Post Tagged with "history"

French Royal Mistresses

Valentine’s Day is over.  But let’s still celebrate Love by talking of the royal mistresses who often influenced the fate of France.

The Royal Mistress, a vast and controversial topic that makes us either smile or shy away!

Were they exceptionally attractive?

Not always but they were undoubtedly more attractive than the average women of their time when hygiene was questionable, when teeth started to decay in teenage, when women’s life expectancy was so short, when they had reached their “shelf-life” by the age of 30, if they had had the extreme luck of surviving until such an “advanced age” despite the multiple births and epidemics.

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From our contributors: August 30

This roundup of posts published by our contributors on their personal blogs is now bi-weekly.  Happy reading!

Mike, our contributor from Japan, brings us an impressive photo essay about a cave called Shimuku Gama, located in Yomitan -Okinawa-, where a thousand villagers took refuge during the Battle of Okinawa in 1945. The monument to two local heroes is, indeed, a sobering sight.

“To appreciate what it must feel like being bombed into the Stone Age it’s probably best to show you this cave from the inside, looking out.  Welcome to a cave called Shimuku Gama in Yomitan Okinawa, Japan.”

Anu, our contributor from India, writes about different religious traditions and celebrations in India, especially those which are new to her. She comes across a new festival by chance while visiting a market. (more…)

From our contributors: 9 August

Another week, another roundup of posts published by our contributors on their personal blogs.

From Anu, one of our contributors from India: Sky Watch Friday – Skies over Mumbai, a city skyline during Monsoon season.

Jason, our contributor from US West Coast, writes about Bolivia’s natural diversity in From Freezing Glaciers to Steaming Cloudforests: El Chorro Trek (more…)

Summer Solstice Celebrations in France

Today, Friday 24 June, is in France the day we celebrate St. John the Baptist and it is also an opportunity to celebrate the Feux de la Saint-Jean.

This tradition, which dates back to ancient times, most likely originated in Asia Minor and was introduced to Eastern Europe by the Celtic tribes 3000 years ago. Feux de la Saint-Jean was originally the celebration of the Summer Solstice on June 21st. The ancients use to light bonfires on the previous evening in honour of the Sun, a way to pray for its protection for the harvest to come.

Image credit

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The man who saved 30,000 refugees

On May 7, 1945 the German troops surrendered in Western Europe. It was considered the end of World War II in this part of the globe. During the Holocaust, a Portuguese consul saved 30,000 lives. His name was Aristides Sousa Mendes.

Aristides Sousa Mendes: the Portuguese Refugee Saviour in World War II

Aristides Sousa Mendes, a Portuguese aristocrat and diplomat, saved 30,000 refugees -12,000 of them Jews-, during World War II. Aristides was, at the time, the Portuguese consul in Bordeaux (France). Against the orders of the Portuguese cabinet’s president, António de Oliveira Salazar, Aristides decided to help those people in trouble, attending to his catholic beliefs and conscience. These were his words: “I would rather stand with God against man, than with man against God.” (more…)

Portugal abroad: a historical journey through Europe

Today Portugal celebrates Our Lady of Conception’s Day. She was proclaimed the godmother and Queen of Portugal on March, 25, 1646, by the Portuguese King D. Joao IV, during the Independence Restoration wars (1640-1668) and after sixty years of Spanish rule (1580-1640). The kings of Portugal have never worn the Portuguese Crown again. The Portuguese monarchy ended in 1910.

In this post we’ll explore some historical traces of Portugal around Europe.

Zamora (Spain): birth of the Portuguese nation

The 5th of October 1143, in Zamora, in the Kingdom of Castilla y Leon (Castile and León) a treaty was signed between the King of León and Castile, Alfonso VII, and the King of Portugal, Afonso Henriques. By this treaty, Portugal became an independent country and the oldest European nation. Last summer vacation, on my way to Portugal, I visited Zamora Cathedral, where the treaty was signed and my country, legally, was born. As you may guess, it was a very special moment for me.

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