![]() The Dutch wore the helmet during the entire Aceh War (1873–1904), and the United States Army adopted it during the 1880s for use by soldiers serving in the intensely sunny climate of the Southwest United States. The French tropical helmet was first authorised for colonial troops in 1878. While this form of headgear was particularly associated with the British Empire, all European colonial powers used versions of it during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. British and Dutch troops, and other colonial powers in nearby regions followed suit and the salacot became a common headgear for colonial forces in the mid-19th century. French marines also introduced the early version of the salacot to the French Antilles, where it became the salako, a cloth-covered headgear still mostly identical to the Filipino salakot in shape. The salacot design was later adopted by the French colonial troops in Indochina in the 19th century (who called it the salacco or salacot, a term also later applied to the native Vietnamese cone-shaped or disk-like nón lá) due to its effectiveness in protecting from damp and humid weather. 19th century Soldiers of the French Tonkin Expeditionary Corps in 1885, with two soldiers wearing pith helmets and another wearing a conical hat. The military versions were commonly cloth-covered and gradually took on the shape of the Spanish cabasset or morion. ![]() They were adopted fully by both native and Spanish troops in the Philippines by the early 18th century. Salacots were used by native Filipino auxiliaries in the Spanish colonial military as protection against the sun and rain during campaigns. These were originally made from various lightweight materials like woven bamboo, rattan, and bottle gourd sometimes inlaid with precious metals, coated with water-proof resin, or covered in cloth. It is held in place by an inner headband and a chin strap. The tip of the crown commonly has a spiked or knobbed finial made of metal or wood. They are usually dome-shaped or cone-shaped and can range in size from having very wide brims to being almost helmet-like. The origin of the pith helmet is the traditional Filipino headgear known as the salakot (Spanish salacot, a term still also used for pith helmets). See also: Asian conical hat Spanish military uniforms in the Philippines in 1862 showing the original salakot (right) worn as part of a campaign uniform. It was designed to shade the wearer's head and face from the sun. In this case, a pith helmet can be made out of cork, fibrous, or similar material. However, the pith helmet may more broadly refer to the particular style of helmet. In the narrow definition, a pith helmet is technically a type of sun helmet made out of pith material. Typically, a pith helmet derives from either the sola plant, Aeschynomene aspera, an Indian swamp plant, or from Aeschynomene paludosa. ![]() ![]() It was routinely issued to European military personnel serving overseas in hot climates from the mid-nineteenth to the mid-twentieth century. It was often worn by European travellers and explorers in the varying climates found in Southeast Asia, Africa, and the tropics, but it was also used in many other contexts. The pith helmet originates from the Spanish military adaptation of the native salakot headgear of the Philippines. The pith helmet, also known as the safari helmet, salacot, sola topee, sun helmet, topee, and topi is a lightweight cloth-covered helmet made of sholapith. Pith helmet used by the Canadian Corps of Guides on display at the Royal Canadian Military Institute For the original Filipino headgear from which it is derived, see Salakot.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Details
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |