nPostednon July 14, 2013
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nYounsee, it’s Bastille Day in France (see link below, under the “Alsonon this date” heading). And Mayotte is French. So…today isnconsidered the national day of this African island.
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nI’m alwaysnamazed when I realize how many little tiny regions, islands, ornnations I haven’t even heard of before—but of course they are homento thousands of people who have no doubt heard of, not just myncountry (the U.S.), but in some cases also my state (California)!
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Innthis case, Mayotte, also called Maore, is an overseas department ofnFrance, an island that is more than four times larger than my townnbut only about a fourth the size of Los Angeles. It is tucked betweennthe much, much larger island of Madagascar and the nation ofnMozambique on mainland Africa. The rest of the islands in this areanhave banded together into the independent nation of Comoros, but thenpeople of Mayotte chose to stay affiliated with France.
Innthis case, Mayotte, also called Maore, is an overseas department ofnFrance, an island that is more than four times larger than my townnbut only about a fourth the size of Los Angeles. It is tucked betweennthe much, much larger island of Madagascar and the nation ofnMozambique on mainland Africa. The rest of the islands in this areanhave banded together into the independent nation of Comoros, but thenpeople of Mayotte chose to stay affiliated with France.n
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Whynwould the people living on an island near independent African nationsnchoose to stay tied to the country that colonized it long ago? Well,nI discovered that Comoros is one of the poorest nations in African(and that is saying something!), but Mayotte, while it is not asnprosperous as France, is TEN TIMES richer than the neighboringnislands!
Whynwould the people living on an island near independent African nationsnchoose to stay tied to the country that colonized it long ago? Well,nI discovered that Comoros is one of the poorest nations in African(and that is saying something!), but Mayotte, while it is not asnprosperous as France, is TEN TIMES richer than the neighboringnislands!n
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nHerenis something I find unusual: although French is the only officialnlanguage, the people of Mayotte know less French than those of anynother French overseas territory. This is especially true of oldernpeople, though—the younger generations seem to be learning tonspeak, read, and write French better. There are many other languagesnon this relatively small island, as well, including Arabic and thennative languages of Shimaore, Kibushi, and Kiantalaotsi.
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nChecknout the cultural practices of the people of Mayotte.
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nAlsonon this date:
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nBastillenDay in France
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nEmmelinenPankhurst Day
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nPlannahead:
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nChecknout my Pinterest pages on Julynholidays, historicalnanniversaries in July,nand Julynbirthdays.
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nAndnhere are my Pinterest pages on Augustnholidays, historicalnanniversaries in August,nand Augustnbirthdays.
