Happy Birthday to Burkina Faso!

English Harbour, Antigua. *Photo from Wikipedia November 1 is Independence Day, celebrates the independence of Antigua and Barbuda from the United Kingdom in 1981. The islands were inhabited by three successive Amerindian (Pre-Columbian peoples of the Americans) societies. The islands were neglected by the first wave of European colonization, but were settled by England in 1632. Under British control, the islands witnessed an influx of both Britons and African slaves. In 1981, the islands were granted independence as the modern state of Antigua and Barbuda. Antigua and Barbuda is a twin-island country lying between the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic

A tree-kangaroo. The kangaloos inhabit the tropical rainforests of New Guinea. *Photo from Wikipedia September 16 is Independence Day, celebrates the independence of Papua New Guinea from Australia in 1975. Little was known in Europe about the island until the 19th century, although Portuguese and Spanish explorers had encountered it as early as the 16th century. In the 19th century, Germany ruled the northern half of the country as a colony for some decades, beginning in 1884, as German New Guinea. The southern half was colonized in the same year by the United Kingdom as British New Guinea. With the

*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