Happy Birthday to Panama!

Women in traditional attire. *Photo from Wikipedia December 1 is Restoration of Independence Day, celebrates the end of the Philippine Dynasty. The revolution of 1640 ended the 60-year rule of Portugal by the Spanish Habsburgs. Portugal as a country was established in the aftermath of the Christian Reconquista against the Muslim Moors who had invaded the Iberian Peninsula in 711 AD. In the 15th and 16th centuries, Portugal established the first global empire, becoming one of the world’s major economic, political and military powers. During this period, today referred to as the Age of Discovery, Portuguese explorers pioneered maritime exploration,

A Chadian tailor sells traditional dresses. *Photo from Wikipedia August 11 is: Independence Day, celebrates the independence of Chad from France in 1960. French colonial expansion led to the creation of the Territoire Militaire des Pays et Protectorats du Tchad (Military Territory of the Lands and Protectorates of Chad) in 1900. By 1920, France had secured full control of the colony and incorporated it as part of French Equatorial Africa. The French primarily viewed the colony as an unimportant source of untrained labour and raw cotton. Only the Sara (ethnic group who reside in southern Chad and Central African Republic)

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