On This Day: March 5th

Roberto Cofresí, one of the last successful Caribbean pirates, is defeated in combat and captured by authorities.

First Anglo-Burmese War: The British officially declare war on Burma.

Peninsular War: A French force under the command of Marshal Victor is routed while trying to prevent an Anglo-Spanish-Portuguese army from lifting the Siege of Cádiz in the Battle of Barrosa.

Boston Massacre: Five Americans, including Crispus Attucks, are fatally shot by British troops in an event that would contribute to the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War (also known as the American War of Independence) five years later.

Antonio de Ulloa, the first Spanish governor of Louisiana, arrives in New Orleans.

Nicolaus Copernicus's book On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres is added to the Index of Forbidden Books 73 years after it was first published.

King Henry VII of England issues letters patent to John Cabot and his sons, authorising them to explore unknown lands.

The Livonian Order is defeated in the Battle of Aizkraukle by the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.

Nasir Khusraw begins the seven-year Middle Eastern journey which he will later describe in his book Safarnama.

Roman emperor Julian leaves Antioch with an army of 90,000 to attack the Sasanian Empire, in a campaign which would bring about his own death.