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Congress of Vienna
A meeting of European powers to discuss Europe after the defeat of Napoleon. -
Zollverein (German Customs Union) is Founded
Prussia and other German states united in an economic union, which brought Germany closer to unificiation. -
First Opium War Begins
A war between the British and the Qing Government in China. The war was fought over Britain's refusal to stop selling opium to Chinese ports. -
Treaty of Nanking
The Qing Government signed the Treaty of Nanking, which ended the First Opium War and began the "spheres of influence" period of indirect imperialism in Chinese history. -
Japan is "Opened" to the West
US Commodore Matthew Perry demands, with threat of force, that Japan allow the US ship to dock at Edo (Tokyo) Bay. This is later known as the opening of Japan after more than 250 years of economic and diplomatic isolation. -
Crimean War Begins
Britain, allied with France and the Ottoman Empire, fought a war over Russian southward expansion. Britain feared that an aggressive Russia would eventually try to take over British India. -
Sepoy Rebellion, or First Indian War for Independence, Begins
Sepoys, Indian soldiers under British command, revolt due to long-standing resentment and cultural backlash to religious insensitivity. -
Italian Unification
The Sardinian King, Victor Emmanuel, was declared king of a newly unified Italy by the new Italian Parliament. This became known as the Proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy. -
Franco-Prussian War Begins
France and Prussia (the main state of Germany) fought a war over the territory of Alsace and Lorraine; Prussia won. -
German Unification
Kaiser Wilhelm I of Prussia declared Germany a unified empire. -
Triple Alliance
Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy entered into an alliance. -
Berlin Conference
European nations, along with the United States, met in Berlin to agree to the division of the African continent into colonies. -
Congo Free State is Founded
King Leopold II of Belgium, under the guise of humanitarianism and free trade, renamed a large are of Central Africa the "Congo Free State," which would be an unregulated free trade zone. Many human rights abuses followed. -
First Use of Maxim Machine Gun
The British used Hiram Maxim's machine gun in their war against the Ndebele in South Africa during the First Matabele War.
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Open Door Policy
US Secretary of State John Hay sent major powers (Britain, France, Germany, Japan, Italy, and Russia) a letter asking them to uphold Chinese territorial integrity, to eliminate "spheres of influence," and to allow free trade throughout China. -
Russo-Japanese War Begins
Japan surprises the world by holding off Russian expansion into Korea; Japan announces itself as a world power with its victory. -
Triple Entente Forms
Russia, Britain, and France entered into an alliance, in order to challenge Germany, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire, and Italy. -
Ottoman-German Alliance
Germany and the Ottoman Empire entered into an alliance shortly before the outbreak of World War I. This was helpful to Germany because it allowed safe access through the Mediterranean to colonies in Africa, and to British and French colonies.
