June 17

in History

Rome, ItalyMedieval

653

Pope Martin I Arrested

Seized from his own palace by imperial soldiers

In the Lateran Palace in Rome, Pope Martin I was arrested by agents of Emperor Constans II and dragged from his papal residence in chains. His crime: defying the emperor's ban on theological debate by condemning the Monothelite heresy. Shipped to Constantinople, Martin endured a humiliating trial, torture, and exile to Crimea, where he died. He remains the last pope to be venerated as a martyr, a symbol of the eternal tension between spiritual authority and imperial power.

653 AD

Modern

1839

Hawaiian Kingdom

In the Kingdom of Hawaii, Kamehameha III issues the edict of toleration which gives Roman Catholics the freedom to worship in the Hawaiian Islands.

In the Kingdom of Hawaii, Kamehameha III issues the edict of toleration which gives Roman Catholics the freedom to worship in the Hawaiian Islands. The Hawaii Catholic Church and the Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace are established as a result.

1839 AD

Taku Forts Captured — Allied guns breach China's coastal defenses

Taku, ChinaEarly 20th Century

1900

Taku Forts Captured

Allied guns breach China's coastal defenses

During the Boxer Rebellion, allied naval forces from eight Western nations and Japan stormed the Taku Forts guarding the approach to Tianjin, China. After a brief but ferocious battle, the forts fell, opening the way for foreign troops to march inland and relieve the besieged foreign legations in Beijing. The capture of the forts was a humiliating blow to the Qing dynasty and a vivid demonstration of the military disparity between China and the industrialized powers.

1900 AD