E2 Quest: Histories of the World... is over!
The quest is over. However, if you fill one of these nodes I shall endeavour to tell everyone how great you and your write-up are, and I shall list it below for posterity. Keep noding!
Writeups:
Here's our suggestions for sovereign states in the world today:
- Afghanistan - great on post-1978, but information needed on before.
- Algeria - could be more comprehensive, how about more detail on the war of independence and internal affairs under the Ottomans and French?
- Antarctica - how about a history of discovery, exploration, research colonies and territorial claims?
- Antigua and Barbuda - these unlucky islands have been colonised a fair few times in their history, what's that all about?
- Argentina - this country has a rich history which is almost entirely un-noded
- Armenia -a country with a rich and tragic history. What does it feel like to be kicked around by the regional superpowers?
- Azerbaijan - a country with a rich and varied cultural heritage, temporarily crushed by the Soviets in the last century
- Barbados - so this place has been a totally happening holiday resort for six thousand years. Right?
- Belgium - been invaded by just about everyone. Has your country invaded Belgium? And just what else has been going on there?
- Belize - full independence gained very late, in 1981
- Bhutan - at a crucial point in Asia, Bhutan has been involved in much of the area's history. What about its relationship to Britain and India?
- Bolivia - this country has had literally hundreds of coups since independence, and has now embarked on an experiment with democracy. What happened along the way?
- Bosnia and Herzegovina - this area has been at the heart of Europe's history many times
- Botswana - swallowed up in the scramble for Africa, now one of Africa's most dynamic economies
- Brunei - ruled by the same royal family for six centuries, they've enjoyed varying degrees of power and influence throughout this time
- Burkina Faso - poor and surrounded by unstable neighbours, Burkina Faso has had a chequered history
- Burundi - once one of Germany's only colonies, now a centre of ethnic conflict
- Cayman Islands - how did this place become such a tax haven?
- Central African Republic - a turbulent country in a very turbulent region
- Chad - a former French colony, independence brought ethnic strife
- Chile - conquistadors did what conquistadors do, and since then Chile has been strongly influenced by European force or ideas
- China - one of the world's oldest civilisations and has a very rich history
- Democratic Republic of the Congo - scene of a massive genocide by Leopold II and of the world's deadliest conflicts since World War II
Costa Rica - how did this country achieve its remarkable post-war stability?- Cote d'Ivoire - France has been entangled in this area since the nineteenth century
- Cuba - has been in the Spanish, American and Soviet sphere of influence in its time
- Denmark - beat up the English and the Russians early on, and involved in European affairs ever since
- Djibouti - strategic outpost in the war on terror, but there's more to this country than that
- Dominica - the first Caribbean island to be colonised by Europeans
- Dominican Republic - this half of Hispaniola has done better politically and economically than Haiti - why?
- East Timor - some more on pre-colonial history and internal affairs would be good
- Ecuador - once ruled by the Incas and Spanish, independent since 1830
- Egypt - once a glorious Empire, Egypt wasn't ruled by Egyptians from the time of the Pharaohs to the early 20th century
- El Salvador - a violent civil war in the 1980s, but much happened before then
- Equatorial Guinea - gained its independence relatively late after nearly two hundred years of Spanish rule
- Eritrea - an ethnically diverse nation which has suffered annexation by Ethiopia in the 20th century, finally gaining independence after millennia of rule by local dominant powers
- France - this country has been absolutely central to European and world history
- The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia - its name is a UN fudge due to Greek objections, but what has FYROM been up to while the rest of the world argued about its name?
- Gabon - unfortunately named after a type of coat, later became part of French Equatorial Africa
- The Gambia - some people think it's just a river, but the Gambia, formerly a British colony, is now a sovereign nation
Georgia - we've got great stuff on its modern history, but what about the millennia before?Germany - the superpower of Europe, what happened on its journey to this position?- Ghana - previously known as the Gold Coast, renamed after an ancient African Empire
- Greece - the birthplace of much of what is now considered 'European'
- Grenada - what happened here before the USA invaded?
- Guatemala - once central to Mayan civilisation, later ravaged by the Spanish, civil war, and human rights abuses
- Guinea - Guinea's military hasn't learnt to keep to itself after independence
- Guinea-Bissau - there was a coup here just last year and a civil war not long ago, how did this instability come about?
- Guyana - suffered a colonial tug-of-war between the British and Dutch
Vatican City - how did the smallest sovereign state on the planet come about, and how does its elective monarchy work?- Honduras - has had 300 coups and rebellions since independence, half of them in the last century
- Hungary - a centre of a vibrant Eastern European country, later became a central battleground between Christendom and the Ottoman Empire
- Iceland - what happened under the Norwegians and how did Iceland gain its independence?
- India - a rich history prior to the British Raj and a very complex colonial period are just a few things to mention here
- Indonesia - a semi-imperial state forged from hundreds of diverse cultures after centuries of Dutch rule
- Ireland - unimaginatively named by the Romans, but has had a very interesting history
- Isle of Man - has been ruled by England and Scotland in its time, but has the world's oldest parliamentary body and is proudly independent
- Israel - who can meet the challenge of giving an objective history of why Israel came to be and what affect it's had on the region?
- Italy - at various times home to the Roman Empire, the Pope, Machiavelli, and Fascism
- Jamaica - yeah mon, I was going to node Jamaican history but I'd rather sitta on da beach
- Jersey - part of the Channel Islands, owned in its time by France, England, and Nazi Germany
- Jordan - full of autonomous tribes until the British created a totally artificial state - why did they do that?
- Kazakhstan - so, what's the difference between this and all the other -stans?
- Kenya - nowadays we know it for its coffee, what was it known for before?
- Kiribati - this island nation includes Christmas Island!
- Kyrgyzstan - once part of the Russian Empire, the Soviets just couldn't let it go
- Lebanon - was home to a delicate sectarian balance that tragically collapsed in the 1980s, how did this come about and what happened to it?
- Lesotho - what does it feel like to be totally surrounded by South Africa?
- Liberia - being named after liberty hasn't helped this country avoid several bloody civil wars
- Libya - Libya has been generally subjected to foreign control until Qadaffi's independent-minded 'Third Universal Theory' - what is it and what was the colonial past he was rebelling against?
- Liechtenstein - history has largely passed this tiny nation by, but it's done something right - it now has one of the highest standards of living in the world
- Luxembourg - this small state has been caught in the middle of Europe's wars many times
- Madagascar - one of the biggest islands in the world, there was plenty of room for interesting history
- Malawi - came under a strong Scottish influence in the nineteenth century
- Malaysia - an early commercial centre, but its prosperity attracted Europeans imperialists
- Maldives - was an Islamic sultanate for most of its history, became a republic in the twentieth century - why the change?
- Malta - we've got the pre-history, but what's happened since then?
- Marshall Islands - suffered German and Japanese colonisation, and then US nuclear weapon tests
- Mauritania - how has the largely nomadic population of this country coped with colonisation and then independence?
- Mexico - what has America's southern neighbour been up to these last few thousand years? - JediBix783 is working on this
- Moldova - the Russians were interested in this region early on, and it suffered invasions from Kievan Rus', the Russian Empire, and the Soviet Union
- Monaco - world's smallest French-speaking country. Pretty small.
- Mongolia - Samuel Huntingdon thinks China will swallow Mongolia in the future, but what happened in its past?
- Montenegro - independent for many centuries, then involved in a number of federations in the twentieth century. Why did it link itself up with its neighbours?
- Mozambique - one of the areas discovered by Vasco da Gama, was still fighting for its independence from Portugal in the 1970s. Why did they cling on so long?
- Nepal - this thin country has a fat history, with Hindus, Buddhists, Brits, and Maoists all getting involved
- Netherlands - the Dutch had a mini industrial revolution before the British - how did it come about and what went wrong?
- New Zealand - one of the most recently settled large land masses, the natives didn't arrive much before the Europeans. How has their relationship been?
- Nicaragua - has fallen into the US sphere on influence for most of its history
- Niger - a sub-Saharan country that was economically important to the local Empires
- Nigeria - initially the coast was used to transit slaves, the British later established a formal colony here
- North Korea - Stalinism is long gone in the rest of the world, why is it still around in North Korea? And what's the deal with the South and China?
- Pakistan - how did it come about, what's the deal with Kashmir, and what happened to Bangladesh?
- Palau - we have the modern history of Palau, but what happened before?
- Panama - born thanks to a canal, what's happened there since?
- Papua New Guinea - one of the few places left open to German colonisation when they got into the business, the Australians kicked them out shortly afterwards.
- Paraguay - this country has been characterised by strong, and often military, leaders since independence, but held democratic elections in 1992
- Peru - this South American country was once home to the Inca Empire
- Philippines - this archipelago was named after an uppity King, and that was only the start of foreign interference
- Poland - this country has been described as the 'Heart of Europe', and its central position has led to many a foreign dismemberment
- Portugal - the earliest colonial and world power, Portugal was only later eclipsed by Spain. Why so and what's happened since?
- Qatar - declined to be part of Saudi Arabia or the UAE, Qatar has grown rich on oil
- Romania - home to Romans, Russians, and vampires at various times
- Rwanda - this country has seen a most terrible tragedy, what legacy could allow this to happen?
- Saint Kitts and Nevis - small island nation that the British and French once fought over
- Saint Lucia - another island the British and French fought over, independent since 1979
- Saint Vincent and the Grenadines - the British and French sure fought over a lot of islands
- Samoa - an unlikely colonial history sees it divided by Germany and the USA, then occupied by New Zealand
- San Marino - a tiny sovereign nation in the middle of Italy, claims to be the world's oldest republic
- Saudi Arabia - a country carved in blood by an alliance of extreme religion and political cunning. How did this country of paradoxes come about?
- Seychelles - strategically placed for trade, these islands were contested by the colonial powers
- Sierra Leone - an early European colony, the natives resisted fiercely - and violence has been a feature of Sierra Leone ever since
- Singapore - Singapore has a very old recorded history, and in modern times has come to be considered a unique specimen of non-Western modernity. How has this effected its inhabitants?
- Slovakia - ruled by Hungary and then part of Czechoslovakia, why did it separate from it?
- Slovenia - why has this country's recent experience been less turbulent than other ex-Yugoslav states?
- Solomon Islands -
- Somalia - with a political party for every tribe, independent Somalia has never been boring. What happened before the recent turmoil, and how did it come about?
- South Africa - one of the oldest states in Africa, South Africa has been repeatedly settled by Europeans and has had a controversial history in the last century
- South Korea - a rich ancient history and a turbulent modern one
- Sudan - Sudan has been conquered by Egypt, Belgium and Britain - did they lay the groundwork for the current tragedy?
- Suriname - gained its independence late, plunged into military dictatorship
- Swaziland - humans have been in this region for 100,000 years, what have they been up to?
- Sweden - a great early modern history here already, but what did Sweden do as a European superpower, and why did it decline?
- Switzerland - it once furnished mercenaries to the rest of the Europe, but has managed to avoid armed conflict on its soil for over one hundred and fifty years
- Syria - what was life like here under the Ottomans, or even before?
- Taiwan - relations with the mainland dominate this country's recent past, but what have internal conditions been like on the island?
- Tajikistan - has mostly been part of various Empires in recorded history, and has had a rocky time while independent
- Tanzania - Germany's largest colony, then played regional policeman by kicking out Idi Amin
- Thailand - resisted European colonisation, how did this make it develop differently to its neighbours?
- Togo - ex-German colony, has the form of democracy but lacks the content
- Tonga - this Pacific nation is proud of being unique in never losing indigenous government
- Trinidad and Tobago - has done very well recently thanks to mineral wealth, but what were earlier centuries like?
- Tunisia - the ancient site of Carthage, suffered Roman and Ottoman deprivations
- Turkey - formerly a huge Islamic Empire in Europe and the Middle East, how has Ataturk's transformative legacy worked out?
- Turkmenistan - part of various Empires for most of its history, finally became a sovereign state in 1991
- Uganda - (in)famous in the twentieth century thanks to Idi Amin, but what happened before his rise to power?
- United Arab Emirates - oil-rich and conservative, once under British control and a home for pirates (arrr!)
- United Kingdom - the UK has always eschewed continental entanglement, but was for a time the world's superpower. What brought this about?
- United States of America - a country that at once infuriates and fascinates the rest of the world, what legacy has made the USA what it is today?
- Uruguay - a colony not just of Europeans but of Brazil, Uruguay had a particularly hard struggle for independence
- Vanuatu - Yumi, Yumi, Yumi i glat blong talem se, Yumi, Yumi, Yumi i man blong Vanuatu!
- Venezuela - one of the first South American countries to establish democratic civilian rule, but there have been hiccups along the way
- Vietnam - there's more to this country than a war, as the Vietnamese have a long and proud history characterised by resistance to China and expansion southward
- Yemen - a rich cultural heritage, scene of much conflict since the rise of Ibn Saud, and near the heartland of Islam
- Zambia - another region that initially suffered being named after its conqueror, Zambia later became independent
- Zimbabwe - in the news a lot recently, but what led to the current situation?
Prefer to node your favourite historical state? Here are just a few suggestions -
- Abbasid Caliphate - saw much of what is now considered the 'golden age' of Islam
- French Indochina - why did the French come to lump these diverse countries together, and what effect did this have?
- Mali Empire - the Empire that made Timbuktu famous!
- Manchukuo - the puppet state set up by the Kwantung Army in Manchuria - what did the Manchurians think of it?
- Roman Empire - it's a challenge to sum this up concisely
- Scotland - what was Scotland like before being absorbed into the UK, and why did the Scots eventually decide to stop resisting?
- Songhai Empire - one of Africa's largest ever Empires, based around the Niger River
- Tibet - prior to Communist takeover, Tibet had a unique culture. What was it like and how has it rebelled against Communist power?
- Umayyad Caliphate - the first caliphate after the death of Ali