My Science School

          The birth of modern Canada is revolutionary. However, it did not involve much violence.

          A series of intense sociopolitical changes popularly known as the   ‘Quiet Revolution’ gave shape to the Canada that we know today. Canada was a British settlement. In the 1960s, the Liberal government led a series of social, political and cultural reforms and made the government secular. The Liberal government gained control over the education system, established more public institutions and provided better education to its citizens. Canada is one of the most educated countries in the world.

          The reformers improved health care services and nationalised many sectors including electricity. These reforms improved the economy and quality of life in Canada which attracted more and more immigrants.

          Canada was first explored by the Vikings. The Vikings were followed by the British and the French. Britain took most of the French land to create two colonies. Gold was discovered later in Klondike which created a rush. Canada is now a parliamentary democracy with constitutional monarchy; Queen Elizabeth heads the country. The US tried to invade Canada twice without any success. Surprisingly, today Canada and the US share the longest international border that is not patrolled by defence forces!

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          Border issues have always caused trouble between Mexico and US. The wall was built to deal with issues like illegal immigration, human trafficking, smuggling and other activities related to the drug market. The border is 3,145 km long and it is protected by a manmade fence for more than 934 kilometres, with 48 border crossings. Most of it was built after 2006.

          It also has an impact on the economy. Mexico exports tonnes of vegetables, fruits, meat and alcohol to the US. Some American companies have mining licenses in Mexico. The Border wall is in news once again since Donald Trump was elected as the president of the US. Trump recently proclaimed to shut the wall if Mexicans do not stop illegal migration. But this would adversely affect America. The shutting of the wall would stop the legal trade between the countries as well. If the wall is shut, the US would soon run out of avocados! Mexico exports all the avocados America needs. The list also includes blue jeans and TVs!

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          Mexico is famous for many reasons. Mexico is the homeland of chocolate. Mexicans celebrate the Day of the Dead, when the dead are believed to come to life again. The famous movie ‘Book of Life’ is based on this festival.

          The history of Mexico is scripted by the Aztecs, Mayans, Spanish and the Americans who changed the life and living of its people. After three hundred years of Spanish colonization, Mexico gained independence in 1821.

          Mexico was a farming nation. This changed as industries dominated the landscape. The country had troubled relations with the US since independence. The major issues were concerning borders.

         The US fought wars with Mexico to take control over Texas under the leadership of President James K Polk. Texas was earlier a part of Mexico which they lost in war. In 1994, President Bill Clinton ordered the building of a border wall; it created a lot of tension.

          Apart from this, Mexico had to deal with several internal issues like drug trafficking and inflation.

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          The United States of America that we know today took shape from a small colony called Jamestown! The journey from a tiny colony to the world’s superpower was not easy. It all started when the British settlers came to America in the 1500s. Before them, natives from Eurasia occupied the country and had been living there for at least thirty thousand years.

          After years of struggle and hard labour, the British established thirteen colonies by the 1700s. Britain imposed heavy taxes on the colonies which created tension. The colonies rebelled against their masters. However, they were not alone to fight Britain. They were backed up by France. The eight year rebellion against taxes that started in 1775 is known as the American Revolutionary War. In the end, America broke free from Britain and the colonies began to be known as the United States or US.

          The US is the oldest surviving federation. It has 50 States, a federal district- Washington D.C., five major territories and several minor islands.

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          The name Greenland is quite misleading. It gives you an image of a stretch of lush green land, but the island is actually full of glaciers. The island was earlier inhabited by the Vikings. Their king Erik the Red named the island ‘Greenland’ to attract settlers from Europe. It is the world’s largest island, but holds one of the smallest populations.

          Greenland was first inhabited by convicts who had escaped from Iceland. They were succeeded by the Vikings and later by the Norse. Later, Hans Egede formed a colony in Greenland in 1776 with due permission from Denmark. Till 1950, the Danish enjoyed monopoly over Greenland. After regular complaints from Greenlanders, Denmark granted them the power of self-governance in 2009.

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          North America has countries with all kinds of cultures, languages, economies and geography. But all these countries share a common history when it comes to its relation with Europe. All the countries of North America were controlled by European colonizers at one point or the other, mainly British and French. Independence was won after years of war and struggles. Some countries stiff have their European connections though.

          The United States is the most developed country in North America. The Central American and Caribbean countries are much poorer than the US or Canada. Many of these countries have had a period of dictatorship and military rule as well.

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          Kiribati got its name along with its independence. The birth of the new nation was celebrated with the new name which in fact is the local pronunciation of Gilbert Island, its old name. Kiribati is a group of 33 islands in the central Pacific. This archipelago was named after an English explorer Thomas Gilbert.

          Whalers were the first people to come to the island. Though Spanish explorers visited the island, the British colonized it. Japan occupied Kiribati during the Second World War. It became independent in 1979. But there were ethnic tensions between the inhabitants.

          Banaba, a Kiribatian island had phosphate deposits which were exploited by the British. The Banabans filed a case against the British government for compensation for the environmental devastation. In 1981, Britain offered ten million Australian dollars to close the case which they agreed to. A commercial satellite-launch platform was established in the 1990s which is the island’s major source of income.

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         Fiji is a collection of almost 800 islands in the Pacific Ocean, out of which only ten are inhabited. Fiji became a British colony in 1874. It had only its native population till the British established many sugar plantations in the nineteenth century. More people were needed to work in the plantations. To solve this crisis, workers were brought from India who later settled there.

          Fiji gained independence in 1974. The country was racially divided between the native Fijians and the Indians. They waged political wars. Fijians came up with a constitution in 1990 that assured political power to the natives. However, they still had clashes; they had civilian and military rule subsequently. Fiji now follows the constitution charted in 2013. Today, Fiji is a popular tourist destination.

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          Nauru had to pay a heavy price for the riches it mined. By the end of the twentieth century, phosphate mines started to run dry.

          The money from mining was invested in various businesses abroad. Unfortunately, this turned out to be a failure that left Nauru bankrupt. Its telecommunications network collapsed in 2003 and the country was cut off from the rest of the world for nearly two months!

          Moreover, more than 80 percent of the island became infertile due to extensive mining. In 1993, the Nauru Rehabilitation Corporation filed a case in the International Court of Justice to claim compensation from Australia for the exploitation of its phosphate resources. Both the countries later came to a friendly settlement. Today, the people of Nauru are tirelessly working to make its land once again suitable for agriculture.

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          Nauru is a tiny coral island in the Pacific Ocean. It is one of the smallest independent nations of the world. Not much was known about this island country until the whale hunters started halting at Nauru for collecting food and water. Nauru came under German control by 1888.

         The people of Nauru thrived on fishing and small scale farming. Little did they know that their life was going to change when they discovered phosphate deposits in its plateaus.

          There was a heavy demand for phosphate in England for making chemical fertilizers and the Pacific Phosphate Company owned by the British made an agreement with the German administration to mine the phosphate deposits in Nauru. This happened in 1906 and in the following year, they started mining.

         By 1920, the phosphate industry was taken over by the British Phosphate Commission, a joint Australian, British, and New Zealand enterprise. Nauru became an independent country in 1968 and took control over its phosphate business by 1970; the money from phosphate made Nauru one of the richest countries in the world.

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          By 1860, the Maoris were forced to give up their lands for establishing settlements. This was a result of the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi. This led to a brutal war in the North Island. The war lasted for twenty years, thousands of Maoris were killed and much of their land was confiscated.

          Though the Maoris waged many wars against the British, they stayed loyal to the British crown. They even fought for the British in their war against South Africa. This happened in 1890, almost ten years after the conflict.

          New Zealand became an independent dominion in 1907, but it maintained strong political and economic links with the United Kingdom.

          Today New Zealand attracts people all over the world with quality education and employment.

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          New Zealand is a country spread across the Pacific Ocean, near Australia. It is made up of two large islands- North and South islands.

          The history of New Zealand cannot be told without mentioning the British interventions. Abel Tasman, a Dutch explorer was the first European to discover the island. With the arrival of Captain James Cook, Britishers founded Wellington in the North Island. New Zealand became a British colony in 1840. Maoris were the original inhabitants of the island. William Hobson, New Zealand’s first governor made an agreement with 500 Maori chiefs to establish British sovereignty over the country. This landmark document is known as the Treaty of Waitangi. This treaty helped the British to establish their government.

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          Like many other British colonies, Australia too experienced the ill effects of racism. The British settlers wanted to establish White supremacy over the country.

          Moreover, traders from Asian countries, especially China were posing a threat to the British trade. To counter it, the government came up with the White Australia Policy in 1901. The policy banned all non-White immigrants.

          The White Australia Policy was in the rule books till the 1960s. It was ultimately banned in 1966 and the country invited immigrants from all parts of the world. It also opened its gates to the refugees of the Vietnam War! People all over the world now move in to Australia for quality education and employment. And it has people of all races; 26 percent of its population is immigrants!

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          Australia is unique in many ways. The country has pink lakes like Lake Hillier. It has more than ten thousand beaches. There are more kangaroos than people in the country. The Great Barrier Reef, the largest living structure in the world is in Australia. It also shares a legacy with many other countries in the world- Australia too was once a British colony!

          Australia was inhabited by the Aboriginals alone till the British settlers came. In the 1700s, criminals of Britain were given two options- either to die or to live in the difficult bushes of the newfound continent. As many as 700 convicts were sent to Australia in the beginning, who struggled hard to survive the harsh climate, the difficult land and of course, the Aboriginals. More convicts were transported and Australia became an established penal colony of the British. By the 1800s, there were many such penal colonies.

          The 1850s witnessed a historical discovery! Gold was discovered in Victoria which created a boom. The Victorian gold rush was so massive that the government had to resort to issuing miners’ licenses to regulate the crowd.

          The British expanded their colonies all over the world in search of natural resources and wealth. Australia was no exception.

          The British came to Australia and the Pacific islands to exploit the mineral wealth of these countries. Nauru was mined for phosphate while some other islands had nickel and bauxite. Many islands were fertile and were utilized for plantations, especially sugarcane.

          Many English convicts were sent to some of these islands including Australia and New Zealand as punishment for their crimes. To survive, these people had to struggle with the harsh weather, difficult terrains and the natives.

         The continent of Australia now consists of fourteen countries spread across the Pacific Ocean. Australia, New Zealand and thousands of tiny islands are collectively known as Oceania. Today, many of these islands are bustling tourist destinations.

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