nPosted on December 1, 2017
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Key points
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nOn this date in 1958, “Ubangi-Shari” became an autonomous territory called the Central African Republic. This autonomous territory existed within what was called the French Community – a name for the remnants of what was once France’s colonial empire.
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nThe European empire-building had a lot of bad consequences for the colonized lands and peoples. The Central African Republic is a tragic example of bad consequences:
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nIt’s one of the poorest countries in the world…
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nEven though it has some pretty significant resources such as uranium, crude oil, gold, diamonds, cobalt, lumber, etc. There are lots of rivers capable of delivering hydropower and lots of land capable of being farmed.
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nSince independence, there has been a lot of unrest. There have been coups, a civil war, ethnic and religious “cleansing” – which means removing people from their homes and chasing them off their lands.
It is ranked the very bottom of all nations in “human development.” It is ranked the unhealthiest of all nations. It is ranked the worst country in the world in which to be young.
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nAll of that is super tragic. Let’s look for some shards of possitivity:
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nWell, this is going to sound cynical, but there’s nowhere to go but up. If the people of the CAR are able to achieve democratic elections and a responsive government, they should be able to use their resources to make life better and climb those rankings.
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nRight now, the CAR is the world’s best country as far as light pollution goes. “Deepest, darkest Africa” is a phrase with some pretty racist undertones, but the CAR is deep (not on the coast) in central Africa (pretty much the center of the continent), and it’s pretty dark at night!
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One of the largest and most intense magnetic anomalies is found in the Central African Republic. This a place where the Earth’s magnetic field is different from normal. Scientists aren’t sure why – it could be a large chunk of volcanic rock causing the magnetic field to become more intense there, or it could be from a possible ancient meteorite impact.
One of the largest and most intense magnetic anomalies is found in the Central African Republic. This a place where the Earth’s magnetic field is different from normal. Scientists aren’t sure why – it could be a large chunk of volcanic rock causing the magnetic field to become more intense there, or it could be from a possible ancient meteorite impact.n
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nAnd, like all places in the world, there are natural beauties to be seen in the Central African Republic:
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nAlso on this date:
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Advent begins
Advent begins n
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nFreedom and Democracy Day in Chad
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nSkywarn Recognition Day
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nRosa Parks Day
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nPortugal’s Restoration of Independence Day
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nFaux Fur Friday
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nAntarctica Day
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nPlan ahead:
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nCheck out my Pinterest pages on:
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- Historical anniversaries in December
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nAnd here are my Pinterest boards for:
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nJanuary birthdays
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