Fashion existed since the start of human history. Archaeologists found handmade sewing needles that have been dated to about 40,000 years ago. There were needles discovered from the Soltrean culture which existed in France from 19,000 to 15,000 B.C. There was evidence of dyed flax fibers from ca. 36,000 B.C. which was found in a prehistoric cave in the Republic of Georgia. Weaving was found in Dolni Vstonice in the Czech Republic in the form of impressions of textiles and basketry plus nets on pieces of clay in ca. 27,000 B.C. We know about the famous Venus figurines in ca. 25,000 B.C. in Western Europe. Early humans used clothes to be warm and dry. Some might have used them for spiritual or celebration purposes too. Humans, Neanderthals, and Cro-Mangnon people used clothing during ancient times. Clothing and equipment have been used with hides, bones, antlers, and feathers from many animal species for design and aesthetic purposes. Some people wore clothes with goat skin, bear hide, and other forms of material. One of the earliest civilizations of the Neolithic Age was the Sumerian civilization with tons of fashion culture. Sumerian people used dye textiles. Men and women wore skirts or tunics called Kaunakes. The length of the kaunake depends on the hierarchical rank in their society. The shorter the length of the skirt, the lower an individual was in society. The longer the length of the skirt, the higher an individual was in society. There were slaves, soldiers, servants, and royalty plus priests. In ancient Sumeria, women wore dresses with longer fabrics too. There was gold jewelry too with carnelian, a reddish-orange gemstone. The wheel, various systems of measurement, the cuneiform, cities, plumbing, and other inventions were in existence in ancient Sumeria.
In ancient Egypt, there were many textile materials with animal-based fabrics. Many of the priests had high-level products. The upper class had finer linens shown in statues and paintings. The cheaper and thicker linen was used by the lower class and the working class of ancient Egypt. Ancient Egyptians wore tunics and capes. Skirts were worn by women. Sandals had leather for shoes. Ancient Egypt had perfumes, makeup, and other forms of complex hygiene care. Some people shaved their heads and wore wigs. Some children wore one loc of hair on the right side of their head. Many ancient Egyptians had metal discs, ornaments, and body decorations plus piercings. Gold from Nubia was used in jewelry along with emeralds, pearls, and lapis lazuili. In ancient Minoan culture, the loincloth was worn by men and women. Dresses were long during that time. Many Minoan men wore their hair long with braids and knots. In ancient Israel, ancient Israelites wore clothing from the skins of animals. Some priests wore tassels or fringes. Scandals were usually made up of wood and leather straps not being worn in the house or in the sanctuary. Some women wore head coverings. In ancient Greece, they wore chiton, peplos, himation, and clamys. Many of them used different fabrics. The women were wearing peplos. Ancient Roman fashion is well known via art, literature, and archaeology. We know that the dress customs of ancient Etruscan people predate the classical Roman civilization. The Etruscan culture existed by 1200 B.C. in Italy. Many Romans wore toga and tunics. Many women wore dresses, bikinis, and other clothing. The bridal veil and the wedding ring existed in ancient Roman wedding attire. In ancient India, people wore sari, turbans, and dhoti. Cotton was used in the Harappan Era as early as 2,500 B.C. The Harappan civilization lasted from ca. 3300 B.C. to 1300 B.C. The Vedic period (from ca. 1750 - 500 B.C.) had garments for men and women having a single cloth wrapped around the body and over the shoulder. There were linen and cotton used in the Maurya Empire (322 - 185 B.C.).
Learning about architecture does relate to understanding about the institutions of architecture worldwide. There are currently 83,000 members of the American Institute of Architects (AIA). The National Council of Architectural Registration Boards (NCARB) estimated that the number of architects licensed in America is at 105,847. Architecture firms employ about 158,000 people in the United States according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Post Modern architecture is so common in our time with architects like Cesar Pelli, William Pedersen, Denise Scott Brown, Eolo Maia, Charles Moore, John C. Portman Jr., and other human beings. One of the great architectural comebacks in history is the Notre Dame de Paris. It is found in the Seine River on the island in Paris called Ile de la Cite. The cathedral had embraced French Gothic architecture. Notre Dame had different styles than the usually Romanesque style. Notre Dame had the rib vault, flying buttress, the use of large, colorful windows, large church bells, and its sculptural decoration. The cornerstone was laid in 1163. It was completed in 1345. There was a huge fire at Notre-Dame on April 15, 2019, during the midst of a renovation and restoration project. It has been rebuilt by November 2020. The cathedral is expected to reopen on December 8, 2024, which was confirmed by French President Macron. Architectural resiliency is firmly real.
By 1786, Lord Dorchester came to Quebec City as Governor in Chief of British North America. He wanted to deal with the Loyalists after the U.S. War of Independence. At first, Dorchester suggested opening the new Canada West as districts under the Quebec government, but the British Government made known its intention to split the Province of Quebec into Upper and Lower Canada. Dorchester began organizing for the new province of Upper Canada, including a capital. Dorchester's first choice was Kingston but was aware of the number of Loyalists in the Bay of Quinte and Niagara areas and chose instead the location north of the Bay of Toronto, midway between the settlements and 30 miles (48 km) from the US. Dorchester purchased more than 250,000 acres of land from the Mississauguas in 1787 under the Royal Proclamation of 1763. After surveying the land, the Mississaugas objected to the purchase, and it was declared invalid. A revision to the Toronto Purchase was made in 1805, but this agreement too fell into dispute and was only eventually settled two centuries later in 2010 for CA$145 million. A townsite was surveyed in 1788 by Captain Gother Mann, and laid out in a gridiron, with government and military buildings around a central square. The purchase did not include the Rouge River valley, yet to be settled. More Loyalists came into the western part of Quebec, including the Toronto area. The Constitutional Act of 1791 was passed to deal with the issues by splitting the colony into two. The eastern portion of Quebec became the Province of Lower Canada, and the western portion of Quebec (including Toronto) became the Province of Upper Canada. A provisional Upper Canada government was set up in Newark (today's Niagara-on-the-Lake) in 1791.
Back then, Toronto was known as the Town of York from 1793 to 1834. In May 1793, Lieutenant-Colonel John Graves Simcoe, the first lieutenant-governor of the newly organized province of Upper Canada, visited Toronto for the first time. Simcoe was unhappy with the then-capital of Upper Canada Newark, and proposed moving it to the site of present-day London, Ontario but was dissuaded by the difficulty of building a road to the location. Rejecting Kingston, the choice of British Governor Lord Dorchester, the Toronto purchase site was then chosen by Simcoe on July 29, 1793, as the temporary capital of Upper Canada. Fort York had a natural harbor being formed in 1793. The area had 10 square blocks, closer to the eastern end of the harbor. This is near Parliament Street. The ten blocks are known as the Old Town neighborhood today. During Simcoe's time in Toronto, two main roads were laid out in the city: Dundas Street, named after Henry Dundas, and Yonge Street, named after Sir George Yonge, the British Secretary of State for War. The Queen's Rangers and conscripted German settlers hacked out the wagon path of Yonge Street as far north as the Holland River. Government buildings were erected near Parliament and Front Street. Simcoe had hoped to found a university in York during his time but was successful in establishing law courts in York. There was slavery in Toronto back then. Simcoe wanted a gradual abolition of slavery, passing legislation banning any further slaves, and the children of slaves would be freed when they reached their 25th birthday. Due to ill health, Simcoe returned to England in July 1796 on leave but did not return and he gave up his position in 1799. By this time, York was estimated to have a population of 240 persons.
Institutions grew in Toronto from the St. James Cathedral and St. Lawrence Market. There was the War of 1812 when American forces led by Zebulon Pike attacked York. After the British-Native force failed to prevent the American landings (in present-day Parkdale), British forces ordered a withdrawal, realizing that defense was impossible. Upon their departure, British forces rigged Fort York's gunpowder magazine to explode. The blast, powerful enough to perforate eardrums and hemorrhage the lungs of some American soldiers massed outside the Fort was said to have rattled windows 50 kilometers across the lake in Niagara. It exploded as the American forces were about to enter the fort, killing Pike and a contingent of his men. In the following days, American forces sacked the town and burned a number of properties including the Parliament Buildings. The town remained occupied until May 8, when American forces departed the settlement. Toronto was attacked on April 27, 1813. American forces attacked Canada again during the War of 1812 too. Toronto was attacked three times. After the Napoleonic Wars, York experienced an influx of poor immigrants from the United Kingdom, which was in a depression. The area to the northeast of St. James' became a slum. York had a red-light district on Lombard Street, and numerous taverns sprang up around St. Lawrence Market. The modern-day city of Toronto was incorporated on March 6, 1834. Citizens were on public meetings at Mark Square on July 29, 1834. Many revolutionaries (led by MacKenzie) had an insurrection in 1837 being suppressed by British authorities and Canadian volunteer units at Montgomery's Tavern on Yonge Street. In 1841, the first gas streetlamps appeared in Toronto. Over 100 were installed that year, in time for author Charles Dickens' visit in May 1842. Dickens described Toronto as "full of life, motion, business and improvement. The streets are well-paved and lighted with gas." Dickens was on a North American tour. There were tensions among political parties like the Tories and religions (between Catholics and Protestants that would end by the 20th century).
Toronto's population grew rapidly in the late 19th century, increasing from 30,000 in 1851 to 56,000 in 1871, 86,400 in 1881, and 181,000 in 1891. The total urbanized population was not counted as it is today to include the greater area, those just outside the city limits made for a significantly higher population. The 1891 figure also included population counted after recent annexations of many smaller, adjacent towns such as Parkdale, Brockton Village, West Toronto, East Toronto, and others. Immigration, high birth rates, and influx from the surrounding rural population accounted for much of this growth, although immigration had slowed substantially by the 1880s if compared to the generation prior. Rail lines came to the waterfront harbor area in the 1850s. A planned "Esplanade" land-fill project to create a promenade along the harbor, instead became a new right-of-way for the rail lines, which extended to new wharves on the harbor. Three railway companies-built lines to Toronto: the Grand Trunk Railway, (GTR) the Great Western Railway, and the Northern Railway of Canada. The GTR built the first Union Station in 1858 in the downtown area. The advent of the railway dramatically increased the numbers of immigrants arriving and commerce, as did the Lake Ontario steamers and schooners entering the port. The railway lands would dominate the central waterfront for the next 100 years. In 1873, GTR built a second Union Station at the same location. Toronto further grew with a streetcar network, railways, sewers being formed, medical schools, the growth of the police system, and the forming of Toronto Fire Services in 1874. Irish immigrants came to Toronto after the Great Irish Famine (1845-1849). German and French immigrants came into Toronto too along with Jewish people, Italians, Chinese people, and immigrants from Eastern Europe.
There are many unsung African heroes in the world in our time. Denis Mukwege is a Congolese Pentecostal pastor and Congolese gynecologist. She helped to treat women who have been raped by armed rebels. In 2018, Mukwege and Iraqi Yazidi human rights activist Nadia Murad were joined awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for "their efforts to end the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war and armed conflict." He was born in March 1, 1955. He earned a MD in the University of Burundi, an MA in the University of Angers, and a PhD from Universite libre de Bruxelles. He earned many awards like the Four Freedoms Award, the Civil Courage Prize, the Human Rights First Award, and the Legion of Honor. He treated thousands of women who were victims of rape since the Second Congo War. He survived an assassination attempt and continues to promote justice for human beings. Winnie Byanyima is a woman who is a Ugandan aeronautical engineer, politician, human rights activist, feminist, and diplomat.
By Timothy
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