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Haitian Revolution
In August 1791, African slaves were inspired by Enlightenment ideals and stood up against their French leaders. In 1801,Toussaint L'Overture took control of Saint Domingue and freed all enslaved Africans. Soon in January 1802, French forces removed Toussaint from power, he agreed to stop the revolution if they ended slavery, but in May they sent him to a prison, where he died. However, Jean-Jacques Dessalines, his lieutenant, continued to fight for freedom and declared it an independent country. -
Simon Bolivar
Simon Bolivar was a wealthy Venezuelan creole responsible for one of the achievements of the South American wars of Independence. In 1811, Venezuela declared its independence from Spain, but the war had only begun and Bolivar's army was defeated twice; Bolivar was also exiled twice. However in August 1819, Bolivar and his army surprised and defeated the Spanish army in Bogota, Colombia. Finally by 1821, Venezuela was officially independent from Spain. -
San Martin
Argentina declared its independence in 1816. However Spanish forces inhabiting in Chile and Peru were still a threat. On 1817, Martin led an army and with the support of Bernardo O' Higgins' army, Chile was freed. In 1822, Martin and Bolivar met in Ecuador and agreed to join forces. In December 9, 1824 Bolivar defeated the Spanish at the Battle of Ayacucho in Peru. This was the last major war for freedom, and now Spanish colonies finally won their independence. -
Mexican War of Independence
On September 16,1810,Miguel Hidalgo rang the bells of the church and called all peasants to rebel against the Spanish(known as the Grito de Dolores).They made their way to Mexico City but were defeated in 1811.After,Jose Maria Morelos led the revolution for 4 years,but in 1815 they were defeated again by Agustin de Iturbide. In 1820,a liberal group gained power in Spain;the creoles feared in losing their privileges so they now fought for Mexico's Independence. Iturbide declared it independent. -
Brazilian Independence
Brazil's independence from Portugal was very unique, no wars happened. It all started when Napoleon invaded Portugal and to stay safe the royal family traveled to Brazil and stayed there for 14 years. In 1815, King John VI returned back to Portugal, but his son Dom Pedro stayed. The King wanted to make it a colony again, but Brazilians didn't accept going back to their colonial status, so they signed a petition asking for Dom Pedro to rule, the King accepted, and they gained their independence. -
Greek Revolution
In 1821, nationalist Greeks rebelled against the Ottoman Turks, (The Ottoman controlled most of Greece, Albania, Romania, Turkey, Bulgaria, and Yugoslavia). Since ancient Greek culture was highly respected by many countries, the Greek people gained support from France, Britain and Russia, and in 1827 they defeated the Ottoman at the Battle of Navarino. Finally in 1830, the supporting countries signed a treaty guaranteeing independence for Greece. -
Romanticism
This was a major movement in arts and ideas. Romanticism thinkers emphasized emotions, cherished music, glorified heroes, and focused on the supernatural. They were against Enlightenment ideals and focused on emotions and nature. Poetry was the highest form of expression and Gothic horror stories were popular. Mary Shelley wrote the famous story of Frankenstein; Ludwig van Beethoven also composed during this time period; and William Shakespeare wrote A Midsummer Night's dream. -
German Unification
in 1815, 39 German states formed the German Confederation led by the Austrian empire. Prussia was ready to unify all countries, it had the most powerful army in Europe. In 1848, Berlin rioters wrote a liberal constitution. Otto von Bismarck became Wilhelm's prime minister in 1862, he declared he would rule without the consent of the parliament. In 1864, he went on a war against Denmark and defeated them. -
Italian Unification
Liberal Italians wanted an unification under the Piedmont-Sardinia. Camillo di Cavour,the king's prime minister, wanted to expand Sardinia's power and gain control of northern Italy. In 1858, the French-Sardinian army defeated Austria,taking over all of Northern Italy,except Venetia.Cavour also helped Nationalist rebels in southern Italy,who were led by Giuseppe Garibald; Garibald agreed to unite the south areas to the Sardinia kingdom.In 1870, they took over the last territory, the Papal States
