This Day in History March 27th through March 31st
March 27, 1625 - Charles I Becomes King of England, Scotland, and Ireland
When Charles I took power, he soon began to struggle with the English parliament, the issue being that Charles felt he and all other monarchs had a divine right to rule, while his parliament and most of his subjects felt they had a right to intervene in state affairs. This split would lead to the English Civil War, beginning in 1642 and ending with Charles’ execution in 1649.
March 28, 1802 - Discovery of 2 Pallas, the Second Asteroid Ever Discovered
First sighted by Heinrich Wilhelm Olbers, 2 Pallas is currently believed to be one of the solar system’s largest asteroids, comprising an estimated 7% of mass in the asteroid belt and having a diameter of about 6 kilometers. When initially discovered, Pallas was believed to be a planet located between Earth and Mars, that some estimated to have a diameter of 3,380 kilometers.
March 29, 845 - Vikings, Possibly Under Ragnar Lodbrok, Sack Paris
For many years in the ninth century, viking raiders had been making raids deeper into the Kingdom of France, as the Frankish Empire that had been created under Charlemagne had fractured and largely lacked the resources to defend itself from said raids. In 845, by using riverways for transportation, the vikings struck and sacked Paris, exacting a massive ransom from the French King in exchange for the city.
March 30, 1949 - Massive Anti-NATO Riot Breaks Out in Iceland
Following the Icelandic government’s decision to join NATO, protesters marched against this likely cause of re-militarization following British occupation during WWII. It’s difficult to say how many marched, but many estimate the number to be several thousand. Despite this riot in which a tossed rock narrowly missed the Icelandic President’s head, Iceland remained in NATO and continues to do so to this day.
March 31, 1992 - The Treaty of Federation is Signed in Moscow
Following the breakup of the Soviet Union at the end of the Cold War, there were some fears in Russia that the newly formed Russian Federation may go a similar way, with various ethnicities across the vast nation breaking away. To counter this, the Treaty of Federation gave 18 of the 20 Russian Republics (areas of Russia with concentrations of ethnic minorities) limited autonomy, similar to how the US states also have limited autonomy in a federation. The two republics that didn’t sign were Chechnya and Tatarstan.
(Map of the 20 Russian Republics at the time of the Treaty of Federation, in addition to two recently added Republics comprising territory taken from Ukraine)
