Browsing: Travel

A Brief History On July 8, 1874, about 300 newly recruited troopers of the North-West Mounted Police began the trek Westward to the vast prairie areas of Canada, what is now Manitoba and Alberta to the foothills of the Rocky Mountains.  The Canadian government created this force to patrol and protect this area in the wake of violence that culminated in the Cypress Hills Massacre, a battle between White, Native, and mixed-race hunters, trappers, and traders. Digging Deeper An intriguing fact about the deployment of this new force was that each of the six divisions was given a particular color…

A Brief History On July 7, 1992, the New York Court of Appeals, the highest state court in New York, ruled that women in that state have every bit as much a right to go bare breasted as men do. Digging Deeper The United States is a country that prides itself on individual and group freedoms, as well as equal treatment under the law regardless of race, creed, color, or gender, but laws against public toplessness by women have been a common factor among the various states. As of 2019, only six states have decided that women are free to…

A Brief History On July 6, 1887, the King of Hawaii, David Kalākaua, was forced to sign off on The 1887 Constitution of the Hawaiian Kingdom, thus ceding his monarchical powers to the legislature, effectively giving power to American and European wealthy traders along with the Hawaiian upper crust. Digging Deeper Called “The Bayonet Constitution” because of the coercion involved, King David was compelled to sign the document under the threat of the anti-monarchist militia.  Refusal to sign would have cost David his throne entirely, and perhaps his life. The Hawaiian Islands had gradually come under European and later American…

A Brief History On July 3, 1996, Prime Minister John Major of the United Kingdom made an announcement most Scots would find long overdue.  Major announced that the Stone of Scone would be returned to Scotland after being held in England since 1296. Digging Deeper Not to be confused with the delicious breakfast pastry, the stone gets its name from Scone Abbey in Scone, Scotland, where the red sandstone block once resided.  A sacred relic, the stone has been used in the coronation ceremonies of Scottish, English, and British monarchs.  It has a cross carved on it and metal rings…

A Brief History On July 2, 1990, 1,426 faithful Muslims attending the annual pilgrimage to Mecca called the “Hajj,” were trampled and suffocated to death in a tunnel.  Sadly, the Hajj is no stranger to such disasters, although not necessarily on this scale. Digging Deeper The incident happened as several people fell off a pedestrian bridge over a huge column of other faithful passing through the 550 meter long tunnel.  When the crowd below had people land on them, a rush followed causing constriction of the crowd in the tunnel, resulting in trampling and suffocation.  The tunnel, designed for only…