Edo Castle was a large castle built by the Tokugawa family in 17th-century Japan. It served as their seat of government for more than 260 years. After the Meiji Restoration of 1868, Edo became the capital of Japan and was renamed Tokyo. Edo Castle became the residence of the imperial family and was renamed the Imperial Palace.
Background
At the end of the 15th century, the central government in Japan collapsed and the country descended into civil war. The period from 1467 until 1573 is referred to as the Sengoku or Warring States period. During the Sengoku period, rival warlords, called sengoku daimyo by modern historians, competed for power and land. In the 1560s, one of these daimyo called Oda Nobunaga (1534-1582), managed to reunify large parts of Japan. In 1582, however, he was assassinated, and the task of reunifying the rest of Japan fell to his successor, Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1537-1598).
On this day, 20 November 1969, a group of 78 Native Americans occupied Alcatraz Island demanding that it be returned to them, as well as demanding the establishment of a Native American university.
In their declaration the occupiers noted that Alcatraz was “more than suitable for an Indian reservation, as determined by the white man’s own standards”, as it had no “adequate means of transportation… no fresh running water, inadequate sanitation facilities… no oil or mineral rights… no health-care facilities… no educational facilities” and “The population has always been held as prisoners and kept dependent upon others.”
The occupiers dubbed themselves Indians of All Tribes, elected a council, set up a school and distributed tasks amongst the whole group, voting on all major decisions. Holding out until June 1971, authorities eventually evicted the protesters without agreeing to any of their demands. However, the action was reported around the world, and helped spark the growth of the modern Native American movement.
Learn more about Indigenous resistance in the Americas in this book: https://shop.workingclasshistory.com/products/500-years-of-indigenous-resistance-gord-hillhttps://www.facebook.com/workingclasshistory/photos/a.296224173896073/2140335012818304/?type=3
“There are only two kinds of people who are really fascinating — people who know absolutely everything, and people who know absolutely nothing.”
— Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray (via philosophybits)
