On September 16

On this day in ...
... 1795 (215 years ago today), Dutch troops surrendered Cape Town 2 days after British troops entered the South African city at the Cape of Good Hope. Britain would relinquish the colony pursuant to the 1802 Treaty of Amiens, but would soon reclaim and hold it for the balance of the 19th century.


(Prior September 16 posts are here, here, and here.)

On May 18

On this day in ...
... 1803, the year-old Treaty of Amiens, which aimed to bring peace between Britain and France, was broken when Britain refused to withdraw its troops from Malta. As described here, the move constituted the 1st official breach of the pact (about which we also posted here), but the move was preceded by much Napoleonic behavior that threatened the balance of power contemplated in the treaty and thus riled Britain. Telling a different story is French medal at left. (credit) It depicts a British big cat mauling the treaty scroll, and carries the slogan "Le traite d'amiens rompu par l'angleterre en mai de l'an 1803."

(Prior May 18 posts are here, here, and here)

On March 25

On this day in ...
... 1802, France and Britain signed the Treaty of Amiens, which, as the political cartoon at right illustrates (credit), was intended to be a "definitive" peace accord between the 2 countries. The agreement broke down within a couple years.
... 1994 (15 years ago today), U.S. troop withdrawal from Somalia was virtually complete, with

[o]nly a few hundred marines remain[ing] offshore to assist with any noncombatant evacuation mission that might occur in the event violence broke out that necessitated the removal of the over 1,000 U.S. civilians and military advisers remaining as part of the U.S. liaison mission. All UN and U.S. personnel were finally withdrawn almost a year later in March 1995.

The withdrawal came 5 months after the "Blackhawk Down" incident about which we posted here.

(Prior March 25 posts are here and here.)