-
Period: 1453 to
Modern History
Is the third of the historical periods in which universal history is divided, between the 15th and 18th centuries. Its beginning can be set in the fall of Constantinople (1453) or the discovery of America (1492), and its ending can be placed in the French Revolution (1789) or at the end of the previous decade, after independence of the United States (1776). During this time, European powers began expanding their political, economic, and cultural influences all over the world. -
Period: to
Enclosure Acts
They were a series of laws passed by the British Parliament that caused landowner to enclose their property, so large pasture areas became privately owned. Big landowners benefited from these Acts and the individualisation of production led to technical and agricultural innovations. However, poor farmes couldn't enclose their properties and had to sell them. They moved to the cities to look for work or they became labourers in exchange for a wage. -
John Kay's flying shuttle
The flying shuttle was an invention that contributed to the development of the textile industry because it increased the speed of production and allowed to weave wider fabrics. A shuttle is a component with rollers used for weaving. -
Period: to
First Industrial Revolution
The First Industrial Revolution started in Great Britain and transformed the economy from the Ancien Régime, which was agrarian and artisan based, into an industrial economy. It's causes were the increase in demand because of the population growth, the colonial empire that provided easy access to abundant resources and raw materials, the extensive transport network and the political system. -
James Watt's Steam Engine
The steam engine uses burning coil to boil water and produce steam. The pressure from the steam moves a piston that generates movement. It was one of the main inventions of the Industrial Revolution and it was used in locomotives, sailing ships and steamships. -
Adam Smith publishes The Wealth of Nations
Adam Smith was a Scottish economist and philosopher born in 1723. His book promoted economic liberalism, a doctrine based on private ownership tha led to the development of capitalism. The basic theory of capitalism is a free market regulated by the law of supply and demand, and the competition law, which encourages technological innovation. -
Invention of the Power Loom
The power loom was designed by Edmund Cartwright. It is a mechanized loom that increased productivity in the textile industry during the Industrial Revolution and lowered fabric cost. -
Estates-General meeting
The Estates-General met in Versailles in May 1789. The meeting was chaired the king and represantives of the nobility, clergy and the Third Estate. However, the Third State decided to leave the meeting and met in a pavilion in Versailes and proclaimed themselves the National Assembly. Louis XVI was frighthened by the situation and, in the autumn on 1789, accepted the National Assembly, which made a constitutional monarchy and ended the Ancien Régime. -
Period: to
Contemporany History
It is called the historical period between the French Revolution (1789) and today. It is a time characterized by revolutions and by great artistic, demographic, social, political, technological and economic transformations. -
Period: to
French Revolution
It was a revolutionary movement led by the bourgeoisie in France. Due to Enlightenment principles (defense of citizens rights, separation of powers, principles of equality...) and the American Revolution they thought of new ideas to help them confront absolutism and the stratified estate system of society. -
Period: to
Constitutional monarchy
It was the first phase of the French Revolution led by the moderate bourgeoisie, who aspired to abolish the Ancien Régime, elect a parliament by selective suffrage (only male French citizens with a certain level of wealth could vote) and establish a constitution (moderate liberalism). -
Tennis Court Oath
Also known in French as Jeu de Paume, was the pavilion in Versailles were representatives of the Third Estate met and proclaimed themselves the National Assembly. They pledged to draft a constitution that reflected the will of the majority of French people. -
Storming of the Bastille
It was a violent attack on the government by the people of France that took place in Paris on July 14, 1789. People of Paris supported the Assembly's proposals and stormed the Bastille because it was full of political prisoners and was a symbol of the king's absolute power. It also had stores of gunpowder that the revolutionaries needed for their weapons. -
Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen
It was a written text that during the first phase of the French Revolution, recognised the rights, freedom and equality of all male citizens in law and taxation. -
Women's March on Versailles
It was a women revolution that took place in Paris. They equipped with weapons and tools and marched to Versailles where the royal family lived. Women protested against the shortage of bread and demanded the king sign the decree abolishing manorialism. Because of those actions the king abandoned Versailles and moved to the Tuileries Palace in Paris. -
First French Constitution
A written document based on the separation of powers, national sovereignty and legal equality, though the king reserved the right of veto. Census suffrage, giving the vote to people with a certain level of wealth (like male French citizens over 25 years of age who pay taxes) was aldo introduced. -
Period: to
Social Republic
It was the second phase of the French Revolution driven by the radical bourgeoisie encouraged by the working classes. They proclaimed the Republic, imposed the Reign of Terror and began a transformation into a democratic and equal society with universal male suffrage and social laws. -
Period: to
Girondin Convention
It was a system formed of moderate people (Girondins) that controlled the Republic. A New Assembly, the National Convention, was elected by universal male suffrage. During this period the execution of king Louis XVI and Queen Antoinette led to the formation of an absolutist coalition in Europe, counter-revolutionary revolts in the countryside and royalist plots by privileged classes. -
War of the First Coalition
In consequence of the execution of king Louis XVI and Queen Marie Antoinette, monarchies in Europe formed an absolutist coalition against the constitutional Kingdom of France and then the French Republic that succeeded it. -
Storm of Tuileries Palace
It was a revolt of the common people (sans-culottes) due to the betrayal by the king and the military invasion. In this act they stormed Tuileries Palace and imprisioned the royal family. Then a Republic was declared and the second phase of the Revolution began. -
Period: to
Jacobin Convention
It was the most extreme phase of Social Republic led by the most radical sector of the bourgeoisie. Was enacted a new constitution that recognised popular sovereignty (universal male suffrage) and the right of social equality. The executive power was led by a Committee of Public Safety guided by Robespierre. To neutralizate the enemies a mass levy was organised and imposed of the Reign of Terror under the Law of Suspects. To satisfy sans-culottes social laws were introduced (Law of the Maximum). -
Execution of Louis XVI
The execution of Louis XVI by guillotine was a major event of the French Revolution that took place on 21 January 1793 at the Place de la Révolution in Paris. The National Convention had convicted the king of high treason in a near-unanimous vote, finally they condemned him to death by a simple majority. -
Period: to
Reign of Terror
It was a period of violence introduced to stop conspirators that lasted almost a year during which the opponents of the Jacobins were executed. -
Period: to
Conservative Republic
It was the third phase of the French Revolution where the moderate bourgeosie took back the control. Jacobin laws were cancelled and exiles from Reign of Terror were encouraged to return. In 1795 a new Constitution granted executive power to a collegial government, the Directory, and restored census suffrage. -
Coup of 18th Brumaire
Social Republic was unstable due to the ooposition of aristocracy and common people. So on 9th November 1795, Napoleon organised this coup, Coup of 18th Brumaire, supported by a large part of the bourgeoisie, and this led to a period of authoritarian and autocratic rule. -
Period: to
The Consulate
It was a period of autocratic and authoritarian rule where Napoleon Bonaparte was named consul. Napoleon aspired to put an end to the politicial instability of the Revolution, consolidate some of the revolutionary principles and promote economic revory through a government that represented bourgeoisie interests -
Constitution of 1800
This written document of the new political system (The Consulate) didn't include the separation of powers or a declaration of rights. Liberties were very limited and public opinion was censured. The Constitution of 1800 organised the state into departments run by prefects. -
Period: to
The Napoleonic Empire
It was the First French Empire, ruled by Napoelon Bonaparte. He began his conquests of Europe in 1803 and then was crown emperor by the Pope. Thanks to his large army and new military tactics, they defeated most European monarchies (wacth video). In 1806 they won over Austria and Russia at Austerlizt. In 1811 France controlled most of Europe. -
Napoleon crowned emperor
Napoleon was crowned emperor by the Pope in 1804 because due to his large army and the use of new military tactics he could defeat most European monarchies as Russia, Austria, Naples, the Kingdom of Holland, Prussia and the Duchy of Warsaw. -
Treaty of Fontainebleau
After Manuel Godoy, Charles IV's prime minister, allied with the French against Britain, this treaty allowed the French troops to pass through Spain towards Portugal, an ally of the British. -
Abdications of Bayonne
They took place after the Mutiny of Aranjuez, when Ferdinand VII conspired against his father and became king. In these abdications, Napoleon convinced the Bourbons to hand over the crown of Spain to his brother, Joseph I. The new king instaured liberal measures and was defended by the afrancesados, but the patriots were against him and formed Juntas and the Cortes. -
Period: to
War of Independence
This war started with the popular uprising in Madrid the 2nd of May of 1808. The firt phase of the war was the popular resistance, which consisted in guerrilla warfared made by irregular troops (they stopped the French's advance southwards at the Battle of Bailén). The socond phase was the French offensive, between 1808 and 1812, when Napoleon commanded an army and several cities were besieged. It ended with the Anglo-Spanish victories (Battle of Los Arapiles) and the Treaty of Valençay (1813). -
Invasion of Spain and Joseph Bonaparte crowned king
In 1808, under the pretext of sending reinforcements to the French army occupying Portugal, French Emperor Napoleon invaded Spain. Thus began the Peninsular War, an important phase of the Napoleonic Wars. French forces forced King Charles IV to abdicate. In early May, Madrid revolted, and on June 15 Napoleon’s brother, Joseph, was proclaimed the new king of Spain, leading to a general anti-French revolt across the Iberian Peninsula. -
Period: to
Luddite Movement
The Luddite Movement was the first workers' movement that protested against industrialisation. Luddites believed that machinary was responsible for low wages and uneployment, so they destroyed it. -
1812 Spanish Constitution
This constitution was drafted by the Cádiz Cortes, which were made up of representatives of every provincial Junta (who were mainly liberal). It established a separation of powers, national sovereingty, broad individual freedoms and universal male suffrage. It was also called "La Pepa" because it was approved the 19th of March, the day of St. Joseph. Although it was approved in 1808, it didn't come fully into effect because of the wars. -
Treaty of Valençay
In this treaty, which took place after the Spanish and British victory over the French at the Battle of Los Arapiles, the French troops retreated form Spain and the crown was handed back to Ferdinand VII "The Desired". -
Congress of Vienna and Holy Alliance Treaty
Meeting of the Great Powers in 1814-1815 organized by Austrian Chancellor Metternich whose objectives were to stop the spread of liberal ideas and restore absolutism in Europe. It established the legitimacy of the absolute monarchs, the denial of national sovereignty, the balance of power between the victors, and the right of intervention. Its consequence was the Holy Alliance Treaty that stipulated that the absolute monarchs would unite against any threat of liberal revolution. -
Period: to
Reign of Ferdinand VII
The reign of Ferdinand is divided in three phases: the Six Years of Absolutism (1814-1820, the 1812 Constitution was repealed, liberals were persecuted), the Liberal Trienium (1820-1823, the constitution was reinstated, the National Militia was created) and the Ominous Decade (1823-1833, Spain was bankrupt, a giscal reform was proposed, Isabella II was born and Ferdinand VII issued the Pragmatic Sanction to repeal the Salic Law). -
Period: to
The Restoration of absolutism
Between 1814 and 1815, the powers that defeated Napoleon met at the Congress of Vienna. They wanted to stop the spread of liberal ideas and restore absolutism in Europe. They established the ideological principles of the Restoration, such as the legitimacy of the absolute monarchs and the denial of national sovereignty. -
Manifiesto de los Persas
It was a manifest written by the defnders of absolutism, defending the return th the throne of Ferdinand VII after the reign of Joseph Bonaparte. -
Battle of Waterloo
The Battle of Waterloo was Napoleon’s final defeat, ending 23 years of recurrent warfare between France and the other powers of Europe. It was fought during the Hundred Days of Napoleon’s restoration, 3 miles (5 km) south of Waterloo village, between Napoleon’s 72,000 troops and the combined forces of the Duke of Wellington’s allied army of 68,000 (with British, Dutch, Belgian, and German units) and about 45,000 Prussians. -
Pronunciamiento de Rafael del Riego
This pronunciamiento was made by Colonel Rafael del Riego in Sevilla and marked the end of the Six Years of Absolutism and the start of the Liberal Triennium. -
Period: to
Greek War of Independence
The Greek War of Independence was the armed conflict produced by the Greek revolutionaries between 1821 and 1829 against the rule of the Ottoman Empire and the late assistance of various European powers such as the Russian Empire, the Kingdom of France, and the United Kingdom. Greece gained its independence in 1830. -
Holy Alliance Intervention: Hundred Thousand Sons of St. Louis
During Liberal Triennium (1820-1823), Ferdinand the VII asked the other European absolutist monarchies for help to stop the liberal governnment. The Holy Alliance sent the Hundred Thousand Sons of St Louis, commmanded by the Duke of Angoulême, who defeated the liberals, restored absolutism in Spain and ended the Liberal Triennium. -
Abolishment of the Combination Acts
The Combination Acts were a series of English laws established in 1799 and 1800 that prohibited strikes and trade unions, among other things. In the end, they were repealed because of the power that the labour force was acquiring, and that allowed the first official trade unions to appear. -
Stephenson's Steam Locomotive
It was a type of locomotive invented by Stephenson that used the steam engine to produce continuous movement in the wheels. The train was the main form of transport during the Industrial Revolution. -
Revolutions of 1830
The Congress of Vienna did not respect the liberal principles of the nationalist aspirations of some European peoples. So, two main opposition forces (liberalism and nationalism) appeared. The insurrections began in France and spread all over Europe, with significant popular support. In some places, they were successful and absolutism was replaced by liberal political systems (France); and in others, they were not (Poland) -
Period: to
The Age of the revolutions (1830-1848)
In 1830 began a revolutionary wave in Europe. It included two "romantic nationalist" revolutions, the Belgian Revolution in the United Kingdom of the Netherlands and the July Revolution in France along with revolutions in Congress Poland, Italian states, Portugal, and Switzerland. It was followed eighteen years later, by another and much stronger wave of revolutions known as the Revolutions of 1848. -
Period: to
The Belgian Revolution
The Belgian Revolution was the conflict that led to the secession of the southern provinces (mainly the former Southern Netherlands) from the United Kingdom of the Netherlands and the establishment of an independent Kingdom of Belgium. Belgium became a liberal monarchy ruled by Leopold I -
Period: to
First Carlist War
This war started with the death of Fedindand VII. His daoughter Isabella II was only three years old, so her mother Maria Cristina became the regent. However, some absolutist (Carlists) were in favour of Ferdinand's brother Carlos. The church, priviledged classes and the rural areas supported Carlos, while the bourgeoisie and the big cities supported Isabella. The Carlists and the Isabelinos fought in the Carlist War. -
Period: to
Reign of Isabella II
During most of Isabella's government, the Moderate Liberal Party was in power. She was supported by the liberals. -
Grand National Consolidated Trades Union
This Trades Union brought together workers of different professions, who all worked to defend the right of association, regulate child labour, improve wages and reduce the working days (people worked 14-16 hours a day). -
Zollverein
The Customs Union of the States of Germany (in German: Zollverein) was a customs organization made in 1834 by means of which tariffs were abolished among the members of the German Confederation, with the exception of Austria. The Customs Union promoted the customs tariff unit in a process of economic unification that Austria was unable to prevent. It functioned until 1871 when after the Franco-Prussian War the German Empire was constituted which assumed powers in commercial matters. -
1837 Constitution
It was a progressive constitution. It granted many rights and individual liberties and it established the separation in the Chambers (the Senate and the Congress of Deputies), national sovereignty, census suffrage and the separation of powers. -
1845 Constitution
It was a miderate constitution. It presented highly restricted suffrage, sovereignty was shared between the Cortes and the Crown, it established a reorganisation of state and municipal administration and granted limited civil rights. -
Period: to
French Second Republic
The French Second Republic was a short-lived republican government of France under President Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte. It lasted from the 1848 Revolution to the 1851 coup by which the president made himself Emperor Napoleon III and initiated the Second Empire. This Republic established universal male suffrage, press freedom, the abolition of the death penalty, and the recognition of certain rights for workers. -
Revolutions of 1848
The Revolutions of 1848, known in some countries as the Spring of Nations, were a series of political upheavals throughout Europe in 1848. The revolutions were essentially democratic and liberal in nature, with the aim of removing the old monarchical structures and creating independent nation-states. The revolutions spread across Europe after an initial revolution began in France. They all ended in failure and repression and were followed by widespread disillusionment among liberals. -
Invention of the Bessemer converter
The Bessemer converter was a machine used to manufacture steel, and alloy of iron and carbon. Steel was really useful because it's more flexible than other metals and ideal for construction. -
Period: to
Italian Unification process
Italian unification was the 19th century political and social movement that resulted in the consolidation of different states of the Italian Peninsula into a single state, the Kingdom of Italy. Inspired by the rebellions in the 1820s and 1830s against the outcome of the Congress of Vienna, the unification process was precipitated by the revolutions of 1848, and reached completion in 1871, when Rome was officially designated the capital of the Kingdom of Italy. -
Period: to
German Unification process
In the 1860s, Otto von Bismarck, then Minister President of Prussia, provoked three short, decisive wars against Denmark, Austria, and France, aligning the smaller German states behind Prussia in its defeat of France. In 1871 he unified Germany into a nation-state, forming the German Empire. Wilhelm I was proclaimed Kaiser of the second German Empire. -
First International
The International Workingmen's Association was created at the iniciative of Marx and united marxists, anarchists and trade unions to defend the workers' rights. However, the Association broke appart in 1876 because there were too many ideological differences between the groups. -
Marx published Das Kapital
Karl Marx collaborated with Friedrich Engels to create Marxism, a model of social organisation that advocated for a revolution to end capitalism. The revolution consisted of two phases: the dictatorship of the proletariat, where the workers would conquer political power and destroy private property, and then the cration of a communist society. -
Start of the monarchy of Amadeo I of Savoy
The monarchy of Amadeo I lasted until 1873. He was supported by progressives, unionists and liberals. -
Proclamation of the First Spanish Republic
The presidents were Pi y Margal, Figueras, Salmerón and Castelar.
It ended in 1874 because if a coup executed by General Pavía, who gave the power to General Serrano and eliminated the Cortes. -
Period: to
Reign of Alfonso XII
He was proclaimed king by General Martínez Campos. In 1876, a moderate constitution was approved. It was open, so liberals and moderated could rule without having to modify it, and it lasted until 1923. In 1890 the universal male suffrage was declared. -
Second International
It was an association founded by the Marxists that established some of the labour movement's identity symbols, like the anthem 'The Internationale' or the International Workers' Day (1 May). It's goal was to coordinate socialist parties.
