Happy Birthday to Panama!

Tarawa Atoll. Tarawa is an atoll and the capital of the Republic of Kiribati. *Photo from Wikipedia July 12 is Independence Day, celebrates the independence of Kiribati from the United Kingdom in 1979. The initial Micronesian population, which remains the overwhelming majority today, was visited by Polynesian and Melanesian invaders before the first European sailors visited the islands in the 17th century. For much of the subsequent period, the main island chain, the Gilbert Islands, was ruled as part of the British Empire. The country gained its independence in 1979 and has since been known as Kiribati. Kiribati, officially the

Central market in Chișinău, the capital and largest city of Moldova. *Photo from Wikipedia August 27 is Independence Day, celebrates the independence of Moldova from the USSR in 1991. Most of the Moldovan territory was a part of the Principality of Moldavia from the 14th century until 1812, when it was ceded to the Russian Empire by the Ottoman Empire (to which Moldavia was a vassal state) and became known as Bessarabia. In 1856, southern Bessarabia was returned to Moldavia, which three years later united with Wallachia to form Romania, but Russian rule was restored over the whole of the

Crowd on beach in Gabon. *Photo from Wikipedia August 17 is Independence Day, celebrates the independence of Gabon from France in 1960. Bantu migrants settled the area beginning in the 14th century. Portuguese explorers and traders arrived in the area in the late 15th century. The coast subsequently became a center of the slave trade with Dutch, English, and French traders arriving in the 16th century. In 1839 and 1841, France established a protectorate over the coast. In 1862 – 1887, France expanded its control to include the interior, and took full sovereignty. In 1910 Gabon became part of French