1. By: Jacob Carpenter

2. Madagascar is part of Africa’s continent however, it is its own island. The capital is Antananarivo.

3. The flag colors are red, green, and white; the red representing sovereignty, green for hope, and white for purity.

4. There are roughly 22,585,517 people. People there include Malayo-Indonesian, Cotiers, French, Indian, Creole, and Comoran.

5. 52% indigenous beliefs. 41% Christian 7% Muslim French and Malagasy are the official languages, but some speak English as well.

6. The God that most of the people believe in is Zanahary, which means God on High. The Christians believe in Andriamanitra, which means the King of Heaven.

7. The economy is largely made up of agricultural work and textile production however, there has been deforestation and erosion lately largely because of the use of firewood as the primary source of fuel.

8. On June 26, 1960, Madagascar gained its independence. In 1975, Didier Ratsiraka takes over and creates social and economic reforms, which causes a decline in the economy into the 1990s. In 1991 the economy collapse’s and the citizens demand a new government. In 1993, Albert Zafy wins presidency and creates the Third Republic. In 1997 Ratsiraka is voted back into presidency, and with him brings back some of his dictatorial powers. In 2001 Marc Ravalomanana was elected president however, Ratsiraka didn’t agree with the results and created his own government to fight with Ravalomanana, which eventually led to other countries coming in to help Ravalomanana, and the exile of Ratsiraka, who fled to France in July of 2002.

9. Ravalomanana vs. Ratsiraka.

10. I like the openness of the land and how it’s on its own island however, I don’t like the shape the economy is in. I wouldn’t want to live in Madagascar, the economy just doesn’t seem to be in good shape, so I think it would be hard to make a living, plus it would be too hot for me.

11. Venezuela is part of South America’s continent; it’s in the northern part between Colombia and Guyana. Caracas is the capital.

12. The flag colors are yellow, red, and blue; the yellow stands for new opportunities, the red symbolizes Spain, and the blue represents the Atlantic Ocean. Also, the seven stars on the flag represent the seven provinces that existed when Venezuela gained its independence.

13. The population is roughly 28,047,938. People there include Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Arab, German, and African.

14. Nearly everyone is Roman Catholic however, there are a few Protestants. Spanish is the official language, but there are numerous indigenous dialects.

15. Family is a huge part of the social structure, and it is common for families to live within the same area of one another in the villages. Freedom of religion is guaranteed to everyone, however most of the population is Roman Catholic.

16. Popular crops grown include corn, rice, bananas, and sugarcane. The oil drilled and sold makes up about 90% of export income, and Venezuela is the largest foreign supplier of oil to the US.

17. In 1830 Venezuela became independent from Gran Colombia. General Jose Antonio Paez was the first president. During the 1800s, the country was in a civil war, and then between 1870 and 1888 Guzman Blanco ruled and brought an end to the civil war. In 1950, Marcos Perez Jimenez became dictator of Venezuela, and then in 1958, he was exiled and Venezuela became a democracy. In 1999 Venezuela adopted its current constitution.

18. Venezuela is in conflict with Colombia, mainly because of the political differences of the two leaders, and in 2009 there was conflict between the two countries over a military base Colombia was building on the Venezuela border.

19. I like how family plays a big part in the social structure but I don’t like how there are so many different languages spoken because it seems like if you traveled to different areas, you would have to almost know a whole different language. I wouldn’t want to live there because of the conflict with Colombia, and because of the heat.

20. http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/world/A0859412.html https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world- factbook/geos/ma.html https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world- factbook/geos/ma.html http://www.everyculture.com/Ja-Ma/Madagascar.html http://www.wildmadagascar.org/history/ http://www.history-timelines.org.uk/places- timelines/42-venezuela-timeline.htm http://www.history-timelines.org.uk/places- timelines/42-venezuela-timeline.htm http://www.google.com/imghp?hl=en&tab=wi