2. Prince Henry The Navigator
In 1415, Prince Henry organized a successful
expedition against Ceuta in Morocco-
- The first ever Portuguese attack on Islams African base.
- It is significant because Ceuta was the place from where Islam
had enter Iberia in 711.
According to the myth, Henry began to plan a grand strategy to
outflank the Islamic world from bases in the Indian Ocean. This
strategy carried the added benefit of undermining the middleman
role played by the Arabs in the Eastern spice trade.
The myth continues with Prince Henry developing an obsession with
India, which led to an interest in sailing and navigation.
3. From Calcutta to Kolkata
In 2001, Calcuttas namewas officially changed to Kolkata,
reflecting the native Bengali pronunciation. For generations reared
on Calcutta, the new name is awkward.
It carriesno evocative association with either British rule or with
the citys infamous poverty.
Given that globalization has led to invigorated localisms, Kolkata
may yet catch on as a new global and Bengali entrepot for eastern
India, Bangladesh, Burma, and southwestern China.
Ancient and medieval trade routes are reaffirming themselves and
Kokata is slowly regaining the hinterland it lost after the 1947
partition of the Indian subcontinent that created East
Pakistan.
Kalkota could once again become the Indian gateway to Southeast
Asia, and particularly to China.
4. Indian Ocean Tsunami
Kaplan was aboard a United States Navy destroyer performing relief
work after the December 26, 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami.
He describes the Bay of Bengal as as a floating cemetary
Shoes, clothes, and parts of the houses were in the sea; it was
like whole lives were passing by.
This event marked the first time these offiers and sailors had seen
dead bodies.
In the spring of 2003 some of them had fired Tomahawks into Iraq
from another destroyer, and then run over to a television to learn
from CNN what they had hit. For them Iraq had been an
abstraction.
5. The Shrinking U.S. Navy
Over the decades, the U.S. Navy has been shrinking.
At the end of World War II the United States had 6700 ships.
Throughout the Cold War it had around 600 ships.
In the late 1990s, following the collapse of the Berlin Wall, it
had more than 350.
Now it has gone down to fewer than 280.
Though the navy has plans to increase that number to more than
310.
