A man sitting on a red curved sofa within a concrete balcony, showcasing the brutalist architecture of the Westin Bonaventure Hotel in Los Angeles, designed by John Portman.
This is turning into a fascinating anthropological experiment illustrating cross-cultural miscommunication:
1) go abroad
2) behave exactly like at home.
3) get different response than you expect
4) conclude foreigners are "impolite shitbags" or something
@Clavicular0 You’re a nobody in Europe. People like you are viewed as freaks.
Go to London, Amsterdam, Brussels, Berlin, Naples and you’ll get treated the exact same way.
You’re not an Alpha so you don’t belong in Europe.
This is why I don’t buy the argument that India is currently where China was in 2001.
In terms of orderliness and cleanliness, China was far ahead already.
بفضل الله، سنواصل كفاحنا من أجل الحق. وسنعود قريبًا لتحرير لندن من طغيان برنهام
فليبارك الله جميع المناضلين من أجل الحرية الذين يقفون إلى جانبنا، وليلعن خونة برنهام
من أجل الله، والوطن، وكير
On the 23rd June 1661 A marriage treaty (also called the marriage contract) was signed between King Charles II of England and Catherine of Braganza (Infanta Catarina de Bragança), daughter of the late King John IV of Portugal.
This Anglo-Portuguese treaty renewed the ancient alliance between the two kingdoms. It was negotiated despite strong Spanish opposition, as Spain was then at war with Portugal.
Key terms of Catherine’s dowry to England
The strategic North African port of Tangier
The Seven Islands of Bombay (the core of what became Mumbai, India)
Extensive trading privileges in Brazil and the Portuguese East Indies
A cash payment of two million Portuguese crowns (equivalent to approximately £300,000 at contemporary rates)
In exchange, England agreed to provide Portugal with military and naval support against Spain (including troops that helped secure Portuguese independence in 1668) and guaranteed Catherine freedom to practise her Catholic faith.
The actual marriage ceremonies took place the following year: a private Catholic rite followed by a public Anglican service in Portsmouth on 21st May 1662. The couple entered London in triumph later that year. While the marriage produced no children, the territorial gains proved transformative. Bombay was later leased to the East India Company (for a nominal £10 per year from 1668), laying foundations for British India. Tangier proved more costly and was evacuated in 1684.