Britannica Student Encyclopedia - 2010

Argentines are American Indian or mestizo

(a mixture of European and Indian).

Spanish is the national language. Roman

Catholicism is the main religion.

Economy

Banking and other services, manufacturing,

and trade are the most important

parts of the economy. Argentina’s natural

resources of petroleum (oil) and

natural gas help its industries. Farmers

produce soybeans, sugarcane, grains,

beef, wool, and wine. Exported goods

include food, petroleum, and metal

products. Tourists also bring billions of

dollars to Argentina each year.

History

Native peoples of what is now Argentina

included the Tehuelche, the Querandi,

the Puelche, the Diaguitas, and the Inca.

Spaniards arrived in the early 1500s.

They founded the colony of Buenos

Aires in 1536. The Europeans forced the

native people to work for them.

Argentina was first part of Spanish Peru

and then part of a province called Rio de

la Plata. Rio de la Plata declared its independence

in 1816 but soon broke up in

a civil war. After the war, a series of dictators,

presidents, and military leaders

ruled Argentina.

In the 1900s Argentina suffered many

economic and political problems. President

Juan Peron, elected in 1946, and

his wife Eva (Evita) were popular among

workers for a time. However, the military

overthrew Peron in 1955 and his

third wife, President Isabel Peron, in

1976. The military government then

imprisoned and killed thousands of citizens

in what became known as the Dirty

War.

In 1982 Argentina went to war with the

United Kingdom over the Falkland

Islands. The United Kingdom gained

control of the islands. The defeat caused

Argentina’s military leader to step down.

In 1983 the country held an election,

which ended military rule. Leaders then

worked to improve human rights and

the economy. In the late 20th and early

21st centuries, however, rising poverty

and unemployment led to protests

throughout Argentina.

..More to explore

Andes • Buenos Aires • Falkland Islands

• Human Rights • South America

• Tierra del Fuego

Facts About

ARGENTINA

Population

(2008 estimate)

39,737,000

Area

1,073,400 sq mi

(2,780,092 sq

km)

Capital

Buenos Aires

Form of

government

Federal republic

Major cities

Buenos Aires,

Cordoba, San

Justo, Rosario

176 Argentina BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA

 

Arikara

The Arikara tribe of Native Americans

traditionally lived along the Missouri

River in what is now in North Dakota.

Originally their culture was related to

that of the Pawnee tribe of present-day

Nebraska. They are now associated with

the Hidatsa and the Mandan peoples.

The early Arikara lived in villages situated

along riverbanks. There they built

dome-shaped houses made of mud

packed around a wooden frame. They

also constructed larger lodges, which

they used for religious ceremonies.

Near their villages, Arikara women

tended fields. They grew corn, beans,

squash, sunflowers, and tobacco. Arikara

men fished and hunted deer, elk, and

bison (buffalo).

French and English traders regularly

visited the Arikara to trade guns and

other European goods for animal furs.

In 1823 the Arikara killed 13 members

of a white trading party, and soon afterward

they became the first plains tribe to

battle the U.S. Army.

During the 1800s, the Arikara population

declined due to warfare and exposure

to European diseases, such as

smallpox. In order to protect themselves

from their enemies, the survivors of the

Arikara, Mandan, and Hidatsa tribes

moved to a single village. The three

tribes became officially known as the

Three Affiliated Tribes in 1934. Today

members of this group live on the Fort

Berthold Reservation in North Dakota.

At the end of the 20th century, there

were about 900 Arikara living in the

United States.

#More to explore

Hidatsa • Mandan • Native Americans

• Pawnee

Arithmetic

Arithmetic is the most elementary

branch of mathematics. It is the part of

mathematics that deals with counting as

well as addition, subtraction, multiplication,

and division. All of the other

branches of mathematics use the principles

and rules of arithmetic. Everyone

uses arithmetic every day. It is used

when buying something at a store, measuring

distances, or simply counting to

10. The word arithmetic comes from the

Greek word arithmos, which means

“number.”

#More to explore

Abacus • Mathematics • Numbers and

Counting Systems

Four Arikara Native Americans take part in

a ceremony.

The abacus is

a tool for

doing arithmetic.

It was

invented hundreds

of years

before the calculating

machine.

BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA Arithmetic 177

 

Arizona

Arizona is known as the Grand

Canyon State because of the

amazing landform found in the northern

part of the state. The awesome size

and beauty of the Grand Canyon make

it one of the most famous natural wonders

in the world. Phoenix is Arizona’s

capital and largest city.

Geography

Arizona is located in the southwestern

United States. The Colorado River separates

Arizona from Nevada and California

to the west. Arizona also borders

Utah on the north, New Mexico on the

east, and the country of Mexico on the

south.

Mountains run across the state from

northwest to southeast. To the south of

the mountains is a large area of desert