Instead of chasing after their prey, homo sapiens developed spears out of flint and rock to kill their prey. The discovery of fire also helped these homo sapiens cook their food, which helped them to avoid sickness as a result of food poisoning.
The third nation created on the Indian subcontinent is Bangladesh.
Bangladesh managed to get its independence in 1971, and formed a provisional government in April the same year in Mujibnagar. The government was in exile afterwards in Calcutta. The independence came after a war with Western Pakistan, and a a genocide over the population in Bangladesh.
On this day in 1775, George Washington, who would one day become the first American president, accepts an assignment to lead the Continental Army.
Washington had been managing his family’s plantation and serving in the Virginia House of Burgesses when the second Continental Congress unanimously voted to have him lead the revolutionary army. He had earlier distinguished himself, in the eyes of his contemporaries, as a commander for the British army in the French and Indian War of 1754.
Born a British citizen and a former Redcoat, Washington had, by the 1770s, joined the growing ranks of colonists who were dismayed by what they considered to be Britain’s exploitative policies in North America. In 1774, Washington joined the Continental Congress as a delegate from Virginia. The next year, the Congress offered Washington the role of commander in chief of the Continental Army.
After accepting the position, Washington sat down and wrote a letter to his wife, Martha, in which he revealed his concerns about his new role. He admitted to his “dear Patcy” that he had not sought the post but felt “it was utterly out of my power to refuse this appointment without exposing my Character to such censures as would have reflected dishonour upon myself, and given pain to my friends.” He expressed uneasiness at leaving her alone, told her he had updated his will and hoped that he would be home by the fall. He closed the letter with a postscript, saying he had found some of “the prettiest muslin” but did not indicate whether it was intended for her or for himself.
On July 3, 1775, Washington officially took command of the poorly trained and under-supplied Continental Army. After six years of struggle and despite frequent setbacks, Washington managed to lead the army to key victories and Great Britain eventually surrendered in 1781. Due largely to his military fame and humble personality, Americans overwhelmingly elected Washington their first president in 1789.
Askia encouraged learning and literacy, ensuring that Mali's universities produced the most distinguished scholars, many of whom published significant books and one of which was his nephew and friend Mahmud Kati. To secure the legitimacy of his usurpation of the Sonni dynasty, Askia Muhammad allied himself with the scholars of Timbuktu, ushering in a golden age in the city for scientific and Muslim scholarship.[5] The eminent scholar Ahmed Baba, for example, produced books on Islamic law which are still in use today. Muhammad Kati publishedTarikh al-fattash and Abdul-Rahman as-Sadi published Tarikh al-Sudan (Chronicle of Africa), two history books which are indispensable to present-day scholars reconstructing African history in the Middle Ages.
