Skye is the largest island in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. Its peninsulas radiate from a mountainous centre dominated by the Cuillins, the rocky slopes of which provide some of the most dramatic mountain scenery in the country. The island has been occupied since the Mesolithic period and its history includes a time of Norse rule and a long period of domination by Clan MacLeod (Dunvegan Castle, the clan's seat, pictured) and Clan Donald. The 18th-century Jacobite risings led to the breaking up of the clan system and subsequent Clearances that replaced entire communities with sheep farms. Resident numbers declined from over 20,000 in the early 19th century to just under 9,000 by the closing decade of the 20th century. The main industries are tourism, agriculture, fishing and whisky-distilling, and the largest settlement is Portree, known for its picturesque harbour. There are links to various nearby islands by ferry and, since 1995, to the mainland by a road bridge. The abundant wildlife includes the golden eagle, red deer and Atlantic salmon. Skye has provided the locations for various novels and feature films and is celebrated in poetry and song.
Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skye
_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:
1556:
The deadliest earthquake in history killed about 830,000 people in Shaanxi Province, China. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1556_Shaanxi_earthquake
1793:
The Russian Empire and the Kingdom of Prussia partitioned the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth for the second time. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Partition_of_Poland
1899:
Pursuant to the adoption of the Malolos Constitution and the establishment of the First Philippine Republic, Emilio Aguinaldo was sworn in as the first President of the Philippines. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emilio_Aguinaldo
1968:
USS Pueblo was seized by North Korean forces, who claimed that it had violated their territorial waters while spying. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Pueblo_(AGER-2)
2002:
American journalist Daniel Pearl was kidnapped and later murdered by Al Qaeda agents. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_Pearl
_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:
blueberrying: The act of gathering blueberries. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/blueberrying
___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:
I no longer find such pleasure in that preeminently good society, of which I was once so fond. It seems to me that beneath a cloak of clever talk it proscribes all energy, all originality. If you are not a copy, people accuse you of being ill-mannered. And besides, good society usurps its privileges. It had in the past the privilege of judging what was proper, but now that it supposes itself to be attacked, it condemns not what is coarse and disagreeable without compensation, but what it thinks harmful to its interest. --Stendhal https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Stendhal