Rhodesia, 1956. Construction work began on the Kariba dam in the Zambezi River basin. Four years later, the cement fence 128 meters long and 579 meters wide and the reservoir began to flood. The water reached its peak in 1963, covering the Zambezi alluvial plain, a promising leap forward for the project promoters.
But those who launched the project were not indigenous, but European. The initiative was carried out by the British North and South Rhodesia, current Zambia and Zimbabwe. The Rhodedians opposed the dam being made in the Cariboyan, but a group of external “experts” decided its location, without taking them into account. The construction works of the wall and the power plant were awarded to the Italian consortium Imprespresit and the project was designed by the French engineer Andre Coyne.
The Caribbean means “trap” in the batonga language, a sign of the dangers of the gorge, and the locals believed that the god of the Nyaminyami River lived there, and that by building the prey the divine snake would become angry. When they filled the swamp, thousands of animals had to leave their habitat. Many were left with no solution, isolated on islands or trees.
The locals believed that the god of the Nyaminyami River lived there; and that by building the prey the divine snake would become angry
And then the “white saviors” launched Operation Noe, ignoring the beliefs of the locals, choosing a Christian name for the rescue. About 7,000 animals were rescued and the most striking cases were revealed to the four winds, for example, when to save a rhino, after 7 hours of dangerous persecution, they had to make 12 miles in a raft. But they were isolated in the trees and nobody talked about hundreds of monkeys that starved after eating all the leaves.
One of the most affected animal species was man. Over 50,000 people had to leave their homes and fertile crops, most of them from the Batonga tribe. Even though they were tested for electricity, schools, hospitals... they had to flee. They had to cultivate higher, sandy soils in exchange for prolific alluvial fields. They lost their lives in exchange for supposed unsolicited profits.
It has been 60 years since the reservoir was filled and the Caribbean reservoir operator Zesco (Zambia Electricity Supply Company) has now launched the Gwenbe-Tonga initiative to mitigate environmental and social damage caused by the dam. Unlike the past, local communities will participate in all phases of the project. And there is also a sculpture of the god Nyaminyami in the Cariboan (in the image), looking at the wall that destroyed his place of residence. Are the fifties enough to extinguish the anger of the Batonga tribe and the river god?
Tijarafe (Canary Islands), mid-14th century. When the first Catholic monks came to the area of the island of La Palma, the Awares, the local Aborigines, saw that they worshipped the sun, the moon and the stars.
And this has been confirmed by the archaeological campaigns carried... [+]
On the northern coast of Peru, in the deposit of Diamarca, mochica culture (c. 330-H. C. 800) have found a trunk room. This culture is known for its impressive architecture, vast religious imaginary and colorful walls full of details.
The room found confirms these... [+]
Maule, 1892. Eight women from the Salazar Valley headed home from the capital of Zuberoa, but on the way, in Larrain, they were shocked by the snow and all were killed by the cold. Of the eight, seven names have come: Felicia Juanko, Felipce Landa, Dolores Arbe, Justa Larrea,... [+]
The University of Nottingham has changed its name to the Master in Studies on Anglo-Saxons and Vikings: Medieval Higher Studies of England. The Anglo-Saxon England Journal of the University of Cambridge had also been previously renamed: It's the Early Medieval England Journal... [+]
Born 2 April 1970. The newspaper New York Herald published a letter with activist and broker Victoria Woodhull (1838-1927), in which he realized his candidacy for the U.S. presidential elections of 1872. It is the youngest candidate in history, who would be 34 years old on the... [+]
Treviño, 6th century. A group of hermits began living in the caves of Las Gobas and excavated new caves in the gorge of the Laño River, occupied since prehistory. In the next century, the community began to use one of the caves as a necropolis. In the 9th century they left the... [+]
The Atacama Desert Foundation has denounced on social networks the destruction of the geoglyphs of the area and, through several photographs, has shown the destruction that visitors who travel in 4x4 vehicles to the desert are causing. These are large geoglyphs made between 1000... [+]
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Although it was thought that in most of the cities of the Roman Empire there were jails, little remains have been found of the prisons of the time in the fields.
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Geissenkloesterle (Germany), 42,000 years ago. Those living in the cave of the Danube basin made a flute with bird bones and mammoth ivory. At the same time, the inhabitants of the cave of Divje Babe in Slovenia also made a flute with the femur of a bear. These are the oldest... [+]
Rome, towards the year 100 d. C. The poet Juvenal received the X. In Satira: “For a long time, particularly since we have to sell the vote, this people has lost interest in politics. Before, the head, the lots, the legions and, after all, they gave it all, but now they let it... [+]
The TRAILER of the film Gladiator II, which will be released in the autumn, already shows in less than three minutes an error or a historical license.
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Gulf of Ambracia (Ionian Sea). In the 15th century a. 2 September 31. The Romans achieved victory in the naval battle of Accio and ensured control over Egypt. Therefore, the Greek hegemony in the Mediterranean is concluded on that date, but the Hellenic influence has remained so... [+]
In the desert of Coahuila (Mexico), in the dunes of Bilbao, remains of a human skeleton have been found. After being studied by archaeologists, they conclude that they are between 95 and 1250 years old and that they are related to the culture of Candelaria.
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In the south of the Indonesian island of Sulawesi, in the cave of Leang Karampuang, archaeologists from the Griffith and Southern Cross universities and the Indonesian National Agency have discovered a painting of three anthropomorphic figures and a boar. According to the study... [+]