Denmark | CIA World Factbook. The earliest archaeological findings in Denmark date back to 1. BC in the Eem interglacial period.[9] People have inhabited Denmark since about 1. BC and agriculture has been in evidence since 3,9. BC.[1. 0] The Nordic Bronze Age (1,8. BC) in Denmark was marked by burial mounds, which left an abundance of findings including lurs and the Sun Chariot. During the Pre- Roman Iron Age (5. BC – AD 1), native groups began migrating south, although[1. Danish people came to the country between the Pre- Roman and the Germanic Iron Age,[1. Features map and brief descriptions of the geography, people, government, economy, communications, transportation, military and transnational issues. This article is about the demographic features of the population of Greece, including ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious. Roman Iron Age (AD 1–4. The Roman provinces maintained trade routes and relations with native tribes in Denmark and Roman coins have been found in Denmark. Evidence of strong Celtic cultural influence dates from this period in Denmark and much of northwest Europe and is among other things reflected in the finding of the Gundestrup cauldron. Historians believe that before the arrival of the precursors to the Danes, who came from the east Danish islands (Zealand) and Skåne and spoke an early form of north Germanic, most of Jutland and some islands were settled by Jutes. They later migrated to the British isles, together with Angles and Saxons to form the Anglo- Saxons. The exact origins of the Danish nation have been lost in history. However, a short note[1. Dani in "The Origin and Deeds of the Goths" from 5. Jordanes is believed by some to be an early mention of the Danes,[1. Danish people are descended. The Danevirke defense structures were built in phases from the 3rd century forward,[1. Danish king.[1. 4] The new runic alphabet was first used at the same time and Ribe, the oldest town of Denmark, was founded about 7. AD. Viking age. During the 8th- 1. Danes were known as Vikings, together with Norwegians and Swedish Geats. Viking explorers first discovered and settled Iceland in the 9th century, on their way toward the Faroe Islands. From there, Greenland and Vinland (Newfoundland) were also settled. Utilizing their great skills in shipbuilding they raided and conquered parts of France and the British Isles. But they also excelled in trading along the coasts and rivers of Europe, running trade routes from Greenland in the north to Constantinople in the south via Russian rivers. The Danish Vikings were most active in the British Isles and Western Europe, and they raided, conquered and settled parts of England (their earliest settlements included Danelaw, Ireland, France, Normandy). In the early 8th century, Charlemagne's Christian empire had expanded to the southern border of the Danes, and Frankish sources (F. Notker of St Gall) provide the earliest historical evidence of the Danes. These report a King Gudfred, who appeared in present day Holstein with a navy in 8. AD where diplomacy took place with the Franks; In 8. King Gudfred attacked the Obotrite, a Wend people and conquered the city of Reric whose population was displaced or abducted, to Hedeby; In 8. King Godfred and emissaries of Charlemagne failed to negotiate peace and the next year, 8. Introduction: British influence and control over what would become Nigeria grew through the 19th century. A series of constitutions after World War II granted Nigeria. The World Factbook (literalmente, "Libro Mundial de Hechos"), también conocida como el CIA World Factbook, [2] es una publicación anual de la Agencia Central de. NOTE: The information regarding Yemen on this page is re-published from the 2017 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. King Godfred attacked the Frisians with 2. The oldest parts of the defensive works of Dannevirke near Hedeby at least date from the summer of 7. The size and amount of troops needed to man it indicates a quite powerful ruler in the area, which might be consistent with the kings the Frankish sources. In 8. 15 AD, Emperor Louis the Pious attacked Jutland apparently in support of a contender to the throne, perhaps Harald Klak, but was turned back by the sons of Godfred, who likely were the sons of the above mentioned Godfred. At the same time Saint Ansgar traveled to Hedeby and started the Catholic Christianization of Scandinavia. The Danes were united and officially Christianized in 9. AD by Harald Blåtand, the story of which is recorded on the Jelling stones. The exact extent of Harald's Danish Kingdom is unknown, although it's reasonable to believe that it stretched from the defensive line of Dannevirke, including the Viking city of Hedeby, across Jutland, the Danish isles and into southern present day Sweden; Skåne and perhaps Halland and Blekinge. Further more the Jelling stones attests that Harald had also "won" Norway. The son of Harald, Sweyn I mounted a series of wars of conquest against England, which was completed by Svend's son Canute the Great by the middle of the 1. The reign of Knud represented the peak of the Danish Viking age. King Knud's North Sea Empire included Denmark (1. Norway (1. 02. 8), England (1. Germany. Medieval Denmark. From the Viking age towards the end of the 1. Denmark consisted of Jutland, north from the Elder River and the islands of Zealand, Funen, Bornholm, Skåne, Halland and Blekinge. From the end of the 1. Eider River and the river Kongeåen were separated from the kingdom as two vassal duchies of Schleswig and Holstein. In 1. 65. 8 Skåne, Halland and Blekinge were ceded to Sweden. Following the end of the 1. Denmark underwent a transition from a decentralized realm with a weak and semi- elected royal institution and little to no nobility, into a realm which more reflected European feudalism, with a powerful king ruling through an influential nobility. The period is marked by internal strife and the generally weak geopolitical position of the realm, which for long stretches fell under German influence. The period also featured the first of large stone buildings (mostly churches), a deep penetration by the Christian faith, the appearance of monastic orders in Denmark and the first written historical works such as the Gesta Danorum ("Deeds of the Danes"). German political as well as religious influence firmly ended in the last decades of the 1. King Valdemar the Great and his foster brother Absalon Hvide, Archbishop of Lund; through successful wars against Wend peoples of northeast Germany and the German Empire. A high point was reached during the reign of Valdemar II, who led the formation of a Danish "Baltic Sea Empire", which by 1. Estonia in the east to Norway in the north. In this period several of the "regional" law codes were given; notably the Code of Jutland from 1. Following the death of Valdemar II in 1. Valdemar IV in 1. Hanseatic League. The competition between the sons of Valdemar II, had the longterm result that the southern parts of Jutland were separated from the kingdom of Denmark and became semi- independent vassal duchies/counties. During the reign of Valdemar IV and his daughter Margrethe I, the realm was re- invigorated and following the Battle of Falköping, Margrethe I had her sister's son, Eric of Pomerania crowned King of Denmark, Norway and Sweden after the signing of the union charter of Kalmar (The Kalmar Union), Trinity Sunday 1. Much of the next 1. Scandinavian history revolves around this union, with Sweden breaking off and being re- conquered repeatedly. The issue was for practical purposes resolved on the June 1. Swedish King Gustav Vasa conquered the city of Stockholm. Denmark and Norway remained in a personal union until the Congress of Vienna, 1. The Protestant Reformation came to Scandinavia in the 1. Count's Feud civil war, Denmark converted to Lutheranism in 1. Modern history. King Christian IV attacked Sweden in the 1. Kalmar War but failed to accomplish his main objective of forcing Sweden to return to the union with Denmark. The war led to no territorial changes, but Sweden was forced to pay a war indemnity of 1 million silver riksdaler to Denmark, an amount known as the Älvsborg ransom.[1. King Christian used this money to found several towns and fortresses, most notably Glückstadt (founded as a rival to Hamburg), Christiania (following a fire destroying the original city), Christianshavn, Christianstad, and Christiansand. Christian also constructed a number of buildings, most notably Børsen, Rundetårn, Nyboder, Rosenborg, a silver mine and a copper mill. Inspired by the Dutch East India Company, he founded a similar Danish company and planned to claim Sri Lanka as a colony but the company only managed to acquire Tranquebar on India's Coromandel Coast. In the Thirty Year's War, Christian tried to become the leader of the Lutheran states in Germany, but suffered a crushing defeat at the Battle of Lutter resulting in a Catholic army under Albrecht von Wallenstein occupying and pillaging Jutland. Denmark managed to avoid territorial concessions, but Gustavus Adolphus' intervention in Germany was seen as a sign that the military power of Sweden was on the rise while Denmark's influence in the region was declining. In 1. 64. 3, Swedish armies invaded Jutland and in 1. Skåne. In the 1. 64. Treaty of Brømsebro, Denmark surrendered Halland, Gotland, the last parts of Danish Estonia, and several provinces in Norway. In 1. 65. 7, King Frederick III declared war on Sweden and marched on Bremen- Verden. This led to a massive Danish defeat and the armies of King Charles X Gustav of Sweden conquered both Jutland, Funen and much of Zealand before signing the Peace of Roskilde in February 1. Sweden control of Skåne, Blekinge, Trøndelag and the island of Bornholm. Charles X Gustav quickly regretted not having destroyed Denmark completely and in August 1. Copenhagen but failed to take the capital. In the following peace settlement, Denmark managed to maintain its independence and regain control of Trøndelag and Bornholm. Denmark tried to regain control of Skåne in the Scanian War (1. Following the Great Northern War (1. Denmark managed to restore control of the parts of Schleswig and Holstein ruled by the house of Holstein- Gottorp in 1. Denmark prospered greatly in the last decades of the 1. In the Napoleonic Wars, Denmark originally tried to pursue a policy of neutrality to continue the lucrative trade with both France and the United Kingdom and joined the League of Armed Neutrality with Russia, Sweden and Prussia. The British considered this a hostile act and attacked Copenhagen in both 1. Danish fleet, in the other, burning large parts of the Danish capital. Nigeria | CIA World Factbook. Early History. The Nok people in central Nigeria produced terracotta sculptures that have been discovered by archaeologists.[6] A Nok sculpture resident at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, portrays a sitting dignitary wearing a "Shepherds Crook" on the right arm, and a "hinged flail" on the left. These are symbols of authority associated with Ancient Egyptian Pharaohs, and the god Osiris, and suggests that an ancient Egyptian style of social structure, and perhaps religion, existed in the area of modern Nigeria during the late Pharonic period.[7] In the northern part of the country, Kano and Katsina has recorded history which dates back to around AD 9. Hausa kingdoms and the Kanem- Bornu Empire prospered as trade posts between North and West Africa. The Yoruba people date their presence in the area of modern republics of Nigeria, Benin and Togo to about 8. BC. The kingdoms of Ifẹ and Oyo in the western block of Nigeria became prominent about 7. However, the Yoruba mythology believes that Ile- Ife is the source of the human race and that it predates any other civilization. Ifẹ produced the terra cotta and bronze heads, the Ọyọ extended as far as modern Togo. Another prominent kingdom in south western Nigeria was the Kingdom of Benin whose power lasted between the 1. Their dominance reached as far as the well known city of Eko which was named Lagos by the Portuguese traders and other early European settlers. In the 1. 8th century, the Oyo and the Aro confederacy were responsible for most of the slaves exported from Nigeria.[8]Post Independence. On October 1, 1. 96. Nigeria gained its independence from the United Kingdom. The new republic incorporated a number of people with aspirations of their own sovereign nations. Newly independent Nigeria's government was a coalition of conservative parties: the Nigerian People's Congress (NPC), a party dominated by Northerners and those of the Islamic faith, and the Igbo and Christian dominated National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons (NCNC) led by Nnamdi Azikiwe, who became Nigeria's maiden Governor- General in 1. Forming the opposition was the comparatively liberal Action Group (AG), which was largely dominated by Yorubas and led by Obafemi Awolowo.[9]An imbalance was created in the polity by the result of the 1. Southern Cameroon opted to join the Republic of Cameroon while northern Cameroon chose to remain in Nigeria. The northern part of the country was now far larger than the southern part. The nation parted with its British legacy in 1. Federal Republic, with Azikiwe as the first president. When elections came about in 1. AG was outmanoeuvred for control of Nigeria's Western Region by the Nigerian National Democratic Party, an amalgamation of conservative Yoruba elements backed heavily by the Federal Government amid dubious electoral circumstances. This left the Igbo NCNC to coalesce with the remnants of the AG in a weak progressive alliance.[9] Map of Nigeria. Military Era. This disequilibrium and perceived corruption of the electoral and political process led in 1. The first was in January and led by a collection of young leftists under Major Emmanuel Ifeajuna & Chukwuma Kaduna Nzeogwu, it was partially successful - the coupists overthrew the embattled government but could not install their choice, jailed opposition leader Chief Obafemi Awolowo,[1. General Johnson Aguiyi- ironsi, then head of the army was invited by the rump of the Balewa regime to take over the affairs of the country as head of state. This coup was counter- acted by another successful plot, supported primarily by Northern military officers and Northerners who favoured the NPC, it was engineered by Northern officers, which allowed Lt Colonel Yakubu Gowon to become head of state. This sequence of events led to an increase in ethnic tension and violence. The Northern coup, which was mostly motivated by ethnic and religious reasons was a bloodbath of both military officers and civilians, especially those of Igbo extraction. The violence against Igbos increased their desire for autonomy and protection from the military's wrath. By May 1. 96. 7, the Eastern Region had declared itself an independent state called the Republic of Biafra under the leadership Lt Colonel Emeka Ojukwu in line with the wishes of the people. The Nigerian side attacked Biafra on July 6, 1. Garkem signalling the beginning of the 3. January 1. 97. 0.[1. Following the war, Nigeria became to an extent even more mired in ethnic strife, as the defeated southeast and indeed southern Nigeria was now conquered territory for the federal military regime, which changed heads of state twice as army officers staged a bloodless coup against Gowon and enthroned Murtala Mohammed; Olusegun Obansanjo succeeded the former after an assassination. During the oil boom of the 1. Nigeria joined OPEC and billions of dollars generated by production in the oil- rich Niger Delta flowed into the coffers of the Nigerian state. However, increasing corruption and graft at all levels of government squandered most of these earnings. The northern military clique benefited immensely from the oil boom to the detriment of the Nigerian people and economy. As oil revenues fuelled the rise of federal subventions to states and precariously to individuals, the Federal Government soon became the centre of political struggle and the centre became the threshold of power in the country. As oil production and revenue rose, the Nigerian government created a dangerous situation as it became increasingly dependent on oil revenues and the international commodity markets for budgetary and economic concerns eschewing economic stability. That spelled doom to federalism in Nigeria.[1. Beginning in 1. 97. Nigerians participated in a brief return to democracy when Obasanjo transferred power to the civilian regime of Shehu Shagari. The Shagari government was viewed as corrupt and incompetent by virtually all sectors of Nigerian society, so when the regime was overthrown by the military coup of Mohammadu Buhari shortly after the regime's fraudulent re- election in 1. Buhari promised major reforms but his government fared little better than its predecessor, and his regime was overthrown by yet another military coup in 1. The new head of state, Ibrahim Babangida, promptly declared himself President and Commander in chief of the Armed Forces and the ruling Supreme Military Council and also set 1. Babangida's tenure was marked by a flurry of political activity: he instituted the International Monetary Fund's Structural Adjustment Program (SAP) to aid in the repayment of the country's crushing international debt, which most federal revenue was dedicated to servicing. He also inflamed religious tensions in the nation and particularly the south by enrolling Nigeria in the Organization of the Islamic Conference,[1. After Babangida survived an abortive coup, he pushed back the promised return to democracy to 1. When free and fair elections were finally held on the 1. June, 1. 99. 3, Babangida declared that the results showing a presidential victory for Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola null and void, sparking mass civilian violence in protest which effectively shut down the country for weeks and forced Babangida to keep his shaky promise to relinquish office to a civilian run government.[1. Babangida's regime is adjudged to be at the apogee of corruption in the history of the nation as it was during his time that corruption became officially diluted in Nigeria.[1. Umaru Yar'Adua of the People's Democratic Party is the current president of Nigeria. Babangida's caretaker regime headed by Ernest Shonekan survived only until late 1. General Sani Abacha took power in another military coup. Abacha proved to be perhaps Nigeria's most brutal ruler and employed violence on a wide scale to suppress the continuing pandemic of civilian unrest. Money had been found in various western European countries banks traced to him. He avoided coup plots by bribing army generals. Several hundred millions dollars in accounts traced to him were unearthed in 1. The regime would come to an end in 1. Abacha's death yielded an opportunity for return to civilian rule. Recent History. Nigeria re- achieved democracy in 1. Olusegun Obasanjo, a Yoruba and former military head of state, as the new President ending almost thirty three- years of military rule (between from 1. Nigerian military juntas of 1. Although the elections which brought Obasanjo to power in 1. Nigeria has shown marked improvements in attempts to tackle government corruption and to hasten development. While Obasanjo showed willingness to fight corruption, he was accused by others of the same.[who?]Umaru Yar'Adua, of the People's Democratic Party, came into power in the general election of 2. Ethnic violence over the oil producing Niger Delta region (see Conflict in the Niger Delta), interreligious relations and inadequate infrastructure are current issues in the country. There have been bogus claims of a Nigerian astronaut program that have made the news.
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