February 19, 2013

"Côte d'Ivoire officially became a French colony on March 10, 1893."

"French colonial policy incorporated concepts of assimilation and association. Assimilation presupposed the inherent superiority of French culture over all others, so that in practice the assimilation policy in the colonies meant extension of the French language, institutions, laws, and customs.... Under [the policy of association], the Africans in Ivory Coast were allowed to preserve their own customs insofar as they were compatible with French interests. An indigenous elite trained in French administrative practice formed an intermediary group between the French and the Africans.... As subjects of France they had no political rights. Moreover, they were drafted for work in mines, on plantations, as porters, and on public projects as part of their tax responsibility."

In Côte d'Ivoire – Ivory Coast — today's country in the "History of" project, wherein we read the Wikipedia "History of" page for each of the world's 206 countries, in alphabetical order. Next up? Here's a clue:

26 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'm thinking Croatia next.

Chip Ahoy said...

[save file as] Oton_Ivekovic,_Smrt_kralja_Petra_Svacica_u_Gori_Gvozdu_1097_god

Cot
Cou
Cov
Cow
Cox
Cox
Cp
Cq
Cra
Crb
Crc
Crd
Crete is that a country?
Crf
Crg
Crh
Cri
Crj
Crk
Crl
Crm
Crn
Croatia

Anonymous said...

I'm a traditionalist and stick with Ivory Coast. In most instances we know countries by their English names and not their names in their native languages, e.g Germany rather than Deutschland, Albania rather than Shqiperi. The relatively few exceptions, for example El Salvador rather than The Savior, have always been that way.

Needless to say, there is never snow in the Ivory Coast. Its highest point, Mount Richard-Molard, is under 6,000 feet, given the near-equatorial location it would have to be three times that height in order to get snow.

Peter

edutcher said...

Chip, you need to try that again.

Although it wwas recognized for exporting other things, Ivory Coast was, in many cases, part of what was once known as the Slave Coast.

This piece struck me, "Five important states flourished in Ivory Coast in the pre-European era. The Muslim Kong Empire was established by the Juula in the early eighteenth century in the north-central region inhabited by the Sénoufo, who had fled Islamization under the Mali Empire. Although Kong became a prosperous center of agriculture, trade, and crafts, ethnic diversity and religious discord gradually weakened the kingdom".

edutcher said...

ironrailsironweights said...

I'm a traditionalist and stick with Ivory Coast

It's like continuing to say Bombay instead of Mumbai.

After all, we don't call it Moskva.

ricpic said...

Amazing how many Ivory Coasters have pursued their insufferable French oppressors to Paris...and Marseilles...and Lyon...and Bourdeaux. You'd think they're gluttons for punishment. What did those cities do to deserve such a blessing? Amazing.

edutcher said...

Next country?

I'm guessing Czechoslovakia.

Smilin' Jack said...

Assimilation presupposed the inherent superiority of French culture over all others, so that in practice the assimilation policy in the colonies meant extension of the French language, institutions, laws, and customs....

It also meant that when a guy from German West Africa got drunk one day and wandered across the border, they immediately surrendered.

Irene said...

"Next up?"

Crusader art from Croatia? I can't tell whether the image depicts a scene from the Battle of Zadar (Fourth Crusade).

Known Unknown said...

I like rooting for them in World Cup Soccer.

I like their colors and elephant shield.

edutcher said...

Irene said...

Next up?

Crusader art from Croatia? I can't tell whether the image depicts a scene from the Battle of Zadar (Fourth Crusade).


Oooppps.

You're probably right (I can't keep straight which parts of Yugoslavia are separate countries).

That winged helmet looked Polish, so I figured nearby.

I'm sure, being from that neck of the woods, you're much more up on that.

Irene said...

edutcher, I am wrong. I just cheated and noodled around for the answer. It's from the Battle of Gvozd Mountain (1097), and that's Peter, the dead Croatian King.

Rats. I thought I saw a crusader's cross on his garment. It was just blood.

Irene said...

Also, I am from a more northern neck of the woods. I have an interest in crusading history, though, and that's the point that made me stumble.

edutcher said...

You're good people.

MadisonMan said...

Cote d'Ivoire makes me think of Chocolate.

Mmmm. Chocolate.

Chip Ahoy said...

How is that a clue? Are we supposed to know about a guy with some armor with his head bashed in, on a mountain apparently, with crows which seem to be significant, and a mystic figure, somewhat apprehensive, or on a cellphone which is unlikely, and inappropriately dressed for the terrain, like a the women in Maxwell Parrish paintings are in danger out on the rocks like that without shoes, an apparition or something, his nemesis perhaps or Siren? There is no element in the painting that is a clue for me.

Except the TARDIS, but then when I expanded it, that turned out to be trees.

Chip Ahoy said...

Ennie told me when I'm stuck to go through the alphabet and I told her I am terrible at that. I get messed up right at the emenelpee part. She a champion solver, sounds like Fran Drescher, real name Ellen Ripstein, her photo is all over due to the contests, so that sounded awfully slow technique to suggest and that told me she was speaking to an idiot and trying to be nice about it. Then I saw her on tv and she performed poorly solving on stage blown up on whiteboard, not the wiz that she is on paper and pencil and I noticed she did get stuck and did not even finish in time, and I wondered, "are you going through the alphabet now?"

Anonymous said...

Croatia, my neck of the woods.

Palladian said...

Next up? Here's a clue:

Death of King Petar Svačić by Oton Iveković. As a painting, a bit over the top.

chuck said...

As a painting, a bit over the top.

I looked at other Croatian nationalist paintings, and I assure you there is seldom much over the top. Or perhaps you are complaining that the bit over the top was too much? Myself, I'm becoming a fan of the genre.

Gahrie said...

I'm a traditionalist and stick with Ivory Coast

It's like continuing to say Bombay instead of Mumbai.


How about Chinese names? Peking or Beijing?

Kirk Parker said...

Me too on the traditionalist aspect.

When the Ivoirians start calling this country "The Yew-nited States of AmeRRRica" with a perfect American-English retroflex R, then I'll change from Ivory Coast. (Same goes for the French, and all those countries in Central and South America. Sorry, Daniel Ortega!)


Kirk Parker said...

The Arab speakers are the worst, however: "Ahmrika"! Seriously??? Sounds positively Hungarian, what's up with that?

Unknown said...

my co-worker's step-aunt makes $65/hr on the computer. She has been out of a job for 6 months but last month her check was $15230 just working on the computer for a few hours. Here's the site to read more http://fly26.com

Paco Wové said...

Oh really, Pierre? Well, my half-brother's third cousin's blacksmith's costermonger put down his fruit long enough to win $20,000,000 at faro last week, and could kick your (and your mangy step-aunt's too) backsides to boot.

Mitch H. said...

The pre-colonial section took two full paragraphs to get to anything about the actual terrain or people currently constituting the Ivory Coast. Reams of material on irrelevant Muslim Sahel dominations, then finally, oh yeah, here's some actual local kingdoms and such.

Of course, the colonial era also suggests that the Coast was initially an after-thought, with the French filling in from up and down the coast, into the seaside backcountry. The things that a lack of decent anchorages do to history and patterns of conquest!

The Ivory Coast seems to have been an exception to the generally bleak history of postcolonial west Africa, until the late Nineties. Then they reverted to the mean with a vengeance. Now their GDP is less than half that of the Republic of the Congo. Sad.