Britannica Student Encyclopedia - 2010

large regions that have a rainy season

followed by a dry season. It is very hot

A pair of giraffes is at home near Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania.

38 Africa BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA

Cameroon

The West African country of Cameroon

takes its name from the Rio dos Camaroes

(River of Shrimps), the name the

Portuguese gave to the Wouri River. The

capital is Yaounde.

Cameroon is bordered by Nigeria,

Chad, the Central African Republic,

Republic of the Congo, Gabon, and

Equatorial Guinea. The Atlantic Ocean

lies to the west. Mountains run through

the north and west. The country has hot

temperatures year-round.

Rain forests are in the south. Mangroves

grow along the coasts and rivers. Monkeys

live in the forests. Elephants,

baboons, and antelope live in the

wooded grasslands of the north.

The ethnic groups of Cameroon include

the Fang, the Bamileke, the Duala, and

the Fulani. English and French are the

official languages, but people speak many

other languages. The majority of the

people follow Christianity or traditional

religions. The north is mostlyMuslim.

Cameroon’s economy is based on farming.

The main crops include cassava,

sugarcane, corn, bananas, and sorghum.

The country also produces petroleum

(oil), lumber, and cocoa for export.

Humans have lived in what is now

Cameroon for at least 50,000 years.

Eventually Bantu people settled in the

south and the west, and the Fulani settled

in the north. In the 1470s the Portuguese

established sugar plantations and a slave

trade. Germany gained control in the late

1800s. AfterWorldWar I Cameroon was

divided into French and British zones. In

1960 the French zone became the

independent republic of Cameroon.

#More to explore

Yaounde

People gather to buy and sell goods at a

market in Maroua, Cameroon.

Facts About

CAMEROON

Population

(2005 estimate)

16,988,000

Area

183,569 sq mi

(475,442 sq km)

Capital

Yaounde

Form of

government

Republic

Major cities

Douala, Yaounde,

Garoua, Maroua,

Bafoussam

22 Cameroon BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA

Connecticut

The state of Connecticut was

named for the Connecticut

River. Algonquian Indians called the

river Quinnehtukqut, meaning “land on

the long tidal river.” Connecticut is

nicknamed the Constitution State

because its early settlers wrote a set of

laws to govern themselves that later provided

ideas for the U.S. Constitution.

Those laws, known as the Fundamental

Orders of Connecticut, were created in

1638 and covered such issues as elections,

powers of officials, and taxation.

The capital of Connecticut is Hartford.

Geography

Connecticut is the southernmost New

England state. It is bordered by Massachusetts

on the north, Rhode Island on

the east, New York on the west, and the

Long Island Sound on the south.

Connecticut has highlands in the west

and east with a lowland in the middle.

The northern part of the western highlands

is called the Litchfield Hills. They

include Mount Frissell, which is the

state’s highest point at 2,380 feet (725

meters). The central lowland includes

the fertile Connecticut River valley. The

eastern highlands are low, wooded hills

with many rivers.

People

At the time of the first U.S. census, in

1790, almost all of Connecticut’s people

were English. In the 1800s Irish, French

Canadian, Italian, Polish, and other

European immigrants settled in the

state. Today more than four fifths of

Connecticut’s residents are of European

heritage. African Americans and Hispanics

each make up about 9 percent of the

population. The state’s Asian American

and Native American groups are small.

Connecticut has a large population for

its size. As a result, it is one of the country’s

most crowded states. Most of its

people live in cities or towns. Bridgeport,

on the coast, is the largest city.

Other large cities are Hartford, New

Haven, and Stamford.

Economy

Real estate, finance, and the insurance

industry are major parts of Connecticut’s

economy. Hartford is known as the

Insurance Capital of theWorld because

of the many insurance companies with

offices there. Manufacturing businesses

in Connecticut produce jet aircraft

engines, computer equipment, chemicals,

machinery, and other goods. Hart-

184 Connecticut BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA

Facts About

CAMEROON

Population

(2005 estimate)

16,988,000

Area

183,569 sq mi

(475,442 sq km)

Capital

Yaounde

f

Bush, George

After serving two terms as vice president,

George Bush became the 41st

president of the United States in 1989.

The main event of Bush’s presidency

was the Persian GulfWar.

Early Life

George HerbertWalker Bush was born

on June 12, 1924, in Milton, Massachusetts.

His family later moved to Greenwich,

Connecticut. George was the

second of five children born to Prescott

Sheldon Bush and DorothyWalker

Bush. His father was a banker and later a

U.S. senator.

In 1942 Bush joined the U.S. Naval

Reserve. As a Navy pilot, he flew many

missions in the Pacific duringWorld

War II. In 1945 Bush married Barbara

Pierce. After the war he attended Yale

University and earned a degree in economics.

Bush then moved to Texas,

where he helped start three companies

dealing in oil and drilling equipment.

Political Career

As a member of the Republican Party,