Tragedy in Bangladesh, where dozens of people have lost their lives and been injured, after a fire broke out in a container storage area.
At least 49 people have been killed and more than 300 injured when a huge chemical explosion exploded at a container storage facility in Bangkok's Sitakunda, officials said today .
There are fears of an increase in the death toll , as eyewitnesses said many bodies have not yet been collected from the private warehouse, located about 40km from the main port of Chittagong in the southeastern part of the country.
The fire broke out yesterday Saturday around 21:30 local time (18:30 Greek time) at the BM Container Depot storage area. Hundreds of firefighters rushed to the scene to put it out, but an hour later several containers containing chemicals exploded.
"The report of the fire amounted to 38" dead, Elias Tsondri, the chief physician of the area, had stated earlier. " More than 300 people have been injured ," he added.
According to him, many people are still missing, including journalists covering the fire.
"There are corpses in areas affected by the fire. I saw eight or ten ", said a member of the rescue teams.
Among those injured were 40 firefighters and 10 police officers , said Chittagong police chief Anwar Hosseini.
According to him, "the death toll is expected to increase because some of the injured are in critical condition."
The huge explosion shook the buildings several kilometers from the warehouse, according to locals.
Fireballs
"The explosion sent fireballs into the sky. Fireballs falling like rain. "We were very scared and left immediately," said Mohgamad Ali, 60, a local resident.
" The explosion threw me about ten meters away from where I was. I have suffered burns on my arms and legs ", pointed out Tofael Ahmed, a truck driver who was in the warehouse.
Some of the containers in the private storage facility contained chemicals, especially hydrogen peroxide, fire chief Min Udin told reporters. "We have not been able to bring the fire under control due to the presence of this chemical," he added.
The warehouse employed about 600 people , said Mujibun Rahman, the director, who said he did not know the cause of the fire.
For his part, Muminur Rahman, the governor of Chittagong, called for an investigation into the incident. He also said that about 200 soldiers have been called in for reinforcements, mainly to prevent chemicals from spilling into the sea.
Rahman said many of the containers contained millions of dollars worth of clothes to be exported to Western countries.
About 90% of Bangladesh's nearly $ 100 billion in annual trade goes through Chittagong, according to the APE-MPE. In this large port the activity has returned from the end of 2021 thanks to the global economic recovery after the pandemic.
Fires are common in Bangladesh, where safety regulations are not respected.
In July 2021, 54 people lost their lives in a fire that broke out in a huge food processing plant located outside the capital Dhaka. In February 2020, 70 people were killed in another fire that destroyed several apartment buildings in Dhaka.
Outstanding Events in Cambodia
1979: January 7
In Cambodia, Pol Pot and his Khmer Rouge army are forced to retreat into the jungle as Vietnamese troops besiege the capital Phnom Penh. After almost 5 years of terror, the dictatorial regime of Pol Pot with a policy of displacement of the urban population towards the countryside, has left two million Cambodians dead: malnutrition, forced labor, ill-treated illnesses, and more than 200,000 people tortured and executed without trial. Pol Pot will maintain command of the exiled Khmer Rouge for two more decades until his seemingly natural death in 1998. (42 years ago)
1975: April 17
In Cambodia, the Khmer Rouge seize power by capturing the capital Phnom Penh and overthrowing General Lon Nol, who has ruled the country dictatorially since 1970. In this way the civil war ends but begins a totalitarian era of horrors known as the "Cambodian genocide. "in which between two and three million people will be exterminated. (46 years ago)
Reported deaths in Cambodia
1998: April 15Pol Pot, one of the greatest genociders of the 20th century and leader of the Khmer Rouge, dies of disease in the Cambodian jungle convinced that he has acted in accordance with the good of his country. He was responsible for the death of 2 million compatriots. (23 years ago)
Outstanding facts in Canada
1995: October 30
The separatists of Québec (Canada) are defeated at the polls by a narrow margin. 50.6% of the citizens with the right to vote in the French-speaking province of Québec decide to continue to belong to Canada, compared to 49.4% who ask for independence. Never in its 128-year history has Canada suffered such a worrying threat to its unity. (26 years ago)
1992: December 17
The North American Free Trade Agreement (TLC its acronym in Spanish and NAFTA in English) is signed between the United States of America, Mexico and Canada. This agreement is part of the set of regional economic integration processes that have been developing in recent decades in the international economy. NAFTA has special consideration as it is the first time that a regional integration process has been carried out in which developed countries (United States and Canada) and a developing country (Mexico) participate. The Treaty consists of a preamble and 22 chapters grouped into 8 sections, with a Secretariat that administers and is in charge of executing the resolutions and mandates. The agreement is scheduled to enter into force on January 1, 1994. (28 years ago)
1987: September 16
Given the seriousness of the destruction of the ozone layer by a series of chemical compounds that are devouring this vital envelope, in Montreal the Protocol of the same name is signed that will prohibit the consumption of numerous substances that have been studied to react with it and are believes that they are responsible for the depletion of it. It will come into force on January 1, 1989 and will show its effectiveness because it will begin to regenerate little by little. (34 years ago)
1976: July 17
With the presence of 92 countries and 6,189 athletes, the XVIII Olympics of the Modern Era are inaugurated in Montreal (Canada). They will close on August 1. (45 years ago)
1949: April 4
In the midst of the Cold War, meeting in Washington (USA), twelve western states, Belgium, Denmark, France, Great Britain, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, Norway, Holland, Portugal, Canada and the USA, founded the Organization of the North Atlantic Treaty (NATO), a military alliance, which provides for a collective defense, through close military collaboration, against possible Soviet aggression. This alliance will help to significantly increase the influence and power of the United States in Europe. In successive years, more countries will join, Spain in 1982. In 1955, in response to NATO and as a result of the increase in international tension, several eastern countries, led by the Soviet Union, founded the Warsaw Pact. (72 years ago)
1948: March 17
As during the previous two years the USSR has established socialist regimes in central and eastern Europe, the climate of mutual distrust between the former allies against Hitler's Germany grows in the face of western fear of an extension of Soviet power. For this reason, today, Belgium, France, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom sign the so-called "Treaty of Brussels", by which they promise each other assistance in case of aggression. This treaty lays the foundations of what will be the future NATO, which will finally see the light of day on April 4, 1949 by signing the "North Atlantic Treaty" the "Brussels Five", plus Canada, Denmark, the United States, Iceland, Italy, Norway and Portugal. (73 years ago)
1945: October 16
In the castle of Frontenac in Quebec, Canada, the process, begun two years earlier, for the creation of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) culminates, in which 34 countries sign their Constitution in which it is stipulated that "the Organization shall have a Conference, in which each Member State and Associate Member shall be represented by a delegate." Its objective will be to try to optimize production and better distribute agricultural products, in order to increase the level of food by eradicating hunger in the world. (76 years ago)
1922: January 23
In Toronto, Canada, the patient Leonard Thompson becomes the first human being to receive an insulin injection as a treatment for his diabetes. Half a year earlier, Canadians Frederick Banting and Charles Best managed to extract, from laboratory animals, the protein from the pancreas that causes the symptoms of diabetes, insulin. They experimented by injecting insulin into sick animals that recovered. These tests confirmed that the cause of diabetes was a lack of insulin, responsible for metabolizing sugars. In 1923, insulin will be a relatively easy product to buy, which will undoubtedly save many lives. In the 1980s, genetic engineering will get human insulin, a breakthrough. (99 years ago)
1901: December 12
In Newfoundland (Canada) Guglielmo Marconi, an Italian physicist, receives the first radio transmission between two continents. The signal they send him from England, the letter "M" for Marconi in Morse Code (two lines), has crossed the Atlantic Ocean from Cornwall (United Kingdom), some 3,200 km away. With this achievement, he manages to silence those who argue that the curvature of the earth will limit transmission to approximately 320 km. This fact will be prominent news in the newspapers and in 1909 he will receive the Nobel Prize in Physics. (120 years ago)
1896: August 17
George Washington Carmack discovers gold in Bonanza Creek, a tributary of the Klondike River in the Yukon Territory, Canada, starting a "gold rush" in the Klondike Valley that, under the surveillance of the RCMP, will run further. or less peaceful. (125 years ago)
1876: July 6
In Canada, after the last nail was placed in the railroad, after seven years of extremely hard work, the 4,674 km of rails linking the Atlantic and Pacific coasts by rail were inaugurated. (145 years ago)
1867: July 1
The Canadian Confederation is officially proclaimed with John A. Macdonald being the first person to hold the position of Prime Minister of Canada. (154 years ago)
1857: December 31
The city of Ottawa, a former settlement of the Algonquin Indians in the Ottawa River Valley, becomes the capital of Canada. (163 years ago)
1811: November 7
In North America, at the Battle of Tippecanoe, an experienced American expeditionary force under General William Henry Harrison defeats the Shawnee Indian tribe, led by Tecumseh, seeking a united Indian confederation. Tecumesh promised his warriors that the weapons of the American troops would do them no harm, as a result of which he will fall from grace and flee to Canada. Tecumseh will die in 1813 during the Battle of the Thames. (210 years ago)
1791: December 6
An Act establishing Upper and Lower Canada is approved in the British Parliament, thus giving the first step towards the creation of a Canadian confederation. (230 years ago)
1775: December 31
In the American Revolution, the Battle of Québec takes place, when the British garrison in the aforementioned Canadian city is attacked by American troops under the command of General Richard Montgomery and Colonel Benedict Arnold. The British commander, General Guy Carleton, cannot get help because the St. Lawrence River is frozen, and he has to rely on the French-speaking militia in the city, which flock to it. The British will defeat the Americans, whose defeat will put an end to their hopes of uprising the French-Canadian settlers as well. Despite the victory in the battle, it will not be until 6 months later when the invasion is totally repelled, with the arrival of 4,000 soldiers, which will force the Americans to leave Québec. (245 years ago)
1759: September 13
In Canada, during the war between the French and the English, at the Battle of the Plaines d'Abraham, General Montcalm's French troops are defeated, which will de facto imply British control of the country. (262 years ago)
1497: June 24
Encouraged by the success of Columbus and in the service of Henry VII of England, the Italian navigator Giovanni Caboto reached the rocky shores of present-day Newfoundland, thus giving rise to the English claims on North America. In 1498, after being appointed Admiral, Cabot left in command of an expedition of 5 ships and from 1499 there will be no further news of him or of this expedition. (524 years ago)
Outstanding births in Canada
1934: September 21
In Montreal, Canada, Leonard Cohen was born, who will be a Canadian poet, novelist and singer-songwriter and will come to be considered one of the fundamental singers and composers of American folk of the sixties and seventies, of great influence on other contemporary catautors. As a poet, in 2011 he will receive the Prince of Asturias Award for Literature. (87 years ago)
1919: October 18
In the Canadian city of Montreal, Pierre Elliott Trudeau was born, who will be the 15th Prime Minister of Canada from 1968 to 1979 and from 1980 to 1984. He will enjoy great popularity and will be responsible for the establishment of the French and English languages as official languages of his country. He will also be the architect of the creation and legislation of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. (102 years ago)
1915: June 10
Born in Lachine, Canada, the writer, of Jewish-Russian origin, Saul Bellow, awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1976. "Carpe Diem" and "Herzog" will be works from his great pen. (106 years ago)
1835: March 12
Born in Wallace (Canada) Simon Newcomb, Canadian astronomer and mathematician, who will achieve a notable contribution to the studies of celestial mechanics and will be the compiler of one of the most relevant astronomical ephemeris calendars. (186 years ago)
Reported deaths in Canada
1922: August 2
Alexander Graham Bell, a British speech therapist, dies in Beinn Bhreagh (Canada). In his lifetime he presented 18 individual patents and 12 with collaborators, although he will be best known for being the inventor of the telephone in 1876. In 1880 he received the prestigious Volta Prize. (99 years ago)
Outstanding Events in Chile
2010: October 13
With great media expectation, in Copiapó, in the middle of the Chilean Atacameño desert, the 33 miners trapped for more than two months at 622 meters deep in a well of the San José mine took place. (11 years ago)
2010: August 5
Near the Chilean city of Copiapó (Atacama) there is a collapse in the San José Mine, trapping 33 miners at a depth of 622 meters. The mine is dedicated to extracting gold and copper. With great anguish, 17 days later, on the 22nd, and thanks to a message sent from the inside through a probe, it will be known that everyone is safe. Nearby, Camp Esperanza will be established, a settlement with rescue teams, family members and the press. After weeks of drilling, the salvage will be completed successfully on October 13. (11 years ago)
1998: October 16
At the London Clinic in London (United Kingdom), where he has undergone surgery for a hernia, the senator and former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet is arrested by members of Scotland Yard, by order of the Spanish judge Baltasar Garzón, accused of crimes of genocide, terrorism and torture, within Summary 19/97, Piece III related to the so-called "Plan Cóndor". Finally, on March 2 of the following year, the British government decided to release Pinochet for humanitarian reasons derived from his state of health. (23 years ago)
1994: October 21
An international arbitral tribunal rules in favor of Argentina in its conflict with Chile over a narrow valley between rectangular mountains 12 km wide and about 44 km long known as the "Lago del Desierto", a border area between the two countries of 530 square kilometers. (27 years ago)
1990: March 10
In Chile, Patricio Aylwin, a Christian Democrat, becomes president in free elections, ending the brutal and bloody dictatorship of General Augusto Pinochet, who led a military coup in 1973. (31 years ago)
1986: September 8
At dawn in Chile, in retaliation for an attack that killed 5 of his bodyguards yesterday, the dictator Augusto Pinochet, in addition to decreeing the state of exception, orders the CNI (Central Nacional de Informaciones, successor of the DINA) the arrest of 4 members of the opposition who are violently taken from their homes. Their bodies will be found riddled with bullets the next day. In 2006, 14 former CNI agents will be sentenced for this. (35 years ago)
1973: September 11
In Chile, General Augusto Pinochet violently deposed democracy and Constitutional President Salvador Allende, who was the first freely elected Marxist leader at the polls in the American continent, commits suicide when he sees no way out. Allende led a democratic socialism, ruling through free elections and respecting the Law. He redistributed the land and, to the chagrin of the United States, nationalized big business in foreign hands. The CIA (American Central Intelligence Agency) consolidated a fierce opposition to Allende by founding groups in secret and his hand is behind the bloody coup. (48 years ago)
1972: December 22
The 16 survivors of a crashed plane are rescued in the Andes after being isolated from the world for 72 days. Of the 45 occupants, 12 died from the crash and the survivors had to endure hunger and temperatures of 30 degrees below zero at night. After trying to subsist on what little food they had waiting to be saved, their hope was dashed when they learned by radio that their rescue had been abandoned. They decide to feed on their deceased companions. Finally fed up with everything but especially by the incessant trickle of deaths from their companions, two of them resolve to cross the immense mountains to try to ask for help. This is how they get rescued. (48 years ago)
1971: July 11
The copper nationalization process culminates when the Chilean National Congress approves, by unanimous vote, the constitutional amendment that makes it possible. In the afternoon, in a massive rally in Rancagua, President Salvador Allende addresses the country stating that "Chile is going to nationalize copper by virtue of a sovereign act. Sovereign act that is even enshrined in United Nations resolutions, which they establish that countries have the right to nationalize their basic wealth. " (50 years ago)
1970: November 3
In Chile, the presidential replacement takes place when the socialist Salvador Allende, winner of the elections, receives the band of President from the hands of his predecessor in office, the Christian Democrat Eduardo Frei. (51 years ago)
1970: October 24
In Chile, after the last elections of September 4 in which no candidate obtained an absolute majority, Salvador Allende, candidate for the Popular Unity and the most voted of those elections, is confirmed in Congress as constitutional president. (51 years ago)
1970: September 4
The Popular Unity, led by Salvador Allende, wins the elections in Chile. (51 years ago)
1964: September 4In the Chilean elections the Christian democrat Eduardo Frei wins, defeating his rival from the Left Front, Salvador Allende. (57 years ago)
1960: May 22
In the vicinity of Valdivia, Chile, the most powerful earthquake ever recorded takes place with a magnitude of 9.5 on the Richter scale, leaving a balance of more than 2,000 people dead, 3,000 injured and some 2 million homeless. The resulting powerful tsunami will cause enormous damage and nearly 200 deaths thousands of miles away, in Hawaii, Japan, and the west coast of the US. (61 years ago)
1945: June 19
In Chile, 120 km south of Santiago, the carbon monoxide emanations produced by the fire of a forge and some barrels of oil located near one of the access portals to the El Teniente copper mine, causes thick columns Smoke spread inside the mine due to ventilation conditions, causing 355 miners, blinded and suffocated by smoke, to die in the interior galleries. 747 more workers are injured of greater or lesser importance. This unfortunate event will go down in history as the "Smoke Tragedy". The unfortunate accident will mark a separate point in Chilean labor legislation from which modern legislation on industrial hygiene and prevention of occupational risks will be developed, Copied from the models that have been practiced in the United States and Europe. Likewise, the Mining Safety Department will be created. (76 years ago)
1932: June 4
Marmaduke Grove, appointed commander-in-chief of the newly created Chilean Air Force, leads a coup in Chile and proclaims the Socialist Republic that will last until June 16, when Carlos Dávila, one of the participants in the Coup, takes over power exclusively. Grove will be deported to Easter Island. On April 19, 1933, together with Óscar Schnake and other leaders, he founded the Socialist Party of Chile, of which he will be its General Secretary from 1939 to 1943. (89 years ago)
1904: March 13
In the morning, in Las Cuevas, an Argentine town in the Department of Las Heras, Mendoza, located in the Andes Mountains on the border between Argentina and Chile, the foreign ministers of both countries together with other civil, ecclesiastical and military authorities, They inaugurate the monument of Christ the Redeemer which will be a symbol of friendship between the two peoples. On the monument there is an inscription with a message from Pope Pius XII, which is read in this act by the Bishop of San Carlos, and which says: "These mountains will collapse first before Chileans and Argentines break the peace sworn at the foot of Christ. Redeemer". This symbolic ceremony puts an end to the tense disagreements that have arisen between both parties that, due to border issues, have been on the verge of unleashing a terrible warlike conflict. (117 years ago)
1901: August 31
The Chilean politician, member of the Liberal Party, Germán Riesco, is proclaimed president of the Republic of Chile. He will hold the presidency of the Republic from today until 1906. His government will be characterized by a worsening of social and economic problems, and the harsh repression of workers' demonstrations. He will also be criticized for his weak character and his inability to control the parties. At the end of his term, considered disastrous by public opinion, he will go into private activity until his death in 1916. (120 years ago)
1888: September 9
On behalf of the Republic of Chile, whose president is José Manuel Balmaceda Fernández, Captain Policarpo Toro takes possession of Easter Island, located in the Pacific Ocean, being incorporated into the national territory on this same day, by decision of the people of Pascue. , inhabitants of Polynesian origin. The operation is closed by paying six thousand pounds sterling to the owners of the island and five thousand francs more to the Catholic mission that has assets on it. (133 years ago)
1884: April 4
Once the War of the Pacific has concluded and by signing the truce treaty of Valparaíso, Bolivia leaves its province of Antofagasta under Chilean law. This treaty establishes that the territories between the Loa River and the 23rd parallel will remain under the administration of Chile and that, in return, Bolivia will have access to the ports of Arica and Antofagasta. Later, in 1904, the Treaty of Peace and Friendship between Chile and Bolivia will be signed, which will recognize the perpetual domain of the disputed territory by Chile, for which, Bolivia will lose all right to have an outlet to the sea and complete it. sovereignty over the Pacific Ocean. This last treaty will be a source of diplomatic tensions since Bolivia will always try to regain a free and sovereign exit to the Pacific Ocean. (137 years ago)
1883: October 20
In the Ancón de Lima resort (Peru) the Ancón Treaty is signed, which restores peace between Chile and Peru, concluding the Peruvian participation in the War of the Pacific. Peru cedes the department of Tarapacá (today Iquique, in Chile) to Chile. This treaty is much discussed in Peru and starts a civil war between the Peruvian signer and promoter Miguel Iglesias and Andrés Avelino Cáceres, which will conclude with the latter's victory. (138 years ago)
1881: January 15
In the vicinity of Lima, Peru, the battle of Miraflores takes place, in which the Chilean army will win, thus marking the end of the War of the Pacific between Chile and Peru and the occupation of the Peruvian city of Lima two days later. (140 years ago)
1879: April 5
Chile declares war on the Bolivian-Peruvian alliance for the nitrate lands of the Atacama desert. The Chilean army will conquer Lima in 1881. La Paz will be signed in 1883 by means of the Ancón treaty and Bolivia will lose after the war, its only exit to the sea. (142 years ago)
1879: March 23
In Calama, Bolivia, the Battle of Calama takes place, the first armed confrontation of the War of the Pacific between the Chilean army and Bolivian civilian forces. After several hours of combat, the Chilean troops will put an end to the Bolivian resistance. Its numerical superiority is decisive. The contest leaves 20 Bolivians and 7 Chileans dead. (142 years ago)
1879: February 14
Chile militarily occupies the port of Antofagasta, which belongs to Bolivia, and could be considered the beginning of the so-called Saltpeter War between Chile and the Bolivian-Peruvian alliance for the nitrate lands of the Atacama desert. The Chilean army will conquer Lima in 1881. La Paz will be signed in 1883 by means of the Ancón treaty and Bolivia will lose after this war, its only exit to the sea. (142 years ago)
1866: March 31
Under the command of captain Casto Méndez Núñez, the Spanish squad, anchored off the city of Valparaíso (Chile), expects them to honor their flag with 21 cannon shots. In the face of the Chilean refusal, Valparaíso was bombarded without rest for about 3 hours. More than 2,600 projectiles and grenades will engulf the city in flames, causing so much damage that the Chilean economy will enter a major recession for years. The Spanish squad will withdraw forever from the Chilean coasts. (155 years ago)
1844: April 25
Although already on February 12, 1818, O'Higgins proclaimed it as an independent Republic, it is not until today when the Treaty of Peace and Friendship between Spain and Chile is signed in Madrid, Spain, by means of which Spain definitively recognizes the Independence of the Republic of Chile. (177 years ago)
1837: September 12
In the Chilean city of Valparaíso, the newspaper "El Mercurio", the dean of Chilean newspapers, is founded. (184 years ago)
1826: January 22
After the capitulation was signed four days ago through the Treaty of Tantauco, which definitively incorporated the Chiloé archipelago into the Republic of Chile, today the Spanish Empire in South America is put to an end by losing the Spanish crown, the Real Felipe Fortress. , which protects the port of Callao in Peru, when the Spanish brigadier José Ramón Rodil y Campillo, who never recognized the capitulation, and due to the lack of support from Spain, handed over the castle. Now begins the process of creating nation-states throughout South America. (195 years ago)
1823: July 24
Chile becomes the first state in America to abolish slavery. With the enactment of the law, some 4,000 slaves are released. (198 years ago)
1820: August 20
The military expedition led by General José de San Martín with the Liberation Army of Peru, composed of 4,000 troops, sets sail from the port of Valparaíso (Chile), which will achieve the independence of Peru. In September they will disembark in Pisco (Peru). Given that they are short of troops, in the first moments they will avoid a direct clash with the royalists and will initiate a war of attrition by cutting communication and supply lines. They will win the support of the local population and foment rebellion in the enemy ranks. On July 10, 1821, they will occupy Lima (Peru). San Martín, after verifying that the population agrees with this war of liberation, will proclaim the Independence of Peru on July 28 and on August 2 will assume the leadership of the State as "Protector of the Freedom of Peru", will abolish slavery, (201 years ago)
1818: April 5
In Chile, in the Maipo Valley, the Battle of Maipú takes place, in which the Chilean Independence Movement, led by José de San Martín and Bernardo O'Higgins, obtains a decisive victory over the Spanish forces. The balance of the fight will leave some 2,000 Spanish and 1,000 Chilean casualties. (203 years ago)
1818: February 12
The independence of Chile is officially proclaimed. Bernardo O'Higgins begins his personalist government that will collapse in 1823 due to his opposition to the aristocracy, of which Ramón Freire will take advantage of his dictatorship. (203 years ago)
1817: February 8
Buenos Aires Colonel Juan Gualberto Gregorio de Las Heras crosses the Andes mountain range with his army to join San Martín and liberate Chile from the Spanish. On the 12th they will face the royalists in the battle of Chacabuco whom they will defeat. They will take the city of Santiago, two days later. (204 years ago)
1817: February 4
The troops of the army of the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata of General San Martín, under the command of Major Martínez, defeat the Spanish troops in the Achupallas gorge, achieving with this victory the first triumph of the so-called "Army of the Andes. ", which in the end will end up giving independence to Chile. This action enables the patriots to secure the Putaendo valley, since the next morning the royalists will flee, abandoning everything. (204 years ago)
1812: February 13
In Chile, the "Aurora de Chile" is published, the country's first newspaper, published until April 1, 1813. (209 years ago)
1811: December 2
In Chile, the republican general José Miguel Carrera Verdugo along with his brothers, Juan José and José Luis, carry out a coup and dissolve the recently created Congress (July 4), overthrowing the conservative majority, without encountering any armed resistance. In this way, the exalted (a group made up of 12 deputies, among whom Bernardo O'Higgins Riquelme and Manuel de Salas Corbalán and the royalists stand out, who only recognize the Cádiz Regency Council) remain in majority and designate a new Junta de Government, which will create the Supreme Judicial Court. (210 years ago)
1811: July 4
Meeting in Santiago, the first session of the Chilean Congress takes place, one of the oldest in Latin America. The best form of government for the kingdom of Chile is debated while the captivity of the King of Spain Fernando VII, kidnapped by Napoleon, lasts. (210 years ago)
1810: September 18
In Santiago de Chile an independent governing Board is constituted, which despite recognizing the sovereignty of the Spanish King Fernando VII, takes a first step towards his political and territorial emancipation. The purpose of this Board is to care for and maintain the colony of Chile while José Bonaparte usurps the Spanish throne. (211 years ago)
1770: October 10
The Captain Felipe González de Aedo, in command of the warship San Lorenzo, disembarks on Easter Island where he stays for seven days and takes possession of it in the name of the King of Spain, Don Carlos III, renaming it San Carlos. in his honor. Act is drawn up by which the aboriginal chiefs of the island recognize Spanish sovereignty. (251 years ago)
1722: April 5On Easter Day, the Dutch navigator Jacob Roggeveen discovers the island of Waihu in the Pacific Ocean, which he baptizes as Easter Island. Composed mainly of rock of volcanic origin, this island is inhabited by Polynesians and has more than 200 gigantic stone figures that are called "mohais". (299 years ago)
1709: February 12
From the Juan Fernández archipelago, belonging to Chile, the Scottish sailor Alexander Selkirk is rescued today, whose adventures on this island will inspire the book "Robinson Crusoe"by the writer Daniel Defoe. Selkirk, who in October 1703 was working on the galleon "Cinque Ports" that anchored in the archipelago, decided not to trust the safety of the aforementioned ship and requested to be taken ashore, repenting shortly afterwards. The isolation lasted four years and four months until, today, he is rescued by the corsair ship "Duke" that will leave two days later carrying on its deck the troubled and lonely Alexander, who will say goodbye to his abode of the last years in the ship while it is moving away from the shores that have sheltered him. Back in civilization, he became a lieutenant in the navy of "HMS Weymouth", a ship on which he died in 1723, at the age of 47. (312 years ago)
1647: May 13
In Santiago de Chile there is a devastating earthquake that kills a third of the population. (374 years ago)
1574: November 22
The Spanish navigator Juan Fernández discovers two islands belonging to the archipelago that currently bears his name, which he baptizes as Santa Cecilia (later called Más a Tierra and today known as Isla Robinson Crusoe) and Santa Clara. The archipelago is located 670 km. from the Chilean coast. (447 years ago)
1557: November 8
In Chile, in the swampy area of the San Pedro lagoon and the Biobio river, the battle of Lagunillas takes place. In it, the Spanish troops of Governor García Hurtado de Mendoza, made up of about 600 men, face off for the first time and defeat the Araucanian chief Caupolicán. (464 years ago)
1554: February 26
In the Sierra de Marihueñu, in the Concepción region (Chile), the military confrontation between Spaniards and Mapuches takes place in which the greatest military victory of the indigenous people over the Spaniards is achieved during the Arauco War, when the troops of the Mapuche Lautaro to the forces commanded by Francisco de Villagra. After this battle, the Spanish believe that the conquest of Chile has been lost, leaving the city of Concepción. (467 years ago)
1552: February 9
In Chile, in a strategic site due to its proximity to the coastal port and its privileged position to dominate the river valleys currently called Calle-Calle and Cruces, and its good access to the plains, where La Unión and Río Bueno are currently located. In the place where the Indian population of Aintil was rising until now, the Spanish conqueror Pedro de Valdivia founded the city of Santa María la Blanca de Valdivia with seventy neighbors, creating a council and leaving the lawyer Julián Gutiérrez de Altamirano as mayor. and greater justice of the city. (469 years ago)
1541: September 11
At dawn in Chile and by surprise, the forces of the Aconcagua chief, Michimalonco, attack and destroy the recently founded city of Santiago de la Nueva Extremadura, today known as Santiago de Chile. Inés de Suárez, Pedro de Valdivia's lover, orders some imprisoned chiefs to be slaughtered, to intimidate the attackers. Many of the attackers flee in terror when victory was at hand. (480 years ago)
1541: February 12
After having reached the Mapocho Valley (present-day Chile) in December 1540 under the command of some 150 Spaniards, Pedro de Valdivia obtained peaceful collaboration from the indigenous tribes of the place and entrusted the builder Pedro de Gamboa with the design of a new city following the rules arranged in the Royal Decree of 1523 for the New World. Today, and once its layout was completed with the creation of the Plaza de Armas and the public buildings that surround it, Pedro de Valdivia founded the city of Santiago del Nuevo Extremo, future Santiago de Chile. (480 years ago)
1540: December 13
The Spaniard Pedro de Valdivia arrives in the Mapocho valley, current Santiago de Chile, and changes the name of the Huelén hill to the Santa Lucía hill, saint of the day. (481 years ago)
1520: November 20
The maritime expedition of Fernando de Magallanes, a Portuguese navigator in the service of Spain, crosses the strait that will bear his name. Despite the difficulties to cross it due to the convoluted coasts, at dawn on this day, the expedition sees snow-capped peaks to the east from the South Atlantic, thus discovering a territory that will eventually be called Chile. Diego de Almagro, considered the discoverer of Chile, will arrive by land sixteen years later in this beautiful region. (501 years ago)
1520: October 21
The Magellan fleet reaches a cape south of Patagonia that marks the strait that separates the South American continent from Tierra del Fuego. They have just discovered the passage to the west they are looking for. Later, and in his honor, this strait will bear his name. (501 years ago)
Outstanding births in Chile
1924: October 5
In Santiago, the Chilean capital, the short story writer and novelist José Donoso was born. It will be part of the so-called "Latin American boom". In his novels he will denounce the decadence of the high bourgeoisie. His 1958 novel "Coronation" will be a clear example. (97 years ago)
1917: October 4
Born in San Carlos (Chile), Violeta Parra, a versatile woman where they exist. In time she would become a Chilean singer, painter, sculptor, embroiderer and ceramicist. She will become the most important folklorist in her country and will be considered the founder of Chilean popular music. (104 years ago)
1914: September 5
In the Chilean town of San Fabián de Alico, Nicanor Segundo Parra Sandoval was born, a Chilean poet, mathematician and physicist whose work will have a profound influence on Latin American literature. It will be in 1937, with the publication of "Cancionero sin nombre" , when it stands out for its anti-hermetic style, in the context of a current that will advocate a return to expressive clarity. His work will include a score of poems, and several anthologies. (107 years ago)
1908: July 26
Born in Santiago de Chile, Salvador Allende, politician and constitutional president of Chile from 1970 until the coup d'état of 1973. (113 years ago)
1904: July 12
In Parral, Chile, Ricardo Eliécer Neftalí Reyes Basoalto was born, who will be better known as the poet Pablo Neruda, Nobel Prize for Literature in 1971 and author, among others, of "Twenty love poems and a desperate song . " (117 years ago)
1889: April 7
Gabriela Mistral, writer, was born in the town of Coquimbo (Chile), awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1945, making her the first Latin American writer to achieve such a precious award. (132 years ago)
1809: September 4
Born in Petorca (Chile) the one who will be the military and politician and Chilean president from 1851 to 1861, Manuel Montt. He will be minister on several occasions and will found, in 1843, the University of Santiago de Chile. When Bulnes leaves the presidency, he will have their support to occupy the high magistracy of the country. His triumph, supported by the conservatives of Llano and Santiago, will be answered by uprisings that will be repressed. Montt will begin to lead a new government, characterized by authoritarianism. During his tenure, he will activate the economy and culture, encourage European immigration, create new rail lines and, in 1855, promulgate the Civil Code. In 1858 he will be reelected as president, representing the National Party. A year later, the Copiapó rebellion broke out, which was again put down by Montt. His second term will end in 1861, the year in which he will leave power to José J. Pérez. He will preside, until his death in 1880, the Supreme Court of Justice. (212 years ago)
1778: August 20
In Chillán, Chile, Bernardo O'Higgins was born, a Chilean politician and military man, a key figure in the independence of his country who will be considered one of the Liberators of America. He will be captain general of the Chilean Army, brigadier of the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata, general of Gran Colombia and one of the main organizers of the Liberation Expedition of Peru. (243 years ago)
Deaths reported in Chile
2010: July 21
At 93 years of age, the Chilean politician and journalist Luis Corvalán Lépez, who was secretary general of the Communist Party of Chile for more than three decades, dies in Santiago de Chile. During the coup that overthrew President Salvador Allende in 1973, he was arrested and deported to the Ritoque and Tres Álamos concentration camp without being subjected to trial. (11 years ago)
1973: September 23
Twelve days after Pinochet's coup, which ended democracy and established terror in Chile, the poet Pablo Neruda dies in its capital, Santiago, being buried surrounded by soldiers with the silence of the Chilean people, who shout to the world your pain. Your home will be ransacked and your books burned. (48 years ago)
1973: September 16
In the stadium of Chile (Santiago de Chile), where thousands of opponents have been confined, as a result of the repression that follows the military coup of September 11 led by Augusto Pinochet, which overthrew the constitutional government of Salvador Allende, is Chilean singer-songwriter Victor Jara assassinated after being cruelly tortured. (48 years ago)
1967: February 5
Violeta Parra, a versatile woman, dies in Santiago de Chile as she was a Chilean singer, painter, sculptor, embroiderer and ceramist, the most important folklorist in her country and founder of Chilean popular music, author, among many other songs, of "Gracias to life." (54 years ago)
1948: January 2
In the Chilean town of Cartagena, Vicente García Huidobro dies, a Chilean poet, the initiator of "creationism" who gave his works an intelligent and innovative look. He is considered one of the greatest poets of his country, along with Gabriela Mistral, Pablo Neruda, Nicanor Parra and Pablo de Rokha. (73 years ago)
1946: June 27
In Santiago de Chile, Juan Antonio Ríos, president of the Republic of Chile since 1942, dies during the exercise of his position. (75 years ago)
1558: June 27
In the town of Cañete, present-day Chile, the "toqui" (caudillo or Mapuche military chief) Caupolicán, born in Pilmaiquén, dies impaled. During several campaigns he led the Mapuche army, a people that tried to resist the Spanish conquest of southern Chile, until it was finally captured in the Battle of Fort Tucapel. Taken prisoner, he is martyred by Alonso de Reinoso, chief of the town of Cañete, who today condemns him to die impaled. (463 years ago)
1557: April 29
In the battle of Peteroa, on the southern bank of the Mataquito River (present-day Chile), Lautaro, an Araucanian leader who, with his native army, acted in the form of guerrilla warfare against the Spanish conquerors, died. His head is taken to Santiago and exposed in a pillory placed in the Plaza de Armas as a lesson to the population. Today he is recognized as a national hero of Chile. (464 years ago)
1553: December 25
In Tucapel, present-day Chile, the Spanish military and conqueror Pedro de Valdivia, governor of Chile, died in an ambush organized by Caupolicán and Lautaro, leaders of the indigenous resistance that seemed already suffocated. (467 years ago)
Outstanding Facts in China
2020: January 30
Today, after the first infections occurred outside of China, the World Health Organization declares the international alert to the unstoppable expansion of the Wuhan coronavirus, despite the excellent reaction of the Chinese authorities. (1 year ago)
2008: September 27
China, after Russia (former USSR) and the US, becomes the third nation capable of spacewalking, after astronaut Zhai Zhigang, 41, and commander-in-chief of the Shenzhou VII mission, exits the capsule space and float with zero gravity in outer space, orbiting 343 kilometers from Earth, for 15 minutes. (13 years ago)
2008: August 8
With the record participation of 204 countries, and despite the lack of freedoms and respect for human rights, the XXVI Olympics of the Modern Era are inaugurated in Beijing (Peking, China). They will close on August 24. (13 years ago)
1999: December 20
Twelve years after an agreement was reached between China and Portugal, and after 450 years of Portuguese administration, Macao became a special administrative region of the People's Republic of China. As in Hong Kong, the Basic Law of Macao will guarantee the maintenance of the capitalist economic system and will enjoy broad autonomy for at least 50 years, maintaining the judicial system established by Portugal and the Portuguese language as the official language alongside Chinese. (21 years ago)
1997: July 1
As both countries had agreed in 1984, the British colony of Hong Kong, in the hands of Great Britain since it took possession at the end of the First Opium War in 1841, returns to China. Hong Kong has been for all these years one of the largest commercial and capitalist centers between East and West. (24 years ago)
1989: October 5
The Dalai Lama, exiled leader of Tibet, is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his campaign of non-violence against the Chinese domination of Tibet, which was invaded in 1950. With this campaign, the Dalai Lama, has achieved since his exile in India, let the rest of the world know about the oppression that China exerts on the Tibetan people and their religion. (32 years ago)
1989: June 4
The massacre of students in Tiananmenn Square occurs when the Chinese government orders the People's Army to recover, at all costs, the square that has been taken for seven weeks by idealistic students who demand democratic reforms. When the army reaches the square, almost a million people fill the immense esplanade blocking its entrance, which increases the tension and makes the army start the repression with blood and fire with the tanks crushing everything that stands in their way . At dusk on that fateful day, the dead will be counted by the hundreds and those arrested by the thousands. (32 years ago)
1984: August 2
China and Great Britain reach an agreement for the decolonization of Hong Kong, a colossal financial center, which will take place in 1997, at the end of the 155 years of cession that they agreed to in 1842 after the Opium War. (37 years ago)
1979: February 17
Chinese troops invade Vietnam in response to the Vietnamese invasion of Cambodia, and their approach to the Soviet Union rather than China, but will be repulsed after nine days of bloody and fierce fighting. (42 years ago)
1977: July 22
The Chinese Communist Party committee reinstates Deng Xiaoping as Deputy Prime Minister of the State Council, Vice President of the Central Committee, Vice President of the Military Commission and Chief of the General Staff of the People's Liberation Army, after being stripped of them when the Gang of Four (who led the defense of Maoism after Mao Zedong's death), blamed him for the popular uprising in Tiananmen Square in April 1976, after the death of President Zhou Enlai. Deng Xiaoping will take over the reins of China in December 1978. (44 years ago)
1976: October 11
The official end of the Cultural Revolution comes to China a few weeks after Mao's death, which occurred on the 9th of last month, when today his successor, Hua Guofeng, orders the arrest of the so-called Gang of Four, formed by Mao's widow and three of her collaborators. In 1981, the Four will be subjected to a public trial and, although the Party will admit "grave errors" by Mao while rehabilitating millions of cadres and citizens who have been purged, it will attribute almost all the responsibility of the movement to the members of the Gang, and will be charged with anti-Party activities. Jiang Qing and Zhang Chunqiao will not admit the charges and will be sentenced to the death penalty, while Yao Wenyuan and Wang Hongwen will show their repentance, for which their sentence will be 20 years in prison. (45 years ago)
1976: July 28
China suffers a devastating earthquake that reaches 8.2 on the Richter scale. The earthquake claims 240,000 lives. (45 years ago)
1968: July 1
Although it will not enter into force until 1970, the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty is signed in triplicate in London, Moscow and Washington, restricting the possession of nuclear weapons. The vast majority of the world's sovereign states will eventually become parties to this Treaty. Only the five countries, which possess nuclear weapons at the time of signature, will be allowed to possess nuclear weapons: the United States (signatory in 1968), the United Kingdom (1968), France (1992), the Soviet Union ( 1968, now Russia), and the People's Republic of China (1992). But these five Nuclearly Armed States agree not to transfer nuclear weapons technology to other countries, and the Non-Nuclearly Armed States agree not to try to develop nuclear weapons. The states of India, (53 years ago)
1967: August 8
In Bangkok, the capital of Thailand, six countries (Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines, China and Thailand) found the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) whose purpose is to accelerate economic growth and promote regional peace and stability. Eventually all the nations of Southeast Asia will unite. (54 years ago)
1959: March 17
The Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso leaves Lhasa (Tibet) at night fleeing Chinese persecution. By posing as a regular soldier for a Tibetan official, with a rifle in tow, he will succeed in crossing the border into India, where he will seek and find asylum. (62 years ago)
1959: March 10
In Tibet there is a revolt against the Chinese occupation of 1951. In Lhasa, 300,000 Tibetans surround the Potala, the palace where the Dalai Lama lives to protect him from possible murder or kidnapping. The response of the Chinese military is immediate and in the following days there will be thousands of deaths in retaliation. This revolt will conclude with the Dalai Lama's flight to India. (62 years ago)
1953: September 15
Mao's communist China is refused entry into the UN. Formosa is kept on the Security Council of this body. (68 years ago)
1953: July 27
The armistice that ends the Korean War between the United States, North Korea and China is signed in Panmunjeom. South Korea only remains as an observer member by refusing to sign the armistice, leaving the 38th parallel as the dividing line between the two Koreas, the same territorial situation that existed before the war. This conflict ends after more than three years of fighting (started on June 25, 1950) and approximately four million casualties (between dead and wounded). The economic and social damage from the Korean War is staggering. It is by no means a definitive solution, but only a temporary arrangement. For decades, the 38th parallel will continue to be a place of tension. (68 years ago)
1951: May 23
Although in October 1950, the People's Liberation Army of the People's Republic of China occupied Tibet, it is not until today, through the signing of the "Seventeen Points" agreement, that China officially annexes Tibet as an autonomous region, giving rise to a movement for Tibetan independence led by the Dalai Lama, who will win the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989 for his non-violent struggle. (70 years ago)
1949: October 1
In Beijing's Tiananmen Square, Mao Zedong proclaims the birth of the People's Republic of China. Right now the Kuomintang nationalists only control a few cities in the south. Mao is elected its first president. In a short time, a Constitution will come into force that will proclaim the Chinese Communist Party as the single party. Mao will rebuild the damaged Chinese economy on the model of Soviet communism. (72 years ago)
1946: January 12
On this date, the United Nations Security Council meets for the first time. At this time, 51 states are part of the UN and the Security Council is made up of 11 members. The permanent membership of the aforementioned Council will remain in the hands of the victorious allies of World War II: the United States, the USSR, France, the United Kingdom and China, the rest being non-permanent and rotating members. By virtue of an amendment dated December 17, 1963, which will enter into force on August 31, 1965, the General Assembly will increase the number of non-permanent members of the Security Council from 6 to 10. These non-permanent members will be elected by the General Assembly for a period of 2 years and may not be re-elected at the end of their mandate. (75 years ago)
1942: April 26
During the Japanese occupation of Chinese Manchuria, at the Benxihu coal mine (Honkeiko for the Japanese), where working and safety conditions are deplorable, 1,549 miners are killed in a gas explosion. (79 years ago)
1937: December 13
In the context of the Chinese-Japanese War, the city of Nanking (China) surrenders to the Japanese forces and the Chinese government is forced to flee the capital. The Japanese general Matsui Iwane, orders the destruction of Nanking by setting fire to the city and committing real atrocities against the civilian population. This regrettable episode will go down in history as the "rape of Nanking", one of the most heinous crimes against humanity ever recorded, killing no less than 300,000 civilians in a disgusting manner: beheading them, piercing them with bayonets, dismembering them , burning them, burying them alive, shooting them, crushing them with tanks, raping thousands of women and girls who have previously been abused and subjected to the most atrocious atrocities that the darkest misery of the human soul has ever devised. At the end of World War II, General Matsui will be found guilty of all war crimes by the International Military Tribunal for the Far East and will be executed. (84 years ago)
1937: July 7
On the outskirts of Beijing (China), near the Marco Polo Bridge, Chinese and Japanese troops clash, marking the start of the Second Sino-Japanese War. (84 years ago)
1936: December 12
The so-called "Sian incident" takes place when Chang Hsueh-liang kidnaps the Chinese nationalist leader Chiang Kai-shek, forcing him to end the civil war against the Communists to form an alliance against the Japanese invaders. This action will make Chang a national hero. Later, Chang will surrender to then-President Chiang Kai-shek, thinking that showing repentance they would only apply a symbolic penalty, but, nevertheless, he will suffer as punishment to spend the remaining years of his life under house arrest, until 1991 when he will be placed in Liberty. He will die in 2001 in his retirement on the island of Hawaii, at the age of 101. (85 years ago)
1934: October 16
90,000 Chinese communists flee the siege to which they are subjected by Chiang Kaishek in Jiangxi province, this being the origin of the "Long March". Only 20,000 will reach Yenan, including Mao Tse Tung. They will have sown the seeds of final victory. (87 years ago)
1932: March 9
Henry Pu Yi, who was the last emperor of China during the period from 1908 to 1912, became Regent, puppet of the Japanese state Manchukuo, serving as such until his capture by Soviet troops at the end of World War II. In 1950, Pu Yi will return to China where he will be imprisoned until amnesty by the revolutionary leader Mao Zedong in 1959. After his release, he will work as a gardener and librarian in Beijing. He will pass away in 1967. (89 years ago)
1931: September 18
Under the pretext of an explosion on the railway line, Japan invades Manchuria (China), an area rich in minerals and abundant raw materials, declaring it, in February 1932, as an independent nation with the name of Manchukuo and establishing a puppet regime to make it governed according to the imperialist interests of Japan. (90 years ago)
1931: August 31
In China, the waters of the Yangtze River, the longest in Asia with an approximate length of 6,300 km, and the third longest in the world, after the Nile and the Amazon, flood most of the Kuang region, causing the direct death of 145,000 people. The tragedy does not end here, almost three million more will die in the coming months from hunger and infectious diseases such as cholera. (90 years ago)
1929: May 7
The nationalist Chiang Kai Chek becomes president of the Supreme Central Council of the ROC. (92 years ago)
1928: October 6
Chang Kaichek is proclaimed president of the Republic of China. (93 years ago)
1912: February 12
Puyi, the last emperor of China, is forced to abdicate by Yuan Shikai, promoter of the republican revolution together with Sun Yat-sen. (109 years ago)
1911: October 10
The Republican Revolution begins in China led by Sun Yat Sen, founder of the nationalist Kuomintang party, who will later be forced to cede the presidency to Yuan Shinkay, who in turn will force Emperor Puyi to abdicate on February 12, 1912, with which the Manchu dynasty definitively lost the throne of China, marking the end of imperial China and giving way to the birth of the Republic of China. (110 years ago)
1900: August 4
An expeditionary force of all powers ends with the siege of the "55 days in Beijing". The Chinese government is obliged to compensate the affected countries. The balance of the 55 days of rebellion: 231 foreigners and a good number of Chinese Christians killed. (121 years ago)
1900: June 20
Chinese nationalists (boxers, a secret society called Yi HeTuan, "Fists of Justice and Concord") rebel in Beijing against economic and political interference by European powers and surround Western embassies for 55 days. In October the rebellion will be put down. (121 years ago)
1898: June 11
After the supposed withdrawal of Empress Dowager Cixi, who has been guarding her reign, the Chinese emperor of the Qing dynasty, Guangxu, issued his first reformist decree initiating the so-called "Hundred Days of the Reformation", an imperial attempt to renew the Chinese state and the social and legislative system, with the help of the most progressive, such as Qing Kang Youwei and Liang Qichao. (123 years ago)
1860: October 18
British troops occupying Beijing (China) loot and burn the "Yuanmingyuan", the fabulous summer residence built by the emperors of Manchuria during the 18th century. In 1870, the Chinese Empress Dowager Cixi began its reconstruction but in 1900, during the Boxer Rebellion, the palace was burned down again by Western troops. In the 1950s, the communist government will rebuild it. (161 years ago)
1842: August 29
In China the Treaty of Nankin is signed, putting an end to the Opium War between Great Britain and China that began 3 years earlier. Among other concessions, the Chinese give up Hong Kong. (179 years ago)
1839: August 23
The United Kingdom captures Hong Kong as a military base by initiating a blockade on the Zhu Jiang River to prevent the passage of ships as it prepares for war against the Qing dynasty of China. The conflict that will conclude with the British victory in August 1842, and by means of the Nanjing treaty will collect millionaire economic sanctions and the cession of the island of Hong Kong to Queen Victoria in perpetuity, will be known as the First Opium War. (182 years ago)
1839: March 10
Lin Zexu, high imperial commissioner in Canton (China) forces foreigners to hand over to the Chinese authorities all the opium they possess. More than 20,000 boxes are seized and are immediately thrown into the sea. The British government responds with war and will send a naval expedition. The Opium War has just begun. In August 1842, with the signing of the Nankin Treaty, and the cession of Hong Kong to the British, this conflict will be considered over. (182 years ago)
1644: June 6
The Manchu forces of the Qing Dynasty led by Emperor Shunzhi, captured the city of Peking during the collapse of the Ming Dynasty. This Manchu dynasty will rule and establish the capital of its empire in this city until the abdication in 1912 of the last emperor, Pu-Yi, as a result of the Xinhai Revolution and the establishment of the Republic of China, which will be the last of the Chinese imperial dynasties that have been ruling the country for at least 4,000 years. (377 years ago)
1644: May 25
Ming General Wu Sangui forms an alliance with the Manchu invaders and opens the gates of the Great Wall of China at Shanhaiguan, allowing the Manchu to pass on their march to the capital Beijing. This will play a decisive role in the fall of the Ming dynasty and the establishment this year of the Qing dynasty, which will reign until 1912 and will be the last of the imperial dynasties. (377 years ago)
1556: January 24
In the vicinity of Mount Hua, in the Shensi province of China, a terrible earthquake occurs in which, according to the chronicles, 830,000 people die. Many houses are in man-made caves that have collapsed. For a long time it will be the highest number of victims in this class of catastrophes. (465 years ago)
1279: March 19
End of the Chinese Song Dynasty when its army was defeated in the Naval Battle of Yamen (in the Pearl River Delta, China) by Mongol troops under the command of General Zhang Hongfan of the Yuan Dynasty who, despite being very inferior in number of ships and soldiers, he gains an overwhelming tactical and strategic victory. There are tens of thousands of deaths, the majority belonging to the losing side. The Mongol domination of China under this dynasty will last until 1368, when the new Chinese Ming dynasty is founded, which will expel the Mongols to the northern lands. (742 years ago)
907: May 12
The Chinese emperor Ai Di is deposed by the army of Zhu Wen, leader of the peasant insurrection, putting an end to the Tang dynasty after 289 years of rule and 21 emperors, in which China remained united becoming a political model and cultural center from East Asia. (1114 years ago)
690: October 16
In China, Empress Wu Zetian ascends the throne of the Tang dynasty and proclaims the new Zhou dynasty and assumes the name "Emperor". In this way she is the first and only woman to occupy the imperial throne in the entire history of China. It will make Buddhism the official religion. (1331 years ago)
626: September 4Li Shimin, known posthumously as Emperor Taizong, assumed the throne during China's Tang Dynasty, which he held until his death in July 649. (1,395 years ago)
621: May 28
In China, near the Hulao Pass in present-day Henan Province, the Battle of Hulao takes place, in which Li Shimin, son of the Chinese Emperor Gao Zu, defeats Dou Jiande's forces, which are doubled in number. This victory will decide the outcome of the civil war and will mark the fall of the Sui dynasty in favor of the Tang dynasty. (1400 years ago)
23: 6 October
In China, and two days after looting the capital Chang'an (now Xi'an) during the peasant rebellion, a group of rebels beheaded Wang Mang, emperor of the Xin dynasty who tries to defend his palace and who rules dictatorially since 1 BC. (1998 years ago)
Outstanding births in China
1906: February 7
In the forbidden city of Beijing, China, Puyi was born who will be the last emperor to reign over this vast country. He will do it from 1908, with only two years, until the abolition of the Chinese monarchy in 1912. In order to deceive the Society of Nations, between 1934 and 1945 he will be imposed by the Japanese invaders as Emperor of Manchukuo, being only a puppet with very limited powers. Once the People's Republic of China is established, he will earn his living as a gardener and later as a historical worker at the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference. (115 years ago)
1893: December 26
Born in Shaoshan (Hunan, China) Mao Zedong, who will be a Chinese statesman, chairman of the Communist Party of China, main founder of the People's Republic of China and top leader from its creation in 1949 until his death in 1976. (127 years ago)
1638: March 15
In present-day Shenyang, China, the one who will be the second emperor of the Qing dynasty, the last Chinese imperial dynasty, of Manchu origin, Shunzhi, is born. (383 years ago)
1507: September 16
In China, Jiajing was born, who will be the eleventh emperor of the Ming dynasty, between 1521 and 1567. During his reign there will be a certain political stability although he will have to face incursions from abroad by Mongols and Japanese. He will be a fervent Taoist. (514 years ago)
1048: May 25
Song Shenzong was born in China, who will be the sixth emperor of the Song dynasty and will reign from 1067 until his death in 1085. At this time, political and social reforms will be implemented aimed at solving the serious problems that his Empire has inherited and improving the conditions of life of the peasantry on low-interest loans. Upon his death, his son Song Zhezong will succeed him. (973 years ago)
551BC: September 28
This date is traditionally marked as the birth date in the village of Qufu of one of the most influential figures in Chinese history, the philosopher and creator of Confucianism Kongzi, better known in the West as Confucius. (2572 years ago)
Reported deaths in China
1997: February 19
Deng Xiaoping, a Chinese politician and leader of the People's Republic of China, who introduced major economic reforms for his country in 1978, dies in Beijing (China). (24 years ago)
1976: September 9
The chairman of the Chinese Communist Party, Mao Zedong, dies at the age of 82. He was the beloved idol of 800 million Chinese. After his death, Deng Xiaoping will emerge as the leader of China. (45 years ago)
1975: April 5
Chiang Kai-shek, a Chinese military man and statesman who ruled Taiwan in an authoritarian way from 1949 until his death, dies in Taipei, the island of Taiwan, being succeeded by his son Chiang Ching-kuo. He never resigned himself to the fact that his exile would be permanent and he always hoped that communism would eventually fall, so that, under his leadership, the ROC would reconquer the People's Republic of China. (46 years ago)
1644: April 25
In China, during a peasant rebellion led by Li Zicheng, fueled by famine, unemployment and corruption in the public administration, the 16th Ming Dynasty Emperor Chongzhen commits suicide by hanging himself after ordering the royal family to do the same. , except for two of his sons whom he helps to escape the Manchu invasion that from the north has been strengthened by the popular peasant uprisings. In this way, the Ming dynasty was put to an end. (377 years ago)
1294: February 18
Kublai Kan, a Mongolian by birth, who conquered most of China in 1258 and became king of the country, dies in Beijing (China). In 1260, when his brother Mongke Khan died, he was also appointed Great Khan of the Mongols. In 1271 he became the first Chinese emperor of the Yuan Dynasty. During this period he was visited by the Venetian merchant Marco Polo, who became one of his political advisers. He tried to invade Japan twice (1274 and 1281), and both times the fleet was destroyed due to bad weather conditions. During his reign, communications were greatly improved and the trade routes of Central Asia were made more secure, which facilitated the movement of goods from the West to the East. He was the grandson of Genghis Khan. (727 years ago)
1063: April 30
The emperor of the Song dynasty, Renzong, who has been in power since 1022, dies in China. This dynasty has maintained a pacifist policy in the exercise of power, something that was taken advantage of by the western Xia empire. Despite this, he used diplomacy to ally himself with them in 1043, thus ensuring the integrity and stability of his empire. During his reign he managed to keep the peace, flourished the culture and reaped a significant economic improvement. When his sons died prematurely, he named Yingzong, Taizu's great-grandson, founder of the Song Empire, as his successor. (958 years ago)
