Politics & Power in the 1810s

1810Europe
Sweden
Bernadotte chosen as heir
The French marshal Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte was elected Swedish crown prince, founding the Bernadotte dynasty; he ruled from 1818 as Charles XIV John, king of Sweden and Norway.
Era: Loss of Finland, Union with Norway and the Birth of Neutrality
Sources: Treaty of Kiel · Encyclopaedia Britannica, Sweden: History · Encyclopaedia Britannica
5 November 1811North America
El Salvador
First cry of independence
An early uprising in San Salvador, associated with the priest Jose Matias Delgado, is suppressed but remembered as a first stirring of the independence movement.
Era: Conquest and the Colonial Province
Sources: El Salvador: The colonial period · Encyclopaedia Britannica
1811 CENorth America
Haiti
Christophe crowned King Henry I
Henry Christophe proclaims a kingdom in northern Haiti and builds the Citadelle Laferriere; the south remains a republic under Petion.
Era: Kingdom, Republic, and the Indemnity
Sources: Henry Christophe · Encyclopaedia Britannica, National History Park - Citadel, Sans Souci, Ramiers · UNESCO World Heritage Centre
27 Feb 1812South America
Argentina
Belgrano raises the flag
Manuel Belgrano first flies the light-blue-and-white flag at Rosario; it is adopted by the Congress of Tucuman in 1816.
Era: May Revolution and the Wars of Independence
Sources: Flag Day: Homage to General Manuel Belgrano · Casa Rosada, Presidency of Argentina, Manuel Belgrano · Encyclopaedia Britannica
1812Europe
Finland
Helsinki made the capital
The capital was moved from Turku to Helsinki, nearer to Saint Petersburg, and the town was rebuilt as a neoclassical capital of the Grand Duchy.
Era: The Grand Duchy of Finland under the Russian Empire
Sources: History of Finland · InfoFinland (Finnish public authorities), Main outlines of Finnish history · thisisFINLAND (Finland Promotion Board)
19 Mar 1812Europe
Spain
Constitution of Cádiz
Liberal deputies meeting in besieged Cádiz promulgated Spain's first constitution, asserting national sovereignty and a separation of powers, though it was abolished by Ferdinand VII in 1814.
Era: Decline, the Bourbons and the Napoleonic Crisis
Sources: Constitution of the Spanish Monarchy, enacted in Cádiz, 19 March 1812 · Library of Congress
14 Jan 1814Europe
Norway
The Treaty of Kiel
Defeated in the Napoleonic Wars, Denmark-Norway was forced to cede Norway: by the Treaty of Kiel the Danish king renounced all claims to Norway in favour of the king of Sweden.
Era: The Black Death, the Kalmar Union and the Danish Centuries
Sources: Kieltraktaten · Store norske leksikon, Treaty of Kiel · Encyclopaedia Britannica, Norway: The Treaty of Kiel · Encyclopaedia Britannica
17 May 1814Europe
Norway
The Constitution of Eidsvoll
A constituent assembly at Eidsvoll signed Norway's constitution on 17 May 1814, declaring the country a free kingdom with an elected Storting; the date became the national day.
Era: Eidsvoll, the Union with Sweden and National Awakening
Sources: The story of 1814 in 1-2-3 · Eidsvoll 1814 (Norwegian national museum), Norway: The union conflict, 1859–1905 · Encyclopaedia Britannica
4 Nov 1814Europe
Norway
Union with Sweden
After a short war, Sweden accepted the Eidsvoll constitution and the Storting voted to enter a personal union with Sweden under a shared king, with Norway keeping its parliament and laws.
Era: Eidsvoll, the Union with Sweden and National Awakening
Sources: The story of 1814 in 1-2-3 · Eidsvoll 1814 (Norwegian national museum), Norway: The union conflict, 1859–1905 · Encyclopaedia Britannica
1814-1840South America
Paraguay
The dictatorship of Dr Francia
Jose Gaspar Rodriguez de Francia rules as Supreme Dictator, sealing Paraguay off from the world in near-total isolation until his death.
Era: Independence, Dr Francia and the Lopez Dynasty
Sources: Jose Gaspar Rodriguez de Francia · Encyclopaedia Britannica, History of Paraguay · Encyclopaedia Britannica
14 Jan 1814Europe
Sweden
Treaty of Kiel and the union with Norway
Denmark ceded Norway to Sweden by the Treaty of Kiel; Norwegian resistance produced not annexation but a personal union of the two kingdoms under one crown, lasting until 1905.
Era: Loss of Finland, Union with Norway and the Birth of Neutrality
Sources: Treaty of Kiel · Encyclopaedia Britannica, Norway: The union conflict, 1859–1905 · Encyclopaedia Britannica
1815Europe
Belgium
Union with the Netherlands
After Napoleon's defeat at Waterloo on Belgian soil, the Congress of Vienna merged the southern provinces with the Dutch into the United Kingdom of the Netherlands under William I, as a buffer against France.
Era: Revolution, Independence and the Guaranteed Neutral Kingdom
Sources: Belgium: History · Encyclopaedia Britannica, The Treaty of London, 1839 (primary text) · FirstWorldWar.com Primary Documents
1815Europe
Germany
Congress of Vienna and the German Confederation
After Napoleon's defeat, the Congress of Vienna created a loose confederation of German states dominated by Austria and Prussia, leaving national unity unfulfilled.
Era: Prussia, Fragmentation and the Road to Unity
Sources: Germany · Encyclopaedia Britannica
1815Europe
Liechtenstein
Membership of the German Confederation
After Napoleon's defeat, Liechtenstein joined the German Confederation created at the Congress of Vienna, remaining within it until 1866 while keeping close dynastic ties to Austria.
Era: From the Empire to Sovereignty
Sources: Liechtenstein: History (Alpine, Principality, Sovereignty) · Encyclopaedia Britannica
1815Europe
Luxembourg
Congress of Vienna creates the Grand Duchy
Luxembourg was raised to a Grand Duchy under William I of the Netherlands in personal union, placed within the German Confederation with a Prussian garrison, and lost an eastern slice to Prussia in a second partition.
Era: The Grand Duchy, the Second and Third Partitions, and Neutrality
Sources: The history of the Nassau dynasty · Cour grand-ducale (Grand Ducal Court of Luxembourg)
1815Europe
Poland
Congress of Vienna and the 'Congress Kingdom'
The post-Napoleonic settlement re-divided the Polish lands and created a nominally autonomous Kingdom of Poland under the Russian tsar, entrenching foreign rule.
Era: The Partitions and the Long Fight for Independence
Sources: History of Poland (1795-1918) · Encyclopaedia Britannica, Partitions of Poland · Encyclopaedia Britannica
1815Europe
Serbia
Second Uprising and autonomy under Miloš Obrenović
Miloš Obrenović led the Second Uprising; by 1830 the Ottomans granted the principality full autonomy under him as hereditary prince, establishing self-governing Serbia.
Era: The Serbian Revolution and the Road to Independence
Sources: Serbia: The disintegration of Ottoman rule · Encyclopaedia Britannica
1815Europe
Slovenia
Austria regains the Slovene lands
After Napoleon's defeat the Congress of Vienna restored Habsburg rule over the Illyrian territories, returning the Slovene lands to the Austrian Empire.
Era: The Illyrian Provinces and the National Awakening
Sources: History of Slovenia · Encyclopaedia Britannica, Ljubljana · Encyclopaedia Britannica
1815Europe
Switzerland
The borders of modern Switzerland fixed
The Vienna settlement restored the cantons and set the Confederation's external borders, which have remained almost unchanged since, leaving curiosities such as the foreign enclaves of Büsingen and Campione d'Italia.
Era: The Helvetic Republic, Napoleon and the Recognition of Neutrality
Sources: The story of Switzerland's federal borders · Swiss National Museum (blog.nationalmuseum.ch), League of Nations recognizes perpetual Swiss neutrality (Congress of Vienna, 1815) · HISTORY (A&E Television Networks)
1816–1920Europe
Belgium
Neutral Moresnet
Unable to agree on ownership of a village and its zinc mine, the powers created Neutral Moresnet, a tiny condominium of about 3.5 square kilometres jointly administered by Prussia and the Netherlands, then Prussia and Belgium, until the Treaty of Versailles awarded it to Belgium.
Era: Leopold II, the Congo, and the Curiosities of the Border
Sources: 100 years ago Belgium annexed Europe's second smallest territory (Neutral Moresnet) · VRT NWS (Flemish public broadcaster), Eupen-Malmedy (transfer to Belgium under the Treaty of Versailles) · 1914-1918-Online International Encyclopedia of the First World War
1816–1819Europe
Estonia
Abolition of serfdom
Serfdom was abolished in the Estonian and Livonian governorates ahead of the rest of Russia, freeing the peasantry and laying the social groundwork for the later national awakening.
Era: The Russian Empire and the National Awakening
Sources: Estonia: History · Encyclopaedia Britannica
1818Africa
Benin
Ghezo seizes the throne
Ghezo overthrew his brother Adandozan with the support of the Brazilian slave trader Francisco Félix de Sousa, beginning a reign that would expand Dahomey's army and its female Agojie regiment.
Era: Ouidah, the slave trade, King Ghezo and the Agojie
Sources: Ghezo · Wikipedia, The Dahomey Amazons · BlackPast.org / African American Registry

Bernadotte chosen as heir

First cry of independence

Christophe crowned King Henry I

Belgrano raises the flag

Helsinki made the capital

Constitution of Cádiz

The Treaty of Kiel

The Constitution of Eidsvoll

Union with Sweden

The dictatorship of Dr Francia

Treaty of Kiel and the union with Norway

Union with the Netherlands

Congress of Vienna and the German Confederation

Membership of the German Confederation

Congress of Vienna creates the Grand Duchy

Congress of Vienna and the 'Congress Kingdom'

Second Uprising and autonomy under Miloš Obrenović

Austria regains the Slovene lands

The borders of modern Switzerland fixed

Neutral Moresnet

Abolition of serfdom

Ghezo seizes the throne