Asia¶
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Bangladesh¶- Coins
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After British rule of the Indian subcontinent ended in 1947, British India was divided into two states: India and Pakistan. Pakistan was further divided into East and West Pakistan. And divided they were, with lots of strife. In 1971, East Pakistan declared independance as the Peoples' Republic of Bangladesh.
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Burma¶- Coins
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Burma is no longer Burma. It became Myanmar in 1989. Burma became independent from Britain in 1948 with a parliamentary democracy. In 1962, things weren't going so well, so General Ne Win took over the whole place, including most of the business. Things must have gone well for the General, because in a 1974 referendum Burma officially became a socialist republic under one-party rule. Burma grows and exports a lot of rice.
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Cambodia¶- Coins
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The region of Cambodia was the centre of the culturally-advanced Khmer Empire that flourished from the 5th to the 12th century. Today, over one million visitors a year marvel at the Angkor ruins. By the middle of the 19th century, the king of Cambodia had secured the help of France to save the country from dissolution, and in 1885 Cambodia became a member of the French Indo-China Union.France helped establish a constitutional monarchy for Cambodia, within the Indo-China Union, in 1949. Full independence was returned in 1954. In 1970, a bloodless coup saw the formation of the Khmer Republic. Five years later, the Khmer Rouge, led by the infamous Pol Pot, seized control and renamed the country Democratic Kampuchea. It was anything but democratic, and the start of one of the horrid episodes of humanity. The Khmer Rouge closed schools and hospitals, abolished banks and all money, outlawed religion, confiscated private property, and forced people from the cities to collective farms where they were subject to forced labour. During all this madness, the Khmer Rouge brutally killed almost 2 million people (about 20% of the population). By the start of 1979, the madness was ended with the help of the Vietnamese and the People's Republic of Kampuchea was established. The name changed to State of Cambodia in 1990, and Kingdom of Cambodia three years after that.
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Georgia¶- Coins
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Georgia is a former republic of the Soviet Union that achieved independence in 1991 after the collapse of the USSR. The area's history is long, culturally rich, and filled with battles. By the beginning of the 12th century Georgia ruled over much of the southern Caucasus region and in the 13th century the Mongols overran the area. By the 15th century, the Kingdom of Georgian had totally fallen apart. In the 16th century the Persian Empire moved into eastern Georgia, and the Ottoman empire scooped up the west.Russia came on the scene in 1783, offering protection for east Georgia, but they did not do a very good job of it. In the early 19th century, Russia was consolidating its grip on the area, while most of the Georgian nobility fought back. Georgia declared itself independent in 1918 while the Russians were fighting with themselves, but the Red Army invaded in 1921. Today, Georgia is still struggling politically and has drawn criticism from international humans rights organizations, such as Amnesty International. Georgia continues to struggle to build a sustainable economy in the face of corruption and tax evasion. Georgia is a rich and important source of art.
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India¶- Coins
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India is the seventh largest country by area, but the second largest in population with over one billion people. Civilization in India can be traced back 9,000 years to the first permanent settlements that would develop into the Indus Valley Civilization around 3300 BCE. This civilization, which lasted until around 1500 BCE, was sophisticated and technologically advanced.Architecture, urban planning, hygiene, municipal governments, and sewage and drainage systems, among other things, were far more advanced than contemporary societies (and more advanced than many modern areas today). Great accuracy in measurements of length, mass, and time were among their scientific achievements. Following the Indus Valley Civilization came the Vedic Civilization, and from 550 BCE on many independent kingdoms came into being. Unfortunately, fighting among these kingdoms opened the door for the European invasion that started with the Portuguese in 1498, and culminated in 1757 when the British had firmly conquered the country.
Resentment of British domination reached a boiling point in 1857-58 with the First War of Independence (called the Indian Mutiny by the British). Although this revolt failed, it set the stage for future independence. Starting in 1918, Mahatma Gandhi, who is widely regarded as the father of the nation, led a non-violent movement for independence involving 50 million people that would go on for nearly three decades. In 1947 India finally achieved independence from British rule, and the Republic of India was formed in 1950. Through thousands of years, India has developed and preserved an extremely rich and unique cultural heritage.
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Indonesia¶- Coins
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Indonesia is the largest archipelago in the world, stretching over 4,800 km along the equator from south-east Asia to Australia. The 18,108 islands have a total area of just under 2 million square kilometers with a population just under a quarter million living on about 6,000 of them. Kingdoms based on Hinduism and Buddhism developed on the islands of Sumatra and Java from the 7th to 14th century, and Islam would become dominant after spice-trading Arabs arrived.A multitude of small states made the area vulnerable to the European invasion that began with the Portuguese in the early 16th century and saw the Dutch controlling most of the archipelago by the 17th century. Plans for independence were hatched with the Japanese while Japan occupied the islands in World War II, and independence was declared near the end of the war in 1945. The Netherlands would fight for four years to regain control, but finally bowed to intense international pressure in 1949 by recognizing Indonesia's autonomy. The original president -- Sukarno -- maintained to power until 1967 when he was ousted by army general Suharto who promised to protect the country against a supposed communist insurrection. Suharto made economic improvements but unfortunately they were not distributed fairly, with a good piece of the wealth going to himself and his family. The initial years of his rule also saw hundreds of thousands of people killed or imprisoned. Suharto was finally thrown out in 1998 by mass revolt and Indonesia had its first direct presidential election in 2004 -- the largest one-day election in the world. Indonesia straddles the edges of three tectonic plates, making it the site of many earthquakes and volcanoes. Indonesia was the site of Krakatoa.
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Japan¶- Coins
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Japan is an archipelago of 3,000 islands off the east coast of Asia. The original inhabitants arrived via land bridges about 30,000 years ago, and the Jomon culture appeared about 10,000 years ago. The Japanese did not start recording their own history until the 5th century when the Japanese writing system was introduced from one of the three kingdoms of Korea. In medieval times, a ruling class of warriors called samurai emerged, and the Shogun -- or "generals" -- were the practical rulers of Japan from the end of the 12th century until the 19th century.In the 17th century, Japan felt threatened by foreign presence, and particularly by the Manchus who had conquered China and Korea. As a result, they kicked everybody out of the country and remained isolated for two-and-a-half centuries. During this period Japan's medieval culture reached its peak. In 1854, American Commodore Perry forced the opening of Japan to the west, which lead to a war between the shogunate and imperial forces and ultimately the downfall of the shoguns. With the emperor restored to power, Japan underwent many reformations that resulted in it becoming a world power. Japan's influence increased early in the 20th century as it fought alongside the allies in World War I. However, Japan joined in the Axis alliance and invaded China in 1931. After attacking the United States in 1941, Japan was devastated in World War II. In 1947, Japan adopted a new pacifist constitution and with U.S. help rebuilt their country into one of the largest and strongest economies on earth.
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Laos¶- Coins
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The Lao People's Democratic Republic is a land-locked communist state in southeast Asia, east of Thailand and west of Viet Nam. (Why is it that countries called Democratic Republics are neither democratic, or republics?) The country traces its origins to the Kingdom of Lan Xang (Land of a Million Elephants) that existed from the 14th to the 18th century. The Japanese occupied the country briefly during World War II and Laos declared independence in 1945. However, France took control and official independence was not achieved until 1949, with the French finally relinguishing full control in 1954.Laos was dragged into the Second Indochina War (aka Vietnam War), and suffered through civil war and several coups as a result. Geographically, Laos is characterized by rugged mountains and thick forests, with a tropical climate and lots of rain from May to November. The country has a poorly developed infrastructure, and subsistence agriculture accounts for half the GDP and 80% of the employment. Laos' culture is heavily influenced by Buddhism, including language, temples, art, and literature. But many elements of the culture predate Buddhism, including music that is dominated by the khene, the national instrument that dates back to the Bronze Age.
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Maldives¶- Coins
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The Republic of Maldives (aka the Maldive Islands) is an island nation in the Indian Ocean approximately 600 km south-west of the southern tip of India. It is made up of about 200 inhabitated islands amongst over 1,100 total islands in 26 coral atolls spread over 90,000 square kilometers. (Which means it is spread pretty thin.) It is the lowest country in the world, with an average height of only 1.5 m above sea level, and it also boasts the lowest high-point of any country, with its highest hill rising to 2.5 m above sea level.In November 2008, the president of the Maldives began the process of looking for a place to move his country due to global warming, with India, Sri Lanka, and Australia being candidates. The plan is to purchase new land with money from tourism. So see them while you can, and help secure the peoples' future while you vacation.
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North Korea¶- Coins
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North Korea -- officially called Democractic People's Republic of Korea -- occupies the northern part of the Korean Peninsula in east Asia. Korea was a single country, ruled by the Japanese, until the end of World War II in 1945. At this time, the northern part was occupied by the Soviet Union, and the southern part was occupied by the United States, with each claiming to rule the entire peninsula. These two superpowers were unable to reach an agreement and in 1950 the north attacked the south, starting the Korean War that would last for three years.Today, the peninsula is cut in half by the Demilitarized Zone, a 248 km long by 4 km wide strip that separates North and South Korea. North Korea is ruled by a military dictatorship, led by Kim Jong-Il and before that by his father, Kim Il-Sung who died in 1994. Like his father, Jong-Il operates under a powerful and extensive personality cult. Amnesty International and other human rights organizations accuse North Korea of having one of the worst human rights records of any country on earth. Most freedoms are severely restricted including freedom of speech and freedom of movement. Refugees who have escaped testify to the existence of concentration camps that practice torture, starvation, and slave labour. North Korea spends 25% of its GDP on its military (compared to one-tenth that for South Korea).
