Greece (Greek: Ελλάδα [eˈlaða] Elláda), officially the Hellenic Republic (Ελληνική Δημοκρατία [eliniˈci ðimokraˈti.a] Ellīnikī́ Dīmokratía), is a country in Southeast Europe. According to the 2011 census, Greece’s population is around 11 million. Athens is the nation’s capital and largest city, its urban area also including Piraeus.

Greece is strategically located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and Africa, and has land borders with Albania, the Republic of Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to the northeast. The Aegean Sea lies to the east of mainland Greece, the Ionian Sea to the west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the south. Greece has the 11th longest coastline in the world at 13,676 km (8,498 mi) in length, featuring a vast number of islands (approximately 1,400, of which 227 are inhabited), including Crete, the Dodecanese, the Cyclades, and the Ionian Islands among others. Eighty percent of Greece consists of mountains, of which Mount Olympus is the highest at 2,917 m (9,570 ft).

Modern Greece traces its roots to the civilization of Ancient Greece, generally considered the cradle of Western civilization. As such, it is the birthplace of democracy, Western philosophy, the Olympic Games, Western literature and historiography, political science, major scientific and mathematical principles, and Western drama,[19] including both tragedy and comedy. This legacy is partly reflected in the seventeen UNESCO World Heritage Sites located in Greece, ranking it 7th in Europe and 13th in the world. The modern Greek state was established in 1830, following the Greek War of Independence.

Greece is a founding member of the United Nations, has been a member of what is now the European Union since 1981 (and the eurozone since 2001), and has been a member of NATO since 1952.[a] Greece is a developed country with an advanced, high-income economy and very high standards of living, including the world’s 21st highest quality of life as of 2010. Greece’s economy is also the largest in the Balkans, where Greece is an important regional investor.

The names for the nation of Greece and the Greek people differ from the names used in other languages and cultures. Although the Greeks call the country Hellas or Ellada (Greek: Ελλάς, Ελλάδα) and its official name is the Hellenic Republic, in English it is referred to as Greece, which comes from the Latin term Graecia as used by the Romans, which literally means ‘the land of the Greeks’, and derives from the Greek name Γραικός. However, the name Hellas is sometimes used in English as well.

Nova Scotia , Canada

Nova Scotia is one of Canada’s three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for “New Scotland,” but “Nova Scotia” is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the second-smallest province in Canada with an area of 55,284 square kilometers (21,300 sq mi). As of 2009, the population is 940,397,which makes Nova Scotia the second-most-densely populated province.

Nova Scotia, Canada. The land that time has forgotten.

Nova Scotia was already home to the Mi’kmaq people when French colonists established the first permanent European settlement in Canada and the first north of Florida in 1604. In 1867 Nova Scotia was one of the four founding provinces of the Canadian Confederation.

Tourist efforts in the province highlight all things Scottish, and Nova Scotians with Scottish ancestry are the largest self-identified ethnic group in the province after Canadian (that population is 29.3% as of 2011).
The province includes regions of the Mi’kmaq nation of Mi’kma’ki (mi’gama’gi). Nova Scotia was already home to the Mi’kmaq people when the first European colonists arrived. In 1604, French colonists established the first permanent European settlement in Canada and the first north of Florida at Port Royal, founding what would become known as Acadia.

The British Conquest of Acadia took place in 1710. It was formally recognized in 1713 by the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713. Cape Breton Island (Île Royale) was returned to back to the French in the Treaty of Utrecht. What is now New Brunswick was still a part of the French colony of Acadia. The name of the capital was changed from Port Royal to Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia. The capital of Nova Scotia was changed from Annapolis Royal to the newly established Halifax in 1749. In 1755, the vast majority of French population (the Acadians) were expelled and replaced by 8,000 immigrants who came from the New England colonies arrived between 1759-1768.

In 1763, most of Acadia (Cape Breton Island, St. John’s Island (now Prince Edward Island) and New Brunswick) became part of Nova Scotia. In 1769, St. John’s Island became a separate colony. Nova Scotia included present-day New Brunswick until that province was established in 1784 after the arrival of United Empire Loyalists.In 1867 Nova Scotia was one of the four founding provinces of the Canadian Confederation.

Nova Scotia, Canada.

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