This Day in History: March 13th through March 18th
March 13, 1567 - The Battle of Oosterweel Begins the Eighty Years War
By the 1560’s, the regions comprising the modern-day Netherlands had been ruled over by the Spanish crown for decades following the division of the Kingdom of Burgundy. For the most part, this rule had been light-touch with the region maintaining a large degree of autonomy; however, this ended as Protestant movements (largely Calvinist) began appearing, leading to tighter regulations from the Spanish on their subjects in the North. Feeling oppressed by this, the Dutch chose to revolt, leading to the Eighty Years War, otherwise known as the Dutch War of Independence. However, the first battle of this war - Oosterweel - was a defeat for the Dutch, as a Spanish infantry unit defeated an army of radical Calvinists.
March 14, 1647 - The Truce of Ulm is Signed Between France, Sweden, and Bavaria
The Thirty Years War was the culmination of decades of Protestant-Catholic tensions in Europe. On one side were the Catholics led by Austria (the Holy Roman Emperor), and on the other side were the Protestants, who at this point were being led by Sweden and France (a Catholic country that only got involved to weaken Austria). In the Truce of Ulm, France and Sweden forced the German Kingdom of Bavaria to temporarily break their alliance with Austria, effectively taking them out of the war for several months (Bavaria re-entered the war in Autumn of that year).
March 15, 1783 - Washington Asks His Officers Not to Join the Newburgh Conspiracy
Near the end of the Revolutionary War, the US Army found itself severely undersupplied and underpaid, as Congress found itself increasingly in debt. After Congress suggested disbanding the army without paying its soldiers, a plot began to rise to overthrow Congress in a military-led Coup d’etat. George Washington, still holding loyalty to Congress and respect from his soldiers, gave a speech to his army on March 15, urging them not to carry out the plot. This was sufficient in defusing the plan, and the soldiers were soon paid.
March 16, 1898 - Adoption of the Australian Constitution
Prior to Australia’s foundation, the continent was comprised of several different colonies; five, to be specific. Moves to fully unify the continent into a proper federation had been made in the 1850’s and 1860’s, but they had all ended in failure; the smaller states feared domination by the larger ones, the American Civil War severely downplayed the values of a federation, and the larger states were in the midst of disagreements over things like trade tariffs. However, by 1898, with Japan and Germany increasing their expansionism nearby and with a growing Australian national identity, a prototype to the Australian Constitution was accepted by all states.
March 17, 1861 - Declaration of the Italian Kingdom
After decades of warfare and careful politics across the Italian Kingdom, the Duchy of Sardinia-Piedmont had unified the majority of Italy by 1861, causing them to declare themselves the Kingdom of Italy with Emmanuel II as the first King. Despite these efforts, Italy still lacked two cities that were key to the Italian identity - Venice, which was owned by Austria, and Rome, which was owned by the Pope who had the protection of France. It would take another ten years and an alliance with the German Kingdom of Prussia (which soon formed Germany) for Italy to acquire these two provinces.
March 18, 1948 - Soviet Consultants Leave Yugoslavia, Beginning the Soviet-Yugoslav Split
The USSR and Yugoslavia, despite both being Communist states during the Cold War, largely remained separate from each other. This was due to the Yugoslav leader, Josip Broz Tito, intentionally keeping his country away from Soviet Influence, in order to avoid the fate of other Eastern European countries that became Soviet puppets. This led to Yugoslavia forming the non-aligned movement during the Cold War alongside nations like India and other countries who didn’t want to be involved in the US-USSR contest for supremacy.
