When Geography and Astronomy Come Together.

A commune (French equivalent of an township) of around 29,000 residents along the coast of French Guiana. Basically, like a small town. There are many who do not even know what French Guiana is, much less, where this small town being spoken of is. However, it has a very strategic importance.

Kourou is the commune being spoken of. It is located along the northern coast of the French overseas department of French Guiana. What is the importance? Well, if one is into astronomy, listen closely.

Map of French Guiana showing there Kourou is in relation to French Guiana's capital, Cayenne.

Map from BBC.

Kourou is where the Guiana Space Center is located. It is a major place for launching French and other European rockets. Why was Kourou chosen?

1) Kourou is located relatively close to the equator

2) The sea provides a large amount of space that is uninhabited.

In order to have a decent place to launch rockets, lots of uninhabited space is necessary, so that the refuse from rocket launches does not land in inhabited areas. In order to do that, rockets much be launched towards the east.

And being relatively close to the equator means that the spin of the earth will give some extra velocity for rockets being launched in the eastern direction. 

Diagram explaining launching a Russian rocket from Kourou works. RIA-NOVOSTI

There is it. Geography has proven to be very important for astronomy. 

Haiti's potential

One thing to consider when it comes to geography, is that this is more than just pointing to places on a map. It is also about economies, politics, history, climate, and a broad range of subjects. And now we go into the subject at hand.....

Haiti. When many people think of the island nation of Haiti, this is what many people think of. Images that come to the mind are desperate poverty, government coups, and the 2010 earthquake. Little thought is given to Haiti's potential as a nation. It was once the richest colony in the Western Hemisphere. However, that wealth was built from the slave economy. Once a colony of France, it became the first Black republic in the world. It was the first nation founded from a slave rebellion. It it currently the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere. However, there is potential for Haiti.

Below is a map of Haiti's economic activity:

                                                                                             

As one can see, Haiti is a major producer of coffee, as well as having resources of sugar cane and cotton. Reserves of copper are found in the northern section of the nation. With sugar cane production, there is potential for Haiti, not only to be a major sugar producer, but a producer of alternative fuels. Brazil has made ethanol from sugar cane. Being a producer of sugar, Haiti has that same potential.[2] There is room to grow the sugar cane industry.

It has been speculated that Haiti has vast reserves of oil, that have not been drilled. If this is the case, this will be of a major benefit to Haiti. This could bring large amounts of revenue to the nation of Haiti.[1]

 Haiti has a strategic location, with Jamaica and The Bahamas nearby. Haiti is directly due south of Venezuela(approximately 525 miles from Jacmel, Haiti to Maracaibo,Venezuela as the crow flies). The location would make it a great place for shipping via sea.

The sunny climate of Haiti lends itself to solar energy. In fact, Haiti has opened the world's largest solar-powered hospital.[3] With this in mind, there is more room for the solar energy industry to grow.

Haiti's geography is what lent its name. Haiti comes from the Arawak word. Ayiti, meaning land of  high mountains. This is a mountainous nation. This is also a nation where there are beaches, such as Labadie Beach. With beaches and mountains, there is still the potential to build the tourism industry over time. 

Haiti has gone through so much, and still goes through many things today. However, Haiti still has some potential, given its geography.

Sources:

1)http://www.defend.ht/money/articles/economy/3767-haiti-six-oil-exploration-permits-awarded-behind-closed-doors

2)http://news.stluciastar.com/is-sugarcane-ethanol-haiti%E2%80%99s-salvation/

3)http://www.designboom.com/architecture/worlds-largest-solar-powered-hospital-opens-in-haiti/

A Lesson in Cultural Geography: How the Spanish influenced Cajun cuisine.

When one imagines the state of Louisiana, in a cultural perspective, many people take note of the Cajun and Creole influences. This is no exception when it comes to the food. However, some people do not think of other influences in Louisiana's cuisine.

One particular dish of note is jambalaya. Rice, andouille, peppers, shrimp, onions, celery, tomatoes, chicken, and other ingredients make up this dish. It has alot of notoriety as a Cajun dish. However, jambalaya actually originated from Spaniards who settled in Louisiana. The cultural geographical part about this will be explained.

As mentioned before, Louisiana gets alot of notoriety for its French heritage. You can see it in the city's symbol, the fleur-de-lis. However, not as much attention is given to Louisiana's Spanish heritage. In fact, the first Europeans to land in what is now the state of Louisiana were Spaniards. An expedition lead by Panfilo de Narvaez went all the way to the mouth of the Mississippi river.  France did rule Louisiana for hundreds of years. However, between 1763 and 1800, Spain ruled Louisiana. Under Spanish rule, Spanish-speaking immigrants from the Canary Islands, also know as Islenos, were brought to Louisiana. St. Bernard, Ascension, and Assumption parishes. Later on, some settled around Plaquemines Parish.

When Spain ruled Louisiana.

Around 1800, Louisiana would be turned back over to France, and in the hands of Napoleon. However, Napoleon sold the Louisiana territory to the USA, also known as the Louisiana Purchase.

What does any of the this have to do with the food? Well, the Spanish brought along some of their own food to Louisiana. Look at jambalaya. Jambalaya is actually a derivative of the Spanish rice dish paella. Paella required the ingredient of saffron, Saffron, a spice derived from the Crocus sativa flower, was not available in Louisiana. Tomatoes were used in place of saffron as a result.

Cajuns did play a part in rice being a staple food in Louisiana. French-speaking Acadians were expelled by the British from the Maritime Provinces of eastern Canada during the 18th century. As many of them made their way south, some stopped in the Carolinas. Many who continued south into Louisiana brought rice with them from the Carolinas. However, the Spanish were cooking with rice long before. Many Spanish people mingled with the French, and in a way, contributed to Louisiana's cuisine. Jambalaya can be thought of as a Cajun dish, but with Spanish roots. It shows how cultural diffusion has worked to create something similar, but unique.



http://ccet.louisiana.edu/tourism/parishes/Greater_New_Orleans/plaquemines.html
http://www.latech.edu/tech/liberal-arts/geography/courses/310/text/11chapter(spanish).htm
http://www.usarice.com/doclib/188/219/3677.PDF
http://www.louisianafolklife.org/LT/Articles_Essays/espana_la.html
http://www.tinycooker.com/jambalaya/

The Original Gateway To Latin America.

Take this image into your head. There are bananas being brought in from Honduras, along with other various tropical fruits.  You can find people who are coming from places like Cuba, Honduras, and Haiti. French Creole and Spanish are languages that can be heard. The climate is quite warm and humid, much of the time with ample rainfall. Well, given this vivid description, you could say this is Miami, Florida, USA. And you would be right in saying this. This is indeed Miami, today. It is important to consider that this is not the city of subject. The city being spoken of is really New Orleans from years past.

Miami is the current gateway to Latin America today. However, New Orleans is the original gateway to Latin America. In fact, even before Miami was even thought of, New Orleans was a major point of transit to and from Latin America.

Geographically, this actually made perfect sense. New Orleans was founded at the southern end of the Mississippi river, just as the Mississippi river is beginning to empty into the Gulf of Mexico. While New Orleans is not technically on the Gulf of Mexico, its relative proximity to the Gulf of Mexico has provided an important role. New Orleans was founded by the French, but it was also ruled by the Spanish. This is a lesson in historical geography.  New Orleans under Spanish rule began to prosper. It was a major seat of power for the Spanish in North America, as was the city of Havana, in Cuba. Spanish galleons coming from Cuba would often go to New Orleans, bringing in people, and commerce.

One influence of the Spanish is that Louisiana would be the first place in the modern-day USA to have Asian settlements. The Philippines used to be a colony of Spain. While under Spanish rule, galleons would come from The Philippines, bringing with them Filipino servants. Sometimes they would jump overboard and settle in the swamps of what is now Plaquemines Parish. Because of this, the village of St. Malo was founded by Filipinos.

Even after Spanish rule ended, New Orleans would continue to have influences from the Caribbean and Latin America. After the Haitian Revolution, Napoleon gave up his colonial hold on North America, selling French-held lands to the USA in what is known as the Louisiana Purchase. New Orleans was now under American control. At the same time, people from Haiti went to New Orleans, the nearest major port to Haiti. At the time, Miami didn’t even exist, so New Orleans was a major point of entry for many immigrants. New Orleans would also be the first major city to have a sizeable Honduran population. The American Fruit Company had land holdings in Honduras, mainly banana plantations. Honduran immigrants were brought to New Orleans by the American Fruit Company during the early 20th century.  To this day, the Greater New Orleans area has one of the largest Honduran communities in the USA. During Castro’s revolution in Cuba, many Cubans went to Miami. However, a sizeable number of Cubans went to New Orleans.

From the outside, New Orleans doesn’t seem like it would have ever been a gateway to Latin America. It doesn’t have the aesthetics that Miami has. No Art Deco buildings, mostly English being spoken in the streets, you hear jazz music and dirty South hip-hop, most of the buildings look like they date from the 18th and 19th century.  However, if you scratch the surface, and look at New Orleans from the perspective of historical, cultural, and physical geography, you will find that New Orleans was the original gateway to and from Latin America.

http://www.neworleansonline.com/neworleans/multicultural/multiculturalhistory/latino.html
http://www.louisianafolklife.org/LT/Articles_Essays/Hondurans1.html
http://etd.lsu.edu/docs/available/etd-04152004-123822/unrestricted/Euraque_thesis.pdf
http://www.nola.com/175years/index.ssf/2012/01/ties_with_cuba_the_times-picay.html
http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/nation/2010-01-28-Haiti-New-Orleans-connection_N.htm
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/beverly-bell/new-orleans-haiti_b_1841502.html
http://blog.prcno.org/2010/01/13/haitian-roots-in-new-orleans/
http://www.filamako.com/2010/04/saint-malo-oldest-filipino-settlement-in-usa/

Detroit: More than cars.

When one thinks about the city of Detroit, what comes to the mind? Well, for many, automobiles will come to the mind. It have often been known as "The Motor City". Why else was a certain recording company called Motown? Other people with think of other things, such as crime, urban decline, and so many other things.

Of course Detroit has been the home of Ford, General Motors, and Chrysler. This is very well known. There is a reason that Detroit got its nickname "The Motor City". That being said, there is so much more to Detroit than just automobiles.

To get a sense of Detroit, it is important to look at Detroit from a perspective of historical geography. Detroit has been the place where people have come from all over the world to seek their opportunities in Detroit. However, Detroit is much older than many people might think about.

The city was founded in 1701 as Fort Pontchartrain du Détroit by French explorers, named for the Count of Pontchartrain. Its purpose was to keep the British from advancing further west, and to gain an advantage in the fur trade. It was established by French officer Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac.

At the site of Detroit, a Catholic church was founded, Ste. Anne de Detroit Catholic Church,  in 1701. Today, it is the second oldest continually operating Catholic parish in the United States of America. It is listed in the National Register of Historical Places as of the year 1976. 

It's location on the Detroit river would prove to be a strategic location. Water was a major mode of travel during the 1700s. Detroit's name means "the straits" in French. Fort Pontchartrain du Détroit's location was no coincidence. The Detroit river was a major shipping ground. The idea was to control the traffic that went through the Detroit river on the way to other places.

France offered free land to people who were willing to settle at Ft. Detroit. By 1765, the population would grow to 800 people. This made Ft. Pontchartrain du Detroit the largest settlement between Montreal and New Orleans.


(Map provided by: http://www.geo.msu.edu/geogmich/french_explorers.html)

Native American peoples were living in Michigan before the French had arrived, the Fox, Ottawa, Huron, and Sauk peoples. Things were friendly between the Native Americans and the French at first. However, conflict would develop between certain Native American peoples and the French, which would lead to the Fox Wars. Later on, tensions between the British and French would lead to the French and Indian War. Fort Detroit would later be surrendered to the British in 1760. In 1796, the Jay Treaty would make Detroit a part of the USA. In 1805, a fire would destroy most of the settlement. The USA and the British would be involved in The War of 1812, and in this war, Detroit would be sought after, as the British tried to take Detroit back in the Siege of Detroit. The USA took it back. Detroit was incorporated as a city in 1815.

Augustus Woodward, Chief Justice of the Michigan Territory, would design a plan for building Detroit, designing a street layout plan similar to Pierre L'Enfant's Washington DC plan, similar to what can be found in Paris and Versailles. Some of the streets would have traffic circles and avenues expanding outward. In fact, Detroit was once called "Paris of the Midwest".

Alot of Detroit's early growth came from its location. It was a major transportation hub with its location along the Great Lakes waterway. As manufacturing, shipbuilding and shipping grew, so did Detroit's fortunes.

Detroit's geography also made it a major stop along the Underground Railroad. The city of Detroit is closer to Ottawa(Canada's national capital) than it is to the USA's capital of Washington DC. Runaway slaves seeking freedom would often pass through Detroit. Detroit is across the river from Canada. There were former slaves living in Detroit and some churches were used as places of hiding slaves. Detroit would be a sanctuary for runaway slaves en route to Canada, and a last stop before getting to freedom in Canada.

Prohibition in Detroit proved to be a matter of geography in some ways. Alcohol was still being distilled in Canada, so some people would find ways to bring it in from Canada along the Detroit river.

When you think about Detroit's history, and geography, and look beyond its reputation as the Motor City, you can find how geography shaped the city of Detroit. Historical geography, political geography, human geography. It started out as a French fort, then an American town, then a sanctuary for runaway slaves, to a major transportation hub, and a major player in the Prohibition days, and a manufacturing hub. This is a city that has underwent many changes over the past 300 years. Geography has played a major part in Detroit's growth as a city.














http://www.historytoday.com/richard-cavendish/founding-detroit
http://www.geo.msu.edu/geogmich/french_explorers.html
http://apps.detnews.com/apps/history/index.php?id=205
http://www.ste-anne.org/dempsey.html
http://apps.detnews.com/apps/history/index.php?id=181
http://www.motorcitycandleworks.com/scents/freedomtrain/
http://detroit1701.org/UndergroundRailroad.htm
http://www.hal.state.mi.us/mhc/museum/explore/museums/hismus/prehist/civilwar/undergro.html
http://apps.detnews.com/apps/history/index.php?id=181