Happy Birthday to the countries!

Happy Birthday to the Bahamas!

2018-07-10

Junkanoo celebration in Nassau, the capital of the Bahamas. Junkanoo is a street parade with music, dance, and costumes across the Bahamas every Boxing Day (December 26) and New Year’s Day (January 1). *Photo from Wikipedia July 10 is Independence Day, celebrates the independence of the Bahamas from the United Kingdom in 1973. The Bahamas became a British Crown colony in 1718, when the British clamped down on piracy. After the American War of Independence, the Crown resettled thousands of American Loyalists in the Bahamas; they brought their slaves with them and established plantations on land grants. Africans constituted the

Happy Birthday to Argentina!

2018-07-09

Tango dancers during the World tango dance tournament held in Buenos Aires, the capital and most populous city of Argentina. *Photo from Wikipedia July 9 is Argentina’s Independence Day, celebrates the declaration of independence of the United Provinces of South America by the Congress of Tucumán in 1816. Written history began with the arrival of Spanish chroniclers in the expedition of Juan Díaz de Solís in 1516 to the Río de la Plata, which marks the beginning of Spanish domination in this region. In 1776 the Spanish Crown established the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata, an umbrella of

Happy Birthday to Solomon Islands!

2018-07-07

Solomon Islander boys. Rugby is played in Solomon Islands. *Photo from Wikipedia July 7 is Independence Day, celebrates the independence of Solomon Islands from the United Kingdom in 1978. The islands have been inhabited for thousands of years. In 1568, the Spanish navigator Álvaro de Mendaña was the first European to visit them, naming them the Islas Salomón. Britain defined its area of interest in the Solomon Islands archipelago in June 1893, when Captain Gibson R.N., of HMS Curacoa (corvette of the Royal Navy, United Kingdom’s principal naval warfare force), declared the southern Solomon Islands as a British Protectorate with

Happy Birthday to Comoros!

2018-07-06

Comorians. They share African-Arab origins. *Photo from Wikipedia July 6 is Independence Day, celebrates the independence of the Comoros from France in 1975. The first human inhabitants of the Comoro Islands are thought to have been Arab, African and Austronesian settlers who traveled to the islands by boat. Portuguese explorers first visited the archipelago in 1503. The islands provided provisions to the Portuguese fort at Mozambique throughout the 16th century. France first established colonial rule in the Comoros in 1841. The Comoros served as a way station for merchants sailing to the Far East and India until the opening of

Happy Statehood Day of Lithuania!

2018-07-06

Lithuanians dancing at a festival in Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania and its largest city. *Photo from Wikipedia July 6 is Lithuania’s Statehood Day, commemorates the coronation in 1253 of Mindaugas as the first and only King of Lithuania. For centuries, the southeastern shores of the Baltic Sea were inhabited by various Baltic tribes. In the 1230s, the Lithuanian lands were united by Mindaugas, the King of Lithuania, and the first unified Lithuanian state, the Kingdom of Lithuania, was created on July 6, 1253. During the 14th century, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania was the largest country in Europe; present-day

Happy Birthday to Malawi!

2018-07-06

Children in Malawi. *Photo from Wikipedia July 6 is Independence Day/Republic Day, celebrates the independence of Malawi from United Kingdom in 1964. The region was once part of the Maravi Empire. The area of Africa now known as Malawi was settled by migrating Bantu groups around the 10th century. Centuries later in 1891 the area was colonized by the British. In 1953 Malawi, then known as Nyasaland, a protectorate of the United Kingdom, became a protectorate within the semi-independent Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland. The Federation was dissolved in 1963. In 1964, the protectorate over Nyasaland was ended and Nyasaland

Happy Birthday to Algeria!

2018-07-05

Algerian school children. *Photo from Wikipedia July 5 is Independence Day, celebrating the independence of Algeria from France in 1962. North Africa served as a transit region for people moving towards Europe or the Middle East, thus, the region’s inhabitants have been influenced by populations from other areas, including the Carthaginians, Romans, and Vandals. The region was conquered by the Muslims in the early 8th century, but broke off from the Umayyad Caliphate after the Berber Revolt of 740. Later, various Berbers, Arabs, Persian Muslim states, Sunni, Shia or Ibadi communities were established that ruled parts of modern-day of Algeria.

Happy Birthday to Venezuela!

2018-07-05

Venezuela national football team, popularly known as the “Vinotinto”. *Photo from Wikipedia July 5 is Independence Day, celebrating the independence of Venezuela from Spain in 1811 (Also National Armed Forces Day). The history of Venezuela reflects events in areas of the Americas colonized by Spain starting 1522; amid resistance from indigenous peoples, led by Native caciques (*cacique: a leader of an indigenous group), such as Guaicaipuro and Tamanaco. However, in the Andean region of western Venezuela, complex Andean civilization of the Timoto-Cuica people flourished before European contact. In 1811, it became one of the first Spanish-American colonies to declare independence,

Happy Birthday to Cape Verde!

2018-07-05

A kindergarten graduation in Santiago Island, Cape Verde. *Photo from Wikipedia July 5 is Independence Day, celebrating the independence of Cape Verde from Portugal in 1975. The Cape Verde archipelago was uninhabited until the 15th century, when Portuguese explorers discovered and colonized the islands, establishing the first European settlement in the tropics. Ideally located for the Atlantic slave trade, the islands grew prosperous throughout the 16th and 17th centuries, attracting merchants, privateers, and pirates. The end of slavery in the 19th century led to economic decline and emigration. Cape Verde gradually recovered as an important commercial center and stopover for

Happy Birthday to the United States of America!

2018-07-04

*Photo from Wikipedia July 4 is Independence Day, celebrates the Declaration of Independence of the United States from Great Britain in 1776. Independence Day is the National Day of the United States and commonly associated with fireworks, parades, barbecues, carnivals, fairs, picnics, concerts, baseball games, family reunions, and political speeches and ceremonies, in addition to various other public and private events celebrating the history, government, and traditions of the United States. The United States of America (USA), commonly referred to as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a federal republic composed of 50 states, a federal district, five major

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