1.
International Women's Day
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International Womens Day is celebrated on March 8 every year. It commemorates the movement for womens rights, the earliest Womens Day observance was held on February 28,1909 in New York and organized by the Socialist Party of America. On March 8,1917, in the capital of the Russian Empire, Petrograd and this was the beginning of the Russian Revolution. Seven days later, the Emperor of Russia Nicholas II abdicated, March 8 was declared a national holiday in Soviet Russia in 1917. The day was celebrated by the socialist movement and communist countries until it was adopted in 1975 by the United Nations. The earliest Womens Day observance was held on February 28,1909 in New York and it was called National womans day. It has been claimed that the event was commemorating a strike, the story that the day originated in a protest by women garment workers in New York on March 8,1857, has been described as a myth. In August 1910, an International Womens Conference was organized to precede the general meeting of the Socialist Second International in Copenhagen, delegates agreed with the idea as a strategy to promote equal rights including suffrage for women. The following year on March 19,1911 IWD was marked for the first time, by over a people in Austria, Denmark, Germany. In the Austro-Hungarian Empire alone, there were 300 demonstrations, in Vienna, women paraded on the Ringstrasse and carried banners honouring the martyrs of the Paris Commune. Women demanded that they be given the right to vote and to public office. They also protested against employment sex discrimination, americans continued to celebrate National Womens Day on the last Sunday in February. In 1913 Russian women observed their first International Womens Day on the last Saturday in February, although there were some women-led strikes, marches, and other protests in the years leading up to 1914, none of them happened on March 8. In 1914 International Womens Day was held on March 8, possibly because that day was a Sunday, the 1914 observance of the Day in Germany was dedicated to womens right to vote, which German women did not win until 1918. In London there was a march from Bow to Trafalgar Square in support of womens suffrage on March 8,1914, sylvia Pankhurst was arrested in front of Charing Cross station on her way to speak in Trafalgar Square. In 1917 demonstrations marking International Womens Day in Petrograd, Russia, Women in Saint Petersburg went on strike that day for Bread and Peace – demanding the end of World War I, an end to Russian food shortages, and the end of czarism. Leon Trotsky wrote,23 February was International Womans Day and meetings, but we did not imagine that this Womens Day would inaugurate the revolution. Revolutionary actions were foreseen but without date, but in morning, despite the orders to the contrary, textile workers left their work in several factories and sent delegates to ask for support of the strike… which led to mass strike
2.
Women's International Democratic Federation
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Womens International Democratic Federation is an international organization working for womens rights. WIDF was founded in Paris in 1945 and its first president was Eugenie Cotton, and its founding members included Tsola Dragoycheva and Ana Pauker. Later leaders included the Australian Freda Brown, the WIDF was one of the largest and probably most influential international womens organizations of the post-1945 era. At various points in its history, the WIDF enjoyed consultative status with the Economic and it was at the initiation of representatives of the WIDF in the Commission on the Status of Women at the United Nations that the UN declared the International Womens Year in 1975. The main areas of concern identified by WIDF were anti-fascism, world peace, child welfare. During the Cold War years, it was described as Communist-leaning, the WIDF published a monthly magazine, Women of the Whole World, in English, French, Spanish, German, and Russian, with occasional issues in Arabic. The secretariat of the current WIDF is based in São Paulo, philippine Congresswoman, Liza Maza, is the regional coordinator of WIDF in Asia. During the Cold War, the Congress of American Women was the organization of the WIDF in the United States. In 1949, members of the Congress of American Women were targeted by the Committee on Un-American Activities of the House of Representatives, in HUACs report, the WIDF was named as a communist front organization, less interested in advanced womens rights than supporting Soviet foreign policy. The anti-communist smear campaign against the WIDF forced the organization to relocate from Paris to East Berlin, despite the Cold War context, the WIDF played an important role in supporting womens anti-colonial struggles in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Signs, Journal of Women in Culture & Society, winter2016, Vol.41 Issue 2, p305-331 Katherine McGregor, “Indonesian Women, The Womens International Democratic Federation and the Struggle for ‘Womens Rights’, 1946–1965. ”Jul2012, Vol.40 Issue 117, p193-208. Celia Donert, “Womens Rights in Cold War Europe, Disentangling Feminist Histories. ”May2013 Supplement, p178-202 Francisca de Haan, “A Brief Survey of Womens Rights from 1945 to 2009. ”2010, Vol.47 Issue 1, p56-59 Full text of the HUAC report on the Congress of American Women, including information about the founding of the WIDF in Paris in 1945
3.
International Socialist Congress, Stuttgart 1907
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The International Socialist Congress, Stuttgart 1907 was the Seventh Congress of the Second International. The gathering was held in Stuttgart, Germany from 18 to 24 August 1907 and was attended by nearly 900 delegates from around the globe, the 1907 Congress of the Second International was convened on Sunday,18 August 1907 at the Liederhalle of Stuttgart, Germany. The Congress was the seventh international conclave held by the Second International and the first since the Amsterdam Congress, which met three years earlier. Sunday night was occupied with a propaganda meeting, held at the Stuttgart Volksfestplatz. For two hours prior to the start of the meeting a mass of humanity streamed into this military drill grounds, the gathering was addressed by a series of leading orators of the international socialist movement and was held without incident. The formal work of the Congress began the morning of 19 August following another significant address, bebels keynote address dealt with a country-by-country report on the progress of the international socialist movement. The actual work of the Congress was conducted in five select committees, Militarism, Colonialism, Woman Suffrage, Immigration, each country had the right to seat four of its members on each committee. This resulted in a set of groups, likened by American delegate A. M. Simons to miniature Congresses, and made for a slow and methodical pace of work, each speech was delivered in three languages, German, French, and English — the original plus two translations. The main agenda item of the 1907 Congress was the construction of a policy to deal with what was seen as the growing menace of militarism. Debate on the matter was held for five days in the commission named to decide the question. This was the most hotly contested topic of discussion, called by one observer a royal battle, in the Militarism Commission there were three competing resolutions presented, including two by the French delegation and one by the German. This tense domestic situation faced by the SPD was accented by the expulsion of British delegate Harry Quelch by German authorities during the course of the Congress. Quelch, editor of the London socialist newspaper Justice, had referred to the 1907 Hague Peace Conference as a thieves supper during the course of debate in Stuttgart. The government had taken offense to the reference and had instructed Quelch to withdraw his statement or exit Germany within 8 hours. Faced with the choice, Quelch refused to accede to government pressure and he returned to London, after protracted debate suitable language was agreed upon for passage of a resolution by the Congress. War was declared to be the end product of the competition of capitalist nations in the world market, bolstered by national prejudices systematically cultivated in the interests of the ruling classes. In the event of imminent war, the class was mildly beseeched to do all they can to prevent the breaking out of this war
4.
Austria
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Austria, officially the Republic of Austria, is a federal republic and a landlocked country of over 8.7 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Hungary and Slovakia to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, the territory of Austria covers 83,879 km2. The terrain is mountainous, lying within the Alps, only 32% of the country is below 500 m. The majority of the population speaks local Bavarian dialects of German as their native language, other local official languages are Hungarian, Burgenland Croatian, and Slovene. The origins of modern-day Austria date back to the time of the Habsburg dynasty, from the time of the Reformation, many northern German princes, resenting the authority of the Emperor, used Protestantism as a flag of rebellion. Following Napoleons defeat, Prussia emerged as Austrias chief competitor for rule of a greater Germany, Austrias defeat by Prussia at the Battle of Königgrätz, during the Austro-Prussian War of 1866, cleared the way for Prussia to assert control over the rest of Germany. In 1867, the empire was reformed into Austria-Hungary, Austria was thus the first to go to war in the July Crisis, which would ultimately escalate into World War I. The First Austrian Republic was established in 1919, in 1938 Nazi Germany annexed Austria in the Anschluss. This lasted until the end of World War II in 1945, after which Germany was occupied by the Allies, in 1955, the Austrian State Treaty re-established Austria as a sovereign state, ending the occupation. In the same year, the Austrian Parliament created the Declaration of Neutrality which declared that the Second Austrian Republic would become permanently neutral, today, Austria is a parliamentary representative democracy comprising nine federal states. The capital and largest city, with a population exceeding 1.7 million, is Vienna, other major urban areas of Austria include Graz, Linz, Salzburg and Innsbruck. Austria is one of the richest countries in the world, with a nominal per capita GDP of $43,724, the country has developed a high standard of living and in 2014 was ranked 21st in the world for its Human Development Index. Austria has been a member of the United Nations since 1955, joined the European Union in 1995, Austria also signed the Schengen Agreement in 1995, and adopted the euro currency in 1999. The German name for Austria, Österreich, meant eastern realm in Old High German, and is cognate with the word Ostarrîchi and this word is probably a translation of Medieval Latin Marchia orientalis into a local dialect. Austria was a prefecture of Bavaria created in 976, the word Austria is a Latinisation of the German name and was first recorded in the 12th century. Accordingly, Norig would essentially mean the same as Ostarrîchi and Österreich, the Celtic name was eventually Latinised to Noricum after the Romans conquered the area that encloses most of modern-day Austria, around 15 BC. Noricum later became a Roman province in the mid-first century AD, heers hypothesis is not accepted by linguists. Settled in ancient times, the Central European land that is now Austria was occupied in pre-Roman times by various Celtic tribes, the Celtic kingdom of Noricum was later claimed by the Roman Empire and made a province
5.
Amsterdam
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Amsterdam is the capital and most populous municipality of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Its status as the capital is mandated by the Constitution of the Netherlands, although it is not the seat of the government, which is The Hague. Amsterdam has a population of 851,373 within the city proper,1,351,587 in the urban area, the city is located in the province of North Holland in the west of the country. The metropolitan area comprises much of the part of the Randstad, one of the larger conurbations in Europe. Amsterdams name derives from Amstelredamme, indicative of the citys origin around a dam in the river Amstel, during that time, the city was the leading centre for finance and diamonds. In the 19th and 20th centuries the city expanded, and many new neighborhoods and suburbs were planned, the 17th-century canals of Amsterdam and the 19–20th century Defence Line of Amsterdam are on the UNESCO World Heritage List. As the commercial capital of the Netherlands and one of the top financial centres in Europe, Amsterdam is considered a world city by the Globalization. The city is also the capital of the Netherlands. Many large Dutch institutions have their headquarters there, and seven of the worlds 500 largest companies, including Philips and ING, are based in the city. In 2012, Amsterdam was ranked the second best city to live in by the Economist Intelligence Unit and 12th globally on quality of living for environment, the city was ranked 3rd in innovation by Australian innovation agency 2thinknow in their Innovation Cities Index 2009. The Amsterdam seaport to this day remains the second in the country, famous Amsterdam residents include the diarist Anne Frank, artists Rembrandt van Rijn and Vincent van Gogh, and philosopher Baruch Spinoza. The Amsterdam Stock Exchange, the oldest stock exchange in the world, is located in the city center. After the floods of 1170 and 1173, locals near the river Amstel built a bridge over the river, the earliest recorded use of that name is in a document dated October 27,1275, which exempted inhabitants of the village from paying bridge tolls to Count Floris V. This allowed the inhabitants of the village of Aemstelredamme to travel freely through the County of Holland, paying no tolls at bridges, locks, the certificate describes the inhabitants as homines manentes apud Amestelledamme. By 1327, the name had developed into Aemsterdam, Amsterdam is much younger than Dutch cities such as Nijmegen, Rotterdam, and Utrecht. In October 2008, historical geographer Chris de Bont suggested that the land around Amsterdam was being reclaimed as early as the late 10th century. This does not necessarily mean there was already a settlement then, since reclamation of land may not have been for farming—it may have been for peat. Amsterdam was granted city rights in either 1300 or 1306, from the 14th century on, Amsterdam flourished, largely from trade with the Hanseatic League
6.
Switzerland
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Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a federal republic in Europe. It consists of 26 cantons, and the city of Bern is the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in western-Central Europe, and is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland is a country geographically divided between the Alps, the Swiss Plateau and the Jura, spanning an area of 41,285 km2. The establishment of the Old Swiss Confederacy dates to the medieval period, resulting from a series of military successes against Austria. Swiss independence from the Holy Roman Empire was formally recognized in the Peace of Westphalia in 1648. The country has a history of armed neutrality going back to the Reformation, it has not been in a state of war internationally since 1815, nevertheless, it pursues an active foreign policy and is frequently involved in peace-building processes around the world. In addition to being the birthplace of the Red Cross, Switzerland is home to international organisations. On the European level, it is a member of the European Free Trade Association. However, it participates in the Schengen Area and the European Single Market through bilateral treaties, spanning the intersection of Germanic and Romance Europe, Switzerland comprises four main linguistic and cultural regions, German, French, Italian and Romansh. Due to its diversity, Switzerland is known by a variety of native names, Schweiz, Suisse, Svizzera. On coins and stamps, Latin is used instead of the four living languages, Switzerland is one of the most developed countries in the world, with the highest nominal wealth per adult and the eighth-highest per capita gross domestic product according to the IMF. Zürich and Geneva have each been ranked among the top cities in the world in terms of quality of life, with the former ranked second globally, according to Mercer. The English name Switzerland is a compound containing Switzer, a term for the Swiss. The English adjective Swiss is a loan from French Suisse, also in use since the 16th century. The name Switzer is from the Alemannic Schwiizer, in origin an inhabitant of Schwyz and its associated territory, the Swiss began to adopt the name for themselves after the Swabian War of 1499, used alongside the term for Confederates, Eidgenossen, used since the 14th century. The data code for Switzerland, CH, is derived from Latin Confoederatio Helvetica. The toponym Schwyz itself was first attested in 972, as Old High German Suittes, ultimately related to swedan ‘to burn’
7.
Independent Labour Party
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The Independent Labour Party was a socialist political party in Britain established in 1893, in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. The ILP was affiliated to the Labour Party from 1906 to 1932, the organisations three parliamentary representatives defected to the Labour Party in 1947 and the organisation rejoined the Labour Party as Independent Labour Publications in 1975. As the 19th century came to a close, working-class representation in political office became a concern for many Britons. Many who sought the election of working men and their advocates to the Parliament of the United Kingdom saw the Liberal Party as the vehicle for achieving this aim. As early as 1869 a Labour Representation League had been established to register, many trade unions themselves became concerned with gaining parliamentary representation to advance their legislative aims. From the 1870s a series of working-class candidates financially supported by unions were accepted and supported by the Liberal Party. The federation of British unions, the Trades Union Congress, formed its own electoral committee in 1886 to further advance its electoral goals, within two years of its foundation in 1884 the gradualist Fabian Society officially committed itself to a policy of permeation of the Liberal Party. A number of so-called Lib-Lab candidates were subsequently elected Members of Parliament by this alliance of trade unions, the idea of working with the middle-class Liberal Party to achieve working-class representation in parliament was not universally accepted, however. The orthodox British Marxists established their own party, the Social Democratic Federation in 1881, working with SDF members such as Henry Hyde Champion and Tom Mann he was instrumental in the foundation of the Scottish Labour Party in 1888. In 1890 the United States imposed a tariff on foreign cloth which led to a cut in wages throughout the British textile industry. This initiative was replicated by others in Colne Valley, Slaithwaite, such developments showed that working-class support for separation from the Liberal Party was growing in strength. Further arguments for the formation of a new party were to be found in Robert Blatchfords newspaper The Clarion, founded in 1891, the latter collected some 3500 names of those in favour of creating a party of labour independent from the existing political organisations. Hardie owed nothing to the Liberal Party for his election, at a TUC meeting in September 1892 a call was issued for a meeting of advocates of independent labour organisation. An arrangements committee was established and a called for the following January. This conference was chaired by William Henry Drew and was held in Bradford 14–16 January 1893 and it proved to be the foundation conference of the Independent Labour Party and MP Keir Hardie was elected its first chairman. German Socialist leader Edward Bernstein was briefly permitted to address the gathering to pass along the best wishes for success from the Social Democratic Party of Germany, the conference also established the basic organisational structure of the new party. Annual Conferences, composed of delegates from each unit of the organisation, were declared the supreme. A Secretary was to be elected, to serve under the control of a central body known as the National Administrative Committee
8.
Great Britain
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Great Britain, also known as Britain, is a large island in the north Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of 209,331 km2, Great Britain is the largest European island, in 2011 the island had a population of about 61 million people, making it the worlds third-most populous island after Java in Indonesia and Honshu in Japan. The island of Ireland is situated to the west of it, the island is dominated by a maritime climate with quite narrow temperature differences between seasons. Politically, the island is part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, most of England, Scotland, and Wales are on the island. The term Great Britain often extends to surrounding islands that form part of England, Scotland, and Wales. A single Kingdom of Great Britain resulted from the union of the Kingdom of England, the archipelago has been referred to by a single name for over 2000 years, the term British Isles derives from terms used by classical geographers to describe this island group. By 50 BC Greek geographers were using equivalents of Prettanikē as a name for the British Isles. However, with the Roman conquest of Britain the Latin term Britannia was used for the island of Great Britain, the oldest mention of terms related to Great Britain was by Aristotle, or possibly by Pseudo-Aristotle, in his text On the Universe, Vol. III. To quote his works, There are two large islands in it, called the British Isles, Albion and Ierne. The name Britain descends from the Latin name for Britain, Britannia or Brittānia, Old French Bretaigne and Middle English Bretayne, Breteyne. The French form replaced the Old English Breoton, Breoten, Bryten, Breten, Britannia was used by the Romans from the 1st century BC for the British Isles taken together. It is derived from the writings of the Pytheas around 320 BC. Marcian of Heraclea, in his Periplus maris exteri, described the group as αἱ Πρεττανικαὶ νῆσοι. The peoples of these islands of Prettanike were called the Πρεττανοί, Priteni is the source of the Welsh language term Prydain, Britain, which has the same source as the Goidelic term Cruithne used to refer to the early Brythonic-speaking inhabitants of Ireland. The latter were later called Picts or Caledonians by the Romans, the Greco-Egyptian scientist Ptolemy referred to the larger island as great Britain and to Ireland as little Britain in his work Almagest. The name Albion appears to have out of use sometime after the Roman conquest of Britain. After the Anglo-Saxon period, Britain was used as a term only. It was used again in 1604, when King James VI and I styled himself King of Great Brittaine, France, Great Britain refers geographically to the island of Great Britain, politically to England, Scotland and Wales in combination
