The Rudd Concession, a written concession for exclusive mining rights in Matabeleland, Mashonaland and other adjoining territories in southern Africa, was granted by King Lobengula of Matabeleland to Charles Rudd (pictured), James Rochfort Maguire and Francis Thompson, three agents acting on behalf of the politician and businessman Cecil Rhodes, on 30 October 1888. The concession conferred on the grantees the sole rights to mine throughout Lobengula's country, as well as the power to defend this exclusivity by force, in return for weapons and a regular monetary stipend. Despite Lobengula's retrospective attempts to disavow it on the grounds of alleged deceit by the concessionaires regarding the settled terms, it proved the foundation for the royal charter granted by the United Kingdom to Rhodes' British South Africa Company in October 1889, and thereafter for the Pioneer Column's occupation of Mashonaland in 1890, which marked the beginning of white settlement, administration and development in the country. The Company officially named the territory Rhodesia, after Rhodes, in 1895, and governed it until 1923.

Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rudd_Concession

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1226:

Tran Thu Do, head of the Tran clan of Vietnam, forced Ly Hue Tong, the last emperor of the Ly dynasty, to commit suicide. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tran_Thu_Do

1863:

Seventeen-year-old Danish Prince Vilhelm arrived in Athens to become George I (pictured), King of Greece. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_I_of_Greece

1973:

Istanbul's 1,510-metre (4,950 ft) long Bosphorus Bridge was completed, connecting the continents of Europe and Asia over the Bosphorus Strait. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bosphorus_Bridge

1983:

As the military dictatorship came to an end, Argentina's first democratic election in a decade resulted in Raúl Alfonsín being elected President of Argentina. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Argentine_general_election,_1983

1993:

The Troubles: Three members of the Ulster Defence Association opened fire in a crowded pub during a Halloween party, killing eight civilians and wounding thirteen. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greysteel_massacre

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

trainiac: (informal) A railway enthusiast. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/trainiac

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

The Revolution was effected before the war commenced. The Revolution was in the minds and hearts of the people; a change in their religious sentiments, of their duties and obligations... This radical change in the principles, opinions, sentiments, and affections of the people was the real American Revolution.   --John Adams https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/John_Adams