Events January–March January Serial publication of Charles Dickens's novel Martin Chuzzlewit begins in London; in the July chapters, he lands his hero in the United States. Edgar Allan Poe's short story "The Tell-Tale Heart" is published in a Boston magazine. The Quaker magazine The Friend is first published in London. January 3 – The Illustrated Treatise on the Maritime Kingdoms (海國圖志, Hǎiguó Túzhì) compiled by Wei Yuan and others, the first significant Chinese work on the West, is published in China. January 6 – Antarctic explorer James Clark Ross discovers Snow Hill Island. January 20 – Honório Hermeto Carneiro Leão, Marquis of Paraná, becomes de facto first prime minister of the Empire of Brazil. February – Shaikh Ali bin Khalifa Al-Khalifa captures the fort and town of Riffa after the rival branch of the family fails to gain control of the Riffa Fort and flees to Manama. Shaikh Mohamed bin Ahmed is killed at the battle, called the Battle of Hunayniya. February 3 – Uruguayan Civil War: Argentina supports Oribe of Uruguay, and begins a siege of Montevideo. February 6 – The Virginia Minstrels perform the first minstrel show, at the Bowery Amphitheatre in New York City. February 8 – The 1843 Guadeloupe Earthquake hits the Caribbean island of Guadeloupe, killing 1,500-5000 people. February 11 – Giuseppe Verdi's opera I Lombardi alla prima crociata premieres at La Scala in Milan. February 14 – The event that will inspire The Beatles' song Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite! is held in England. February 25 – Paulet Affair: Lord George Paulet occupies the Kingdom of Hawaii in the name of Great Britain. March 8 – The Danish government re-establishes the Althing in Iceland as an advisory body, by royal decree. March 11–14 – Eta Carinae flares, to become the second-brightest star. March 13 – Catawba County, North Carolina is created, and its first court is held in Mathias Barringer Jr.'s house. March 15 – Victoria, British Columbia, is founded by the Hudson's Bay Company as a trading post and fort. March 16 – The city of Petrópolis is founded by the government of Brazil. March 21 – The world does not end, contrary to the first prediction by American preacher William Miller. March 24 – Battle of Hyderabad: The Bombay Army, led by Major General Sir Charles Napier, defeats the Talpur Mirs, securing Sindh as a province of British India. March