jpg.htm" title="Russian Admiral Kuznetsov"><img alt="Russian Admiral Kuznetsov" height="127" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Russian_aircraft_carrier_Kuznetsov.jpg.jpg" src="../../images/163/16398.jpg" width="200" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/163/16398.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Russian <i>Admiral Kuznetsov</i></div>
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<p>The <a href="../../wp/r/Russia.htm" title="Russia">Russian</a> navy has one operational aircraft carrier, <!--del_lnk--> <i>Admiral Kuznetsov</i>.<p>Russia is currently developing a new aircraft carrier design. They are starting from scratch to make a modern model, with the newest available materials and electronics. Requirements would be for four aircraft carriers - two for the Russian Northern Fleet and two for the Russian Pacific Fleet. Construction is set to begin by 2010, and finish in around 6 years. The <!--del_lnk--> Ulyanovsk supercarrier design is being revised.<p><a id="Spanish_Armada" name="Spanish_Armada"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Spanish <i>Armada</i></span></h3>
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<div style="width:202px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/163/16399.jpg.htm" title="Spanish Buque de proyección estratégica"><img alt="Spanish Buque de proyección estratégica" height="138" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Buqueproyeccionestrategica.jpg" src="../../images/163/16399.jpg" width="200" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/163/16399.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Spanish <i>Buque de proyección estratégica</i></div>
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<p>The project for the 231 meter-long and 25,000-30,000 tonnes conventional powered <i><!--del_lnk--> Buque de Proyección Estratégica</i> (Strategic projection vessel) for the Spanish navy was approved in 2003, and its construction started in August 2005, with the ship-building firm <!--del_lnk--> Navantia in charge of the project. The <i>Buque de proyección estratégica</i> is a vessel designed to operate both as <!--del_lnk--> amphibious assault vessel and as VSTOL aircraft carrier, depending on the mission assigned. The design was made keeping in mind the low-intensity conflicts in which the Spanish Armada is going to be involved in the future. When it is configured to operate as VSTOL aircraft carrier, the operating range will be about 25,000 tonnes, and it will operate a maximum of 30 <!--del_lnk--> Matador AV-8B+, F-35 or a mixed force of both aircraft. The ship is provided with a Sky-Jump and a tri-dimensional radar based combat system, and she will be the second operating aircraft carrier of the Spanish navy after <!--del_lnk--> <i>Príncipe de Asturias</i>.<p><a id="US_Navy" name="US_Navy"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">US Navy</span></h3>
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<div style="width:202px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/164/16400.jpg.htm" title="US Navy CVN-21"><img alt="US Navy CVN-21" height="150" longdesc="/wiki/Image:CVN-21.jpg" src="../../images/164/16400.jpg" width="200" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/164/16400.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> US Navy CVN-21</div>
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<p>The current US Fleet of <!--del_lnk--> <i>Nimitz</i>-class carriers are to be followed into service (and in some cases replaced) by the <!--del_lnk--> CVN-21/CVNX Carrier. It is expected that the ships will be larger and will operate more aircraft than the 80 or so of <!--del_lnk--> <i>Nimitz</i> (though current <!--del_lnk--> Carrier air wings number about 64), and will also be designed to be less detectable by radar. The United States Navy is also looking to make these new carriers more automated in an effort to reduce the amount of funding required to build and maintain its <!--del_lnk--> supercarriers.<h2> <span class="mw-headline">Related content</span></h2>
<p><a id="Related_lists" name="Related_lists"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Related lists</span></h3>
<ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> List of aircraft carriers<ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> List of aircraft carriers by country<li><!--del_lnk--> List of aircraft carriers by type<li><!--del_lnk--> List of aircraft carrier classes of the United States Navy<li><!--del_lnk--> List of aircraft carrier deployments<li><!--del_lnk--> List of aircraft carriers in service</ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> List of amphibious warfare ships<li><!--del_lnk--> Aircraft carriers in fiction</ul>
<p><a id="See_also" name="See_also"></a><div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aircraft_carrier"</div>
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