Wikipedia:Main Page history/2012 September 21

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Today's featured article
The Spanish conquest of Guatemala was a protracted conflict during the Spanish colonization of the Americas, in which Spanish colonizers gradually incorporated the territory that became the modern country of Guatemala into the colonial viceroyalty of New Spain. The Maya kingdoms resisted integration into the Spanish Empire with such tenacity that their defeat took almost two centuries. Pedro de Alvarado arrived in Guatemala from the newly conquered Mexico in early 1524, commanding a mixed force of Spanish conquistadors and native allies, mostly from Tlaxcala and Cholula. The Itza Maya and other lowland groups in the Petén Basin were first contacted by Hernán Cortés in 1525, but remained independent and hostile to the encroaching Spanish until 1697, when a concerted Spanish assault led by Martín de Urzúa y Arizmendi finally defeated the last independent Maya kingdom. The indigenous peoples of Guatemala lacked key elements of Old World technology such as a functional wheel, horses, steel and gunpowder; they were also extremely susceptible to Old World diseases, against which they had no resistance. (more...) Recently featured: StarCraft: Ghost – The Concert in Central Park – Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve Archive – By email – More featured articles...
Did you know...
From Wikipedia's newest content: ... that 120 Polish miners died in the rubble when the newly built train tunnel collapsed along the Poprad River Gorge (pictured) in the Beskid Mountains? ... that the reformer Konrad Hubert assisted Martin Bucer for 18 years at St. Thomas, Strasbourg, making Bucer's ideas and concepts readable? ... that the Walthamstow by-election in 1910 was fought partly over the Osborne judgment? ... that 2012 British Paralympic swimmer Susie Rodgers won six medals at her first international meet? ... that U.S.-based television production company Zodiac Entertainment intentionally avoided references to American culture in its shows? ... that the 'false positives' scandal which broke in Colombia in 2008 involved members of the military murdering civilians and presenting them as guerrillas killed in battle, in order to inflate army body counts? ... that Pederson's shrimp, the spotted cleaner shrimp and the anemone mysid are all found living in close association with the ringed anemone? ... that the 2012 political book Britannia Unchained attracted criticism for accusing British employees of being "among the worst idlers in the world"? Archive – Start a new article – Nominate an article

In the news
Anticipating violent reactions to a series of cartoons depicting Muhammad in the magazine Charlie Hebdo, France announces plans to temporarily close its embassies in 20 Muslim countries. Silver Linings Playbook, directed by David O. Russell (pictured), wins the People's Choice Award at the Toronto International Film Festival. Attacks on diplomatic missions and widescale protests occur following the release of a short film critical of Islam. British Prime Minister David Cameron apologises after an independent panel on the 1989 Hillsborough disaster finds that negligent police and emergency services manipulated evidence to blame the victims. The People's Party for Freedom and Democracy gains a plurality in the Dutch general election. Syrian civil war – Wikinews – Recent deaths – More current events...
On this day...
September 21: International Day of Peace; Independence Day in Armenia (1991), Belize (1981) and Malta (1964) 1776 – American Revolutionary War: The Great Fire of New York (pictured) broke out during British occupation of New York City, destroying up to 1,000 buildings. 1860 – Second Opium War: Anglo-French forces earned a decisive victory against Qing Dynasty troops in the Battle of Palikao, allowing them to capture Beijing. 1938 – The Great New England Hurricane made landfall on Long Island, New York, killing at least 500 people and injuring about 700 others. 1942 – The prototype model of the Boeing B-29 Superfortress, a four-engine heavy bomber that became one of the largest aircraft to see service during World War II, flew for the first time. 1999 – A 7.6 M_w earthquake struck Jiji, Nantou County, Taiwan, killing 2,416 people, injuring over 11,000 others and causing about NT$300 billion in damage. More anniversaries: September 20 – September 21 – September 22 Archive – By email – List of historical anniversaries It is now September 21, 2012 (UTC) – Refresh this page

Today's featured picture

The Pointed Cortinarius (Cortinarius vanduzerensis) is a species of mushroom found only in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The fruit bodies have a slimy dark chestnut-brown cap that becomes deeply radially grooved or corrugated in maturity, and reaches diameters of up to 8 cm (3.1 in). The stem is lavender, measuring 10–18 cm (3.9–7.1 in) long and 1–2 cm (0.4–0.8 in) thick. The edibility of the mushroom has not been determined, and it has been described as "much too slippery to be of value".

Photo: John Kirkpatrick

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