The early history of the kingdoms of Gowa and Talloq can be traced back
to 1300, when the Makassar kingdom of Gowa emerged as an agrarian
chiefdom in the Indonesian peninsula of South Sulawesi. Talloq was
founded two centuries later when a prince from Gowa fled to the coast
after his defeat in a succession dispute. The coastal location of the
new polity allowed it to exploit maritime trade to a greater degree than
Gowa. The growth of early Gowa was supported by a rapid increase in wet
rice cultivation. Verdant forests were cleared to make way for rice
paddies. The population may have increased tenfold between the
thirteenth and sixteenth centuries. Gowa and Talloq became close allies
in the sixteenth century and dominated most of the peninsula, following
wide-ranging administrative and military reforms. Around 1600 the twin
kingdoms converted to Islam, defeated their rivals and became the most
important powers in eastern Indonesia, with Fort Somba Opu (pictured) as
one of their centers.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Early_history_of_Gowa_and_Talloq>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1822:
USS Alligator engaged three pirate schooners off the coast of
Cuba in one of the West Indies anti-piracy operations of the United
States.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Action_of_9_November_1822>
1888:
Mary Jane Kelly was murdered in London; she was widely believed
to be the fifth and final victim of the notorious unidentified serial
killer Jack the Ripper.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Jane_Kelly>
1913:
The "Big Blow" storm reached its maximum intensity in the Great
Lakes Basin of North America, destroying 19 ships and 68,300 tons of
cargo, and killing more than 250 people.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Lakes_Storm_of_1913>
1967:
French comic book heroes Valérian and Laureline first appeared
in Pilote magazine.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Val%C3%A9rian_and_Laureline>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
trounce:
1. (transitive) To beat severely; to thrash.
2. (transitive) To beat thoroughly, to defeat heavily; especially
(games, sports) to win against (someone) by a wide margin.
3. (transitive) To chastise or punish physically or verbally; to scold
with abusive language.
4. (transitive, Britain, regional) To punish by bringing a lawsuit
against; to sue. [...]
5. (intransitive, Britain, dialectal) To walk heavily or with some
difficulty; to tramp, to trudge.
6. (intransitive, Britain, dialectal) To pass across or over; to
traverse.
7. (intransitive) To travel quickly over a long distance.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/trounce>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
We are star stuff, which has taken its destiny into its own
hands. The loom of time and space works the most astonishing
transformations of matter. Our own planet is only a tiny part of the
vast cosmic tapestry, a starry fabric of worlds yet untold. Those worlds
in space are as countless as all the grains of sand on all the beaches
of the earth. Each of those worlds is as real as ours. In every one of
them there’s a succession of incidents, events, occurrences, which
influence its future. Countless worlds, numberless moments, an immensity
of space and time, and our small planet at this moment — here we face
a critical branch point in history. What we do with our world, right now
will propagate down through the centuries and powerfully affect the
destiny of our descendants. It is well within our power to destroy our
civilization and perhaps our species as well. If we capitulate a
superstition or greed or stupidity, we can plunge our world into a
darkness deeper than the time between the collapse of classical
civilization and the Italian Renaissance. But we are also capable of
using our compassion and our intelligence, our technology and our
wealth, to make an abundant and meaningful life for every inhabitant of
this planet, to enhance enormously our understanding of the universe and
to carry us to the stars.
--Carl Sagan
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Carl_Sagan>
Show replies by thread