Happy Birthday to Panama!

Maseru, the capital and largest city of Lesotho. *Photo from Wikipedia October 4 is Independence Day, celebrates the independence of Lesotho from the United Kingdom in 1966. The present Lesotho (then called Basutoland) emerged as a single polity under paramount chief Moshoeshoe I in 1822. Under Moshoeshoe I, Basutoland joined other tribes in their struggle against the Lifaqane associated with the reign of Shaka Zulu from 1818 to 1828. Subsequent evolution of the state was shaped by contact with the British and Dutch colonists from Cape Colony. Territorial conflicts with both British and Boer settlers arose periodically, including Moshoeshoe’s notable

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 market in Guinea. *Photo from Wikipedia October 2 is Independence Day, which celebrates the independence of Guinea from France in 1958. The slave trade came to the coastal region of Guinea with European traders in the 16th century. Guinea’s colonial period began with French military penetration into the area in the mid-19th century. France negotiated Guinea’s present boundaries in the late 19th and early 20th centuries with the British for Sierra Leone, the Portuguese for their Guinea colony (now Guinea-Bissau), and Liberia. Under the French, the country formed the Territory of Guinea within French West Africa. In 1958, the