What happened on 31 March?

15 events from the Ever-When timeline, ranked by how much they mattered.

1. 1991 Yugoslav Wars Series of wars accompanying the breakup of Yugoslavia, including the Bosnian war.
2. 1596 Born: René Descartes French philosopher and mathematician whose 'I think, therefore I am' opened modern philosophy.
3. 1492 Alhambra Decree expels the Jews from Spain Ferdinand and Isabella order Spain's Jews to convert or leave within four months; Sephardi communities scatter across the Mediterranean and Ottoman lands.
4. 1492 Expulsion of Jews from Spain Ferdinand and Isabella's Alhambra Decree forces ~200,000 Jews to convert or leave; ends seven centuries of Sephardi Jewish life in Iberia.
5. 1814 Paris falls to the Allies For the first time in four hundred years a foreign army enters Paris: Tsar Alexander rides down the boulevards to cheering crowds and royalist white cockades. Napoleon, racing back
6. 1854 Treaty of Kanagawa Japan signs first unequal treaty with the US, opening two ports to American ships; other Western powers quickly follow.
7. 1905 First Moroccan Crisis (Tangier Crisis) Kaiser Wilhelm II's Tangier speech triggers a crisis with France over Morocco.
8. 1838 Dickens's Oliver Twist Novel of an orphan in the London criminal underworld.
9. 1999 The Matrix Wachowski siblings' science-fiction film about a simulated reality.
10. 1774 The Intolerable Acts punish Boston Parliament's answer to the Tea Party: Boston's port closed until the tea is paid for, Massachusetts' charter gutted, royal officials tried in England, troops quartered at will. Mea
11. 1964 Brazilian coup of 1964 A US-backed military coup overthrows President Goulart, beginning 21 years of dictatorship in Latin America's largest nation.
12. 1933 Civilian Conservation Corps established A New Deal work-relief program employing young men on conservation projects.
13. 1949 Newfoundland joins Confederation After two referendums and a 52% squeaker, Britain's oldest colony becomes Canada's tenth province — Joey Smallwood signs on as 'the only living Father of Confederation'.
14. 1990 Poll tax riots Riots against the community charge in London and elsewhere; helps force Thatcher's resignation later in 1990.
15. 1807 The Duke of Portland's second premiership An ailing Portland presides over the start of the Peninsular War and a duel between two of his own ministers.