On This Day: November 15th

Boilers of the steamboat Louisiana explode as she pulls back from the dock in New Orleans, killing more than 150 people.

A slave revolt in the Cherokee Nation commences.

Pike Expedition: Lieutenant Zebulon Pike spots a mountain peak while near the Colorado foothills of the Rocky Mountains. It is later named Pikes Peak in his honor.

American Revolutionary War: After 16 months of debate the Continental Congress approves the Articles of Confederation.

The secondly-built Castellania in Valletta is officially inaugurated with the blessing of the interior Chapel of Sorrows.

Rákóczi's War of Independence: The Habsburg Empire and Denmark win a military victory over the Kurucs from Hungary in the Battle of Zsibó.

Francisco Pizarro arrives in Cuzco, the capital of the Inca Empire.

Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire: Commanded by Francisco Pizarro, Spanish conquistadors under Hernando de Soto meet Incan Emperor Atahualpa for the first time outside Cajamarca, arranging for a meeting in the city plaza the following day.

Growth of the Old Swiss Confederacy: The Schweizer Eidgenossenschaft ambushes the army of Leopold I in the Battle of Morgarten.

Battle of the Winwaed: Penda of Mercia is defeated by Oswiu of Northumbria.