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Start of the French Revolution
Now called Bastille Day in France, this was where the revolution began. The revolution lead to the execution of the monarchs during the Reign of Terror, Napoleon's rise to power, and eventually it lead to a French republic. It also allowed for Haitian Revolution. This date was the beginning of a period of massive change in France which later spread to French colonies and to the rest of Europe. -
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Toussaint L'Ouverture Leads Slave Revolt
This was the first ever successful slave revolt. Despite the French army coming in to stop the revolt, the slaves still won not only their own independence, but independence for the entire country of Haiti. This was because disease-carrying mosquitoes infected the mosquitoes. -
Haiti Wins Independence
Haitian independence destroyed the race-based social hierarchy in Haiti and was a direct result of the Haitian slaves revolting. Additionally, when Haiti became independent from France, it meant France could no longer profit off the Haiti, which hurt the French Economy. -
Napoleon Becomes Emperor of France
When Napoleon crowned himself emperor, it was a show of great power on his part. Napoleon already controlled French politics, becoming an emperor was symbolic to show other powers in Europe just how powerful Napoleon was in France. -
Bolivar Liberates Ecuador
This was the first country Bolivar liberated. This set off his march south to free four more countries, and weakened Spanish control in South America. -
San Martin Liberates Argentina
This was the first of two colonies which San Martin freed from Spanish rule. While Bolivar worked in the north, San Martin liberated the south. Argentina was the first country in the south of South America to be liberated from Spain. -
Bolivar Liberates Colombia
This was the second country Bolivar liberated. He significantly changed Spanish power dynamics in Latin America with this liberation because of Colombia's access to ports on the Atlantic Ocean. -
Father Miguel Hidalgo Inspires Revolution in Mexico
Hidalgo called for Spanish control to leave Mexico. Without this call, people may not have been motivated to start a revolution and Mexico may not have become an independent nation. -
Mexico Gains Independence
When Mexico gained independence, Spain lost a colony in the new world. This significantly decreased their power in the new world, especially in North America. Mexico was Spain's most significant colony in North America. -
San Martin Liberates Chile
This was the second colony San Martin liberated. Since colonies were larger in the south, the liberation of Chile meant that the entirety of the south was liberated. -
Bolivar Liberates Venezuela
This was one of many countries Bolivar liberated. The liberation of Venezuela hurt Spanish control in South America. This gave the Venezuelans the ability to govern themselves and look out for their own best interests. -
Bolivar Liberates Peru
This was the penultimate country Bolivar liberated. At this point, Spain had very little control in Spain. The liberation of Peru further solidified that Spain's power in Latin America would soon cease to exist. -
Bolivar Liberates Bolivia
Bolivia was the last country Bolivar liberated from Spain. At this point, the Spanish government had no influence in South America, and Bolivia's independence allowed the people in Latin America to free themselves completely from Spain. -
Mazzini Creates "Young Italy"
Young Italy was a secret association for Italian nationalists. It aimed to create a united Italian republic, and worked to inspire revolution within the Italian people. Young Italy was a driving force in the Italian people working towards unification. -
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Zollverein
The Zollverein was a Prussian trade agreement signed in 1881 between various German states. It allowed for trade between the states without paying import taxes. This played a key part in unification because it allowed the people to trade with each other freely and it entangled the different German economies. -
Cavour Becomes Prime Minister of Sardinia
Cavour was a tactical thinker from Sardinia. Throughout his life, he formed alliances with more powerful nations, and then went to war to annex different Italian states. Because of his tactics, he was able to unite the north of Italy and later convinced the Sardinian king to meet with Garibaldi and take control of Italy's southern states, too. -
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Italy in the Crimean War
The Italian country of Sardinia joined forces with Britain and France in the Crimean War. The country did not lend much help to its allies; it was far less powerful than them; but because they fought in the war, they could negotiate on the treaty and form alliances with the two more powerful countries. -
Garibaldi's Red Shirts Capture Sicily
Garibaldi and roughly 1,000 militia men seized the Kingdom of Two Sicilys from French grasp, which made brought them closer to unifying Italy. Garibaldi unified southern Italy before turning it over to Sardinia, and Sicily's capture was the first step to unification in the south. -
Victor Emmanuel II is Crowned King of Unified Italy
Victor Emmanuel II becoming king marked the end of the Italian Unification process. Under his leadership, Italy became a united country, it later took control of Rome from the church, and under the king, Italy became a formidable country. -
Bismarck Becomes Prime Minister of Prussia
Otto von Bismarck was responsible for the unification of Germany. When he became prime minister, he gained enough power to go declare war with other countries to gain more territory, or to threaten foreign powers into giving up their kingdoms. -
Blood and Iron Speech
Prime minister Otto von Bismarck made this speech as a promise that Germany would be unified. It was made to increase military budget so Prussia could go to war in order to annex German kingdoms. -
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War with Denmark
Prussia and Austria went to war with Denmark in 1864 to take the territories of Schleswig and Holstein. Prussia took the state of Schleswig from Danish control, adding to its territory and kicking off the campaign for a unified Germany. -
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Austro-Prussian War
The Austro-Prussian War, also the Seven Weeks War, gained the territory of Holstein for Prussia, which Austria took after the war in Denmark. It also forced the Austrians out of Germain politics, making it easier for Prussia to create a unified Germany. -
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Franco-Prussian War
The Franco-Prussian War was a final step in creating a united Germany. Since southern German states were more allied with France that Prussia, Bismarck coerced the French into declaring war. Upon beating France, southern Germany joined Prussia because Prussia and countries it had beat in war surrounded the southern states, creating pressure for them to join. -
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Second Reich
Kaiser Wilhelm I's reign as the first emperor of Germany, the Second Reich was the second time Germany had been united (the first time being the Holy Roman Empire) and Wilhelm's reign solidified the country. The Second Reich was when a unified Germany was made official and when the country became stable.
