Kowloon Walled City (S1.10)

October 10, 2016April 10, 2019 / Joe / Leave a comment

For the Season Finale of the first season of 80 Days, we’re going to do something a little different and look at a place that no longer exists: Kowloon Walled City. Once the most densely populated place in the planet, this unique, untamable settlement existed in Hong Kong, growing up from a military settlement which was originally built to demarcate the border between the British and Chinese controlled areas in the territory. It grew in size and scope to become a tightly-packed labyrinth of illegal activity and squalor, unregulated by either the Chinese or British governments. At its peak, over 30,000 people lived in the Walled City, resulting in a population density of approximately 1,255,000 inhabitants per square kilometre (3,250,000/sq mi). It was demolished in 1994, shortly before China retook control of Hong Kong, but has since become a cultural touchstone, a fascinating example of what humanity can become when allowed to run unchecked. Your hosts are Luke Kelly @thelukejkelly, Mark Boyle @markboyle86 and Joe Byrne @anbeirneach, in Hong Kong, the UK and Switzerland, respectively. (Theme music byThomas O’Boyle)

A large solid block of ramshackle buildings varying in height, with many taller buildings and some mountains in the background.

Some things you might like to know more about:

The name Kowloon, given to the peninsula north of Hong Kong Island, comes from the Cantonese pronunciation of 九龍, Chinese for “Nine Dragons” (gau lung, or in Madarin Jiǔ lóng); the name was given to it by the last Song Emporer, the 8-year-old Bing (趙昺), who saw the 8 mountains surrounding the place as “dragons”. A clever courtier pointed out that the Emperor was also a “dragon”, and hence there were 9. The story is told here in HK Magazine
We drew a few quotes and a lot of insight from Elizabeth Sinn’s article “Kowloon Walled City: Its Origins and Early History” (Journal of the Hong Kong Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, 1987, vol 27, p 30); for a more detailed account of this era, this article is recommended reading
When the Fortified City was built in 1846, giant stone name plaques decorated the main gate to the city (reading 九龍寨城, translated as Kowloon Walled City); they were excavated and can still be seen on the site today
The Opium Wars led to dramatic changes in this region of Qing China, with Hong Kong and later Kowloon falling into British hands through the Peking Convention. Read further information about the wars from Julia Lovell (Birbeck, University of London) or Encyclopaedia Britannica
Mark came across a cannon from the ship Nemesis (the British East India Company’s first iron-clad warship) in the gardens of Windsor Castle; it is pictured below. More on the Nemesis from Victorian Web.

A cannon from the ship

There is a very valuable article to understand the decades leading up to the demolition of the Walled City in the South China Morning Post: “How Kowloon Walled City survived attempts to knock it down for nearly a century” (30 August 2012, Fionualla McHugh)
In his day job, Luke wrote an article (“Kowloon Walled City: Finding Truth in the ‘City of Darkness“, DigitalRev, July 2016) interviewing photographer Greg Girard about his collection of photographs from inside the Walled City before its demolition (the article includes some of these striking images). Girard and Ian Lambot published these photos in a book called City of Darkness, which has a website full of information and first-hand interviews with people who lived there and also some police reports; a write-up in the British Journal of Photography also features some of the photos, as does the Daily Mail
Listen to 99 Percent Invisible‘s podcast episode all about the Walled City from an architecture and design point of view, in particular for their descriptions of its enduring impact in popular culture and the Tin Hau Temple
We mentioned an upcoming computer game where you can explore a world based on the Walled City as a cat
The Wall Street Journal made a documentary called “City of Imagination: Kowloon Walled City 20 Years Later” (available on YouTube); it features interviews with some former residents
The music featured in this episode was a clip from Cantonese traditional song Agony in Autumn (妆台秋思) and a recording made by Joe at the nearby Chi Lin Nunnery in 2015
Recently, Luke visited the Kowloon Walled City Park, which now stands on the site where the City was before demolition; he took some photos while he was there

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Finally, here is some handheld camera footage by Rob Frost from the early 1990s inside the City:

We hope you enjoyed listening to Season 1. We’ll be taking a break for a couple of months to get production of Season 2 under way, but you may hear from us occasionally during the break. If you’ve been entertained by what you heard, then let us know – leave a review on iTunes (or wherever you listen), or get in touch on Facebook or Twitter. We also really welcome feedback about places we’ve explored and recommendations for where we should go next season.

Brunei (S1.09)

October 2, 2016April 10, 2019 / Joe / Leave a comment

Audio: S1E09 Brunei

In this week’s episode of 80 Days, we are talking about Brunei, a tiny independent state of just 2,200 square miles, located on the north coast of the island of Borneo in Southeast Asia. Borneo is a tropical, equatorial island, one of the largest in the world, divided between Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei. Brunei borders exclusively on the Malaysian section of Borneo. Its small section of coastline is inhabited by just over 400,000 people, and is among the richest nations in the world in terms of natural resources. Traditionally ruled by a Sultan, it became a British protectorate in 1888 and gained independence from the United Kingdom on January 1st 1984. Modern Brunei is ruled by a ‘Malay Islamic Monarchy’, where a Sultan acts as Supreme Head of State, ruling effectively as prime minister, finance minister, and commander of the armed forces. Brunei is the first and only country in East Asia to be ruled by Sharia law, introduced by the current Sultan in 2013. Your hosts are Luke Kelly @thelukejkelly, Mark Boyle @markboyle86 and Joe Byrne @anbeirneach, in Hong Kong, the UK and Ireland, respectively. (Theme music by Thomas O’Boyle)

There are some things we talked about you might want to know more about:

It is difficult to say much for certain about the important Chinese diplomat, trader or prince Ong Sum Ping (the local Hokkien pronunciation of 黃森屏, Huang Senping in Mandarin), but he was clearly an important figure in Brunei’s earliest history, arriving in the area around 1375, marrying into the family of 1st Sultan Muhammad Shah, and subsequently helping to repel an invasion from the Sulu islands. His exact role is often occluded in modern history perhaps because he was either not Muslim or not Malay. Some of the conflicting information and opinions can be found on Wikipedia, the Brunei Times, from blogs I’m Just Saying, and Nomadic Republic, and from Malaysian politician Lim Kit Siang
In 1521, Brunei was visited by the first voyage to circumnavigate the globe, the Magellan-Elcano Expedition and an account was kept by Antonio Pigafetta (an Italian and the historian on the ship) of their meeting with the Sultan: “The king to whom we presented ourselves is a Moor, and is named Raja Siripada: he is about forty years of age, and is rather corpulent. No one serves him except ladies who are the daughters of the chiefs. No one speaks to him except by means of the blow-pipe“
The Castillian War between the Spanish in Manilla and Brunei was a defining moment in 1578 when conflict over trade, religion and land led to military enagement between the Europeans and the Sultanate. In the end, disease played a large role in weakening the Spanish forces, hastening the Bruneian victory. Read about it on Brunei Resources (more from the same author in the Brunei Times), including the following quote:

Why did the Spaniards leave? According to Brunei legends, the Spaniards kept facing attacks organised by Pengiran Bendahara Sakam. The latter is seen as one of Brunei’s past folk heroes. He attacked the Spaniards with 1,000 men and defeated them. However, Western historians do not accept this version and deny that Bendahara Sakam even existed, preferring the version that the Spaniards left because of dysentery. According to the Spanish records, only 17 died of dysentery in Brunei and another six on the return to Manila, although a number of Filipinos also died. – Brunei Resources

The Bruneian Civil War had a terrible impact on Brunei’s stability and influence in the region; there’s a detailed account available at this link
A surprising character in the history of Brunei was Sir James Brooke (1803-1868), who after his exploits with the British East India Company’s Bengal Army and subsequent exploring ended up helping the Sultan crush a rebellion. He, and his heirs were given the province of Sarawak (later also taking Labuan) and became know as the “White Rajahs“; the podcast Stuff You Missed in History Class have an episode on the White Rajahs, which is worth a listen
The discovery of oil in the 1920s was an important moment in the development of Brunei’s wealth which would determine its later 20th Century economic activities. You might want to read the Brunei Times account of the discovery, or the Brunei Shell Petroleum company’s account of their own history
In World War II, the Japanese occupied Brunei and the rest of British Borneo with similar devastating impact as elsewhere. A book exists about the Kinabalu Guerrillas, who we mentioned, by Maxwell Hall. Here is a montage of images from this time from YouTube

For some details and opinions on why Brunei did not become part of the “super-team” of Malaysia when it formed in the 1960s, have a look at this thread on Reddit’s /r/AskHistorians community
The Brunei Revolt (1962) was an uprising by factions opposed the monarchy and to the prospect of union with Malaysia (including Brunei People’s Party) which was put down by British troops led by Lt Col Digby Willoughby (also a renowned bobsleigher); below is an image of the Queen’s Own Highlanders patrolling for rebels in jungle waterways near Brunei’s oil fields

A recent Borneo Bulletin article describes the first National Day after Brunei’s independence from the UK in 1984
The recent introduction of Sharia law to Brunei by Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah has been controversial, with The Guardian giving the critical viewpoint from human rights organisations, and The Diplomat discussing some of the potential implications on the country’s future; a recent Brunei Times article described the Sultan’s frustration at delays in implementing a legal code for Sharia
The royal family has come under criticism for apparent lack of adherence to strict moral and transparency rules. In particular, Prince Jefri has been implicated in financial irregularities from his time as Finance Minister of Brunei and is known for an extravagant lifestyle; he is even alleged to have kept a harem in addition to his five wives, and was sued by former Miss USA Shannon Marketic for flying her to Brunei under false pretenses and forcing her to join this harem.
Finally, watch some traditional dancing to the song Adai Adai which we played in the first break:

Gibraltar (S1.08)

September 23, 2016April 10, 2019 / Joe / Leave a comment

Audio: S1E08 Gibraltar

In this week’s episode of 80 Days, we are talking about Gibraltar, the “key to the Mediterranean”. Famous for the imposing Rock of Gibraltar, this 6.7 square kilometre British Overseas Territory is an historic anomaly at the tip of the Iberian peninsula with a unique status and culture. It forms the northern side of the Pillars of Heracles which mark the beginning of the Atlantic Ocean. The tiny territory is also famous for its Barbary macaques, the only wild monkey population in Europe. Your hosts are Luke Kelly @thelukejkelly, Mark Boyle @markboyle86 and Joe Byrne @anbeirneach, in Hong Kong, the UK and Ireland, respectively. (Theme music by Thomas O’Boyle)

There are some things we talked about you might want to know more about:

Archaeological finds at Gorham’s Cave and other sites have given evidence that Neanderthals lived her until about 32,000 years ago – much more recently than had previously been expected. It is thought that this area was a lush Savannah climate at the time and very rich in food and resources. The BBC have a report from when the caves were granted UNESCO World Heritage status earlier this year.
The name Gibraltar comes from the Arabic Jabal Tariq (جبل طارق) named for Tariq ibn Ziyad who led the Moorish/Umayyad conquest of what is now Spain in the 710s; he had gathered his invading troops at the Rock of Gibraltar before pressing inland.
In 1706, when the English took the Rock during the War of Spanish Succession, nearly all of the inhabitants decamped to the City of Gibraltar in the Fields of San Roque, expecting a temporary stay. The Spanish city of San Roque is still there to this day and still features symbols of Gibraltar in its crest
Gibraltar’s status as an British territory was regularised, by Article X of the Treaty of Utrecht (1713)

The Catholic King does hereby, for himself, his heirs and successors, yield to the Crown of Great Britain the full and entire propriety of the town and castle of Gibraltar, together with the port, fortifications, and forts thereunto belonging; and he gives up the said propriety to be held and enjoyed absolutely with all manner of right for ever, without any exception or impediment whatsoever.

Do yourself a favour and read more about Major General Charles O’Hara, the Portuguese-born son of a Irish military man who had the unique honour of surrendering to the two most successful generals of his generation, Napoleon and Washington. In later years he was one of a series of British military figures who acted as Governors of Gibraltar
O’Hara’s Folly, a tower built by Governor O’Hara was eventually destroyed by the crew of the HMS Wasp (pictured below), as part of a wager between the ship’s gunner’s and the garrison’s gunnery to demolish the derelict tower

Crew of the HMS Wasp who demolished O’Hara’s Tower (O’Hara’s Folly)

New Statesman has an article describing the history behind the legends that tie the presence of the famous Barbary macaques to British control of the Rock

Photo of a “Barbary Ape” over Gibraltar by user kanu101 on Flickr

We spoke about the unusual airport that spans Gibraltar’s entire border with Spain and crosses the main street; there is a video on YouTube which shows the airport from above and a plane taking off from its short runway

If you are interested in hearing Llanito, the English-Spanish creole spoken by some in Gibraltar, you can hear it spoken and discussed in this video of two men at a café.
A BBC report on the outcome of the 2002 Sovereignty Referendum gives some insight into the origins of the dispute and the implications of the results. 98% of Gibraltarians opposed the idea of “shared sovereignty” between Britain and Spain
If you liked hearing about the music of Gibraltar, check out Breed 77‘s song El Rio. Some songs that reference the Rock of Gibraltar are by Frankie Laine and Ella Fitzgerald.
The Evacuation of civilians during World War II led to many going to the UK, as this British Movietone newsreel footage shows.
During this period, there were also plans drawn up to use the extensive cave network to hide soldiers in, in the case of a German occupation of Gibraltar to observe and sabotage the Axis powers’ operations; this documentary discusses “Operation Tracer“

Isle of Man (S1.07)

September 19, 2016February 10, 2019 / Joe / 1 Comment

Audio: S1E07 Isle of Man

In this week’s episode of 80 Days, we are talking about the Isle of Man, a small island in the Irish sea that lies right between Britain and Ireland. From its highest point Snaefell (620 m, 2034 ft), it is said you can see 6 kingdoms: England, Ireland, Wales, Scotland, Man and Heaven. It’s known for its rugged landscape, motorsport and a very curious flag. Today, the island is a British crown dependency although it has never been a part of the United Kingdom. It’s 85,000 inhabitants, 28,000 of whom live in the capital, Douglas, on the east coast are spread over the island’s 572 square kilometers. The Isle of Man’s fascinating history has made for a unique pocket of culture within the British isles, a place that has never been truly overcome by the powers surrounding it, and has always stood apart. Your hosts are Luke Kelly @thelukejkelly, Mark Boyle @markboyle86 and Joe Byrne @anbeirneach, in Hong Kong, the UK and Ireland, respectively. (Theme music by Thomas O’Boyle)

We are all Irish, but the Isle of Man, despite its proximity is really that neighbour we don’t know very well. Needless to say, we learned a lot this week about the smallest Celtic nation.

There are some things we talked about you might want to know more about:

Early history is best understood through archaeology from the stone age. We mentioned Mull Hill/Cronk Meayal (pictured below), where ancient shards of pottery and standing stones were found; we also mentioned Cashtal yn Ard; you can watch Standing with Stones discussing the ancient monuments of the Isle of Man on YouTube
The blog BabelStone has an article going into detail about inscriptions in the form of Ogham and Nordic runes that scatter across the Isle

Mull Hill Neolithic site

We told of the Irish myth of Fionn Mac Cumhaill creating the Isle of Man by throwing a sod of earth from Co. Antrim into the Irish sea. Here is an earnest schoolboy’s telling of the story (from the 1930s Schools Collection) and a more irreverent modern telling from Badassoftheweek.com ; Founder-god figure Manannan Mac Lir is also important to the Isle’s Celtic mythology
The initial interactions of Vikings with the Kingdom of the Isles is “unknown, perhaps unknowable” according to Donnchadh Ó Corráin’s lecture on Vikings in Scotland and Ireland in the 9th century, which touches on the topic
Tynwald claims to be the oldest continuous parliamentary assembly in the world and largely consists of the directly elected House of Keys. At Tynwald Day (annually on 5th of July) laws are promulgated from a hill in St Johns. The Sword of State (which leads the procession on Tynwald Day each year) allegedly dates back to Olaf the Black
Important dynasties to rule the Isle of Man were the Crovan Dynasty, Clann Somhairle (an article from Alex Woolf discusses their origins) and the Stanleys; the British monarch (currently Elizabeth II) is the current Lord of Man
The Chronicle of Man and the Sudreys (early history of the Kingdom of the Isles in Latin with English translation) can be read here, while a version of Njal’s Saga which deals with the Battle of Clontarf in Dublin and the Manx brothers who fought on opposite sides can be found here
We also mentioned that the Isle of Man was once part of the Archdiocese of Dublin; the homepage of Francis Street Parish describes the “manx emblem” decorating the church, reflecting this history
William of Newburgh briefly accounts the life, blinding and castration of warrior-bishop Wimund, who we concluded was “not very bishopy”
Some interesting people from the World War histories of the Isle include internees Joseph Pilates, artist Kurt Schwitters, and statistician Claus Adolf Moser; war veteran and Victoria Cross winner Robert Henry Cain
The Camp – a newsletter from the World War 2 Hutchinson Internment Camp – can be read on archive.org
A book of Manx Ballads and Music edited by Arthur William Moore (1896) includes a wonderful introduction, maligning the music itself with passages like the following: “It will be observed that their authors, the majority of whom are clearly illiterate men, are occasionally quite indifferent to the exigencies of either metre or rhyme.” Some of the songs are charming. The Arrane Oie Vie/Good Night Song can be found on manxmusic.com
Language in the Isle of Man is unique. The Irish National Broadcaster RTÉ has an interview in its archives with Ned Madrell, the last native speaker of Manx in which he discussed recording equipment being sent to the Isle by Irish Taoiseach (Prime Minister) De Valera to help preserve the language. Today it is undergoing revival, and can be heard spoken by nationalist politicians, and indeed in schools. Irish-language program No Béarla visited the Isle of Man and explored the way that Irish and Manx speakers can understand each other. English is also spoken uniquely on the island, as was parodied by Manx comedy group Winging It Productions
And finally, the TT (Tourist Trophy motorcycle race) is probably the thing the Isle of Man is most famous for. It’s fast, dangerous and unique and its madness is probably best demonstrated by a video, like this one of Guy Martin and Michael Dunlop racing at speeds of up to 200 mph on public roads

Liberia (S1.06)

September 11, 2016April 10, 2019 / Joe / 4 Comments

Audio: S1E06 Liberia

This week in 80 Days, we looked at Liberia, a small country on the west coast of Africa. Founded by freed American and Caribbean slaves, Liberia is Africa’s oldest republic and takes its name from the the Latin phrase meaning “Land of the Free.” Unfortunately, the country is best known for a long and bloody civil war that look place in the 1990s and 2000s, and more recently for the Ebola epidemic of 2014. The lush, rainforested country is just 700 kilometres or 430 miles north of the equator, and is bordered by Sierra Leone to its west, Guinea to its north and Ivory Coast (Côte d’Ivoire) to its east. Today, the country is home to around 4.5 million inhabitants, although most are native Africans rather than the descendants of freed slaves. It maintains strong ties to America, and even has a flag that strongly resembles the flag of the US, although it has only one star and 11 stripes. Discussing Liberia are Luke Kelly @thelukejkelly, Mark Boyle @markboyle86 and Joe Byrne @anbeirneach in Hong Kong, the UK and Switzerland, respectively. (Theme music by Thomas O’Boyle)

We thought when we researched Nauru previously that it was the most depressing place we would ever encounter. But we were wrong! Liberia is at the bottom end of most tables you want to be near the top in (GDP, communications infrastructure, life expectancy, infant mortality) and has suffered from all the plights you can expect in the region and more, all as a result of inequality, corruption, disease and civil war, but nonetheless, it has a unique story worth telling. Some sources which we found particularly useful in researching the episode were:

“Firestone and the Warlord” a very comprehensive and well-made documentary by FRONTLINE and ProPublica investigating the secret history of Firestone Rubber Company in Liberia, in particular their relationship with former warlord and president Charles Taylor. (Original Upload Date: 11/18/2014)
“VICE Guide to Liberia” – VICE sent a crew to Liberia in 2012 to look at the devastating effects of the civil war on life, particularly in the capital Monrovia. Features interviews with various former civil war generals, including General Bin Laden and General Butt Naked (who is now a Christian evangelist).
“Liberians – an Introduction to their History and Culture“ – Donald A. Ranard, Editor, Culture Profile No. 19, April 2005, Published by the Cultural Orientation Resource Center)
“Tell Me the One About Ebola: How Jokes Spread Awareness“, article by Pauline Bax and Makiko Kitamura on Bloomberg about the unusual strategies used to raise awareness of Ebola in Liberia
“Liberia Past and Present” a website by Dr Fred van der Kraaij about Liberia
“Ebola in Liberia: An Epidemic of Rumours“: article by Helen Epstein in The New York Review of Books, December 2014. Deals with suspicion of government and conspiracy theories which complicated the reaction to the spread of the disease
“US Covert and Overt Operations in Liberia, 1970s to 2003” academic article by Neils Hahn, Air & Space Power Journal – Africa and Francophonie Fall 2014
Liberia has famously unprofessional-looking county flags, such as River Gee County and Gbarpolu County
Music from Monrovian street musician Weesay; you can see the video of his song “Oh Chips!” on YouTube and an article explaining the story behind it
An Ebola awareness song “Ebola in Town” was produced by Liberian musicians D12, Kuzzy and Kuzzy of 2 Kings (link to PRI article about the song)

I would recommend you read, watch and listen to some of these sources if you want to learn more about the country than we could cram into the podcast.

Panama (S1.03)

August 22, 2016April 10, 2019 / Joe / Leave a comment

Audio: S1E03 Panama

In this week’s episode of 80 Days, we are talking about Panama, a central American nation most famous its canal that connects the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. Located strategically on the tiny isthmus between Central and South America, control of this valuable trade route has been competed for by multiple powers throughout its fascinating history. The country is dominated by a central spine of mountains and hills that forms the continental divide. Today, Panama is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the east, the Caribbean to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The capital, Panama City, is home to nearly half of the country’s 3.9 million people. If you’re unfamiliar with the geography, just imagine the two continents of Central and South America hanging onto one another by a thread – Panama is that thread.

Your hosts are Luke Kelly @thelukejkelly, Mark Boyle @markboyle86 and Joe Byrne @anbeirneach, in Hong Kong, the UK and Ireland, respectively. (Theme music by Thomas O’Boyle)

Please leave us a review on iTunes, connect with us on Facebook or Twitter or drop us an email if there’s anything you’d like to say.

Some things you might want to read/listen more about:

Archaeological findings at various sites are described in the National Geographic article “‘Golden Chief’ Tomb Treasure Yields Clues to Unnamed Civilisation” by James Owen
The following video on YouTube shows the Ngobe Balseria traditions, including the sport which involves men throwing sticks at the legs of other men, while dressed in women’s clothing:

Some of the early colonists of significance: Rodrigo de Bastidas, who founded the first European settlement on the American mainland; Vasco Núñez de Balboa, who crossed the isthmus.
“The Cimarrons of Sixteenth Century Panama“, an article by Ruth Pike (The Americas, 2007, vol. 64, no. 2, DOI: 10.1353/tam.2007.0161) gives a lot of detail on rebellions by African and African-descended escaped slaves in Panama, inlcuding “el rey negro” Bayano
We mentioned piracy a few times, as in important aspect of trade in the area in the early colonial period. Some well-known pirates who had an impact on Panama were Sir Francis Drake who sacked Nomre de Dios on the Carribean coast of Panama (1572) and the Welsh privateer Captain Henry Morgan who marched across the isthmus and sacked Panama City in 1713. The ruins of the old city are still there and the world remembers Captian Morgan today mostly for the brand of rum named after him!
BBC History has an article on “The Darien Venture” by Dr Mike Ibeji, describing the disasterous exploits of the Company of Scotland expedition, planned by William Paterson, bankrupting much of the country in the process
Richard Halliburton holds the Guinness World Record (from 1928) for lowest toll paid to pass through the Canal due to his low tonnage
The winding history of the Canal construction from the initial Frech attempt by Ferdinand de Lesseps to the intervention of US President Theodore Roosevelt (reknowned for his ‘robust masulinity’) is summarised here (PBS)
This article from PBS’s American Experience website desribes the contributions of militarty doctor William Gorgas to fighting yellow fever and malaria in the Isthmus of Panama as part of the canal works (and essential to its completion)
Notable political figures in Panama’s 20th century history: frequent president and fascist-sympathiser Arnulfo Arias, de facto leader and Maximim Leader of the Panamanian Revolution Brigadier General Omar Torrijos (if you get to make up your own title, make it a good one)
The Stuff You Should Know Podcast has an episode on “How the Panama Canal Works“, which is worth a listen
Trans-Americas Journey’s channel on YouTube has an accelerated video of the entire transit through the Canal, while this timelapse video shows a day of traffic through the Miraflores Locks – they are incredible and the only way to get a sense of the scale of the Canal
Some of the traditional music used in the episode comes from here.
The gruesome torture and murder of Manuel Noreiga’s opponent, nationalist Hugo Spadfora, is detailed in In The Time of Tyrants by R. M. Koster and other places – it is exemplary of the brutality of his regime
The full playlist played to force dictator Manuel Noreiga out of the Papal Nunicature during Operation Just Cause is detailed in the post-operational report, archived in George Washington University’s National Security Archive; an account of the event on the blog No Fear of the Future
Website Fun-With-Words has a history of Panama’s palindromes, in particular: “A Man, a Plan, a Canal – Panama“
“Fiesta” by Alfredito Payne is a cool funky Panamanian song

Nauru (S1.02)

August 15, 2016February 26, 2019 / Joe / Leave a comment

Audio: S1E02 Nauru

In this week’s episode of 80 Days, we are talking about Nauru, a small isolated island nation in the middle of the Pacific, only 60 km from the equator and about 3,000 km from Australia, the country it is largely a dependent of. It’s a rags-to-riches-and-back-to-rags tale of an island paradise, once called Pleasant Island, its disastrous encounters with colonialism and brutal treatment in World War 2. The discovery of rich phosphate deposits led to it briefly being the wealthiest nation per capita for a time, but strip-mining and poor administration left the country where it is today – always in the news for the wrong reasons. Your hosts are Luke Kelly @thelukejkelly, Mark Boyle @markboyle86 and Joe Byrne @anbeirneach, in Hong Kong, the UK and Ireland, respectively. (Theme music by Thomas O’Boyle)

Note: We had previously said that we would broadcast our episode on Panama this week, but once again Nauru was in the news, after the release of the “Nauru files” giving details of the scale of human rights abuses in the migrant detention centres the island hosts on behalf of the Australian government. We thought that this episode would give a good background on a country you might be reading a lot about in the next few weeks. This episode was recorded before the files were released, but we do discuss the issues that were highlighted in those reports.

Some things you might want to read/listen more about:

Early Nauruan practice of aquaculture – i.e. catching the fries of milkfish/ibiya in the surf and raising them to adulthood in brackish pools inland. This article (Spennemann, 2002) also describes the early history of Nauru and its first encounter with European whaler John Fearn
The 10-year long Nauruan Tribal War is summarised in an article on Military History Now – it resulted in the death of about 500 people, nearly a third of the island’s population
Nauru: A Cautionary Tale, an essay by Vlad Sokhin in World Policy Journal discusses the squandering of the phosphate resources of the island and also features some great photos from the smallest republic in the world
S. E. Morrison’s book History of United States Naval Operations in World War II: Aleutians, Gilberts and Marshalls, June 1942 – April 1944 (Univeristy of Illinois Press, 2001) describes the operations in and around Nauru and features the following comments on the then-occupied island:

But, the more Nauru was studied, the less anyone liked the idea of assaulting it. For Nauru is a solid island with no harbor or lagoon, shaped like a hat with a narrow brim of coastal plain where the enemy had built his airfield, and a crown where he had mounted coast defense artillery. The hilly interior was full of holes and caves where phosphate rock had been excavated – just the sort of terrain that the Japanese liked for defensive operations
The Japanese occupation of Nauru and deportation of the native people to Truk Island is described on Wikipedia
Radio show This American Life did an episode, including stories from Nauru a few years ago: “The Middle of Nowhere“, emphasising its role in money laundering and how it keeps appearing as a footnote in major world events
Australian Radio National’s Earshot has discussed the country’s “bizarre” story
“Fertiliser island scents musical success: First Night: Leonardo” by David Lister in The Independent describes the opening night of Leonardo the Musical: A Portrait of Love, co-written by Duke Minks
“Paradise Well and Truly Lost” in The Economist deals with all of Nauru’s problems and how it all went wrong, including how it can be considered a test case for understanding widespread diabetes
The music from the break can be found on YouTube

On a slightly lighter note… We are very fond of the names of people from Nauru, such as inaugural President Hammer deRoburt, Duke Minks (the musical guy), Kelly Emiu (chief secretary to the government who was involved in the musical happening) and current President Baron Waqa. And finally, video evidence that Naruans are quite good at powerlifting:

Next week’s episode will be more cheerful, we promise.

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August 1, 2016 / Joe / Leave a comment

The wait is over !

The first episode of 80 Days is live. To start the podcast, we are bringing you to Namibia, a beautiful south-west African nation with a troubled past and a promising future.
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Namibia (S1.01)

July 31, 2016January 29, 2019 / Joe / 1 Comment

Audio: Namibia
In this week’s first episode of 80 Days, we are talking about Namibia, a large African nation, sharing its southern border with South Africa and with an Atlantic coastline of almost 1,000 miles, known as the ‘Skeleton Coast’. Major features include the Namib Desert, considered to be the oldest desert in the world and the famous Fish River Canyon. The country is roughly similar in size to Pakistan bigger than France or Germany and one of the driest places on earth. Its history includes colonisation by Germany and South Africa, with independence coming in the 1990s. Today it is a stable and developing young democracy. Your hosts are Luke Kelly @thelukejkelly, Mark Boyle @markboyle86 and Joe Byrne @anbeirneach, in Hong Kong, the UK and Ireland, respectively. (Music by Thomas O’Boyle)

Namibia’s history spans over many many centuries and is defined by the movement of, and conflict between, various ethnic, national and colonial groups, starting with the San (bushmen), Khoikhoi pastoral groups such as the Nama, the Herero and Owambo and later the Oorlam – who were descended from Dutch settlers, Africans, and Malaysians among others.

Engraving of Jonker Afrikaner, Kaptein of the Orlam Nation (d. 1861)

Schwerinsburg Castle in Windhoek from the German colonial period (Wikpedia)

Namibia became a German colony (German South West Africa) during the “Scramble for Africa” periodof European colonisation in the 1800s and was the location of what became known as the first genocide of the 20th century with up to 80% of the Nama and Herero people dying through violence, being driven to starvation in the desert or death in concentration camps over a short period. This put an end to the uprising led by Samuel Maharero and Hendrik Witbooi.

“My hunting grounds have become like a waterless land since he who settled here treats me in such an arrogant manner. And now where may we live – we shall go forth and search”

-Folk song, commenting on German treatment of the native population

During World War 1, South Africa occupied Namibia and consequently annexed the territory, ruling it essentially as a province despite international op
position and demands for self-determination; as a result Namibia experiences the discriminatory features of the apartheid system. Groups including SWAPO led miliary opposition to South Africa from the mid 1950s, eventually leading to independence in 1990.

In comparison to other countries in the region, with similar history of a small population of colonial descendants owning the majority of the property, Namibia has managed the transition to majority rule largely peacefully, pursuing incremental change in land ownership and is widely considered a very stable country nowadays. Compared to neighbouring countries, Namibia has a large degree of media freedom, for instance; over the past years, the country usually ranked in the upper quarter of the Press Freedom Index being on par with Canada and the best-positioned African country. Recent president Pohamba was awarded the Mo Ibrahim African Leadership Prize for his behaviour in office and willingness to leave power at the end of his constitutionally mandated term:

“During the decade of Hifikepunye Pohamba’s Presidency, Namibia’s reputation has been cemented as a well-governed, stable and inclusive democracy with strong media freedom and respect for human rights.”

The country also has the only constitution in the world that explicitly protects the environment and Namibia is very committed to conservationism, with 42% of the land area under some form of conservation control.

Some sources we consulted and recommend:

Colonialism: a case study- Namibia – documentary film by Journal Films Inc. and published by the United Nations in 1975
Namibian memories- the Garda Síochána’s first UN Mission: an article on the Irish Police History website about their involvement in UN peacekeeping activities in 1989
Endless Horizons – the YouTube account of the Namibian tourist board has various videos giving a real sense of the diversity of the landscape
In Namibia, Conservation and Tourism Intersect – NewYork Times article by Remy Scalza on Conservancies and Environmental Tourism in Namibia
Outro music clip: No Hard Feelings by Mr Rhee.

Some things that you might want to read further about:

“Apollo 11” Cave in the ||Karas region, where some of the oldest examples of portable prehistoric art have been discovered
The Herero and Namaqua genocide, labelled the “first genocide of the 20th century” was a harrowing period in Namibian history, resulting in the death of huge proportions of these peoples at the hands of German forces under Lothar von Trotha
Bondelswarts Affair – 1917 – a controversial incident in the period when South African was given the League of Nations mandate for the former German colony. An uprising occurred in opposition to a tax on dogs, as a result, hundreds of Khoi-khoi people were killed
Trailer for The Gods Must be Crazy, starring Namibian San actor N!xau ǂToma