March 13, 2018

Yesterday, on March 12, people in the Indian Ocean island nation of Mauritius celebrated National Day on the country’s “Golden Jubilee”—its 50th anniversary of independence. March 12 also marks the day Mauritius became a republic in 1992 (it was previously a constitutional monarchy). Mauritius lies about 500 miles (800 kilometers) east of Madagascar and about 2,450 miles (3,943 kilometers) southwest of India. The Dutch claimed an uninhabited Mauritius in 1598. Later, France and then the United Kingdom ruled the island. Mauritius gained independence from the United Kingdom on March 12, 1968. It remains a member of the Commonwealth of Nations. Port Louis is the capital and leading port.

Mauritius flag. Credit: © Shutterstock

The people of Mauritius, called Mauritians, are descendants of European settlers, African slaves, Chinese traders, and Asian Indian laborers and traders. About two-thirds of the people are Indians. About a fourth are people of European and African or European and Indian ancestry called Creoles. The rest are Chinese or Europeans. Most Europeans are of French descent.

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Mauritius. Credit: WORLD BOOK map

Mauritius is a beautiful island with a delightfully sunny climate. Temperature averages range from 79 °F (26 °C) in summer to 72 °F (22 °C) during winter. Hundreds of thousands of tourists visit Mauritius each year. Many fine hotels line the island’s lovely beaches.

The dodo was a bird that had tiny wings that were so small it could not fly. Dodos lived only on the island of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean. They have been extinct since about 1680. Credit: World Book illustration by Trevor Boyer, Linden Artists Ltd.

Previous to its fame as a tourist destination, Mauritius was perhaps best known for one of its native inhabitants, the dodo (which unfortunately is extinct). The dodo, about the size of a large turkey, was a flightless bird resembling a giant pigeon. The dodo lived only on Mauritius. European sailors killed the birds for food. Pigs and monkeys brought to the island during the 1500′s destroyed the eggs and ate the young. Many scholars believe the dodo died out about 1680.

For philatelists (stamp collectors), the island is well known for two extremely rare stamps issued in 1847. The Mauritius “post office” stamps include a blue two-penny stamp and a red one-penny stamp. They both feature a profile of Queen Victoria and contain the words post office in the frame. In Mauritian stamps issued in 1848 and later, post office was replaced by post paid. Authenticated 1847 “post office” stamps can sell for more than 1 million dollars at auction.

March 1, 2018

World Book kicks off March’s Women’s History Month with a profile of Brenda Hale, a British judge who is the president of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom. Hale has served on the Supreme Court since 2009. She became the first woman president of the court in October 2017.

Brenda Hale became president of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom in October 2017. Credit: Supreme Court of the United Kingdom

The Supreme Court is the final court of appeal for civil cases in the United Kingdom, and for criminal cases in England, Northern Ireland, and Wales. The court has a president, a deputy president, and 10 permanent judges. The British monarch appoints Supreme Court judges with the recommendation of the prime minister and the Judicial Appointments Commission.

Women’s History Month is celebrated each March. This year’s theme, selected by the National Women’s History Project, is “Nevertheless she persisted: honoring all women who fight forms of discrimination against women.” Credit: © National Women’s History Project

Hale was born on Jan. 31, 1945, in Richmond, North Yorkshire, in northern England. She graduated from the Richmond High School for Girls before studying law at Girton College, Cambridge. Hale joined the University of Manchester law faculty in 1966, and she was called to the bar (qualified as a lawyer) in 1969. Hale taught at Manchester until 1984, when she became the first woman appointed to the Law Commission, a body that reviews laws in England and Wales. In 1994, Hale became a judge of the family division of the High Court of Justice (the United Kingdom’s main civil court). In 1999, she was appointed to the Court of Appeal.

Hale was made a life peer as Baroness Hale of Richmond in 2004 as she became the first woman Lord of Appeal in Ordinary, commonly known as a law lord. At that time, the House of Lords functioned as the highest court of appeal in the United Kingdom, except for criminal cases in Scotland. In 2009, a new Supreme Court of the United Kingdom took over the judicial functions previously held by the House of Lords. The sitting law lords—including Judge Hale—then became the first justices of the Supreme Court. Hale served as deputy president of the Supreme Court from 2013 to 2017.

January 25, 2018

Tomorrow, January 26, is Republic Day, a national holiday in India. Republic Day marks the occasion when the Constitution of India became the nation’s governing document on Jan. 26, 1950. Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and other leaders chose January 26 to enact the constitution in honor of the day in 1930 when India had first declared its independence from the United Kingdom. The independence process was interrupted and slow, however, and India did not officially become independent until 1947, an event now marked by India’s Independence Day on August 15.

Soldiers parade on camelback during the Republic Day Parade in New Delhi, India. Credit: Lawrence Jackson, White House

Tomorrow morning in New Delhi, the Indian capital, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will begin the Republic Day festivities by placing a floral wreath at the India Gate war memorial. A large parade follows, rich with colorful floats, flags, and marching battalions from India’s air force, army, and navy. Other cities will host Republic Day parades as well, and people throughout the nation will celebrate with private parties and family gatherings.

The United Kingdom influenced much of India’s history beginning in the 1600′s. For nearly 260 years, the British East India Company controlled much of India’s commerce and influenced its government and political system. In 1858, the British government took direct control of India after rebellions against the company’s rule. Indians did not generally feel content about British rule in India, however. Indians were discriminated against in their own homeland, where they were not allowed to advance to high positions in government service or to become officers in the army.

New Delhi’s India Gate is a war memorial originally dedicated to the more than 74,000 Indian soldiers killed during World War I (1914-1918). Credit: © Rakesh Nayar, Shutterstock

During World War I (1914-1918), more than 1 million Indian troops fought under British command in Africa, Europe and the Middle East. After the war, promised social and political reforms were slow in coming, and violent protests erupted in many Indian cities. By 1920, Mohandas K. Gandhi had become a leader in the Indian independence movement and in the Indian National Congress, India’s most important political organization. Gandhi persuaded the Congress to adopt his program of nonviolent disobedience.

On Jan. 26, 1930, members of the Indian National Congress officially declared Purna Swaraj, (complete self-rule), a declaration of independence from British authority. The declaration was nonbinding, but Indian people did gain more political and social freedoms in the 1930′s. The onset of World War II (1939-1945), however, disrupted progress. The Indian National Congress refused to support the British war effort, demanding instead immediate independence. Despite this refusal, many Indian soldiers fought with the British (and some against them) during the war. The British promised that they would grant India independence after the fighting stopped.

In 1947, Indian and British leaders agreed to divide the country into Hindu-dominated India and Muslim-dominated Pakistan. The leaders saw no other way of ending violence between Hindus and Muslims, which had taken place for many years and hindered the independence process. India became an independent nation on Aug. 15, 1947. Pakistan had become an independent nation the day before. The two new nations then fought a bloody war for control of the contested border area of Kashmir.

Jawaharlal Nehru, a close associate of Gandhi, became India’s first prime minister after independence. A constituent assembly drew up a new constitution. The assembly approved the constitution in November 1949. It went into effect on Jan. 26, 1950.

December 26, 2017

Today, December 26, is Boxing Day, a holiday celebrated in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, and Canada. December 26, the day after Christmas, is also St. Stephen’s Day. The traditional celebration of Boxing Day includes giving money and other gifts to charitable institutions, needy individuals, and people in service jobs. Boxing Day traditions also include parades, shopping, and sporting events.

Colorful, clownlike mummers march in a parade to celebrate Boxing Day, the day after Christmas, in the United Kingdom. Credit: © Homer Sykes, CountrySideCollection/Alamy Images

The holiday may date from the Middle Ages (about the A.D. 400′s through the 1400′s). But the exact origin of the holiday is unknown. It may have begun with the lords and ladies of England. They presented Christmas gifts in boxes to their servants on December 26. Or it may have begun with priests. The priests opened the church’s alms (charity) boxes on the day after Christmas and distributed the contents to the poor.

October 20, 2017

On Monday, October 16, tropical storm Ophelia roared through the northeastern Atlantic Ocean, killing three people in Ireland and causing damage in parts of the United Kingdom. Ophelia, one of the most powerful storms ever recorded in that part of the Atlantic, was an unusual occurrence. The last such storm to reach Ireland, Hurricane Debbie, killed 11 people on the island in 1961.

Tropical storm Ophelia slammed the coasts of Ireland and Wales on Oct. 16, 2017. This photo shows Ophelia-driven waves battering the sea wall at Porthcawl in southern Wales. Credit: © Leighton Collins, Shutterstock

Major Atlantic storms typically form in waters off the central and southern coasts of west Africa. Trade winds then carry them westward toward the Caribbean Sea and the southeastern United States. Ophelia began as a cluster of storms farther north, gathering strength near the Azores before driving northeast toward Europe. Classified as a mid-strength Category 3 hurricane, Ophelia was the strongest-ever storm that far east in the Atlantic Ocean. Downgraded to a tropical storm on its jet stream-led course to Ireland, Ophelia remained dangerous. Ireland’s national weather service issued a red alert for severe weather, warning of “violent and destructive gusts” and “potential loss of life.”

This satellite image shows Ophelia coiling over Ireland on Oct. 16, 2017. Credit: NASA

The storm made landfall in Ireland on Monday morning with wind gusts of 109 miles (176 kilometers) per hour at Fastnet Rock, the country’s most southerly point. Torrential rains lashed the southwestern counties of Cork and Kerry, where schools, businesses, public buildings, and hospitals were closed ahead of the storm. Public transportation ceased running in much of Ireland, ferries and flights were canceled, and people were warned to stay indoors.

Ophelia quickly swamped all of the Republic of Ireland, whipping Wales hard too across the Irish Sea. Electric power was lost in many areas of both Ireland and Wales, trees were blown down (causing all three of the deaths in Ireland), rooftops were ripped away, and storm surges breached sea walls in many places. Winds and heavy rains then hit Northern Ireland and Scotland as Ophelia raced back out to sea, dissipating but still carrying severe weather as far as Norway. (The United Kingdom is divided among the political divisions of Wales, Northern Ireland, Scotland, and England.)

Ophelia affected other areas, too. In Portugal and Spain, strong winds from the storm fanned wildfires that killed 44 people. Ophelia blew smoke from the fires—and dust from Sahara sandstorms—over England, where the London sky turned an eerie smoky orange. Ophelia was the 10th hurricane of a busy and deadly 2017 Atlantic storm season. Ophelia’s rare path illustrates how rising global temperatures are expanding the range of powerful storms around the world.

August 31, 2017

Twenty years ago today, on Aug. 31, 1997, Diana, the Princess of Wales, was killed in an automobile accident in Paris, France. Diana—known popularly as “Princess Di”—captured the world’s attention with her “fairy tale” wedding to Prince Charles of the United Kingdom in 1981, and she went on to become one of the most beloved public figures in the world. In 1997, a flurry of memorials and tributes fell in the wake of her sudden death. And now, 20 years later, Diana’s legacy continues to inspire reflections on what she meant to the United Kingdom and to the British royal family.

Princess Diana attends the groundbreaking for a children’s care center in Harrow, Greater London, on July 21, 1997, roughly five weeks before her death. Credit: © Tim Graham, Getty Images

To mark the 20^th anniversary of her death, numerous Princess Di television documentaries and programs are competing for attention, as are several new books on Diana. Commemorative ceremonies are taking place in London, and temporary memorials have sprung up in parts of the city. At Kensington Palace, a special White Garden was planted in Diana’s honor, a garden “inspired by memories of the Princess’s life, image and style.” The garden, a special exhibit that opened at Easter and runs through September, reflects Diana’s love for white and cream hues. It is filled with Cosmo daisies, forget-me-nots, narcissuses, and white lilies, roses, and tulips. A fashion exhibit inside the palace shows the same colors in the clothes that Diana famously wore.

Flowers and tributes flood the gates of London’s Kensington Palace soon after the death of Princess Diana on Aug. 31, 1997. Credit: Maxwell Hamilton (licensed under CC BY 2.0)

Recent interviews with Diana’s sons, William and Harry—who were just 15 and 12 at the time of her death—gave the princes their first public forum on their mother’s death. Yesterday, on August 30, William and Harry visited Kensington Palace and its White Garden, but the rest of their family has kept a respectful and quiet distance from anniversary events. Prince Charles, his second wife, Camilla, Queen Elizabeth II, and Prince Philip are on a summer break far from the media frenzy at Balmoral Castle in Scotland.

Lady Diana Frances Spencer was born on July 1, 1961, in Norfolk, England. Her father was the eighth Earl Spencer. Her family traces its ancestry to King James I. Diana was educated in England and Switzerland. She taught at a kindergarten in London from 1979 until 1981, when she married Prince Charles. Princess Di’s activities were widely reported. She supported numerous charitable causes. They included AIDS research, a ban on land mines, and many causes benefiting children. Diana and Charles separated in 1992 and divorced in 1996.

August 14, 2017

The independence days of the south Asian nations of Pakistan (August 14) and India (August 15) take place this week. Parades, speeches, fireworks displays, and other public events will mark the occasion in both countries as they reflect on the 70 years that have passed since the partition (division) of the colony of British India in 1947.

To mark India’s independence day on August 15, the national flag illuminates the top of India Gate, a war memorial in New Delhi, the capital. Credit: © Rakesh Nayar, Shutterstock

The land that makes up what are now India and Pakistan came under British colonial rule in the 1800′s. British rule provided limited opportunities for Indians, and many Indians grew to resent the British. In 1885, a number of Indian lawyers and other professionals formed the Indian National Congress to promote the idea of Indian self-government. Members of this organization represented various religions and came from all parts of India. However, some Muslims believed the Indian National Congress was a Hindu organization aiming for Hindu rule. In 1906, Muslim leaders formed the All-India Muslim League to give Muslims a voice in political affairs. The Congress and the Muslim League both sought greater self-government, but disagreed over how to divide power fairly between Hindus and Muslims.

Children hold national flags and sing patriotic song during ceremonies marking Pakistan’s independence day on August 14 in Quetta, Pakistan. Credit: © Asianet-Pakistan/Shutterstock

Protests against British rule took place throughout India in the early 1900′s. Mohandas K. Gandhi, a leader in the independence movement, persuaded the Congress to adopt his program of nonviolent disobedience. This program asked Indians to boycott British goods, to refuse to pay taxes, and to stop using British schools, courts, and government services. The British agreed to grant Indians more influence in politics, but many people continued to campaign for independence.

The United Kingdom declared war on Germany in 1939. Because the British controlled India, the declaration also put India at war. This angered Indian leaders because they had not been consulted. The British promised that they would grant India independence after the war. In 1940, Muslim League leader Mohammad Ali Jinnah began to demand independence for India’s Muslim-majority northwestern and northeastern areas. Both the British government and the Indian National Congress rejected these demands.

After World War II ended in 1945, negotiations for independence resumed. The Congress and Muslim League could not settle their differences. The Muslim League held nationwide demonstrations on Aug. 16, 1946, calling for the establishment of a Muslim-majority nation to be called Pakistan, which means land of the pure in Urdu. Rioting broke out between Muslims and Hindus in Calcutta (now Kolkata), and later elsewhere in India.

In 1947, Indian and British leaders agreed to divide the country into India and Pakistan, as they saw no other way to end the violence between Hindus and Muslims. Pakistan became independent on August 14, and India became independent the following day. This did not end the violence between the region’s Hindus and Muslims, however. Rioting led to the deaths of about half a million people, and more than 10 million people became refugees as Hindus and Sikhs fled Pakistan for India, and Muslims in India fled to Pakistan. In the decades since partition, tensions between India and Pakistan have remained high.

July 20, 2017

Last month, on June 14, a fire destroyed much of Grenfell Tower, a 24-story apartment building in London, England. The fire, which took place in the city’s Kensington district, killed at least 80 people—the deadliest fire in London since World War II (1939-1945). The tragedy devastated many families and brought harsh criticism on local and national government as well as London’s fire safety laws and emergency response management.

The Grenfell Tower burns out of control as firefighters hose the building’s lower floors early on June 14, 2017, in London, England. Credit: Natalie Oxford (licensed under C BY 4.0)

The Grenfell fire started around midnight in a malfunctioning refrigerator freezer on the building’s fourth floor. That small fire ignited the building’s exterior cladding, a protective layer on the outside of the building’s structure. In this case, the cladding consisted of aluminum plates with a polyethylene core and polyisocyanurate insulation. Polyethylene and polyisocyanurate are types of plastic. The flammable cladding accelerated the fire, which quickly engulfed the building’s upper stories. The cladding—which also released deadly cyanide fumes—was blamed for the fire’s rapid outside-in path that trapped so many people, leading to the terrible death toll (people died from cyanide fumes as well as from flames and smoke). The fire burned intensely for many hours, and was not completely extinguished until June 16.

Some 250 firefighters responded to the Grenfell Tower fire, and they were credited with rescuing 65 people. Riot police worked alongside the firefighters, using their shields to protect firefighters from cascades of burning debris. Other police helped firefighters break down doors into locked apartments. Many people remained trapped in the building, however, as intense heat, flames, smoke, and toxic fumes continually forced rescuers to slow or alter their advance. Eighty people are known to have died in the fire. However, full analysis of remains will not be completed for some time, and the death toll is likely to rise.

This photo shows a devastated corner apartment in the burned-out Grenfell Tower on June 18, 2017. Credit: London Metropolitan Police

Grenfelll Tower was constructed in 1974. It had 129 apartments and space for some 600 residents. Grenfell had just one entrance and one staircase, and residents often complained that this could be a problem in an emergency evacuation. British regulations, however, require just one staircase in a building of that size, unlike rules in most countries that require two. Residents also complained of exposed natural gas pipes in the building, and the installation of fire-retardant boxing around the pipes had begun but was not yet completed at the time of the fire. (Several gas lines burst during the fire, which worsened the situation.)

In 2015 and 2016, Grenfell Tower—which also lacked a sprinkler system—was renovated and the new cladding was added to improve the tower’s exterior appearance. Fireproof zinc cladding was passed over in favor of much cheaper aluminum cladding. After the fire, the cladding used at Grenfell—which has long been banned on high-rise buildings in the United States and other countries—failed fire safety tests. The cladding was then banned in the United Kingdom and is in the process of being removed and replaced in hundreds of buildings throughout the country.

The local Kensington council was blamed for ignoring safety complaints from Grenfell, which was populated by largely poor, immigrant, and ethnic-minority tenants in an otherwise affluent area. The British government was blamed for deregulating the building industry and for cutting funding for fire prevention, as well as for its slow response in helping survivors of the fire. A public inquiry into the fire is scheduled to begin in September.

February 1, 2017

In December 2016, an exhibition of the works of Australia’s greatest Impressionist painters opened at the National Gallery, an art museum in London, England. The museum, home to a broad collection of paintings by mostly European artists, is showing 41 works by such Australian artists as Tom Roberts (1865–1931), Arthur Streeton (1867–1943), Charles Conder (1868–1909), and John Russell (1858–1930). “Australia’s Impressionists,” in collaboration with the Art Gallery of New South Wales, runs through the last Sunday of March 2017.

Tom Roberts’ Bourke Street West catches a bright glimpse of 1880′s Melbourne, Australia’s fastest-growing and largest city at the time. Credit: Allegro con brio, Bourke Street West (1885-6), oil on canvas by Tom Roberts; National Gallery of Australia, Canberra and the National Library of Australia

Much of the exhibit concentrates on the works of Charles Conder, Tom Roberts, and Arthur Streeton. These artists formed the backbone of the Heidelberg School, a group of painters who worked on the tree-covered hills overlooking the Yarra River in what is now the Melbourne suburb of Heidelberg. The group, later known as the Australian Impressionists, flourished from 1886 to about 1900. During that time, the group developed a distinctly Australian landscape style showcasing the continent’s light-filled outback and seacoasts as well as the sun-baked streets of Melbourne and Sydney.

The vibrant paintings of Sydney’s John Russell, who lived in France for much of his life, get an exhibit section to themselves. His works reveal the colorful influences of such contemporary European artists as Vincent van Gogh and Claude Monet. Russell’s paintings often portray the landscapes and rocky shorelines of Belle-Île, an island off the coast of Brittany. Russell’s paintings received little attention during his life and for many years after his death. Interest in “Australia’s lost Impressionist” first emerged in the 1960′s.

Taken as a whole, “Australia’s Impressionists” depicts an emerging sense of artistic and national identity as the Australian colonies neared federation on New Year’s Day 1901. The exhibit was inspired by the 2015 loan of Streeton’s Blue Pacific, the first painting by an Australian artist to be displayed at the National Gallery.

November 30, 2016

Fifty years ago today, on Nov. 30, 1966, Barbados—an island country at the far eastern end of the Caribbean Sea—gained independence from the United Kingdom. Renowned for its beauty, Barbados is a successful independent nation with a strong economy and vibrant culture. Events celebrating the nation’s independence have taken place throughout 2016, culminating with the unveiling of a 50th anniversary monument today, along with a dazzling parade and a “Golden Anniversary Spectacular Mega Concert.”

The beaches of Barbados, as seen here, have helped make the lovely island a desirable tourist destination. The Caribbean nation celebrates its 50th anniversary of independence on Nov. 30, 2016. Credit: © Filip Fuxa, Shutterstock

Located about 250 miles (400 kilometers) northeast of Venezuela, Barbados is a small, pork chop-shaped island covering just 166 square miles (430 square kilometers). But, with nearly 300,000 people on the island, it is one of the most densely populated countries in the world. In many ways, life in Barbados resembles life in the United Kingdom. Traffic moves on the left, cricket is the most popular sport, and the harbor police in Bridgetown, the capital, wear colonial-style uniforms that date from the late 1700′s. The people of Barbados speak English. About 90 percent of the country’s people are descendants of enslaved West Africans brought to Barbados between 1636 and 1833.

The flag of Barbados has three wide, vertical stripes. The two outer stripes are blue (for the sea and sky) and the center stripe is orange (for the sand of the beaches). A black trident head with a broken shaft is in the center. It stands for Neptune, the sea god, and for the change from dependence to independence. Credit: © Dream Maker Software

Arawak and Carib Indians lived on Barbados before Europeans first arrived and mapped the island in the early 1500’s. The English reached Barbados in 1625 and soon established a prosperous colony. Many English families settled there in the 1700′s and 1800′s. In the 1900’s, many Caribbean Islands became independent or gained more control over their own affairs, including Barbados. In the early 1960’s, Barbados and several other Caribbean Islands tried to form a federation, but they could not agree on a constitution. Barbados then decided to go it alone, gaining independence from the United Kingdom on Nov. 30, 1966.

Since then, Barbados has joined the Commonwealth of Nations, the Organization of American States, the United Nations, and the Caribbean Free Trade Association (now called the Caribbean Community). Barbados’s pleasant climate and sandy beaches have made it a popular vacation resort, and tourism is a major industry.

Barbados gets its name from either the Portuguese or Spanish word barbados, meaning bearded ones. It is unclear whether this refers to the hanging roots of the bearded fig tree native to the island, or to the island’s supposedly bearded Carib inhabitants. Famous Barbadians of today include pop singer Rihanna, hip-hop star Grandmaster Flash, writer Kamau Brathwaite, and the legendary cricketer and “national hero” Garry Sobers.