THE DAY IN HISTORY · MARCH 31

March 31 in history

What happened on March 31: 5 moments from the Maps of History atlases, in 1146, 1854, 1905, 1936 and 1959, each linked to the map that shows it.

1146 — Bernard preaches the Second Crusade

31 Mar 1146 — at Vézelay, Bernard of Clairvaux summons the Second Crusade before King Louis VII and a vast crowd. Two royal armies will march east; almost none of their men will come home.

READ THIS MOMENT → · SEE IT ON THE CRUSADES MAP → · THE FULL STORY →

1854 — Treaty of Kanagawa

31 Mar 1854 — Perry returns with a larger squadron and signs Japan’s first treaty with a Western power. It opens Shimoda and Hakodate to American ships for supplies and allows a consul to reside in Japan, but it contains no clause on trade.

READ THIS MOMENT →

1905 — First Moroccan Crisis

31 Mar 1905 — Wilhelm II rides through Tangier and declares his support for Moroccan independence, to test the new Anglo-French entente. At the Algeciras conference in 1906 only Austria-Hungary backs Germany, and the test meant to split Britain from France pushes them together.

READ THIS MOMENT → · SEE IT ON THE WWI MAP → · THE FULL STORY →

1936 — Battle of Maychew

31 Mar 1936 — Haile Selassie’s last army attacks the Italian line and is broken by artillery, air power and mustard gas — a weapon banned by conventions Italy had signed. The road to the capital is open.

READ THIS MOMENT → · SEE IT ON THE ROAD TO WAR MAP → · THE FULL STORY →

1959 — Dalai Lama’s flight to India

31 Mar 1959 — After a fortnight’s ride over the Himalaya, the 23-year-old Dalai Lama crosses into India at Khenzimane and is granted asylum by Nehru. About 80,000 Tibetans follow him in 1959–60; the government-in-exile he set up at Dharamsala still contests Beijing’s account of Tibet.

READ THIS MOMENT → · SEE IT ON THE PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC UNDER MAO MAP → · THE FULL STORY →