Tuesday, May 27, 2014

Manila quick facts

Capital of: The Philippines

Location: On the shores of Manila bay, on the West side of the island of Luzon.

Population: If you include the whole metropolitan area it stands at about 11 million, just Manila proper is about1.7 million

Mayor: Joseph Marcelo Ejercito Estrada

Possible English meanings: “There is” the “Nilad plant” (since many such plants grew in the area) or the strong fibre of a the plant, used for rope.

Significant sights, or sites: City Hall, Quiapo and San Augustin Churches, Fort Santiago, Malacañang Palace, Rizal Shrine, Plaza San Luis, Mabini Shrine, Bonifacio Shrine, Manila Zoological and Botanical garden, and the sight of Manila bay from a high place and the Manila skyline from the bay.

Demographics of the Philipines: Tagalog, 28.1%, Cebuano, 13.1%, Ilocano, 9%, Bisaya 7.6%, Hiligaynon 7.5%, Bikol, 6%, Waray 3.4%, Other, 25.3%

Public Transportation: LRT, MRT, Commuter rail (to outer parts of the Metro area and beyond), buses, taxis and Jeepneys (a shared taxi distinctive to Manila).

Airports: Manila Ninoy Aquino International Airport, and Clark International Airport (this is the one me and Nancy had a 6 hour stop over in, I believe).
Canadian Sister city: Winnipeg

Founding and brief history: There is evidence of habitation around the Manila area as far back as 3000BC and there are records of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) trading with the kingdom of Maynila. Brunei briefly invaded the area, wanting in on the trade with China, but the arrival of the Spanish changed things in the region. Manila the city was officially founded in 1571 by the Spanish to be its seat of government in the area. The Philippines remained in Spanish hands until 1898, when it was handed over to the US after the Spanish American war. American administration lasted until 1946, when the Philippines became independent. Manila was one of the most devastated cities during the second world war and several bloody battles were fought over the city between US and Filipino force and Japanese forces. Quezon city became the capital of the Philippines from 1948 to 1976, when Manila was once again named capital. This was helped along by the fact that Ferdinand Marcos, the dictator of the time, had just made created the metropolitan area of Manila, which included Quezon city.

When I first realized Manila existed: Sometime around the time I started working at McDonalds, and talking with the Filipino people working there (about 15 years ago).

Interesting demographic facts about Manila: Manila is the them most densely populated city in the world and Manila and the area surrounding it (the greater metropolitan area of Manila and a bit beyond) is estimated to contain a quarter of the entire population of the country (that's about 25 million people).


References:

Countdown (2013), By Alan Weisman (Published by: Little, Brown and Company)
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Manila

Kevin's favourite capital of the week (May 25 2014): Manila, the capital of the Philippines.

I have been wanting to look further into Manila since I listened to Alan Weisman's book, Countdown, on overpopulation. He has a chapter in it devoted to the Philippines. There are a few statistics that Weisman mentions (and http://worldpopulationreview.com/countries/the-philippines-population/ also spells out in alarming detail) that I also want to mention. First off, the Philippines population was about 17 million at its independence from the US in 1946 and, as of the latest census, now sits at just under 100 million. That is about a 5 fold increase in under 70 years. If current trends continue the population of the Philippines will be close to 450 million by the end of the this century (according to World Population review anyway). Now there are a lot of arguments over the effects of population on living standards and economic growth, but most tend to agree that too many children born to one family tend to bring down the living standards of all members of the family (due to a sharing out of the same amount of resources). The burgeoning population of the Philippines may have helped grow the economy but it seems likely that it has also hindered the spread of wealth and growth of the middle class out of poverty.
The main culprit of the unsustained growth of the population is the anti-contraception stance taken up by the Catholic Church and therefore many of the Philippines public figures. Though contraception was available throughout the Philippines (for a price), Manila itself has been under a contraception ban since 2000, leading to, many reports suggest, underground abortion clinics and other more dangerous and illegal forms of birth control, as well as black market selling of regular forms of birth control. Given that Manila is the most densely populated city on the planet, this appeared to be bad move by outside observers. So it is a relief to many in the Philippines that the Supreme Court struck down a challenge (by the Catholic Church in the Philippines) to the controversial law passed by President Benigno Aquino, in December 2012, that would make all contraception and sex education free to everyone in country. Most especially the poor, who can not afford any form of contraception. There has been political protests and wrangling over the law, which various governments have been trying to pass in some form for the past 16 years. There has been further promises of protests after the decision but the tone of the church appears to softening in some quarters of the Philippines, especially with the softer tone of the new Pope. Powerful members of the Catholic establishment have begun (even before Francis) to change their tone. This seems to be a hopeful sign.
While the Church claims that it is lack of jobs that causes poverty, even they must admit that the more people there are the more competition for jobs there will be, as well more competition for resources, even with in large family units. To say that this law will solve all of the Philippines myriad problems would be a gross oversimplification, but it is a step in the right direction, not just for the future of the country (in terms of things like equality and wealth distribution), but for the planet as a whole. At least, so I would like to believe based on the evidence that I have read, both for and against.


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Sunday, May 18, 2014

Abuja Quick Facts

Capital of: Nigeria
Location: Almost exactly the centre of Nigeria

Population: just under 1 million people, though if one includes the suburban areas its population is around 3 million.
Government Minister for Federal Capital Territory (in which Abuja resides): Bala Mohammed
Possible English meanings: Abu (the name of the founder) the Fair one or red one

Significant sights, or sites: Being a relatively new city, most buildings are quite modern, including the National Mosque of Nigeria and National Church of Nigeria, the National Bank building, the National Defence (the Ship House) building, there is also something of an Ayers Rock look alike called Zuma Rock. It does not appear to be much of a tourism hotspot.

Religious demographics of Nigeria: Muslim 50%, Christian 40%, indigenous beliefs 10%

Public Transportation: Not too much apparently, thanks to the slow pace of road building.

Airport: Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport (named after Nigeria's first President)

North American Sister city: Detroit, Michigan

Founding and brief history: Abuja was founded in the earlier 1800s and was something of commercial hub before becoming a quieter backwater in colonial and statehood Nigeria. Until 1976, that is, when it was decided that Lagos could no longer be the capital due to its overpopulation and poor city planning. Abuja, being in the centre of the seemed like a good compromise to the wide variety of ethnicities and religious groups in Nigeria. The construction then started and is still ongoing to this day, but it was not for another 15 years that Abuja fully became the administrative capital of the country.
When I first realized existed: I believe I first realized Abuja existed around 2 years ago, while I was listening to the news, which mentioned something about Nigeria. I forget what the story was in all honesty, but I do remember being surprised to learn (when it was mentioned) that Abuja was the capital of the country.

One interesting fact about Nigeria: I recently finished listening to Countdown, Alan Weisman's book on overpopulation. In it, the author visits a few African countries, one of which is Nigeria, though he spends more time in Niger. While he sees the situation for the people of Nigeria as possibly manageable, it is hard not to note the size of the population, which is the largest in Africa, at almost 175,000,000, almost half of which were under the age 14. While there is hope in both Nigeria and Niger (which has one of the fastest growing populations in the world) to get their populations under control, Weisman's chapter on the area definitely portrays an uphill struggle.

The last time Western media mentioned Nigeria not in the context of terrorism: A few months ago when President Goodluck Jonathan signed into law a series of regressive anti-gay laws.

References:
Countdown, by Alan Weisman (2013)


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Abuja

Kevin's favourite capital of the week (May 18, 2014): Abuja, the Capital of Nigeria (that's right, Lagos is not the capital of Nigeria)

On May 1st, a car bomb went off in Abuja, killing 19 and injuring at least 60 other people. Two weeks before, on April 14, an even more deadly bomb went off close to the same area. Both were set off by Boko Haram, an Islamic terrorist group from the Northeast of the country, whose stated aim is apparently to set up an Islamic state, with the expectation that this will stop the crippling corruption in the richest of West African Countries. They gain little sympathy from the people of Nigeria, Muslim or Christian, by setting off these car bombs (which has killed Muslim and Christian alike) and even less for the kidnapping of about 250 girls near their stronghold, shortly after the April 14th bombing. While the Nigerian government's response to the kidnapping was rather sluggish, social media campaigns (such as #BringBackOurGirls) has gained wide support from around the world. The international outcry appears to have helped spur action as a summit on Boko Haram was held in France, with many of Nigeria's neighbours attending, was held yesterday. West African leaders have pledged a “total war” on the terrorist group, with the aid of America, Britain and France, who are sending advisors and high tech kit. RAF search planes are already flying over the area in which Boko Haram appears to be hiding the girls.
Despite the words of Nigeria's president, Goodluck Jonathan, at the summit, who claimed that the reason for Boko Haram's new brazenness was because of the success of his government, under which Nigeria has seen stellar economic growth, many people both in and out of Nigeria, remain almost as unsympathetic to the government as to the terrorist group. Take for instance the arresting of the leader of the #BringBackOurGirls movement, Niomi Mutah Nyadar, on May 5th (she was released just before the summit in France) who was, and continues to be, an outspoken critic of the government's lack of response to the kidnapping. It appears the arrest is in connection to the ongoing street protests that she was leading in Abuja, not far from Transcorp Hilton Hotels, which hosted the World Economic Forum 48 hours later. It was done so in the interest of security, apparently. The Nigerian government also shut down most public offices and schools in Abuja for the forum. The WEF was hailed as a success by the government and as something that would help the kidnapped girls, though there appeared to be no tangible evidence of this. Ms. Nyadar's group was one of many to highlight that fact. A timer on the Premium Times website, a Nigerian online newspaper, continues to count the time since kidnapping. One wonders how long it will be until they can take that it down. As I write this, it is at 34 days and 9 hours.


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Monday, May 5, 2014

Constantinople (543) Quick facts

Capital of: The Roman Empire

Location: On the Bosphorous Strait controlling entry to the Black Sea to the Mediterranean and vice versa. Also on the historic divide between Europe and Asia (Minor). So you might see why Constantine and his ilk thought it was a good place to have a strong city.

Population: around 500,000 (and rapidly shrinking as 543 AD dawned).

Possible English meanings: City of Constantine (who wasn't self aggrandizing at all...)

Significant sights, or sites: The huge double walls, the Hagia Sophia Cathedral, The Palace of the Emperor, the Palace of the Patriarch, the Hippodrome the ferry across the Bosporus to the “Asia” part of the city.

Public Transportation: your feet, palanquin, the ferry.

Founding and brief history: The city of Constantinople was, not surprisingly, founded by Constantine in 324 AD, though there had been a city on the site (in various states of disrepair) called Byzantium, since about 1000 years before that. This is why historians distinguish (some historians I should say) the empire that was ruled from Constantinople from the one that was ruled from Rome by calling it the Byzantine Empire. Constantine appears to have wanted to move all of government from Rome to Constantinople, but was perhaps persuaded that such a break with tradition would not be a good a good idea. Constantinople became the seat of government for the Eastern half of the Roman empire instead. Pretty much the moment Constantine renamed the city (in 330) the construction of the walls, one of Constantinople's most well known features, began. The double wall was completed by the Emperor Theodosius II around 100 years later. With the severing of the Western Empire and it official fall in 476 AD, Constantinople became the sole centre of Roman government, though emperors would continue to try and regain ground in West for quite some time after that. Justinian I, who became emperor 527, is the last Emperor to have spoken Latin as a first language. Justinian's story from peasant boy to emperor (as well as his uncle's Justin I before him), is an interesting one, but not to be told here. Justinian was married to Theodora, whose life from dancer to empress is also rather interesting. They came to power with grand plans of restoring the empire to its former glory and very nearly succeeded. The plague that hit the city 542 had a devastating effect on their plans.

When I first realized Constantinople existed: Around the time I was reading Guy Gavriel Kay's Sarantine Mosaic books. Saratium was the name Kay gave his fantasy version of Constantinople. The story centres around the mosaic the is being done in the stand in for the Hagia Sophia, during the reign of the stand in for Justinian.

One interesting fact: The walls of Constantinople were not penetrated in over a thousand years. They were only brought down by the fantastically large canons commissioned by Mehmed the second of the Ottoman empire. In other words, walls build in the 400s proved so strong that it took large amounts of gun powder even to breach them. There is a great story about the Mehmed's big cannons, you should google it.


References:


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Constantinople

Kevin's favourite capital of the week May 3rd 2014: Constantinople, circa 543 AD, the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire, AKA, the Byzantine Empire

From the Journal of Lucas Jensen, time travelling historian, May 15, 543 AD:
I've been in the “Most Christian City” for a few days now, and at this time in history it might more aptly be called the most fearful city. Or perhaps the most dying city. People are dying by the thousands everyday. I can well believe the 5000 people dying a day estimate. I have yet to be able to gain access to the palace, but I will soon. Most likely as the death toll spirals further out of control more people of education will fall to it. The civil service will not be able to take too much of it. I would like to be there when Justinian falls ill. I do wonder how he will react.
It seems that the regular people of Constantinople know what to think about the plague. Some at least are all to happy to blame the emperor and his wife. Procopius, the historian of the time appears to be right on the money for these people. I have yet to see the famous imperial historian. Rumours are swirling around the city about the position of Belisarius, who appears to be far more popular than Justinian. Belisarius was certainly more popular in Procopius' mind. Despite his lack of popularity, Justinian is well regarded by Latin speaking folk in the city, though there are few of them. This is something I'm grateful for. My Greek is far better than my Latin. In this I fit right in with the inhabitants.
I am off on a tangent though. I have not been idle despite my inability to gain access to the palace. The hippodrome I would have liked to have seen in all its glory before the Nika riots. The races still happen, but infrequently. There is clearly a lot less heart put into it. Now the opinion of the public is expressed behind closed doors, not, as it had been, in terms of the favouring of the racing colours. It is not that dissimilar to the sports of my time. Much less appealing snacks though. This was of some academic interest, but I believe a college will be snooping around in a slightly earlier time. We shall compare notes upon my return.
It is the docks that I have been snooping about the most though. It is not like modern container ships arriving, but it is impressive. There are ships arriving almost daily from what I can see, carrying grain from Egypt and other areas of the empire. It is, of course, this clear indication of trade that has doomed an estimated 50,000,000 people. For with trade, it seems, comes rats, and with them, their fleas. It is virtually certain now that the plague of Justinian was caused by the fleas on the backs of rats and other rodents. While folk such as Procopius might blame a bad miasma due to the evil Emperor (and lets be fair, there is no way they could have known), the true culprit is the connectedness of the world. And, of course, the large concentrations of less than hygienic people. I have watched and seen the rats hopping off the ships and making a dash into the city. The fleas on these rats have transported the plague from as far away as China. From a purely academic perspective it is fascinating. From a humane perspective, its horrifying. All I can say is that I'm glad to live in a time of evidence based medicine and vaccines. Otherwise I would never have travelled back to such a deadly time.
In any event, I will continue to attempt to gain access to Justinian and Theodora. Perhaps Belasarius as well. Who knows how they are truly handling the crisis.

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