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Jamestown
The three ships land in Jamestown, establishing the first English settlement in the United States. There are 103 settlers among them. Upon arrival, Captain John Smith is named to the governing council. -
Industrial Revolution (Britain)
The transition to new manufacturing processes in Europe and the US, in the period from about 1760 to sometime between 1820 and 1840. This transition included going from hand production methods to machines, new chemical manufacturing and iron production processes, the increasing use of steam power, the development of machine tools and the rise of the factory system. -
Boston Tea Party
A political and mercantile protest by the Sons of Liberty in Boston, Massachusetts. The target was the Tea Act of May 10, 1773, which allowed the British East India Company to sell tea from China in American colonies without paying taxes apart from those imposed by the Townshend Acts. -
Declaration of Independence
The Continental Congress declared that the thirteen American colonies were no longer subject (and subordinate) to the monarch of Britain and were now united, free, and independent states. -
French Revolution
A period of far-reaching social and political upheaval in France and its colonies beginning in 1789. The Revolution overthrew the monarchy, established a republic, catalyzed violent periods of political turmoil, and finally culminated in a dictatorship under Napoleon who brought many of its principles to areas he conquered in Western Europe and beyond. -
The Louisiana Purchase
The acquisition of the Louisiana territory (828,000 sq mi (2,140,000 km2; 530,000,000 acres)) by the United States from France in 1803. -
Great Famine (Ireland)
A period in Ireland between 1845 and 1849 of mass starvation, disease, and emigration. It caused by potato blight. During the famine, about one million people died and a million more emigrated from Ireland, causing the island's population to fall by between 20% and 25%. -
The Mexican-American War
An armed conflict between the United States of America and the United Mexican States (Mexico) from 1846 to 1848. It followed in the wake of the 1845 American annexation of the independent Republic of Texas. -
Civil War
Four-year war (1861–65) between the United States and 11 Southern states that seceded from the Union and formed the Confederate States of America.
