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Period: 1500 to
Transatlantic Slave Trade
A triangular trade of slaves from West Africa across the Atlantic Ocean to Europe and America. -
Boston Tea Party
A group of American colonists disguised as Mohawk Indians boarded 3 British tea ships in Boston Harbour and dumped 342 chests of tea into the sea to protest the Tea Act of 1773, which greatly lowered the tea tax on the British East India Company and granting it a monopoly on the American tea trade. -
The American Declaration of Independence is Approved
A statement drafted by the Committee of Five (Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman and Robert Livingston) that states that the thirteen colonies of America will become thirteen independent states free of British rule. -
First Fleet Lands
11 ships from Britain filled with convicts arrive at the inhospitable Botany Bay in Australia. Eight days later, they relocate to Port Jackson in Sydney Cove to establish a settlement. -
Period: to
Victorian Gold Rush
Gold is discovered in the Mt. Alexander goldfields 60km northeast of Ballarat in 1851, sparking a decade-long gold rush with people trying to make their fortune. -
The Eureka Stockade
125 men were arrested and around 30 men were killed in this 20 minute battle at the Eureka goldfields to protest the hated gold licence required to mine gold. -
Invention of the Telephone
Alexander Graham Bell's device is able to form a coherent sentence on this day, which was 'Mr. Watson—come here—I want to see you.' -
Invention of the Lightbulb
Thomas Edison submits a patent for an electric lamp using a 'carbon filament strip coiled and connected to platina contact wires'. -
The Tenterfield Oration is Given
Premier Henry Parkes delivers this speech which started the movement for federation in the Australian colonies. The photo shows Henry Parkes on the Australian $5 note.
