Eurasia

Georgia

The region of present day Georgia contained the ancient kingdoms of Colchis and Kartli-Iberia. Georgia is a country of rainforests and swamps, snow and glaciers, and semi-arid plains. Georgia has one of the longest and most turbulent histories in the Christian or Near Eastern world; empires have tried to control, fragment or even destroy its unity. The country has had conflicts with Xenophon’s Greeks, Arabs, invading Turks, the Crusades, Genghis Khan, the Persian Empire, the Russian Empire, and Soviet totalitarianism.

The area came under Roman influence in the first centuries A.D. and Christianity became the state religion in the 330s. Domination by Persians, Arabs, and Turks was followed by a Georgian golden age (11th-13th centuries) that was cut short by the Mongol invasion of 1236. Subsequently, the Ottoman and Persian empires competed for influence in the region.

Georgia was annexed by Russia in 1801 and part of the Russian Empire until 1917.

Russia, Georgia, Azerbajian. S. E. Caucasus.
Map: Bacon, 1895.

Georgia is in the Caucasus region of Eurasia, located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the south by Turkey and Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital and largest city is Tbilisi. Georgia covers a territory of 69,700 square kilometres (26,911 sq mi), and its 2015 population is about 3.75 million. Georgia is a unitary, semi-presidential republic, with the government elected through a representative democracy.

Independent for three years (1918-1921) following the Russian revolution, Georgia was forcibly incorporated into the USSR in 1921 and regained its independence when the Soviet Union dissolved in 1991. Mounting public discontent over rampant corruption and ineffective government services, followed by an attempt by the incumbent Georgian government to manipulate national legislative elections in November 2003 touched off widespread protests that led to the resignation of Eduard Shevardnadze, president since 1995. In the aftermath of that popular movement, which became known as the "Rose Revolution," new elections in early 2004 swept Mikheil Saakashvilli into power along with his United National Movement (UNM) party.

Progress on market reforms and democratization has been made in the years since independence, but this progress has been complicated by Russian assistance and support to the separatist regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Periodic flare-ups in tension and violence culminated in a five-day conflict in August 2008 between Russia and Georgia, including the invasion of large portions of undisputed Georgian territory. Russian troops pledged to pull back from most occupied Georgian territory, but in late August 2008 Russia unilaterally recognized the independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia and Russian military forces remain in those regions.

Caucasus

Russia, Circassia, Astrakhan, Georgia, Azerbaijan. SDUK, 1844.

Cartography from the Imperial Atlas of Russia in Europe, Montieth & Survey of Krimea; Engraved by J & C Walker. Provenance: "Maps of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge", published by Chapman & Hall, London, under the superintendance of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge (SDUK. Founded in 1826).

Billionaire philanthropist Bidzina Ivanishvili's unexpected entry into politics in October 2011 brought the divided opposition together under his Georgian Dream coalition, which won a majority of seats in the October 2012 parliamentary election and removed UNM from power. A new constitution shifting many powers from the president to the prime minister and parliament, including the power to name the prime minister and government ministers, does not go into effect until after a new president is elected in the fall of 2013. Conceding defeat, Saakashvili named Ivanishvili as prime minister and allowed Georgian Dream to create a new government.

Georgia: Mingrelian. c.1885

Mingrelia (Samargalo) is situated in the western half of the Georgian Republic in the former USSR. It comprises seven administrative districts (raions ): Abasha, Senak'i (renamed Tskhak'aia by the Soviets), Khobi, Ts'alenjikha, Chkhorots'q'u, Mart'vili (formerly Gegech'k'ori), and Zugdidi. The region is ethnically homogeneous except for significant Russian minorities in the towns of Poti, Zugdidi, and Senak'i. Mingrelians also make up large numbers in the Gali and Ochamchire regions in the Abkhazian Autonomous Republic, which is part of Georgia. The Gali region is considered by many Mingrelians to be part of Mingrelia.

Mingrelians now occupy part of a region that was known by ancient Greeks and Romans as Colchis or Lazica, and by western Georgians as Egrisi. In the fourteenth century, it became a separate feudatory under the princely Dadiani family and was known as Odishi. It was not until the nineteenth century that "Mingrelia" became the popular name for the region. Mingrelia has always been part of the broader Georgian cultural and political sphere, in large part through the influence of the Georgian Orthodox church.

West Georgia, including Mingrelia, became part of the Ottoman sphere and east Georgia, part of the Persian. The Georgian church was likewise split into two, and Mingrelia, which established its own mint and customs barriers, became one of the competing feudatories of west Georgia until it was finally taken under Russian protection in 1804 as an autonomous territory. Autonomy was withdrawn after a revolt in 1856-1857, by Mingrelian peasants who seized the regional capital of Zugdidi and threatened czarist control of the region. In 1867 the kingdom was formally abolished by the Russian Empire. Under Russian rule, the serious problem of malaria was solved by draining swampland. Between 1918 and 1921, Mingrelia was part of an independent Georgia; in 1921 it became part of the USSR.

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1899. World's Fleet. Boston Daily Globe

Lloyds Register of Shipping gives the entire fleet of the world as 28,180 steamers and sailing vessels, with a total tonnage of 27,673,628, of which 39 perent are British.

Great Britain	10,990 vessels, total tonnage of 10,792,714
United States	3,010 vessels, total tonnage of 2,405,887
Norway	2,528 vessels, tonnage of 1,604,230
Germany	1,676 vessels, with a tonnage of 2,453,334, in which are included her particularly large ships.
Sweden	1,408 vessels with a tonnage of 643, 527
Italy	1,150 vessels
France	1,182 vessels

For Historical Comparison
Top 10 Maritime Nations Ranked by Value (2017)

	Country	# of Vessels	Gross Tonnage (m)	Total Value (USDbn)
1	Greece	4,453	206.47	$88.0
2	Japan	4,317	150.26	$79.8
3	China	4,938	159.71	$71.7
4	USA	2,399	55.92	$46.5
5	Singapore	2,662	64.03	$41.7
6	Norway	1,668	39.68	$41.1
7	Germany	2,923	81.17	$30.3
8	UK	883	28.78	$24.3
9	Denmark	1,040	36.17	$23.4
10	South Korea	1,484	49.88	$20.1
Total		26,767	87.21	$466.9