North America / 1596 / Luis de Carabajal the Younger
The Inquisition, a design of the Catholic Church in Europe to weed out non-believers i.e. Jews and Muslims, found a place in the New World as well. Luis de Carabajal was a member of a relatively well-to-do family from Spain. While in Spain, at the height of the Inquisition, Luis’s family travelled to Monterrey, Mexico, in an attempt to avoid persecution and death. Unfortunately, as they were Jewish converts to Catholicism, and always suspect, the Inquisition would still harass and torture them for confessions against other suspected covert Jews and Muslims.
To avoid further torture and death by the Inquisition, following 4 1/2 hours on the rack, Luis leapt to his death. During his time in Mexico, Luis was forcibly placed in lunatic asylums as the authorities considered him a relapso — someone who had not fully converted and still harbored Jewish sentiments. The scope of the Inquisition cannot be underemphasized. It was a period in time in which there was no trial by your peers, you were not innocent until proven guilty, and you lived in constant fear of being imprisoned, tortured, and sentenced to death, often without warning.
To lighten up this topic, I’ve also included a link to a scene from “History of the World: Part One,” a comedy by Mel Brooks. It offers a comedic take on the Spanish Inquisition.
South America / 1817 / General Juan Gregorio de las Heras
The South American Wars for Independence were one of the most successful liberation drives in history. While most are familiar with the major players — Simón Bolívar and José de San Martín, Juan Gregorio de las Heras was responsible for key successes in the Andes Mountains of Peru and Chile. De las Heras would later become governor of Buenos Aires and temporary chief executive of Argentina.
It was on this day in 1817 that de las Heras was given command of the Army of the Andes and successfully pushed the Spanish out of Chile in the Battle of Chacabuco. While born in Argentina, he would eventually find himself at odds with the government, who cashiered him in 1830, but was later reinstated. Almost immediately after reinstatement, de las Heras retired from military service and finished his life in Chile.
Asia / 1904 / Russo-Japanese War (Attack on Port Arthur)
To their credit, the Japanese have regularly exercised the element of surprise in their wars — think Pearl Harbor. For several years, tsarist Russia had been in control of Port Arthur. On the night of February 7, 1904, Japanese destroyers attacked the Tsarevich and Retvizan battleships and the cruiser Pallada. Ironically, official British opinion was supportive of the Japanese calling them “Gallant Little Japan.”
There were multiple reasons for the animosity between the Russians and Japanese, but the primary locus was mutual interest in gaining superiority of a rapidly disintegrating Chinese empire. The Russians had bullied the Chinese into giving them the only ice-free port in Manchuria, allowing them to exercise considerable influence over the Korean Peninsula and East Asia. Tsar Nicholas II was certain of an easy Russian victory which would rally support around his regime; it worked temporarily. By February 6, the Japanese government had broken off negotiations and prepared for outright war.
The Japanese Third Army, led by Nogi Maresuke, overran Port Arthur, and took major areas of Manchuria and Korea. The Russo-Japanese War resulted in countless military and civilian deaths. It was also the first time since the Mongolian invasions of Europe that an Asian power defeated a European power. The loss of Port Arthur and their influence in the Far East led to continued criticism and protests in Russia against the regime of Nicholas II. In September 1905, a treaty was signed ending the war; hostilities would remain, though.
Europe / 1945 / Mikhail Devyataev
Born in Mordovia on July 8, 1917, Devyataev was the 13th child in his family. His father was a laborer and his mother was a housewife. He entered World War II very early (June 24, 1941) and would almost immediately earn the Order of the Red Banner. Unfortunately, short thereafter he was seriously wounded and would be restricted to flying overnight reconnaissance missions. On July 13, 1944, Devyataev was shot down over Lwów, Ukraine. He would attempt an escape, but was caught and sent to Sachsenhausen concentration camp in Germany. Eventually, after assuming the identity of a dead Soviet soldier, Devyataev would be transferred to the V-2 rocket engineering center in Peenemünde on the Baltic island of Usedom.
At noon on February 8, 1945, Devyataev along with a group of Soviet POWs, boarded an HE 111 H22 bomber and flew it to safety in Soviet-held territory. The escapees were able to provide the Soviets with information about the V-1 and V-2 missle program. Initially, though, the People’s Commissariat for Public Affairs (NKVD) did not believe the testimony of Devyataev and his compatriots. Their view was that there was no way a group of people could commandeer a German aircraft with the help of the Germans. The decision was made to imprison the group. Devyataev would not return to the war front and spent the rest of World War II in prison.
He would eventually get his day in court and a retraction of the crimes against him. But it would take until 1957 for the Soviet government to fully pardon him. Davyataev would be awarded several honors before his death in 2002.
Had it not been for Davyataev’s bravery and tenacity, it is very likely that the Nazis would have been successful in carrying out their development of the V-1 and V-2 missiles and World War II would have ended quite differently.
In peace,
PH
Historical Musings 
.jpg){kind=link}