Belgium Overview and Geography

Belgium Overview and Geography Population: 10.5 million (July 2009 estimate)Capital: BrusselsArea: Approximately 11,780 square miles (30,528 sq km)Borders: France, Luxembourg, Germany and the NetherlandsCoastline: About 40 miles (60 km) on the North Sea Belgium is an important country to both Europe and the rest of the world as its capital, Brussels, is the headquarters the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and of the European Commission and the Council of the European Union. In addition, that city is the home of many worldwide banking and insurance firms, leading some to call Brussels the unofficial capital of Europe. History of Belgium Like many of the worlds countries, Belgium has a long history. Its name is derived from the Belgae, a Celtic tribe that lived in the area in the first century B.C.E. Also, during the first century, the Romans invaded the area and Belgium was controlled as a Roman province for nearly 300 years. Around 300 C.E., Romes power began to diminish when Germanic tribes were pushed into the area and eventually the Franks, a German group, took control of the country. After the arrival of the Germans, the northern part of Belgium became a German-speaking area, while the people in the south remained Roman and spoke Latin. Soon after, Belgium became controlled by the Dukes of Burgundy and was eventually taken over by the Hapsburgs. Belgium was then later occupied by Spain from 1519 to 1713 and Austria from 1713 to 1794. In 1795, however, Belgium was annexed by Napoleonic France after the French Revolution. Shortly thereafter, Napoleons army was beaten during the Battle of Waterloo near Brussels and Belgium became a part of the Netherlands in 1815. It was then not until 1830 that Belgium won its independence from the Dutch. In that year, there was an uprising by the Belgian people and in 1831, a constitutional monarchy was established and a monarch from the House of Saxe-Coburg Gotha in Germany was invited to run the country. Throughout the decades following its independence, Belgium was invaded several times by Germany. In 1944 though, British, Canadian and America armies formally liberated Belgium. Languages of Belgium Because Belgium was controlled by different foreign powers for centuries, the country is very diverse linguistically. Its official languages are French, Dutch and German but its population is divided into two distinct groups. The Flemings, the larger of the two, live in the north and speak Flemish- a language closely related to Dutch. The second group lives in the south and consists of the Walloons who speak French. In addition, there is a German community near the city of Lià ¨ge and Brussels is officially bilingual. These different languages are important to Belgium because concerns over losing linguistic power has caused the government to divide the country into different regions, each of which has control over its cultural, linguistic and educational matters. Belgiums Government Today, Belgiums government is run as a parliamentary democracy with a constitutional monarch. It has two branches of government. The first is the executive branch which consists of the King, who serves as the head of state; the Prime Minister, who is the head of government; and the Council of Ministers which represents the decision-making cabinet. The second branch is the legislative branch which is a bicameral parliament made up of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The major political parties in Belgium are the Christian Democratic, the Liberal Party, the Socialist Party, the Green Party and Vlaams Belang. Voting age in the country is 18. Because of its focus on regions and local communities, Belgium has several political subdivisions, each of which have a varied amount of political power. These include ten different provinces, three regions, three communities and 589 municipalities. Industry and Land Use of Belgium Like many other European countries, Belgiums economy consists mainly of the service sector but industry and agriculture are also significant. The northern area is considered the most fertile and much of the land there is used for livestock, although some of the land is used for agriculture. The main crops in Belgium are sugar beets, potatoes, wheat and barley. In addition, Belgium is a heavily industrialized country and coal mining was once important in southern areas. Today, though, almost all of the industrial centers are in the north. Antwerp, one of the largest cities in the country, is the center of petroleum refining, plastics, petrochemicals and the manufacturing of heavy machinery. It is also famous for being one of the worlds largest diamond trading centers. Geography and Climate of Belgium The lowest point in Belgium is sea level at the North Sea and its highest point is Signal de Botrange at 2,277 feet (694 m). The rest of the country features a relatively flat topography consisting of coastal plains in the northwest and gently rolling hills throughout the countrys central portion. The southeast, however, does have a mountainous region in its Ardennes Forest area. The climate of Belgium is considered maritime temperate with mild winters and cool summers. The average summer temperature is 77ËšF (25ËšC) while winters average around 45ËšF (7ËšC). Belgium can also be rainy, cloudy and humid. A Few More Facts About Belgium Belgium has a literacy rate of 99%The life expectancy is 78.685% of Belgians live in towns and citiesNearly 80% of the population of Belgium is Roman Catholic but there are several other religions in the country, all of which receive government subsidies. To read more about Belgium visit The US Department of State profile and the EUs profile of the country. References Central Intelligence Agency. (2010, April 21). CIA - The World Factbook Belgium. Retrieved from: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/be.html Infoplease.com. (n.d.) Belgium: History, Geography, Government, and Culture. Retrieved from: infoplease.com/ipa/A0107329.html United States Department of State. (2009, October). Belgium (10/09). Retrieved from: state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/2874.htm

Fascinating Volcanos! essays

Fascinating Volcanos! essays Central America has numerous, fascinating volcanoes of various types. Many are currentlyactive? while others are not. Of the active volcanoes some are potentially hazardous for nearby towns. Others attract visitors as if they were some kind of fantastic side-show. This paper will describe some of the main volcanoes in Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica. There are quite a few volcanoes in the GUATEMALA area. The main volcanoes form an arc from Guatemala City to Quezaltenango. One of the volcanoes is Agua, with an elevation of 12,333 feet, or 3.76 miles. Its location is: 13.5N, 90.7W. Agua poses no threat to nearby towns because it has not erupted since there was written history of the area. That kind of volcano is called a Holocene stratovolcano. Nearby Acatenango, however, has erupted several times, twice during 1924-1927 and 1972. Back in 1981 geologists who visited the volcano thought that they smelled sulpher but didn't see any fumaroles. It is also one of the tallest stratovolcanoes in Central America. Its location is: 14.5N, 90.9W while its elevation is 13,041 feet, or 3,976 miles. Pacaya, also in Guatemala, is a really complicated, older stratovolcano with domes, flows, and tephra formed during the last 23,000 years. It is in a relatively remote location so not all of its history is known, but historians say it has erupted at least 23 times since 1565. It was "in repose," which means that it didn't erupt, between 1860 and 1961. There was a big eruption in 1961 which began without warning and lasted for a full month. It has been erupting nearly continuously since 1965. What is so fascinating about it is that Strombolian eruptions toss incandescent bombs hundreds of meters up into the air. Each produces small aa flows, which are the kind that flow through channels. Its location is: 14.38N, 90.60W; Pacaya's elevation is 8,371 feet, or 2,552 meters. Fuego, with its ...

Why Teachers Deserve a Better Pay Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Why Teachers Deserve a Better Pay - Essay Example A question of budget cut Teacher’s pay freeze is right for times, read the Star Tribune’s Jan.22, 2011 editorial (Editorial, Star Tribune, 2011). Well, it is not a right time and it will never ever find a right time. The facts are clear, the US economy is still reeling from the woes of an economic recession and grappling with a $6.2 billion budget deficit (Editorial, Star Tribune, 2011). Consequently, there is diminishing subsidy to the whole US educational system , which leave school district’s no better option than either to freeze the salary of public school teacher’s or to distribute another round of pink slips amongst public school teachers. It is unfortunate that a salary freeze is proposed by no less than Sen. Thompson, Representative of ,Lakeville and were favoured by school superintendent’s. The group favouring a salary freeze argues that the current compensation system which provides an automatic salary increase to teacher’s who hav e been in service for a number of years and have taken additional college credits is the culprit for their school districts ‘overspending’ on salaries ( Editorial, Star Tribune, 2011).This is absurd and totally unjust. T... The real question at hand is why can’t the local and national government increase the funding on education? Why does the teacher’s and the students have to shoulder for the budget deficit that they did not create in the first place? It is unjust to ask the teacher’s to carry the burden of the country’s economic problems for the so called greater good. When big and private businesses fold up in the face of recession, government readily bails them out of people’s taxes and tells us that if it’s not bailed out, the economy would further shrink into recession and crisis. Education is a basic social service that government need to put its priority funding, why can’t the lawmakers shells out some more budget for the education. I believe these whole debate on teacher’s pay is a mere ploy to cover the real issue of budget cut which is unjust and uncalled for. Salary Freeze is not good for recession A better option for an economy sufferi ng from a recession is a salary increase not a salary freeze and much more not a salary cut and laying off of teachers. I don’t know why the lawmakers are finding it hard to comprehend that people need to spend more , so the economy would keep on moving. A salary freeze will definitely hinder teacher’s to get that next travel ticket for a much needed vacation. Salary freeze and cuts may result to teacher’s inability to pay for their house mortgages which in turn would hurt further the economy. On the other hand, laying off teachers would mean a dramatic decrease in the teacher’s ability to buy and afford commodities and services, which would further slows down the economy. Salary Freeze ,Cuts and Lay off would hurt the quality of education Salary freeze and cuts creates