e Roman, Byzantine, Arab, Persian, and Ottoman. During
World War I in the western portion of Armenia, Ottoman Turkey
instituted a policy of forced resettlement coupled with other harsh
practices that resulted in an estimated 1 million Armenian deaths.
The eastern area of Armenia was ceded by the Ottomans to Russia in
1828; this portion declared its independence in 1918, but was
conquered by the Soviet Red Army in 1920. Armenian leaders remain
preoccupied by the long conflict with Muslim Azerbaijan over
Nagorno-Karabakh, a primarily Armenian-populated region, assigned to
Soviet Azerbaijan in the 1920s by Moscow. Armenia and Azerbaijan
began fighting over the area in 1988; the struggle escalated after
both countries attained independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.
By May 1994, when a cease-fire took hold, Armenian forces held not
only Nagorno-Karabakh but also a significant portion of Azerbaijan
proper. The economies of both sides have been hurt by their
inability to make substantial progress toward a peaceful resolution.
Turkey imposed an economic blockade on Armenia and closed the common
border because of the Armenian separatists' control of
Nagorno-Karabakh and surrounding areas.

Aruba
Discovered and claimed for Spain in 1499, Aruba was acquired
by the Dutch in 1636. The island's economy has been dominated by
three main industries. A 19th century gold rush was followed by
prosperity brought on by the opening in 1924 of an oil refinery. The
last decades of the 20th century saw a boom in the tourism industry.
Aruba seceded from the Netherlands Antilles in 1986 and became a
separate, autonomous member of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
Movement toward full independence was halted at Aruba's request in
1990.

Ashmore and Cartier Islands
These uninhabited islands came under
Australian authority in 1931; formal administration began two years
later. Ashmore Reef supports a rich and diverse avian and marine
habitat; in 1983, it became a National Nature Reserve. Cartier
Island, a former bombing range, became a marine reserve in 2000.

Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the
world's five oceans (after the Pacific Ocean, but larger than the
Indian Ocean, Southern Ocean, and Arctic Ocean). The Kiel Canal
(Germany), Oresund (Denmark-Sweden), Bosporus (Turkey), Strait of
Gibraltar (Morocco-Spain), and the Saint Lawrence Seaway