Inside the Smithsonian’s vaults; Despacito’s La Perla; the legend of the Orient Express
|  | Monday, November 29, 2021 | | | | |
| In today’s newsletter, a nation chooses a president over Queen Elizabeth; inside the Smithsonian’s vaults; Despacito’s La Perla; the legend of the Orient Express. | |
 | | PHOTOGRAPH BY JOE RAEDLE, GETTY IMAGES | | By Nancy San Martin, Deputy Managing Editor, History & Culture
England’s thumbprint on the island of Barbados—a former colony of the British Empire long referred to as the “Little England” of the Caribbean—is far from evident to visitors today. Few British flags flutter in the wind. There are no images of Her Royal Highness prominently displayed. And while tea is the breakfast beverage of choice for many Barbadians, the British “high tea” tradition is mostly preserved for tourists visiting 300-year-old plantation houses.
So it comes as little surprise that the island nation’s move to formally remove Queen Elizabeth II as its head of state tomorrow—on the 55th anniversary of its transition from a colony to an independent state—is met with little more than a shrug by locals when asked how they feel about bidding farewell to the queen.
Yet, the act is profound for a nation that has endured nearly 400 years of British dominance. (Pictured above, the nation’s Emancipation Statue, symbolizing the moment of freedom from slavery.)
As Jacqueline Charles writes for National Geographic, Barbados’ move is about self-identity and control over its future.
“After 396 years of British rule, and probably just over 386 years of British monarchical rule, the time has come for us to express the full confidence in ourselves as a people,” Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley said last month after lawmakers voted to replace the role of the queen with the island’s governor-general, Dame Sandra Mason (pictured below), who will become Barbados’ first president.
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 | | PHOTOGRAPH BY PRIME MINISTER’S OFFICE, BARBADOS | | “This is a seminal moment for this nation ... the ultimate statement of confidence in who we are and what we are capable of achieving,” Mottley said.
For most Barbadians, the change won’t be that apparent, especially as the government drafts a new constitution to support its fully sovereign status. Mason’s role, like that of the queen’s, will be mostly symbolic. As prime minister, Mottley will continue to oversee day-to-day affairs.
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 | | PHOTOGRAPH BY ROGER JACKSON, CENTRAL PRESS/GETTY IMAGES | | Replacing the queen with a new president leaves Barbados with just one loose tie to the monarchy—as a continuing member of the Commonwealth of Nations. As Amy McKeever explains, the 54-member association, headed by the queen, largely comprises former British colonies and dependencies that work to promote good governance, free trade, economic cooperation, human rights, and social development. (Pictured above, a Commonwealth prime ministerial conference in 1966 in London.)
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| The doubts of a Nobel Peace Prize recipient: Journalist Maria Ressa will be awarded the Nobel prize in Oslo, but is unclear whether the Philippine regime, which has tried to thwart her efforts to hold it accountable, will let her leave to accept it in person on Dec. 10. “The last time a working journalist received the Nobel Prize was in 1936, and he languished in a Nazi concentration camp,” she told the Washington Post’s Jason Rezaian, himself jailed for 544 days in Iran in 2014-15 for doing his job.
Einstein’s most expensive manuscript: A rare manuscript co-written by Albert Einstein sold at auction in Paris for just over a cool $13 million. The 54-page document outlines calculations that led to his theory of relativity. As NBC News reports, Einstein rarely kept drafts of his work but it was preserved by friend and colleague Michele Basso, who worked on the calculations with the scientist.
In plain sight: A New York woman learned that a coffee table she’d used for more than 45 years was actually a priceless work of art. The long-lost mosaic once decorated a ship used by the emperor Caligula before disappearing in 1944 as the Nazis retreated from Italy. It went on display this year, after experts removed the coffee stains, CBS News reports.
Virtual visits: You can now visit the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture from the comfort of your home. The just-launched Searchable Museum offers digital access to the museum’s Slavery and Freedom exhibit. The NMAAH timed entry tickets are free but those tickets have often been hard to snag since the museum opened in 2016.
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 | | PHOTOGRAPH BY STEPHANIE MAZE, NAT GEO IMAGE COLLECTION | | From La Perla: The compact, seaside neighborhood outside Old San Juan’s colonial walls gained fame as the setting for the video of Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee’s Despacito. But the hillside enclave, with its candy-colored homes and skinny alleyways and streets, has a deep past, from its construction by an old slaughterhouse by enslaved people to improvised utility hookups, to a present where it is still recovering from Hurricanes Irma and Maria. The image of teenagers in La Perla (above), recently featured in our Photo of the Day collection, came from our 1983 story, “The Uncertain State of Puerto Rico.” The island’s political status still remains uncertain.
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 | PHOTOGRAPH BY REBECCA HALE
| | | A rare peek behind the scenes: The Smithsonian Institution has more than 155 million items in its 20 museums, galleries, and storage facilities. But just one percent of that collection is displayed at a time. Bill Newcott took a look at some of the treasures in storage. What did he find? Jerry Seinfeld’s puffy shirt, Mister Rogers’ red sweater, the original stopwatch from 60 Minutes, a multitude of Muppets (pictured above), and even the world’s biggest collection of sloth moths. | | | |
 | | JOHN FRUMM/GTRES | |
| Before Agatha Christie: The classic whodunit Murder on the Orient Express came out in 1934, more than a half-century since the luxury Paris-to-Istanbul train steamed out of the Gare de l’Est for the first time. Christie’s sturdy novel, which she researched as a passenger, has had a longer ride than the sumptuous sleeper train, which ended service in 1977. Nat Geo’s History magazine tells the story of what writer María Pilar Queralt del Hierro calls “the most legendary train in history.” (Pictured above, the restored art deco dining cars from the Orient Express.)
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| | Today's newsletter was curated and edited by David Beard, Monica Williams, and Jen Tse. Have an idea or link to a story you think is right down our alley? Let us know at david.beard@natgeo.com. Happy trails! | | | |
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