Black Week
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Black Week is a phrase frequently used in the popular press to mark periods of a few days when a string of similar unfortunate events occur. Its celebrity usually fades to be replaced by another Black Week a few years later. However, a few Black Weeks have acquired an historical notoriety.
One of the periods which still retains the name was 10-15 December 1899, during the Second Boer War when the British Army suffered three humiliating defeats by the Boer Republics at the battles of Stormberg(690), Magersfontein(948) and Colenso(1,138), with 2,776 men killed,wounded and captured.
The Boers suffered during the same period some 286 killed, wounded and captured.
[edit] Crash of 2008
The week of October 6 is referred to as the black week as the Dow Jones fell 18% in a single week. The Dow also closed 5 out of 5 sessions lower.
