Saturday, November 30, 2013

Agriculture of Latvia





About one-third of agricultural land in Latvia is used for crop cultivation, and about one-tenth is dedicated to pasture for livestock. Of the crops, grain (mainly rye) is the most important. Wheat, oats, flax, and barley are also significant. Potatoes, onions, carrots, and sugar beets are the main crops produced for export.
Collectivization of agriculture was accomplished, against resistance, in 1947–50. Up to the time of independence, in 1991, there were collective farms (engaged mainly in the cultivation of grain crops and mixed farming) and state farms (usually specializing in the cultivation and processing of a particular crop). Decollectivization became a goal of the newly independent government. During the Soviet period Latvia was a net importer of agricultural products, albeit on a small scale. After independence it was hoped that the privatization of agriculture would lead to higher levels of production and a favourable balance of trade in agricultural commodities, but, as a result of the economic hardships of adjusting to a market economy and of the high cost of equipment required, agriculture contributed only a small percentage of the gross domestic product (GDP) in the early 1990s. By the early 21st century, agriculture had been completely privatized.
Latvia’s fishing industry accounts for only a tiny percentage of the GDP, and fish products for export have decreased in importance. In general, sportfishing has contributed more to Latvia’s annual catch from inland waters than has commercial fishing. Much of the catch from the Baltic is consumed domestically as a source of protein, most notably codfish and herring (sprats). The most common species of fish found in inland waters are pike, bream, carp, perch, eel, and lamprey. Some salmon and trout are bred artificially in nurseries and then released into rivers. Crayfish and carp have been raised successfully in ponds..

Geography of Latvia

Latvia lies on the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea on the level northwestern part of the rising East European platform, between Estonia and Lithuania. About 98% of the country lies under 200 m (656 ft) elevation. The damp climate resembles New England's. With the exception of the coastal plains, the ice age divided Latvia into three main regions: the morainic Western and Eastern uplands and the Middle lowlands. Latvia holds over 12,000 rivers, only 17 of which are longer than 60 miles (97 km), and over 3,000 small lakes, most of which are eutrophic. The major rivers include the Daugava, the Lielupe, the Gauja, the Venta and the Salaca. Woodlands, more than half of which are pine woods, cover around 41% of the country. Other than peat, dolomite, and limestone, natural resources are scarce. Latvia has 531 km (330 mi) of sandy coastline, and the ports of Liepaja and Ventspils provide important warm-water harbors for the Baltic coast.
Latvia is slightly larger than CroatiaBosnia and HerzegovinaSlovakia, orEstonia. Its strategic location has instigated many wars between rival powers on its territory. As U.S.S.R. granted Russia the Abrene region on the Livonian frontier, which Latvia still contests.

recently as 1944, the


Physical environment

Latvia is traditionally seen as a small country. In terms of its population of about 2.3 million, it deserves this designation. Geographically, however, Latvia encompasses 64,589 square kilometers, a size surpassing that of better-known European states such as Belgium, the Netherlands, Switzerland, and Denmark. Seen from the air, Latvia is an extension of theEast European Plain. Its flat terrain differs little from that of its surrounding neighbors. Latvia's only distinct border is the Baltic Sea coast, which extends for 531 kilometers. Its neighbors include Estonia on the north (267 kilometers of common border), Lithuania on the south (453 kilometers), Belarus on the southeast (141 kilometers), and Russia on the east (217 kilometers). Prior to World War II, Latvia bordered eastern Poland, but as a result of boundary changes by the Soviet Union, this territory was attached to Belarus. Also, in 1944 Russia annexed the northeastern border district of Latvia, known as Abrene, including the town of Pytalovo.

History of Latvia


The History of Latvia began when the area which is today Latvia was settled following the end of the last glacial period, around 9000 BC. Ancient Baltic peoples appeared during the second millennium BC and four distinct tribal realms in Latvia's territories were identifiable towards the end of the first millennium AD. Latvia's principal river, the Daugava River, was at the head of an important mainland route from the Baltic region through Russia into southern Europe and the Middle East used by the Vikings and later Nordic and German traders.
In the early medieval period, the region's peoples resisted Christianisation and became subject to attack in the Northern Crusades. Today's capital, Riga, founded in 1201 by Teutonic colonists at the mouth of the Daugava, became a strategic base in a papally-sanctioned conquest of the area by the Livonian Brothers of the Sword. It was to be the first major city of the southern Baltic and, after 1282, a principal trading centre in the Hanseatic League. By the 16th century Germanicdominance in the region was increasingly challenged by other powers.
Due to Latvia's strategic location and prosperous city, its territories were a frequent focal point for conflict and conquest between at least four major powers, the State of the Teutonic Order (later Germany), the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth,Sweden and Russia. The longest period of external hegemony in the modern period began in 1710 when control over Riga switched from Sweden to Russia during the Great Northern War. Under Russian control, Latvia was in the vanguard of industrialisation and the abolition of serfdom so that by the end of the 19th century it had become one of the most developed parts of the Russian Empire. The increasing social problems and rising discontent which this brought meant that Riga also played a leading role in the 1905 Russian Revolution.
A rising sense of Latvian nationalism from the 1850s onwards bore fruit after World War I when, after two years of struggle in the Russian Civil War, Latvia finally won sovereign independence recognised by Russia in 1920 and by the international community in 1921. Latvia's independent status was interrupted at the outset of World War II when in 1940 the country was forcibly incorporated into the Soviet Union, invaded and occupied by Nazi Germany in 1941, then retaken by the Soviets in 1944 after Germany surrendered.
From the mid-1940s the country was subject to Soviet economic control and saw considerable Russification of its peoples, but Latvian culture and infrastructures survived such that, during the period of Soviet liberalisation under Mikhail Gorbachev, Latvia once again took a path towards independence which eventually succeeded in August 1991 and was recognised by Russia the following month. Since then, under restored independence, Latvia has become a member of theUnited Nations, entered NATO and joined the European Union.

Latvia-Introduction




Latvia  officially the Republic of Latvia , is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia, to the south by Lithuania, to the east by Russia, and to the southeast by Belarus and by a maritime border to the west with Sweden. With 2,070,371 inhabitants and a territory of 64,589 km2 (24,938 sq mi) it is one of the least populous and least densely populated countries of the European Union. The capital of Latvia is Riga. The official language is Latvian. The country has a temperate seasonal climate. Latvia is a unitary parliamentary republic, divided into 118administrative divisions of which 109 are municipalities and 9 are cities. There are five planning regions:CourlandLatgaleRigaVidzeme and Zemgale.
The Latvians are a Baltic people, culturally related to the Lithuanians. Together with the Finnic Livs (or Livonians), the Latvians are the indigenous people of Latvia. Latvian is an Indo-European language and along with Lithuanian the only two surviving members of the Baltic branch. Despite subjection to foreign rule from the 13th to the 20th centuries, the Latvian nation maintained its identity throughout the generations, most notably the language, culture, and rich musical traditions. Latvia and Estonia share a long common history. Both countries are home to a large number of ethnic Russians (26.9% in Latvia and 25.5% in Estonia) of whom some are non-citizens. Latvia is historically predominantly Protestant Lutheran, except for the Latgalia region in the southeast, which has historically been predominantly Roman Catholic.
The Republic of Latvia was founded on 18 November 1918. However, its independent status was interrupted at the outset of World War II when in 1940, the country was forcibly incorporated into the Soviet Unioninvaded and occupied by Nazi Germany in 1941, and re-occupied by the Soviets in 1944 to form the Latvian SSR for the next fifty years. The peaceful Singing Revolution, starting in 1987, called for Baltic emancipation of Soviet rule. It ended with the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, and Latvia declared the restoration of its de factoindependence on the 21st of August, 1991.
Latvia is a member of the Council of EuropeCBSSEuropean UnionIMFNATONB8NIBOSCEUnited NationsWTO. For 2013, Latvia is listed 44th on the Human Development Index and as a high income country. Its currency, the Latvian lats, is to be replaced by the euro on 1 January 2014. Eurozone membership is a controversial topic in Latvian society, as it is opposed by the majority of population - according to current statistics, only 22% support introduction of euro, while 53% oppose introduction of euro in 2014.
The name Latvija is derived from the name of the ancient Latgalians, one of four Indo-European Baltic tribes.

Rank and Music of St.Lucia

The rank of St. Lucia from the poorest is 123 and from the richest is 80 and the gdp per capita using atlas method in 2003 4,050. In other methods IMF,WB,and CIA using nominal methods in 2007,2007,and 2008
IMF................................................WB.................................................CIA
rank/measure................................rank/measure.....................................rank/measure
72/5,700.....................................62/5,702.......................................72/6,030

Economy of St. Lucia

Economy[edit]

Graphical depiction
of St. Lucia's product exports in 28 color-coded categories.
An educated workforce and improvements in roads, communications, water supply, sewerage, and port facilities have attracted foreign investment in tourism and in petroleum storage and transshipment. However, with the US, Canada, and Europe in recession, tourism declined by double digits in early 2009. The recent change in the European Union import preference regime and the increased competition from Latin American bananas have made economic diversification increasingly important in Saint Lucia.
The island nation has been able to attract foreign business and investment, especially in its offshore banking and tourism industries, which is the island's main source of revenue. The manufacturing sector is the most diverse in the Eastern Caribbean area, and the government is trying to revitalise the banana industry. Despite negative growth in 2011, economic fundamentals remain solid, and GDP growth should recover in the future.
Inflation has been relatively low, averaging 5.5 percent between 2006 and 2008. Saint Lucia's currency is the Eastern Caribbean Dollar (EC$), a regional currency shared among members of the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union (ECU). The Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCL) issues the EC$, manages monetary policy, and regulates and supervises commercial banking activities in member countries. In 2003, the government began a comprehensive restructuring of the economy, including elimination of price controls and privatisation of the state banana company.

Demographics

RankQuarterPopulation
1Castries60,263
2Gros Islet22,647
3Vieux Fort14,632
4Micoud14,480
5Dennery11,874
6Soufrière7,747
7Laborie6,507
8Anse la Raye6,033
9Choiseul5,766
10Canaries1,915
Source:[10]
The population of 174,000 (in 2010) is evenly divided between urban and rural areas, although the capital, Castries, contains more than one-third of the population. Saint Lucia's population is predominantly of African and mixed African-European descent, with a small Indo-Caribbean minority (3%). Members of other or unspecified ethnicity groups, account for about 2% of the population.
The official language is English. Saint Lucian Creole French (Kwéyòl), which is colloquially referred to as "Patwah" (Patois), is spoken by 95% of the population. This Antillean Creole is used in literature and music, and is gaining official acknowledgement. As it developed during the early period of French colonisation, the creole is derived chiefly from French and West African languages, with some vocabulary from Carib and other sources. Saint Lucia is a member of La Francophonie.
About 70% of the population is Roman Catholic, influenced from the days of French Catholic colonisation and evangelisation. Most of the rest belong to other Christian denominations, including Seventh-day Adventism (7%),Pentecostalism (6%), Anglicanism (2%), and other types of Evangelical Christianity (2%); in addition, about 2% of the population adheres to the Rastafari movement.[citation needed]
Public expenditure on health was at 3.3% of the GDP in 2004, whereas private expenditure was at 1.8%. Health expenditure was at US$302 (PPP) per capita in 2004.[13] Infant mortality was at 12 per 100,000 births in 2005.
Saint Lucia boasts the highest ratio of Nobel laureates produced with respect to the total population of any sovereign country in the world. Two winners have come from Saint Lucia: Sir Arthur Lewis won the Nobel Prize in Economics in 1979, and the poet Derek Walcott received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1992. Both were born on the same day, 23 January, in 1915 and 1930, respectively.
Despite a high emigration rate, the population is growing rapidly, about 1.2% per year. Migration from Saint Lucia is primarily to Anglophone countries, with the United Kingdom having almost 10,000 Saint Lucian-born citizens, and over 30,000 of Saint Lucian heritage. The second most popular destination for Saint Lucian émigrés is the United States, where a combined (foreign and national-born Saint Lucians) almost 14,000 reside. Canada is home to a few thousand Saint Lucians. Most other countries in the world have fewer than 50 citizens of Saint Lucian origin (the exceptions being Spain and France with 124 and 117 Saint Lucian immigrants, respectively).

Friday, November 29, 2013

History of St. lucia



Saint Lucia's first known inhabitants were Arawaks, believed to have come from northern South America around 200-400 CE. Numerous archaeological sites on the island have produced specimens of the Arawaks' well-developed pottery. There is evidence to suggest that these first inhabitants called the islandIouanalao, which meant 'Land of the Iguanas', due to the island's high number of iguanas.
Caribs gradually replaced Arawaks during the period from 800 to 1000 CE They called the island Hewanarau, and later Hewanorra. This is the origin of the name of the Hewanorra International Airport in Vieux Fort. The Caribs had a complex society, with hereditary kings and shamans. Their war canoes could hold more than 100 men and were fast enough to catch a sailing ship. They were later feared by the invading Europeans for their ferocity in battle.

European invasion

Europeans first landed on the island in either 1492 or 1502 during Spain's early exploration of the Caribbean. The DutchEnglish, and French all tried to establish trading outposts on St. Lucia in the 17th century but faced opposition from Caribs whose land they were occupying. They also were battling for their right to be quartered there.

Early European Contacts

The French pirate Francois El Clerc (also known as Jambe de Bois, due to his wooden leg) frequented Saint Lucia in the 1550s. It was not until years later, around 1600, that the first European camp was started by the Dutch, at what is now Vieux Fort. In 1605, an English vessel called the Olive Branch was blown off-course on its way to Guyana, and the 67 colonists started a settlement on Saint Lucia. After five weeks, only 19 survived, due to disease and conflict with the Caribs, so they fled the island. The French officially claimed the island in 1635 but it was the English who started the next European settlement in 1639, which was wiped out by the Caribs

French Colony

In 1643 a French expedition under the direction of Jacques du Parquet the Governor of Martinique established a permanent settlement on the island under the Governor De Rousselan who took a Carib wife and remained in post until his death in 1654.
In 1664, Thomas Warner (son of the governor of St Kitts) claimed Saint Lucia for England. He brought 1,000 men to defend it from the French, but after two years, only 89 survived, mostly due to disease. In 1666 the French administration returned and resumed control of the island. For years after this, the island was officially traded back and forth between the English and the French in various treaties, as a bargaining chip in negotiations although the French settlements remained and the island was a de facto French Colony well into the eighteenth century.
Political control from 1674 to 1814
DateCountry
1674French crown colony
1723Neutral territory (agreed by Britain and France)
1743French colony (Sainte Lucie)
1748Neutral territory (de jure agreed by Britain and France)
1756French colony (Sainte Lucie)
1762British occupation
1763Restored to France
1778British occupation
1783Restored to France
1796British occupation
1802Restored to France
1803British occupation
1814British possession confirmed
December 15, 1778. The 12 French ships of Estaing (left) attacking seven English ships of Admiral Barrington (right). The English fleet was not destroyed because d'Estaing prefers to land its troops on the island.

18th century

The English, with their headquarters in Barbados, and the French, centered on Martinique, found St Lucia attractive after the sugar industry developed. The French assumed ownership again of Saint Lucia by the Treaty of Paris in 1763 and introduced the sugar cane industry in 1765. Colonists who came over were mostly indentured white servants serving a small percentage of wealthy merchants or nobles.
The Battle of the Saints, in which Admiral Rodney defeated the French Admiral De Grasse, took place between the French and British navies during the American War of Independence on 12 April 1782. The British victory ensured their naval dominance of the Caribbean.
A 1758 map of Saint Lucia
Near the end of the century, the French Revolution occurred. A revolutionary tribunal was sent to Saint Lucia, headed by captain La Crosse. Prior to this, the slaves had heard about the revolution and walked off their jobs in 1790-1 to work for themselves. Bringing the ideas of the revolution to Saint Lucia, La Crosse set up a guillotine used to execute Royalists. In 1794, the French governor of the island declared that all slaves were free, as also happened on Saint-Domingue.
A short time later, the British invaded in response to the concerns of the wealthy planters, who wanted to keep sugar production going. After years of fighting, the British restored slavery on the island. In 1796 Castries was burned as part of the conflict between the British, the slaves, and French republicans.

19th century

Britain eventually triumphed in 1803, the same year the French withdrew their forces from Saint-Domingue after losing two-thirds of the 20,000 soldiers they had sent there against the slave revolt. The new leaders of Haiti declared its independence in 1804, the first black republic in the Caribbean, and the second republic in the Western Hemisphere.
The British abolished the African slave trade in 1807; they acquired Saint Lucia permanently in 1814. It was not until 1834 that they abolished the institution of slavery. Even after abolition, all former slaves had to serve a four-year "apprenticeship," during which they had to work for free for their former masters for at least three-quarters of the work week. They achieved full freedom in 1838.
Also in 1838, Saint Lucia was incorporated into the British Windward Islands administration, headquartered in Barbados. This lasted until 1885, when the capital was moved to Grenada.

20th century to 21st century

Increasing self-government has marked St Lucia's 20th century history. A 1924 constitution gave the island its first form of representative government, with a minority of elected members in the previously all-nominated legislative council. Universal adult suffrage was introduced in 1951, and elected members became a majority of the council. Ministerial government was introduced in 1956, and in 1958 St. Lucia joined the short-lived West Indies Federation, a semi-autonomous dependency of the United Kingdom. When the federation collapsed in 1962, following Jamaica's withdrawal, a smaller federation was briefly attempted. After the second failure, the United Kingdom and the six windward and leeward islands—Grenada, St. VincentDominicaAntiguaSt. Kitts and Nevis and Anguilla, and St. Lucia—developed a novel form of cooperation called associated statehood.
As an associated state of the United Kingdom from 1967 to 1979, St. Lucia had full responsibility for internal self-government but left its external affairs and defense responsibilities to the United Kingdom. This interim arrangement ended on February 22, 1979, when St. Lucia achieved full independence. St. Lucia continues to recognize Queen Elizabeth II as titular head of state and is an active member of the Commonwealth of Nations. The island continues to cooperate with its neighbors through the Caribbean community and common market (CARICOM), the East Caribbean Common Market (ECCM), and the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS).