The land within the borders of the current Portuguese Republic has been continually fought over and settled since prehistoric times, first by the Celts and the Romans, followed by the Visigothic and Suebiandomination, and later by the Muslim Moorish, who were eventually expelled during the Christian Reconquista of the peninsula. By 1139, Portugal established itself …
NETHERLANDS
The Netherlands is the main constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It is a small, densely populated country, lying mainly in Western Europe, but also including three islands in the Caribbean. The European part of the Netherlands borders Germany to the east, Belgium to the south, and the North Sea to the northwest, sharing maritime borderswith Belgium, the United Kingdom and …
AUSTRIA
Austria officially the Republic of Austria is a federal republic and a landlocked country of roughly 8.5 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Hungary and Slovakia to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the …
PANAMA
Panama was inhabited by several indigenous tribes prior to settlement by the Spanish in the 16th century. It broke with Spain in 1821 and joined a union of Nueva Granada, Ecuador, and Venezuela named the Republic of Gran Colombia. When Gran Colombia dissolved in 1831, Panama and Nueva Granada remained …
MEXICO
Mexico – officially the United Mexican States and also referred to as the United States of Mexico – is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; …
GUATEMALA
The former Mayan civilization was a Mesoamerican civilization, which continued throughout the Post-Classic period until the arrival of the Spanish. They had lived in Guatemala, Honduras, Belize, the southern part of Mexico and eastern parts of El Salvador. After independence from Spain in 1821, Guatemala was a part of the Federal …
EL SALVADOR
El Salvador officially the Republic of El Salvador is the smallest and the most densely populated country in Central America. The country’s capital city and largest city is San Salvador. Important cultural and commercial centers for Central America on the whole include Santa Ana and San Miguel. El Salvador borders the Pacific Ocean …
COSTA RICA
Costa Rica was sparsely inhabited by indigenous people before it came under Spanish rule in the 16th century. Once a backwater colony, since attaining independence in the 19th century, Costa Rica has become one of the most stable, prosperous, and progressive nations in Latin America. It permanently abolished …
BELIZE
With 22,800 square kilometres (8,800 sq mi) of land and a population of 340,844 (2014 est.), Belize has the lowest population density in Central America. The country’s population growth rate of 1.97% per year (2013) is the second highest in the region and one of the highest in the Western Hemisphere.
VIETNAM
Vietnam officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. With an estimated 90.0 million inhabitants as of 2013, it is the world’s 13th-most-populous country, and the eighth-most-populous Asian country. The name Vietnamtranslates as “Southern Viet” (synonymous with the much older term Nam Viet); it was first …