-
European trade with Africa becomes well established
This event, in a way, marks the beginning of the Age of Imperialism. After decent relations are established between the countries, Africa becomes a real country in the European's minds. Before it was simply a slave-trading port, a stop on the way from Europe to the Americas, and nobody really cared or knew what lay on the rest of the large continent. But that all changed once the country itself began trading with the Europeans, not just slaves, but as any other "real" country would. -
East India Company collaspes due to Sepoy Rebellion
The East India Company, owned and regulated by the British, controlled large parts of India. This company was so powerful towards the start that it developed its own army, made up of Indian soldiers known as sepoys. Later on, when these sepoys were asked to bite off gun cartridges, which were lined with cow fat, chaos broke out. Because cows are considered sacred in their religion, they refused to use the guns. And the sepoys fought the British, but were not successful in over throwing them. -
British Raj begins
Shortly after the disaster that was the Sepoy Rebellion, Britain realized that it would be more effective to take direct control of India. This way, there would be less tolerance and space for these isssues to occur. Also, this was when India 'came under the British crown' under Queen Victoria's reign, -
Suez Canal links the Mediterranean and Red Seas
Constructed by Isma'il, son of the Egyptian leader Muhammad Ali, this waterway simply provided faster transportation for Britain to its Asian and African colonies. It may have also helped water way trading, but it was mainly built for faster transport between colonies. It was built with French money, so it's purpose might have been more geared towards helping the French colonies' trading as well. -
Berlin Conference convenes to discuss terms for African colonization
(Note this actually continued until 1885). The Berlin Conference was when European leaders met from all over the world to draw out, on a map, the new borders and countries within Africa. This way, at least the Conference hoped, there would be no more land disputes between the countries because everyone would get to claim a piece. However, these poorly thought-out borders split native tribe lands in two, and had no consent towards the ancient tribes that had been there for centuries. -
Queen Liliuokalani takes the throne of Hawaii
Queen Liliuokalani was Hawaii's only queen, and last monarch of any kids, for that matter. In her short time on the throne she called for a new constittution, which would increase her own power over the land and restore a 'political power'. However, this plan never reached its goal--the Queen was shortly removed from power after American businessmen didn't approve of this plan. -
Ethiopians defeat the invading Italians at the Battle of Adowa
Emperor of Ethiopia Menelik II successfully won this battle against the Italians. Shortly before the war, the Italians had published a treaty to the Ethiopians, that would grant Italy a small portion of Ethiopian land. However, this treaty, published in the Ethiopian language was not the same as the Italian one, which promised pretty much all of the Ethiopian land to the Italians. Upon discovering this, Menelik II began fighting to keep the Italians off of his land. And eventually succeeded. -
Spanish-American War beraks out, Puerto Rico, Spain, and the Phillipines taken from Spain
In the Spanish-American War, the Spanish lost a few countries tothe Americans. The most important place lost, relating to our unit, was the Phillipines. This sparked a few Filipino nationalists, such as Emilio Aguinaldo. In the end, the Phillippine Republic was created. -
Boer War in South Africa
Boers, or Afrikaners, or Dutch farmers were in South Africa when the precious diamonds and gold were discovered. These newfound riches attracted "outsiders" from other countries. And, naturally, having been pushed off their land by the British before, the Boers blamed the British for this. So they went to war against each other. The Boers brought in guerrilla tactics. Britain ended up winning and taking over. -
Most of Africa is under European control
This point in time isn't so much as an event as just a milestone. This marks the point when Africa has mostly evolved from a once rugged, undiscovered terrain to a fully functioning sea-trading continent. While this may have had negative effects on the native people of the continent, this whole process has definitely modernized it, which in the long run, is a benefit to any country. So this milestone just marks where Africa was in its modernization compared to how it used to be.
