food for the army and the royal court.
The empire grew larger and stronger
throughout the 1700s. After Great Britain
and other countries outlawed the
slave trade in the 1800s Dahomey
started selling palm oil instead of slaves.
At the end of the 1800s France conquered
Dahomey. The French combined
it with other regions to form a colony
that was also called Dahomey. This
colony gained its independence in 1960.
It kept the name of Dahomey until
1975, when it became Benin.
#More to explore
Benin Slavery
Daisy
Daisies are flowers with flat petals that
surround a round center. Daisies belong
to the aster family, which also includes
chrysanthemums, dahlias, marigolds,
sunflowers, and zinnias.
Common types of daisy include the
oxeye daisy; the English, or true, daisy;
and the Shasta daisy. These daisies grow
in Europe, North America, and other
parts of the world. Oxeye and English
daisies grow in gardens and in the wild.
The Shasta daisy is mainly a garden
plant.
Daisy plants often grow to about 2 to 3
feet (61 to 91 centimeters) tall. Two
types of flower make up each flower
head. Ray flowers are what people call
petals. The ray flowers may be long or
short. Tiny disk flowers make up the
center. The center may be flat or
rounded. Depending on the type of
daisy, the flower heads are from 1 to 4
inches (2.5 to 10 centimeters) wide.
Oxeye and Shasta daisies have a ring of
white ray flowers around a bright yellow
center. The ray flowers of the English
daisy may be white, purple, pink, or red.
#More to explore
Flower Marigold Plant Sunflower
Dakar
Population
(2002 estimate)
1,983,093
Dakar is the capital of Senegal, a country
in West Africa. It is the largest city in
People often use colorful daisies to brighten
flower arrangements.
Daisies are
perennials,
which means
that they
bloom year
after year
without having
to be
replanted.
6 Daisy BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA
Daisies are
perennials,
which means
that they
bloom year
after year
without having
to be
replanted.
Africa
Africa is the worlds second largest continent.
More than 50 countries make up
the continent. More than one eighth of
the worlds population lives there.
Land and Climate
Africas landscape is varied. The northern
and western parts of the continent
are generally lower and more level than
the eastern and southern areas. Africa is
the oldest continent. Therefore most of
its mountains are not as high as those on
other continents. They have been worn
down over millions of years by wind and
water.
Africas most striking feature is a series
of great rifts, or troughs, in the east
known as the Rift Valley system. These
rifts span two continents, from western
Asia through eastern Africa. In Africa
they are deep, long, narrow valleys.
The worlds longest river, the Nile, flows
through northern Africa. The continents
other long rivers include the
Congo in central Africa, the Niger in the
west, and the Zambezi in the south.
Eastern Africa has a chain of lakes
known as the great lakes.
The continent is crossed midway by the
equator. This means that most of
Africathe middle portionlies within
the tropics, an area where it is hot yearround.
In the lowlands near the equator,
rain falls throughout the year. To the
north and south of this rainy area are
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.
Cameroons 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
states 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 Connecticuts 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
Connecticuts residents are of European
heritage. African Americans and Hispanics
each make up about 9 percent of the
population. The states Asian American
and Native American groups are small.
Connecticut has a large population for