This Day in History: December 13th- December 17th
December 13, 1294 - Saint Celestine Resigns From the Papacy
Though it isn’t completely unheard of for a Papal election to last for weeks, it is almost unheard of for one to last for two years. This was the situation in 1294, when the city of Rome and Christianity as a whole being functionally leaderless. The monk / hermit Pietro da Morrone sent a letter to the cardinals in charge of the election that they would be met with divine vengeance if they didn’t decide upon a new Pope soon. This resulted in the desperate decision to elect Pietro himself, who reluctantly took the title at age 79 in 1294. However, being a hermit and a monk, Pietro quickly chose to resign from the Papacy, helping to formalize the resignation procedure for Popes.
December 14, 1812 - The Last French Troops of the Grande Armee Exit Russia
In an attempt to enforce his “Continental System”, in which mainland Europeans would only trade with each other in an attempt to blockade Britain, Napoleon launched an invasion of Russia. Unfortunately for him, his army soon began to starve - they’d grown used to living off the land, and weren’t prepared for Russian scorched Earth tactics. When winter began to set in, Napoleon’s army began to freeze, and he was forced to retreat despite having captured Moscow (the Tsar had fled further East). This invasion and retreat would later form the basis for the “1812 Overture”.
December 15, 1933 - Prohibition is Repealed
With rising concerns of the moral effects alcohol supposedly held, prohibition was started with the Eighteenth Amendment in 1919. However, due to continued access of alcohol through various underground gangs / mobs / mafia (which would sometimes result in dangerous mixtures of alcohol being exposed to the public), and with the Great Depression in full swing (the federal government needed tax money from alcohol and many people needed a drink), the Twenty-First Amendment was passed in 1933. This revoked prohibition after a scant 14 years of existence.
December 16, 755 - Start of the An Lushan Rebellion
Seeing weakness in the Chinese Tang Dynasty, general An Lushan rose in rebellion in 755, declaring himself Emperor of the newly founded Yan Dynasty. Though the rebellion was eventually suppressed, it proved devastating to the reigning Tang Dynasty; it spanned seven years and three Emperors, and it led to the capture of the Tang capital of Chang’an. It took a heavy toll on funds and manpower (at least 70,000 soldiers), and it overall weakened the state’s control of its frontier provinces - many of which either broke away or were annexed by Nomadic invaders.
December 17, 1718 - Britain Declares War on Spain as Part of the Quadruple Alliance
Despite rarely allying with each other, both Britain and France (along with the Holy Roman Empire and the Dutch Republic) fought a joint war against Spain in the War of the Quadruple Alliance. The war was declared by Spain in an attempt to recover territory in the Low Countries (Belgium / Netherlands), recover territory in Spain, and most importantly to merge the Spanish and French royal families, putting both nations under the control of a single monarch. It’s likely that Britain joined to prevent such a powerful nation from existing and politically / militarily dominating the continent.
