30 November 2010

Turks and Caicos - Getting Down on Grand Turk

Well, what did y'all think of the Netherlands? Yeah, agreed, it was ok-ish. There's only so much good that Euro-Pop can do.

Let's head to the Turks and Caicos Islands today! 



Whoa. Just looking at this map makes us realize that we have so many more countries to go!


Pinky's sister and her new husband were going to head down there recently for their honeymoon, but they were expecting bad weather down there all week, so they utilized their travel insurance and headed to Hawaii instead. Good thing bad weather doesn't frighten us!

Like many other Caribbean islands, the indigenous population, in this case the Taínos and Lucayans tribes, were enslaved with the arrival of Europeans. When the Europeans started to run low on people to enslave on the Island of Hispaniola (Dominican Republic and Haiti today), they raided the Turks and Caicos islands for labor for their plantations. The islands were almost completely depopulated over a span of about 20 years. And, aside from the odd pirate hang-out these islands remains basically uninhabited for another 150 years.



And, here's the fateful moment where they all simultaneously contract small pox and die, before being turned into slave labor, that is.

They were knocked around between the French, British, and Spanish rule, but no one entity ever built any permanent settlements. After the American Revolution, British loyalists fled the States (and good riddance to them) and flooded the Caribbean. The first real settlements were built in the Turks and Caicos by carpetbagging ex-pat Brits. Soon after, the islands were annexed by the British as part of the Bahamas. They were put under the stewardship of the Jamaican colony for a good long while, and when Jamaica was granted independence in the 60's, the Turks and Caicos became a Crown Colony themselves. Check out this nifty timeline to help you place important dates in Turks and Caicos history, including the arrival of Jojo the dolphin.


Since the late 1970's there's been a good deal of talk about shacking up with Canada or achieving independence themselves, but governmental changes have prevented it from occurring. Here's the juicy part though, last year the UK suspended them from self-governance, as there was a lot of evidence of systemic corruption (like selling government land for personal gain). Plus an American woman accused the Premier of sexually assaulting her. After that nifty trick the Crown dissolved the position of premier until a new sovereign government can be elected (by next year at the latest.) Yikes. Talk about a bad performance review.

Let's tune in and see what they're up to down there. I sure hope we get to hear some of their distinctive Ripsaw music!







So! Grab your shades, sun block, and your favorite conch and let's head to the city of Grand Turk kick back to the tunes of RTC!





**even though the site is "down" for maintenance, you can still listen my selecting one of their audio streams!**


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29 November 2010

Netherlands - Awesome Amsterdam

Well, did ya have a good turkey day? Did you sleep late and watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade promptly followed by a dog show? Did you eat a year's supply of cranberry relish in one sitting? Did you don your full body armor and brave the Black Friday crowds? And, did you have fun in Equatorial Guinea? Whew! We thought we were the only ones!

Let's all go to the Netherlands! This one came to us from Ellen's dad through an international radio station suggester article thing that you should totally check out. And though it'll be decidedly more Western than what we've been hearing lately, we bet we'll have a great time. It was suggested in a national publication, so it's gotta be pretty good, right?

It's time to get your geography on.

We really hope we don't hear a bunch of American pop, but we fear it may be inevitable. A pretty big portion of the music played on this station is supposed to be in Dutch. It is awesome that a country that small can provide that volume of material. The state of Florida has more people than the Netherlands! Pinky likes the cadence of the Dutch language, and Ellen loves M.C. Escher, who is Dutch.


aside from Don Quixote, who doesn't love windmills?

Pinky went to the Netherlands when he was 16-ish. While he was there he wore leather pants, hugged a random bride, kissed a nanny goat on the lips, accidentally knocked some guy off his bike and he said "SHIESSEEEEEEEEER!!!" as he fell (which he still repeats to this day), salivated over Van Goghs, asked some fella "wooden shoe rather be Dutch?", and pleads the 5th for the rest of his time there. Sounds perfectly wonderful!

We'll also throw this in here just because we can:


Anyway, let's tune in and see what's happening in Amsterdam which is, you guessed it, the capital and largest city in the Netherlands. Enjoy your Monday with music from the Netherlands!




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25 November 2010

Hungary for Turkey Chile with Greece

For us folks here in the States, today is about being grateful for those things you have been graced with. And, today we're grateful for good friends, good family, good food, and great music. Also, we're thankful that we can write pretty much whatever we want, be critical of our leaders, hate on and love on our country and it's quirks, and pretty much make asses of ourselves on a daily basis. That truly is a blessing!

We're also glad you're along for the ride - where ever you are in the world!

Have a Happy Thanksgiving, y'all!

Hugs and Kisses,
Ellen (Charlie) and Pinky


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24 November 2010

Equatorial Guinea - Clearly Continental

Didja like Fiji? Great station, huh?

In keeping with our cannibal theme from yesterday, let's head to Equatorial Guinea where President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo allegedly engages in the cannibalism of his political opponents. No one's quite sure whether or not it's true, but it's enough of an accusation to make American rapper Eve dump his son, Teodoro Nguema Obiang. What would you
do if your boyfriend's dad was rumored to be a cannibal? "Huh-huh! No thanks Mr. Obiang, I'm not hungry. I had a bagel on the way over. Don't eat me, please."

"it smells as though the cook has burned the small intestine scramble i ordered for breakfast. yuck."

The one that put her over the edge was when he allegedly ate a police commissioner's brain and testicles. Can you imagine the White House Chef cooking up something like that? Well sure, maybe for Cheney, but still...

Once inhabited by pygmies (of which there are only a few pockets left), Equatorial Guinea was transformed by migrants from larger and more powerful tribes in the 16-1800's. During this time, the Europeans started coming around. The Portuguese were first; they traded Equatorial Guinea to the Spanish. The British were there for a little bit in the late 1800's, but it stayed pretty much a Spanish colony until independence in the late 1960's. 

just for some perspective

Francisco Macías Nguema, the first elected president, quickly declared himself president for life and started a nasty 10 year reign of terror which resulted in the death or exile of 2/3 of the population. Apparently he had 150 prisoners killed on Christmas in '75 in a soccer stadium while this song played over the loud speakers. Classy guy.





In 1979, Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, nephew to the president and former director of one of Africa's most notorious prisons, led a successful coup d'état, and has remained in power ever since. Francisco Macías Nguema is still regarded as one of the most corrupt, kleptocratic, and tyrannical leaders in modern African history, and he was sentenced to death "one hundred and one times." We like the extra death thrown in there. That's a pretty good "fuck you."

Although Teodoro has been a better ruler than his uncle, that isn't saying a whole lot. He's regarded as Africa's worse dictator, even worse than Mugabe. And, their state radio declaring him a god a few years back. Despite this, the current and former pope both invited him to the Vatican. Guess they just wanted to be sure. 
A lot of the population wears clothes with his face on it too, which is kinda weird.

What really sucks is that Equatorial Guinea struck oil a decade or so back, and instead of using those profits to help his destitute people, Teodoro pretty much just pockets it. He's regarded as one of the wealthiest heads of state in the world and literally hooked the national treasury to his personal bank accounts so that he could keep an eye on it. According to Teodoro, the whereabouts of these funds are a "state secret."


Though one of the smallest countries in Africa, it is also one of the richest. But, all that money is concentrated at the top. It's GDP per capita is rated at about 44 out of 185 nations, if you average the IMF, World Bank, and CIA's ratings, but the majority of the population lives in dire poverty.



totally irrelevant, but entirely necessary.

There was a failed coup attempt 5 or 6 years ago with financial backing from Margaret Thatcher's son and alleged support from the CIA, MI6, Spain, and South Africa's military, but there ain't a whole lot of proof out there. Our governments actually have a pretty decent relationship, though this may be due to the fact that Equatorial Guinea pays a lobbying firm at least $1.5 million a year to get them in good with Washington. Money talks.

Ok, let's tune in and see what folks are listening to over there. With a closed press and tight borders, this is the best we could find, one of the regional African stations with a continental presence. It seems to be a pretty good station though!






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23 November 2010

Fiji - Stellar Suva

Guatemala? Meh. It was OK. It's kind of hard to listen to that much dance music before 9am.

Let's head to Fiji today! Here's a map to give you some perspective:


Once known as the Cannibal Islands, European sailors used to steer around Fiji and keep on goin'. Cannibalism was rampant and an everyday practice, integral to their culture. Apparently "Eat me!" was a proper ritual greeting from a commoner to a chief. One of these chiefs, Ratu Udre Udre, holds the Guinness World Record for being the world's "most prolific cannibal." In the 1800's, he consumed between 872 and 999 people, keeping a stone for each one, which were piled beside his tomb when he died. Guess he didn't get eaten. Apparently, he'd take a few days and eat every part of them, and was quite fond of the head. Woah... (Here is Ellen's PSA about spongiform encephalopathies: don't eat other people's brains! You WILL get Kuru or Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease and WILL be miserable before you die.)

that's a lot of rocks.

By the 1800's, Western settlers had gained footholds in the islands and power was being consolidated among the warring tribes. Around 1870, Ratu Seru Epenisa Cakobau was able to defeat other chiefs and, with the help of settlers, set up a monarchy. America had recognized his throne's claim long before Fiji's other Ratus had ceded it. 

Ratu Seru Epenisa Cakobau

This relationship kinda fucked him over when Fiji held him responsible for burning down the American consul's house. It had been set alight by a different chief's tribe, oops. He couldn't pay the reparations they demanded, and fearing invasion and annexation (and also with the hopes they'd bring civilization and Christianity) he ceded the islands to the English.

He must've worked out pretty gnarly deal with them, as the British "adopted a policy disallowing the use of native labor and no interference in their culture and way of life." How often do you hear that about the indigenous population of a colony? Virtually never. The British brought in a bunch of Indian labor for their sugar plantations instead. Don't think all was gravy for the Fijians, though. The British brought Small Pox with them, wiping out a third of the native population.

yes, please!

That influx of Indian labor would one day lead to civil unrest. Fiji carried on as a British colony for about 100 years until it was granted independence in the early 70's. A series of coups followed in the 80's as Fijians perceived their government to have too much Indo-Fijian influence. A whole bunch of those Indo-Fijians emigrated at this point, and it was probably a good idea, as two coups have occurred in the past 10 years, along with a military takeover and a constitutional crisis. Oh boy. Political and ethnic tensions are still high.


that is all we want in our lives!

With all of that said, Fiji is an amazingly gorgeous place with natural wonders abounding. Also, Fiji Water is Ellen's favorite mainly because of it's perfect pH. **apparently Fiji Water is the devil's spawn. Ellen now only drinks tap water.** But, that is neither here nor there...

fishes.


Well, let's tune in to Radio Bula Namaste broadcasting out of Suva, the capital, and hear what the Fiji Islanders are listening to. Enjoy!




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22 November 2010

Guatemala - Glorious Guatemala City

Wow! That Seychelles station was AMAZING, huh? Given, it's actually a boosted French station, but wasn't it great? They didn't play a single song that I didn't like.

What say we tune in to Guatemala today? Seems like everyone we know is heading down there for work or travel or school lately, so why not?

apparently it looks like this and any place that looks like this is ok by us.

Pinky used to work with a Guatemalan fellow when he worked landscaping for a few summers back in high school, which was about 10 years ago. (Don’t judge!) Pinky was always amazed at how good this guy was at handling American currency. He'd only been in the States a year or two, but he was so adept at picking out the right change. He'd reach right in his pocket and pull out the exact change for lunch without even looking. Of course, he had to look at the bills but he'd pick the coins out just by touch. The guy just had arithmetic in his fingers, we guess. Not unlike a blackjack dealer or a bank teller. Not the sort of thing you'd expect from a man working a shovel. We wonder what kind of job he had back home...


home again, home again, jiggity jig!

Tangentially, that's one fucked up part about American currency. Since it's all the same size, sight-impaired folks have to depend on the kindness of strangers to help them differentiate between a $1 and a $50 bill. You don't find that in many other countries. Pinky’s friend Karla helped win a federal lawsuit a year or two ago to change that. So, at some point we'll have different sized currency. We’re looking forward to it. Think how much anxiety that's got to engender not knowing what kind of money you're throwing around.


you could be spending 5 silver dollars and have no idea.

The fun part will be to see what kind of designs the treasury will come up with. Pinky remembers seeing a very, very, very low value banknote in China that wasn't much bigger than a postage stamp. It had a truck on it. It might have been worth .001 cents or something like that. It was cute. We don’t think the Treasury will do anything like that since we have a pretty strong currency and the Treasury is annoyed to use "paper" for even $1 bills.

this picture is bigger than the real thing!

Anyway, we've digressed and not really said anything about Guatemala. Sorry 'bout that. Let's go ahead and tune in to the land of totally rad Mayan history, Spanish colonialism, and a century of exploitative labor practices by Chiquita. Guatemala, ho!!!





PS: it's Pinky's birthday - wish him a good one, y'all!


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19 November 2010

Seychelles - Boosted!

Did y'all enjoy Benin? Good! Us, too.

Alright gang, let's head on over to the Republic of Seychelles today! Gotta admit, this is one nation Pinky wasn't aware of, but don't they have a totally rad flag? Ellen totally knew about them because there is a shoe line named after this island nation. And, if there is one thing Ellen loves more than maps it's shoes.

totally rad!

For the past 500 years, it's been mainly a pit stop for ocean-faring vessels heading across the Indian ocean. Since there was no indigenous population, the French and British squabbled over it for a few hundred years. The English kept it as a colony until granting it independence about 35 years ago.

let's get oriented.

The Seychelles elected a president but a coup quickly occurred and they became a one-party socialist state until the early 90's when a new constitution was enacted and democracy was reinstated. They've done pretty well since then, winning high praise and ranking as one of the top performers in African governance, even delivering adult literacy classes to significantly raise the literacy rate.

so blue!

Their economy is mainly based on tourism, but the government has been trying to branch it out into more stable industries. They do everything they can to preserve their fragile and unique environment. As a result, they've become a world leader in "sustainable tourism." Every project has to undergo an environmental review, which makes a lot of sense when you don't have a whole lot of land to start with. Looks like there is a lot worth preserving there. Totally awesome giant tortoises, unique plant and bird species, some of the largest seabird colonies in the world, and some pretty great reefs, too.


visit Seychelles? don't mind if we do!


What do you say we tune in and check it out. This is a French afro-centric station that's boosted to the islands, but with a population only a little larger than Asheville, it's understandable that there isn't a web presence for the island's indigenous stations.


we have a sneaking suspicion this is where Lord of the Flies took place.


So! Pack your SPF 50, your Wayfarers, and your drug store paperback and enjoy your weekend in the tropics! We'll see your sunburned faces on Monday!





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18 November 2010

Benin - Hijacked!

Did you like Romania? The morning was a little questionable, but they played some great old stuff in the afternoon, huh?

Hey! You busy? Just blowing up that balloon and letting it fart around the room while your dog gives you the stink eye for interrupting her nap? us, too. 

Wanna get out of here and head to Benin?

and away we go!

From what we're gathering, around the 17th century, a tribe consolidated power and created a state called the Dahomey Kingdom. It sounds like these guys were some real assholes. They were WAAAAAY into human sacrifice and would sacrifice people for just about any reason they could think up. Sometimes they'd sacrifice thousands of people at once and it would take daaaays to cut all their heads off. Most of the sacrificees were prisoners of war, but kings' wives didn't have it much better. They were ceremonially buried alive. 

These kings owned all the land and taxed all the crops, but an even bigger portion of their income came from slave trading. When the Europeans rolled around with slaving ships, they had a field day buying up the war captives. They remained a pretty powerful state for a couple of hundred years until the slave trade dried up in the mid-19th century and their economic power declined. 

The French took over and did their colony thang for awhile, as they were apt to do back then, and in 1960 Benin gained their independence. They went through a series of coups and in the 1970's a fella named Mathieu Kérékou took power stating he'd build a Marxist economy, not a capitalist, communist, or socialist one. 

Who knew the Grinch was Marxist?

Kérékou allied himself with the pariah states, scared off all the intellectual class, and financed his regime by taking France's nuclear waste. His government ended up running out of money in the late 1980's and since they couldn't pay the army, riots broke out, the banking system collapsed, and folks banded together and called for elections. 

Since then, it seems like they've done pretty well with democratic elections, and though they've got tons of problems, it appears that things are looking up for Benin

Let's tune in and see what they're up to today. (Yes, we acknowledge that this station is NOT based out of Benin. However, there isn't a station broadcasting out of Benin that has a reliable internet presence. Enjoy it, anyway; it's a good one!) We really didn't expect to hear all the Rastafarian chatter...




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17 November 2010

Romania - Blaring București

What did you think of Norway? We really didn't expect to hear the auto tuned version of the "hide ya kids" guy, but what was really bizarre was the "Back to the Future 1" dialogue laid over the "Brokeback Mountain" guitar theme. Bizarre... All in all, it was a pretty decent station that wasn't dripping with global pop. We have to admit that the metal hour was a little trying.


OK, let's go to Romania today!

This is another one of those countries that Pinky has a weird obsession with. Pinky tried to get our friend Hart to learn this song. They didn't do so well. And, he basically just annoyed Kesi by singing it incessantly.



Pinky and Kesi had planned to rent a car and drive around the Transylvanian countryside, but ran out of time and weren't able to make it to Romania from Przemyśl. Sigh... Did you know that the only other Transylvania in the world is in our very own North Carolina? Fun fact, huh?


Anyway, there are parts of Transylvania that if you drive two miles off the highway, you'll be the only car and people will stare Stare STARE at you. Everyone out there still use horses. There are also supposed to be parts of it that don't even use currency! They just barter! Our friend Jess Wooten was in the boonies when she visited Romania a few months ago. We wonder if she saw any of that.


no cars here! just vamps!

Also, Pinky's brother has worked a few shows there and has spent a couple of weeks in the capital city of Bucharest (București). He took a Bucha-nap as soon as he arrived. He said you can get ANYTHING there. Prostitutes and coke dealers line the streets and no one gives a fuck. He wasn't a big fan of the country, but hates working in eastern Europe anyway. We've
read in travel guides that you have to watch out for the roaming packs of dogs in Bucharest. Yikes.


ROAManian dogs. (Please, pardon the pun.)


They do have the largest civilian government building in the world though, a relic of insane communist (in name) dictator Nicolae Ceauşescu, a guy you should totally look up. He was executed during the violent revolution of '89, the only eastern-bloc country to do so to their leader, and boy did he have it coming.

*** Click here for an intriguing article by George Friedman with Stratfor Global Intelligence on the geopolitics of Romania and its options during the current Russian resurgence. ***

Palatal Parlamentului - it's GIANT!

Anyway, enough about bands of wild dogs and crazy communists! Let's tune in to Bucharest!




For this station, go to the red section of the tool-bar area where it says "Live" and click the "high stereo" button. It seems a little hit and miss, so if this station ends up sucking, try this one instead:




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16 November 2010

Norway - Trondheim the Terrific

We're really glad we got that nice little peak into the hidden kingdom. Pinky worked so hard to find a viable Bhutanese station. High point: the singing contest between random people with beautiful voices calling in and singing a capella over the phone. Low point: that completely unexpected hour of American pop country music. All in all, we dug it.

We haven't been to Scandinavia for a while, so what do you say we head to Norway

Although there's a little Norwegian Kroner (the safest currency in the world!) rattling around in Pinky's wallet right now, our collective only experience with the country is watching it out of the plane window. There was a lot of patchwork water down there. 

Our friend Kesi went kayaking through the fjords earlier this summer. Did you know they can fit a cruise ship into those?! Kesi said it was incredibly beautiful and that it was the most amazing trip she'd ever been on and that she wouldn't be the least bit surprised if she'd turned around and seen a unicorn. We'd say that's a pretty good endorsement.

we're pretty sure there is a unicorn in there somewhere...

OK, so today's station comes to us from Trondheim, which breaks our recent trend of listening to stations from capital cities. Trondheim has been the Viking capital of Norway since approximately 997 an the actual capital until 1217. The city has survived several major fires and was even occupied by the Nazis from 1940 - 1945. Sweet Jesus Pete, that's enough for one city, dontcha think? Anyway, now Trondheim is the educational center of Norway and is home to Norwegian University of Science and Technology.



it's just so blinking quaint!

Also, Trondheim sits on the Trondheimfjorden and is bisected by the River Nidelva. It just looks so inviting!

we want to go to there!

Let's tune in to Radio Revolt and see if we can hear any unicorns. We bet if we do that they'll sound something like this:



Enough mythical creatures already! Tune in! PS: Ellen can say "I love you" in Norwegian (jeg elsker deg). You should be impressed. She can also say cold in "cold" in Hindi (thand). Both of these are courtesy of her college roommate, Caitlin.



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15 November 2010

Bhutan - Tasty Thimphu

Well, we'd been warned about Caribbean DJ's and boy did the Haitian ones deliver. The music was eclectic and interesting, but those DJ's made it a rough day.

After a long weekend of resting up, we're ready for some travel! Let's head to Bhutan today!!!

let's get oriented, shall we?

Named "Land of the Dragon", Bhutan's beauty is staggering. They're obsessed with preserving their natural beauty and the purity of their nation. And while we Americans could take a lesson or twelve from the Bhutanese, their preservation attempts aren't always a good thing though. They expelled about 100,000 ethnic Nepalis in the 1980s... gotta keep everything clean and pure, huh? 

so pretty...

Environmental protection is a top priority though, as is the happiness of its people. It's the only country in the world to measure "Gross National Happiness", and uses this data to guide it's decisions. The indicators used to quantify GNH are interesting and worth looking up if you're a nerd. Their emphasis on happiness rather than economic development is enthralling, especially with some of the currently trendy Western economic research out there that advocate this. 

so pretty...

Fun fact: Bhutan was the last country in the world to introduce TV when it did so in 1999, and the government blames it for the increase in crime since then. It's kinda scary to have that kind of sway over your people, even if it is purportedly benevolent.

Can't we take a second and collectively groan about TV? Ugh. So much of it is so horrible. Even the supposedly good stuff. History Channel? Yikes. Dino sex? We dunno how "good" that programming is. We wonder what the Bhutanese programming is like. Probably lots of Indian stuff...

so pretty...

Anyway, in the late 90's the Bhutanese transitioned from an absolute monarchy to a constitutional monarchy. A few years ago, the king stunned the nation by announcing that he'd abdicate the throne in favor of his son and that democratic elections would take place shortly thereafter. 

so pretty...

Pinky has had a hell of a time finding a live station from here, so tune in while you can! We believe this station broadcasting from the capital city of Thimphu goes dark in the late evening as well, so we may need to switch to another station in another nation when that occurs. 


It's a tough place to access for a visit and is pretty insular, so y'all enjoy this little peak into Bhutan! We sure don't get many opportunities to do so.


There is a really obnoxious static/tin can/robot whine going on on top of the broadcast this morning. So! We recommend checking back later or suffering through it. Suffer! Suffer! It's totally worth it!


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12 November 2010

Haiti - Perfect Port-au-Prince

How'd you like our visit to Egypt? Good station, huh?

OK, let's head to Haiti today!

Pinky's been aching to go here for a few years now. He really wanted to go last fall but couldn't find anyone to go with him (he hates traveling alone.) He even solicited for a companion on Facebook but only got a "wish I could" from our friend Mr.Wm. Gulley and a safety warning from his brother. Annnnnnd, then the quake came along and destroyed the capital. Sigh... 

y'all know the devastation and tragedy.

Anyway, flights to Port-Au-Prince have resumed and Pinky can get tickets fairly cheap through an airline membership he's signed up with, so there's a standing invitation to y'all if anyone wants to head down there. Perhaps we could volunteer in Port Au Prince? He's happy to do anything, just so long as we can visit the cave paintings and Citadelle Laferrière at some point.

they have a massssssive stash of cannon balls. like, we're talking about a lot of balls. a lot.

So, Haiti was "discovered" by Columbus and the Spanish quickly decimated the indigenous population to the point that they began importing enslaved Africans because they'd killed too of the many natives to run a colony. Their treatment of the Africans was just as brutal. At one point while the French and Spanish had split the island, about 1/3 of the new slaves were dying within a few years of their arrival. It was France's most profitable colony, so that when Haiti fought a 12 year war and won its independence in 1804, France didn't let them forget that.


we will with hold your baguettes and crepes!
(too much? sorry, France. we really do love you.)

Haiti was the only nation born of a successful slave revolt in recorded history, but it took two decades for the world to recognize it's independence. And, then France only agreed to the recognition after Haiti paid them an astronomical sum of 150,000,000 Francs (which was 10 times Haiti's annual revenue and twice the price of the Louisiana Purchase, which is 70 times larger.) So even after winning their freedom, Haiti was extorted into buying it, too. That's a pretty big fuck you to the Haitians, huh? 

That interaction violated international law - even then - and it still hasn't been rectified to this day. That massive debt has screwed over Haiti ever since as every available bit of cash was sent overseas for debt repayment. This inhibited Haiti from investing in their own country. In 1915, 80% of their government's revenue went to the French bank that had financed their "debt." The desperate need for cash forced the Haitian farmers to take on risky and/or environmentally intensive crops, and catastrophic deforestation and soil erosion ensued. 

Economic instability fostered political instability, and as a result, Haiti has been subject to 32 coups in its 206-year history. That's an average of one every 6.5 years. Though many were internally driven, not all were. The French, German, British, and American forces have all allegedly engendered coups and have supposedly cleared out the national vaults on more than one occasion. Yikes. 

scenes from the 2004 coup

So, with all of that said, there is good stuff happening in Haiti - aside from the current cholera outbreak, the widespread homelessness and poverty, uniform environmental degradation, and so on. The arts, painting, native crafts, and writing, have been gaining international light since the earthquake in 2009. With our minds focused on Haiti's pre-colonialism culture, let's tune in to Haiti and listen to what it sounds like today, shall we?



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