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Taiping Rebellion Starts
The Taiping Rebellion was a massive civil war in southern China from 1850 to 1864, against the ruling Manchu Qing dynasty. It was a millenarian movement led by Hong Xiuquan, who announced that he had received visions, in which he learned that he was the younger brother of Jesus. At least 20 million people died, mainly civilians, in one of the deadliest military conflicts in history. -
Monroe Doctrine is Established
The Monroe Doctrine was a US foreign policy regarding Latin American countries in 1823. It stated that further efforts by European nations to colonize land or interfere with states in North or South America would be viewed as acts of aggression, requiring U.S. intervention. At the same time, the doctrine noted that the United States would neither interfere with existing European colonies nor meddle in the internal concerns of European countries. -
Great Trek of the Boers
During the Napoleonic wars, the British established themselves in South Africa by taking control of Cape Town. Which was originally founded by the Dutch. After the wars, the British encouraged settlers to come go to what they called the Cape Colony. British policies disgusted the Boers, or Afrikaners, as the descendants of the Dutch colonists were called, and led them in 1835 to migrate north on the Great Trek to the region between the Orange and Vaal rivers and north of the Vaal River. -
China and Britain clash in Opium War
The First Opium War, also known as the Opium War and as the Anglo-Chinese War, was fought between Britain and China over their conflicting viewpoints on diplomatic relations, trade, and the administration of justice for foreign nationals. -
European Trading with Africa becomes well established
Trade among European and African precolonial nations developed relatively recently in the economic history of the African continent. Prior to the European voyages of exploration in the fifteenth century, African rulers and merchants had established trade links with the Mediterranean world, western Asia, and the Indian Ocean region. Within the continent itself, local exchanges among adjacent peoples fit into a greater framework of long-range trade. -
Japan Ends its Isolation
In 1853, Commodore Matthew Perry and his four black ships came from the United States to Japan and urged the feudal government of Japan to open the country to other countries. At first, the feudal government stubbornly rejected the request and stuck to a policy of isolation. However, in response to strong overtures made by the United States, the feudal government finally decided to end a long period of isolation which began in 1639 when Japan broke off all intercourse with foreign countries. -
Suez Canal Opens
The Suez Canal is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea. Opened in November 1869 after 10 years of construction, it allows ships to travel between Europe and South Asia without navigating around Africa thereby reducing the sea voyage distance between Europe and India by about 7,000 kilometers. -
Berlin Conference sets rules for African Colonization
The fierce competition between European countries in gaining territory in Africa made them afraid of war against each other. To prevent a war from happening several European nations gathered at a conference to divide up the land. They did not consider those who lived in the country while making the decisions. -
U.S annexes Hawaii
America's annexation of Hawaii in 1898 extended U.S. territory into the Pacific and highlighted resulted from economic integration and the rise of the United States as a Pacific power. For most of the 1800s, leaders in Washington were concerned that Hawaii might become part of a European nation's empire. During the 1830s, Britain and France forced Hawaii to accept treaties giving them economic privileges. In 1842, Secretary of State Daniel Webster sent a letter to Hawaiian agents in Washington. -
United States wins Spanish-American War
The Spanish–American War was a conflict in 1898 between Spain and the United States, the result of American intervention in the Cuban War of Independence. American attacks on Spain's Pacific possessions led to involvement in the Philippine Revolution and ultimately to the Philippine–American War. -
Russo-Japan war
The Russo-Japanese War was "the first great war of the 20th century." It grew out of rival imperial ambitions of the Russian Empire and the Empire of Japan over Manchuria and Korea. The major theatres of operations were Southern Manchuria, specifically the area around the Liaodong Peninsula and Mukden; and the seas around Korea, Japan, and the Yellow Sea.. -
Japan annexes Korea
Japan acquired more and more power from the Korean government. The Korean king was not able to get the support he needed so he gave up his control of the country. Japan soon proposed an annexation of the country, bringing it under their control. -
Panama Canal Opens
The Panama Canal is a 77.1-kilometre ship canal in Panama that connects the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean. The canal cuts across the Isthmus of Panama and is a key conduit for international maritime trade. There are locks at each end to lift ships up to Gatun Lake, an artificial lake created to reduce the amount of excavation work required for the canal, 26 meters above sea level. The current locks are 33.5 meters wide -
Scramble for Africa
The "Scramble for Africa" is the popular name for the invasion, occupation, colonization and annexation of African territory by European powers during the period of New Imperialism, between 1881 and 1914. It is also called the Partition of Africa and the Conquest of Africa. In 1870, only 10 percent of Africa was under European control; by 1914 it was 90 percent of the continent, with only Abyssinia (Ethiopia) and Liberia still being independent -
Mexican Revolution Begins
The Mexican revolution was a major armed struggle that started in 1910, with an uprising led by Francisco I. Madero against longtime autocrat Porfirio Díaz, and lasted for the better part of a decade until around 1920. Over time the revolution changed from a revolt against the established order to a multi-sided civil war with frequently shifting power struggles.
