Trivia #22

D. Haiti

On January 1, 1804, Haiti proclaimed its independence from France, and became the second independent state in the Western Hemisphere and the first free black republic in the world. It started with a slave revolt in the French Haitian colony, then named Saint-Domingue. Toussaint-Louverture, a former slave, took control of the rebels. Gifted with natural military genius, Toussaint organized an effective guerrilla war against the island’s French colonial population. He found able generals in two other former slaves, Jean-Jacques Dessalines and Henri Christophe, and in 1795 orchestrated  the abolishment of slavery. Toussaint became governor-general of the colony, and in 1801 conquered the Spanish portion of the island, freeing the slaves there as well. In 1802, a French invasion force ordered by Napoleon landed on Saint-Domingue. After several months of furious fighting, Toussaint agreed to a cease-fire. He retired to his plantation, but in 1803 was arrested and taken to a dungeon in the French Alps, where he was tortured and died. Soon after Toussaint’s arrest, Napoleon announced his intention to reintroduce slavery on Haiti/Saint-Domingue. Dessalines led a new revolt against French rule. With the aid of the British, the rebels scored a major victory against the French force, which led to their surrender. In 1804, General Dessalines assumed dictatorial power, and renamed the former colony, Haiti, after its original Arawak name. Haiti became the official second independent nation in the Americas.

The United States, the first independent nation in the western hemisphere, initially supported the rebellion, but then changed sides and supported France. This was due to a fear of a slave revolt in their own nation, which was the largest (and considered the most callous) slave-holding nation in the world.

C. Life on the Mississippi by Mark Twain



Paul Edward Theroux (born April 10, 1941) is American travel writer, novelist and short story writer, whose best-known work is The Great Railway Bazaar (1975). Theroux was born in Medford, Massachusetts, the son of Catholic parents; his mother, Anne (née Dittami), was Italian American, and his father, Albert Eugene Theroux, was French-Canadian. His mother was a former grammar school teacher and painter, and his father was a shoe factory leather salesman.  Theroux was formally educated at the University of Maine, in Orono, (1959–60) followed by the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where he obtained a B.A. in English in 1963. After he finished his university education, Theroux joined the Peace Corps in 1963 as a teacher in Malawi. A new program, the Peace Corps had sent its first volunteers overseas in 1961. Theroux helped a political opponent of Prime Minister Hastings Banda escape to Uganda. For this Theroux was expelled from Malawi and thrown out of the Peace Corps. He was declared persona non grata by Banda in Malawi for sympathizing with Yatuta Chisiza. As a consequence, his later novel Jungle Lovers, which concerns an attempted coup in the country, was banned in Malawi for many years. Theroux’s Great Railway Bazaar was his first major success as a travel writer and now a classic in the genre.

Important Theroux travel books

• The Great Railway Bazaar (1975)
• The Old Patagonian Express: By Train Through the Americas (1979)
• The Kingdom by the Sea (1983)
• Sailing Through China (1984)
• Sunrise with Seamonsters (1985)
• The Imperial Way (1985)
• Riding the Iron Rooster (1988)
• Travelling The World - The Illustrated Travels of Paul Theroux (1990)
• The Happy Isles of Oceania (1992)
• The Pillars of Hercules (1995)
• Fresh Air Fiend (2000)
• Dark Star Safari (2002)
• Ghost Train to the Eastern Star (2008)
• The Tao of Travel (2011)
• The Last Train to Zona Verde (2013)
• Deep South: Four Seasons on Back Roads (2015)
• Figures in a Landscape: People and Places (2018)
• On the Plain of Snakes: A Mexican Journey (2019)

Important Fiction

• Waldo (1967), Paul Theroux's debut novel
• Saint Jack was made into the film with the same title by director Peter Bogdanovich (1979)
• Doctor Slaughter was made into the film Half Moon Street (1986)
• The Mosquito Coast was made into a film by Australian director, Peter Weir  (1986)
• Kowloon Tong was made into the film Chinese Box (1997), based on Theroux’s study of the British handover of Hong Kong to the People's Republic of China.
• Hotel Honolulu

D. Sword

Free French Forces were deployed with the British on Sword Beach with 177 commandos (1er Bataillon de Fusiliers Marins), led by Commandant Philippe Kieffer. Free French Paratroopers also played part.  It was in early morning of June 6th, 1944, that four sticks of eight paratroopers from Free France belonging to the 3rd battalion under Bourgoin were dropped over Brittany. The French Resistance played a significant role as well, in facilitating the Allies' rapid advance through France following the invasion of Normandy by providing military intelligence on the German Wehrmacht defenses known as the Atlantic Wall, which include coordinated and executed acts of sabotage on German electrical power grid, transport facilities, and telecommunications networks. Free France and its Free French Forces (French: France Libre and Forces françaises libres) were the government-in-exile led by Charles de Gaulle that continued to fight against the Axis powers as one of the Allies after the fall of France. The Free French Forces stood at 1 million troops by the end of 1944, primarily fighting in Alsace, the Alps and Bretagne.

Freedom Fries, anyone?

On June 11,1940, the Polish government in exile signed an agreement with the British government to form a Polish army and Polish air force in the United Kingdom. The first two (of an eventual ten) Polish fighter squadrons went into action in August 1940. Polish airmen and several Polish ships also took part in missions on D-Day protecting the landing operations. The 1^st Polish Armoured Division landed later in the Normandy campaign and played a critical role in the battle of the Argentan-Falaise Pocket. The German 2nd SS "Das Reich" division, the 5th and the 7th Panzer Armies were almost completely surrounded by British, Canadian, American and Free French troops. The only way out for the Germans was a gap between Argentan and Falaise, the so-called "corridor of death.” The 1^st Polish Armoured Division saw wave after wave of Germans coming towards them. With tremendous determination and a very high casualty-rate, they succeeded in standing their ground and sealing off the gap, and opened the way for the Allies to liberate Paris.

The first French town to be captured in Normandy was St. Mere Eglise, taken by the US 82nd Airborne Division. When people (mostly tourists) visit St. Mere Eglise they notice what looks like a paratrooper hanging from his parachute from the Church steeple. What was the paratrooper’s his nationality and military outfit? Well, he was an American named John Steele from the 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment. U.S. actor Red Buttons played him in the movie, The Longest Day.

1. Gold: Britain
2. Juno: Canada
3. Omaha: US
4. Sword: Britain & Free France
5. Utah: US

Special thanks to John Clayton; still the best source for all things pertaining to D-Day.

C. Mount Rushmore: U.S.

Seven Modern Wonders of the World

• Chichen Itza: Mexico (AD 600)
• Christ the Redeemer: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (AD 1931)
• Great Wall of China: (BC 7th century)
• Machu Picchu: Peru c. (AD 1450)
• Petra: Jordan (BC 100)
• Roman Colosseum: (AD 80)
• Taj Mahal: India (AD 1648)

The Great Pyramid of Giza: Egypt (2560 BC) is the only remaining of the Seven Ancient Wonders. It was not one of the winners announced in 2007, but was added as an honorary candidate.

D. Mamma Mia! (2008): Streep plays a free-spirited American expiate living on a Greek island.

The Bridges of Madison County (1995): Italian accent

A Cry in the Dark (1988): Australian accent

The House of the Spirits (1993); Chilean accent

Out of Africa (1985): Danish accent

Sophie's Choice (1982): Polish accent

Mary Louise "Meryl" Streep (born June 22, 1949) is an American actress, often described as the "best actress of her generation." Particularly known for her versatility and accents, Streep has been nominated for a record 21 Academy Awards, where she has won three. Among other accolades, she has received 32 Golden Globe nominations, more than any other person, and won eight.