THE DAY IN HISTORY · AUGUST 29
August 29 in history
What happened on August 29: 4 moments from the Maps of History atlases, in 1793, 1842, 1871 and 1949, each linked to the map that shows it.
— Proclamation of Camp Turel
29 Aug 1793 — From his camp in the hills, Toussaint, then fighting for Spain, issues his first proclamation: he wants liberty and equality to reign in Saint-Domingue, and he signs it Louverture.
READ THIS MOMENT → · SEE IT ON THE TWO ROADS TO INDEPENDENCE MAP → · THE FULL STORY →
— Treaty of Nanking
29 Aug 1842 — Qing China, defeated by Britain in the Opium War, cedes Hong Kong, pays 21 million silver dollars and opens five ports to foreign trade. That same summer, alarmed by news of Britain’s victories, the shogunate softened its order to fire on foreign ships.
READ THIS MOMENT → · SEE IT ON THE REMAKING THE STATE MAP → · THE FULL STORY →
The Meiji emperor summons the former lords to Tokyo and abolishes their 261 domains in one decree, with an imperial guard of 10,000 men standing by; Japan becomes a single state overnight.
READ THIS MOMENT → · SEE IT ON THE REMAKING THE STATE MAP →
— First Soviet atomic bomb test
29 Aug 1949 — The USSR tests its own atomic bomb at Semipalatinsk, years ahead of Western estimates. The American monopoly is over after four years and twenty days, counted from Nagasaki.
READ THIS MOMENT → · SEE IT ON THE COLD WAR MAP → · THE FULL STORY →
THE FREE PRINTABLE STUDY GUIDE
Join the Dispatch — a short welcome series, then a letter when a new atlas opens — and a printable atlas study guide of your choice is yours now, free.
NO TRACKING · YOUR ADDRESS IS USED FOR THE DISPATCH AND NOTHING ELSE · UNSUBSCRIBE ANYTIME