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Period of great territorial expansion, economic and cultural development. Trade relations were established with distant regions. (618-907)
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Kublai Khan consolidated Mongol control in China, integrating the country into the vast Mongol Empire.
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Zhu Yuanzhang expels the Mongols and establishes the Ming dynasty, characterized by a strong central administration and maritime expansion.
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The Manchus take power and greatly expand China's borders.
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After the Napoleonic Wars, the German states are grouped into the German Confederation. This union includes 39 independent states, without a centralized political unit or government.
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The conflict between China and Great Britain ended with the cession of Hong Kong and the forced opening of Chinese ports. (1839-1842)
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Nationalist and liberal movements arose in different Italian states, seeking reforms and unification, although they were repressed.
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Liberal movements throughout Europe, including some German states, demand a unified nation. A German parliament is convened in Frankfurt, but the attempt fails, as the monarchs reject the idea of a unified Germany under a liberal constitution.
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Camillo Benso, Count of Cavour, initiates economic and diplomatic reforms to strengthen Piedmont as the leader of Italian unification.
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Cavour and Napoleon III agree on a secret alliance: France would help Piedmont expel Austria from northern Italy in exchange for Savoy and Nice.
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Piedmont and France defeat Austria in the battles of Magenta and Solferino. As a result, Lombardy is annexed to Piedmont.
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Giuseppe Garibaldi leads a military campaign in southern Italy, overthrowing the Bourbons and surrendering the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies to Piedmont.
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Victor Emmanuel II is declared King of Italy after the annexation of most of the Italian states. Rome and Veneto are not yet part of the kingdom.
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Otto von Bismarck is appointed Minister President of Prussia. With his pragmatism and diplomatic skills, he begins to consolidate Prussian power and prepares the ground for the unification of Germany through war and diplomacy.
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Garibaldi attempts to conquer Rome without official support, but is stopped by the Italian army to avoid a conflict with France.
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Prussia, in alliance with Austria, declares war on Denmark and wins the duchies of Schleswig and Holstein. These territories are initially administered jointly by Prussia and Austria, marking the beginning of Prussian expansion.
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Prussia defeats Austria in the war known as the Seven Weeks' War. The victory allows Prussia to dissolve the German Confederation and form the North German Confederation, excluding Austria from German affairs.
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Italy allies with Prussia against Austria and, after the Prussian victory at Sadowa, the Veneto is ceded to Italy.
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After victory in the war against Austria, Prussia forms the North German Confederation, unifying the northern German states under its leadership, with Wilhelm I as its ruler.
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The candidacy of Prince Leopold of Hohenzollern for the Spanish crown provokes tension with France. This becomes a pretext for Napoleon III to declare war on Prussia, precipitating the Franco-Prussian War.
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France, under Napoleon III, declares war on Prussia. Despite diplomatic tensions, Bismarck succeeds in isolating France, ensuring that other nations do not intervene in the conflict. Prussia begins to mobilize its troops.
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After the defeat of France in the Franco-Prussian war, Italian troops enter Rome, finalizing the territorial unification of Italy.
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In September 1870, the Prussian army decisively defeats French troops at the Battle of Sedan, leading to the capture of Napoleon III and the dissolution of the Second French Empire. This allows Prussia to further consolidate its power.
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On January 18, 1871, at a ceremony at the Palace of Versailles, the German Empire is proclaimed, with Wilhelm I as emperor. The unification of the German states culminates under Prussian hegemony, ending centuries of fragmentation.
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End of the Qing Dynasty and proclamation of the Republic of China under Sun Yat-sen.
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The Pope and the Italian government sign an agreement recognizing the independence of Vatican City, resolving the conflict between the Church and the Italian State.
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Mao Zedong declares the birth of communist China after a protracted civil war.
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An economic campaign that sought rapid industrialization, resulting in a great famine.
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A political movement led by Mao Zedong that sought to consolidate communism in China, causing instability and cultural destruction. (1966-1976)
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Democracy movement violently repressed by the Chinese government, with important political consequences.