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The Mosquito Coast (novel)
''The Mosquito Coast'' is a novel by author Paul Theroux. Published in 1981, it won the James Tait Black Memorial Prize and was the ''Yorkshire Post'' Novel of the Year. Inspiration Theroux wrote the novel while living in London. Although he is rumored to have based the main character Allie Fox on himself, he denied this in an interview for ''Atlantic Unbound'', saying he based the character on a number of people, including Pap, Huck Finn's father. Plot outline The story is told from the viewpoint of fourteen-year-old Charlie Fox and centers around his father Allie, a brilliant inventor ("with nine patents, six pending") who becomes increasingly critical of consumerism in the United States, education and culture. ''Part One'': Banana Boat Allie decides to move his family from Hatfield, Massachusetts to escape the influence of the United States and the world war he fears is imminent, to enjoy a simpler life in La Mosquitia on the eponymous Mosquito Coast of Honduras. They tra ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
WikiProject Novels
A WikiProject, or Wikiproject, is a Wikimedia movement affinity group for contributors with shared goals. WikiProjects are prevalent within the largest wiki, Wikipedia, and exist to varying degrees within sister projects such as Wiktionary, Wikiquote, Wikidata, and Wikisource. They also exist in different languages, and translation of articles is a form of their collaboration. During the COVID-19 pandemic, CBS News noted the role of Wikipedia's WikiProject Medicine in maintaining the accuracy of articles related to the disease. Another WikiProject that has drawn attention is WikiProject Women Scientists, which was profiled by '' Smithsonian'' for its efforts to improve coverage of women scientists which the profile noted had "helped increase the number of female scientists on Wikipedia from around 1,600 to over 5,000". On Wikipedia Some Wikipedia WikiProjects are substantial enough to engage in cooperative activities with outside organizations relevant to the field at issue. F ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
La Ceiba
La Ceiba () is a municipality, the capital of the Honduran department of Atlántida and a port city on the northern coast of Honduras in Central America. It is located on the southern edge of the Caribbean, forming part of the south eastern boundary of the Gulf of Honduras. With an estimated population of 199,080 living in approximately 170 residential areas (called ''colonias'' or ''barrios''), it is the fourth most populous and third most important city in the country. La Ceiba was officially founded on 23 August 1877. The city was named after a giant ceiba tree that grew near the old dock. The city has been officially proclaimed the "Eco-Tourism Capital of Honduras," as well as the "Entertainment Capital of Honduras". Every year, on the third or fourth Saturday of May, the city holds its famous carnival to commemorate Isidore the Laborer (Spanish ''San Isidro Labrador''). During this time, the city is host to approximately 500,000 tourists. History In 1872 Manuel Herná ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Patuca River
The Patuca is a river in northeastern Honduras, formed southeast of Juticalpa by the merger of the Guayape and Guayambre rivers. It is the second largest river in Central America and the longest river of Honduras, measuring almost long and draining . Course The river originates in the central mountains at the confluence of the Guayape and Guayambre rivers. It flows northeasterly, meandering and twisting along its way to the lowlands of the Mosquito Coast before joining the Caribbean Sea at Patuca Point. The Patuca is infamous within Honduras for a section of rapids known as "El Portal del Infierno" or "The Gates of Hell" which are known to have killed many reckless river-goers. At floodstage the Patuca can reach several miles in width. Its main tributary, the Guayape is known to exceed in width nearly every year in areas that can be waded waist-deep in the dry season. The Patuca is also well known for its lawless nether regions where small heavily armed groups of men dredge v ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Spark Plug
A spark plug (sometimes, in British English, a sparking plug, and, colloquially, a plug) is a device for delivering electric current from an ignition system to the combustion chamber of a spark-ignition engine to ignite the compressed fuel/air mixture by an electric spark, while containing combustion pressure within the engine. A spark plug has a metal threaded shell, electrically isolated from a central electrode by a ceramic insulator. The central electrode, which may contain a resistor, is connected by a heavily insulated wire to the output terminal of an ignition coil or magneto. The spark plug's metal shell is screwed into the engine's cylinder head and thus electrically grounded. The central electrode protrudes through the porcelain insulator into the combustion chamber, forming one or more spark gaps between the inner end of the central electrode and usually one or more protuberances or structures attached to the inner end of the threaded shell and designated the ' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tropical Cyclone
A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system characterized by a low-pressure center, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depending on its location and strength, a tropical cyclone is referred to by different names, including hurricane (), typhoon (), tropical storm, cyclonic storm, tropical depression, or simply cyclone. A hurricane is a strong tropical cyclone that occurs in the Atlantic Ocean or northeastern Pacific Ocean, and a typhoon occurs in the northwestern Pacific Ocean. In the Indian Ocean, South Pacific, or (rarely) South Atlantic, comparable storms are referred to simply as "tropical cyclones", and such storms in the Indian Ocean can also be called "severe cyclonic storms". "Tropical" refers to the geographical origin of these systems, which form almost exclusively over tropical seas. "Cyclone" refers to their winds moving in a circle, whirling ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dugout Canoe
A dugout canoe or simply dugout is a boat made from a hollowed tree. Other names for this type of boat are logboat and monoxylon. ''Monoxylon'' (''μονόξυλον'') (pl: ''monoxyla'') is Greek – ''mono-'' (single) + '' ξύλον xylon'' (tree) – and is mostly used in classic Greek texts. In German, they are called Einbaum ("one tree" in English). Some, but not all, pirogues are also constructed in this manner. Dugouts are the oldest boat type archaeologists have found, dating back about 8,000 years to the Neolithic Stone Age. This is probably because they are made of massive pieces of wood, which tend to preserve better than others, such as bark canoes. Along with bark canoes and hide kayaks, dugouts were also used by Indigenous peoples of the Americas. Construction Construction of a dugout begins with the selection of a log of suitable dimensions. Sufficient wood must be removed to make the vessel relatively light in weight and buoyant, yet still strong enough to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Miskito People
The Miskitos are a native people in Central America. Their territory extends from Cape Camarón, Honduras, to Río Grande de Matagalpa, Nicaragua, along the Mosquito Coast, in the Western Caribbean Zone. Their population is estimated at 700,000 people as of 2021 according to the official Miskito Database. The Miskito people speak a native Miskito language, but many can also speak Miskito Coast Creole, Spanish, English, and German. Spanish is the language of education and government, but some family educate their children in English, German, or Miskito. Miskito Coast Creole, an English-based creole language, came about through frequent contact with the British for trading, as they predominated along this coast. Many are Christians. A 1987 peace agreement afforded them land rights over traditional lands. However, despite significant political struggles throughout their history, today the Miskito face human rights violations over land rights disputes, as recognized by the I ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sico River
The Sico River is a river in Honduras. It was historically called the Black River or Rio Tinto. See also *List of rivers of Honduras Rivers in Honduras is a list of the rivers in Honduras, including those it shares with neighbours. Among the most important river in Honduras is the Ulúa, which flows through the economically important Valle de Sula. Numerous other rivers drain ... References *Rand McNally, The New International Atlas, 1993. *CIA map: :Image:Honduras rel 1985.jpg *UN map: :Image:Un-honduras.pngGoogle Maps Rivers of Honduras {{Honduras-river-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Olancho
Olancho is the largest of all the 18 departments into which Honduras is divided. The department covers a total surface area of 24,057 km² and has an estimated 2015 population of 537,306 inhabitants. The departmental capital is Juticalpa, which is also the see of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Juticalpa, which covers the department. Terrain Rugged mountains rise in the western and northern portions of the department, notably the Sierra de Agalta, the Montaña de Tembladeros, and the Montaña de Botaderos. Vast pine and hardwood forests cover these mountains. Central Olancho has rolling plains, watered by the Guayape River and its affluents. These plains, sometimes called pampas due to their similarity to the vast Argentinian plains, are famous for their large cattle herds and extensive farming. The main cities, capital Juticalpa and Catacamas, are located there. The eastern part of the department is covered with rainforests, though the influx of impoverished, farmers an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ammonium Hydroxide
Ammonia solution, also known as ammonia water, ammonium hydroxide, ammoniacal liquor, ammonia liquor, aqua ammonia, aqueous ammonia, or (inaccurately) ammonia, is a solution of ammonia in water. It can be denoted by the symbols NH3(aq). Although the name ammonium hydroxide suggests an alkali with composition , it is actually impossible to isolate samples of NH4OH. The ions and OH− do not account for a significant fraction of the total amount of ammonia except in extremely dilute solutions. Basicity of ammonia in water In aqueous solution, ammonia deprotonates a small fraction of the water to give ammonium and hydroxide according to the following equilibrium: : NH3 + H2O NH4+ + OH−. In a 1 M ammonia solution, about 0.42% of the ammonia is converted to ammonium, equivalent to pH = 11.63 because H4+�= 0.0042 M, H−�= 0.0042 M, H3�= 0.9958 M, and pH = 14 + log10 H−�= 11.62. The base ionization constant is : ''K''b = H4+OH−] / H3= 1.77. S ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Miskito Sambu
The Miskito Sambu, also known simply as the Miskito, are an ethnic group of mixed cultural ancestry (African- Indigenous American) occupying a portion of the Caribbean coast of Central America (particularly on the Atlantic coasts of Honduras and Nicaragua) known as the Mosquito Coast region. Although older records, beginning with Spanish documents of the early 18th century, refer to the group as "Mosquitos Zambos", modern ethnographic terminology uses the term ''Miskito''. History Origin According to early accounts, slaves traveling on a slave ship revolted and took the ship over, but wrecked it near Cape Gracias a Dios, though they disagree on the impact the arrival of these Africans had on the local people, and how they were received. When Alexander Exquemelin, the first and earliest visitor (in c 1671) to the coast to describe the origins of the Miskito Sambu believed that the local people enslaved the Africans anew, while a slightly later account (1688) by the Sieur Ravene ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Creole Peoples
Creole peoples are ethnic groups formed during the European colonial era, from the mass displacement of peoples brought into sustained contact with others from different linguistic and cultural backgrounds, who converged onto a colonial territory to which they had not previously belonged. Often involuntarily uprooted from their original home, the settlers were obliged to develop and creatively merge the desirable elements from their diverse backgrounds, to produce new varieties of social, linguistic and cultural norms that superseded the prior forms. This process, known as creolization, is characterized by rapid social flux regularized into Creole ethnogenesis. Creole peoples vary widely in ethnic background and mixture and many have since developed distinct ethnic identities. The development of creole languages is sometimes mistakenly attributed to the emergence of Creole ethnic identities; however, the two developments occur independently. Etymology and overview ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
