Blood Diamonds: The Conflict in Sierra Leone Essay -- A Level Essays

Blood Diamonds The Conflict in sierra LeoneHistory of Diamonds The name diamond comes from the Greek word, adamas meaning unconquerable. Fittingly diamonds ar made of pure degree Celsius, and diamonds are the hardest natural substance known to man.1 Diamonds bewilder long been a sign of wealth and fortune. Kings and queens have languid these forms of concentrated carbon and even more countless millions people all over time have lusted after them. These gems can be transparent, truculent white, yellow, green, blue, or brown. To meet the value of these stones, and ultimately their role in war, it helps to first understand their origins and where they come form. Diamonds are the most frequently practice sessiond form chief city by the rebels in Angola, Sierra Leone, and the Democratic Republic of Congo use to purchase weapons. The earliest gem diamonds were found in India and Borneo, were they were found in riverbeds. In the early eighteenth century, depo sits similar to those in India were found in Brazil. The story of diamonds in Africa began between December 1866 and February 1867, when a 15-year-old found a transparent stone on his fathers farm, on the south bank of the chromatic River. Within the next fifteen years, African diamond mines produced more diamonds than the India, the preceding(prenominal) leading producer, had in the last 2,000 years. This increase in production occurred at the same time as the diamond mines in Brazil experiences a sharp decline in their production. The depletion of mines in Brazil assured that show would remain stable and diamond prices would not fall as they antecedently had when Brazil over produced in the 1730s.2 Diamonds are the pure form of carbon in a transparent state, that ... ...fer, Stefan. The Last Empire De Beers, Diamonds, and the World. New York Farrar Straus Giroux, 1993.Tamm, Ingrid J. Diamonds in Peace and War Severing the Conflict-Diamond Connection. Cambridge World Peace Foundation, 2002.Web SourcesAllafrica.com www.allafrica.com forgiveness International www.amnesty.orgCNN www.cnn.comDe Beers www.debeers.com--------------------------------------------------------------------------------1 www.debeers.com2 Kanfer, Stefan. The Last Empire De Beers, Diamonds, and the World.3 Hirsch, John L. Sierra Leone Diamonds and the splutter for commonwealth4 Hirsch, John L. Sierra Leone Diamonds and the Struggle for Democracy5 Hirsch, John L. Sierra Leone Diamonds and the Struggle for Democracy6 Tamm, Ingrid J. Diamonds in Peace and War Severing the Conflict-Diamond Connection