3 June
Lin Tse-hsü destroys 1.2 million kg of opium confiscated from British merchants, providing Britain with a casus belli to open hostilities, resulting in the First Opium War. Continue reading “1839 – Humen, China”
17 May
Muhammad Ali Pasha al-Mas’ud ibn Agha , born 4 March 1769, was an Ottoman Albanian who rose to rule Egypt and Sudan. Continue reading “1805 – Muhammad Ali becomes Wāli of Egypt”
16 May
India annexes Sikkim after the mountain state holds a referendum in which the popular vote is in favour of merging with India. Continue reading “1975 – India annexes Sikkim”
2 May
The people of Madrid rise up in rebellion against French occupation. Francisco de Goya later memorialises this event in his painting The Second of May 1808. Continue reading “1808 – Outbreak of the Peninsular War”
6 April
Phra Phutthayotfa Chulalok also known as Rama I (20 March 1737 – 7 September 1809), was the founder and the first monarch of the reigning House of Chakri of Siam (now Thailand). Continue reading “1782 – King Buddha Yodfa Chulaloke founds the Chakri dynasty”
22 March
The Battle of Novara or Battle of Bicocca (Bicocca is a borough of Novara) was one of the battles fought between the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Sardinia during the First Italian War of Independence, within the era of Italian unification. Lasting the whole day of 22 March 1849 and ending at dawn on 23 March, it resulted in a severe defeat and retreat of the Piedmontese (Sardinian) army. Continue reading “1849 – The Battle of Novara”
