ANGLO-SAXONS

Anglo-Saxons is a word that was given to Germanic tribes that invaded the south and east of Great
Britain in the early 5th Century. The tribes were made up of the Angles, the Saxons and the Jutes.
Both the Angles and Saxons came from Germany and the Jutes came from Denmark.
What Countries Did the Anglo Saxons Come from?
The Anglo-Saxons invaded Britain from the area of Europe that is modern England and Ireland. They
were a Germanic people who invaded the Celtic occupied British Isles. They were originally
agriculturalists who were looking for land since their land was prone to flooding.
ANGLO-SAXON MODEL
The Anglo-Saxon model or Anglo-Saxon capitalism (so called because it is practiced in English-
speaking countries such as the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, New Zealand, Australia

and Ireland) is a capitalist model that emerged in the 1970s, based on the Chicago school of
economics. However, its origins date to the 18th century in the United Kingdom under the ideas of
the classical economist Adam Smith.
Characteristics of this model include levels of regulation and taxes being low, and the public sector
provides fewer services. It can also mean strong property rights, contract enforcement, and overall
ease of doing business as well as low barriers to free trade.
Disagreements over meaning
Proponents of the term "Anglo-Saxon economy" argue that the economies of these countries
currently are so closely related in their liberalist and free market orientation that they can be regarded
as sharing a specific macroeconomic model. However, those who disagree with the use of the term
claim that the economies of the these countries differ as much from each other as they do from the
"welfare capitalist" economies of northern and continental Europe.
The Anglo-Saxon model of capitalism is usually contrasted with the Continental model of capitalism,
known as Rhine capitalism, the social market economy or the German model, and is also contrasted
with Northern-European models of capitalism found in the Nordic countries, called the Nordic model.
The major difference between these economies from Anglo-Saxon economies is the scope of
collective bargaining rights and corporatist policies.
Differences between Anglo-Saxon economies are illustrated by taxation and the welfare state. The
UK has a significantly higher level of taxation than the US. Moreover, the UK spends far more than
the US on the welfare state as a percentage of GDP and also spends more than Spain, Portugal, or
the Netherlands. This spending figure is however still considerably lower than that of France or
Germany.
Although the term refers to the macroeconomics of Anglo-Saxon countries, it isn't limited to English-
speaking countries. The economies of Spain

Greece

and some of the newer members of the EU are
regarded by some as non-English-speaking examples of "Anglo-Saxon" economies.
In northern continental Europe, most countries use mixed economy models, called "Rhine capitalism"
(a current term used especially for the macroeconomics of Germany, France, Belgium and the
Netherlands), or its close relative the "Nordic model" (which refers to the macroeconomics of
Denmark, Iceland, Norway, Sweden and Finland).
The debate amongst economists as to which economic model is better, circles around perspectives
involving poverty, job insecurity, social services, and inequality. Generally speaking, advocates of
"Anglo-Saxon capitalism" argue that more liberalised economies produce greater overall prosperity,
while defenders of continental models counter that they produce lesser inequality and lesser poverty
at the lowest margins.
What are the Anglo-Saxon countries?
Five core English-speaking countries have a common socio-political heritage: Australia, Canada, New Zealand,
the United Kingdom, and the United States. All of the above except the United Kingdom were former colonies
of the UK.
UNITED KINGDOM
The history of the formation of the United Kingdom has involved personal and political
union across Great Britain and the wider British Isles. The United Kingdom is the most recent
of a number of sovereign states that have been established in Great Britain at different
periods in history, in different combinations and under a variety of polities. Norman Davies
has counted sixteen different states over the past 2000 years.
By the start of the 16th century, the number of states in Great Britain had been reduced to
two: the Kingdom of England (which included Wales and controlled Ireland) and the Kingdom
of Scotland. The Union of Crowns in 1603, the accidental consequence of a royal marriage
one hundred years earlier, united the kingdoms in a personal union, though full political
union in the form of the Kingdom of Great Britain required a Treaty of Union in 1706 and Acts
of Union in 1707 (to ratify the Treaty). A further Act of Union in 1800 included Ireland in the
Union to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. From the late 19th century, a
growth in support for nationalist political parties, firstly in Ireland, and much later in Scotland
and Wales, resulted in independence for most of the island of Ireland in 1922 and the
establishment of devolved parliaments or assemblies for Northern Ireland, Scotland and
Wales.

The complex evolution of the states of the British Isles. Those states evolved from the conquests and
mergers of earlier states.
Common disadvantages for people from low SES backgrounds
People from low SES backgrounds may experience a range of social and economic disadvantages,
such as low-quality living environments, unemployment or underemployment of family members,
limited access to technological resources, poor health and discrimination. Students from socio-
economically disadvantaged backgrounds are often obliged to work while studying in order to survive.
Increasingly, even students from middle class backgrounds find it necessary to take on part-time or
full-time work in order to support themselves and cover university costs.
Many academics working in Australian universities belonged to the first generation in their families to
access a tertiary education. Similarly, many students in Australian universities are the first members
of their families to attend university. Students whose families lack experience of tertiary education
may not have access to the same level of family support, or the same quality of educational
resources, as other students enjoy.
It is true that people from low SES backgrounds have often lacked educational and employment
opportunities and university entry statistics continue to show that the number of students from low
SES backgrounds participating in higher education is low in comparison to students from other SES
backgrounds. However, there is no doubt that given educational and employment opportunities,
people from low SES backgrounds can achieve academic and professional success that is equal to
that of their higher SES peers.
Sectors
Agriculture
Agriculture in the UK is intensive, highly mechanised, and efficient by European
standards, producing about 60% of food needs, with less than 1.6% of the
labour force (535,000 workers). It contributes around 0.6% of British national
value added . Around two-thirds of the production is devoted to livestock, one-
third to arable crops. Agriculture is subsidised by the European Union's
Common Agricultural Policy.
The UK retains a significant, though reduced, fishing industry. Its fleets, based in towns such as
Kingston upon Hull, Grimsby, Fleetwood, Newlyn, Great Yarmouth, Peterhead, Fraserburgh, and
Lowestoft, bring home fish ranging from sole to herring.
The Blue Book 2013 reports that "Agriculture" added gross value of 9,438 million to the UK
economy in 2011.
The UK is also rich in a number of natural resources including coal, petroleum, natural gas, tin,
limestone, iron ore, salt, clay, chalk, gypsum, lead, silica and an abundance of arable land.
Construction
The construction industry of the United Kingdom contributed gross value of 86,789 million to the UK
economy in 2011. The industry employed around 2.2 million people in the fourth quarter of 2009.
There were around 194,000 construction firms in Great Britain in 2009, of which around 75,400
employed just one person and 62 employed over 1,200 people. In 2009 the construction industry in
Great Britain received total orders of around 18.7 billion from the private sector and 15.1 billion
from the public sector.
The largest construction project in the U.K. is Crossrail. Due to open in 2018, it will be a new railway
line running east to west through London and into the surrounding countryside with a branch to
Heathrow Airport. The main feature of the project is construction of 42 km (26 mi) of new tunnels
connecting stations in central London. It is also Europe's biggest construction project with a 15
billion projected cost.
Prospective construction projects include the High Speed line between London and the West
Midlands and Crossrail.
Production industries
Electricity, gas and water supply
The Blue Book 2013 reports that this sector added gross value of 33,289 million to the UK economy
in 2011.The United Kingdom is expected to launch the building of new nuclear reactors to replace
existing generators and to boost UK's energy reserves.
Financial and business services
The UK financial services industry added gross value of 116,363 million to the UK economy in
2011.The UK's exports of financial and business services make a significant positive contribution
towards the country's balance of payments.
London is a major centre for international business and commerce and is one of the three "command
centres" of the global economy (alongside New York City and Tokyo). There are over 500 banks with
offices in London, and it is the leading international centre for banking, insurance, Eurobonds, foreign
exchange trading and energy futures. London's financial services industry is primarily based in the
City of London and Canary Wharf. The City houses the London Stock Exchange, the London
International Financial Futures and Options Exchange, the London Metal Exchange, Lloyds of
London, and the Bank of England. Canary Wharf began development in the 1980s and is now home
to major financial institutions such as Barclays Bank, Citigroup and HSBC, as well as the UK
Financial Services Authority.) London is also a major centre for other business and professional
services, and four of the six largest law firms in the world are headquartered there.
Several other major UK cities have large financial sectors and related services. Edinburgh has one of
the largest financial centres in Europe and is home to the headquarters of the Royal Bank of Scotland
Group and Standard Life. Leeds is now the UK's largest centre for business and financial services
outside London, and the largest centre for legal services in the UK after London.
Hotels and restaurants
The Blue Book 2013 reports that this industry added gross value of 36,554 million to the UK
economy in 2011.
Public administration and defence
The Blue Book 2013 reports that this sector added gross value of 70,400 million to the UK economy
in 2011.
CANADA
The history of Canada covers the period from the arrival of Paleo-Indians thousands of years ago to
the present day. Canada has been inhabited for millennia by distinctive groups of Aboriginal peoples,
with distinct trade networks, spiritual beliefs, and social hierarchies. Some of these civilizations had
long faded by the time of the first European arrivals and have been discovered through
archaeological investigations. Various treaties and laws have been enacted between European
settlers and the Aboriginal populations.
Beginning in the late 15th century French and British expeditions explored, and later settled, along
the Atlantic coast. France ceded nearly all of its colonies in North America to Britain in 1763 after the
Seven Years' War. In 1867, with the union of three British North American colonies through
Confederation, Canada was formed as a federal dominion of four provinces. This began an accretion
of provinces and territories and a process of increasing autonomy from the British Empire, which
became official with the Statute of Westminster of 1931 and completed in the Canada Act of 1982,
which severed the vestiges of legal dependence on the British parliament.
Over centuries, elements of Aboriginal, French, British and more recent immigrant customs have
combined to form a Canadian culture. Canadian culture has also been strongly influenced by that of
its linguistic, geographic and economic neighbour, the United States. Since the conclusion of the
Second World War, Canadians have supported multilateralism abroad and socioeconomic
development domestically. Canada currently consists of ten provinces and three territories and is
governed as a parliamentary democracy and a constitutional monarchy with Queen Elizabeth II as its
head of state.
Canada under British rule (17631867)

Map showing British territorial gains following the "Seven Years' War". Treaty of Paris gains in pink,
and Spanish territorial gains after the Treaty of Fontainebleau in yellow.
With the end of the Seven Years' War and the signing of the Treaty of Paris (1763), France ceded
almost all of its territory in mainland North America, except for fishing rights off Newfoundland and
two small islands where it could dry that fish. In turn France received the return of its sugar colony,
Guadeloupe, which it considered more valuable than Canada.
The new British rulers retained and protected most of the property, religious, political, and social
culture of the French-speaking habitants, guaranteeing the right of the Canadiens to practice the
Catholic faith and to the use of French civil law (now Quebec law) through the Quebec Act of
1774.The Royal Proclamation of 1763 had been issued in October, by King George III following Great
Britain's acquisition of French territory.The proclamation organized Great Britain's new North
American empire and stabilized relations between the British Crown and Aboriginal peoples through
regulation of trade, settlement, and land purchases on the western frontier.
Rebellions and the Durham Report
The rebellions of 1837 against the British colonial government took place in both Upper and Lower
Canada. In Upper Canada, a band of Reformers under the leadership of William Lyon Mackenzie
took up arms in a disorganized and ultimately unsuccessful series of small-scale skirmishes around
Toronto, London, and Hamilton.

The Burning of the Parliament Buildings in Montreal 1849, Joseph Lgar, c.1849
In Lower Canada, a more substantial rebellion occurred against British rule. Both English- and
French-Canadian rebels, sometimes using bases in the neutral United States, fought several
skirmishes against the authorities. The towns of Chambly and Sorel were taken by the rebels, and
Quebec City was isolated from the rest of the colony. Montreal rebel leader Robert Nelson read the
"Declaration of Independence of Lower Canada" to a crowd assembled at the town of Napierville in
1838.The rebellion of the Patriote movement was defeated after battles across Quebec. Hundreds
were arrested, and several villages were burnt in reprisal.
British Government then sent Lord Durham to examine the situation; he stayed in Canada only five
months before returning to Britain and brought with him his Durham Report, which strongly
recommended responsible government. A less well-received recommendation was the amalgamation
of Upper and Lower Canada for the deliberate assimilation of the French-speaking population. The
Canadas were merged into a single colony, the United Province of Canada, by the 1840 Act of Union,
and responsible government was achieved in 1848, a few months after it was accomplished in Nova
Scotia. The parliament of United Canada in Montreal was set on fire by a mob of Tories in 1849 after
the passing of an indemnity bill for the people who suffered losses during the rebellion in Lower
Canada.
Between the Napoleonic Wars and 1850, some 800,000 immigrants came to the colonies of British
North America, mainly from the British Isles, as part of the great migration of Canada. These included
Gaelic-speaking Highland Scots displaced by the Highland Clearances to Nova Scotia and Scottish
and English settlers to the Canadas, particularly Upper Canada. The Irish Famine of the 1840s
significantly increased the pace of Irish Catholic immigration to British North America, with over
35,000 distressed Irish landing in Toronto alone in 1847 and 1848.
First World War
The Canadian Forces and civilian participation in the First World War helped to foster a sense of
British-Canadian nationhood. The highpoints of Canadian military achievement during the First World
War came during the Somme, Vimy, Passchendaele battles and what later became known as
"Canada's Hundred Days".The reputation Canadian troops earned, along with the success of
Canadian flying aces including William George Barker and Billy Bishop, helped to give the nation a
new sense of identity. The War Office in 1922 reported approximately 67,000 killed and 173,000
wounded during the war. This excludes civilian deaths in war-time incidents like the Halifax
Explosion.
Support for Great Britain during the First World War caused a major political crisis over conscription,
with Francophones, mainly from Quebec, rejecting national policies. During the crisis, large numbers
of enemy aliens (especially Ukrainians and Germans) were put under government controls.[139] The
Liberal party was deeply split, with most of its Anglophone leaders joining the unionist government
headed by Prime Minister Robert Borden, the leader of the Conservative party. The Liberals regained
their influence after the war under the leadership of William Lyon Mackenzie King, who served as
prime minister with three separate terms between 1921 and 1949.
Recent history
Canada became the fourth country in the world and the first country in the Americas to legalize same-
sex marriage nationwide with the enactment of the Civil Marriage Act. Court decisions, starting in
2003, had already legalized same-sex marriage in eight out of ten provinces and one of three
territories. Before the passage of the Act, more than 3,000 same-sex couples had married in these
areas.
Under Harper, Canada and the United States continue to integrate state and provincial agencies to
strengthen security along the Canada-United States border through the Western Hemisphere Travel
Initiative. From 2002 to 2011, Canada was involved in the Afghanistan War as part of the U.S.
stabilization force and the NATO-commanded International Security Assistance Force. In July 2010,
the largest purchase in Canadian military history, totalling C$9 billion for the acquisition of 65 F-35
fighters, was announced by the federal government. Canada is one of several nations that assisted in
the development of the F-35 and has invested over C$168 million in the program.
Economy of Canada
Canada has the eleventh or 14th-largest economy in the world (measured in US dollars at market
exchange rates), is one of the world's wealthiest nations, and is a member of the Organization for
Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and Group of Seven (G7). As with other
developed nations, the Canadian economy is dominated by the service industry, which employs
about three quarters of Canadians.[15] Canada is unusual among developed countries in the
importance of the primary sector, with the logging and oil industries being two of Canada's most
important. Canada also has a sizable manufacturing sector, centred in Central Canada, with the
automobile industry and aircraft industry especially important. With a long coastal line, Canada has
the 8th largest commercial fishing and seafood industry in the world. Canada is one of the global
leaders of the entertainment software industry.
External
Exports $462.528 billion (2012)
Export
goods
motor vehicles and parts, industrial machinery, aircraft, telecommunications
equipment; chemicals, plastics, fertilizers; wood pulp, timber, crude petroleum, natural
gas, electricity, aluminum
Main export
partners
United States 73.2%
EU 4.6%
UK 4.3%
China 4.3%
Germany 3.4%
Israel 3.1%
Imports $474.544 billion (2012)
Import goods
machinery and equipment, motor vehicles and parts, crude oil, chemicals, electricity,
durable consumer goods
Main import
United States 50.6%
China 11.0%
partners UK 6.2%
Japan 6.2%
Mexico 5.5%
South Korea 4.5% (2012 est.)[9]
FDI stock $528.7 billion (31 December 2010 est.)
Gross
external debt
$1.326 trillion (31 December 2012)

NEW ZEALAND
The history of New Zealand dates back at least 700 years to when it was discovered and settled by
Polynesians, who developed a distinct Mori culture centred on kinship links and land. The first
European explorer to sight New Zealand was Abel Janszoon Tasman on 13 December 1642. Captain
James Cook, who reached New Zealand in October 1769 on the first of his three voyages, was the
first European explorer to circumnavigate and map New Zealand.
From the late 18th century, the country was regularly visited by explorers and other sailors,
missionaries, traders and adventurers. In 1840 the Treaty of Waitangi was signed between the British
Crown and various Mori chiefs, bringing New Zealand into the British Empire and giving Mori equal
rights with British citizens. There was extensive British settlement throughout the rest of the century.
War and the imposition of a European economic and legal system led to most of New Zealand's land
passing from Mori to Pkeh (European) ownership, and most Mori subsequently became
impoverished.
From the 1890s the New Zealand parliament enacted a number of progressive initiatives, including
women's suffrage and old age pensions. From the 1930s the economy was highly regulated and an
extensive welfare state was developed. Meanwhile, Mori culture underwent a renaissance, and from
the 1950s Mori began moving to the cities in large numbers. This led to the development of a Mori
protest movement which in turn led to greater recognition of the Treaty of Waitangi in the late 20th
century. In the 1980s the economy was largely deregulated and a number of socially liberal policies,
such as decriminalisation of homosexuality, were put in place. Foreign policy involved support for
Britain in the world wars, and close relations after 1940 with the United States and Australia. Foreign
policy after 1980 became more independent especially in pushing for a nuclear-free region.
Subsequent governments have generally maintained these policies, although tempering the free
market ethos somewhat.
Explorers and other visitors
The first Europeans known to reach New Zealand were the crew of Dutch
explorer Abel Tasman who arrived in his ships Heemskerck and Zeehaen.
Tasman anchored at the northern end of the South Island in Golden Bay (he
named it Murderers' Bay) in December 1642 and sailed northward to Tonga
following a clash with local Mori. Tasman sketched sections of the two main
islands' west coasts. Tasman called them Staten Landt, after the States General
of the Netherlands, and that name appeared on his first maps of the country. In
1645 Dutch cartographers changed the name to Nova Zeelandia in Latin, from
Nieuw Zeeland, after the Dutch province of Zeeland. It was subsequently Anglicised as New Zealand
by British naval captain James Cook of HM Bark Endeavour who visited the islands more than 100
years after Tasman during 17691770. Cook returned to New Zealand on both of his subsequent
voyages.
Various claims have been made that New Zealand was reached by other non-Polynesian voyagers
before Tasman, but these are not widely accepted. Peter Trickett, for example, argues in Beyond
Capricorn that the Portuguese explorer Cristvo de Mendona reached New Zealand in the 1520s,
and the Tamil bell discovered by missionary William Colenso has given rise to a number of theories,
but historians generally believe the bell 'is not in itself proof of early Tamil contact with New Zealand'.
From the 1790s, the waters around New Zealand were visited by British, French and American
whaling, sealing and trading ships. Their crews traded European goods, including guns and metal
tools, for Mori food, water, wood, flax and sex. Mori were reputed to be enthusiastic and canny
traders. Although there were some conflicts, such as the killing of French explorer Marc-Joseph
Marion du Fresne in 1792 and the destruction of the Boyd in 1809, most contact between Mori and
European was peaceful. From the early 19th century missionaries began settling in New Zealand and
attempting to convert Mori to Christianity and control the considerably lawless European visitors.
European settlement
European settlement increased through the early decades of the 19th century, with numerous trading
stations established, especially in the North. The first full-blooded European infant in the territory,
Thomas King, was born in 1815 in the Bay of Islands. Kerikeri, founded in 1822, and Bluff founded in
1823, both claim to be the oldest European settlements in New Zealand.
Many Europeans bought land from Mori, but misunderstanding and different concepts of land
ownership led to conflict and bitterness. In 1839, the New Zealand Company announced plans to buy
large tracts of land and establish colonies in New Zealand. This alarmed the missionaries, who called
for British control of European settlers in New Zealand.
Economy
Major changes occurred during this decade. The economy grew from one based on wool and local
trade to the export of wool, cheese, butter and frozen beef and mutton to Britain, a change enabled
by the invention of refrigerated steamships in 1882. Refrigerated shipping remained the basis of New
Zealands economy until the 1970s. New Zealand's highly productive agriculture gave it probably the
world's highest standard of living, with fewer at the rich and poor ends of the scale.
In the 18801914 era the banking system was weak and there was little foreign investment, so
businessmen had to build up their own capital. Historians have debated whether the "long
depression" of the late 19th century stifled investment, but the New Zealanders found a way around
adverse conditions. Hunter has studied the experiences of 133 entrepreneurs who started
commercial enterprises between 1880 and 1910. The successful strategy was to deploy capital
economizing techniques, and reinvesting profits rather than borrowing. The result was slow but stable
growth that avoided bubbles and led to long-lived family owned firms.
Actually Tourism and agriculture are now the major industries that contribute to New Zealand's
economy. The traditional agricultural products of meat, dairy and wool has been supplemented by
other products such as fruit, wine and timber.
Dominion and Realm
New Zealand initially expressed interest in joining the proposed Federation of the Australian colonies,
attending the 1891 National Australia Convention in Sydney. Interest in the proposed Australian
Federation faded and New Zealand decided against joining the Commonwealth of Australia in 1901,
and instead changed from being a colony to a separate "dominion" in 1907, equal in status to
Australia and Canada.
External
Exports $37.73 billion (2012 est.)
Export goods Dairy products, meat, wool and wood products, fish, machinery
Main export
partners
Australia 21.0%
China 15.0%
United States 9.2%
Japan 7.0% (2012 est.)[7]
Imports $35.65 billion (2012 est.)
Import goods
Machinery and equipment, vehicles and aircraft, petroleum, electronics, textiles,
plastics
Main import
partners
China 16.4%
Australia 15.2%
United States 9.3%
Japan 6.5%
Singapore 4.8%
Germany 4.4% (2012 est.)[8]
Gross external
debt
$256.4 billion (125.3% of GDP) (2012 est.)
Industrial production growth rate: 5.9% (2004) / 1.5% (2007)
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
Lowest 10%: 0.3% (1991)
Highest 10%: 29.8% (1991)
Agriculture products: wheat, barley, potatoes, pulses, fruits, vegetables; wool, beef, dairy products;
fish
Exports commodities: dairy products, meat, wood and wood products, fish, machinery
Imports commodities: machinery and equipment, vehicles and aircraft, petroleum, electronics,
textiles, plastics
Electricity:
Electricity consumption: 34.88 TWh (2001) / 37.39 TWh (2006)
Electricity production: 38.39 TWh (2004) / 42.06 TWh (2006)
Electricity exports: 0 kWh (2006)
Electricity imports: 0 kWh (2006)
Electricity production by source:[49]
Hydro: 55.6% (2010)
Geothermal: 9.9% (2010)
Wind: 2.9% (2010)
Fossil Fuel: 28.2% (2010)
Nuclear: 0% (2010)
Other: 3.4% (2010)
Oil:
Oil production: 42,160-barrel (6,703 m3) 2001 / 25,880-barrel (4,115 m3) 2006
Oil consumption: 132,700-barrel (21,100 m3) 2001 / 156,000-barrel (24,800 m3) 2006
Oil exports: 30,220-barrel (4,805 m3) 2001 / 15,720-barrel (2,499 m3) 2004
Oil imports: 119,700-barrel (19,030 m3) 2001 / 140,900-barrel (22,400 m3) 2004
Oil proven reserves: 89.62-million-barrels (14,248,000 m3) January 2002
AUSTRALIA
The continent of Australia, with the island state of Tasmania, is approximately equal in area to the
United States (excluding Alaska and Hawaii). Mountain ranges run from north to south along the east
coast, reaching their highest point in Mount Kosciusko (7,308 ft; 2,228 m). The western half of the
continent is occupied by a desert plateau that rises into barren, rolling hills near the west coast. The
Great Barrier Reef, extending about 1,245 mi (2,000 km), lies along the northeast coast. The island of
Tasmania (26,178 sq mi; 67,800 sq km) is off the southeast coast.
History
The first inhabitants of Australia were the Aborigines, who migrated there at least 40,000 years ago
from Southeast Asia. There may have been between a half million to a full million Aborigines at the
time of European settlement; today about 350,000 live in Australia.
Dutch, Portuguese, and Spanish ships sighted Australia in the 17th century; the Dutch landed at the
Gulf of Carpentaria in 1606. In 1616 the territory became known as New Holland. The British arrived
in 1688, but it was not until Captain James Cook's voyage in 1770 that Great Britain claimed
possession of the vast island, calling it New South Wales. A British penal colony was set up at Port
Jackson (what is now Sydney) in 1788, and about 161,000 transported English convicts were settled
there until the system was suspended in 1839.
Free settlers and former prisoners established six colonies: New South Wales (1786), Tasmania
(then Van Diemen's Land) (1825), Western Australia (1829), South Australia (1834), Victoria (1851),
and Queensland (1859). Various gold rushes attracted settlers, as did the mining of other minerals.
Sheep farming and grain soon grew into important economic enterprises. The six colonies became
states and in 1901 federated into the Commonwealth of Australia with a constitution that incorporated
British parliamentary and U.S. federal traditions. Australia became known for its liberal legislation:
free compulsory education, protected trade unionism with industrial conciliation and arbitration, the
secret ballot, women's suffrage, maternity allowances, and sickness and old-age pensions.
Economic liberalisation
From the early 1980s onwards, the Australian economy has undergone a continuing economic
liberalisation. In 1983, under Prime Minister Bob Hawke, but mainly driven by Treasurer Paul
Keating, the Australian dollar was floated and financial deregulation was undertaken.
Sectors
Resources

Coal is mined primarily in Queensland, New South
Wales and Victoria. 54% of the coal mined in
Australia is exported, mostly to East Asia. In
2000/01, 258.5 million tonnes of coal was mined, and
193.6 million tonnes exported. Coal provides about
85% of Australia's electricity production. In fiscal year
2008/09, 487 million tonnes of coal was mined, and
261 million tonnes exported. Australia is the world's
leading coal exporter.
Australia's Argyle mine is the second largest diamond mine in the world estimated to produce 12.6
million carats in 2014, worth over $500 million. Argyle is known for producing some of the worlds
most valuable fancy pink and red diamonds.
Tourism
Monthly short-term arrivals in Australia since 1991
In the financial year 201011, the tourism industry
represented 2.5% of Australia's GDP, at a value of
about $35 billion to the national economy
equivalent to $94.8 million a day to the Australian
economy.Domestic tourism is a significant part of the
tourism industry, and was responsible for 73% of the
total direct tourism GDP The 201011 financial year
saw a record number of overseas arrivals in the
financial year, with 5.9 million short-term visitor
arrivals to Australia (588 extra visitors a day). Tourism employed 513,700 people in Australia in
201011, of which 43.7% were part-time. Tourism also contributed 8.0% of Australia's total export
earnings in 201011.
Agriculture
Agriculture contributes 3% of Australia's GDP at the farm gate and when value-added processing
beyond the farm is included this figure rises to 12%. 60% of farm products are exported. Irrigation is
an important and widespread practice for a country where many parts receive low rainfall
Finance
Australia's four 'Big Banks' are among the 'World's 50 Safest Banks' as of April 2012.The four largest
banks in Australia are also known as the "Big Four".
Between 1991 and 2013, 36,720 mergers and acquisitions with a total known value of US$2,040
billion with the involvement of Australian firms have been announced. In the year 2013, 1,515
transactions valued at US$78 billion had been announced which was a decrease in terms of numbers
(-18%) and value (-11%) compared to 2012. The largest takeover or merger transaction involving
Australian companies was the 2007 takeover of the Coles Group by Wesfarmers, totalling A$22
billion
UNITED STATE
Pre-Columbian era
It is not definitively known how or when the Native Americans first settled the Americas and the
present-day United States. The prevailing theory proposes that people migrated from Eurasia across
Beringia, a land bridge that connected Siberia to present-day Alaska during the Ice Age, and then
spread southward throughout the Americas and possibly going as far south as the Antarctic
peninsula. This migration may have begun as early as 30,000 years ago and continued through to
about 10,000+ years ago, when the land bridge became submerged by the rising sea level caused by
the ending of the last glacial period These early inhabitants, called Paleoamericans, soon diversified
into many hundreds of culturally distinct nations and tribes.
The pre-Columbian era incorporates all period subdivisions in the history and prehistory of the
Americas before the appearance of significant European influences on the American continents,
spanning the time of the original settlement in the Upper Paleolithic period to European colonization
during the Early Modern period. While technically referring to the era before Christopher Columbus'
voyages of 1492 to 1504, in practice the term usually includes the history of American indigenous
cultures until they were conquered or significantly influenced by Europeans, even if this happened
decades or even centuries after Columbus' initial landing.
Colonial period
The colonization of America started when it was discovered by
Christopher Columbus in 1492, by accident, while searching for a
sea route to India. After a period of exploration sponsored by
major European nations, the first successful English settlement
was established in 1607. Europeans brought horses, cattle, and
hogs to the Americas and, in turn, took back to Europe maize,
turkeys, potatoes, tobacco, beans, and squash. Many explorers
and early settlers died after being exposed to new diseases in the
Americas. The effects of new Eurasian diseases carried by the colonists, especially smallpox and
measles, were much worse for the Native Americans, as they had no immunity to them. They
suffered epidemics and died in very large numbers, usually before large-scale European settlement
began. Their societies were disrupted and hollowed out by the scale of deaths.
Spanish, Dutch, and French colonization
Spanish explorers were the first Europeans with the arrival of Christopher Columbus in 1492, which
happened by accident, while trying to discover a sea route to India. Christopher Columbus' second
expedition reached Puerto Rico on November 19, 1493; others reached Florida in 1513. Spanish
expeditions quickly reached the Appalachian Mountains, the Mississippi River, the Grand Canyon
and the Great Plains. In 1540, Hernando de Soto undertook an extensive exploration of Southeast.
That same year, Francisco Vsquez de Coronado explored from Arizona to central Kansas. Small
Spanish settlements eventually grew to become important cities,
such as San Antonio, Texas, Albuquerque, New Mexico, Tucson,
Arizona, Los Angeles, California, and San Francisco, California.
European territorial claims in North America, c. 1750
France
Great Britain
Spain
New Netherland was a 17th-century Dutch colony centered on
present-day New York City and the Hudson River Valley; the
Dutch traded furs with the Native Americans to the north. The
colony served as a barrier to expansion from New England. Despite being Calvinists and building the
Reformed Church in America, the Dutch were tolerant of other religions and cultures. The colony,
which was taken over by Britain in 1664, left left an enduring legacy on American cultural and political
life; this includes secular broadmindedness and mercantile pragmatism in the city as well as rural
traditionalism in the countryside (typified by the story of Rip Van Winkle). Notable Americans of Dutch
descent include Martin Van Buren, Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Eleanor Roosevelt
and the Frelinghuysens
New France was the area colonized by France from 1534 to 1763. There were few permanent
settlers outside Quebec and Acadia, but the French had far-reaching trading relationships with Native
Americans throughout the Great Lakes and Midwest. French villages along the Mississippi and Illinois
rivers were based in farming communities that served as a granary for Gulf Coast settlements. The
French established plantations in Louisiana along with settling New Orleans, Mobile and Biloxi.
The Wabanaki Confederacy were military allies of New France through the four French and Indian
Wars while the British colonies were allied with the Iroquois Confederacy. During the French and
Indian Warthe North American theater of the Seven Years' WarNew England fought successfully
against French Acadia. The British removed Acadians from Acadia (Nova Scotia) and replaced them
with New England Planters.[13] Eventually, some Acadians resettled in Louisiana, where they
developed a distinctive rural Cajun culture that still exists. They became American citizens in 1803
with the Louisiana Purchase. Other French villages along the Mississippi and Illinois rivers were
absorbed when the Americans started arriving after 1770, or settlers moved west to escape them.
French influence and language in New Orleans, Louisiana and the Gulf Coast was more enduring;
New Orleans was notable for its large population of free people of color before the Civil War.
British colonization
The strip of land along the eastern seacoast was settled primarily
by English colonists in the 17th century along with much smaller
numbers of Dutch and Swedes. Colonial America was defined by
a severe labor shortage that employed forms of unfree labor such
as slavery and indentured servitude and by a British policy of
benign neglect (salutary neglect). Over half of all European
immigrants to Colonial America arrived as indentured servants. Salutary neglect permitted the
development of an American spirit distinct from that of its European founders.
The first successful English colony, Jamestown, was established in 1607 on the James River in
Virginia. Jamestown languished for decades until a new wave of settlers arrived in the late 17th
century and established commercial agriculture based on tobacco. Between the late 1610s and the
Revolution, the British shipped an estimated 50,000 convicts to their American colonies. A severe
instance of conflict was the 1622 Powhatan uprising in Virginia in which Native Americans killed
hundreds of English settlers. The largest conflicts between Native Americans and English settlers in
the 17th century were King Philip's War in New England and the Yamasee War in South Carolina.
New England was initially settled primarily by Puritans. The Pilgrims established a settlement in 1620
at Plymouth Colony, which was followed by the established the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1630.
The Middle Colonies, consisting of the present-day states of New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania,
and Delaware, were characterized by a large degree of diversity. The first attempted English
settlement south of Virginia was the Province of Carolina, with Georgia Colonythe last of the
Thirteen Coloniesestablished in 1733.
The colonies were characterized by religious diversity, with many Congregationalists in New England,
German and Dutch Reformed in the Middle Colonies, Catholics in Maryland, and Scots-Irish
Presbyterians on the frontier. Sephardic Jews were among early settlers in cities of New England and
the South. Many immigrants arrived as religious refugees: French Huguenots settled in New York,
Virginia and the Carolinas. Many royal officials and merchants were Anglicans.
Religiosity expanded greatly after the First Great Awakening, a religious revival in the 1740s led by
preachers such as Jonathan Edwards and George Whitefield. American Evangelicals affected by the
Awakening added a new emphasis on divine outpourings of the Holy Spirit and conversions that
implanted within new believers an intense love for God. Revivals encapsulated those hallmarks and
carried the newly created evangelicalism into the early republic, setting the stage for the Second
Great Awakening beginning in the late 1790s. In the early stages, evangelicals in the South such as
Methodists and Baptists preached for religious freedom and abolition of slavery; they converted many
slaves and recognized some as preachers.
Each of the 13 American colonies had a slightly different governmental structure. Typically a colony
was ruled by a governor appointed from London who controlled the executive administration and
relied upon a locally elected legislature to vote taxes and make laws. By the 18th century, the
American colonies were growing very rapidly as a result of low death rates along with ample supplies
of land and food. The colonies were richer than most parts of Britain, and attracted a steady flow of
immigrants, especially teenagers who arrived as indentured servants. The tobacco and rice
plantations imported African slaves for labor from the British colonies in the West Indies, and by the
1770s African slaves comprised a fifth of the American population. The question of independence
from Britain did not arise as long as the colonies needed British military support against the French
and Spanish powers; those threats were gone by 1765. London regarded the American colonies as
existing for the benefit of the mother country. This policy is known as mercantilism.
Financial position
The overall financial position of the United
States as of 2009 includes $50.7 trillion of
debt owed by US households, businesses,
and governments, representing more than
3.5 times the annual gross domestic product
of the United States. As of the first quarter of
2010, domestic financial assets totaled
$131 trillion and domestic financial liabilities
$106 trillion. Tangible assets in 2008 (such
as real estate and equipment) for selected
sectors totaled an additional $56.3 trillion.
Since 2010, the U.S. Treasury has been obtaining negative real interest rates on government debt.
Such low rates, outpaced by the inflation rate, occur when the market believes that there are no
alternatives with sufficiently low risk, or when popular institutional investments such as insurance
companies, pensions, or bond, money market, and balanced mutual funds are required or choose to
invest sufficiently large sums in Treasury securities to hedge against risk. Lawrence Summers,
Matthew Yglesias and other economists state that at such low rates, government debt borrowing
saves taxpayer money, and improves creditworthiness.
In the late 1940s through the early 1970s, the US and UK both reduced their debt burden by about
30% to 40% of GDP per decade by taking advantage of negative real interest rates, but there is no
guarantee that government debt rates will continue to stay so low. In January, 2012, the U.S.
Treasury Borrowing Advisory Committee of the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association
unanimously recommended that government debt be allowed to auction even lower, at negative
absolute interest rates.
Now that the connection between public and private debt is better-known, U.S. combined debts are
worrisome
Composition of economic sectors
The United States is the world's 2nd largest manufacturer, with a 2013 industrial output of
US$2.43 trillion. Its manufacturing output is greater than of Germany, France, India, and Brazil
combined. Main industries include petroleum, steel, automobiles, construction machinery, aerospace,
agricultural machinery, telecommunications, chemicals, electronics, food processing, consumer
goods, lumber, and mining.
The US leads the world in airplane manufacturing, which represents a large portion of US industrial
output. American companies such as Boeing, Cessna), Lockheed Martin, and General Dynamics
produce a vast majority of the world's civilian and military aircraft in factories stretching across the
United States.
The manufacturing sector of the U.S. economy has experienced substantial job losses over the past
several years. In January 2004, the number of such jobs stood at 14.3 million, down by 3.0 million
jobs, or 17.5 percent, since July 2000 and about 5.2 million since the historical peak in 1979.
Employment in manufacturing was its lowest since July 1950. The number of steel workers fell from
500,000 in 1980 to 224,000 in 2000.
The U.S. produces approximately 18% of the world's manufacturing output, a number that has
declined as other nations developed competitive manufacturing industries.The job loss during this
continual volume growth is the result of multiple factors including increased productivity, trade, and
secular economic trends. In addition, growth in telecommunications, pharmaceuticals, aircraft, heavy
machinery and other industries along with declines in low end, low skill industries such as clothing,
toys, and other simple manufacturing have resulted in U.S. jobs being more highly skilled and better
paying. There has been much debate within the United States on whether the decline in
manufacturing jobs are related to American unions, lower foreign wages, or both.
Although agriculture comprises less than two percent of the economy, the United States is a net
exporter of food. With vast tracts of temperate arable land, technologically advanced agribusiness,
and agricultural subsidies, the United States controls almost half of world grain exports Products
include wheat, corn, other grains, fruits, vegetables, cotton; beef, pork, poultry, dairy products; forest
products; fish.

BIBLIOGRAFIA

http://www.infoplease.com/country/australia.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anglo-Saxon_model
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Canada
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_Canada
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_New_Zealand
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_New_Zealand
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_the_United_Kingdom#Sectors
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_Australia
http://www.un.org/en/aboutun/history/1941-1950.shtml
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_the_United_States