August 14 - Beijing occupied

There are a few events today that sound really important, although I must admit I know very little about them.
Maybe someone else could elaborate on their significance.

1281   During the second Mongol attempt to conquer Japan, Kublai Khan's invading fleet disappeared in typhoon off of Japan. A Mongol army of 45,000 from Korea had joined an armada with 120,000 men from southern China landing at Hakozaki Bay. The typhoon destroyed their fleet leaving them to death or slavery.

1385 The Portugese commanded by Jo�o of Aviz defeated the Castilian army led by King Juan I of Castile near the Central Portugese town of Aljubarrota. The victory prevented the planned succession of Juan to the Portugese throne that would have meant Portugal�s unification with Castile. Portugal thus remained an independent country under the rule of the new King Jo�o I.

1598 A Gaelic Irish rebel army under Hugh O'Neill, head of the O�Neill Clan and Earl of Tyrone, defeated an English army at the Battle of the Yellow Ford, in South Armagh, Ulster. It was a rare success in yet another futile attempt to fight English rule in Ireland. Five years later O�Neill had to surrender and soon after to go into European exile.

1880 After a construction time of no less than 632 years, the Gothic Cathedral of Cologne in Germany was finally finished. Building work had began in 1248, architect and sub-contractors had promised to finish it in ten years, but you know what builders, plumbers etc, are like. Can you imagine all the overtime they had to pay ?





Cologne Cathedral


On August 14, 1900 An international expedition force of American and European troops occupied the Chinese capital Beijing during the �Boxer Rebellion�, which had attempted to prevent the increasing political and economic carve-up of China by the Colonial powers. After a number of foreigners had been killed by the Chinese, a 45.000 strong force was sent into China that successfully suppressed the nation-wide rebellion, and a humiliated Chinese Imperial government had to grant even more concessions to the Europeans and pay enormous reparations.

(PS: The events were made into the 1963 film 55 Days at Peking. The film, which was shot in Spain, needed thousands of Chinese extras, and the company sent scouts throughout Spain to hire as many as they could find. The result was that many Chinese restaurants in Spain closed for the duration of the filming because the restaurant staff - often including the restaurant's owners - were hired away by the film company. The company hired so many that for several months there was scarcely a Chinese restaurant to be found open in the entire country.) [From Wikipedia]


Full list:

Wikipedia

Edited by Komnenos

Originally posted by tzar what about the Berlin wall? I think you forgot it!!!

See yesterday!