Hydrates.

Sodium carbonate is obtained as three hydrates and as the anhydrous salt: The decahydrate is formed from water solutions crystallizing in the temperature range -2.1 to +32.0 C, the heptahydrate in the narrow range 32.0 to 35.4 C and above this temperature the monohydrate forms. In dry air the decahydrate and heptahydrate lose water to give the monohydrate. Other hydrates have been reported, e.g. with 2.5 units of water per sodium carbonate unit ("pentahemihydrate").

Applications.

Main applications.

In terms of its largest applications, sodium carbonate is used in the manufacture of glass, paper, rayon, soaps, and detergents.

Glass manufacture.

Sodium carbonate serves as a flux for silica, lowering the melting point of the mixture to something achievable without special materials. This "soda glass" is mildly water-soluble, so some calcium carbonate is added to the melt mixture to make the glass insoluble. Bottle and window glass (Soda-lime glass) is made by melting such mixtures of sodium carbonate, calcium carbonate, and silica sand (silicon dioxide (SiO)). When these materials are heated, the carbonates release carbon dioxide. In this way, sodium carbonate is a source of sodium oxide. Soda lime glass has been the most common form of glass for centuries.

Water softening.

Sodium carbonate is used to soften water by removing Mg and Ca. These ions form insoluble solid precipitates upon treatment with carbonate ions: Sodium carbonate is an inexpensive and water-soluble source of carbonate ions.

Food additive and cooking.

Sodium carbonate is a food additive (E500) used as an acidity regulator, anticaking agent, raising agent, and stabilizer. It is one of the components of, a solution of alkaline salts used to give ramen noodles their characteristic flavor and texture. It is used in the production of "snus" to stabilize the pH of the final product. Sodium carbonate is used in the production of sherbet powder. The cooling and fizzing sensation results from the endothermic reaction between sodium carbonate and a weak acid, commonly citric acid, releasing carbon dioxide gas, which occurs when the sherbet is moistened by saliva. In China, it is used to replace lye-water in the crust of traditional Cantonese moon cakes, and in many other Chinese steamed buns and noodles. In cooking, it is sometimes used in place of sodium hydroxide for lyeing, especially with German pretzels and lye rolls. These dishes are treated with a solution of an alkaline substance to change the pH of the surface of the food and improve browning.

Inexpensive, weak base.

Sodium carbonate is also used as a relatively strong base in various fields. As a common alkali, it is preferred in many chemical processes because it is cheaper than NaOH and far safer to handle. Its mildness especially recommends its use in domestic applications.  For example, it is used as a pH regulator to maintain stable alkaline conditions necessary for the action of the majority of photographic film developing agents. It is also a common additive in swimming pools and aquarium water to maintain a desired pH and carbonate hardness (KH). In dyeing with fiber-reactive dyes, sodium carbonate (often under a name such as soda ash fixative or soda ash activator) is used to ensure proper chemical bonding of the dye with cellulose (plant) fibers, typically before dyeing (for tie dyes), mixed with the dye (for dye painting), or after dyeing (for immersion dyeing). It is also used in the froth flotation process to maintain a favourable pH as a float conditioner besides CaO and other mildly basic compounds.  Sodium (NaHCO) or baking soda, also a component in fire extinguishers, is often generated from sodium carbonate. Although NaHCO is itself an intermediate product of the Solvay process, the heating needed to remove the ammonia that contaminates it decomposes some NaHCO, making it more economic to react finished NaCO with CO:  In a related reaction, sodium carbonate is used to make sodium bisulfite (NaHSO), which is used for the "sulfite" method of separating lignin from cellulose. This reaction is exploited for removing sulfur dioxide from flue gases in power stations: This application has become more common, especially where stations have to meet stringent emission controls.  Sodium carbonate is used by the cotton industry to neutralize the sulfuric acid needed for acid delinting of fuzzy cottonseed.

Miscellaneous.

Sodium carbonate is used by the brick industry as a wetting agent to reduce the amount of water needed to extrude the clay. In casting, it is referred to as "bonding agent" and is used to allow wet alginate to adhere to gelled alginate. Sodium carbonate is used in toothpastes, where it acts as a foaming agent and an abrasive, and to temporarily increase mouth pH.  Sodium carbonate is also used in the processing and tanning of animal hides.

Physical properties.

The integral enthalpy of solution of sodium carbonate is −28.1 kJ/mol for a 10% w/w aqueous solution. The Mohs hardness of sodium carbonate monohydrate is 1.3.

Occurrence as natural mineral.

Sodium carbonate is soluble in water, and can occur naturally in arid regions, especially in mineral deposits ("evaporites") formed when seasonal lakes evaporate. Deposits of the mineral natron have been mined from dry lake bottoms in Egypt since ancient times, when natron was used in the preparation of mummies and in the early manufacture of glass.  The anhydrous mineral form of sodium carbonate is quite rare and called natrite. Sodium carbonate also erupts from Ol Doinyo Lengai, Tanzania's unique volcano, and it is presumed to have erupted from other volcanoes in the past, but due to these minerals' instability at the earth's surface, are likely to be eroded. All three mineralogical forms of sodium carbonate, as well as trona, trisodium hydrogendicarbonate dihydrate, are also known from ultra-alkaline pegmatitic rocks, that occur for example in the Kola Peninsula in Russia.  Extraterrestrially, known sodium carbonate is rare. Deposits have been identified as the source of bright spots on Ceres, interior material that has been brought to the surface. While there are carbonates on Mars, and these are expected to include sodium carbonate, deposits have yet to be confirmed, this absence is explained by some as being due to a global dominance of low pH in previously aqueous Martian soil.

Production.

Mining.

Trona, trisodium hydrogendicarbonate dihydrate (NaHCOCO·2HO), is mined in several areas of the US and provides nearly all the domestic consumption of sodium carbonate. Large natural deposits found in 1938, such as the one near Green River, Wyoming, have made mining more economical than industrial production in North America. There are important reserves of trona in Turkey; two million tons of soda ash have been extracted from the reserves near Ankara. It is also mined from some alkaline lakes such as Lake Magadi in Kenya by dredging. Hot saline springs continuously replenish salt in the lake so that, provided the rate of dredging is no greater than the replenishment rate, the source is fully sustainable.

Barilla and kelp.

Several "halophyte" (salt-tolerant) plant species and seaweed species can be processed to yield an impure form of sodium carbonate, and these sources predominated in Europe and elsewhere until the early 19th century. The land plants (typically glassworts or saltworts) or the seaweed (typically "Fucus" species) were harvested, dried, and burned. The ashes were then "lixiviated" (washed with water) to form an alkali solution. This solution was boiled dry to create the final product, which was termed "soda ash"; this very old name refers derives from the Arabic word "soda", in turn applied to salsola soda, one of the many species of seashore plants harvested for production. "Barilla" is a commercial term applied to an impure form of potash obtained from coastal plants or kelp.  The sodium carbonate concentration in soda ash varied very widely, from 2–3 percent for the seaweed-derived form ("kelp"), to 30 percent for the best barilla produced from saltwort plants in Spain. Plant and seaweed sources for soda ash, and also for the related alkali "potash", became increasingly inadequate by the end of the 18th century, and the search for commercially viable routes to synthesizing soda ash from salt and other chemicals intensified.

Leblanc process.

In 1792, the French chemist Nicolas Leblanc patented a process for producing sodium carbonate from salt, sulfuric acid, limestone, and coal. In the first step, sodium chloride is treated with sulfuric acid in the Mannheim process. This reaction produces sodium sulfate ("salt cake") and hydrogen chloride:  The salt cake and crushed limestone (calcium carbonate) was reduced by heating with coal. This conversion entails two parts. First is the carbothermic reaction whereby the coal, a source of carbon, reduces the sulfate to sulfide:  The second stage is the reaction to produce sodium carbonate and calcium sulfide: This mixture is called "black ash". The soda ash is extracted from the black ash with water. Evaporation of this extract yields solid sodium carbonate. This extraction process was termed lixiviation.  The hydrochloric acid produced by the Leblanc process was a major source of air pollution, and the calcium sulfide byproduct also presented waste disposal issues. However, it remained the major production method for sodium carbonate until the late 1880s.

Solvay process.

In 1861, the Belgian industrial chemist Ernest Solvay developed a method to make sodium carbonate by first reacting sodium chloride, ammonia, water, and carbon dioxide to generate sodium bicarbonate and ammonium chloride:  The resulting sodium bicarbonate was then converted to sodium carbonate by heating it, releasing water and carbon dioxide:  Meanwhile, the ammonia was regenerated from the ammonium chloride byproduct by treating it with the lime (calcium oxide) left over from carbon dioxide generation:  The Solvay process recycles its ammonia. It consumes only brine and limestone, and calcium chloride is its only waste product. The process is substantially more economical than the Leblanc process, which generates two waste products, calcium sulfide and hydrogen chloride. The Solvay process quickly came to dominate sodium carbonate production worldwide. By 1900, 90% of sodium carbonate was produced by the Solvay process, and the last Leblanc process plant closed in the early 1920s.  The second step of the Solvay process, heating sodium bicarbonate, is used on a small scale by home cooks and in restaurants to make sodium carbonate for culinary purposes (including pretzels and alkali noodles). The method is appealing to such users because sodium bicarbonate is widely sold as baking soda, and the temperatures required ( to ) to convert baking soda to sodium carbonate are readily achieved in conventional kitchen ovens.

Hou's process.

This process was developed by Chinese chemist Hou Debang in the 1930s. The earlier steam reforming byproduct carbon dioxide was pumped through a saturated solution of sodium chloride and ammonia to produce sodium bicarbonate by these reactions:  The sodium bicarbonate was collected as a precipitate due to its low solubility and then heated up to approximately or to yield pure sodium carbonate similar to last step of the Solvay process. More sodium chloride is added to the remaining solution of ammonium and sodium chlorides; also, more ammonia is pumped at 30-40 °C to this solution. The solution temperature is then lowered to below 10 °C. Solubility of ammonium chloride is higher than that of sodium chloride at 30 °C and lower at 10 °C. Due to this temperature-dependent solubility difference and the common-ion effect, ammonium chloride is precipitated in a sodium chloride solution.  The Chinese name of Hou's process, "lianhe zhijian fa" (), means "coupled manufacturing alkali method": Hou's process is coupled to the Haber process and offers better atom economy by eliminating the production of calcium chloride, since ammonia no longer needs to be regenerated. The byproduct ammonium chloride can be sold as a fertilizer.

External links.

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Sodium carbonate,, (also known as washing soda, soda ash and soda crystals) is the inorganic compound with the formula NaCO and its various hydrates. All forms are white, water-soluble salts. All forms have a strongly alkaline taste and give moderately alkaline solutions in water. Historically it was extracted from the ashes of plants growing in sodium-rich soils. Because the ashes of these sodium-rich plants were noticeably different from ashes of wood (once used to produce potash), sodium carbonate became known as "soda ash." It is produced in large quantities from sodium chloride and limestone by the Solvay process.

Natriumcarbonat (fachsprachlich; standardsprachlich Natriumkarbonat) NaCO, wasserfrei auch "calciniertes Soda", "reines Soda" oder Waschsoda genannt, ist ein Salz der Kohlensäure. Als Lebensmittelzusatzstoff trägt es das Kürzel "E 500i".


Names.

The earliest attested term referring to Lacedaemon is the Mycenaean Greek, "ra-ke-da-mi-ni-jo", "Lacedaimonian", written in Linear B syllabic script, the equivalent of the later Greek, "Lakedaimonios" (Latin: "Lacedaemonius").  The ancient Greeks used one of three words to refer to the Spartan city-state and its location. First, "Sparta" refers primarily to the main cluster of settlements in the valley of the Eurotas River. The second word, "Lacedaemon" (), was often used as an adjective and is the name referenced in the works of Homer and the historians Herodotus and Thucydides. The third term, "Laconice" (), referred to the immediate area around the town of Sparta, the plateau east of the Taygetos mountains, and sometimes to all the regions under direct Spartan control, including Messenia.  Herodotus seems to use "Lacedaemon" for the Mycenaean Greek citadel at Therapne, in contrast to the lower town of Sparta. This term could be used synonymously with Sparta, but typically it denoted the terrain in which the city was located. In Homer it is typically combined with epithets of

Geography.

Sparta is located in the region of Laconia, in the south-eastern Peloponnese. Ancient Sparta was built on the banks of the Eurotas River, the largest river of Laconia, which provided it with a source of fresh water. The valley of the Eurotas

Mythology.

Lacedaemon (Greek: ) was a mythical king of Laconia. The son of Zeus by the nymph Taygete, he married Sparta, the daughter of Eurotas, by whom he became the father of Amyclas, Eurydice, and Asine. As

Archaeology of the classical period.

Thucydides wrote:Suppose the city of Sparta to be deserted, and nothing left but the temples and the ground-plan, distant ages would be very unwilling to believe that the power of the Lacedaemonians was at all equal to their fame. Their city is not built continuously, and has no splendid temples or other edifices; it rather resembles a group of villages, like the ancient towns of Hellas, and would therefore make a poor show.  Until the early 20th century, the chief ancient buildings at Sparta were the theatre, of which, however, little showed above ground except portions of the retaining walls; the so-called "Tomb of Leonidas", a quadrangular building, perhaps a temple, constructed of immense blocks of stone and containing two chambers; the foundation of an ancient bridge over the Eurotas; the ruins of a circular structure; some remains of late Roman fortifications; several brick buildings and mosaic pavements.  The remaining archaeological wealth consisted of inscriptions, sculptures, and other objects collected in the local museum, founded by Stamatakis in 1872 and enlarged in 1907. Partial excavation of the round building was undertaken in 1892 and 1893 by the American School at Athens. The structure has been since found to be a semicircular retaining wall of Hellenic origin that was partly restored during the Roman period.  In 1904, the British School at Athens began a thorough exploration of Laconia, and in the following year excavations were made at Thalamae, Geronthrae, and Angelona near Monemvasia. In 1906, excavations began in Sparta itself.  A "small circus" (as described by Leake) proved to be a theatre-like building constructed soon after CE 200 around the altar and in front of the temple of Artemis Orthia. It is believed that musical and gymnastic contests took place here, as well as the famous flogging ordeal administered to Spartan boys ("diamastigosis"). The temple, which can be dated to the 2nd century BCE, rests on the foundation of an older temple of the 6th century, and close beside it were found the remains of a yet earlier temple, dating from the 9th or even the 10th century. The votive offerings in clay, amber, bronze, ivory and lead dating from the 9th to the 4th centuries BCE, which were found in great profusion within the precinct range, supply invaluable information about early Spartan art.  In 1907, the location of the sanctuary of Athena "of the Brazen House" (Χαλκίοικος, Chalkioikos) was determined to be on the acropolis immediately above the theatre. Though the actual temple is almost completely destroyed, the site has produced the longest extant archaic inscription in Laconia, numerous bronze nails and plates, and a considerable number of votive offerings. The city-wall, built in successive stages from the 4th to the 2nd century, was traced for a great part of its circuit, which measured 48 stades or nearly (Polyb. 1X. 21). The late Roman wall enclosing the acropolis, part of which probably dates from the years following the Gothic raid of CE 262, was also investigated. Besides the actual buildings discovered, a number of points were situated and mapped in a general study of Spartan topography, based upon the description of Pausanias.

History.

Prehistory, "dark age" and archaic period.

The prehistory of Sparta is difficult to reconstruct because the literary evidence was written far later than the events it describes and is distorted by oral tradition. The earliest certain evidence of human settlement in the region of Sparta consists of pottery dating from the Middle Neolithic period, found in the vicinity of Kouphovouno some two kilometres () south-southwest of Sparta. These are the earliest traces of the original Mycenaean Spartan civilisation represented in Homer's "Iliad".  This civilization seems to have fallen into decline by the late Bronze Age, when, according to Herodotus, Macedonian tribes from the north (called Dorians by those they conquered) marched into the Peloponnese and, subjugating the local tribes, settled there. The Dorians seem to have set about expanding the frontiers of Spartan territory almost before they had established their own state. They fought against

Classical Sparta.

In the Second Messenian War, Sparta established itself as a local power in the Peloponnesus and the rest of Greece. During the following centuries, Sparta's reputation as a land-fighting force was unequalled. At its peak around 500 BCE, Sparta had some 20,000–35,000 citizens, plus numerous helots and perioikoi. The likely total of 40,000–50,000 made Sparta one of the larger Greek city-states; however, according to Thucydides, the population of Athens in 431 BCE was 360,000–610,000, making it much larger.  In 480 BCE a small force led by King

Hellenistic and Roman Sparta.

Sparta never fully recovered from its losses at Leuctra in 371 BCE and the subsequent helot revolts. Nonetheless, it was able to continue as a regional power for over two centuries. Neither Philip II nor his son Alexander the Great attempted to conquer Sparta itself.  Even during its decline, Sparta never forgot its claim to be the "defender of Hellenism" and its Laconic wit. An anecdote has it that when Philip II sent a message to Sparta saying "If I enter Laconia, I

Postclassical and modern Sparta.

In 396 CE, Sparta was sacked by Visigoths under Alaric I who sold inhabitants into slavery. According to Byzantine sources, some parts of the Laconian region remained pagan until well into the

Structure of Classical Spartan society.

Constitution.

Sparta was an oligarchy. The state was ruled by two hereditary kings of the Agiad and Eurypontid families, both supposedly descendants of Heracles and equal in authority, so that one could not act against the power and political enactments of his colleague.  The duties of the kings were primarily religious, judicial, and military. As chief priests of the state, they maintained communication with the Delphian sanctuary, whose pronouncements exercised great authority in Spartan politics. In the time of Herodotus c. 450 BCE, their judicial functions had been restricted to cases dealing with heiresses, adoptions and the public roads. Aristotle describes the kingship at Sparta as "a kind of unlimited and perpetual generalship" (Pol. iii. 1285a), while Isocrates refers to the

Citizenship.

The Spartan education process known as the "agoge" was essential for full citizenship. However, usually the only boys eligible for the "agoge" were Spartiates, those who could trace their ancestry to the original inhabitants of the city.  There were two exceptions. "Trophimoi" or "foster sons" were foreign students invited to study. The Athenian general Xenophon, for example, sent his two

Non citizens.

The other classes were the perioikoi, free inhabitants who were non-citizens, and the helots, state-owned serfs. Descendants of non-Spartan citizens were forbidden the "agoge".

Helots.

The Spartans were a minority of the Lakonian population. The largest class of inhabitants were the helots (in Classical Greek / "Heílôtes").  The helots were originally free Greeks from the areas of Messenia and Lakonia whom the Spartans had defeated in battle and subsequently enslaved. In contrast to populations conquered by other Greek cities (e.g. the Athenian treatment of Melos), the male population was not exterminated and the women and children turned into chattel slaves. Instead, the helots were given a subordinate position in society more comparable to serfs in medieval Europe than chattel slaves in the rest of Greece.  Helots did not have voting or

Perioikoi.

The Perioikoi came from similar origins as the helots but occupied a significantly different position in Spartan society. Although they did not enjoy full citizen-rights, they were free and not subjected to the same restrictions as the helots. The exact nature of their subjection to the Spartans is not clear, but they seem to have served partly as a kind of military reserve, partly as skilled craftsmen and partly as agents of foreign trade. Perioikoic hoplites served increasingly with the Spartan army, explicitly at the Battle of Plataea, and although they may also have fulfilled functions such as the manufacture and repair of armour and weapons, they were increasingly integrated into the combat units of the Spartan army as the Spartiate population declined.

Economy.

Full citizen Spartiates were barred by law from trade or manufacture, which consequently rested in the hands of the Perioikoi. This lucrative monopoly, in a fertile territory with a good harbors, ensured the loyalty of the perioikoi. Despite the prohibition on menial labor or trade, there is evidence of Spartan sculptors, and Spartans were certainly poets, magistrates, ambassadors, and governors as well as soldiers.  Allegedly, Spartans were prohibited from possessing gold and silver coins, and according to legend Spartan currency consisted of iron bars to discourage hoarding. It was not until the 260s or 250s BCE that Sparta began to mint its own coins. Though the conspicuous display of wealth appears to have been discouraged, this did not preclude the production of very fine decorated bronze, ivory and wooden works of art as well as exquisite jewellery, attested in

Life in Classical Sparta.

Birth and death.

Sparta was above all a militarist state, and emphasis on military fitness began virtually at birth. Shortly after birth, a mother would bathe her child in wine to see whether the child was strong. If the child survived it was brought before the Gerousia by the child's father. The Gerousia then decided whether it was to be reared or not. It is commonly stated that if they considered it "puny and deformed", the baby was thrown into a chasm on Mount

Education.

When male Spartans began military training at age seven, they would enter the "agoge" system. The "agoge" was designed to encourage discipline and physical toughness and to emphasize the importance of the Spartan state. Boys lived in communal messes and, according to Xenophon, whose sons attended the "agoge", the boys were fed "just the right amount for them never to become sluggish through being too full, while also giving them a taste of what it is not to have enough." In addition they were trained to survive in times of privation, even if it meant stealing. Besides physical and weapons training, boys studied reading, writing, music and dancing. Special punishments were imposed if boys failed to answer questions sufficiently 'laconically' (i.e. briefly and wittily).  There is some evidence that in late-Classical and Hellenistic

Military life.

At age 20, the Spartan citizen began his membership in one of the "syssitia" (dining messes or clubs), composed of about fifteen members each, of which every citizen was required to be a member. Here each group learned how to bond and rely on one another. The Spartans were not eligible for election for public office until the age of 30. Only native Spartans were considered full citizens and were obliged to undergo the training as prescribed by law, as well as participate in and contribute financially to one of the "syssitia".  Sparta is thought to be the first city to practice

Agriculture, food, and diet.

Sparta's agriculture consisted mainly of barley, wine, cheese, grain, and figs. These items were grown locally on each Spartan citizens kleros and were tended to by helots. Spartan citizens were required to donate a certain amount

Marriage.

Plutarch reports the peculiar customs associated with the Spartan wedding night:The custom was to capture women for marriage(...) The so-called 'bridesmaid' took charge of the captured girl. She first shaved her head to the scalp, then dressed her in a man's cloak and sandals, and laid her down alone on a mattress in the dark. The bridegroom – who was not drunk and thus not impotent, but was sober as always – first had dinner in

Role of women.

Political, social, and economic equality.

Spartan women, of the citizenry class, enjoyed a status, power, and respect that was unknown in the rest of the classical world. The higher status of females in Spartan society started at birth; unlike Athens, Spartan girls were fed the same food as their brothers. Nor were they confined to their father's house and prevented from exercising or getting fresh air as in Athens, but exercised and even competed in sports. Most important, rather than being married off at the age of 12 or 13, Spartan law forbade

Historic women.

Many women played a significant role in the history of Sparta. Queen Gorgo, heiress to the throne and the wife of Leonidas I, was an influential and well-documented figure. Herodotus records that as a small girl she advised her father Cleomenes to resist a bribe. She was later said to be responsible for decoding a

Laconophilia.

Laconophilia is love or admiration of Sparta and its culture or constitution. Sparta was subject of considerable admiration in its day, even in rival Athens. In ancient times "Many of the noblest and best of the Athenians always considered the Spartan state nearly as an ideal theory realised in practice." Many Greek philosophers, especially Platonists, would often describe Sparta as an ideal state, strong, brave, and free from the corruptions of commerce and money. The French classicist François Ollier in his 1933 book "Le mirage spartiate" (The Spartan Mirage) warned that a major scholarly problem is that all surviving accounts of Sparta were by non-Spartans who often excessively idealized their subject.  With the revival of classical learning in Renaissance Europe, Laconophilia re-appeared, for example in the writings of Machiavelli. The Elizabethan English constitutionalist John Aylmer compared the mixed government of Tudor England to the Spartan republic, stating that "Lacedemonia [was] the noblest and best city governed that ever was". He commended it as a model for England. The philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau contrasted Sparta favourably with Athens in his Discourse on the Arts and Sciences, arguing that its austere constitution was preferable to the more sophisticated Athenian life. Sparta was also used as a model of austere purity by Revolutionary and Napoleonic France.  A German racist strain of Laconophilia was initiated by Karl Otfried Müller, who linked Spartan ideals to the supposed racial superiority of the Dorians, the ethnic sub-group of the Greeks to which the Spartans belonged. In the 20th century, this developed into Fascist admiration of Spartan ideals. Adolf Hitler praised the Spartans, recommending in 1928 that Germany should imitate them by limiting "the number allowed to live". He added that "The Spartans were once capable of such a wise measure... The subjugation of 350,000 Helots by 6,000 Spartans was only possible because of the racial superiority of the Spartans." The Spartans had created "the first racialist state".  Certain early Zionists, and particularly the founders of Kibbutz movement in Israel, were influenced by Spartan ideals, particularly in education. Tabenkin, a founding father of the Kibbutz movement and the Palmach strikeforce, prescribed that education for warfare "should begin from the nursery", that children should from kindergarten be taken to "spend nights in the mountains and valleys".  In modern times, the adjective "spartan" means simple, frugal, avoiding luxury and comfort. The term "laconic phrase" describes the very terse and direct speech characteristic of the Spartans.  Sparta also features prominently in modern popular culture, most famously the Battle of Thermopylae (see Battle of Thermopylae in popular culture).

Sparta (Doric Greek: Σπάρτα, "Spártā"; Attic Greek: Σπάρτη, "Spártē") was a prominent city-state in ancient Greece. In antiquity, the city-state was known as Lacedaemon (, ), while the name Sparta referred to its main settlement on the banks of the Eurotas River in Laconia, in south-eastern Peloponnese. Around 650 BCE, it rose to become the dominant military land-power in ancient Greece.

Sparta, im Süden der Peloponnes gelegen, war in der Antike der Hauptort der Landschaft Lakonien und des Staates der Lakedaimonier. Sein Name wird im Deutschen meist im erweiterten Sinn für diesen Staat gebraucht, der über Jahrhunderte die stärkste Militärmacht des alten Griechenland war. Obgleich als Polis bezeichnet, unterschied sich Sparta in vieler Hinsicht von anderen griechischen Stadtstaaten, allen voran Athen.


Etymology.

The Hague was first mentioned as "Die Haghe" in 1242. In the 15th century, the name "des Graven hage" came into use, literally "The Count's Wood", with connotations like "The

History.

Ancient history.

The area was part of the Roman province of Germania Inferior and was close to the border of the empire, the Upper Germanic-Rhaetian Limes. In 1997, four Roman milestones were discovered at

Early history.

Little is known about the origin of The Hague. There are no contemporary documents describing it, and later sources are often of dubious reliability. What is certain is that The Hague was founded by the last counts of the House of Holland. Floris IV already owned two residences in the area, but presumably purchased a third court situated by the present-day Hofvijver in 1229, previously owned by a woman called Meilendis. Presumably, Floris IV intended to rebuild the court into a large castle, but he died

Modern history.

In 1806, when the Kingdom of Holland was a puppet state of the First French Empire, the settlement was granted city rights by Louis Bonaparte. After the Napoleonic Wars, modern-day Belgium and the Netherlands were combined in the United Kingdom of the Netherlands to form a buffer against France. As a compromise, Brussels and Amsterdam alternated as capital every two years, with the government remaining in The Hague. After the separation of Belgium in 1830, Amsterdam remained the capital of the Netherlands, while the government was situated in The Hague. When the government started to play a more prominent role in Dutch society after 1850, The Hague quickly expanded. Many streets were specifically built for the large number of civil servants employed in the country's government and for the Dutchmen who were retiring from the administration of the Netherlands East Indies. The growing city annexed the rural municipality of Loosduinen partly in 1903 and

Geography.

The Hague is the largest Dutch city on the North Sea in the Netherlands and forms the centre of a conurbation called Haaglanden. Westland and Wateringen lie to the south, Rijswijk, Delft and the Rotterdam conurbation (called "Stadsregio Rotterdam" or "Rijnmond") to the southeast, Pijnacker-Nootdorp and Zoetermeer to the east, Leidschendam-Voorburg, Voorschoten and the Leiden conurbation to the northeast and Wassenaar to the north.  The conurbations around The Hague and Rotterdam are close enough to be a single conurbation in some contexts. For example, they share the Rotterdam The Hague Airport and a light rail system called RandstadRail. Consideration is being given to creating a Rotterdam-The Hague metropolitan area. This large conurbation centred on The Hague and Rotterdam is, in turn, part of the Randstad—specifically a band of municipalities called the South Wing (Zuidvleugel). The Randstad, which also includes among others Amsterdam and Utrecht, has a population of 6,659,300. The Hague lies at the southwestern corner of one of the largest urban areas in Europe.  The Hague is divided into eight official districts which are, in turn, divided into neighbourhoods. Some of the most prosperous and some of the poorest neighbourhoods of the Netherlands can be found in The Hague. The wealthier areas like Statenkwartier, Belgisch Park, Marlot, Benoordenhout and Archipelbuurt are generally located in the northwestern part of the city, closer to the sea, whereas the southeastern neighbourhoods like Transvaal, Moerwijk, and the Schilderswijk are significantly poorer, with the exception of the Vinex-locations of Leidschenveen-Ypenburg and Wateringse Veld. This division is reflected in the local accent: The more affluent citizens are usually called "Hagenaars" and speak so-called "bekakt Haags" ("posh"), this contrasts with the "Hagenezen", who speak "plat Haags" ("vulgar"); see Demographics below.  The districts are:

Climate.

The Hague experiences a temperate oceanic climate (Köppen: "Cfb") similar to almost all of the Netherlands.

Cityscape.

City life concentrates around the Hofvijver and the Binnenhof, where the States General of the Netherlands are located. Because of its history, the historical inner city of The Hague differs in various aspects from the nearby smaller cities of Leiden and Delft. It does not have a cramped inner city, bordered by canals and walls. Instead, it has some small streets in the town centre that may be dated from the late Middle Ages and several spacious streets boasting large and luxurious 18th-century residences built for diplomats and affluent Dutch families. It has a large church dating from the 15th century, an impressive

Demographics.

As of 1 January 2014, The Hague counts 509,779 inhabitants, making it the third largest city of the Netherlands. Between 1800 and 1960, the city saw a considerable growth from 40,000 in 1800 to 200,000 in 1900 and eventually 600,000 in 1960. The growth following 1900 was partially caused by the housing act of 1901, which stimulated the expansion of cities such as The Hague. In the period between 1960 and 1980, The Hague saw a shrinkage from 600,000 to 440,000 inhabitants, caused mostly by the spatial policy, demographic processes and lack of space. After several annexations and housing constructions, The Hague has since grown again, celebrating its 500,000th inhabitant in 2011. The municipality expects the growth to continue to 513,000 inhabitants in 2020.  The demonym of The Hague officially is "Hagenaar", but the term "Hagenees" is informally used for someone who was born and raised in The Hague. The usage of these demonyms appears to be class-bound, with Hagenaar being the upper-class term and Hagenees being that of the lower-class.

Ethnic make-up.

The proportion of Dutch people is 48%, while

Religion.

Just under half of The Hague's population identifies with a religious group. The two most popular religions are Christianity (29%) and Islam (14.1%). Indonesian, Turks, Moroccans and Surinamese people are particularly likely to adhere to a

Politics.

Municipal government.

As of the 2018 municipal election, The Hague's municipal council contains fifteen parties, most notably the local Group de Mos (9 seats), the VVD (7 seats), D66 (6 seats) and GroenLinks (5 seats).!style="background-color:#E9E9E9" align=center colspan=2|Party!style="background-color:#E9E9E9" align=right|Seats  Since 2018, the municipal executive has comprised Group de Mos, VVD, D66 and GroenLinks. The chairman of the college is Mayor Pauline Krikke (VVD), and the city has eight aldermen: Richard de Mos, Rachid Guernaoui (both Group

International politics.

The Hague is home to many different international judicial bodies, such as the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the International Criminal Court (ICC), and the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals (IRMCT). The Hague is the fourth major centre for the United Nations, after New York, Geneva and Vienna.  The foundation of The Hague as an "international city of peace and justice" started at the end of the 19th century, when the first global Conference of peace took place in The Hague on Tobias Asser's initiative, with a second one a few years later. A direct result of these meetings was the establishment of the world's first organisation for the settlement of international disputes: the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA). Shortly thereafter, the Scottish-American millionaire Andrew Carnegie made the necessary funds available to build the Peace Palace

Twin towns and sister cities.

The Hague

Economy.

The Hague has a service-oriented economy. Professional life in the city is dominated by the large number of civil servants and diplomats working in the city;, 26% of the jobs in The Hague are those offered by the Dutch government or the international institutions. Large employers in this sector include the ministries of Defence, Justice, Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment, Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations and Transport, Public Works and Water Management.  Several large international businesses have their headquarters in The Hague, including Royal Dutch Shell, the world's fifth largest company in terms of revenue. Other significant companies headquartered in The Hague include Aegon, APM Terminals, Damco, NIBC Bank, Chicago Bridge & Iron Company and PostNL. The city is also host to the regional headquarters of

Culture.

The Hague originated around the 13th-century Binnenhof, and this is still considered the cultural centre of the city. Night life centres around the three main squares in the city centre. The "Plein" (literally "Square") is taken by several large sidewalk cafés where often politicians may be spotted. The "Grote Markt" (literally "Great Market") is completely strewn with chairs and tables, summer or winter. The Buitenhof (literally "Outer Court", located just outside the Binnenhof) contains a six screen Pathé cinema and a handful of bars and restaurants in the immediate vicinity. Adjacent to the Buitenhof is De Passage, the country's first covered shopping mall. Dating from the late 19th century, it contains many expensive and speciality shops. One of the country's largest music venues, Paard van Troje, can be found in the centre of The Hague. Another popular music venue in The Hague is Muziekcafé de Paap.  The Spuiplein is a modern fourth square in the city centre, opposite the Nieuwe Kerk. Besides the City Hall, this was also the location of the Dr. Anton Philipszaal, home to the Residentie Orchestra, and the Lucent Danstheater, home to the internationally celebrated modern dance company Nederlands Dans Theater. These buildings, designed by Rem Koolhaas in 1988, have been demolished to make space for a new theatre, the Spuiforum, which would house both institutes as well as the Royal Conservatory. Despite efforts of the municipality, public support for the proposed theatre remains low. At the heart of the city centre across the palace gardens is the home of Summerschool Den Haag, international school for dance with guest teachers such as Valentina Scaglia, Igone de Jongh, and Maia Makhateli. The Koninklijke Schouwburg, home to the Nationaal Toneel, can also be found in the city centre – on the Korte Voorhout. New European Ensemble is a collective for contemporary music consisting on international musicians. The ensemble has its main base in the city.  Scheveningen forms a second cultural centre of The Hague, having its own Pathé cinema as well as the musical theatre Circustheater although, especially in the summer, most night life concentrates around the sea-front boulevard with its bars, restaurants and gambling halls. Several other attractions can be found in Scheveningen, such as the miniature park Madurodam, the Beelden aan Zee museum, and a Sea Life Centre.  The Hague is the residence of the Dutch monarch, and several (former) royal palaces can be found in the city. King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands and Queen Máxima of the Netherlands live in Huis ten Bosch in the Haagse Bos, and work in the Noordeinde Palace in the city centre. Moreover, there are two former royal palaces in The Hague. The Kneuterdijk Palace, built in 1716, is now home to the Council of State of the Netherlands, and the Lange Voorhout Palace is now occupied by the Escher Museum, dedicated to Dutch graphical artist M. C. Escher.  The Hague has its share of museums, most notably the Mauritshuis, located next to the Binnenhof, which exhibits many paintings by Dutch masters, such as Johannes Vermeer, Rembrandt van Rijn and Paulus Potter. Other museums include the science museum Museon, the modern art museum Gemeentemuseum, the historic museum Haags Historisch Museum, the national postal museum Museum voor Communicatie, the Museum Bredius, the Louis Couperus Museum, the museum Beelden aan Zee in Scheveningen, and the Gevangenpoort, a former prison housed in a 15th-century gatehouse.  Since early times, possibly as far back as the 16th century, the stork has been the symbol of The Hague.  Several films have been (partially) shot in The Hague, including "Mindhunters" (2004), "Hum Tum" (2004), "Ocean's Twelve" (2004), "Black Book" (2006) and "Sonny Boy" (2011). Parts of the second season of the Netflix series "Sense8" were filmed in The Hague. Notable actors and filmmakers from The Hague include Martin Koolhoven, Georgina Verbaan, Carel Struycken, Frederique van der Wal, Marwan Kenzari, Anna Drijver, Renée Soutendijk and Paul Verhoeven, who grew up in the city from an early age.  An alternative music video for the Coldplay single "Viva la Vida" was also shot in The Hague.

Transport.

Air.

The Hague shares an airport with Rotterdam. It can be reached from Central Station by RandstadRail Line E, with an Airport Shuttle to and

Rail.

There are two main railway stations in The Hague: Hollands Spoor (HS) and Centraal Station (CS), only away from each other. Because these two stations were built and exploited by two different railway companies in the 19th century, east–west lines terminate

Urban transport.

Public transport in The Hague consists of a tramway network and a sizeable number of bus routes, operated by HTM Personenvervoer. Plans for a subway were shelved in the early 1970s. However, in 2004 a tunnel was built under the city

Road.

Major motorways connecting to The Hague include the A12, running to Utrecht and the German border. The A12 runs directly into the heart of the city in a cutting. Built in the 1970s, this section of motorway (the "Utrechtsebaan") is now heavily overburdened. Plans were made in the late 1990s for a second artery road into the city (the "Rotterdamsebaan", previously called the

The Hague (; or ) is a city on the western coast of the Netherlands on the North Sea and the capital of the province of South Holland. It is also the seat of government of the Netherlands and hosts the International Court of Justice, one of the most important courts in the world.

Den Haag (, amtlich auch ’s-Gravenhage (), deutsch (veraltet) "der Haag", "des Haags", "im Haag", "Haag" usw.) ist der Parlaments- und Regierungssitz der Niederlande und des Königreichs der Niederlande sowie die Hauptstadt der Provinz Südholland. Seit 1831 ist die Stadt Residenz des Königshauses, jedoch nicht Hauptstadt der Niederlande; diese ist Amsterdam.


By country.

Historically Christian countries.

In a number of states with a majority-Christian or formerly majority-Christian population blasphemy laws may criminalize abusive or scurrilous speech about Christianity, and often times, other religions and their adherents, as such offenses "have the tendency to lead to a breach of peace".

Australia.

Emerging as a British colony in the 1780s, Australia received English common law, including the Blasphemy Act 1697. The first colonial laws were the Blasphemous and Seditious Libels Act 1827 for New South Wales (repealed in 1898), and legislation that governor Arthur Phillip enacted in Van Diemen's Land in the same year that regulated printing and publishing and prohibited 'blasphemous and seditious libels' as part of a law to maintain public order.

Austria.

In Austria, a section

Brazil.

Art. 208 of the penal code states that "publicly vilifying an act

Canada.

Blasphemous libel was a crime in Canada under section 296 of the Criminal Code R.S.C., 1985, c. C-46. Subsection (1) read: Subsection (3) read: Over the summer of 2016, a petition to Parliament asking that the blasphemous libel law be repealed was circulated by several Canadian humanist groups. The petition was presented to the Government in December 2016. It responded in January 2017, stating that "blasphemous libel, along

Denmark.

In Denmark, Paragraph 140 of the penal code was about blasphemy. Since 1866, this law has only led to two convictions, in 1938 and in 1946. A further charge was brought to court in 1971, but led to acquittal. In 2017 a man was charged with blasphemy for posting a video of himself burning the Quran on social media under the slogan "Yes to freedom - no to Islam". In

Finland.

In Finland, section 10 of chapter 17 of the Criminal Code relate to blasphemy. The section is titled "Breach of the sanctity of religion", but the law text explicitly mentions "publicly blaspheming against God". Unsuccessful attempts were made to rescind the section in 1914, 1917, 1965, 1970, and 1998.  The writer Hannu Salama was convicted of blasphemy for his 1964 novel "Juhannustanssit". In 1969 Harro Koskinen was

France.

The definition of "blasphemy" was introduced into French law in the 13th century (after great debate among the French Moralists), based on the definition given by St. Thomas Aquinas: a sin of language, "a failure to declare one's faith", thus representing an attack on the purity of religion. This justified punishment by law, which became extreme during the reign of Louis IX. Later canonized by the Catholic church as Saint Louis, he became obsessed in his fight against heretics, Jews and Muslims, and set the punishment for blasphemy to mutilation of the tongue and lips.

Germany.

In Germany, religious defamation is covered by Article 166 of the Strafgesetzbuch, the German criminal law. If a deed is capable of disturbing the public peace, defamation is actionable. The article reads as follows:  In

Greece.

Articles 198, 199, and 201 of the Greek Penal Code create offences which involve blasphemy. Article 198 "Malicious Blasphemy" provides:  Article 199 "Blasphemy Concerning Religions" restates most of Article 198, and criminalizes blasphemy against the Greek Orthodox Church.  Article 201 criminalizes acts committed “blasphemously and improperly toward a grave".  Greece has not used its laws about blasphemy to protect any religion other than the Greek Orthodox Church, which is the state church of Greece. In December 2003, Greece prosecuted for blasphemy Gerhard Haderer, an Austrian, along with his Greek publisher and four booksellers. Haderer is the author of an illustrated, humorous book entitled "The Life of Jesus". The prosecutor contended that the book's depiction of

Iceland.

The Icelandic blasphemy law was repealed on 2 July 2015, after a strong push by the Icelandic Pirate Party and a number of associations including Icelandic Ethical Humanist Association (Siðmennt), the bishop of Iceland, the Icelandic priesthood, the Association of Publishers, PEN

Ireland.

In Ireland, blasphemy against any form of religion was prohibited by the 2009 Defamation Act until its repeal on 17 January 2020. Blasphemy against Christianity was prohibited by the constitution and carried a maximum fine of €25,000; however, the offence of blasphemous libel, last prosecuted in 1855 in connection to an alleged Bible-burning, was ruled in 1999 to be incompatible with the Constitution's guarantee of religious equality. A controversial law was passed on 9 July 2009 and went into effect on 1

Italy.

In Italy, under article 724 of the Penal Code, blasphemy in public is considered an "administrative offense" and punished with a fine ranging from €51 to €309. First introduced in 1930 under Mussolini, blasphemy was decriminalized as per art.57, d.lgs. n.507 of 30 December 1999. Following a ruling of

Malta.

Instead of a law against blasphemy, Malta had laws against the vilification of religion, and against immorality. Enacted in 1933, Article 163 of Malta's Criminal Code prohibited "vilification of the Roman Catholic Apostolic Religion", which is Malta's state religion. Vilification of Malta's religion made the vilifier liable to imprisonment for a term from one to six months. By Article 164, vilification of any cult "tolerated by

Nigeria.

Nigeria prohibits blasphemy by section 204 of its Criminal Code and

Netherlands.

With the introduction of the Dutch Criminal Code of 1881, in force since 1886, the Netherlands obtained its first law against blasphemy. The Minister of Justice argued that, although God would be perfectly capable of protecting his own rights, the Dutch legislator had to 'protect the rights of society'.  In 1932, a bill was proposed to tighten the 1886 law. Parliament was divided between confessional and non-confessional parties, but also between different confessional parties on the question whether the purpose of

New Zealand.

In New Zealand, Section 123 of the Crimes Act 1961 allowed for imprisonment of up to one year for anyone who published any "blasphemous libel". Cases were only prosecuted at the discretion of the New Zealand Attorney-General, who usually cited overriding free speech objections so as not to pursue such a case. The only prosecution for blasphemous libel in New Zealand was the case of John Glover, publisher of the newspaper "The Maoriland Worker", in 1922. Glover was acquitted.  The British comedy film "Monty Python's Life of Brian" (1979) about a fictional Jewish man living at the

Norway.

In 2009, the Norwegian Parliament voted to remove the dormant law against blasphemy (§ 142 in the penal code). It was, however, removed from the penal code of 2005, which did not come into force until October 2015. Therefore, blasphemy was illegal until 2015 under the old Penal Code of 1902.  The famous writer and social activist Arnulf Øverland was the last to be tried by this law, in 1933, after giving a speech named "Kristendommen – den tiende landeplage" ("Christianity

Philippines.

"Crimes against religious worship" are stated under section four of the Revised Penal Code of the Philippines. Under article 132 and 133, respectively, "interruption of religious worship" and "offending the religious feelings" are punishable by law. "Interruption of religious worship" is defined as "preventing or disturbing the

Poland.

While Poland's penal code makes no reference to any sort of blasphemy law, it states that "Whoever offends religious feelings of other people by publicly insulting an object of religious cult or a place for public holding of religious ceremonies, is subject to a fine, restriction of liberty or loss of liberty for up to 2 years". The article has been used by pro-Church politicians and activists on numerous occasions, whenever they felt their religious feelings had been offended in any way. Opponents of the article maintain that due to its

Romania.

Romania does not have any blasphemy laws in force. According to Romanian law, "cults, religious associations and religious groups... must not infringe upon... fundamental human rights and liberties",

Russia.

After the Pussy Riot incident, Russian lawmakers started considering a bill proposing prison sentences for desecration. The State Duma investigated "the situation of sacrilegious acts against Church property and propose amendments to the Russian Penal Code" in their 2012 Autumn Session. The Union of Orthodox Citizens and MP of United Russia supported the proposal, the latter stating: "We really should make

South Africa.

Blasphemy is a common law offence in South Africa, defined as "unlawfully, intentionally and publicly acting contemptuously towards God." Several legal writers have suggested that the illegality of blasphemy has become unconstitutional as a result of the adoption in 1994 of the Bill of Rights, which includes the right to freedom of expression. It has also been suggested that it is unconstitutional because the criminal prohibition only applies to blasphemy against Christianity, and therefore discriminates on the basis of religion.  Blasphemy prosecutions have been rare since the start of the twentieth century, to the point that writers in the early part of the century suggested that the crime had been abrogated through disuse. However, in 1934 a newspaper editor was convicted of blasphemy for publishing

Spain.

In 1988 the spanish Courts removed the blasphemy law of their legal system.  However, the article 525 of the penal law in Spain considers "vilification" of religious "feelings", "dogmas", "beliefs" or "rituals". This extension to "dogmas" and "beliefs" is considered by some as very close to a blasphemy law in practice.  For instance, in 2012 it was used to prosecute a famous artist, Javier

Sweden.

Swedish laws do not prohibit blasphemy. In Sweden the 20th century saw the public adoption of the principle that religion was a personal matter. King Erik XIV had introduced a law in 1563 that specifically protected religion. That was followed by similar Acts until 1949, when they were replaced by an Act on "Peace

Switzerland.

In Switzerland, Article 261 of the penal code titled "Attack

United Kingdom.

The United Kingdom is made up of four distinct parts and several legal jurisdictions. In criminal justice matters, these jurisdictions are England and Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland. Blasphemy laws dating back to the medieval times were abolished in England and Wales in 2008. Equivalent laws remain in Scotland and Northern Ireland but have not been used for many years.  English blasphemy laws were historically defended with the following reasoning: the "[blasphemy] law is needed to uphold the national law, which is based on Christianity. Thus, targeting Christianity is targeting the very foundation of England."  The

United States.

A prosecution for blasphemy in the United States would be a violation of the U.S. Constitution, and no blasphemy laws exist at the federal level. The First Amendment to the United States Constitution (adopted in 1791) provides: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press...."  Before winning their independence from the British Empire in the late 18th century, some of the British colonies in North America such as the Province of Massachusetts Bay had blasphemy laws. The 1791 First Amendment effectively put an end to them in the new American republic.  Because of the First Amendment's protection of free speech and religious exercise from federal interference, and the Supreme Court's extension of those protections against state regulation, the United States and its constituent state governments may not prosecute blasphemous speech or religious insults and may not allow

Muslim-majority countries.

In a number of countries where Islam is the state religion, Islamic sharia law is the principal legislation, or affects the laws of the country. Blasphemy in Islam is impious utterance or action concerning God, Muhammad or anything considered sacred in Islam. The Islamic holy book, the Qur'an, admonishes blasphemy, but does not specify the punishment. The hadiths, which are another source of sharia, suggest various punishments for blasphemy.

Afghanistan.

An Islamic state, Afghanistan prohibits blasphemy as an offense under

Algeria.

Although ninety-nine percent of Algeria's population is Sunni Muslim, and the Constitution declares that Islam is the state

Bangladesh.

Bangladesh forbids blasphemy by a provision in its penal code that prohibits "hurting religious sentiments", and by other laws and policies that attack freedom of speech. In April 2013, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina rejected calls for new laws from radical

Egypt.

Article 98(f) of the Egyptian Penal Code, as amended by Law 147/2006 states the penalty for blasphemy and similar crimes:  Confinement for a period of not less than six months and not exceeding five years, or a fine

Indonesia.

Article 156(a) of Indonesia's Criminal Code forbids anyone from deliberately, in public, expressing feelings of hostility, hatred, or contempt against religions

Iran.

An Islamic theocracy, Iran derives its law against blasphemy from Sharia. The law

Jordan.

Article 273 of Jordan's Penal Code criminalizes "scorning or reviling any of the Prophets" with imprisonment

Kuwait.

Article 6 of Kuwait's cybercrime laws mention a punishment of up to 12 months in prison and a 20,000 KWD

Malaysia.

Malaysia prevents insult to religion and to the religious by education, by restrictions upon the broadcasting and publishing media, and by

Mauritania.

The crime of apostasy is defined in section IV (entitled Act of Indecency toward Islam) of the Mauritanian Penal Code, established under the order of

Pakistan.

More people are on death row or serving life sentences for blasphemy in Pakistan than in any other country in the world.  The anti-blasphemy laws in Pakistan are quite complicated. Offenders may be vigorously prosecuted. Chapter XV of Pakistan Penal Code deals with "offences relating to religion":  There is a death penalty for blasphemy in Pakistan (only under section 295 c). Those prosecuted are usually minorities such as Ahmadiyya and Christians but it seems that they are also increasingly other Muslims. Persons accused of blasphemy as well as police, lawyers, and judges have been subject to harassment, threats, attacks, and murders when blasphemy is the issue.  In November 2008 Pakistan's government appointed Shahbaz Bhatti as Federal Minister for Minorities and gave

Palestine.

The State of Palestine has several provisions in civil and military law against blasphemy. An infamous 2010 case, in which these were employed to attempt a prosecution, was that of Waleed Al-Husseini, a young man from the West Bank town of Qalqilya who had left Islam to become an atheist, and openly challenged and ridiculed religion online. He was arrested without charges and jailed in October

Qatar.

The penalty for committing blasphemy in Qatar is a jail sentence of up to 7 years. Additionally, the law stipulates a 1-year prison sentence or QR1,000

Saudi Arabia.

Islam is Saudi Arabia's state religion. The country's monarchy follows Sunni Islam. The country's laws are an

Sudan.

Sunni Islam is the state religion of Sudan. Before South Sudan received independence, about seventy percent of the country's population was Muslim. The next largest group—about twenty-five percent of the population—was animist. Section 125 of the Sudanese Criminal Act prohibits "insulting religion, inciting hatred and showing contempt for religious beliefs". The section includes as penalties: imprisonment, a fine, and a maximum of forty lashes. In November 2007, the section gave rise to the Sudanese teddy bear blasphemy case. In December

Turkey.

Article 216 of the Turkish Penal Code ("Provoking people to be rancorous and hostile") criminalizes blasphemy and religious insult, as well as hate speech. The article, which is in the fifth section of the Turkish Penal Code ("Offenses Against Public Peace") is as follows:  On 1 June 2012, pianist Fazıl Say came under investigation by the Istanbul Prosecutor's Office over statements

United Arab Emirates.

The United Arab Emirates discourage blasphemy by controlling what is

Yemen.

Accusations of blasphemy in Yemen are often aimed at religious minorities, intellectuals and artists, reporters, human rights defenders, and opponents of the ruling party. Vigilantism or abuse by the authorities can kill an accused or force them into exile. The accused in Yemen is subject to Islamic law (Sharia). Sharia, according to some interpretations, prescribes death as the proper punishment for blasphemy.

Atheist states.

China.

China, officially an atheist state, banned a book titled ""Xing Fengsu"" ("Sexual Customs"), which had allegedly insulted Islam, and placed its authors under arrest in 1989, after protests in Lanzhou and Beijing by Chinese Hui Muslims, during which the Chinese police provided protection to the Hui Muslim protestors, and the Chinese government organized public burnings of the book. The Chinese government assisted them and gave into their demands because Hui do not have a separatist movement, unlike the Uyghurs, Hui Muslim protestors who violently rioted by

Jewish state.

Israel.

In Israel, blasphemy laws were enacted by the pre-State British Mandate in an attempt to suppress the 1929 Palestine riots.  Blasphemy is covered by Articles 170 and 173 of the penal code as enacted by the British Mandate:  The law is rarely enforced due to concerns of infringing civil liberties. However, one right-wing activist was sentenced to two years in prison after scattering leaflets in Hebron in 1997, which pictured Muhammed as a pig desecrating the Quran.

Hindu and Buddhist-majority countries.

India.

In 1860, laws were created in British India that made it a "crime to disturb a religious assembly, trespass on burial grounds, insult religious beliefs or intentionally destroy or defile a place or an object of worship, punishable by up to 10 years in jail."  Section 295A of the Indian Penal Code has been used as a blasphemy law to prevent insulting Christianity, Islam and Hinduism.  The British-era section 295A of the penal code is extant and has not been repealed; it contains an anti-blasphemy law. Section 295A was introduced in 1927 to prevent hate speech that insults or attempts to insult the religion or the religious beliefs of any class

Myanmar.

Section 295A and 298 of the Myanmar Penal Code are used to prosecute people for blasphemy. The Myanmar Penal Code shares a common origin with the penal codes of Pakistan and India and other British colonies in the Penal Code of 1860. The offences are:  Chapter XV  OF OFFENCES RELATING TO RELIGION  Section 295 and 295A carry a maximum penalty of two years' imprisonment, a fine, or both, and sections 296, 297 and 298 a maximum of one year's imprisonment, a fine, or both. Section 295A was added to the Penal code by a legislative amendment in 1927 and was intended to protect religious minorities. It was

Nepal.

Section 9.156 of a new criminal code act passed by parliament on 8 August 2017 serves as a blasphemy law. It criminalised for

Thailand.

Despite Thailand's constitution declaring freedom of religion and the lack of an official religion, Theravada Buddhism still plays a very important role in Thai society, both legally and culturally. The constitution declares that the King of Thailand must be Buddhist and a defender of Buddhism. The 1962 Sangha Act outlaws insults or defamation of Buddhism and Buddhist clergy. These include damaging statues of Buddha, stealing, buying or taking them out of Thailand, taking photos of them, sitting with your feet facing them, touching them on the head, and wearing tattoos depicting the Buddha.Travelers coming into Thailand from a foreign country are sternly warned not to do the aforementioned acts when entering the country. The 1956 penal code sections 206 and 208 also outlaws insulting or disrupting places and services of any religion recognized by the Thai government. Violations range from 1 to 7 years imprisonment to a 2,000 to 14,000 baht fine.

Defamation of religion and the United Nations.

Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) 1976 obliges signatory countries to guarantee everyone the right to hold opinions without restriction and to guarantee the right to freedom of expression, to impart information and ideas of all kinds, either orally, in writing or in print, in art, or through any other media. Paragraph 3 of article 19 allows for certain restrictions to freedom expression that are both necessary and provided by law to safeguard the reputations of others, for the protection of national security or of public order, or of public health or morals and article 20 obliges countries to prohibit "propaganda for war or advocacy of national, racial or religious hatred that constitutes incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence."  In July 2011, the UN Human Rights Committee released a 52-paragraph statement, General Comment 34 on the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, concerning freedoms of opinion and expression. Paragraph 48 states:  The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation have petitioned the "United Nations to create global laws criminalising insults to religion".  Three United Nations Special Rapporteurs—the Special Rapporteurs on freedom of religion or belief, on the right to freedom of opinion and expression and on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance—released a joint statement during the Durban Review Conference in Geneva in 2009. They stated that:

Campaigns for repeal.

France (apart from Alsace-Moselle) repealed its blasphemy law in 1881, Sweden in 1970. A series of countries, especially in Europe, began repealing their blasphemy laws in the early 21st century. A systematic global campaign to abolish all blasphemy laws around the world was launched under the slogan "End Blasphemy Laws" by the International Humanist and Ethical Union (IHEU), the European Humanist Federation (EHF) and numerous coalition partners on 30 January 2015, in direct response to the "Charlie Hebdo" shooting on 7 January 2015.

European initiatives.

The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg, France, which has been deliberating on the issue of blasphemy law, the resolution that blasphemy should not be a criminal offence, adopted on 29 June 2007 in the Recommendation 1805 (2007) on blasphemy, religious insults and hate speech against persons on grounds of their religion. This Recommendation set a number of guidelines for member states of the Council of Europe in view of Articles 10 (freedom of expression) and 9 (freedom of

Repealings by jurisdiction.

The common law offences of blasphemy and blasphemous libel were abolished in England and Wales in 2008 with the passage of the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act. Other countries to abolish or repeal blasphemy laws include France in 1881 (except for the Alsace-Moselle region, part of Germany at the time), Sweden in 1970, Norway with Acts in

A blasphemy law is a law prohibiting blasphemy, where blasphemy is the act of insulting or showing contempt or lack of reverence to a deity, or sacred things, or toward something considered sacred or inviolable. According to Pew Research Center, about a quarter of the world's countries and territories (26%) had anti-blasphemy laws or policies as of 2014.

Die Beschimpfung von Bekenntnissen, Religionsgesellschaften und Weltanschauungsvereinigungen ist ein Straftatbestand, der im StGB der Bundesrepublik Deutschland geregelt ist. Wegen seiner Geschichte wird § 166 häufig als "Gotteslästerungsparagraph" oder "Blasphemieparagraph" bezeichnet.


Definition.

NICs are countries whose economies have not yet reached a developed country's status but have, in a macroeconomic sense, outpaced their developing counterparts. Such countries are still considered developing nations and only differ from other developing nations in the rate at which an NIC's growth is much higher over a shorter allotted time period compared to other developing nations. Another characterization of NICs is that of countries undergoing rapid economic growth (usually export-oriented). Incipient or ongoing industrialization is an important indicator of an NIC. In many NICs, social upheaval can occur as primarily rural, or agricultural, populations migrate to the cities, where the growth of manufacturing concerns and factories can draw many thousands of laborers. NIC's introduce many new immigrants looking to improve their social and or political status through newly formed democracies and the increase in wages that most individuals who partake in such changes would obtain.

Characteristics of newly industrialized countries.

Newly industrialized countries can bring about an increase of stabilization in a country's social and economic status, allowing the people living in these nations to begin to experience better living conditions and better lifestyles. Another characteristic that appears in newly industrialized countries is the further development in government structures, such as democracy, the rule of law, and less corruption. Other such examples of a better lifestyle people living in such countries can experience are better transportation, electricity, and better access to water, compared to other developing countries.

Historical context.

The term came into use around 1970, when the Four Asian Tigers of Taiwan, Singapore, Hong Kong and South Korea rose to global dominance in science, technological innovation and economic prosperity as well as NICs in the 1970s and 1980s, with exceptionally fast industrial growth since the 1960s; all four countries having since graduated into high-tech industrialized developed countries with wealthy high-income economies. There is a clear distinction between these countries and the countries now considered NICs. In particular, the combination of an open political process, high GNI per capita, and a thriving, export-oriented economic policy has shown that these East Asian economic tiger countries have now not only reached but surpassed the technological development of the developed countries in Western Europe, Canada, Japan, Australia, New Zealand and the United States.  All four countries are classified as high-income economies by the World Bank and developed countries by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). All of the Four Asian Tigers, like Western European countries, have a Human Development Index considered "very high" by the United Nations.

Current.

The table below presents the list of countries consistently considered NICs by different authors and experts. Turkey and South Africa are classified as developed countries by the CIA. Turkey was a founding member of the OECD in 1961 and Mexico joined in 1994. The G8+5 group is composed of the original G8 members in addition to China, India, Mexico, South Africa and Brazil.  For China and India, the immense population of these two countries (each with over 1.2 billion people as of September 2015) means that per capita income will remain low even if either economy surpasses that of the United States in overall GDP. When GDP per capita is calculated according to purchasing power parity (PPP), this takes into account the lower costs of living in each newly industrialized country. GDP per capita typically is an indicator for living standards in a given country as well.  Brazil, China, India, Mexico and South Africa meet annually with the G8 countries to discuss financial topics and climate change, due to their economic importance in today's global market and environmental impact, in a group known as G8+5. This group is expected to expand to G14 by adding Egypt alongside the five aforementioned countries.

Other.

Authors set lists of countries accordingly to different methods of economic analysis. Sometimes a work ascribes NIC status to a country that other authors don't consider a NIC. This is the case of countries such as Argentina, Egypt, Sri Lanka and Russia.

Criticism.

NICs usually benefit from comparatively low wage costs, which translates into lower input prices for suppliers. As a result, it is often easier for producers in NICs to outperform and outproduce factories in developed countries, where the cost of living is higher, and trade unions and other organizations have more political sway. This comparative advantage is often criticized by advocates of the fair trade movement.  Critics of NICs argue economic freedom is not always associated with political freedom in countries such as China, pointing out that Internet censorship and human rights violations are common. The case is diametrically opposite for India; while being a liberal democracy throughout after its independence, India has been widely criticized for its inefficient, bureaucratic governance and slow process of structural reform. Thus, while political freedom in China remains limited, the average Chinese citizen enjoys a much higher standard of living than his or her counterpart in India.

Problems.

South Africa faces an influx of immigrants from countries such as Zimbabwe, although many also come from Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, Eritrea, Nigeria, Ethiopia and Somalia. While South Africa is considered wealthy on a wealth-per-capita basis, economic inequality is persistent and extreme poverty remains high in the region.  Mexico's economic growth is hampered in some areas by an ongoing drug war.  Other NICs face common problems such as widespread corruption and/or political instability as well as other circumstances that cause them to face the "middle income trap".

The category of newly industrialized country (NIC) is a socioeconomic classification applied to several countries around the world by political scientists and economists. They represent a subset of developing countries whose economic growth is much higher than other developing countries; and where the social consequences of industrialization, such as urbanization, are reorganizing society.

Ein Schwellenland ist ein Staat, der traditionell noch zu den Entwicklungsländern gezählt wird, aber nicht mehr deren typische Merkmale aufweist. Deshalb wird ein solches Land begrifflich von den Entwicklungsländern getrennt.