July 8

1099 – Some 15,000 starving Christian soldiers begin the siege of Jerusalem by marching in a religious procession around the city as its Muslim defenders watch. 1283 – Roger of Lauria, commanding the Aragonese fleet, defeats an Angevin fleet sent to put down a rebellion on Malta. 1497 – Vasco da Gama sets sail on the first direct European voyage to India. 1579 – Our Lady of Kazan, a holy icon of the Russian Orthodox Church, is discovered underground in the city of Kazan, Tatarstan. 1663 – Charles II of England grants John Clarke a Royal charter to Rhode Island. 1709 – Peter I of Russia defeats Charles XII of Sweden at the Battle of Poltava, thus effectively ending Sweden's status as a major power in Europe. 1716 – The Battle of Dynekilen forces Sweden to abandon its invasion of Norway. 1730 – An estimated magnitude 8.7 earthquake causes a tsunami that damages more than of Chile's coastline. 1758 – French forces hold Fort Carillon against the British at Ticonderoga, New York. 1760 – British forces defeat French forces in the last naval battle in New France. 1775 – The Olive Branch Petition is signed by the Continental Congress of the Thirteen Colonies of North America. 1776 – Church bells (possibly including the Liberty Bell) are rung after John Nixon delivers the first public reading of the Declaration of Independence of the United States. 1808 – Promulgation of the Bayonne Statute, a royal charter Joseph Bonaparte intended as the basis for his rule as king of Spain. 1822 – Chippewas turn over a huge tract of land in Ontario to the United Kingdom. 1853 – The Perry Expedition arrives in Edo Bay with a treaty requesting trade. 1859 – King Charles XV & IV accedes to the throne of Sweden–Norway. 1864 – Ikedaya Incident: The Choshu Han shishi's planned Shinsengumi sabotage on Kyoto, Japan at Ikedaya. 1874 – The Mounties begin their March West. 1876 – The Hamburg massacre prior to the 1876 United States presidential election results in the deaths of six African-Americans of the Republican Party, along with one white assailant.