National Day | My Eyes Tokyo

Happy Birthday to Botswana!

2018-09-30

Kombi, Minibus taxi in Botswana. *Photo from Wikipedia September 30 is Independence Day of Botswana or Botswana Day, celebrates the independence of Botswana from United Kingdom in 1966. Christian missionaries sent from Europe spread to the interior, often at the invitation of tribal chiefs who wanted guns and knew that the presence of missionaries encouraged traders. By 1880 every major village had a resident missionary, and their influence became permanent. Christianization was completed in Botswana under the reign of king Khama III (reigned 1875–1923). When the Union of South Africa was formed in 1910 out of the main British colonies

Happy Birthday to Guinea-Bissau!

2018-09-24

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,

Happy Birthday to Mali!

2018-09-22

A market scene in Mali. *Photo from Wikipedia. September 22 is Independence Day, celebrates the independence of Mali from France in 1960. Present-day Mali was once part of 3 West African empires that controlled trans-Saharan trade: the Ghana Empire, the Mali Empire (for which Mali is named), and the Songhai Empire. During its golden age, there was a flourishing of mathematics, astronomy, literature, and art. At its peak in 1300, the Mali Empire covered an area about twice the size of modern-day France and stretched to the west coast of Africa. In the late 19th century, during the Scramble for

Happy Birthday to Bulgaria!

2018-09-22

Women in Bulgarian traditional costumes. *Photo from Wikipedia September 22 is Independence Day, celebrates the independence of Bulgaria from the Ottoman Empire in 1908. The emergence of a unified Bulgarian state dates back to the establishment of the First Bulgarian Empire in 681 AD, which dominated most of the Balkans and functioned as a cultural hub for Slavs during the Middle Ages. With the downfall of the Second Bulgarian Empire in 1396, its territories came under Ottoman rule for nearly five centuries. The Russo-Turkish War (1877–78) led to the formation of the Third Bulgarian State. The Treaty of San Stefano

Happy Birthday to Belize!

2018-09-21

Traditional dancers in Belize. *Photo from Wikipedia September 21 is Independence Day, celebrates the independence of Belize from the United Kingdom in 1981. The first recorded European settlement was established by shipwrecked English seamen in 1638. Over the next 150 years, more English settlements were established. This period also was marked by piracy, indiscriminate logging, sporadic attacks by natives, and neighboring Spanish settlements. Great Britain first sent an official to the area in the late 17th century, but Belize was not formally termed the “Colony of British Honduras” until 1840. It became a crown colony in 1862. Full internal self-government

Happy Birthday to Armenia!

2018-09-21

Traditional Armenian dance. *Photo from Wikipedia September 21 is Independence Day, celebrates the independence of Armenia from the Soviet Union in 1991. Armenia became the first state in the world to adopt Christianity as its official religion. In between the late 3rd century to early years of the 4th century, the state became the first Christian nation. The ancient Armenian kingdom was split between the Byzantine and Sasanian Empires around the early 5th century. Declining due to the wars against the Byzantines, the kingdom fell in 1045 and Armenia was soon after invaded by the Seljuk Turks. Between the 16th

Happy Birthday to Malta!

2018-09-21

Aerial view of Valletta, the capital city of Malta. *Photo from Wikipedia September 21 is Independence Day, celebrates the independence of Malta from the United Kingdom in 1964. Malta’s location in the middle of the Mediterranean has historically given it great strategic importance as a naval base, and a succession of powers, including the Phoenicians, Carthaginians, Greeks, Romans, Byzantines, Arabs, Normans, Sicilians, Spanish, Knights of St. John, French, and British have ruled the islands. King George VI of the United Kingdom awarded the George Cross to Malta in 1942 for the then British colony’s bravery in the Second World War.

Happy Birthday to Saint Kitts and Nevis!

2018-09-19

A view of Nevis island from the southeastern peninsula of Saint Kitts. *Photo from Wikipedia September 19 is Independence Day of Saint Kitts and Nevis, celebrates the independence of the two-island country from the United Kingdom in 1983. The islands were discovered by the Europeans through a Spanish expedition under Columbus in 1493. In 1538, French Huguenots established a settlement on St. Kitts. The settlement was destroyed by the Spanish soon afterwards and the survivors were deported. In 1623, an English settlement was established. This was soon followed by French settlements, and the island being divided by an agreement between

Happy Chile’s National Day!

2018-09-18

Santiago, also known as Santiago de Chile, the capital and largest city of Chile. *Photo from Wikipedia September 18 is Chile’s National Day. It commemorates the proclamation of the First Governing Body of 1810, and marking the beginning of the Chilean independence process. In 1808, Napoleon’s enthronement of his brother Joseph as the Spanish King precipitated the drive by the colony for independence from Spain. A national junta (a civil deliberative or administrative council) in the name of Ferdinand – heir to the deposed king – was formed on September 18, 1810. In memory of this day Chile celebrates its

Happy Birthday to Mexico!

2018-09-16

A Mariachi group. Mariachi is a musical expression that dates back to at least 18th century in Western Mexico and inscribed in the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage List in 2011. *Photo from Wikipedia September 16 is The Cry of Dolores, celebrates the declaration of independence of Mexico from Spain in 1810. Roman Catholic priest Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla rang the bell of his church and gave the pronunciamiento (call to arms) that triggered the Mexican War of Independence. This happened in the state of Guanajuato within the small town of Dolores (now Dolores Hidalgo). From 1521, the Spanish conquest of

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