June 20: The king of France, Louis XVI ordered to close the rooms where members of the Third Estate (the bourgeoisie and some members of the lower clergy, with noblemen that had come to less) who filed for National Assembly on June 20, 1789 deliberated.

Drawing by Jacques-Louis David of the Tennis Court Oath.

The members moved to the tennis court of the king and vowed not to leave until achieving a constitution draft for France. The oath went down in history as the “Serment du jeu de paume” (literally tennis court oath) as it is called the tennis court today.

This took place on June 20, 1789 when the King refused to recognize the "National Assembly" and declared the activites of the Third Estate illegal.

It is recalled that the General States (Les Etats-Generaux) in 1789 were composed as follows: The First State included the high clergy of France (bishops, archbishops and cardinals). The second State was formed the nobility; and, the Third Estate was the common people represented by the bourgeoisie, the petty bourgeoisie, priests, and some impoverished nobles who owed money to the bourgeois, mainly traders.

Louis Charles Auguste Couder:The Tennis Court Oath, 20th June 1789, 1848

This third state began to take shape the French Revolution!

That Oath meant that French citizens formally stood in opposition to Louis XVI, for the first time, and the National Assembly's refusal to back down forced the king to make concessions.

June 19: Today is anniversary of the execution of Emperor Maximilian I of Mexico.

Portrait as Emperor of Mexico, Franz Xaver Winterhalter, 1864

Napoleon III was the second emperor of France (1852-1863) and very interested in colonialism. Mexico was in debt with Spain, Britain and France. Napoleon III took the Civil War in the United States to intervene customs of Mexico.

Emperor Maximilian I of Mexico

Influenced by his wife the Empress Eugenia de Montijo, Napoleon III offered the throne of Mexico to Archduke Maximilian of Austria, who took it happily and blissfully supported by landowners and the Mexican oligarchy.

The Execution of Emperor Maximilian (1868-69), oil on canvas, 252 x 305 cm. Kunsthalle Mannheim

Once crowned emperor, Maximilian had to face discord among the conservatives who supported and opposed liberals and led by Benito Juarez.

The Execution of Emperor Maximilian (1867), oil on canvas, 195.9 x 259.7 cm. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

When the American Civil War ended, President Andrew Johnson threatened to impose the Monroe Doctrine (America for the Americans) and supported Benito Juarez.

Edouard Manet - Execution of emperor Maximilian (second version, London)

A Maximiliano asked him to abdicate and return to Austria, but the gullible character supposedly decided to stay because there were many people who wanted in Mexico. Sure, they wanted him dead and was thus captured by Benito Juarez and had him shot in the “Cerro de las Campanas” in Queretaro.

Maximilian I shooting

Impressionist painter Edouard Manet sympathetic to Republican ideas reveled painting a series of five paintings on the implementation of reckless Maximilian.

Photograph of the execution of Maximilian (right in photograph) Miramón (center) and Mejía (left), 19 June 1867

Empress Carlota went to the Empire of Austria to seek revenge against Mexico and passed the rest of his miserable life from one kingdom to another looking to avenge her husband and fighting against Mexico and the United States!

June 18: The United States Congress declares war on Great Britain, Canada, and Ireland, in 1812, also known as the “War of 1812”.

Declaration of War

The cause of the war must be sought in the US desire to defend his presumed right to trade freely with any nation, even in wartime. Wars between Britain and France during the Napoleonic era resulted in a British embargo on American trade with France, which ended in open warfare.

James Madison, U.S. President, (1809–1817).

The British navy seized more than 250 American merchant ships which headed the French Indies in 1794. Americans went into a rage for losing so many ships at the hands of Britain, and because of the British custom of kidnapping American crew as well.

Lord Liverpool, British Prime Minister, (1812–1827).

Many Americans, in fact, advocated since then by declaring war on Britain, remembering the wounds have not yet closed the War of Independence.

Among the causes that led to the declaration of war are likewise trade restrictions imposed by the United Kingdom because of the war that remained in Europe against France; forced recruitment of American merchant sailors to serve in the Royal Navy; and British support to indigenous peoples of North America who opposed the expansion of the United States.

June 17: Five agents of the White House are arrested for entering and stealing documents at the offices of the Democratic National Committee, in an attempt by some members of the Republican Party to listen illegally to Democratic Party phone calls in 1972, which became known as the Watergate scandal that eventually toppled the President Richard M. Nixon.

A photo of the Watergate Complex taken from a DC-9-80 inbound to Washington National Airport on January 8, 2006.

The Watergate cover-up was a political scandal in the United States that occurred in 1972 during the presidency of Richard M. Nixon, culminating in bringing charges to some very close directors to the President, and the resignation of the latter, in August 9, 1974.

The Burglary: On June 17, 1972, five men — Bernard Barker, James McCord, Frank Sturgis, Virgilio Gonzalez, Eugenio Martinez —  broke into the Democratic National Headquarters office in the Watergate complex in Washington. They were discovered by security guard Frank Wills, and arrested that night.

The scandal began with the arrest of five men for the raid on the headquarters of the Democratic National Committee in the Watergate office complex in Washington, D.C., on June 17, 1972. Nixon and his staff conspired to conceal the raid just six days after the fact.

Headline from Washington Post identifying McCord as a 'GOP Security Aide.'

After two years collecting evidence against the President´s environment, which included members of his team testifying against him in an investigation by the United States Senate, it was revealed that Nixon had a recording system with magnetic tapes in his office, and had recorded a lot of discussions within the White House. These tapes showed he had obstructed justice and tried to cover up the theft. These recorded conversations would be known as "The Smoking Gun".

After a series of legal battles, the Supreme Court of the United States decided unanimously that Nixon had to hand over the tapes that he finally relented.

With the certainty of an accusation by the House of Representatives and conviction by the Senate, Nixon resigned ten days later. He thus became the only American president who has resigned.

Headlines from The Washington Post

His successor, Gerald Ford, would grant a controversial pardon for any federal crime that was committed during Nixon´s tenure.

Richard Milhous Nixon, 37th President of the United States of America

June 16: By declaring war on the United Kingdom of Great Britain, Spain actively supported the Thirteen Colonies throughout the War of Independence of the United States, beginning the so-called Anglo-Spanish War of 1779-1783. The Great Siege of Gibraltar begins in 1779.

Spain allied with France through family pacts, and saw the revolution as an opportunity to weaken the British Empire, which had caused significant losses to Spain during the Seven Years' War.

As the newly appointed prime minister of Spain, the Count of Floridablanca, wrote in March 1777, "the fate of the interests of the colonies is very important to us, and we will do for them all that circumstances permit"

Spanish Prime Minister, Count of Floridablanca  

The main objectives of Spain were recovering Gibraltar and Menorca from the British, who had owned it since 1704, after the Seven Years' War, between 1756 and 1763.

Panorama of the Grand Assault by French and Spanish warships, showing 1 ship exploding, infantry and artillery on land in right foreground

The Great Siege of Gibraltar was the first Spanish action in the war, which lasted from June 16, 1779 to February 7, 1783. In spite of having numerical superiority on French-Spanish Alliance, Britain did not lose Gibraltar.

June 15: The Ottoman Empire defeats the Serbs and Bosnians in the Battle of Kosovo in 1389.

Sultan Murad Hüdavendigâr

Islamic Ottoman Empire expanded dramatically from east to challenge the Byzantine Empire. Finally, the Ottomans conquered the Byzantines.

Prince Lazar Hrebeljanović

En route to Byzantium, the Ottoman eyes were on Serbia for conquest. The June 15, 1389, the Ottoman forces annihilated the Serbian opposition.

Prince Lazar of Serbia took over and began to prepare for the coming conflict with the Ottomans. Eventually, the Ottoman Empire managed to extend the Balkans, leaving the Islamic seed sown, and finally the Byzantine Empire fell to the Ottoman Turks in 1453.

The Ottoman Empire

The Modern Age begins with the fall of Constantinople, capital of the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantine Empire.

June 14: Kublai Khan destroyed the forces of Nayan and other princes of Mongolia and Manchuria in 1287.

A painting of Shizu, better known as Kublai Khan, as he would have appeared in the 1260s (although this painting is a posthumous one executed shortly after his death in February of 1294, by a Nepalese artist and astronomer Anige). The painting is done in the Chinese portrait style. It is now located in the National Palace Museum in Taipei, Taiwan.

In 1274, Kublai appointed Lian Xixian to investigate abuses of power praise Mongol holders in Manchuria and the region was immediately taken over by the control of Kublai Khan in 1284 and eliminates the Mongolian autonomy there.

The English translation of the catalogue notes on this 700 year old map are reproduced below (thanks to James Fletcher for translating).

Additionally, threatened by the advance of bureaucratization of Kublai, a descendant known as Nayan instigated a revolt in 1287. Nayan attempted to join forces but were destroyed by the army of Kublai Khan.

Yuan dynasty: extent of empire under Kublai Khan

Kublai was the fourth son of Tolui and grandson of Genghis Khan. Discrepancies with his younger brother Arik Böke Toluid led to the Civil War which lasted until 1264. The real power was limited to China and Mongolia.

Rabban Bar Sauma, ambassador of Great Khan Kublai and Ilkhan Arghun, travelled from Dadu to Rome, Paris, and Bordeaux to meet with European rulers.

The Mongol Empire of the time stretched from the Pacific Ocean to the Black Sea, and from Siberia to the current Afghanistan.

The Mongol Empire and Kublai Khan

June 13: The Anglo-Portuguese Alliance signed in 1373 between England (later UK) and Portugal is the world's oldest partnership and is still in force.

This alliance that begins in the Middle Ages has served both countries and has been very important over the centuries to achieve the influence of England on ​​the Iberian Peninsula.

English aid to the House of Aviz, who ruled Portugal from 1385-1580 laid the foundations for cooperation with the Portuguese. England became the cornerstone of the foreign policy of Portugal for more than 500 years.

John of Gaunt being entertained by John I of Portugal.

But British aid to Portugal began much earlier, during the Second Crusade to the Holy Land route and stopped in Portugal to help the Portuguese King Alfonso Henriquez defeat and expel the invading Moors.

Marriage of John I, King of Portugal and Philippa of Lancaster, daughter of John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster.

During the Napoleonic Wars, and particularly since 1801 when conflict broke out between France, Spain and Portugal, known as the "War of the Oranges", Britain responded to the Treaty of 1373 and sent its maritime fleet to destroy the Spanish Armada under Napoleonic control.

The Treaty of Windsor sealed the Alliance that had begun in 1294 and then was renewed on June 13, 1373 with the Anglo-Portuguese Treaty by a pact of perpetual friendship between the two countries:


“It is cordially agreed that if, in time to come, one of the kings or his heir shall need the support of the other, or his help, and in order to get such assistance applies to his ally in lawful manner, the ally shall be bound to give aid and succour to the other, so far as he is able (without any deceit, fraud, or pretence) to the extent required by the danger to his ally’s realms, lands, domains, and subjects; and he shall be firmly bound by these present alliances to do this.” (A.R. Myers, English historical documents.4 (Late medieval). 1327-1485.

June 12: In 1987, during the Cold War, US President Ronald Reagan publicly challenges Mikhail Gorbachev to tear down the Berlin Wall: “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall !”

"Tear down this wall!" speech: President Ronald Reagan speaking in front of the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin.

The Berlin Wall was built by the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics -USSR- in 1961, as an "anti-fascist protection wall" to separate the Berlin capital of the Federal Republic of Germany under Soviet control, the German Democratic Republic that had the support of NATO, led by the United States.

Moscow's idea was to build a socialist country, which evolved toward communism without any foreign interference. But in reality, the Wall served to prevent migration of citizens of this repressive towards freedom of the West, in Germany. Anyone who tried to climb over the Wall was shot at while dead. Thousands died trying to pass the west side seeking freedom.

Mr Gorbachev Tear Down This Wall Mr gorbachev

Lay down this wall! Was the challenge given him by Ronald Reagan to Mikhail Gorbachev, General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, as an emblem of desire that had the Soviet leader to advance transparency (glasnost) and restructuring (perestroika).

Reagan acknowledges the crowd after his speech in front of the Brandenburg Gate in West Berlin on June 12, 1987.

Reagan's speech was delivered on June 12, 1987, to commemorate the 750th anniversary of the founding of Berlin. It was the second visit by President Reagan in five years and at a time of high tension between East and West, in the middle of the "Cold War".

President Reagan famously said "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall"

The Brandenburg Gate was chosen to emphasize the conviction of the President of the United States that Western democracy offered the best hope for Eastern Germans.

On August 13, 1961, the German Democratic Republic began building a wall which separated West Berlin from East Berlin and East Germany.

The phrase "Tear down this wall!" It was the logical conclusion of the proposals of President Reagan.

June 11: Troy is burned and destroyed in 1184 BC, according to the calculations of Eratosthenes.

This map shows the proximity of Troy to the Greeks, based on the myths.

The Trojan War had its origins in Greek mythology when the dispute broke out between the goddesses Aphrodite, Athena and Hera. So was the goddess of the dispute, given a golden apple, marked for "the most beautiful". Thus became the saying of the "Apple of Discord". But Zeus said that Aphrodite was to receive the apple and she gave it to Helen to make her the most beautiful woman in the world and marry her to Menelaus of Sparta.

The most beautiful woman on earth at that time was Helen, wife of Menelaos of Sparta

Agamemnon was king of Mycenae and brother of Menelaus, King of Sparta. Both sailed to Troy to recover Helen. After ten years of fighting, the city of Troy was flanked by the famous "Trojan horse" full of Greek soldiers who looted, burned and destroyed the city.

Triumphant Achilles dragging Hector's body around Troy, from a panoramic fresco of the Achilleion Palace

The most beautiful woman of the time was Helen, daughter of Zeus and Leda. Helen married old Menelaus, King of Sparta.

Trojans allowed the horse in the city and started celebrating for their victory. During night though, when everyone was drunk and tired, Greeks came out from the horse and slaughtered Trojans, desecrated the temples and stole the gold and gifts from this rich city.

But when Prince Paris, son of Priam, king of Troy, came to visit Sparta, Helen had just had a daughter, whom they named Hermione. Paris paid his hospitality kidnapping beautiful Helen and seducing her to escape to Troy. “In the legends, it all started after Paris of Troy stole the stunning Helen from her husband the King of Sparta, Menelaus.”

Map of the Troad, including the site of Troy

The Greeks built a huge wooden horse with which would fit many soldiers in his belly which access was by a ladder. They also sent the message that the Trojans were going to abandon the struggle and sent them a gift which, Trojans naively opened the doors. At dusk, the Greeks left the horse and joined other Greeks who arrived by boat and that was the Trojan War.

The Burning of Troy (1759/62), oil painting by Johann Georg Trautmann