A Brief History On May 11, 1891, while paying a State visit to Lake Biwa, Otsu, Japan, heir to the throne of the Russian Empire Tsesarevich Nicholas Alexandrovich (the future Czar Nicholas II, Emperor of Russia) was attacked with a sword by one of the Japanese policemen escorting him, wounding the Tsesarevich. Digging Deeper Lucky for Nicholas his cousin, Prince George of Greece and Denmark (seriously, Greece and Denmark? How did that happen?) was on the spot with his cane, with which he blocked the second sword strike, saving the life of Nicholas. The first strike had landed on Nicholas’s…
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A Brief History On May 6, 1882, the United States Congress passed the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, banning any further immigration of Chinese workers to the United States for the next 10 years. This Act followed previous agreements imposed on China, the Burlingame Treaty of 18689 and the Angell Treaty of 1880 that also sought to limit Chinese immigration to the US. It seems xenophobia was alive and “well” even back then! Digging Deeper The Chinese Exclusion Act was supposed to last 10 years, but was renewed in 1892 by the Geary Act of 1892, which was made “permanent”…
A Brief History On May 3, 2017, France is facing an upcoming contentious and momentous election that largely revolves around the national character of the country and the issue of immigration, especially Muslim immigration in the wake of terrorist incidents. Digging Deeper Emmanuel Macron, born 1977, is running for President of France on a secular and liberal platform that is pro-immigration (open door policy) and pro-European Union. His opponent, conservative Marine le Pen is running on a nationalistic platform against accepting further Muslim refugees from the Middle East and with an eye for pulling the country out of the European…
A Brief History On April 30, 1517, oddly enough the day before May Day, riots in London, England broke out known as Evil May Day (alternatively, Ill May Day). English apprentices and businessmen had grown afraid of losing their jobs or business to foreigners coming from Continental Europe and setting up shop in London, taking jobs and business away from English workers and owners. Digging Deeper Resentment against foreigners has reared its ugly head again and again over the years in England and recently in the United States and other European countries as well. Xenophobia is apparently nothing new and…
A Brief History On April 20, 1968, Conservative Member of Parliament Enoch Powell delivered his famous “Rivers of Blood Speech” against the continued immigration of non-European colonials into Britain. The speech was partly in response to the pending Race Relations Act of 1968 which made it illegal to refuse anyone housing, employment or public service because of race, color, religion, national origin and the like. The speech targeted non-white colonials from around the Empire and Commonwealth, notably Blacks and Indian sub-continent people. Digging Deeper Does this sound like the United States of 2016 and 2017? You bet it does! In…