Throwback Thursday - Slavery Past And Present

As a matter of fact ...

I just finished watching the excellent movie '12 years a slave'. It's a great story that really highlights the brutality and oppression subjected to slaves and African Americans in general during the slave era of America.

As evil as it is, slavery is a big part of human history and continues to blight our species. It's an established truth that there are more slaves alive today than at any other time: 27 million by US estimates. 

With that in mind, I'd like to shine a light on this ugly topic in today's Throwback Thursday by throwing up some interesting facts.  

1) In 1860 89% of African Americans were slaves. African Americans made up 13% of Americas total population and 33% of the population in the south. It's crazy to think that 1 in 3 people in the south of America were slaves at that time.

2) The American slave force created 9,500 miles of railroad track by 1860. That's 33% of the total modern length and more than belongs to Britain, France or Germany. 

3) There are an estimated 5.5 million child slaves alive today. That's almost half the amount of total slaves transported to North America during the trans-Atlantic slave trade. 

4) Slavery is still a profitable business. It generates and estimated $32 billion annually for traffickers worldwide. 

5) The top five slave countries per capita are Mauritania, Haiti, Pakistan, India, Nepal and Moldova. 

6) India tops the list for total amount of slaves with a horrifying number of 14 million. That's roughly the population of the Netherlands. 

It's a huge part of history and it still rears it's ugly head today. It will take a global effort to rid this plague on humanity once and for all so that historians in the future wont see us as idle bystanders. Visit the Anti-Slavery website to find out more and how you can help the effort. 

Throwback Thursday - The Longest, Shortest And Weirdest Wars

As a matter of fact ...

Wars are a big part of history. It's a sad truth, I know. They make heroes and villains, create and destroy nations and are remembered long after they end; for better or worse.

As Throwback Thursday is all about history, it seems fitting to mention this darker side of the human condition by looking at 3 examples of some pretty unconventional wars. Here for you today is the longest, shortest and weirdest wars of all times.

Keith Rocco civil war painting

Longest War 

It's called 'Three Hundred and Thirty Five Years War' and there's no prizes for guessing how long it lasted. It took place between the Netherlands and the Isles of Scilly. Orginally, it was part of the first Anglo-Dutch war that lasted just three years between 1651 and 1654. 

The Isles of Scilly: They might look nice but they love war

So how did this happen? Well, it all goes back to the English civil war. The Dutch had allied themselves with the Oliver Cromwell's forces who look set to take control of the whole of England from the Royalists. The Dutch fleet had taken heavy losses at one of the last Royalist strongholds: The Isles of Scilly. In response, the Dutch declared war on the isles until the losses and stolen goods they took had been repaid.



Three years later, peace arrived with the signing of the Treaty of Westminster. The treaty failed to include peace between the Dutch and the Isles of Scilly; a mistake that was not noticed until 1986, over 300 years later, making it technically the longest war ever and one with the least bloodshed! 

Shortest War

The Anglo-Zanzibar War took place in 1896 between the British and the Zanzibar Sultanate and lasted just 40 minutes!

Two days before the war took place, the sultan of Zanzibar died and a new one succeeded him. The British, who had vested interests in the area, didn't like this as they had their own guy who they wanted to become sultan. Their response? An ultimatum: stand down and leave the palace or we take it by force. 

The palace after the war

The ultimatum expired two days later at 9 AM. The British bombarded the palace and crippled its defenses. The 2,800 defenders took 500 casualties very quickly and by 9:40 they had surrendered. The British lost just one man.

Weirdest War

Personally, I think this has to be one of the strangest wars of all time. It had just one casualty: a pig. The poor porky was the victim of a British soldier shooting it on American soil in 1859. Nearby American militia took offense to this unwarranted act of animal cruelty and gathered at the border in a state of war.  

The main men in the pig war/ From left to right: Capt. George E. Pickett, USA; Brig. Gen. William Selby Harney, USA; Vancouver Island Gov. James Douglas and; Capt. Geoffrey Phipps Hornby

Thankfully, the British apologised for the swinicide (sorry) after four months of high tension and the militia backed down. I challenge you to find another war that produced more food than human deaths.

Throwback Thursday - Top 5 Oldest Countries In The World

As a matter of fact ...

I read an article today from the Washington Post about the newest countries in the world. It was inspired by the prospect of Scotland topping the list come tomorrow if they vote yes for independence from the UK. It's pretty interesting and it got me thinking; its easy to identify the newest countries in the world but what about the oldest ones? 

I had a little look and here, for you, are the five oldest countries in the world ...

1) Iran3200 BC

I never would have guessed. In the turmoil that is the middle east, I presumed that most of the countries there were newly formed after the world wars; carved up by the allies. I was wrong! Iran has existed in one form or another for an astonishing 5200 years. Insane. It's easy to see why Persian culture is so widespread!

2) Egypt3100 BC

Now this is less of a surprise. We've all heard of the ancient Egyptians. There have been people living along the fertile banks of the river Nile for so incredibly long and they have always retained their identity as 'Egyptian'. This is despite the fact that it has been occupied a fair amount in its history, most recently by the British until 1922.

3) Vietnam2879 BC

Really? I know right. I would never have got this one either. What makes me laugh is how specific the date is this time. Like Egypt, Vietnam has been occupied by everyone from the Chinese to the French but have still stayed strong and together. Crazy to think there has been solid civilization there for 5000 years. 

4) North Korea2333 BC

Not South Korea though! Apparently in 1948 when the Soviets and Americans split Korea into north and south, it was the north that retained Korea's title and standings. South Korea is treated as a new country and technically only 66 years old! That's a bit of a gap compared to its 4000 year old neighbor!

5) Georgia1300 BC

No, not the US state. I thought that too at first glance. Georgia is a county that straddles the area between Europe and Asia with Russia towering above it. The relationship between these two countries was only brought to my attention when Russian invaded Georgia in 2008. Their history is long and complicated but where many countries have crumpled under Russian pressure, Georgia has stood intact for over 3000 years; long before Russia existed. 

The signing of the Declaration of Independence signing in 1776 giving the United States full independence from the United Kingdom

Notable Mentions

• The UK is recognised as being roughly 1500 years old. Not bad. Still got nothing on Iran or Egypt but it's certainly no baby.
• The US is 228 years old! What a lot of stuff it's got done since then though. It was formed around the same time as Nepal and Madagascar but has outshone any countries of a similar age!
• Canada is just 83 years old. Wow. There are Canadians alive right now who are older than their own country. Although it existed as a province some 200 years ago, it was only in 1931 that it was given full independence from the British Empire. 

Throwback Thursday - 9/11 Is Not Over

As a matter of fact ...

Today is the 13th anniversary of the events of September 11th 2001. That's crazy. I had just turned 10 when it happened and really had no idea what was going on. It took me probably another 10 years of my life to fully realise the repercussions of that day. When I was young, I thought it was a far off event with far away people that would have no impact on my life. I was wrong of course. Anyone who has lived through the last 13 years has seen the world change around us, possibly forever. Instead of focusing on the terrible events of that day, I thought I'd take a look at just three things its legacy left behind - an echo as loud as ever.

The Wars

You cant mention 9/11 without talking about the wars that stemmed from it. Less than a month after 9/11, the U.S invaded Afghanistan in a campaign to eradicate the Taliban regime. They are still there. The Taliban may no longer be a threat but the U.S has found itself intertwined and responsible for a country seemingly on the brink of collapse. Then there was the invasion of Iraq. This took place two years after 9/11 and ended in 2011. Although not directly linked to combating the terror that caused 9/11, the Iraq war was still linked with the events of that day. Saddam Hussein's regime was toppled and a more democratic system put in place but the country is arguably more volatile than ever.

The Patriot Act

This act of government changed everything in America and aspects of it were mimicked by other western countries. The Patriot Act gave the American government unprecedented powers of surveillance, searching and interception of the public in order to prevent another 9/11. It meant tighter airport security, new flight regulations and more spying and searching of the American public than ever before. Ever been told to take off your shoes at the security? Or told you cant take that small bottle of liquid on board? These are all regulations stemming from this act.

The Patriot Act also led to the creation of the Department of Homeland Security. In contrast to the Department of Defense, the DHS works in 'the civilian sphere to protect the United States within, at, and outside its borders. Its stated goal is to prepare for, prevent, and respond to domestic emergencies, particularly terrorism' and its creation has been described as 'the most significant government reorganization since the Cold War'. 

With Barack Obama extending aspects of The Patriot Act as recently as 2011, it seems that 9/11 and the fear it instilled in people is still present today.

The Rise of Extremism

Show me a way of life and I'll show you extremists of it. 9/11 showed us that was true of Muslims but in the decade since then, we have seen a rise of reactionary extremism in the west. This has come in the forms of far right groups such as the EDL or BNP in the UK, increased hate crimes on Muslims in the wake of 9/11 in America or even acts of terrorism itself such as the Anders Behring Breivik in Norway in which he killed 77 people, mainly teenagers.

Extremists and bigots will always find something to hate but 9/11 gave a lot of these groups a focus. The English Defense League (EDL) claims to counter Islamic extremism but its critics have pointed out its racist and anti-Semitic tendencies as the real values of the group.

Even the wars I've spoke of have had impacts on home soil. Just last year in the UK, the murder of the soldier Lee Rigby by a Muslim fanatic on a London street sparked a wave of unrest and anti-Muslim attacks across the country. It just seems to be an eye for an eye. Some might argue that the first eye taken was 9/11 but it is clear now that the events of that day were set in motion many years before. 

It's easy to think of 9/11 as history these days. For anyone under the age of 25, they have only hazy memories of that day. But not remembering it does not make it irrelevant to today's world. On the contrary, it shaped today's world. This event permeated the world's culture so much that it may take many more years before we can step back and take a look at the true scale of its repercussions; far more than the three I have outlined for you today. 

So as you remember the events of that day; the lives lost or the bravery of the NY services, remember that it is not just in our past. It affects the world around you and will most likely shape our future.

Throwback Thursday - Happy Birthday L.A!

As a matter of fact ...

On this day in history; the 4th of September 1781, the city of Los Angeles was founded.

LA was founded by 16 families of Spanish settlers, 11 of whom were civilian. The families had arrived from Mexico earlier that year and named their new settlement 'El Pueblo de la Reina de Los Angeles' or 'The Town of the Queen of the Angels'



Despite the settlers all being subjects of the Spanish crown, only two of them claimed direct Spanish decent. The group was made up of Native Americans, Africans and one who was said to be 'the son of a black slave and an Indian woman'


Although not Spanish in the strictest sense, the settlers and the city were part of the state of Mexico and remained loyal to the Spain until it's independence in 1821.


The city, along with the rest of California, was given to the U.S on the 2nd of February 1848 after the Mexican-America war. Los Angeles has been an American city ever since. Growing from it's humble 'pueblo' roots to become the county's 2nd biggest city and 3rd in North America.