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Part of the text reads: '25th April 1848 HMShips Terror and Erebus were deserted on the 22nd April 5 leagues NNW of this having been beset since 12th Sept 1846. The officers and crews consisting of 105 souls under the command of Captain F. R. M. Crozier landed here—in Lat. 69°37'42" Long. 98°41'...<br/><br/> Sir John Franklin died on the 11th of June 1847 and the total loss by deaths in the Expedition has been to this date 9 officers and 15 men.—James Fitzjames Captain HMS Erebus F. R. M. Crozier Captain & Senior Offr.
French Indochina Banque de l'Indochina (Bank of Indochina) One Piastre banknote. Image on back shows a Vietnamese fruit vendor in front of a rural scene
The tiny island of Hulhudheli lies in the South Nilandhoo Atoll. Here, lives the country's only group of hereditary silversmiths.<br/><br/> Asia's smallest and least-known nation, the Republic of Maldives, lies scattered from north to south across a 750-kilometre sweep of the Indian Ocean 500 kilometres south-west of Sri Lanka. More than 1000 islands, together with innumerable banks and reefs, are grouped in a chain of nineteen atolls which extends from a point due west of Colombo to just south of the equator.
Although the Khmer Rouge printed banknotes, these notes were not issued as money was abolished after the Khmer Rouge took control of the country.<br/><br/> The Khmer Rouge, or Communist Party of Kampuchea, ruled Cambodia from 1975 to 1979, led by Pol Pot, Nuon Chea, Ieng Sary, Son Sen and Khieu Samphan. It is remembered primarily for its brutality and policy of social engineering which resulted in millions of deaths.<br/><br/> Its attempts at agricultural reform led to widespread famine, while its insistence on absolute self-sufficiency, even in the supply of medicine, led to the deaths of thousands from treatable diseases (such as malaria).<br/><br/> Brutal and arbitrary executions and torture carried out by its cadres against perceived subversive elements, or during purges of its own ranks between 1976 and 1978, are considered to have constituted a genocide. Several former Khmer Rouge cadres are currently on trial for war crimes in Phnom Penh.
Although the Khmer Rouge printed banknotes, these notes were not issued as money was abolished after the Khmer Rouge took control of the country.<br/><br/> The Khmer Rouge, or Communist Party of Kampuchea, ruled Cambodia from 1975 to 1979, led by Pol Pot, Nuon Chea, Ieng Sary, Son Sen and Khieu Samphan. It is remembered primarily for its brutality and policy of social engineering which resulted in millions of deaths.<br/><br/> Its attempts at agricultural reform led to widespread famine, while its insistence on absolute self-sufficiency, even in the supply of medicine, led to the deaths of thousands from treatable diseases (such as malaria).<br/><br/> Brutal and arbitrary executions and torture carried out by its cadres against perceived subversive elements, or during purges of its own ranks between 1976 and 1978, are considered to have constituted a genocide. Several former Khmer Rouge cadres are currently on trial for war crimes in Phnom Penh.
Kaga was an aircraft carrier built for the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) and was named after the former Kaga Province in present-day Ishikawa Prefecture. Originally intended to be one of two Tosa-class battleships, Kaga was converted under the terms of the Washington Naval Treaty to an aircraft carrier as the replacement for the battlecruiser Amagi, which had been damaged during the 1923 Great Kanto earthquake. Kaga was rebuilt in 1933–35, increasing her top speed, improving her exhaust systems, and adapting her flight decks to more modern, heavier aircraft.<br/><br/> Kaga's aircraft first supported Japanese troops in China during the Shanghai Incident of 1932 and participated in the Second Sino-Japanese War in the late 1930s. With other carriers, she took part in the Pearl Harbor raid in December 1941 and the invasion of Rabaul in the Southwest Pacific in January 1942. The following month her aircraft participated in a combined carrier airstrike on Darwin, Australia, helping secure the conquest of the Dutch East Indies by Japanese forces.<br/><br/> Following repairs, Kaga rejoined the 1st Air Fleet for the Battle of Midway in June 1942. After bombarding American forces on Midway Atoll, Kaga and three other IJN carriers were attacked by American aircraft from Midway and the carriers Enterprise, Hornet, and Yorktown. Dive bombers from Enterprise severely damaged Kaga; when it became obvious she could not be saved, she was scuttled by Japanese destroyers to prevent her from falling into enemy hands.<br/><br/> The loss of four large attack carriers, including Kaga at Midway, was a crucial setback for Japan, and contributed significantly to Japan's ultimate defeat. In 1999, debris from Kaga including a large section of the hull was located on the ocean floor at a depth in excess of 5,000 meters (16,404 ft); 350 miles (560 km) northwest of Midway Island. The main part of the carrier's wreck has not been found.
The Japanese Empire occupied the Dutch East Indies, today Indonesia, during World War II from March 1942 until after the end of the War in 1945. The period was one of the most critical in Indonesian history. Under German occupation, the Netherlands had little ability to defend its colony against the Japanese army, and less than three months after the first attacks on Borneo the Japanese navy and army overran Dutch and allied forces.<br/><br/> Initially, most Indonesians optimistically and even joyfully welcomed the Japanese as liberators from their Dutch colonial masters. This sentiment changed as Indonesians were expected to endure more hardship for the war effort. In 1944–45, Allied troops largely by-passed Indonesia and did not fight their way into the most populous parts such as Java and Sumatra. As such, most of Indonesia was still under Japanese occupation at the time of their surrender in August 1945.
The Japanese Empire occupied the Dutch East Indies, today Indonesia, during World War II from March 1942 until after the end of the War in 1945. The period was one of the most critical in Indonesian history. Under German occupation, the Netherlands had little ability to defend its colony against the Japanese army, and less than three months after the first attacks on Borneo the Japanese navy and army overran Dutch and allied forces.<br/><br/> Initially, most Indonesians optimistically and even joyfully welcomed the Japanese as liberators from their Dutch colonial masters. This sentiment changed as Indonesians were expected to endure more hardship for the war effort. In 1944–45, Allied troops largely by-passed Indonesia and did not fight their way into the most populous parts such as Java and Sumatra. As such, most of Indonesia was still under Japanese occupation at the time of their surrender in August 1945.
Prostitution in Japan has existed throughout the country's history. The opening of Japan and the subsequent flood of Western influences into Japan brought about a series of changes in the Meiji period. Japanese novelists started to draw attention to the confinement and squalid existence of the lower-class prostitutes in the red-light districts.<br/><br/> 'Shashin Mitate Cho' (essentially, prostitute menus or catalogues) were introduced soon after photography became popular in the late 19th century, at least in more upmarket brothels, as an alternative to the 'caged prostitute' displays of lower class brothels where women were displayed for the consideration of customers.
The Aceh War, also known as the Dutch War or the Infidel War (1873–1914), was an armed military conflict between the Sultanate of Aceh and the Netherlands which was triggered by discussions between representatives of Aceh and the United Kingdom in Singapore during early 1873.<br/><br/> The war was part of a series of conflicts in the late 19th century that consolidated Dutch rule over modern-day Indonesia.<br/><br/> Cut Nyak Dhien or Tjoet Nja Dhien (Lampadang, 1850 – November 6, 1908) was a leader of the Acehnese guerrilla forces during the Aceh War. Following the death of her husband Teuku Umar, she led guerrilla actions against the Dutch for 25 years. She was posthumously awarded the title of National Hero of Indonesia on May 2, 1964 by the Indonesian government.
The Dian Kingdom (Chinese: 滇國 or 滇王國) was established by the Dian people, who lived around Lake Dian in northern Yunnan, China from the late Spring and Autumn Period (771 - 476 BCE) until the Eastern Han Dynasty (25 - 220 CE).<br/><br/> The Dian were first mentioned historically in Sima Qian's Shiji and according to Chinese sources, the Chinese Chu general Zhuang Qiao was the founder of the Dian Kingdom. Chinese soldiers who accompanied him married the local people. Zhuang was engaged in a war to conquer the 'barbarian' peoples of the area, but he and his army were prevented from going back to Chu by enemy armies, so he settled down and became King of the new Dian Kingdom.<br/><br/> The Classical Chinese character for money (貝) originated as a stylized drawing of a cowrie shell. Words and characters concerning money, property or wealth usually have this as a radical.<br/><br/>Đông Sơn was a prehistoric Bronze Age culture in Vietnam centered on the Red River Valley of northern Vietnam. At this time the first Vietnamese kingdoms of Văn Lang and Âu Lạc appeared. Its influence flourished in other neighbouring parts of Southeast Asia from about 500 BCE to 100 CE.
The Japanese tea ceremony, also called the Way of Tea, is a Japanese cultural activity involving the ceremonial preparation and presentation of matcha, powdered green tea. In Japanese, it is called chanoyu (茶の湯) or chadō, sadō (茶道). The manner in which it is performed, or the art of its performance, is called otemae (お手前; お点前). Zen Buddhism was a primary influence in the development of the tea ceremony.<br/><br/> Tea gatherings are classified as chakai (茶会) or chaji (茶事). A chakai is a relatively simple course of hospitality that includes confections, thin tea (薄茶 usucha), and perhaps a light meal. A chaji is a much more formal gathering, usually including a full-course kaiseki meal followed by confections, thick tea (濃茶 koicha), and thin tea. A chaji can last up to four hours.
During the 10th and 11th centuries CE the Chandella Kings of central India, scions of a powerful Rajput clan who claimed the moon as their direct ancestor, built a total of 85 temples to the glory of God, the creation, and the Hindu pantheon. The Chandellas were devout Hindus.<br/><br/> Eclipsed by the Mughal conquest, the rise of rival dynasties, and the passage of time, the temples languished in the harsh sun and monsoon rains of central India, gradually becoming lost in the jungle. At the time of their re-discovery in 1839, they were so completely overgrown that T. S. Burt, their founder, thought no more than seven temples had survived. Happily this proved far from the case, for when the undergrowth was hacked back and the complex restored, no fewer than twenty two of the original structures were revealed standing.
Oriental carpets more than two centuries old have rarely survived and are rarely represented in Islamic Art since Sunni Islam (and to a lesser extent Shia) eschews representational art in favour of precisely the repetetive geometric symbols and arabesques found, for example, in oriental carpets.<br/><br/> This means that most examples of 17th century and earlier oriental carpets, mainly produced in Muslim lands, are only to be found in paintings from Christian lands where rich oriental carpets were associated with wealth, power and taste.<br/><br/> Such carpets featured as an important decorative feature in paintings from the 14th century onwards, leading to the dichotomy that there are more depictions of oriental carpets produced before the 17th century in European paintings than there are actual oriental carpets surviving from the same period.<br/><br/> Because of this European paintings have proved an invaluable source of reference for the study of the history of carpetmaking and carpets.
Wat Duang Di or 'The Good Luck Monastery' dates from the 19th century and is famed for its carved pediments and other stucco decorations.<br/><br/> King Mengrai founded the city of Chiang Mai (meaning 'new city') in 1296, and it succeeded Chiang Rai as capital of the Lanna kingdom. Chiang Mai sometimes written as 'Chiengmai' or 'Chiangmai', is the largest and most culturally significant city in northern Thailand.
The January 28 Incident (January 28 – March 3, 1932) was a short war between the armies of the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan, before official hostilities of the Second Sino-Japanese War commenced in 1937.<br/><br/> In Chinese literature it is known as the January 28 Incident, while in Western sources it is often called the Shanghai War of 1932 or, more simply, the Shanghai Incident. In Japan it is known as the First Shanghai Incident, alluding to the Second Shanghai Incident, which is the Japanese name for the Battle of Shanghai that occurred during the opening stages of the Second Sino-Japanese War in 1937.
The earliest mention of Kashgar occurs when a Chinese Han Dynasty (206 BCE – 220 CE) envoy traveled the Northern Silk Road to explore lands to the west.<br/><br/> Another early mention of Kashgar is during the Former Han (also known as the Western Han Dynasty), when in 76 BCE the Chinese conquered the Xiongnu, Yutian (Khotan), Sulei (Kashgar), and a group of states in the Tarim basin almost up to the foot of the Tian Shan mountains.<br/><br/> Ptolemy spoke of Scythia beyond the Imaus, which is in a 'Kasia Regio', probably exhibiting the name from which Kashgar is formed.<br/><br/> The country’s people practised Zoroastrianism and Buddhism before the coming of Islam. The celebrated Old Uighur prince Sultan Satuq Bughra Khan converted to Islam late in the 10th century and his Uighur kingdom lasted until 1120 but was distracted by complicated dynastic struggles.<br/><br/> The Uighurs employed an alphabet based upon the Syriac and borrowed from the Nestorian, but after converting to Islam widely used also an Arabic script. They spoke a dialect of Turkic preserved in the Kudatku Bilik, a moral treatise composed in 1065.
The earliest mention of Kashgar occurs when a Chinese Han Dynasty (206 BCE – 220 CE) envoy traveled the Northern Silk Road to explore lands to the west.<br/><br/> Another early mention of Kashgar is during the Former Han (also known as the Western Han Dynasty), when in 76 BCE the Chinese conquered the Xiongnu, Yutian (Khotan), Sulei (Kashgar), and a group of states in the Tarim basin almost up to the foot of the Tian Shan mountains.<br/><br/> Ptolemy spoke of Scythia beyond the Imaus, which is in a 'Kasia Regio', probably exhibiting the name from which Kashgar is formed.<br/><br/> The country’s people practised Zoroastrianism and Buddhism before the coming of Islam. The celebrated Old Uighur prince Sultan Satuq Bughra Khan converted to Islam late in the 10th century and his Uighur kingdom lasted until 1120 but was distracted by complicated dynastic struggles.<br/><br/> The Uighurs employed an alphabet based upon the Syriac and borrowed from the Nestorian, but after converting to Islam widely used also an Arabic script. They spoke a dialect of Turkic preserved in the Kudatku Bilik, a moral treatise composed in 1065.
The earliest mention of Kashgar occurs when a Chinese Han Dynasty (206 BCE – 220 CE) envoy traveled the Northern Silk Road to explore lands to the west.<br/><br/> Another early mention of Kashgar is during the Former Han (also known as the Western Han Dynasty), when in 76 BCE the Chinese conquered the Xiongnu, Yutian (Khotan), Sulei (Kashgar), and a group of states in the Tarim basin almost up to the foot of the Tian Shan mountains.<br/><br/> Ptolemy spoke of Scythia beyond the Imaus, which is in a 'Kasia Regio', probably exhibiting the name from which Kashgar is formed.<br/><br/> The country’s people practised Zoroastrianism and Buddhism before the coming of Islam. The celebrated Old Uighur prince Sultan Satuq Bughra Khan converted to Islam late in the 10th century and his Uighur kingdom lasted until 1120 but was distracted by complicated dynastic struggles.<br/><br/> The Uighurs employed an alphabet based upon the Syriac and borrowed from the Nestorian, but after converting to Islam widely used also an Arabic script. They spoke a dialect of Turkic preserved in the Kudatku Bilik, a moral treatise composed in 1065.
The earliest mention of Kashgar occurs when a Chinese Han Dynasty (206 BCE – 220 CE) envoy traveled the Northern Silk Road to explore lands to the west.<br/><br/> Another early mention of Kashgar is during the Former Han (also known as the Western Han Dynasty), when in 76 BCE the Chinese conquered the Xiongnu, Yutian (Khotan), Sulei (Kashgar), and a group of states in the Tarim basin almost up to the foot of the Tian Shan mountains.<br/><br/> Ptolemy spoke of Scythia beyond the Imaus, which is in a 'Kasia Regio', probably exhibiting the name from which Kashgar is formed.<br/><br/> The country’s people practised Zoroastrianism and Buddhism before the coming of Islam. The celebrated Old Uighur prince Sultan Satuq Bughra Khan converted to Islam late in the 10th century and his Uighur kingdom lasted until 1120 but was distracted by complicated dynastic struggles.<br/><br/> The Uighurs employed an alphabet based upon the Syriac and borrowed from the Nestorian, but after converting to Islam widely used also an Arabic script. They spoke a dialect of Turkic preserved in the Kudatku Bilik, a moral treatise composed in 1065.
The earliest mention of Kashgar occurs when a Chinese Han Dynasty (206 BCE – 220 CE) envoy traveled the Northern Silk Road to explore lands to the west.<br/><br/> Another early mention of Kashgar is during the Former Han (also known as the Western Han Dynasty), when in 76 BCE the Chinese conquered the Xiongnu, Yutian (Khotan), Sulei (Kashgar), and a group of states in the Tarim basin almost up to the foot of the Tian Shan mountains.<br/><br/> Ptolemy spoke of Scythia beyond the Imaus, which is in a 'Kasia Regio', probably exhibiting the name from which Kashgar is formed.<br/><br/> The country’s people practised Zoroastrianism and Buddhism before the coming of Islam. The celebrated Old Uighur prince Sultan Satuq Bughra Khan converted to Islam late in the 10th century and his Uighur kingdom lasted until 1120 but was distracted by complicated dynastic struggles.<br/><br/> The Uighurs employed an alphabet based upon the Syriac and borrowed from the Nestorian, but after converting to Islam widely used also an Arabic script. They spoke a dialect of Turkic preserved in the Kudatku Bilik, a moral treatise composed in 1065.
Ava was capital of Burma from 1364 to 1841 and was founded by King Thadominbya on an artificial island at the confluence of the Irrawaddy and the Myitnge created by digging a canal linking the two rivers. Prior to this, Sagaing had been capital, but after Sagaing fell to the Shan, the court moved across the river to Ava.<br/><br/> The culture of Pagan was revived and a great age of Burmese literature ensued. The kingdom lacked easily defensible borders, however, and was overrun by the Shan in 1527.<br/><br/> Following the British conquest of Lower Burma after the Second Anglo-Burmese War (1852–53), Upper Burma was commonly called the Kingdom of Ava or the Court of Ava. During the reign of King Bodawpaya (r.1781–1819), the capital was moved to nearby Amarapura. However, his successor, King Bagyidaw (r.1819–37), moved the court back to Ava in 1823. When a tremendous earthquake caused extensive damage in 1841, Ava was finally abandoned for Amarapura. Little remains of the ancient capital today.
Hell bank notes are a form of joss paper printed to resemble modern bank notes. Hell bank notes are not an official currency or legal tender anywhere in this world. They are intended to be burnt in Chinese ancestor veneration. Hell bank notes are known for their large denominations, ranging from $10,000 to several billions, and usually bear an image of the Jade Emperor, the presiding monarch of heaven in Daoism, with his signature (romanized as Yu Wong, or Yuk Wong) and the signature of Yanluo, King of Hell. There is usually an image of the Bank of Hell on the back of the bill.
A major battleground, Burma was devastated during World War II. By March 1942, within months after they entered the war, Japanese troops had advanced on Rangoon and the British administration had collapsed. A Burmese Executive Administration headed by Ba Maw was established by the Japanese in August 1942.<br/><br/> Wingate's British Chindits were formed into long-range penetration groups trained to operate deep behind Japanese lines. A similar American unit, Merrill's Marauders, followed the Chindits into the Burmese jungle in 1943. Beginning in late 1944, allied troops launched a series of offensives that led to the end of Japanese rule in July 1945. However, the battles were intense with much of Burma laid waste by the fighting. Overall, the Japanese lost some 150,000 men in Burma.<br/><br/> Although many Burmese fought initially for the Japanese, some Burmese, mostly from the ethnic minorities, also served in the British Burma Army. The Burma National Army and the Arakan National Army fought with the Japanese from 1942 to 1944, but switched allegiance to the Allied side in 1945.
The krama, more than any other item of clothing of everyday use, is quintessentially Cambodian. No other country in Southeast Asia uses this scarf-like head-wrapping, and it’s arguably a sign of Cambodia’s ancient links with Indian, the land of turbans par excellence. Krama, which are made from cotton or silk, are most commonly found in red-and-white or blue-and-white check, and they have a considerable variety of uses.<br/><br/> Just about every province of Cambodia produces krama in its own, distinctive patterns. Kompong Cham produces large silk krama in shades of burgundy, maroon, crimson, indigo and emerald. Some are said to resemble Scottish tartans, others are stripey in effect. Quality varies immensely, from the simple, coarse cotton chequered scarf used by the poorest peasants, to elegant, finely-woven silk krama with gold-fibre edgings.<br/><br/> The colours of the cheaper, cotton krama are usually duller, coming in shades of ochre, ginger, and chocolate brown which are generally produced using natural dies. The colours of the more expensive silk krama are often much brighter, today utilising chemical dies which allow a wider range of hue. Such variations in colour took on a distinctly menacing tone under the Khmer Rouge, when special blue-coloured krama were issued to inhabitants of the eastern zone contiguous with Vietnam. These unfortunates were considered by the paranoid Khmer Rouge leadership to have ‘Vietnamese minds in Cambodian bodies’, and the wearing of one of the special blue krama marked the possessor for eventual execution.
Hell bank notes are a form of joss paper printed to resemble modern bank notes. Hell bank notes are not an official currency or legal tender anywhere in this world. They are intended to be burnt in Chinese ancestor veneration. Hell bank notes are known for their large denominations, ranging from $10,000 to several billions, and usually bear an image of the Jade Emperor, the presiding monarch of heaven in Daoism, with his signature (romanized as Yu Wong, or Yuk Wong) and the signature of Yanluo, King of Hell. There is usually an image of the Bank of Hell on the back of the bill.
The French established an opium franchise to put their new colony on a paying basis only six months after they annexed Saigon in 1862. Opium was imported from India, taxed at 10 percent of value, and sold by licensed Chinese merchants to all comers. Opium became an extremely lucrative source of income, and this successful experiment was repeated as the French acquired other areas in Indochina.<br/><br/> Shortly after the French established a protectorate over Cambodia (1863) and central Vietnam (1883), and annexed Tonkin (northern Vietnam, 1884) and Laos (1893), they founded autonomous opium monopolies to finance the heavy initial expenses of colonial rule. While the opium franchise had succeeded in putting southern Vietnam on a paying basis within several years, the rapid expansion of French holdings in the 1880s and 1890s created a huge fiscal deficit for Indochina as a whole.<br/><br/> Governor-General Paul Doumer reorganized the opium business in 1899, expanding sales and sharply reducing expenses. After consolidating the five autonomous opium agencies into the single Opium Monopoly, Doumer constructed a modern, efficient opium refinery in Saigon to process raw Indian resin into prepared smoker's opium. The new factory devised a special mixture of prepared opium that burned quickly, thus encouraging the smoker to consume more opium than he might ordinarily.<br/><br/> Under Doumer's direction, the Opium Monopoly made its first purchases of cheap opium from China's Yunnan Province so that government dens and retail shops could expand their clientele to include the poorer workers who could not afford the high-priced Indian brands. More dens and shops were opened to meet expanded consumer demand (in 1918 there were 1,512 dens and 3,098 retail shops).
Hell bank notes are a form of joss paper printed to resemble modern bank notes. Hell bank notes are not an official currency or legal tender anywhere in this world. They are intended to be burnt in Chinese ancestor veneration. Hell bank notes are known for their large denominations, ranging from $10,000 to several billions, and usually bear an image of the Jade Emperor, the presiding monarch of heaven in Daoism, with his signature (romanized as Yu Wong, or Yuk Wong) and the signature of Yanluo, King of Hell. There is usually an image of the Bank of Hell on the back of the bill.
Hell bank notes are a form of joss paper printed to resemble modern bank notes. Hell bank notes are not an official currency or legal tender anywhere in this world. They are intended to be burnt in Chinese ancestor veneration. Hell bank notes are known for their large denominations, ranging from $10,000 to several billions, and usually bear an image of the Jade Emperor, the presiding monarch of heaven in Daoism, with his signature (romanized as Yu Wong, or Yuk Wong) and the signature of Yanluo, King of Hell. There is usually an image of the Bank of Hell on the back of the bill.
Hell bank notes are a form of joss paper printed to resemble modern bank notes. Hell bank notes are not an official currency or legal tender anywhere in this world. They are intended to be burnt in Chinese ancestor veneration. Hell bank notes are known for their large denominations, ranging from $10,000 to several billions, and usually bear an image of the Jade Emperor, the presiding monarch of heaven in Daoism, with his signature (romanized as Yu Wong, or Yuk Wong) and the signature of Yanluo, King of Hell. There is usually an image of the Bank of Hell on the back of the bill.
Hell bank notes are a form of joss paper printed to resemble modern bank notes. Hell bank notes are not an official currency or legal tender anywhere in this world. They are intended to be burnt in Chinese ancestor veneration. Hell bank notes are known for their large denominations, ranging from $10,000 to several billions, and usually bear an image of the Jade Emperor, the presiding monarch of heaven in Daoism, with his signature (romanized as Yu Wong, or Yuk Wong) and the signature of Yanluo, King of Hell. There is usually an image of the Bank of Hell on the back of the bill.
Sisavang Phoulivong (or Sisavangvong) (14 July 1885 - 29 October 1959), was King of Luang Phrabang and later the Kingdom of Laos from 28 April 1904 until his death on 20 October 1959.<br/><br/> His father was king Zakarine and his mother was Queen Thongsy. He was educated at Lycée Chasseloup-Laubat, Saigon, and at l'École Coloniale in Paris. He was known as a "playboy" king with up to 50 children by as many as 15 wives.
Like Mok, So Phim won his spurs as an Issarak guerrilla chief, fighting the French in the late 1940s. He was born into a peasant family in Eastern Cambodia, sometime in the 1920s (the year 1925 is often cited, but is no more than a guess). In August 1951, he became one of five founding members of the Vietnamese-inspired PRPK. Three years later, after the Geneva peace accords ended the first Indochina war, he was named to the four-member provisional committee which headed the party.<br/><br/> In 1960, Phim was elected an alternate member of the new CPK Standing Committee, and, three years later, a full member, ranking fourth or fifth in the party leadership. From 1960 until his death in 1978, he headed the CPK Eastern Zone Committee. He is described as 'a round-faced, stocky man, about 1.8 meters tall, with dark brown skin and straight black hair'. Like Ta Mok, he is portrayed as a crude willful man and, when in a rage, would threaten his colleagues with his pistol. But he was well-liked by his men, and had a (perhaps undeserved) reputation in the party as a moderate).<br/><br/> A terrible repression on the Cham (Muslim) population was conducted in his zone, particularly in Kompong Cham province after the Cham’s refused to follow Khmer Rouge rules. In 1978, after eastern zone troops had failed to resist a large-scale Vietnamese army incursion – launched by General Giap as a warning to Pol Pot to halt cross-border raids and atrocities – Pol Pot began to suspect (probably falsely) that Phim was in cahoots with the leadership in Hanoi. He ordered a massive purge of the Eastern Zone.<br/><br/> Phim, who at first refused to believe that Pol could have turned against him, was able to escape with his family and a small group of followers. Surrounded by Pol Pot’s forces, he committed suicide. His wife and children were captured as they prepared his body for the Buddhist funeral rites. They too were killed. He was replaced in his zone by Nuon Chea.
Hell bank notes are a form of joss paper printed to resemble modern bank notes. Hell bank notes are not an official currency or legal tender anywhere in this world. They are intended to be burnt in Chinese ancestor veneration. Hell bank notes are known for their large denominations, ranging from $10,000 to several billions, and usually bear an image of the Jade Emperor, the presiding monarch of heaven in Daoism, with his signature (romanized as Yu Wong, or Yuk Wong) and the signature of Yanluo, King of Hell. There is usually an image of the Bank of Hell on the back of the bill.
Hell bank notes are a form of joss paper printed to resemble modern bank notes. Hell bank notes are not an official currency or legal tender anywhere in this world. They are intended to be burnt in Chinese ancestor veneration. Hell bank notes are known for their large denominations, ranging from $10,000 to several billions, and usually bear an image of the Jade Emperor, the presiding monarch of heaven in Daoism, with his signature (romanized as Yu Wong, or Yuk Wong) and the signature of Yanluo, King of Hell. There is usually an image of the Bank of Hell on the back of the bill.
French Indochina Banque de l'Indochina (Bank of Indochina) One Piastre banknote. Image on front shows (left to right) Cambodian, Lao and Vietnamese women in traditional dress.
A major battleground, Burma was devastated during World War II. By March 1942, within months after they entered the war, Japanese troops had advanced on Rangoon and the British administration had collapsed. A Burmese Executive Administration headed by Ba Maw was established by the Japanese in August 1942.<br/><br/> Wingate's British Chindits were formed into long-range penetration groups trained to operate deep behind Japanese lines. A similar American unit, Merrill's Marauders, followed the Chindits into the Burmese jungle in 1943. Beginning in late 1944, allied troops launched a series of offensives that led to the end of Japanese rule in July 1945. However, the battles were intense with much of Burma laid waste by the fighting. Overall, the Japanese lost some 150,000 men in Burma.<br/><br/> Although many Burmese fought initially for the Japanese, some Burmese, mostly from the ethnic minorities, also served in the British Burma Army. The Burma National Army and the Arakan National Army fought with the Japanese from 1942 to 1944, but switched allegiance to the Allied side in 1945.
Hell bank notes are a form of joss paper printed to resemble modern bank notes. Hell bank notes are not an official currency or legal tender anywhere in this world. They are intended to be burnt in Chinese ancestor veneration. Hell bank notes are known for their large denominations, ranging from $10,000 to several billions, and usually bear an image of the Jade Emperor, the presiding monarch of heaven in Daoism, with his signature (romanized as Yu Wong, or Yuk Wong) and the signature of Yanluo, King of Hell. There is usually an image of the Bank of Hell on the back of the bill.
Ferdinand Magellan, or Fernão de Magalhães, (c. 1480 – 1521) was a Portuguese explorer. He was born in Sabrosa, in northern Portugal, but later obtained Spanish nationality in order to serve King Charles I of Spain in search of a westward route to the ‘Spice Islands’ (modern Maluku Islands in Indonesia).<br/><br/> Magellan's expedition of 1519–22 became the first expedition to sail from the Atlantic Ocean around Cape Horn and South America into the Pacific Ocean (named "the peaceful sea" by Magellan), the passage being made via what is now called the Strait of Magellan. It was the first voyage across the Pacific. It also completed the first circumnavigation of the Earth, although Magellan himself did not complete the entire voyage, being killed during the Battle of Mactan in the Philippines. Of the 237 men who set out on five ships, only 18 completed the circumnavigation and managed to return to Spain in 1522.
Situated some 900 km east of Madagascar, the island of Mauritius was a tantalizingly ideal port for medieval European explorers en route to India and the East Indies. It was also unpopulated but for animals, including the dodo bird. First came the Dutch: Wybrant van Warwijk claimed the island of Mauritius for Holland on Sept. 20, 1598. They abandoned it until 1638 when the Dutch East India Company (VOC) returned to stake their claim on the island; it remained colonized by the Netherlands until 1710. The French East India Company then claimed the island in 1721; it held Mauritius as a colony until the British seized it in 1810. Mauritius finally gained independence in 1968.
French Indochina Banque de l'Indochina (Bank of Indochina) One Piastre banknote. Image on front shows a Vietnamese woman in traditional ao dai dress and part of the Royal Palace at Hue.
The Ma clique is a collective name for a group of Hui (Muslim Chinese) warlords in northwestern China who ruled the Chinese provinces of Qinghai, Gansu and Ningxia from the 1910s until 1949.<br/><br/> There were three families in the Ma clique (‘Ma’ being a common Hui rendering of the common Muslim name, Muhammad), each of them controlling one area respectively. The three most prominent members of the clique were Ma Bufang, Ma Hongkui and Ma Hongbin, collectively known as the 'Xibei San Ma', (The Three Ma of the Northwest).<br/><br/> Some contemporary accounts, such as Edgar Snow's, described the clique as the ‘Four Ma’, adding Ma Bufang's brother Ma Buqing to the list of the top warlords.
The revenge of the Forty-seven Ronin (四十七士 Shi-jū-shichi-shi), also known as the Forty-seven Samurai, the Akō vendetta, or the Genroku Akō incident (元禄赤穂事件 Genroku akō jiken) took place in Japan at the start of the 18th century. One noted Japanese scholar described the tale as the country's 'national legend'. It recounts the most famous case involving the samurai code of honor, bushidō.<br/><br/> The story tells of a group of samurai who were left leaderless (becoming ronin) after their daimyo (feudal lord) Asano Naganori was forced to commit seppuku (ritual suicide) for assaulting a court official named Kira Yoshinaka, whose title was Kōzuke no suke. The ronin avenged their master's honor after patiently waiting and planning for two years to kill Kira.<br/><br/> In turn, the ronin were themselves ordered to commit seppuku for committing the crime of murder. With much embellishment, this true story was popularized in Japanese culture as emblematic of the loyalty, sacrifice, persistence, and honor that all good people should preserve in their daily lives. The popularity of the almost mythical tale was only enhanced by rapid modernization during the Meiji era of Japanese history, when it is suggested many people in Japan longed for a return to their cultural roots.<br/><br/> Fictionalized accounts of these events are known as Chūshingura. The story was popularized in numerous plays including bunraku and kabuki. Because of the censorship laws of the shogunate in the Genroku era, which forbade portrayal of current events, the names of the ronin were changed.