Cyprus, Carlos Sánchez

Cyprus is a small island country located in the Mediterranean Sea. Although it is very close to countries like Syria, Lebanon, Israel and Turkey, Cyprus is a current member of the European Union since 2004. The capital of Cyprus is Nicosia, and it is located in the middle of the island. It is the largest city in Cyprus and the one that has the largest population with approximately 300,000 people living there. It is not located in a very good area due to the fact that is very close to countries that have had issues or conflicts in past as well as present years, but could also take advantage that it is located in the Mediterranean Sea and that could help impulse the trade industry in the country and commerce with bigger countries so they can grow.

The total area of Cyprus is approximately 9,251 square kilometers from which 10 are covered by water (CIA WORLD FACT BOOK,2014) . In comparison to the world, it is number 171 in total area(CIA WORLD FACT BOOK,2014) . The total coastline of Cyprus is of 648 km. The temperature in the country is hot and dry during the summer and cool winters. This can be comfortable for the people that live there due to the fact that they don´t need to suffer from the harsh winters that many countries in Europe suffer from. Cyprus has some nice ecosystems but the one that they take advantage from more are the beaches because everybody loves beaches to go on vacation and this a key factor in a countries economy.  Cyprus´s terrain is mainly flat along the coastline but has some mountains in the northern and southern part of the country. The lowest point is the Mediterranean sea and the highest point is Mount Olympus with 1, 951 meters high (CIA WORLD FACT BOOK, 2014) . Some snow could be found in the winter in the Troodos Mountain range. Cyprus has not had many deaths from natural disasters, but some of the most common are due to wildfires and droughts. (PREVENTION WEB, 2014) This is also a factor for the countries agriculture because it is very hard to grow crops in a country that has drought problems like Cyprus. The current climate crisis that the world is facing could affect Cyprus in the future at a bigger scale. 

                       

Since it is not a very big country and has a fairly small population, not many big cities are going to be found in this country. The city/village distribution is fairly equal but like I said, not many big cities will be found. 

Cyprus´s history has changed a lot throughout history. The first humans found in Cyprus where around the year 10,000 BC. A curious fact about this date is that it matches with the date the the dwarf hippo and the dwarf elephant (WIKIPEDIA, 2014) . From the years 1,100 to 1,050 BC, it is believed that the Island was settled by the greeks from Mycenae. Cyprus is believed to be the birthplace of Aphrodite, a very important goddess in greek mythology (WIKIPEDIA, 2014) . Between the years 700 BC and 500 BC, Cyprus was under the control of the Persian and Egyptian empire. In 333 BC Cyprus was conquered by Alexander the Great and was fully hellenized. In 58 BC, Cyprus was acquired by the Roman Empire. (WIKIPEDIA, 2014)

In the following years, Cyprus became part of the Byzantine Empire and was victim from muslim attacks that killed thousands of people in Cyprus as well as many important monuments. In 1570, the Island came under the control of the Ottomans. After the Russo-Turkish war in 1877-1878, Cyprus was given to the British. When WW I began, Britain annexed Cyprus. Many cypriots fought in both world wars hoping that Cyprus could eventually join Greece. In 1960, Cyprus gained it´s Independence. Turkey tried to invade Cyprus in the following years but came to an agreement with the US not to because the US told them that if they did so, they would not protect them incase there was a Soviet invasion in Turkey. (WIKIPEDIA, 2014)

Okay, let´s analyze how the geography, the climate and many other factors relate to the history that Cyprus had, has and will have in a close future. So, the first people that arrived at Cyprus did so because they thought that the weather was nice and it was a nice place to stay. Everything was going well for the first original cypriots, but then came the trouble. In the following years, they had bad luck in being on the way of the Mycenaean Empire that had a very strong ambition in controlling the Mediterranean and the Aegean Sea, so bad luck geographically. The next invasion was by the Persians and the Egyptians, again bad luck on being the Island neighbors that are next to the big nation that is growing just like this two. The next to invasions were by Alexander the Great and we know what he did as well as the Roman Empire. We can start to see that Cyprus has a tendency to be under the biggest power that there is in the world in a certain time in  history. Cyprus then came under the Ottoman Empire, again the biggest power of the time and that didn´t change for some 200 years until one event that had nothing to do with them changed the faith of the country once more. A war conceded the British power over Cyprus. The British were the growing power of the world and they were no fools. They took advantage of the location and turned Cyprus into a port that kept an eye on the turks and ottomans, as well as giving them a perfect route to India. In both of the world wars, the strategic location that Cyprus holds had many big nations trying to convince Cyprus to fight for them. They wanted to fight for Greece. We have already analyzed the geographical location that Cyprus has and how that went for them, now the climate.                                  

   

Like I said before, many people in Cyprus find the weather quite suitable for a nice life. The climate allowed Cyprus to be a maritime nation in the industry due to the fact the land is not very fertile. This led to certain agreements and treatments with nearby countries so its commerce could grow. The mountains divided the country geographically and ethnically. People from greek and turkish origin were divided by their differences but mainly by the territories that the Island has to offer us. 

The climate and the geography, played a huge role in all the events that the Island of Cyprus lived. It is a very small country that in  the course of history, depends on a bigger country. We would never know if the Island would prosper if they would´ve never been invaded. I am sure that in the future, Cyprus will play a crucial role if there is to be a war.  

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Wikipedia, 2014, "Cyprus", online article.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyprus#Geography

Wikipedia, 2014, "Cyprus", online article.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyprus

Central Intelligence Agency, 2014, "Cyprus", online article.
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/cy.html

Prevention Web, 2008, "Cyprus-Disaster Statistics", online article.
http://www.preventionweb.net/english/countries/statistics/?cid=45

European Union, "Cyprus", online article.
http://europa.eu/about-eu/countries/member-countries/cyprus/index_en.htm

IMAGES
https://www.google.com.mx/search?q=cyprus&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=dIFhVP24Lo6myAScwYHACw&ved=0CAkQ_AUoAg&biw=1346&bih=620#tbm=isch&q=troodos+mountains&facrc=_&imgdii=_&imgrc=GTVGbOh-nRkrPM%253A%3BtnvI4BhopAnD-M%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fbusinessboomcollective.com%252Fwp-content%252Fuploads%252F2012%252F06%252FRyan-Johnson-Photography-5.jpeg%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fbusinessboomcollective.com%252F0608%252Fstunning-photography-by-ryan-johnson%252F%3B2104%3B1184

https://www.google.com.mx/search?q=cyprus&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=dIFhVP24Lo6myAScwYHACw&ved=0CAkQ_AUoAg&biw=1346&bih=620#tbm=isch&q=cyprus+views&facrc=_&imgdii=_&imgrc=yTkXrf5aYtNDHM%253A%3BeIKUQLVVOXth7M%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.bestourism.com%252Fimg%252Fitems%252Fmed%252F679%252F2623.jpg%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.bestourism.com%252Fbests%252Fbestimages%252FCyprus_c_63%3B300%3B224

https://www.google.com.mx/search?q=cyprus&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=dIFhVP24Lo6myAScwYHACw&ved=0CAkQ_AUoAg&biw=1346&bih=620#tbm=isch&q=cyprus+location&facrc=_&imgdii=_&imgrc=PX_6HQvfu3J2zM%253A%3BpxKWeFMY57SExM%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.emapsworld.com%252Fimages%252Fcyprus-location-map.gif%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.emapsworld.com%252Fcyprus-location-map.html%3B700%3B550

https://www.google.com.mx/search?q=cyprus+ancient+wars&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=Mh5iVKWZFc-3yATdioDYDA&ved=0CAgQ_AUoAQ&biw=1346&bih=570#facrc=_&imgdii=_&imgrc=C9MGbkuW8my1RM%253A%3BmPn1jn5HKIg6uM%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.ancientgreekbattles.net%252FPics%252F45050_CyprusBattle.jpg%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.ancientgreekbattles.net%252FPages%252F45050_BattleOfSalamis%252C%252520Cyprus.htm%3B678%3B342

Money Laundering

I chose money laundering because I believe that it requires a lot of ability and thinking from the person that is doing it, as well as the people that investigate it.

But, what is money laundering? Money laundering is basically turning illegal money into "clean" money through a legitimate (typically smaller) business. You´re lying to the authorities as to where the money came from. Money laundering is commonly used among drug dealers or big bank robbers. They might put a small business like a restaurant and mix the money from the restaurant with the drug money so in the end of the day it all gets mixed up and the authorities have no way to find out if the money is illegal. 

One great example of money laundering occurs in the TV series "Breaking Bad". Walter White is a big time methamphetamine dealer that makes huge amounts of money for a person of his social standards and the current job that he has (chemistry teacher). He buys a car wash (the small business) and mixes the money from the car wash with the drug money. Even this is a huge problem because he´s making millions of dollars which a car wash would never make (otherwise everyone would open a car wash). He needs to put the money into small fractions in order for the police not to notice. So even though, he is laundering the money, he still has a little bit of trouble because the amount of money is so big, if he would put it all together nobody would believe him.

http://www.irs.gov/uac/Examples-of-Money-Laundering-Investigations-Fiscal-Year-2014

This is a web page in which there are a lot of money laundering examples in which we can see that the people involved are usually people involved with drug, that make a lot of money that everyone would ask questions about where it came from. Just like Walter White.

The Black Death
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rZy6XilXDZQ

I chose this video because it explains perfectly how the black plague started, how it spread throughout Europe, it´s symptoms, and overall everything that happened during and after the plague. How the peasants were the ones that were affected the most by the plague and it killed a lot of them and how they demanded more money from the lords in order for them to work. And it is also a very catchy song, kind of like the one about Constantinople.

Magna Carta Assignment

Magna Carta is an ancient document that limits the power to the monarch in charge. This was one of the things that led to current day democracy. Currently there are 4 original copies left and are stored in Lincoln. In 2015 we celebrate the 800th anniversary of the Magna Carta being signed. This was a very important event in the history of man kind and it is a date that we need to commemorate. There are a lot of things being prepared for when the time of the anniversary comes.
There are many things that are going to be renovated to commemorate the signing of Magna Carta. For example the renovation of the American Bar Association (ABA) Memorial. Establish a Magna Carta interpretation/visit center. New bus routes as well as the improvement of traffic signs and streets. The UK will also make a public holiday on that day, as well as other political meetings will be held to commemorate the day.
Many songs of when the Magna Carta was signed will be played at churches near the site and around the UK to remember. Many souvenirs like stamps, pins, etc. will be distributed around the UK as well as coins and special beers. There will be Magna Carta weeks in important sites of the UK, the commonwealth and any other country in which the Magna Carta had an influence. Exhibitions of the Magna Carta will be displayed at important sites. Books and songs will be written in memory of this glorious day. The Magna Carta signing was a very important event in history and we all need to take moment to commemorate it.

http://www.visitlincoln.com/magnacarta
http://magnacarta800th.com/magna-carta-today/2015-aspirations/

Monarchy assignment

My favorite Monarch

My favorite monarch is Louis the XVI.
He was king of France from 1774 until 1791 he was 19 when he ascended to the throne.
His wife was Marie Antoinette. She was executed.
He was known as the great king and the sun king.
This did not mean that he was a good king.
He was called the sun king because of all his luxuries. He knew how to live in style.
He lived in the Great palace of Versailles.
Kings from all over the world went and honored Louis luxuries and style.
He was executed in the French revolution because the people had nothing to eat and nowhere to live and he lived in the Greatest palace of all times.
He is my favorite monarch because he knew how to live well and with style.