Siam and the heart of the World]
On April 15 of 1928, Siam fully adopts the Covenant of Nations Ruble (₽) as its national currency, leaving a mainly ceremonial or minor-local baht (฿).
As we already mentioned, this was part of a plan of the Covenant, that all its members adopt the Covenant Ruble as the main currency (both for day-to-day use, for state, financial, trade, etc.).
But just saying this would not be enough, we have to talk about its effects in Siam.
At this time, Siam (also known as the Rattanakosin Kingdom), was characterized more by its geographical and economic relevance, than its political power.
Siam slightly expanded or solidified its area of influence in the post-World War III world.
We only see a Siam that moves its great political weight during and after 1973-1974, where it establishes a greater influence in Southeast Asia (the only viable place due to the giant India in its West).
Although the 20th century was mostly a century of geo-political 'hibernation' for the country, we should not confuse inactivity with irrelevance.
Siam during the 20th century is a Russian ally and a member of the Covenant, with all the weight that this represents (even if it is behind or under the influence of Russia). And of course, there is the economic importance that makes Siam one of the most important centers in the world.
The energy resources of the Middle East and the Far East, Russian and Indian manufactures, material and human resources of all kinds, and more, necessarily pass through Siam and its Kra Isthmus Canal.
The energy resources on which countries in the East are dependent pass through Siam. The Russian fertilizers and oil that India buys have historically passed mostly through Siam.
Siam has thus functioned as an important connector in the world economy, linking parts of Eurasia and beyond.
Which would have been impossible, without the material conditions that were formed in Siam. Like its relationship with Russia and the rest of the Covenant of Nations, modernization (economic, political, and social), and a capable and stable government.
We are talking particularly about the time of King Rama VII (Chakrabongse Bhuvanath, King of Siam until 1948, dying at the age of 65) and his successors (particularly Rama VIII, who reigned from 1948 to 1963, and Rama IX).
Although it is true that as king, Rama VII devoted his attention mainly to military-industrial reforms and delegated administrative matters to others, there was still a great deal of room for social change in his country as economic and political changes advanced.
Mainly we talk about the ethnic-cultural relationships in the country and the "Easternization" of Siam, and its role as a key player in the integration of Eurasia.
*Siam began a process similar to that of the Russian Empire to maintain a rather unitary country, but with certain autonomy or balance between the different ethnic-cultural groups in the country.
Siam is inhabited by about 70 native ethnic groups, which include the Thai ethno-linguistic groups (Central, Northeastern, and Northern Thai), Afro-Asian peoples (such as the Northern Khmer and the Kuy), Sino-Tibetans (also called 'hill tribes' /ชาวดอย, ชาวเขา, or chao khao - of which the Karen are the majority) and Austronesians (like the Malays for example). Among others not mentioned in detail of course.
Although the Thai and Lao people, for reasons of number and role in the administration, had a great importance and influence in the country, opportunities for different influences in the country were opening up for different peoples, like the Khmer (the Northern Khmer and the Khmer who arrived in Siam due to the Thai influence in Cambodia), the Malays and the Sino-Tibetans (repairing the possible fractures of the dichotomy between hill and plain of Siam).
This meant that Siam, rather than being a country centered around the Thai family ethnic group, became an axis that join various ethnic groups (while the Thai were the owners of most of the home of course). In play with its role in international trade, which involved a large movement of human capital across its borders.
*Of course Siam was already an Asian or Eastern society, but with Easternization we mean more to refer to the influence of Eastern Europe in the country (we can see this in the development of XX century national fashions with Slavic influences, or the development of popular culture -like comic books- with inspirations from Covenant Eurasia). And to some extent from elements like an Orthodox Christian community influenced by the Russian Orthodox Church, but naturally there were no big changes in the prevailing religions of the country, to call this a big change.
Perhaps it is also the case that, counting that Rama VII had married a Russian woman of Ukrainian origin and therefore Rama VIII was partially Eastern European, the possibility of greater mutual immigration was opened.
Which led to cultural exchanges, different settlements or mixed families and the like.
*And there is also a very curious factor, the growth of the idea of Eurasianism in the country of Siam.
Eurasianism emerges as a Russian political thought of the 20th century (although with its oldest or particular roots), which is quickly taken by certain Thai groups as an important conception of the place of Siam in the Eurasian continent.
Thai intellectuals, partly inspired by Marxist and Indian thinkers, had understood that Europe and Asia had been drifting apart for centuries.
Result of European Imperialism (such as the French or British, which had snatched borders or threatened Thai independence) and the productive-technological backwardness of most of Asia.
The Thais therefore proposed that Eurasianism and the Covenant, as a multi-national system, was key to uniting what had been divided by centuries. A connected Eurasia was needed.
And this would only be achieved by connecting Siam with its partners in the Covenant of Nations. And how it helped connect pieces of the world.
Thai Eurasianism is a bit different from Russian Eurasianism. While it is true that some of the largest Eurasianist political parties exist in Russia and Thailand, the Thais adopted it as a particular philosophy or scientific method.
The Thais saw an important dichotomy that actually helped them predict much of the bilateral relations of the 20th century.
In simple terms: Material resources are equivalent to a common market, and human resources offered a possibility for common investment and development. The Covenant combined the material resources of a large part of the world, and represented an ever-increasing part of its population.
Leading then, to the rapprochement of the Eurasian West and the Eurasian East.
Which so far has been an accurate prediction of the Thais (relationships have their bumps, but it's still a mostly accurate prediction), and more importantly, where they play a vital part.
The Thais are an inevitable partner and player in the Eurasian integration led by Russia since the time of Alexander III.
Without Siam there is no complete new Silk Road, there are no major peace and infrastructure movements in Southeast Asia, etc.
And this all starts with Siam taking the Ruble, and letting the ship follow its destiny (its 'hibernation' or perhaps stage of development).
King and Tsar, iconic photo of Russian-Siamese relationship, which is more than 100 years old by this day.
Russian tourists take an elephant ride in the old Siamese capitol of Ayutthaya.
Orthodox St. Nicholas church of Bangkok, Siam.
*******
[Better go to the United States]
April 18 of 1928, the film "Zvenigora" by Russian director Aleksandr Dovzhenko is released for the first time in Czechoslovakia.
In the film an old Ukrainian man protects and searches for a legendary treasure in the midst of the political upheavals of the Russian civil war.
Although the most important thing is rather, that among the supporting actors was Alisa Zinovyevna Rosenbaum, who was among the spectators of the premiere in Prague.
The film was decent in sales and critics, but it didn't open many doors as an actress or screenwriter for Rosenbaum, who stayed in Czechoslovakia for a while anyway.
She where she soon came into contact with extreme right-wing circles, such as the New Greens. Whose ideas would later also influence Rosenbaum's political philosophy.
Rosenbaum's failings in film and the influence of far-right groups would later motivate her to leave the Russian Empire for the United States of America.
Partly because her old associates weren't very popular in the country (which is why Trotsky was in China and later the New Greens were persecuted - justifiably, they became terrorists) and because Rosenbaum could smell that she could sell her ideas to the polarizing Americans, much more than the citizens of the Covenant.
*******
[Japanese in the Far East]
May 3 of 1928, as part of the results of Russian-Japanese bilateral relations at the "Conference for a Pacific Far East", an important event begins, which is the program of emigration to the Russian Far East by many Japanese households.
The late Empire of Japan was alerted by the recent April massacres in the country, where peasants supported by the workers' courts were carrying out massacres against Japanese landowners. Without the government of the time being able to do much about it (either because of administrative difficulties, or because it really wasn't in their interests to stop the peasants).
This motivated the emigration agreement, so that especially poor families (which were the majority of the country in 1928), could obtain work or plots of land in continental Eurasia.
In exchange, the Russian Empire obtained more cheap labor, and continued to rebuild relations with Japan, which wanted the resources that Russia sold and could pay (or go into debt...).
In a short time the Empire of Japan sent 300,000 agricultural workers, who lived a rather destitute and depressive life for that time.
Russia and the Northern Chinese States soon hired these Japanese as farm laborers, or allowed them to create rural settlements (the produce of which was divided into three types - cultivation for own or local use, cultivation for commercial use, and cultivation for shipment back to Japan, as part of the economic aid agreements between the Covenant and Japan).
Soon the Japanese developed a system of relations with the different peoples of the Russian Empire (especially the Slavs, Han and Koreans).
Until 1937 the Japanese emigration project to the Far East would continue, with the arrival of railway workers and factory workers.
Ending in the aforementioned 1937, where ex-civilian or military officers from the defunct Empire of Japan packed their bags to 'retire' to the Russian Empire/Covenant of Nations (with some serving during WW3 on the Russian side).
In the end in Russia there was a diaspora of more than 5 million Japanese before the collapse of the Empire of Japan.
Which sounds like a lot, but again, considering the vastness and demographics of the Russian Empire or the Northern Chinese States, it soon became quite small.
We have to note that at the time, even poor families tended to have many children, and a considerable number of Japanese households inevitably began to marry non-Japanese in the multi-ethnic Covenant (so we cannot speak entirely of one ethnicity or Japanese diaspora/Yamato in the Covenant).
Map of Japanese settlements in Russian Inner Manchuria after 1928.
*[Japanese orphans in the Russian Empire and Northern Chinese states]
It is statistically observable that political and socio-economic instability and/or war create enormous problems for children, such as the increase in child prostitution (an abhorrent phenomenon like few others) or orphanhood.
During the troubled times of the late Empire of Japan, there was also an increase in the problems faced by some of the most vulnerable members of Japanese society.
Parents or families had to give up or abandon their children for various reasons, such as economic incapacity or the simple nature of civil war (if capable adults die in combat or due to famine and disease, who is left to raise the children? In most cases, the children would also die alone without adults).
This led to a curious phenomenon, that of the 'Little Japanese' in the Russian Empire (especially in Manchuria and Korea) and parts of the Northern Chinese States (especially the coastal areas or areas near Manchuria).
While it is true that settlements of Japanese fleeing the country were formed during the last years of the Japanese imperial state, not all of them had the conditions to raise their children or survive for too long.
These refugees, which included "stranded war wifes" (women scaping of recent civil conflicts of that time) or poor rural couples, who died or disappeared after the birth of their children.
Some mothers (hounded by hunger and disease after leaving the Japanese state or during the first years in continental Eurasia), started to give up their children -starting with the youngest who couldn't walk or talk-, they either abandoned them in the hope that kindred locals would give them a chance to live or entrusted them to new families. In the latter case, most mothers left a keepsake noting their name and birth, in some cases even traditional home addresses (according to the Institute of Northeast Asian Studies at the Shenyang Academy of Social Sciences).
It didn't help that the Japanese state didn't have many capacities to stop this situation, so they quietly adopted the policy of 'abandoning' any troubled Japanese diaspora to their fate. After all, if there were problems at home, what could the Japanese abroad ask for. Sink or swim as the saying goes...
We are talking about the fact that more than 9,000-14,000 children under 13 years of age were left to fend for themselves throughout the vast territory of the Russian Empire and its satellite states by the growing Japanese diaspora (which in numbers, represents rather little for the population of the region - but it is still a fairly large number of orphans of refugees).
And despite all these difficulties, most were completely adopted by local families. Even though Koreans, Japanese, and Chinese (usually Han) don't always have the best relationships with each other.
Mainly due to historical reasons such as piracy and Japanese invasions of other territories in East Asia over the centuries.
For about a decade and a half (including in some cases the time of the terrible WW3), Japanese orphans were raised by Russian-Chinese families in the Russian Far East and part of the Northern Chinese States.
Generally raised under a new culture or citizenship, which hides the Japanese ethno-cultural identity ("No, you are definitely Russian/Chinese" or "No, definitely you are not Japanese", according to the mothers).
The Japanese government only officially recognized these orphans in the 1960s, when a repatriation program was proposed to the Covenant of Nations.
While it is true that some returned to the islands, many returned to Eurasia after a short stay in Japan or simply decided to stay. Result of the effects of childlessness and a different upbringing, which separated the Little Japanese from the citizens of today's Japan.
Despite all this, the Little Japanese have served as a curious bridge between Japan and the Covenant, supporting solidarity and friendship efforts between the Eurasian bloc and the Land of the Rising Sun.
What led the citizens of the Covenant to adopt the orphans of Japanese refugees?
It's hard to say, since there really was no organized or official push behind this practice. It was probably simple humanity.
Russian poster from the post-WW3 era: "Let's surround orphans with mother's love and care!"
Monument dedicated to Northern Chinese-Manchurian foster parents at a history museum in Shenyang (Inner Manchuria, Russian Empire) - Over 1,000 Japanese orphans donated money to build the monument in 1999.
*******
[Italia]
June 3, 1928, Russian citizen Nikolai Reingoldovich Schmidt, then located in Vokhma, becomes the first person in the world to discover the distress signals of the Italian airship 'Italia' (literally, Italy) trapped in the Arctic.
Schmidt was a radio amateur after his studies at the Vladivostok school back in 1920, and from 1924 he was personally engaged in designing different radio receivers, mainly from low anode voltage two-mesh lamps.
The Italia was commanded by Umberto Nobile, an aviator and aeronautical engineer who had already made certain expeditions to the Arctic since 1925 in the airship Nord ("North" in Italian, an airship also designed by Nobile).
The Nord airship expedition had been a more internationalist effort by the European Socialist Union (specially West Germany), but for the Italia expedition, Nobile wanted more credit and therefore wanted to make the Italia expedition a purely Italian enterprise.
This was accepted, albeit with some friction with the Communist Party of Italy (although said friction was probably not a reason or cause for the later Italia airship incident - and later Nobile become part of the Italian parliament in the late 40s, so there was not a big animosity,or so it seems).
On May 24 the airship Italia had reached the North Pole, but just the next day (May 25) they ran into a storm that made them crash about 30 kilometers from the Khodlaya Islands (part of the Russian Empire).
10 of the 16-man crew (among them Nobile) were thrown onto the ice when the airship's gondola broke apart.
*Among these 10 men on the ice we must mention Pomella (who died on impact), Cecioni (who suffered two serious leg fractures), Malmgren (serious shoulder and potentially kidney injury), Zappi (several ribs broken) and Nobile himself (a broken arm, a broken leg, a broken rib, and a head injury).
*The fate of the other 6 crew members remains a mystery to this day. They became trapped in the floating superstructure as it ascended due to the loss of the gondola, and were never seen again.
The crew on the ice managed to salvage several items from the gondola of the crashed blimp: a radio transceiver, a tent (which they later painted red for maximum visibility), boxes of food, and survival gear that engineer Ettore Arduino had managed to throw off to his companions (before being carried to his deaths along with the other five left behind in the airship's floating superstructure).
Fortunately for the remaining crew of the Italia, Schmidt's discovery set in motion a international rescue mission (which was quite popular in the news around the world at that time, since it was the first maritime and aerial polar rescue), in which the states of the European Socialist Union, the Russian Empire (especially the Grand Duchy of Finland), and to some extent Norway and Sweden cooperated (for geographical rather than internationalist-diplomatic reasons).
On July 12, after 48 days on the ice, the last 5 crew members of the airship Italia were saved by the Russian icebreaker Svyatogor (named after a mythical bogatyr from Kievan Rus times).
Days before, some members had been rescued by plane, such as Nobile, who helped coordinate the rescue to a certain extent after having been rescued himself.
In total, half of the crew perished (and it is possible that one of them had been killed-cannibalized), but in any case the name of the airship Italia went around the world.
On July 31, the survivors arrived in Italy with quite a bit of fame, but the most curious thing is that this triggered further cooperation between the Euro-Communists and Russia.
Nobile for example went to Imperial Russia in 1930-1931, to participate in the Russian Empire's aircraft programs and further arctic expeditions such as the Malyghin icebreaker.
A few decades later, communist Italy and Russia would launch the co-production "The Red Tent" (Кра́сная пала́тка/La tenda rossa), a film about this event, with certain artistic freedoms of course.
Which was the first of many film co-productions between Russia and some of the countries of the Euro-Communist space.
Nobile became something of a celebrity and military-politician, although he never stood out too much.
Schmidt worked with the state on communications issues in Central Asia from then on, though there isn't much to write about him after the rescue of the Italia.
Nikolai Schmidt to the left, and Umberto Nobile to the right. Both in the early 1920s.
Poster from the Italian-Russian movie The Red Tent, from the 1950s-1960s.
A few years after this rescue, in the early 1930s, the Russian Empire and the Imperial Federation (including Norway), would claim certain parts of the North Pole as their legitimate territory.
A discussion that has continued to this day, although replacing certain participants or their sides.
This was perhaps an indirect result of the movements of Russian icebreakers or British-Scandinavian vessels in the North Pole after the rescue of the Italia airship.
Although we can also owe it to the nature of the Little and Great Cold War during the 20th century, and the expansionist desires of the largest countries (after all, who is going to tell a hyper-power if it can or cannot have territory at the North Pole...).
More examples of why Russia has important claims on its North, not only in its resources but because of important geo-political matters.
*******
[International]
On April 1, the Cinematograph Films Act comes into force in the Imperial Federation, imposing on all cinemas in the States of the country a quota of national films for showing each week.
At first this quota was 7.5% of exclusively national films throughout the week in each cinema in the State, but in 1931 this quota became 20% each week.
The third world war transformed this quota into a 100% obligation, with more propaganda than economic purposes.
The original purpose of this Act was basically to bring the great film industry of the Imperial Federation under the control of a few companies (who would control the production, distribution and exhibition infrastructure) to create a vertically integraded film industry system in the British film sector.
There was also the aim of creating an artificial market or demand for more national films, inflating the economic results of the Imperial Federation in this sector (more out of pride than money, as it resulted more in a speculative investment bubble...).
April 4, the so-called "Mutiny of the Royal Oak" occurs.
The Royal Oak was a ship of the Royal Navy of the Imperial Federation, captained at that time by Kenneth Gilbert Balmain Dewar, who also served as chief staff officer of Rear-Admiral Bernard St. George Collard.
Collard is an important piece in this event, as he acted in an overbearing and tactless manner on his flagship on numerous occasions, causing friction with Dewar and the crew of the Royal Oak, an issue that led to a drop in morale and relations among the ship's officers. And certain investigations by Collard's superiors (which led to nothing until the mutiny).
Examples of corruption, demagoguery, bribery and lying within the case led to a breaking point. Dewer, who wanted to bring to the forefront the complaints and problems of the men under his command but was hampered by bureaucracy and other problems, soon found himself at the forefront of a 'mutiny' that took control of the ship.
An inadmissible event within the Royal Navy, due to the discredit and danger that 'minor' officers would take control of the assets of the Imperial Federation, in such an open and public rebellion.
The Royal Oak, close the North African coast at the time, tried to get into communication with its superiors through British positions in what is now Morocco, but eventually they found themselves in combat with other Imperial Federation troops ('loyalists', called in the news of the time).
Most of the Royal Oak's crew at the time were jailed, but the officers and 'leaders' of the mutiny were executed, including Dewar (who until World War III had a status of traitor or martyr among the British for the mutiny - most people have forgotten it nowadays, or have more serious views, which do not brand Dewar as a traitor but neither as a revolutionary).
It's hard to really say what Dewar's plan was in all of this, or if there was a plan at all.
At least we can end the story somehow, Collard and the Royal Oak sank in 1937-1938, in the first year of World War III.
April 5, the cruise ship Titanic is hit by a 100-foot high wave that damaged the upper deck and flooded some of the third-class accommodations.
Anyway, one of the largest cruise ships in the world (at the time), arrived safely in New York about 3-4 days later.
April 6, mild disease epidemics in socialist Italy during this time prompt the government to initiate stricter sanitation measures.
During this time, hand shaking was briefly restricted, as it was considered unhygienic and 'excessive'.
Of course, nothing close to the quarantine that Italy would experience almost a century later in 2019.
April 8, one person died and thirty resulted injured in a subway train collision in Queens county (New York, USA).
April 10, Cases of inter-party violence spread throughout Wisconsin, Maine, New York, and Illinois (and among a few other states) as the November 1928 United States elections approach.
April 11, peasants and workers in the Empire of Japan carry out a campaign of systematic violence against landlords, with the government either ignoring or unable to stop this (depending on the region)
April 12, Leftists-Progressives in the United States Senate try to pass an act of relief and economic subsidy to the US agricultural sector and the rural population.
Areas heavily damaged or ignored by the Fordist government, during the last 12 years (even despite the disastrous Dust Bowl that affected certain areas of the country).
While the act narrowly passes, it is ultimately vetoed by President Ford (like previous proposals).
A fair in Milan that was to be inaugurated by President Palmiro Togliatti of Italy is canceled (result of certain events actually unrelated to the brief epidemics in part of the peninsula).
The important thing, however, is that shortly before 10 am (when Togliatti was supposed to start the fair with a short procession through the city), there was an explosion in the place of the (now canceled) fair of the city, that resulted in the death of at least 3-5 people.
Which was probably an attempt on the life of President Togliatti, although of course, it is not known who intended to assassinate the Italian president or why exactly.
April 13, an explosion kills thirty-seven people in a dance hall in West Plains (Missouri, USA).
The cause of the explosion is never determined.
April 18, a 7.0 magnitude earthquake strikes the Plovdiv province in Bulgaria.
This is one of the most damaging earthquakes in the country's recent history, resulting in the death of 127 people (plus severe structural damage in the southern province of the country).
April 22, the Greek city of Corinth (Κόρινθος, actually founded as New Corinth in 1858) is hit by a magnitude 5.25/6.3 earthquake (resulting in the death of 20 people and the destruction of 3000 houses in the region ).
Nuevo Corinto/Corinth actually has a difficult history in the first half of the 20th century. In 1933 it was the scene of a great fire that forced the inhabitants to rebuild the city... and about 4 years later came the Third World War, in which naturally there were battles throughout the city (destroying New Corinth, again).
Nowadays the city is not so bad, especially because of the development of industry and commerce in the southern portions of Greece, regional autonomy and geo-regional integration with its neighbours (material conditions very different from those of the Greece of much of the 20th century, although the natural disasters are still a problem from time to time in the Balkans).
April 23, several Nicaraguan mines (in eastern parts of the Federation of Central America) operated by the United States at the time, fall under the control of the Sandinista rebels. At least for a while.
April 24, Under the heavily Christian government of the State of Canada (then Imperial Federation), women's political rights continue to deteriorate as they are increasingly seen as 'unsuitable' for political-administrative or similar positions.
April 29, the speaker of the French parliament, Maurice Thorez, leads a demonstration of 10,000 workers to celebrate the results of the socialist government, in a rather sporadic event during a communist Sunday.
This personally confirmed to Thorez and some fledgling allies his abilities to attract the masses (which could support Thorez's schemes later on).
May 1, strong cases of violence between Democratic factions in the state of California (United States).
There are also cases of violence between parties of course, but it is curious to mention that there were also examples of violence within the same party.
May 4, a large conference of scientists is held in the Danish city of Copenhagen, at an event sponsored by Denmark and some other nations, in an attempt to find a cure for syphilis.
May 7, in London there are attacks against the Romanian diaspora that exists in the city (partly for racist reasons, and partly because Romania was allied with Russia, and in the context of the Little Cold War/Interwar Period, this had important connotations).
Many are forced to leave (back to Eastern Europe or to the West), and until the post-war period a lot of prejudice against Romanians persists in England.
A notorious episode of these attacks against the Romanians is that when the Romanian royal family (accompanying the Romanovs - their Russian relatives) arrived in the country in 1931, the British state made special emphasis on hiding any significant valuables from the Romanian delegates and royal family.
Due to the idea that the Romanians would steal anything of value.
May 8, as a result of the measures of Pope Pius XI (Pietro La Fontaine of Venice), a much larger influx of non-Italians and non-Europeans is given to the administration of the Catholic Church (continuing progressive trends of his predecessor ).
Although these were important support for progressive factions in the Vatican, few were truly notable for Catholic historiography.
But among those admitted who arrived in 1928 to the administration of Pius XI, and who reach higher and higher, there is a very important one, Juan Domingo Perón.
An Argentine of dubious origins, who would become in 1950 (some 22 years after his first promotions in the Catholic hierarchy), the youngest cardinal in history (at the age of 55).
May 9, British scientist Sir Arthur Keith said in a lecture at the University of Manchester, that no evidence had been found to support the belief that a spirit survives after the brain ceases to function.
Which in the first place means debating whether or not there is a spirit when the brain is alive...
This at the time was even more divisive than in modern times (where the debate is undoubtedly still open, although with relatively more civility), when spiritualism and religiosity were quite stronger, or there were debates around the so-called experiment of the 21 grams of Duncan MacDougall.
May 13, the battle of La Flor begins in the Federation of Central America.
This was a confrontation between the Americans (supported by their regional allies) and a Sandinista rebel force, on a hill north of the La Flor coffee plantation. That resulted in a victory for the Sandinistas on May 14, forcing the Americans and their allies to withdraw from the place (whose roads were controlled by the Sandinista guerrillas of the time).
May 14, an earthquake in Chachapoyas, Peru-Bolivia, results in the death of 25 people.
May 15, perhaps inspired by the beginnings of the construction of the Ford Dam, the US government of the time enacted the Hydraulic Control Act, which allows massive movements by the Army Corps of Engineers in the design and construction of hydraulic projects for various uses in the United States (either made by the state or to support private co-operation).
Originally this Act was intended simply for the Mississippi and its tributaries, or the Sacramento River in California, but was greatly expanded in the post-war period.
Some call the United States of the 20th century a new hydraulic society (similar to the first human civilizations such as Mesopotamia, the Indus Valley or Egypt), for its emphasis on control of its environment and use of water resources throughout the country.
But the consequences of this action and other problems really call into question how much control the United States really has of its environment, and if Americans can control the consequences/pay the price of such human activity in the environment.
Lake Mead in worse state every year, putting at risk not only the biogeographical realm of the area, but also various sectors of society (that is, millions of people) and the US economy..
Cuyahoga River (1967).
May 16, the sale of shares of aircraft companies results in a panic on Wall Street, where 4,820,840 shares change hands quickly.
This is not a cause, but one of the symptoms of the inter-war period (which did not reach Great Depression levels, but had its economic ups and downs before World War III).
May 18, a bomb exploded at the home of the "Electrician" (executioner) of New York State (then Robert G. Elliott, 1874-1939 - He also was the executioner of neighboring states that used the electric chair, like New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Vermont, and Massachusetts).
May 21, a leak of phosgene gas (COCl2) in Hamburg (then East German territory), results in the death of 11 people.
May 23, an explosion occurs at the Italian diplomatic mission in Buenos Aires, Argentina. This resulted in the death of 8 people and 37 injuries.
The Italians blame the explosion on anti-communist extremists, although the case is never fully clarified due to the chaotic nature of Argentina at the time.
May 26, the biggest sports event in the Emirate of Ha'il up to that time takes place, when the first Ha'il Cup (also called until WW3 the Arab Cup, involving the best regional teams in the country) is held in the center of the Arabian peninsula.
*With the rise of other Arab countries, the name Arab Cup was dropped. Although football between Ha'il and other countries in the Arab world obviously exists and is quite popular.
June 2, at the international level, the idea of "automatic copyright" begins to be accepted. Which simply means that all creative work is immediately copyrighted, without the need for further formalities on the part of the creators.
Of course saying that is easier than copyright in the real world. Something similar to a Universal Copyright Convention (UCC) was not a reality, until years after the Third World War, and of course all countries have their reservations regarding this type of agreement.
The line between plagiarism and inspiration is really blurred...
June 3, after the results of the elections on February 28 of the same year, Liao Zhongkai is officially sworn in as active constitutional President of the Republic of China. The preceding months were an unusual period, the result of the factional conflicts inherent in Chinese politics at the time.
(OOC: I put it here because honestly I forgot).
June 4, in the Olmstead v. United States the Supreme Court of the United States, determined that the use of wiretapped private telephone conversations (in this context, obtained by federal agents without judicial approval and subsequently used as evidence), did not constitute a violation of the rights of the accused, provided for in the Fourth or Fifth Amendment.
Decision not completely annulled until now, although it is true that there are different cases and contexts to that of 1928.
June 7, a fire causes an explosion at the "Russian Eagle Café" in Hollywood (California, USA), during a party attended by personalities such as John McCormick, Colleen Moore, Jack Dempsey, Estelle Taylor, Richard Dix and others. .
A Russian man who spoke little English was arrested in 'connection' with the incident.
June 8, a man attempts to assassinate Japanese dictator Wakatsuki Reijirō as he was boarding a train. Fortunately, the attempt is unsuccessful.
June 10, in West Germany, the death of 25 people occurs due to an accident suffered by a train that went from Munich (capital of the Bavarian region of the country) to the city of Cologne.
Uruguay and Argentina tied 1-1 for the gold medal in the Summer Olympics soccer games.
3 days later, on June 13, the match that defines the result is celebrated.
In the second match, Uruguay wins over Argentina (2-1).
*Socialist Italy was third in the Soccer medals at the Summer Olympics.
June 11-12, tobacco price goes up a lot in Greece as a result of its division and socio-political and economic instability (tobacco becomes a luxury good in Greece until the post-war period, when the country's tobacco industry resumes).
June 14, birth of Ernesto Guevara in Santa Fé, Argentina.
June 20, in the Serbian parliament, the deputy Gavrilo Princip (Serb born in Bosnia-Herzegovina, radicalized in Serbia since his participation in World War II) gets into a heated discussion with his peers, which ends in shots in the parliament .
The next day in June 21, three parliamentarians (Gavrilo Princip and 2 other parliamentarians related to the shooting in the parliament) are put on trial, resulting in a 20-year prison sentence for each.
Princip was linked at the time to nationalist and anarchist circles, as opposed to the 'statist' policies of the time.
June 23, birthday honors and celebrations are given for the birthday of Emperor Edward VIII of the Imperial Federation.
A celebration with a certain scandal, since among the palatial celebrations several of the emperor's lovers (married to Queen Margaret, 'former' Italian princess) are present during this date.
Really important for the politicians of the time was not that the emperor had lovers, but that this fact was public...
June 26, Chicago mobster and labor racketeer Timothy D. Murphy was shot dead at his home by gunfire from a passing automobile (the identity of the killer/s is never clarified).
June 28, the Democratic Party and the National Republican Party of the United States swear to uphold the Eighteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which establishes the prohibition of alcohol.
The next day, June 29, there are already some politicians who claim that they simply want to 'modify' it, perhaps retracting it partially or seeking to get votes from some more moderate citizens.