August 30 – Popular Constitution Day in East Timor

Posted on August 30, 2016

Why is an island that is about the size of Maryland divided into two nations?

History. Religion. Language.

The Southeastern Asian island of Timor was settled by both Dutch and Portuguese colonizers. The two European nations squabbled over control of the island until a treaty signed in 1859 divided the island into Dutch Timor and Portuguese Timor.

Of course, the Asian descendants of the peoples who lived on the island long before Europeans arrived wanted to be independent. After World War II, the Dutch portion of the island and thousands of other nearby islands gained independence as Indonesia. It wasn't until 1975 that residents of Portuguese Timor declared their independence from Portugal.

Just nine days after this declaration, East Timor was invaded and occupied by Indonesia! After years of violence, the United Nations finally stepped in and helped hammer out a peace agreement. Indonesia gave up its claim for the other half of the island, and East Timor (also known as Timor-Leste) became the first new nation of the 21^st Century!

(By the way, in case you were wondering about the religious differences, Indonesia is predominantly Muslim, and East Timor is predominantly Catholic.)

Check out East Timor:

Mt. Ramelau (aka Tatamailau) is the highest mountain on the island.

Dili is the capital and largest city in East Timor.

The smaller islands that are part of East Timor include Atauro Island...

...and Jaco Island.

There is a little divot, called an exclave, on the Indonesian half of Timor that belongs to East Timor. This portion, pictured in red below, includes the city of Pante Makasar.

Here are some more photos of East Timor. Loads of beautiful beaches, interesting and complex culture...

 

For more on East Timor, check out this earlier post.

Also on this date:

Rose Festival in St. Lucia 

Constitution Day in the Turks and Caicos

International Whale Shark Day

Oceanographer Sylvia Earle's birthday

National Toasted Marshmallow Day

Frankenstein author Mary Shelley's birthday

Plan ahead:

Check out my Pinterest boards for:

• August holidays
• August birthdays
• Historical anniversaries in August

And here are my Pinterest boards for:

• September holidays
• September birthdays
• Historical anniversaries in September

May 20, 2011 - Independence Day – East Timor

East Timor, also known as Timor-Leste, is one of the youngest nations on earth. Having been colonized by Portugal rather than by the Netherlands, as surrounding islands of Indonesia were, East Timor did not welcome rule by Indonesia after the colonizers left. Unfortunately, there was violence between the people of East Timor and Indonesia for decades before East Timor finally became independent on May 20, 2002.

It's interesting to see how language and religious differences are dealt with during times of conflict. You may know that more Muslims live in Indonesia than anywhere else in the world; East Timor, on the other hand, is one of only two Asian nations that is predominantly Roman Catholic. (Can you guess the other?) The Portuguese language, alone with Tetum, is widely spoken in East Timor, but when Indonesia ruled over East Timor, Portuguese was banned! The language was still used by the resistance forces, however, and it became a symbol of freedom. Isn't it ironic that the language of a conquering / colonizing force (Portugal) -- which squelched freedom for centuries -- became a symbol of freedom against another invasive force?

East Timor is part of the so-called Coral Triangle, an area of coral reefs with the highest coral diversity in the world.

Click the map to see an enlarged view.
Note that East Timor is called Osttimor. Ost means “east.”

Check out coral!

You probably already know that coral reefs are built by tiny animals that are cousins of jellyfish. Coral polyps secrete calcium carbonate to built a hard skeleton, and there are many different colors and shapes of living corals. Coral reefs provide great homes to many other creatures such as mollusks and fish.

The Art Predator has gathered together some links to help kids learn about coral reefs. 

The Reef Education Network has a website with info and activities and opportunities to make a difference in the worldwide efforts to protect coral reefs.