This Day in World History – January 1

Jan 01, 2023 News

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Amazing Grace” is first used to accompany a sermon led by writer John Newton

Kaieteur News – “Amazing Grace” is a Christian hymn published in 1779 with words written in 1772 by English Anglican clergyman and poet, John Newton (1725–1807). It is an immensely popular hymn used for both religious and secular purposes.

Newton wrote the words from personal experience; he grew up without any particular religious conviction, but his life’s path was formed by a variety of twists and coincidences that were often put into motion by others’ reactions to what they took as his recalcitrant insubordination. He was pressed (navally conscripted) into service with the Royal Navy, and after leaving the service, he became involved in the Atlantic slave trade. In 1748, a violent storm battered his vessel off the coast of County Donegal, Ireland, so severely, that he called out to God for mercy. While this moment marked his spiritual conversion, he continued slave trading until 1754 or 1755, when he ended his seafaring altogether. Newton began studying Christian theology and later became an abolitionist.

Ordained in the Church of England in 1764, Newton became the curate of Olney, Buckinghamshire, where he began to write hymns with poet William Cowper. “Amazing Grace” was written to illustrate a sermon on New Year’s Day of 1773. It is unknown if there was any music accompanying the verses; it may have been chanted by the congregation. It debuted in print in 1779 in Newton’s and Cowper’s Olney Hymns but settled into relative obscurity in England. In the United States, “Amazing Grace” became a popular song used by Baptist and Methodist preachers as part of their evangelizing, especially in the American South, during the Second Great Awakening of the early 19th century. It has been associated with more than 20 melodies. In 1835, American composer William Walker set it to the tune known as “New Britain” in a shape note format; this is the version most frequently sung today. (Wikipedia)

Haiti becomes first black-majority republic and second independent country in North America

The Haitian Revolution was a successful insurrection by self-liberated slaves against French colonial rule in Saint-Domingue, now the sovereign state of Haiti. The revolt began on 22 August 1791 and ended in 1804 with the former colony’s independence.

It involved black, biracial, French, Spanish, British, and Polish participants—with the ex-slave Toussaint Louverture emerging as Haiti’s most prominent general. The revolution was the only slave uprising that led to the founding of a state which was both free from slavery and ruled by non-whites and former captives. It is now widely seen as a defining moment in the history of the Atlantic World.

The revolution’s effects on the institution of slavery were felt throughout the Americas. The end of French rule and the abolition of slavery in the former colony were followed by a successful defense of the freedoms the former slaves had won and with the collaboration of already free people of color, and their independence from white Europeans. The revolution represented the largest slave uprising since Spartacus’ unsuccessful revolt against the Roman Republic nearly 1,900 years earlier and challenged long-held European beliefs about alleged black inferiority and about slaves’ ability to achieve and maintain their own freedom. The rebels’ organizational capacity and tenacity under pressure inspired stories that shocked and frightened slave owners in the hemisphere. At the end of the revolution, Haiti became the first black-majority republic and second independent country in North America after the United States. (Wikipedia)

The United States bans the importation of slaves

At the Constitutional Convention in 1787, delegates fiercely debated the issue of slavery.

They ultimately agreed that the United States would potentially cease importation of slaves in 1808. An act of Congress passed in 1800 made it illegal for Americans to engage in the slave trade between nations, and gave U.S. authorities the right to seize slave ships which were caught transporting slaves and confiscate their cargo. The “Act Prohibiting the Importation of Slaves” took effect in 1808. However, a domestic or “coastwise” trade in slaves persisted between ports within the United States, as demonstrated by slave manifests and court records. (US National Archives)

Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom is proclaimed Empress of India

While Queen Victoria was the Queen of the United Kingdom, she also held the additional title of (the first) Empress of India. She was proclaimed as Empress on 1 January 1877 and held the title until her death on 22 January 1901. In total, she served as India’s empress for 24 years, eight months, and three weeks. The idea of the Queen becoming Empress of India had been discussed for decades before it was instituted, first being brought up in 1843.  Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar had been deposed in 1857 at which point control of British India was transferred to the Crown from the East India Company (EIC). Victoria was offered the position of empress after the EIC was dissolved; she accepted it on 1 May 1876 with it being officially proclaimed in India on 1 January 1877. Obtaining the title of Empress of India, came 15 years after her beloved husband, Prince Albert had died. As such, Victoria had no consort while reigning over India.

Victoria did not have much power over the Indian government, serving more as a figurehead. Instead, the Governor General stood in her stead in India where he presided over legislative branches at the federal and provincial levels. One significant difference in Victoria’s reign over India from the United Kingdom was religion.

Whereas in the United Kingdom, the Church of England reigned supreme with the Queen as the head of the church, in India this did not apply. Most Indians followed the Hindu religion, and this eliminated the power of the Church of England in the country. Victoria was adamant that freedom of religion be observed in the country having respect for Indians and their various beliefs. The lack of religious freedom threatened to undermine the “native religions and customs,” she said.

Empress Victoria threatened to abdicate several times as she wanted the UK (under the leadership of Conservative Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli) to fight against Russia in the Russo-Turkish War. The threats were just that, threats, as Victoria never made good on her ultimatum.

While as Queen of the United Kingdom, she was referred to as Her Majesty, as Empress of India, she was called Her Imperial Majesty. And subsequent emperors were known as His Imperial Majesty until 22 June 1948 when King George VI relinquished the title after the Second World War. India had gained its independence a year earlier.

The SPT Airboat Line becomes the world’s first scheduled airline to use a winged aircraft

On January 1, 1914, the St. Petersburg-Tampa Airboat Line was born -the world’s first scheduled airline using winged aircraft. A plaque on the entrance to St. Petersburg International Airport proclaims: ‘The Birthplace of Scheduled Air Transportation.’ Traveling in that first passenger airplane made of wood, fabric and wire was a far cry from flying in today’s comfortable, air-conditioned airliner. From all accounts, however, those first airline flights were not so bad, provided you did not mind sitting out in the breeze with water spraying in your face. Passengers sat on a wooden seat in the hull of a two-place seaplane that did not have a windshield and rarely flew more than five feet above the water. That is the way it was on that momentous day in sunny Florida only a decade after Orville and Wilbur Wright made their historic first flights at Kitty Hawk, N.C. The pilot on that historic January 1914 flight was Antony H. Jannus, a Benoist test pilot and instructor who had carried Captain Albert Berry. The pilot and two passengers made the 22-minute flight.

The World Trade Organization comes into being

The World Trade Organization (WTO) is an intergovernmental organization that regulates and facilitates international trade. With effective cooperation in the United Nations System, governments use the organization to establish, revise, and enforce the rules that govern international trade. It officially commenced operations on 1 January 1995, pursuant to the 1994 Marrakesh Agreement, thus replacing the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) that had been established in 1948. The WTO is the world’s largest international economic organization, with 164 member states representing over 98% of global trade and global GDP.

 

 

 

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