-
Steam Engine
Even though Thomas Newcomer created the steam engine, James Watt was the one who perfected it. In 1763, James Watt got a Newcomer steam engine that needed to be repaired. While putting it back together, James realized that he could make the steam engine more efficient. So, he started experimenting with different ideas and in 1781, he produced a rotary-motion steam engine. This is important in history because this new steam engine could be used to drive many different types of machinery. -
French Revolution
The French Revolution took place on July 14th, 1789. The main cause of this revolution was that the people were upset with King Louis XVI. They stormed the Bastille so that they could get arms. The people were afraid that the king would attack the assembly so they revolted. This is when France started to crumble down. The French Revolution ended in bloodshed with the king and queen dead. This is an important event in history because it showed that the people of France were stronger than ever. -
Haitian Revolution
In 1791, the Haitian Revolution named a great hero. This man was considered one of the great revolutionaries and generals all throughout America and Europe, This man was Francois Dominique Toussaint L'Ouverture. France and other European countries didn’t want Haiti to be an independent country. So Napoleon came to Haiti to try to capture the small country but instead, captured L'Ouverture. He died in prison and Haiti became independent later in 1804. -
Independence of Mexico
There was a war called the Mexican War of Independence, this was before Mexico got its Independence. There was a big conflict between the Spanish Colonies and Mexico. The Spanish came to Mexico for gold and land. Then all of the Natives were forced to be slaves and were forced to do hard labor. Spain controlled Mexico in many ways. Then finally there was a treaty called "Treaty of Cordoba" where Mexico got its independence. -
Congress of Vienna
The Congress of Vienna took place on November 1st, 1814 to June 1815. It was held in Vienna, Austria. It was an international conference and it was called to remake England after the fall of Napoleon I. The main goal for the conference was to find a balance of power and restore the peace that was once in England. The conference achieved its goal and the peace in Europe was left untouched for about 40 years! This is an important event because it brought peace in the nations and there was no war. -
Opium War
The Britain and the Chinese Qing government both fought in the Opium War. They wanted to stop the increasing market of selling Opium (drugs) into China. Before Opium, Britain was producing silver. When the people started to get addicted to the drug, China tried to stop the trade, but Britain wouldn't budge this lead into war. The Chinese lost, so Opium was still being sold. Opium being sold weakened the emperor and it also leads into a civil war. -
Communist Manifesto
"The Communist Manifesto" is a book written by Karl Marx. This book described the trouble between different social classes. Marx predicted that the “means of production" would be owned by the community and that the common people would run the society. This book was important because it gave an idea to people, that everyone should be equal and have the same amount of power. He enforced the workers to unite with one another and not have someone with higher authority than another. -
Matt Perry goes to Japan
Matt Perry was a naval officer who wanted to open trading with Japan because they needed Japan for goods and natural resources. Then, Perry came to Japan with a letter from the president to the emperor of Japan. There was a treaty made that allowed Americans ships to buy different things from Japan. This was important because if it didn't happen, Japan and America might have not been peaceful and Japan might have been closed off from trading for much longer! -
Sepoy Mutiny
The Indians, or Sepoys who were trained to be British soldiers, heard rumors going around that the cartridges in the new rifles, were greased with beef fat and lard. The Sepoys were very angry because the cow is sacred to Hindus and the pig is abhorrent to Muslims. The Sepoys eventually took over Delhi and Kanpur. Then the mutiny was crushed by the British. On September 20, 1857, the British then recaptured Delhi and then later in the year recaptured Kanpur. Most Sepoys were shot from cannons! -
Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Takes Over China
Dr. Sun Yat-Sen was a Chinese revolutionary leader and he wanted a republic based on the 3 principles of the people. They were democracy, nationalism, and livelihood. These principles were made for the people as an outline for their life. Then, when the empress of China, Cixi, suddenly dies, Dr. Sun Yat-Sen takes over as president. For his first act, he wanted to defeat warlords in northern China. Dr. Sun Yat-Sen was an important figure because he made China into a new republic. -
Unification of Germany
Before 1871, Germany was known as an independent country. As they began sharing resources and strengthening their common German interests, they started becoming less dependent on larger counties like Austria. This unification process resulted in the formation of the German Empire in 1871, led by Wilhelm II of Prussia. The German Empire became Europe's leading military power. Several wars were fought during the unification which would lead to World War I. -
Berlin Conference
King Leopold II led a meeting, the Berlin Conference, to discuss the division of Africa. In the meeting, they discussed how they will divide up each part of Africa and who got which piece. Basically, there would be a giant map of Africa, and each country would choose a part of Africa that they wanted. At the end of the conference, only two countries were left, Ethiopia and Liberia. Overall, there was a lot of fighting because now each country in Africa was different. -
Russo-Japanese War
The Russo-Japanese war was a war between Russia and Japan. They fought for the lands known as Korea and Manchuria. Russia was confident that they would win the war because they were a huge country compared to Japan and they had more victories. Soon, Russia was shocked to find out that Japan attacked Port Arthur without a declaration of war. After this, Japan had many victories. This was important because it showed that even though Japan was a small country, it's as powerful as any country. -
Zulu Uprising
The Zulu Uprising was when the British started taxing South Africa. The British needed more workers for their farms, so they taxed the Zulu tribe in South Africa. The Zulu tribe wasn't very happy so they rebelled and started an uprising. This was an important event in history because it was the beginning of black resistance with colonial oppression.
