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Start of the French Revolution
French citizens stormed the Bastille in order to rebel against the french monarchy and estate system. This inspired several other countries around the world to rebel from their unfair leadership and monarchies. -
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Toussant L'Ouverture Leads Slave Revolt
L'Ouverture was a former slave and his prominent role in the Haitian success over colonialism and slavery had earned him the admiration of friends and detractors alike. Toussaint L'Ouverture began his military career as a leader of the 1791 slave rebellion in the French colony of Saint-Domingue. -
Haiti Wins Independence
A slave revolt erupted on the French colony, and Toussaint-L'ouverture, a former slave, took control of the rebels and freed the slaves there. After the defeat of Napoleon Bonaparte’s colonial forces, Haiti was declared an independent nation. -
Napoleon Becomes Emperor of France
In Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, Napoleon Bonaparte was crowned Napoleon I, the first Frenchman to hold the title of emperor in a thousand years. Pope Pius VII gave Napoleon the crown due to the conqueror of Europe wanting to put it on himself. -
Columbia gains independence
Columbian activists devoted towards the cause of liberating Columbia gathered the people of a populated Columbian city to protest against strict Spanish rule. The Spanish Viceroy was pressured to give into the wishes of the Columbian citizens, granting them temporary independence which later became permanent. -
Father Miguel Hidalgo inspires revolution in Mexico
Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla was a Catholic priest in Mexico. He launched the Mexican War of Independence with his speech Grito de Dolores, or “Cry of Dolores,” The revolutionary speech was named after the town he spoke it in, Dolores. -
Chile gains independence
The Chilean War of Independence started after Chilean citizens resisted against the Spanish government in pursuit of political and economic independence. With the help of San Martín, the citizens of Chile defeated Spanish troops causing the remaining troops to surrender and grant Chile independence. -
Venezuela gains independence
Venezuelan patriots revolted against Spain because of high taxes and a lack of independence. Venezuela claimed independence during Napoleon's invasion of Spain, which showed Spanish controlled countries Spain's lack of control on its land in South and North America. Spain resisted this claim to independence but eventually gave up the power it held over Venezuela. -
Argentina gains independence
On July 9, 1816, Argentina declared itself independent under the name of the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata. Many years of continued fighting and rebellion followed before the Spanish loyalists were defeated in northern Argentina. -
Peru gains independence
José de San Martín and his forces liberated Peru and declared it independent from Spain on 28 July 1821. After securing Chile's independence, with a fleet commanded by a man named Lord Cochrane, he invaded Peru and declared independence in Lima in 1821, with himself as dictator. -
Mexico gains independence
Miguel Hidalgo's speech, Grito de Dolores, or “Cry of Delores” led to Mexican independence from Spain. The revolutionary speech called for the end of Spanish rule in Mexico, redistribution of land, and racial equality. -
Ecuador gains independence
Ecuador gained its independence after Antonio José de Sucre defeated the Spanish Royalist forces at the Battle of Pichincha, near Quito, Ecuador. -
Bolivia gains independence
The Bolivian war of Independence began in1809 with Simon Bolivar who led Bolivia on the path to democracy and independence. Bolivian Independence was finally achieved after years of unfair Spanish colonial rule. It over spanned more than 15 years, from 1809 to 1825, and involved many battles and countless deaths. -
Guissepi Mazzini creates "Young Italy"
Guissepi Mazzini created a group called Young Italy to enlighten Italian youth on the unification of Italy. In this organization, Mazzini explained his plans for an ideal Italy, where people with Italian heritage could live together in peace. -
Zollverein
Te Zollverein, also known as the German Customs Union was a coalition of German states formed to manage tariffs and economic policies within their own individual territories. It was organized after the Zollverein treaties, and the Zollverein formally started on 1 January 1834. However, its foundations had been in development from 1818 with the creation of a variety of custom unions among the German states. Eventually after many years all German territories were involved. -
Camillo Cavour becomes Prime Minister
Cavour was a Piedmontese statesman, and a conservative whose exploitation of international rivalries and of revolutionary movements caused him to play a large role in the unification of Italy. Cavour entered the ministry of Massimo D'Azeglio as minister of agriculture, industry and commerce. Following his political alliance with Urbano Ratazzi, Cavour was able to dislodge D'Azeglio from power, becoming prime minister at the end of 1852. -
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Italian Role in the Crimean War
The success of the allies in the Crimean War confirmed the prestige of Camilo Cavour. The Crimean War, also known in Russia as the Eastern War of 1853 to 1856. The cause of the war involved the rights and the privileges of the Russian Orthodox and Roman Catholics in the Holy places in Palestine and Cavour made sure Italy was involved. -
Garbaldi's Red Shirts capture Sicily
The Expedition of the Thousand (Italian Spedizione dei Mille) was an event of the Italian Risorgimento that took place in 1860. A corps of volunteers led by Giuseppe Garibaldi sailed from Quarto, near Genoa (now Quarto dei Mille) and landed in Marsala, Sicily in order to conquer the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, ruled by the House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies. The expedition was a success and brought Naples and Sicily into the Kingdom of Sardinia. -
Victor Emmanuel II is crowned King of unified Italy
After the many years leading up to a secure unified Italy, Victor Emmanuel II was crowned the first king of a unified Italy after a key figure in Italian unification stepped down from power. -
Bismarck becomes Prime Minister
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Blood and Iron speech
Blood and Iron is a speech made by Otto von Bismarck given on September 30, 1862, at the time when he was Minister President of Prussia, about the unification of the German territories. It was a key factor in the beginning of German Unification. -
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War with Denmark
The Second Schleswig War, was the second of two conflicts over the settlement of the Schleswig-Holstein question, a complex of problems arising from the relationship of the Dutch citizens of Schleswig and Holstein to Denmark, to each other, and to the German Confederation. Involved in it were a disputed succession, a clash of Danish and German nationalism, and a threat to the international balance of power. -
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War with Austria
Seven Weeks' War, also called Austro-Prussian War, was between Prussia on the one side and Austria, Bavaria, Saxony, Hanover, and certain minor German states on the other. It ended in a Prussian victory, which meant the exclusion of Austria from Germany. -
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War with France
Franco-German War, also called Franco-Prussian War, was a war in which a coalition of German states led by Prussia defeated France. The war marked the end of French hegemony in continental Europe and resulted in the creation of a unified Germany. -
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2nd Reich
It was founded in 1871 when the south German states, excluding Austria, joined the North German Confederation. On January 1, 1871, the new constitution came into force that changed the name of the federal state and introduced the title of emperor for Wilhelm I, King of Prussia from the House of Hohenzollern.