What Happened Today in History on January 18

The Cortes of Leiria in Portugal is convened by King Afonso IV to address various issues in the kingdom.

The Golden Bull of Emperor Charles IV establishes the electoral college of the Holy Roman Empire.

The Union of Florence is signed, aiming to reconcile the Eastern and Western churches.

The Treaty of Bagnolo is signed, ending the War of Ferrara between Venice and the Papal States.

The city of Lima, Peru, is founded by Spanish conquistador Francisco Pizarro on the central coast of Peru. Founded on the then Julian Calendar's Catholic holiday of Epiphany, when the Three Kings visited the baby Jesus, and was therefore known as Ciudad de los Reyes or City of the Kings.

Santiago, Chile, is founded by Spanish conquistador Pedro de Valdivia.

Battle of Talikota in India sees the defeat of the Vijayanagara Empire by a coalition of Deccan Sultanates.

The Netherlands' Duke of Alva sets the penalty for treason at confiscation of property and death.

King Naresuan of Siam kills the Crown Prince of Burma in single combat, leading to Siamese independence.

The first portrait of a reigning monarch, King Charles II of England, is painted by Sir Peter Lely.

The Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle ends the War of the Austrian Succession, restoring territorial boundaries.

The first shipment of rhubarb from the American colonies arrives in London.

1778, January 18 - English Captain James Cook, traveling aboard the 100-foot flagship HMS Resolution and its 90-foot companion HMS Discovery. sights O‘ahu and two days later steps ashore at Waimea on Kaua‘i, becoming the first European to travel to the Hawaiian Islands. After a short stay Capitan Cook went on to explore the west coast of North America, to continue his search for the Northwest Passage. A year later, he returned to Hawaii where he was killed by the Hawaiian natives at Kealakekua Bay on February 14, 1779 after he attempted to kidnap Kalaniʻōpuʻu, the ruling chief (aliʻi nui) of the island and hold him in exchange for the return of a small stolen cutter. A fatal error that led to his death. Cook's arrival in Hawaii eventually led to large migrations of Europeans and Americans to the islands resulting a century later in 1893, in the overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaii by pro-American elements. More

Thomas Jefferson secretly commissions Meriwether Lewis to explore the newly acquired Louisiana Territory.

Wilhelm I is proclaimed the first German Emperor in the Hall of Mirrors at the Palace of Versailles. Following the surrender by the French army in Sedan and the south German states, except for Austria, Switzerland, and Liechtenstein, joined the North German Confederation and recognized the Prussian King as the German Emperor More

The Short Magazine Lee-Enfield rifle (SMLE) becomes the official service rifle of the British Army.

British explorer Robert Falcon Scott and four members of his expedition reached the South Pole, only to discover that Norwegian explorer Roald Engelbregt Amundsen had reached the South Pole a month earlier. Scott and his men died when trying to return to their base camp.

The Paris Peace Conference convenes at Versailles just outside Paris. The conference was called to establish the terms of the peace after World War I. The conference resulted in several treaties, most notably the Treaty of Versailles with Germany, which was signed on June 28, 1919. The treaty's terms led to political instability and resentment in Germany, which ultimately fueled extremist movements like the Nazis and contributed to the outbreak of World War II. More