Wikipedia:Main Page history/2012 September 4

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The 1740 Batavia massacre was a pogrom against ethnic Chinese in the port city of Batavia in the Dutch East Indies. The violence inside the city lasted from 9 to 22 October 1740. Unrest in the Chinese population had been triggered by government repression and reduced income from falling sugar prices prior to the massacre. In response, at a meeting of the Council of the Indies, Governor-General Adriaan Valckenier declared that any uprising was to be met with deadly force. His resolution took effect on 7 October after hundreds of ethnic Chinese, many of them sugar mill workers, killed 50 Dutch soldiers. The Dutch dispatched troops who confiscated all weapons from the Chinese populace and placed the Chinese under a curfew. Two days later, after being frightened by rumours of Chinese atrocities, other Batavian ethnic groups began burning Chinese houses along Besar Stream and Dutch soldiers launched an assault using cannons on Chinese homes. The violence soon spread throughout Batavia, killing more Chinese. Although Valckenier declared an amnesty on 11 October, gangs of irregulars continued to hunt and kill Chinese until 22 October, when Valckenier called more forcefully for a cessation of hostilities. Historians have estimated that at least 10,000 ethnic Chinese were massacred. (more...) Recently featured: Authentic Science Fiction – Augustine of Canterbury – 2007 USC Trojans football team Archive – By email – More featured articles...
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In the news
Sun Myung Moon, founder of the Unification Church, dies at the age of 92. In Mali, Islamist militants seize control of Douentza, ousting the local secular militia. The pardoning of convicted murderer Ramil Safarov, upon his repatriation from Hungary to Azerbaijan, leads Armenia to sever ties with Hungary. A national emergency is declared in Sierra Leone after a cholera outbreak causes the deaths of more than 300 people. At least 36 people are presumed dead after Hurricane Isaac (satellite image pictured) strikes the Gulf Coast of the United States, Lesser Antilles, Greater Antilles and the Bahamas. In Mexico, the Federal Electoral Tribunal declares Enrique Peña Nieto the winner of the contested presidential election. Syrian civil war – Wikinews – Recent deaths – More current events...
On this day...
September 4 1774 – English explorer James Cook became the first European to sight the island of New Caledonia. 1812 – War of 1812: A coalition of Native American tribes began the Siege of Fort Harrison in Terre Haute, Indiana, by setting the fort on fire. 1912 – The Albanian Revolt of 1912 came to an end when the Ottoman government agreed to meet the rebels' demands. 1964 – The Forth Road Bridge (pictured) crossing the Firth of Forth in Scotland opened to traffic. 1998 – Larry Page and Sergey Brin founded Google in Menlo Park, California, to promote the web search engine that they developed as Stanford University students. 2007 – Three terrorists suspected to be a part of Al-Qaeda were arrested in Germany after planning attacks on both Frankfurt Airport and Ramstein Air Base. More anniversaries: September 3 – September 4 – September 5 Archive – By email – List of historical anniversaries It is now September 4, 2012 (UTC) – Refresh this page

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The nave of the Hagia Sophia Church, the second oldest church in the Bulgarian capital Sofia. The present basilica dates to the 6th century and is believed to be the fifth structure to be constructed on the site. The city took its name from the church in the 14th century. It is now one of the most valuable pieces of Early Christian architecture in southeastern Europe.

Photo: Plamen Agov

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