Mauritania

The word “Mauritania” comes from the Latin word meaning “west.” The Romans called the Berber people “Maures” and Arabs came to call the general area of North Africa the Maghreb, the equivalent in their language. The three main people groups are the white Arab-Berber Maurs, the black Arab Maurs, known as Haratin, and the black Africans. The latter identify as African, while the former two groups both identify as Arabs. Virtually all of them are adherents of Sunni Islam.

Mauritania officially became an independent nation in 1960. In doing so, France was making an effort to block Morocco's expansion and create a barrier between French colonies in West Africa and the nation of Algeria. In 1976, Mauritania and Morocco annexed portions of the Western Sahara. However, within a few short years, Mauritania had to withdraw due to conflicts with Algerian-backed Western Sahara natives.

In 1981, Mauritania became the last country on earth to abolish slavery. It did not become illegal to own slaves until 2007. To date, only one successful prosecution against a slave owner has been mounted, and a 2012 estimate proposes that 10-20% of the population remain in slavery.

In 2008, General Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz (who had led a previous coup in 2005) was among the leaders of a successful coup against the sitting president, after he had fired several generals, including Aziz. 2007 had been the country's first truly democratic presidential election.

International human rights groups alleged that the government was corrupt, charging slavery, racial discrimination, secret arrests harsh prison sentences and torture

Nevertheless, Aziz retired from military service and ran for president as a civilian, obtaining 52% of the popular vote and becoming the president of Mauritania. In 2011 and 2012 Arab Spring protesters called for the president to resign as they marched through the capital.