Happy Birthday to Panama!

Bissau-Guinean women. *Photo from Wikipedia September 24 is Independence Day, celebrates the independence of Guinea-Bissau from Portugal in 1973. Guinea-Bissau was once part of the Kaabu Empire, as well as part of the Mali Empire. Parts of this kingdom persisted until the 18th century, while a few others were under some rule by the Portuguese Empire since the 16th century. In the 19th century, it was colonized as Portuguese Guinea. Upon independence, declared in 1973 and recognized in 1974, the name of its capital, Bissau, was added to the country’s name to prevent confusion with Guinea (formerly French Guinea). Guinea-Bissau,

Roseau, the capital and largest city of Dominica. *Photo from Wikipedia November 3 is Independence Day, celebrates the independence of Dominica from the United Kingdom in 1978. The island was originally inhabited by the Kalinago and later colonized by Europeans, predominantly by the French from the 1690s to 1763. Columbus is said to have passed the island on Sunday, November 3, 1493, and the island’s name is derived from the Latin for “Sunday”. Great Britain took possession in 1763 after its defeat of France in the Seven Years’ War, and it gradually established English as the official language. The island

Congestion at a market in Abidjan, the economic capital of Côte d’Ivoire. *Photo from Wikipedia August 7 is Republic Day of Côte d’Ivoire, which commemorates its freedom from France, gained in 1960. Prior to its colonization by Europeans, Côte d’Ivoire was home to several states, including Gyaaman, the Kong Empire, and Baoulé. Two Anyi kingdoms, Indénié and Sanwi, attempted to retain their separate identity through the French colonial period and after independence. Côte d’Ivoire became a protectorate of France in 1843 – 1844 and was later formed into a French colony in 1893 amid the European scramble for Africa. Côte