On This Day: March 17th

In his last victory, Julius Caesar defeats the Pompeian forces of Titus Labienus and Pompey the Younger in the Battle of Munda.

The First Taranaki War begins in Taranaki, New Zealand, a major phase of the New Zealand Wars.

The Female Relief Society of Nauvoo is formally organized with Emma Smith as president.

The Anglo-Dutch Treaty is signed in London, dividing the Malay archipelago. As a result, the Malay Peninsula is dominated by the British, while Sumatra and Java and surrounding areas are dominated by the Dutch.

The Italian Republic, with Napoleon as president, becomes the Kingdom of Italy, with Napoleon as King of Italy.

American Revolutionary War: The British Army evacuates Boston, ending the Siege of Boston, after George Washington and Henry Knox place artillery in positions overlooking the city.

Turko-Mongol emperor Timur sacks Damascus.

Edward the Black Prince is made Duke of Cornwall, the first duchy in England.

Petronius Maximus becomes, with support of the Roman Senate, emperor of the Western Roman Empire; he forces Licinia Eudoxia, the widow of his predecessor, Valentinian III, to marry him.

Commodus becomes sole emperor of the Roman Empire at the age of eighteen, following the death of his father, Marcus Aurelius.