The late Ameer, Abdurahman, died in October, 1901, and was succeeded by his eldest son, Habibullah. Early in the third year of his reign the new Ameer began to show signs of a wish to have his country move a little on the lines of European progress, in the march which so many of his Asiatic neighbors were joining. His undertakings were disturbed for a time by trouble with his half-brother, Omar Jan, and with the latter’s mother, the Bibi Halima or Queen of the Harem; but he brought the trouble to an end which does not seem to have been tragical, and that, in itself, is a notable mark in his favor. The Russo-Japanese War interested him immensely, and he established a daily post between Khyber and Cabul to bring speedy news of events. He then read the reports in public, with expositions, to make the listening people understand the bearing of what was happening on their own interests, and the lessons they should learn from what the Japanese were doing. He is said to have done much in the way of improving agriculture and horse-breeding in Afghanistan; he has a desire to establish a Chiefs’ College, with the English language as the basis of instruction, but has met with strong opposition in this undertaking; and he has introduced electric lighting, with probably other luxuries of modern science, in Cabul. Such things in Afghanistan mark a highly progressive man. His political intelligence is proved by the cordiality of his relations with the British Indian Government. An interesting account of conditions in the Ameer’s country in 1904 was given by Mr. D. C. Boulger, in the Fortnightly Review of December, that year, under the title of "The Awakening of Afghanistan." AFGHANISTAN: A. D. 1905. The Ameer becomes King. In a new treaty between the Government of Great Britain and the Ameer of Afghanistan, the latter was recognized as King. AFGHANISTAN: A. D. 1907. Convention between Great Britain and Russia relative to Afghanistan. See (in this Volume) EUROPE: A. D. 1907 (AUGUST). AFRICA: Its Colonizability by white peoples. The regions habitable by Europeans.