Britannica Student Encyclopedia - 2010

Antibiotics work by killing bacteria or

by preventing them from multiplying.

Sometimes, however, not all the bacteria

die. The bacteria that survive are said to

have a resistance to the antibiotic. As

those bacteria multiply, they pass on the

resistance to new bacteria. The next time

those bacteria are exposed to the same

antibiotic, even fewer of them die. Eventually

the antibiotic does not kill enough

of the bacteria to make the illness go

away.

When enough types of bacteria become

resistant to an antibiotic, doctors no

longer use that antibiotic as medicine.

The number of resistant bacteria continues

to grow. Scientists are working to

find new antibiotics to replace the old

ones.

#More to explore

Bacteria • Disease, Human • Penicillin

• Virus

A special test shows whether or not antibiotics

can stop the growth of certain bacteria.

Tablets that contain antibiotics are placed

on a surface with bacteria on it. The clear

areas around the tablets show that the antibiotics

have stopped the bacteria from growing.

Antibiotics

should always

be used carefully.

Some

people have

bad reactions

to certain antibiotics.

142 Antibiotic BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA

 

Antigua and Barbuda

The Caribbean island country of Antigua

and Barbuda is known for its powdery

beaches. The capital is Saint John’s.

Geography

The country consists of three islands:

Antigua, Barbuda, and Redonda. Antigua

has rolling hills and volcanic rocks.

Near the coast are coral reefs. Barbuda is

a flat island 25 miles (40 kilometers)

north of Antigua. No one lives on

Redonda, a large rock southwest of

Antigua.

The country has a warm, tropical climate.

Droughts often occur on Antigua.

Plants and Animals

Barbuda has rain forests and lush vegetation.

With its drier climate, Antigua has

no forests but many kinds of cactus.

Barbuda is home to many large seabirds

called frigate birds.

People

Most of the country’s people are descendants

of African slaves. Small populations

of whites, Asians, and American

Indians also live there. Most people are

Christian. The official language is

English.

Economy

Tourism is very important to Antigua

and Barbuda’s economy. Transportation,

communications, financial services, real

estate, and construction are also important.

There is little manufacturing,

mainly of beer and T-shirts. Agriculture

and fishing play a small role in the

economy. The main crops are tropical

fruits.

History

The first inhabitants of Antigua and

Barbuda were the Ciboney people and,

later, the Arawak people. The explorer

Christopher Columbus landed on Antigua

in 1493.

The English took over the islands in

1632. They brought in Africans to work

as slaves on large sugar plantations. The

slaves won freedom in 1834.

The islands were part of the British Leeward

Islands colony until 1956. Great

Britain then managed their foreign

affairs until 1981, when Antigua and

Barbuda gained independence.

..More to explore

Arawak • Caribbean Sea • Columbus,

Christopher • Coral

Facts About

ANTIGUA AND

BARBUDA

Population

(2008 estimate)

87,500

Area

171 sq mi (442

sq km)

Capital

Saint John’s

Form of

government

Constitutional

monarchy

Major city

Saint John’s

BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA Antigua and Barbuda 143

 

Apache

The people known as the Apache

include several related Native American

groups. The Apache are familiar to many

people because of the WildWest stories

about Cochise and Geronimo. Both

men were famous Apache warriors who

fought to keep Apache lands free from

Mexico and the United States.

Historians believe that the ancestors of

the Apache lived in Canada. The Apache

probably migrated to the American

Southwest in about AD 1000. The traditional

Apache homelands are located in

what are now Arizona, Colorado, New

Mexico, Texas, and the Mexican states of

Chihuahua and Sonora.

The Apache were nomads who moved

from camp to camp depending on the

season and the food supply. They got

their food by hunting, gathering wild

plants, and farming. They also carried

out raids on other people to obtain

horses and supplies. The Apache made

dome-shaped shelters, known as wickiups,

by covering a wooden frame with

grass or branches.

Spanish explorers were the first non-

Indians to enter Apache lands. Mexicans

and Americans came later. American

settlement in Apache territory led to

fierce fighting between the Apache and

the U.S. military in the second half of

the 1800s. The last of the Apache wars

ended with Geronimo’s surrender in

1886. Some of the Apache settled in

Oklahoma; others moved to a reservation

in New Mexico. At the end of the

20th century there were about 57,000

Apache. Many lived on reservations in

the Southwest.

#More to explore

Geronimo • Native Americans

Apartheid

Apartheid was a system for keeping

white people and nonwhites separated in

South Africa. It lasted from about 1950

to the early 1990s. The word apartheid

means “apartness” in Afrikaans, a language

spoken in South Africa.

The population of the country is mostly

nonwhite. But for many years the white

people of South Africa controlled the

country’s government. They established

laws that kept the races separate and

discriminated against the nonwhite

majority.