30 MARCH

1591 - During the Spanish colonial period, an ordinance is issued in the city of Manila, Philippines that forbids the wearing of silk and other fabrics from China, for the reason, that it is detrimental to the general welfare and the good government of the city; Western colonization of the Southeast Asian archipelago began in 1565 when the Spaniards established settlements in Cebu.

1856 - The Treaty of Paris forces Russia to accept the new status of the Black Sea as demilitarize and neutral, which effectively ensures British dominance in the eastern Mediterranean; Russia also renounced claims to a protectorate of all Balkan Christians.

1981 - United States President Ronald Reagan is shot outside a Washington, D.C. hotel by a deranged drifter named John Hinckley Jr while on his way to his limousine following his speech at a labor meeting at the Washington Hilton Hotel; Hinckley, who has fired a total of six shots that hit Reagan three times as the other three bullets hit the House Press Secretary, a Secret Service agent and a DC policeman, will be found not guilty by reason of insanity while Reagan will survive the assassination attempt.

2002 - The Queen Mother of Great Britain dies peacefully in her sleep at age 101, seven weeks after the death of her daughter, Princess Margaret; her remains will be interred with the remains of Princess Margaret and will be buried beside King George VI, her husband, in St. George's chapel at Windsor Castle.