Happy Birthday to Sudan!

Congestion at a market in Abidjan, the economic capital of Côte d’Ivoire. *Photo from Wikipedia August 7 is Republic Day of Côte d’Ivoire, which commemorates its freedom from France, gained in 1960. Prior to its colonization by Europeans, Côte d’Ivoire was home to several states, including Gyaaman, the Kong Empire, and Baoulé. Two Anyi kingdoms, Indénié and Sanwi, attempted to retain their separate identity through the French colonial period and after independence. Côte d’Ivoire became a protectorate of France in 1843 – 1844 and was later formed into a French colony in 1893 amid the European scramble for Africa. Côte

An aerial photo of the capital St George’s. *Photo from Wikipedia February 7 is Grenada’s Independence Day, celebrates the independence of Grenada, a sovereign state in the southeastern Caribbean Sea, from the United Kingdom in 1974. First settled by indigenous peoples, by the time of European contact it was inhabited by the Caribs. French colonists drove most of the Caribs off the island and established plantations on the island, eventually importing African slaves to work on the sugar plantations. Control of the island was disputed by Great Britain and France in the 18th century, with the British ultimately prevailing. Grenada

Berlin Wall, October 1990, saying “Thank You, Gorbi (Mikhail Gorbachev, the last leader of the Soviet Union)”. *Photo from Wikipedia October 3 is German Unity Day. It is the national day of Germany, celebrated as a public holiday. It commemorates the anniversary of German reunification in 1990, when the goal of a united Germany that originated in the middle of the 19th century, was fulfilled again. After World War II, the remaining German territory and Berlin were partitioned by the Allies into four military occupation zones. The western sectors, controlled by France, the United Kingdom, and the United States, were