Today is Readjustment Movement Day, a public holiday in Guinea-Bissau. Also known as Anniversary of the Movement of Readjustment Day, it marks the coup that took place on this day in 1980. On November 14th 1980, the government of Luis Cabral was overthrown in a relatively bloodless coup led by Prime Minister and former armed forces commander João Bernardo Vieira. He ruled until 1999 when he removed from power in a military coup and exiled. Vieira returned from exile in 2005, becoming president again, hanging on to power until March 2009, when he was assassinated by renegade soldiers.
Today is the birthday, in 1950 of Leo van de Ketterij, Dutch guitarist with Shocking Blue, (1970 US No.1 & UK No.8 single ‘Venus’).
Today is Constitution Day in Tonga. Tonga’s Constitution was first enacted by HM King Tupou I on November 4th 1875 establishing Tonga as a modern constitutional monarchy. It is supreme law under which the Government of Tonga operates and defines the balance between the executive, legislature, and judiciary. Some of the most notable laws in the Constitution are the land clauses forbidding the sale of land to foreigners and requiring that land could only be granted to Tongan citizens.
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Today is the birthday, in 1943, of Joni Mitchell, Canadian singer, songwriter, 1970 UK No.11 single ‘Big Yellow Taxi’, 1974 US No.7 single ‘Help Me’.
The Arrival of Indentured Labourers is a national holiday in the Republic of Mauritius on November 2nd each year. This holiday commemorates the arrival of the first indentured workers to the Indian Ocean island nation on this day in 1834.
The use of slaves on Mauritius was widespread. It began when the French took control of the island and established sugar cane plantations, which needed a large workforce of slaves. By the time the British took control of the island in 1810, slaves accounted for around 80% of the island’s population with most from Madagascar and East Africa.
In February 1835, slavery was abolished in Mauritius. This instantly created a demand for replacement labor on the plantations. The solution was to use indentured workers. Effectively indentured workers would work as slaves, but only for the term of their contract, after which they would be freed. This process started in Mauritius and was expanded to other parts of the British Empire.
Between 1834 and 1920, half-a-million indentured immigrants (laborers and their families) arrived on Mauritius, with 97% of the immigrants coming from India. The first laborers, called coolies, arrived from Calcutta (Kolkata) on November 2nd 1834. A commission to look at the practice of indenture first took place in 1872, though it was 1924 before the practice was abolished.
Today is the birthday, in 1941, of Brian Poole, British singer, the lead singer of 1960s beat band the Tremeloes.
Today is Reformation Day, a public holiday in about half of German states and some other countries. Reformation Day commemorates the day in 1517 when a German monk named Martin Luther (1483-1546) strode up to the church in Wittenburg and nailed his 95 ‘theses’ (or propositions) to the church door. Luther chose to do this on October 31st as he knew the church would be full on the next day for All Saints’ Day.
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Today is the birthday, in 1950, of American singer, songwriter and guitarist Moon Martin. Originally a rockabilly artist, he wrote the songs ‘Bad Case of Loving You (Doctor, Doctor)’, made famous by the English singer Robert Palmer, and ‘Cadillac Walk’, a hit for American singer Willy DeVille.
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