A possible model for the formation of the volcanic Samoa

A possible model for the formation of the volcanic Samoa island chain is explained by the Samoa hotspot situated at the east end of the Samoa Islands. In theory, the Samoa hotspot is a result of the Pacific Tectonic Plate moving over a 'fixed' deep and narrow mantle plume spewing up through the Earth's crust. Lenovo ThinkPad T510-4339 laptop keyboard The Samoa islands generally lie in a straight line, east to west, in the same direction the Plate is moving. In the classic hotspot model, primarily based on studies of the Hawaii hotspot, the volcanic islands and seamounts further away from the Samoa hotspot should be progressively older. However, Savai'i, HP Pavilion dv6-2130ca laptop keyboard the most western of the Samoa island chain, and Ta'u Island, the most eastern of the Samoa islands, both erupted in the last century, data which is an enigma for scientists.[13] Another discrepancy in the data from the Samoa islands is that subaerial rock samples from Savai'i, the most western of the islands, Packard Bell Easynote TK85 laptop keyboard were too young by several million years to fit the classic hotspot model of age progression in an island chain, raising arguments among scientists that the Samoa islands does not have a plume origin. The nearness of the island chain to theTonga Trench at the south became a possible explanation for these discrepancies as well as the possibility that the islands were formed by magma seeping through cracks in stressed fracture zones. DELL Inspiron 1750 Laptop Keyboard However, in 2005, an international team gathered further submarine samples from the deep flanks and rifts of Savai'i. Tests on these later samples showed much older ages, about five million years old, that fit the hotspot model.[14] HP Pavilion DV6z artist edition 2 Laptop Keyboard he 2009 Samoa earthquake caused a tsunami that killed more than 170 people in the Samoa Islands and Tonga. The earthquake was an 8.1 Mw submarine earthquake that took place in the region at 06:48:11 local time on September 29, HP G42-364LA Laptop Keyboard 2009 (17:48:11 UTC, September 29), followed by smaller aftershocks.[15] It was the largest earthquake of 2009. The quake occurred on the outer rise of the Kermadec-Tonga Subduction Zone. This is part of the Pacific Ring of Fire, where tectonic plates in the Earth'slithosphere meet and earthquakes and volcanic activity are common.  DELL Vostro PP37L Laptop Keyboard The Cook Islands ( i/ˈkʊk ˈaɪləndz/; Cook Islands Māori: Kūki 'Āirani[3]) is a parliamentary democracy in the South Pacific Ocean in free association with New Zealand. It comprises 15 small islands whose total land area is 240 square kilometres (92.7 sq mi). The Cook Islands' Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), however, covers 1,800,000 square kilometres (690,000 sq mi) of ocean.[4] SONY VAIO VGN-C2S Series Laptop Keyboard The Cook Islands' defence and foreign affairs are the responsibility of New Zealand, in consultation with the Cook Islands. In recent times, the Cook Islands have adopted an increasingly independent foreign policy. Although Cook Islanders are citizens of New Zealand, they have the status of Cook Islands nationals, HP pavilion DV7-1000 Laptop Keyboard which is not given to other New Zealand citizens. The Cook Islands' main population centres are on the island of Rarotonga (14,153 in 2006), where there is an international airport. There is a much larger population of Cook Islanders in New Zealand, particularly theNorth Island. In the 2006 census, 58,008 self-identified as being of ethnic Cook Islands Māori descent.[5] HP G42-364LA Laptop Keyboard With about 100,000 visitors travelling to the islands in the 2010–11 financial year,[6] tourism is the country's main industry, and the leading element of the economy, far ahead of offshore banking, pearls, and marine and fruit exports.  TOSHIBA 9J.N7482.901 Laptop Keyboard The Cook Islands were first settled in the 6th century CE by Polynesian people who migrated from nearby Tahiti, to the southeast.[8] Spanish ships visited the islands in the 16th century; the first written record of contact with the islands came with the sighting of Pukapuka by Spanish sailor Álvaro de Mendaña de Neira in 1595 who called it San Bernardo(Saint Bernard). TOSHIBA Satellite U305-S2804 Laptop Keyboard Pedro Fernandes de Queirós, a Portuguese captain working for the Spanish crown, made the first recorded European landing in the islands when he set foot on Rakahanga in 1606, calling it Gente Hermosa (Beautiful People). [9] HP 597635-001 Laptop Keyboard British navigator Captain James Cook arrived in 1773 and 1777[10] and named the islands the Hervey Islands; the name "Cook Islands", in honour of Cook, appeared on a Russian naval chart published in the 1820s.[11] Compaq Presario CQ57 Series Laptop Keyboard In 1813 John Williams, a missionary on the Endeavour (not the same ship as Cook's), made the first recorded sighting of Rarotonga.[12][dubious – discuss] The first recorded landing on Rarotonga by Europeans was in 1814 by the Cumberland; trouble broke out between the sailors and the Islanders and many were killed on both sides.[13] DELL Vostro 1014 Laptop Keyboard The islands saw no more Europeans until missionaries arrived from England in 1821. Christianity quickly took hold in the culture and many islanders continue to be Christian believers today. The Cook Islands became a British protectorate in 1888, due largely to community fears that France might occupy the territory as it had Tahiti. ACER TravelMate 6252 laptop keyboard In 1901 the New Zealand Government decided to annex the country despite opposition from the country's traditional chiefs. As many of the islands were independent and ruled by local chiefs, the Cook Islands had no federal statutory law to decide the constitutional constraints regarding whether to agree to the country's annexation. SONY VGN-FE11M laptop keyboard When the British Nationality and New Zealand Citizenship Act 1948 came into effect on 1 January 1949, Cook Islanders who were British subjects gained New Zealand citizenship.[14] The country remained a New Zealand protectorate until 1965, when the New Zealand Government decided to offer self-governing status to its colony. In that year, TOSHIBA Satellite L750-ST4NX1 laptop keyboard Albert Henry of the Cook Islands Party was elected as the first Prime Minister. Henry led the country until he was accused of vote-rigging. He was succeeded in 1978 by Tom Davis of the Democratic Party. ASUS X53S laptop keyboard The Cook Islands is a representative democracy with a parliamentary system in an associated state relationship with New Zealand. Executive power is exercised by the government, with the Chief Minister as head of government.Legislative power is vested in both the government and the Parliament of the Cook Islands. There is a pluriform multi-party system. Acer eMachines E640 laptop keyboard The Judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature. The Head of State is theQueen of New Zealand, who is represented in the Cook Islands by the Queen's Representative. The islands are self-governing in "free association" with New Zealand. New Zealand retains primary responsibility for external affairs, with consultation with the Cook Islands government. TOSHIBA Satellite L655-S5107 laptop keyboard Cook Islands nationals are citizens of New Zealand and can receive New Zealand government services, but the reverse is not true; New Zealand citizens are not Cook Islands nationals. Despite this, as of 2011, the Cook Islands had diplomatic relations in its own name with 34 other countries. HP Pavilion DV6z artist edition 2 laptop keyboard The Cook Islands is not a United Nations member state, but, along with Niue, has had their "full treaty-making capacity" recognised by United Nations Secretariat,[15][16] and is a full member of the WHO andUNESCO UN specialized agencies and is an associate member of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP). SONY VAIO VGN-N250E/B laptop keyboard 17] In 1990 the Cook Islands and France signed a treaty that delimited the boundary between the Cook Islands and French Polynesia.[18] As competition between the US and China heated up in the South China Sea and other areas closer to the mainland, even the far off Cook Islands began to feel the results. In late August 2012, for instance, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton visited the islands.[19] [20] HP Pavilion DV7-3067nr laptop keyboard Administrative Subdivisions he economy is strongly affected by geography. It is isolated from foreign markets, and has some inadequate infrastructure; it lacks major natural resources, has limited manufacturing and suffers moderately from natural disasters. Tourism provides the economic base which makes up approximately 67.5% of GDP. SONY Vaio PCG-K315S laptop keyboard Additionally, the economy is supported by foreign aid, largely from New Zealand. The Peoples' Republic of China has also contributed foreign aid which has resulted in, among other projects, the Police Headquarters building. The Cook Islands is expanding its agriculture, mining and fishing sectors, with varying success. TOSHIBA Satellite L755-S5216 laptop keyboard Since approximately 1989, the Cook Islands have become a location specialising in so-called asset protection trusts, by which debtors, or those fearful of becoming debtors, seek to shelter assets from the reach of creditors.[24]  HP Pavilion DV6z artist edition 2 laptop keyboard It is probable that, over time, the Zulu were able to hone and improve their encirclement tactics.[8] Another decisive fight eventually took place on the Mhlatuze river, at the confluence with the Mvuzane stream. In a two-day running battle, the Zulu inflicted a resounding defeat on their opponents.  HP Pavilion dv6-3142se laptop keyboard Shaka then led a fresh reserve some seventy miles to the royal kraal of Zwide, ruler of the Ndwandwe, and destroyed it. Zwide himself escaped with a handful of followers before falling foul of a chieftainess named Mjanji, ruler of the baPedi clan (he died in mysterious circumstances soon afterward). TOSHIBA Satellite P300-ST3712 laptop keyboard Shaka's general Soshangane (of the Shangaan) moved north towards what is now Mozambique to inflict further damage on less resistant foes and take advantage of slaving opportunities, obliging Portuguese traders to give tribute. Shaka later had to contend again with Zwide's sonSikhunyane in 1826. HP G42-265LA laptop keyboard Dingane and Mhlangana, Shaka's half-brothers, appear to have made at least two attempts to assassinate Shaka before they succeeded, with perhaps support from Mpondo elements, and some disaffected iziYendane people. While the British colonialists considered his regime to be a future threat, allegations that white traders wished him dead are problematic given that Shaka had granted concessions to whites prior to his death, SONY VAIO VGN-FS620 laptop keyboard including the right to settle at Port Natal (nowDurban). Shaka had made enough enemies among his own people to hasten his demise. It came relatively quickly after the death of his mother Nandi in October 1827, and the devastation caused by Shaka's subsequent erratic behavior. According to Donald Morris, in this mourning period, HP Pavilion dv3-2155mx laptop keyboard Shaka ordered that no crops should be planted during the following year, no milk (the basis of the Zulu diet at the time) was to be used, and any woman who became pregnant was to be killed along with her husband. TOSHIBA PK130BH2A00 laptop keyboard At least 7,000 people who were deemed to be insufficiently grief-stricken were executed, although the killing was not restricted to humans: cows were slaughtered so that their calves would know what losing a mother felt like.[9]  ACER Aspire One D150-1920 Laptop Keyboard The Zulu monarch was killed by three assassins sometime in 1828; September is the most frequently cited date, when almost all available Zulu manpower had been sent on yet another mass sweep to the north. This left the royal kraal critically lacking in security. It was all the conspirators needed—they being Shaka's half-brothers, Dingane and Mhlangana, and an iNduna called Mbopa. HP AEUT5U00010 Laptop Keyboard A diversion was created by Mbopa, and Dingane and Mhlangana struck the fatal blows. Shaka's corpse was dumped into an empty grain pit by his assassins and filled with stones and mud. The exact location is unknown. A monument was built at one alleged site. Historian Donald Morris holds that the true site is somewhere on Couper Street in the village of Stanger, South Africa. ACER Aspire One D150-1920 Laptop Keyboard Shaka's half-brother Dingane assumed power and embarked on an extensive purge of pro-Shaka elements and chieftains, running over several years, in order to secure his position. The initial problem Dingane faced was maintaining the loyalty of the Zulu fighting regiments or amabutho. He addressed this by allowing them to marry and set up a homestead (this was forbidden during Shaka's rule), and they also received cattle from Dingane.  HP AEUT5U00010 Laptop Keyboard Loyalty was also maintained through fear as anyone who was suspected of rivaling Dingane was killed. He set up his main residence at Mmungungundlovo and established his authority over the Zulu kingdom.[10] Dingane ruled for some twelve years, during which time he fought, disastrously, APPLE A1278 Laptop Keyboard against the Voortrekkers, and against another half-brother Mpande, who, with Boer and British support, took over the Zulu leadership in 1840, ruling for some 30 years. At the Battle of Isandlwana in 1879, the Zulus would become one of the few African peoples to defeat the British Army.[citation needed] ACER 9J.N0F82.A1D Laptop Keyboard Shaka is often said to have been dissatisfied with the long throwing "assegai," and credited with introducing a new variant of the weapon: the "iklwa," a short stabbing spear with a long, sword-like spearhead. HP G72-b66US Laptop Keyboard Though Shaka probably did not invent the iklwa, according to Zulu scholar John Laband, the leader did insist that his warriors train with the weapon, which gave them a "terrifying advantage over opponents who clung to the traditional practice of throwing their spears and avoiding hand-to-hand conflict."[12] The throwing spear was not discarded but used as an initial missile weapon before close contact with the enemy, when the shorter stabbing spear was used in hand to hand combat.[5] ACER 9J.N0F82.A1D Laptop Keyboard Shaka is also supposed to have introduced a larger, heavier shield made of cowhide and to have taught each warrior how to use the shield's left side to hook the enemy's shield to the right, exposing his ribs for a fatal spear stab. In Shaka's time,  HP G72-b66US Laptop Keyboard these cowhide shields were supplied by the king and remained his property (Laband 37). Different colored shields distinguished different amabutho within Shaka's army. Some had black shields, others used white shields with black spots, some had white shields with brown spots, while others used pure brown or white shields (37).[12] HP Mini 110-3180sv Laptop Keyboard The story that sandals were discarded to toughen the feet of Zulu warriors has been noted in various military accounts such as "The Washing of the Spears," "Like Lions They Fought" and "Anatomy of the Zulu Army." Implementation was typically blunt. Those who objected to going without sandals were simply killed.[13] Lenovo 3000 N200 Laptop Keyboard Shaka drilled his troops frequently, forced marches sometimes covering more than 50 miles (80 km) a day in a fast trot over hot, rocky terrain.[14] He also drilled the troops to carry out encirclement tactics. DELL Vostro 3450 Laptop Keyboard Historian John Laband dismisses these stories as myth. "What are we to make, then, of [European trader Henry Francis] Fynn's statement that once the Zulu army reached hard and stony ground in 1826, Shaka ordered sandals of ox-hide to be made for himself?"[12]  DELL Vostro 3550 Laptop Keyboard The idea of a 50 miles (80 km) march in a single day is also dismissed as ridiculous. Laband further claims that even though these stories have been repeated by "astonished and admiring white commentators," the Zulu army covered "no more than 19 kilometres (12 mi) a day, and usually went only about 14 kilometres (8.7 mi).".[ HP Pavilion dv6-2125ef laptop keyboard 12] Furthermore, Zulus under Shaka sometimes advanced more slowly. They spent two whole days recuperating in one instance, and on another they rested for a day and two nights before pursuing their enemy.[12] Several other historians of the Zulu, and the Zulu military system however, affirm the mobility rate of up to 50 miles per day.[15] HP Pavilion dv6-2110ev laptop keyboard The expanding Zulu power inevitably clashed with European hegemony in the decades after Shaka's death. In fact, European travellers to Shaka's kingdom demonstrated advanced technology such as firearms and writing, but the Zulu monarch was less than convinced. There was no need to record messages, he held, since his messengers stood under penalty of death should they bear inaccurate tidings. SONY VAIO VGN-N31Z/W laptop keyboard As for firearms, Shaka acknowledged their utility as missile weapons after seeing muzzle-loaders demonstrated, but argued that in the time a gunman took to reload, he would be swamped by charging spear-wielding warriors.[5] SONY VGN-FE21H laptop keyboard The first major clash after Shaka's death took place under his successor Dingane, against expanding EuropeanVoortrekkers from the Cape. Initial Zulu success rested on fast-moving surprise attacks and ambushes,  HP G72-b60SF laptop keyboard but the Voortrekkers recovered and dealt the Zulu a severe defeat from their fortified wagon laager at the Battle of Blood River. The second major clash was against the British during 1879. Once again, most Zulu successes rested on their mobility, ability to screen their forces and to close when their opponents were unfavourably deployed. Their major victory at the Battle of Isandlwana is well known, HP Mini 110-3180sv laptop keyboard but they also forced back a British column at theBattle of Hlobane mountain, by deploying fast-moving regiments over a wide area of rugged ravines and gullies, and attacking the British who were forced into a rapid disorderly fighting retreat, back to the town ofKambula.[18] LENOVO IdeaPad S10 20015 laptop keyboard Scholarship in recent years has revised views of the sources on Shaka's reign. The earliest are two eyewitness accounts written by white adventurer-traders who met Shaka during the last four years of his reign. HP Mini 110-3180sv laptop keyboard Nathaniel Isaacs published his Travels and Adventures in Eastern Africa in 1836, creating a picture of Shaka as a degenerate and pathological monster which survives in modified forms to this day. Isaacs was aided in this by Henry Francis Fynn, whose diary (actually a rewritten collage of various papers) was edited by James Stuart only in 1950. Lenovo ThinkPad Edge E125 laptop keyboard Their accounts may be balanced by the rich resource of oral histories collected around 1900 by the same James Stuart, now published in 6 volumes as The James Stuart Archive. Stuart's early 20th century work was continued by D. McK. Malcolm in 1950. These and other sources such as A. T. Bryant gives us a more Zulu-centred picture. Most popular accounts are based on E. A. HP Pavilion dv6-3230us laptop keyboard Ritter's novel Shaka Zulu (1955), a potboiling romance which was re-edited into something more closely resembling a history. The work of John Wright (history professor at University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg), Julian Cobbing and Dan Wylie (Rhodes University, Grahamstown) have been among a number of writers who have modified these stories.[22] ACER K052030A1 laptop keyboard Various modern historians writing on Shaka and the Zulu point to the uncertain nature of Fynn and Isaac's accounts of Shaka's reign. A standard general reference work in the field is Donald Morris's "The Washing of The Spears",  DELL Inspiron 6400 Laptop Keyboard which notes the sources, as a whole, for this historical era are not the best. Morris nevertheless references a large number of sources, including Stuart, and A. T. Bryant's extensive but uneven "Olden Times in Zululand and Natal", which is based on four decades of exhaustive interviews of tribal sources. TOSHIBA NSK-TAJ01 Laptop Keyboard After sifting through these sources and noting their strengths and weaknesses, Morris generally credits Shaka with a large number of military and social innovations, and this is the general consensus in the field.[23] ACER Aspire 7741G Laptop Keyboard A 1998 study by historian Carolyn Hamilton summarizes much of the scholarship on Shaka towards the dawn of the 21st century in areas ranging from ideology, politics and culture, to the use of his name and image in a popular South African theme park, Shakaland. ACER Aspire 7741G Laptop Keyboard