1773 Captain James Cook’s ship, the ‘Resolution,’ became the first recorded ship to cross the Antarctic Circle.
1819 Simón Bolívar, the “Liberator,” proclaimed Columbia a republic. Though he himself was hardly a republican. A review of the biography below is to be found elsewhere on this blog.
1821 Mexico permitted three hundred American families to settle in Texas. The Austin family land grant is represented below. We saw the original in the museum in Austin. These three hundred became known as the Old Three Hundred in Texas society. A regime change in Mexico City soured relations with the immigrants in short order. The new regime also alienated the Mexicans living in Texas who allied with the immigrants.
1917 The United States paid Denmark $25 million for the Virgin Islands. Denmark had little capacity to control the islands, while the United States feared that if Denmark fell into German hands, then U-Boats might be stationed there. The Islands were regarded as forward defence of the Panama Canal.
1949 The Volkswagen Beetle went on sale in the United States. Two were sold. We have each owned one and ridden in many others.
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