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Period: 1492 to
Modern History
The Modern Age is the third of the historical periods into which world history is conventionally divided, between the 15th and 18th centuries. It begins in 1492 with the discovery of America, and ends in 1789 with the French Revolution. -
John Kay's flying shuttle
The mechanisation process of the textile industry started with John Kay's flying shuttle (1733), which increased the speed of production and made it possible to weave wider fabrics, and spinning machines, which significantly increased productivity. -
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First Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution started in Great Britain in the 18th century. It was the process of change from an agrarian and handicraft economy to one dominated by industry and machine manufacturing. The factors why Britain pioneered the revolution were: a political system in which the power of the monarchy were limited by Parliament abd the bourgeoisie had a lot of influence, a growth of population, an abundance of resources and raw materials, an extensive transport network and a colonial empire. -
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Enclosure Acts
The enclosure acts forced the privatization of the farms. As they were fenced, they became mechanized because their modernization was now profitable because as a consequence of population growth, the demand for food had increased. They mainly harmed the peasants, who could no longer use the benefits of the land, in favor of the large landowners or landowners. -
James Watt's steam engine
In 1764, James Watt was asked to repair a Newcomen steam engine. While repairing the machine, he realised that it was inefficient because of the amount of steam it wasted, so he started to look for ways to improve it. He therefore created a much more efficient machine, which became the driving force behind industry and transport. Steam engines use the power from steam to generate continuous movement, which is transferred to machinery. -
Adam Smith publishes The Wealth of Nations
The Wealth of Nations is the most famous work of Adam Smith. Published in 1776, it is considered the first modern book on economics. Smith exposes his analysis on the origin of the prosperity of countries like England or the Netherlands. Develops economic theories on the division of labor, the market, currency, the nature of wealth, the price of commodities in labor, wages, profits, and the accumulation of capital. -
Invention of the power loom
A power loom is a mechanized loom system driven by a drive shaft. It was created by Edmund Cartwright's in 1785, and it was the last step of the mechanisation of the textile industry, and it increased fabric production and lowered its cost. -
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Contemporary History
The Contemporary Age is the name with which the historical period between the French Revolution and the present day is designated. -
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French Revolution
The French Revolution was a social and political process that took place between 1789 and 1799 in France and that, over time, spread to other countries. Among its main consequences, appears the overthrow of King Louis XVI, which marked the end of the Old Regime. -
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Constitutional Monarchy
The Constitutional Monarchy was the first phase of the French Revolution, It was driven by the moderate bourgeoisie, who aspired to abolish the Ancien Regime, elect a parliament by selective suffrage and establish a constitution. -
Estates-General meeting
The Estates-General were convened by Louis XVI in Versailles in 1789 in order to approve tax reform. The meeting was made up of representatives of the nobility, clergy and the Third Estate. The first two groups wanted to vote per estate, while the Third Estate demanded one vote per representative. When privileged classes refused, the Third Estate representatives decided to leave the meeting to met in a pavilion in Versailles and proclaimed themselves the National Assembly. -
Tennis Court Oath (Proclamation of the National Assembly)
The Tennis Court Oath was a pivotal event during the first days of the French Revolution. The Oath was a pledge signed by 576 of the 577 members from the Third Estate who were locked out of a meeting of the Estates-General on 20 June 1789, and proclaimed themselves the National Assembly. -
Storming of the Bastille
The people of Paris supported the Assembly's proposals and, on July 14, they stormed the Bastille, which was used as a prison and was a symbol of the king's absolute power. -
Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen
On 26 August 1789, the French National Constituent Assembly issued the Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen, which recognised the rights, individual freedoms and equality of all citizens in law and taxation. -
Women's March on Versailles
From Paris’ markets, thousands of angry women (due to high prices of food), marched to Versailles. They forced the king to abandon his palace and move to the Tuileries Palace in Paris. -
First French constitution
The National Assembly drew up a constitution in 1791 based on the separation of powers, national sovereignty and legal equality, though the king reserved the right of veto. Census suffrage was also introduced, giving the vote to people with a certain level of wealth. -
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Social Republic
The Social republic was the second phase of the French Revolution. The radical bourgeoisie, encouraged by the working classes, proclaimed the Republic and began a transformation into a democratic and equal society with universal male suffrage and social laws. -
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Girondin Convention
Between 1792 and 1793, the Girondins, the more moderate bourgeoisie, controlled the Republic. A new assembly, the National Convention, was elected by universal male suffrage. Louis XVI and Queen Marie Antoinette were convicted of treason and exeuted. In response to the king's death, monarchies in Europe formed an absolutist coalition against France. Inside the country, counter-revolutionary revolts broke out and the former privileged classes organised royalist plots. -
War of the First Coalition
The War of the First Coalition is a set of wars that several European powers fought between 1792 and 1797 against initially the constitutional Kingdom of France and then the French Republic that succeeded it. They were only loosely allied and fought without much apparent coordination or agreement; each power had its eye on a different part of France it wanted to appropriate after a French defeat, which never occurred. -
Storm of Tuileries Palace
During the Social Republic, republican feelings increased among common people. The sans-culottes stormed the Tuileries Palace in August 1792 and imprisoned the royal family, declaring a republic in France. -
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Jacobin Convention
In June 1793, the Jacobins, the most radical sector of the bourgeoisie, endorsed the demands of the popular sectors and seized powers. A new constitution that recognised popular sovereignty (universal male suffrage) and the right to social equality was enacted. The Jacobin Convention was led by Robespierre, who was executed by guillotine with other Jacobin leaders in July 1794 -
Execution of Louis XVI
In 1793, Louis XVI was convicted of treason and executed by guillotine. -
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Reign of Terror
The Reign of Terror was a period of the Jacobin Convention in which, in order to stop conspirators, freedoms were suspended and people opposed to the government were either imprisoned or executed. -
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Conservative Republic
The Conservative Republic was the third phase of the French Revolution. The moderate bourgeoisie took back control of the Revolution. A new Constitution granted executive power to a collegial government, known as the Directory, and restored census suffrage. This phase ended with a coup organised by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1799. -
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The Consulate
In 1799, Napoleon was named consul, and the Consulate's rule began. This was a period of autocratic and authoritarian rule. Napoleon aspired to put and end to the political instability of the Revolution, consolidate some of the revolutionary principles and promote economic recovery through a government that represented the interests of the bourgeoisie. -
Coup of 18th Brumaire.
In 1799, Napoleon organised a coup (Coup of 18th Brumaire) supported by a large part of the bourgeoisie and started an authoritarian rule. This coup ended the French Revolution. -
Constitution of 1800
The Constitution of the new political system that was enacted in 1800 did not include the separation of powers or a declaration of rights. Liberties were very limited and censorship was imposed to control public opinions. -
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The Napoleonic Empire
Napoleon began his conquest of Europe in 1803 and was crowned emperor by the Pope in 1804. His large army and the use of new military tactics enabled him to defeat most European monarchies. His empire lasted until 1815, when he abdicated after the defeat in Waterloo. -
Napoleon crowned emperor
Napoleon began his conquest of Europe in 1803, and in 1804 he was crowned emperor by the Pope with the purpose of founding a new monarchy and consolidating power. -
Treaty of Fontainebleau
The Treaty of Fontainebleau was signed in 1807 and allowed French troops to pass through Spain to invade Portugal, which was an ally of the british. -
Invasion of Spain and Joseph Bonaparte crowned emperor
In 1808, the French invaded Spain and Joseph Bonaparte, one of the emperor's brothers, was made king, -
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War of Independence
Angered by the French occupation, a popular revolt began in Madrid on 2 May 1808. It spread rapidly across the country and started the War of Independence, between the patriots and the afrancesados. Its phases were: popular resistance (1808), French offensive (1808-1812), Anglo-Spanish victories (1812-1814) -
Abdications of Bayonne
After Charles IV abdicated in favour of his son, Ferdinand VII, Napoleon persuaded them to give the Spanish crown to his brother, Joseph Bonaparte, in the abdications of Bayonne in 1808. -
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Luddite movement
The difficult working conditions under the industrial system and the poverty of the workers caused social unrest. The first workers to protest against industrialisation were the Luddites. This Luddite movement started in England in the early 19th century. It consisted of the violent destruction of machinery in the belief that it was responsible for low wages and unemployment. -
1812 Spanish Constitution
In 1812, representative of the Juntas throughout the country, most of them liberals, met in Cádiz. They drafted the first Spanish Constitution, which established national sovereignty, the separation of powers, universal male suffrage and recognised broad individual freedoms. -
Treaty of Valençay
In December 1813, the French signed the Treaty of Valençay. French troops withdrew from Spain and returned the crown to Ferdinand VII, who came back as an absolutist monarch. -
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The restoration of absolutism
Between 1814 and 1815, the powers that defeated Napoleon met at the congress of Vienna. The organiser, Austrian Chancellor Metternich, wanted to stop the spread of liberal ideas and restore absolutism in Europe. This congress established the ideological principles of the Restoration, such as the legitimacy of the absolute monarchs and the denial of national sovereignty. In 1815, the Holy Alliance Treaty was signed. -
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Reign of Ferdinand VII
Ferdinand VII returned to Spain after the French troops withdrew 1814. His aim was to re-establish an absolutist monarchy. However, the spread of liberal ideas during the War of Independence made the restoration of absolutism difficult. His reign ended in 1833, with the rise to the throne of his daughter Isabella. -
Manifiesto de los Persas
The Manifiesto de los Persas was a document signed by 69 deputies of the Spanish courts on April 12, 1814, by which they asked King Fernando VII to suppress the Constitution of Cádiz of 1812 as well as all the decrees approved by this. -
Congress of Vienna and Holly Alliance Treaty
Between 1814 and 1815, the powers that defeated Napoleon met at the congress of Vienna to stop the spread of liberal ideas. This congress established the ideological principles of the Restoration, such as the legitimacy of the absolute monarchs and the denial of national sovereignty. In 1815, the Holy Alliance Treaty was signed. This stipulated that the absolute monarchs would unite against any threat of liberal revolution. -
Battle of Waterloo
In 1815, the imperial armies were finally defeated in Waterloo by Great Britain and Prussia. Napoleon abdicated after the defeat and was sent into exile on the island of Saint Helena, where he died in 1821. -
Pronunciamiento of Colonel Rafael del Riego
On January 1, 1820, the military pronunciamiento of Colonel Rafael del Riego took place in the Sevillian town of Las Cabezas de San Juan. This pronunciamiento was succesful and the king was forced to reinstate the Constitution of 1812. -
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Greek War of Independence
Greece had been part of the Ottoman Empire for centuries. In 1822, the Greeks declared independece in Epidaurus, but it was not recognised by the Turks, and resulted in the beginning of a war. The European liberals supported the Greeks. In 1827, the Greeks defeated the Ottoman Empire. Greece gained its independence in 1830. -
Holy Alliance intervention: Hundred Thousand Sons of Saint Louis
Ferdinand VII felt intimidated by the liberals and appealed to other European absolute monarchs to defend Spain against them. In 1823, a coalition of European monarchs called the Holy Alliance sent troops, known as the Hundred Thousand Sons of Saint Louis, that restored absolutism under the command of the Duke of Angoulême. -
Abolition of the Combination Acts
The Combination Acts or Combination Laws were English laws that initially prohibited and later regulated workers' associations and strikes. They were promulgated in 1799 and 1800 before the boom that the labor movement was taking and declared the Trade Unions illegal. la presión popular y obrera, y la intensa actividad de un lobby dirigido por Francis Place, hizo que el Parlamento derogara estas leyes en 1824. Popular and labor pressure, caused Parliament to repeal these laws in 1824. -
Stephenson's Steam locomotive
Rail was the first mode of transport to be powered by inanimate tractive force, thanks to the steam engine. In 1829, Stephenson created one of the first steam locomotives, which used a steam engine to generate continous motion of the wheels. -
Revolutions of 1830
The revolutionary movement began in France when Charles X was overthrown in July 1830 and Louis Philippe I became the new constitutional monarch. In 1831, a revolt also broke out in Poland, which was under the autocratic rule of the Russian Empire, but was harshly suppressed by the tsarist army. -
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The Belgian Revolution
Belgium was made part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands by the congress of Vienna in 1815. The spread of liberal ideas helped the Belgian revolution, and Belgium became a liberal monarchy ruled by Leopold I. An armed conflict followed Belgium's declaration of independence. It finally ended when the Netherlands recognised Belgium's independece in 1839. -
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The age of the revolutions
The Congress of Vienna did not respect the liberal principles or the nationalist aspirations of some European peoples. After 1815, liberalism and nationalism became the two main opposition forces, prompting the revolutions of 1830 and 1848 that ended the restoration of absolutism. -
Zollverein
In 1834, Prussia created a customs union, known as Zollverein, that united the majority of Germanic states. -
Grand National Consolidated Trade Unions
The Grand National Consolidated Trade Unions, which brought together different types of workers, was founded in 1834. Its first tasks were to defend the right of association, to reduce the working day, to improve wages and to regulate child labour. -
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German Unification process
In 1834, Prussia created a customs union called Zollverein. In 1848, the crown of Germany was offered to the king of Prussia, who refused it because its parliament was liberal. In 1861, Wilhelm I became king of Prussia and made Otto von Bismarck chancellor. Prussia declared war on Denmark, Austria and France, and was victorious in all three wars, making the unification of Germany possible. In 1871, Wilhelm I was proclaimed Kaiser (emperor) of the Second German Empire (Reich). -
Revolutions of 1848
The revolutions of 1848 showed how countries under the control of empires wanted to pursue the idea of nationalism and the creation of new liberal governments. In the Austrian Empire, the revolt in Vienna was liberal in character, and the revolution forced chancellor Metternich to resign. There were also national uprisings in Hungary, Bohemia, northern Italy and the German Confederation. -
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French Second Republic
In 1848, a popular uprising proclaimed the Second Republic, which adopted a number of democratic measures, such as universal male suffrage, press freedom, abolition of the death penalty and recognition of certain rights. -
Invention of the Bessemer converter
In 1856, the Bessemer converter made it possible to manufacture steel (an alloy of iron and carbon). This was a more flexible material, ideal for constructing machinery, tools, buildings and public works. -
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Italian Unification process
In the 1859, the liberal monarchy of Piedmont-Sardinia, governed by Prime Minister Cavour, started a unification process. They declared war on Austria and annexed Lombardy. At the same time, a popular uprising led by Garibaldi overthrew the absolute monarchies in central and southern Italy. In 1861, Victor Manuel II of Savoy was proclaimed king of Italy. In 1866, Austria left Venetia, and in 1870, the Papal States were annexed by Italy. The newly unified state established its capital in Rome. -
First International
The First International was an international organisation which aimed at uniting a variety of different left-wing socialist, communist and anarchist groups and trade unions that were based on the working class and class struggle. It was founded in 1864 in a workmen's meeting held in St. Martin's Hall, London. -
Karl Marx publishes Das Kapital
Das Kapital is a foundational theoretical text in materialist philosophy, economics and politics published by Karl Marx in 1867. Marx aimed to reveal the economic patterns underpinning the capitalist mode of production in contrast to classical political economists. -
Start of the monarchy of Amadeo of Savoy
Amadeo of Savoy, who was from a liberlal monarchy that had contributed to the unification of Italy, was chosen to take the throne of the first spanish parliamentary monarchy in 1871. He was supported by progressives, unionists and democrats, and the government introduced new measures to help economic recovery and Spain's democratisation process. -
Proclamation of the First Republic
When Amadeo I abdicated in February 1873, the Cortes voted to form a republic. However, most of the deputies were monarchists and did not support the new form of government. The republic had four presidents (Figueras, Pi y Margall, Salmerón and Castelar), but a series of problems made its proper establishment impossible. In January 1874, a coup led by General Pavía dissolved the Cortes and made General Serrano head of state. -
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Reign of Alfonso XII
The restoration of the Bourbon monarchy began in December 1874, when General Martinez Campos proclaimed Isabella II's son, Alfonso XII, king of Spain. The new monarchy adopted the Canovist system, which allowed political parties to alternate in power and promised political and social stability. One of the first objectives was the pacification of Spain. To guarantee stability in the new regime, the Constitution of 1876 was drafted. He died at the age of 27, and was succeeded by his son. -
Second International
The Second International (1889–1916) was an organisation of socialist and labour parties, formed on 14 July 1889 at a Paris meeting in which delegations from twenty countries participated. The Second International continued the work of the dissolved First International, though excluding the powerful anarcho-syndicalist movement and trade unions.
