📅 On This Day in Military History
2 events across history
British explorer Captain James Cook was killed by Hawaiian islanders after an altercation over a stolen boat. Cook had attempted to take a local chief hostage and was stabbed and beaten to death in the surf.
Cook's death ended three voyages that had transformed Western understanding of the Pacific and established British claims to Australia and New Zealand.
Outcome
Cook killed; his crew retreats; Hawaii remains independent
When Bolivia tried to impose a new tax on the Chilean-owned nitrate company at Antofagasta — violating an 1874 treaty — and then moved to confiscate it, Chile landed troops and seized the port without a shot. The city's population was largely Chilean, and it fell into Chilean hands instantly.
The bloodless seizure of Antofagasta began the war. Bolivia declared war, and its secret alliance treaty dragged in Peru, turning a tax quarrel over guano and nitrate into a three-nation conflict for the Pacific coast.
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