Stories about History from July, 2009
Jamaica: Capturing Pellew
Concerned about plans by private owners to develop Pellew Island, Snailwriter has a plan: “The Tainos ‘owned’ Jamaica until the men in Columbus’s ships took it…I figure I have as much right to do some capturing as anyone. So I’m gonna invade Pellew Island…I know my invasion will be symbolic...
The Balkans: Mladic Update
Foreign Policy Association's War Crimes blog posts an update on Ratko Mladic.
Trinidad & Tobago: Emancipation Celebrations
“On August 1, 1985, Trinidad and Tobago became the first country in the world to declare a national holiday to commemorate the abolition of slavery”: Repeating Islands highlights Emancipation Day celebrations in the twin island republic.
Belarus, Russia: Bloggers React to Graphic Chechen War Video
On July 3, Belarusian blogger Tatsiana Elavaya posted a provocative video showing the assassination of captive Russian soldiers by Chechen guerrillas during the 1999 war in Chechnya. The video had been available elsewhere before, but when Tatsiana posted it on her blog, the reaction of the Cyrillic blogosphere was unprecedented.
Bermuda, Haiti: Standing Up
“In the 1980s Bermudians participated in the global anti-Apartheid anti-imperialist movement”: Catch a fire thinks “it is time that our new generation continue this tradition and pick up the mantle of fighting injustices” such the ones in Haiti.
Bermuda, U.K.: Missed Celebrations
Repeating Islands reports that Britain's Queen Elizabeth II “skipped yesterday’s celebrations of the 400th anniversary of the settlement of Britain’s oldest colony after a row with the island’s pro-independence leader”, adding that the island's Premier was also noticeably absent.
Haiti: What Happened to Pierre-Antoine?
“July 28 marks the 94th anniversary of the US occupation of Haiti…August 12th will mark the second anniversary of the disappearance of Lovinsky Pierre-Antoine”: The Haitian Blogger wonders what has happened to this leading human rights activist.
Russia: Oleg Yankovsky
Mumin Shakirov of OpenDemocracy.net writes about actor Oleg Yankovsky, who died of cancer in Moscow earlier this year.
Europe: “When East Becomes West”
Raf Uzar is wondering whether “the definition of Western Europe [is] the same now as it was in 1945.”
Russia: Stalin
Sean's Russia Blog writes about “the protest against Stalin haters worldwide,” launched by some of Russia's communists.
Israel: Interesting Talk on Sovereignty
Muse and her husband, from Israel, attended a day at the Knesset and shares her impressions as well as photographs she took in this post. “We attended a very interesting series of talks about Har HaBayit, The Temple Mount and Israel's sovereignty,” she writes.
Cuba: Light & Shadow
“This was the speech of the ‘shadow’ because light is something the authoritarians cannot tame…Raúl Castro is right: we can no longer see him, because the twilight he represents lacks…any kind of luminosity”: Cuba's Generation Y blogs about her impressions of this year's July 26th speech.
Jamaica: Gladys Bustamante Passes On
Repeating Islands acknowledges the passing of 97-year-old Gladys Bustamante, “the widow of Jamaica’s first prime minister and a fierce supporter of women’s and workers’ rights.”
Maldives: Celebrating Independence
Maldives celebrates today 44 years of independence. Mohamed Nasheed opines that there is no need for dress rehearsals of the independence day celebrations, rather the people should be reminded of the Maldives story – “Who are we? How are we? Where are we? Where did we start from? Where do...
Egypt: “Fifty-seven years after the coup and we still are not able cope”
On the 57th anniversary of their revolution, Egyptians are still evaluating and debating how this historic event that started with the military coup d’etat has changed the their lives, and that of many future generations. Until today, bloggers continue to discuss and pinpoint the pros and the cons of the revolution, as well as the decisions of the Free Officers, who led the coup which turned Egypt from a constitutional monarchy to a republic.
Jamaica: Mento Master Missed
Repeating Islands remembers the life and career of Jamaica's Mento master, Theodore “T” Miller: “Mento is a style of Jamaican folk music that draws heavily on musical traditions brought to the island by African slaves…his loss, as the Gleaner recently reported, ‘represents a great loss to Jamaica’s cultural heritage’.”
Cambodia, Thailand: ilovethailand website sparks controversy
The recently launched website ilovethailand.org is causing a stir online. Thailand's Prime Minister announced that the website is intended to restore the country's image and unify the nation in light of recent unrest. The controversy stems from the website's claims about Thailand's “lost territory” — territory that is present day Cambodia.
China: On Eclipses and Astronomy in Chinese history
Today part of India, China and Japan saw the longest total sola eclipse in 21st Century. In Chinese Astronomy, solar eclipses is related with instability and Granite Studio has an interesting article on eclipses and astronomy in Chinese history.
Controversial Thai Prime Minister website
Cambodia is asking the Prime Minister of Thailand to close down his website that claims that Cambodia has territories which were actually Thai territories.
Colombia: On Independence Day
Alejandro Ángel celebrates [es] the July 20 holiday and criticizes those Colombians who keep “complaining,” while Miguel Olaya writes [es] about the “re-signification” of this patriotic days during president Uribe's administration, and Apolo Duvalis is grateful [es] to Simón Bolívar and his “gang” for achieving the independence from Spain.
Barbados: Breath, Art, Memory
As Barbadian blogger Ingrid Persaud struggles with an art commission about memory “in the context of a larger exhibition about the international preservation of documentary memory”, she says: “Memories are things we have a place in our history for. Trauma is the stuff that has not yet found its place....
