The Spanish explorer Christopher Columbus discovered a land in the year 1492, though the name "America" came from Italian explorer Amerigo Vespucci. Columbus (the name taken by multiple cities in US including the one where I live) died a frustrated man. Because the legendary Spanish explorer was never able to discover his dreamland called India - considered the land of opportunity those days. A frustrated man, he had to settle for a group of Islands which he aptly named as West Indies (India of the West) when his ship "Santa Maria" sailed far west in the Atlantic Ocean instead of East where India was located. The name "Indies" was the consolation prize for his failure to discover the El Dorado of the time - the land of milk and honey called India.
Wish Columbus had lived half a century longer and found solace in the readings of the famous French Seer & Clairvoyant Nostradamus - the man credited for seeing the future centuries ahead of time, which includes correctly predicting the arrival of Napoleon and Hitler as well as the two World Wars accompanying these two anti-Christs, dwarfish looking men trying to create a tall world order. Around the year 1550 Nostradamus predicted - "The New World", as America was called then, will rise to its zenith of power close at the turn of millennium. He was half right. United States of America went a step further and become a Superpower at turn of the millennium.
A new star was born little more than a century after Nostradamus's famous prediction. Western settlers adventured their way to North America which those days had more Bisons than humans. The Pioneers (explorers in the form of initial settlers who moved further west and south) would expand the American horizon - from its initial 13 states to 50, each star representing one state, combining to form the United States of America. The last ones acquirer were Alaska - a lucky buy at a darn cheap price from Russia and the Island of Hawaii, a vacationer's paradise. When Alaska was sold by Russia for a darn cheap price, American press howled - "Russia sold a sucked orange to us". US is now sucking oil and gas from the mineral rich state, not to mention the revenue from tourism in Alaska.
America became independent on 4th of July, 1776, commemorating "Declaration Of Independence", after defeating the undefeatable English, arguably the only nation ever in history to have convincingly defeated the British and drive them out of their land. (Although America retained the English language, Foot, Pound Unit of measurement and modified the English game of Cricket to their own Baseball). A defeated Lord Cornwallis had to beat retreat and accept defeat. Cornwallis who was driven out of America went later to India to establish the British empire over there.
America is still a baby, considering only 247 years old compared to the most civilizations of the world, some of whom are at least 10 times older. But the baby has taken some giant steps in a short span of time, which no one has ever done in history of mankind. A land of immigrants, it has come a long way since the days of the Mayflower (early immigrants). Isolated from rest of the world, America coped well with changing times - began as an agrarian society, followed by industrial revolution which made it self sufficient, whereas trading made it rich.
Soon it surpassed Europe in opulence. By First World War, 90% of American households had access to car, 4 times more phones per person than British, 6 times more than Germans the other two nations considered compatible to US at the time. Except a blip post during the 1929 financial crisis which exposed the ugly underbelly of American Capitalism, its opulence prevailed. The reason - America's uncanny ability to continually innovate, invent and improvise. From Electricity, Air Conditioning, Airplanes to this platform called Facebook and its host internet, the iWhatever devices we use to connect and communicate across globe as well as use these American products to be critical of the United States are all America's contribution to the rest of the world.
America is known for it resilience. Those who built America from the scratch were adventurous, because they arrived at a time when they left home knowing that they aren't going to come back. They also didn't know what's in store for them at their new place of arrival. They also knew that they can't communicate to their folks back home in an age sans telephone and internet. Patriotism is ingrained in this nation, vindicated by still able to stitch the country together post Civil war which lasted from 1861-1865.
Time and again America has proved wrong its detractors who predicted its early demise. The end of America as they see is both premature as well as preposterous. The nation will thrive as long as it retains the edge in technology and juggernauts ahead on its wheels of unbridled innovation and free market. Happy birthday to the United States of America. WISH ALL A HAPPY 4TH OF JULY. Enjoy the fireworks and stay safe.
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