Hi, Sen here. Welcome to another episode of Today in History.

As always, I have three historical events for you from this day in the past. This first time through, just imagine you’re listening to a piece of music. Focus on the rhythm and sounds. You might even pick up the general meaning of what is said anyway.

So, what happened today in history?

On July 9, 1816, Argentina became independent from Spain. After years of conflict, a congress in Tucumán, a province in north-west Argentina, officially announced the country’s independence. However, the fighting continued for another two years.

On the same day in 1927, the French West-African poet David Mandessi Diop was born. He is remembered for his contribution to the Négritude literary movement of the 1930s, 40s and 50s. Sparked by francophone afrodiasporic writers, the movement was explicitly anticolonial and sought to create a new Black consciousness through literature. Recurring themes in Diop’s poetry are a rejection of Western colonialism, nostalgia, and a firm belief in an independent and prosperous Africa.

On July 9, 1986, the Homosexual Law Reform Bill was passed in New Zealand. The law decriminalized consensual sex between men aged 16 and older. For the first time in the country, men could enter relationships with other men without fearing persecution.

Now rewind for a second listen. You can focus more on the meaning of individual words and phrases this time.

That’s it for today. But, I’ll be back tomorrow with another episode of Today in History.