Trinidad and Tobago - The Wide Worlds Snaps

President: Anthony Carmona (2013)
Prime Minister: Kamla Persad-Bissessar (2010)
Total area: 1,981 sq mi (5,131 sq km)
Population (2014 est.): 1,223,916 (growth rate: –0.086%);
birth rate: 13.8/1000;
infant mortality rate: 24.82/1000;
life expectancy: 72.29;
density per sq mi: 659.2
Capital and largest city (2011 est.): Port-of-Spain, 66,000
Monetary unit: Trinidad and Tobago dollar

When Trinidad was explored by Columbus in 1498, it was inhabited by the Arawaks; Carib Indians inhabited Tobago. Trinidad remained in Spanish possession, despite raids by other European nations, until it was ceded to Britain in 1802. Tobago passed between Britain and France several times, but it was ultimately given to Britain in 1814. Slavery was abolished in 1834. Between 1845 and 1917, thousands of indentured workers were brought from India to work on sugarcane plantations. In 1889 Trinidad and Tobago were made a single colony.

Partial self-government was instituted in 1925, and from 1958 to 1962 the nation was part of the West Indies Federation. On Aug. 31, 1962, it gained independence and on Aug. 1, 1976, Trinidad and Tobago became a republic, remaining within the Commonwealth. While the country is a stable democracy and enjoys the highest living standards in the Caribbean thanks to oil revenue, tension between East Indians and blacks has underlined much of political life. In 1970 the tension was the underlying cause of riots, protests, and an army mutiny for the end of foreign influence over the economy. These events prompted a state of emergency which lasted for two years.

Eric Williams, “Father of the Nation” and leader of the People's National Movement (PNM), which is largely supported by blacks, governed from 1956 until his death in 1981. In Dec. 1986 the multiracial National Alliance for Reconstruction (NAR), based in Tobago, won a parliamentary majority, promising to sell most state-owned companies, reorganize the civil service, and reduce dependence on oil.

In 1990, to protest the NAR government, some 100 radical black Muslims blew up the police station in an attempted coup, in which the prime minister and other officials were held hostage for six days. The NAR was defeated in 1991, and the PNM returned to power. In 1995, the East Indian–based party, the United National Congress (UNC), led by Basdeo Panday, formed a coalition government with the NAR. In 2000, Panday narrowly won another term.

In Dec. 2001 elections, the governing UNC Party and the PNM Party gained 18 seats each. The two parties agreed to allow President Robinson to select the prime minister to end the impasse. But when Robinson chose Patrick Manning of the PNM because of his “moral and spiritual values,” the opposition angrily called for new elections. In the Oct. 2002 elections, Manning's party declared victory. Maxwell Richards, a university dean, was selected president by parliament in 2003.
In April 2006, former prime minister Panday was sentenced to two years in prison for committing fraud in public office. Richards, running unopposed, was reelected in February 2008.

Tags: Trinidad and Tobago - The Wide Worlds Snaps,The Wide Worlds Snaps,Trinidad and Tobago beautifull cities pictures,Trinidad and Tobago beautifull country cities,Trinidad and Tobago whole country pictures,Trinidad and Tobago pics,Trinidad and Tobago pictures,Trinidad and Tobago beautifull snaps,Trinidad and Tobago pics,Trinidad and Tobago,

Read More

Nicaragua - The Wide Worlds Snaps

President: Daniel Ortega (2007)
Land area: 46,430 sq mi (120,254 sq km);
total area: 49,998 sq mi (129,494 sq km)
Population (2010 est.): 5,995,928 (growth rate: 1.7%);
birth rate: 22.77/1000;
infant mortality rate: 24.1/1000;
life expectancy: 71.8;
density per sq km: 48
Capital and largest city (2003 est.): Managua, 1,390,500 (metro. area), 1,146,000 (city proper)
Monetary unit: Gold cordoba

Nicaragua, which derives its name from the chief of the area's leading Indian tribe at the time of the Spanish Conquest, was first settled by the Spanish in 1522. The country won independence in 1838. For the next century, Nicaragua's politics were dominated by the competition for power between the Liberals, who were centered in the city of León, and the Conservatives, centered in Granada.

To back up its support of the new Conservative government in 1909, the U.S. sent a small detachment of marines to Nicaragua from 1912 to 1925. The Bryan-Chamorro Treaty of 1916 (terminated in 1970) gave the U.S. an option on a canal route through Nicaragua and naval bases. U.S. Marines were sent again to quell disorder after the 1924 elections. A guerrilla leader, Gen. César Augusto Sandino, fought the U.S. troops from 1927 until their withdrawal in 1933.

Tags: Nicaragua - The Wide Worlds Snaps,The Wide Worlds Snaps,Nicaragua beautifull country pictures,Nicaragua beautifull cities pictures,Nicaragua whole country pictures,Nicaragua beautifull snaps,Nicaragua country,Nicaragua cities,Nicaragua beauty,Nicaragua country,

Read More

Honduras - The Wide Worlds Snaps

President: Juan Orlando Hernández (2014)
Land area: 43,201 sq mi (111,891 sq km);
total area: 43,278 sq mi (112,090 sq km)
Population (2014 est.): 8,598,561 (growth rate: 1.74%);
birth rate: 23.66/1000; infant mortality rate: 18.72/1000;
ife expectancy: 70.91
Capital and largest city (2011 est.): Tegucigalpa, 1.088 million
Monetary unit: Lempira

During the first millennium, Honduras was inhabited by the Maya. Columbus explored the country in 1502. Honduras, with four other Central American nations, declared its independence from Spain in 1821 to form a federation of Central American states. In 1838, Honduras left the federation and became independent. Political unrest rocked Honduras in the early 1900s, resulting in an occupation by U.S. Marines. Dictator Gen. Tiburcio Carias Andino established a strong government in 1932.

In 1969, El Salvador invaded Honduras after Honduran landowners deported several thousand Salvadorans. Five thousand people ultimately died in what is called “the football war” because it broke out during a soccer game between the two countries. By threatening economic sanctions and military intervention, the Organization of American States (OAS) induced El Salvador to withdraw.

Tags: Honduras - The Wide Worlds Snaps,The Wide Worlds Snaps,Honduras beautifull country pictures,Honduras snaps,Honduras beautifull snaps,Honduras whole country pictures,Honduras pictures,Honduras snaps,Honduras country,Honduras,

Read More

El Salvador - The Wide Worlds Snaps

President: Salvador Sánchez Cerén (2014)
Land area: 8,000 sq mi (20,720 sq km);
total area: 8,124 sq mi (21,040 sq km)
Population (2010 est.): 6,052,064 (growth rate: 0.3%);

birth rate: 18.06/1000;

infant mortality rate: 20.9/1000;

life expectancy: 73.2;

density per sq km: 341
Capital and largest city (2003 est.): San Salvador, 1,791,700 (metro. area), 504,700 (city proper)
Other large cities: Santa Ana, 167,200; San Miguel, 145,100; Zacatecoluca, 36,700
Monetary units: Colón; U.S. dollar

The Pipil Indians, descendants of the Aztecs, likely migrated to the region in the 11th century. In 1525, Pedro de Alvarado, a lieutenant of Cortés's, conquered El Salvador.

El Salvador, with the other countries of Central America, declared its independence from Spain on Sept. 15, 1821, and was part of a federation of Central American states until that union dissolved in 1838. For decades after its independence, El Salvador experienced numerous revolutions and wars against other Central American republics. From 1931 to 1979 El Salvador was ruled by a series of military dictatorships.

In 1969, El Salvador invaded Honduras after Honduran landowners deported several thousand Salvadorans. The four-day war became known as the “football war” because it broke out during a soccer game between the two countries.

Tags: El Salvador - The Wide Worlds Snaps,The Wide Worlds Snaps,El Salvador,El Salvador beautifull country pictures,El Salvador beautifull country snaps,El Salvador whole country pictures,El Salvador whole country cities,El Salvador cities,El Salvador country,

Read More

Costa Rica - The Wide Worlds Snaps

Republic of Costa Rica
President: Luis Guillermo Solís (2014)
Land area: 19,560 sq mi (50,660 sq km);
total area: 19,730 sq mi (51,100 sq km)
Population (2012 est.): 4,636,348 (growth rate: 1.29%); birth rate: 16.4/1000;

infant mortality rate: 9.2/1000;

life expectancy: 77.89; density per sq km: 82
Capital and largest city (2009 est.): San José, 1,416,
Monetary unit: Colón

Costa Rica was inhabited by an estimated 400,000 Indians when Columbus explored it in 1502. The Spanish conquest began in 1524. The region grew slowly and was administered as a Spanish province. Costa Rica achieved independence in 1821 but was absorbed for two years by Agustín de Iturbide in his Mexican empire. It became a republic in 1848. Except for the military dictatorship of Tomás Guardia from 1870 to 1882, Costa Rica has enjoyed one of the most democratic governments in Latin America.

In the 1970s, rising oil prices, falling international commodity prices, and inflation hurt the economy. Efforts have since been made to reduce reliance on coffee, banana, and beef exports. Tourism is now a major business. Óscar Arias Sánchez worked to simultaneously heal his country's economic woes and foster peace in Central America.

José Maria Figueres Olsen of the National Liberation Party became president in 1994. He opposed economic suggestions made by the International Monetary Fund, instead favoring greater government intervention in the economy. The World Bank subsequently withheld $100 million of financing. In 1998, Miguel Angel Rodríguez of the Social Christian Unity Party became president, pledging economic reforms, such as privatization.

In 2000, Costa Rica and Nicaragua resolved a long-standing dispute over navigation of the San Juan River, which forms their shared border. A psychiatrist, Abel Pacheco, also of the Social Christian Unity Party, won the presidency in elections held in April 2002. In May 2003, several national strikes took place, by energy and telecommunications workers over privatization and by teachers over their salaries.

Tags: Costa Rica - The Wide Worlds Snaps,The Wide Worlds Snaps,Costa Rica,Costa Rica beautifull cities pictures,Costa Rica beautifull country pictures,Costa Rica beautifull cities snaps,Costa Rica whole country pictures,Costa Rica whole country snaps,Costa Rica pictures,Costa Rica country,

Read More