-
Period: to
Toussaint Louverture
Leader of the Haitian Revolution and led to the establishment of the independent black state of Haiti, transforming an entire society of slaves into a free, self-governing people. The success of the Haitian Revolution shook the institution of slavery throughout the New World. -
Period: to
Reign of King Louis XVI
He decided to build a strong, efficient, capable of rivalize with the English, maritime arsenal. He sent his forces to America where the independence war was raging. This act was a key point in the independentist's naval victory. -
Period: to
American Revolution
A political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America. -
Spinning Mule Developed
Samuel Crompton produced his Spinning Mule, so called because it was a hybrid that combined features of two earlier inventions, the Spinning Jenny and the Water Frame. The mule produced a strong, fine and soft yarn which could be used in all kinds of textiles, but was particularly suited to the production of muslins. -
James Watt Perfects the Steam Engine
It was the first type of steam engine to make use of steam at a pressure just above atmospheric to drive the piston helped by a partial vacuum. -
Period: to
Simon Bolivar
A Venezuelan military and political leader. Bolívar played a key role in Latin America's successful struggle for independence from the Spanish Empire, and is today considered one of the most influential politicians in the history of the Americas. -
Period: to
French Revolution
A period of radical social and political upheaval in French and European history. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years. -
Period: to
Haitian Revolution
A period of brutal conflict in the French colony of Saint-Domingue, leading to the elimination of slavery and the establishment of Haiti as the first republic ruled by people of African ancestry. Although hundreds of rebellions occurred in the New World during the centuries of slavery, only the revolt on Saint-Domingue, which began in 1791, was successful in achieving permanent independence under a new nation. -
Cotton Gin Developed
It is a machine that quickly and easily separates the cotton fibers from the seeds, a job previously done by hand. These seeds are then used to grow more cotton, or to produce cottonseed oil, or, if they are badly damaged, they are disposed of. It uses a combination of a wire screen and small wire hooks to pull the cotton through the screen, while brushes continuously remove the loose cotton lint to prevent jams. -
Period: to
Reign of Napoleon
French military leader and emperor who conquered much of Europe in the early 19th century. Napoleon rapidly rose through the ranks of the military during the French Revolution. -
Period: to
Wars of Independence in Latin America
The Independence movement in Latin America, which had been simmering since the United States broke away from Great Britain in 1776, came to a boil around 1810. Spain's Empire in the New World crumbled, and by 1825 all that remained were a few islands in the Caribbean. -
Period: to
Congress of Vienna
A conference of ambassadors of European states chaired by Klemens Wenzel von Metternich, and held in Vienna. Its objective was to settle the many issues arising from the French Revolutionary Wars, the Napoleonic Wars, and the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire. -
Period: to
Opium Wars
Between Great Britain and China. Early in the 19th cent., British merchants began smuggling opium into China in order to balance their purchases of tea for export to Britain. -
Communist Manifesto published
A short 1848 book written by the German Marxist political theorists Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. It has since gone down in history as one of the world's most influential political manuscripts. -
Period: to
German Unification
The formal unification of Germany into a politically and administratively integrated nation state officially occurred on 18 January 1871 at the Versailles Palace's Hall of Mirrors in France. -
Period: to
Unification of Italy
The political and social movement that agglomerated different states of the Italian peninsula into the single state of Italy in the 19th century. -
Period: to
Taiping Rebellion
Massive civil war in southern China from 1850 to 1864, against the ruling Manchu-led Qing Dynasty. -
Period: to
The Crimean War
Conflict fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the French Empire, the British Empire, the Ottoman Empire, the Kingdom of Sardinia, and the Duchy of Nassau. The war was part of a long-running contest between the major European powers for influence over territories of the declining Ottoman Empire. Most of the conflict took place on the Crimean Peninsula, but there were smaller campaigns in western Anatolia, the Baltic Sea, the Pacific Ocean and the White Sea. -
Period: to
Opium Wars
Between Qing-dynasty China and Britain are a perfect case study of the international divergence of opinion that the Empire continues to generate. -
Bessemer Process Developed
It was the first inexpensive industrial process for the mass- production of steel from molten pig iron prior to the open hearth furnace. -
Period: to
Sepoy Rebellion
One of the most well-known uprisings during the British colonization of India was a mutiny of the native troops known as "sepoys". When it began on Sunday, May 10, 1857 the Sepoy rebellion was a complete surprise to the British, many of whom were "blind to the unrest that had been created, in part, by the rapid imposition of direct British control over two-thirds of India" -
Origin of the Species Published
A work of scientific literature by Charles Darwin which is considered to be the foundation of evolutionary biology. -
Emancipation of the Russian Serfs
The first and most important of liberal reforms effected during the reign of Alexander II of Russia. The reform, together with a related reform in 1861, amounted to the liquidation of serf dependence previously suffered by Russian peasants. -
Meiji Restoration
In 1868 the Tokugawa shôgun, who ruled Japan in the feudal period, lost his power and the emperor was restored to the supreme position. The emperor took the name Meiji as his reign name. -
Suez Canal
An artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea. -
Period: to
Boer War
A war fought between Britain and the South African Boers, when the Boers sought to regain the independence given up for British aid against the Zulus -
Panama Canal
After realizing the riches of Peru, Ecuador, and Asia, and counting the time it took the gold to reach the ports of Spain, it was suggested1524 to Charles V, that by cutting out a piece of land somewhere in Panama, the trips would be made shorter and the risk of taking the treasures through the isthmus would justify such an enterprise. A survey of the isthmus was ordered and subsequently a working plan for a canal was drawn up in 1529. -
Period: to
Berlin Conference
Meeting at the Berlin residence of Chancellor Otto von Bismarck, the foreign ministers of fourteen European powers and the United States established ground rules for the future exploitation of the "dark continent." Africans were not invited or made privy to their decisions. -
Indian National Congress Founded
The Indian National Congress is the self-proclaimed largest and oldest democratic organization in the world. Since its inception in 1885, it has been responsible for many of the drastic changes in Indian politics. So much so that leaders like Mahatma Gandhi who rose out of it succeeded in not only seeing changes in their country but in the entire world. -
Period: to
Boer War
A war fought between an alliance of the Boer governments of the Transvaal and the Orange Free State on the one hand and Great Britain on the other, over the sovereignty and commercial rights in these lands. The war ended with British victory. -
Period: to
Boxer Rebellion
In northern China, was a proto-nationalist movement by the "Righteous Harmony Society" opposing Western imperialism and Christianity. The uprising took place in response to European spheres of influence in China, with grievances ranging from opium traders, political invasion, economic manipulation, to missionary evangelism. -
Period: to
Russo-Japanese War
It grew out of rival imperial ambitions of the Russian Empire and the Empire of Japan over Manchuria and Korea. The major theatres of operations were Southern Manchuria, specifically the area around the Liaodong Peninsula and Mukden; and the seas around Korea, Japan, and the Yellow Sea. -
All-India Muslim League founded
A group of nationalist Muslim leaders gathered
in Dhaka, India and proposed a Muslim political association with
three aims (to protect Muslim interests, to counter Congress
influences, and to support the British administration). -
Henry Ford and the Assembly Line
For the first time, Henry Ford's entire Highland Park, Michigan automobile factory is run on a continuously moving assembly line when the automobile's frame is assembled using the revolutionary industrial technique. A motor and rope pulled the chassis past workers and parts on the factory floor, cutting the man-hours required to complete one Model T from 12-1/2 hours to six.
