MET Column | My Eyes Tokyo

Happy Birthday to Cuba!

2018-05-20

Students of the Escuela Lenin. *Photo from Wikipedia May 20 is Independence Day, celebrates the independence of Cuba from the United States in 1902. The island of Cuba was inhabited by various Mesoamerican cultures prior to the arrival of the Italian explorer Christopher Columbus in 1492. After Columbus’ arrival, Cuba became a Spanish colony, ruled by a Spanish governor in Havana. In 1762, Havana was briefly occupied by Great Britain, before being returned to Spain in exchange for Florida. A series of rebellions during the 19th century failed to end Spanish rule. However, the Spanish-American War resulted in a Spanish

Happy Birthday to Cameroon!

2018-05-20

Market in Yaoundé, the capital of Cameroon. *Photo from Wikipedia May 20 is Cameroon’s National Day, creation of a unitary state in 1972. Portuguese explorers reached the coast in the 15th century and named the area Rio dos Camarões (“Shrimp River”), which became Cameroon in English. Cameroon became a German colony in 1884 known as Kamerun. After World War I, the territory was divided between France and the United Kingdom as League of Nations mandates. The Union des Populations du Cameroun (UPC) political party advocated independence, but was outlawed by France in the 1950s, leading to the Cameroonian Independence War.

Happy Birthday to Paraguay!

2018-05-14

Asunción, the capital and largest city of Paraguay. *Photo from Wikipedia May 14 is Paraguay’s Flag Day, the real date of the independence of Paraguay from Spain in 1811. Celebration continues the next main day, Independence Day. The indigenous Guaraní had been living in Paraguay for at least a millennium before the Spanish conquered the territory in the 16th century. Spanish settlers and Jesuit missions introduced Christianity and Spanish culture to the region. Paraguay was a peripheral colony of the Spanish Empire, with few urban centers and settlers. In early 1811 Paraguayan forces had repeatedly defeated Argentinian army which considered

Happy Birthday to Romania!

2018-05-09

Bucharest, the capital and largest city of Romania. *Photo from Wikipedia May 10 is the Independence Day or King’s Day, celebrates Romania’s victorious independence war against the Ottoman Empire in 1877-1878, concluded with the recognition of Romania’s independence. Modern Romania was formed in 1859. The new state, officially named Romania since 1866, gained independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1877. At the end of World War I, Transylvania, Bukovina and Bessarabia united with the sovereign Kingdom of Romania. During World War II, Romania was an ally of Nazi Germany against the Soviet Union, fighting side by side with the Wehrmacht

Happy Latvia’s Restoration of Independence day!

2018-05-04

Historic Centre of Riga, which was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1997. Riga is the capital and largest city of Latvia. *Photo from Wikipedia May 4 is the Day of the adoption of the declaration of independence. On May 4, 1990, Latvia proclaimed its independence from the USSR, and restoration of the Republic of Latvia. Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe, one of the three Baltic states. Due to Latvia’s strategic location and prosperous trading city of Riga, its territories were a frequent focal point for conflict

Happy Birthday to Marshall Islands!

2018-05-01

Students at a school raise the Republic of Marshall Islands flag. *Photo from Wikipedia May 1 is the Constitution Day, the day the Government of the Marshall Islands was officially established and the country became self-governing in 1979. The Marshall Islands, officially the Republic of the Marshall Islands, is an island country located near the equator in the Pacific Ocean, slightly west of the International Date Line. Islands in the archipelago were first explored by Europeans in the 1520s, with Spanish explorer Alonso de Salazar sighting an atoll in August 1526. Other expeditions by Spanish and English ships followed. The

Happy Birthday to Togo!

2018-04-27

Dancers in Togo. *Photo from Wikipedia April 27 is the Independence Day, celebrates the independence of Togo from France in 1960. Togo, officially the Togolese Republic, is a country in West Africa bordered by Ghana to the west, Benin to the east and Burkina Faso to the north. From the 11th to the 16th century, various tribes entered the region from all directions. From the 16th century to the 18th century, the coastal region was a major trading center for Europeans in search of slaves, earning Togo and the surrounding region the name “The Slave Coast”. In 1884, Germany declared

Happy South Africa’s Freedom Day!

2018-04-27

Frederik de Klerk and Nelson Mandela, two of the driving forces in ending apartheid. *Photo from Wikipedia April 27 is the Freedom Day, which celebrates freedom and commemorates the first post-apartheid elections held on that day in 1994. The elections were the first non-racial national elections where everyone of voting age of over 18 from any race group, including foreign citizens permanently resident in South Africa, were allowed to vote. Previously, under the apartheid regime, non-whites had only limited rights to vote. On the first commemoration of the holiday, President Nelson Mandela addressed Parliament: “As dawn ushered in this day,

Happy Birthday to Sierra Leone!

2018-04-27

Main street in the east end of Freetown, the capital and largest city of Sierra Leone. *Photo from Wikipedia April 27 is the Independence Day, celebrates the independence of Sierra Leone from United Kingdom in 1961. Sierra Leone, officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Guinea to the north-east, Liberia to the south-east, and the Atlantic Ocean to the south-west. The Afro-European colony was founded by a British organization for freed American slaves on March 11, 1792. There were about 1,192 African Americans who were relocated from Nova Scotia to Sierra

Happy Birthday to Tanzania!

2018-04-26

The market in Dar es Salaam, the former capital as well as the most populous city in Tanzania. *Photo from Wikipedia April 26 is the Union Day, which is Tanzania’s national day commemorating the unification of Tanganyika and the People’s Republic of Zanzibar in 1964. Tanzania, officially the United Republic of Tanzania, is a sovereign state in eastern Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Kenya and Uganda to the north; Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west; Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique to the south; and the Indian Ocean to the east. European

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