AP EUROPEAN HISTORY

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INDEX: Africa 1

1. 500-1 Algeria 1 444

2. 500-2 Algeria 2 444

3. 501 Angola 444

4. 502 Benin 444

5. 503 Botswana 444

6. 504 Burkina Faso 444

PETERSON MEANING CLUSTERS
AFRICA: ALGERIA 1

After over a century
of French rule,
Algerian fighters
won their independence
in 1962.

Algeria's main
political party,
the FLN,
has controlled politics
ever since.

Younger Algerians
later founded
the Islamic
Salvation Front (FIS).

When the FIS
won first round elections
in 1991,
the Algerian army
postponed the final round.

The secular elite feared
an extremist-led government
would take power.

The army’s crackdown
on the islamists
spurred FIS supporters
to begin attacking
government targets.

Later elections
featuring pro-government
and moderate
religious-based parties
did not appease the activists.

Source: U.S. Central Intelligence Agency
E-learning format by Carl Peterson

Copyright 2007

PETERSON MEANING CLUSTERS

AFRICA: ALGERIA 2

FIS attacks widened

into an insurgency

that killed

over 100,000.

Some extremist fighters

slaughtered whole villages.

Although the government

gained the upper hand

in the late-1990s,

scattered fighting still goes on.

With Army backing,

Abdelaziz BOUTEFLIKA

won the presidency

by fraud

in 1999.

But he claimed neutrality

in a landslide reelection

in 2004.

Algeria still faces

large-scale unemployment,

scarce housing and water,

electricity failures,

and official corruption.

An autonomy campaign

by ethnic Berbers

and continuing activities

of extremist militants

must also be addressed.

The government must use

the country’s oil income

to redress these social

and infrastructure problems.

Source: U.S. Central Intelligence Agency

E-learning format by Carl Peterson

PETERSON MEANING CLUSTERS

AFRICA: ANGOLA

Angola is located

in southern Africa,

bordering the South

Atlantic Ocean.

The country

is slowly rebuilding

after 27 years

of civil war.

The two warring parties

were the MPLA,

led by Eduardo DOS SANTOS,

and the UNITA party,

led by Jonas SAVIMBI.

The civil war began

after Angola broke free

from Portugal

in 1975.

Peace seemed imminent

during national elections

in 1992,

but UNITA renewed fighting

after losing at the polls.

Over 1 million people

were killed

and another 4 million

were displaced.

SAVIMBI's death

in 2002

ended the insurgency

and strengthened

the MPLA.

DOS SANTOS has pledged

legislative elections

for 2007,

but 2008

may be more realistic.

Source: U.S. Central Intelligence Agency

E-learning format by Carl Peterson

PETERSON MEANING CLUSTERS

AFRICA: BENIN

Benin is located

in West Africa

between Togo

and Nigeria.

The territory became

a French Colony

in 1872

and achieved independence

in 1960.

The Marxist government

of Mathieu KEREKOU

came to power

in 1972.

In 1991,

former Prime Minister

Nicephore SOGLO

was elected president.

His election marked

the first successful transfer

of power in Africa

from a dictatorship

to a democracy.

Former Marxist leader

Mathieu KEREKOU

was himself elected

in 1996

and 2001.

KEREKOU stepped down

at the end

of his second term

in 2006.

He was succeeded

by Thomas YAYI BONI,

a political outsider

and independent.

Source: U.S. Central Intelligence Agency

E-learning format by Carl Peterson

PETERSON MEANING CLUSTERS

AFRICA: BOTSWANA

Once Britain’s protectorate

of “Bechuanaland,”

Botswana renamed itself

on gaining independence

in 1966.

It has had four decades

of uninterrupted

civilian leadership,

progressive social policies,

and capital investment.

The result:

its economy is now

among the most dynamic

in Africa.

Mineral extraction,

mainly diamond mining,

brings in the most money,

though tourism

is a growing force.

The country's

conservation practices

and extensive

nature preserves

attract many visitors.

Botswana also has one

of the world's

highest known rates

of HIV/AIDS infection.

But it uses progressive

and comprehensive programs

to treat the disease

and fight its spread.

Source: U.S. Central Intelligence Agency

E-learning format by Carl Peterson

PETERSON MEANING CLUSTERS

AFRICA:

BURKINA FASO

Burkina Faso

(formerly “Upper Volta”)

is located

in West Africa

North of Ghana.

It achieved independence

from France

in 1960.

Densely populated and

with few natural resources,

it offers most

of its citizens

poor economic prospects.

Unrest in Cote d'Ivoire

and northern Ghana

keeps several hundred thousand

seasonal farm workers

from finding work there.

Multiparty elections

in the early 1990s

followed military coups

in the 1970s

and 1980s.

Current President

Blaise COMPAORE

came to power

in a 1987

military coup.

He has also won

every election

since then.

Source: U.S. Central Intelligence Agency

E-learning format by Carl Peterson