Politics & PowerThe 1850s

Politics & Power in the 1850s

Every event in the Terralore archive tagged politics and power — dynasties, constitutions, revolutions and changes of regime, narrowed to the 1850s — 11 of them, drawn from 11 nations, running from 1850 to 1859. Each entry keeps the sources it was verified against and links back to the chronicle it came from.

Events
11
Nations
11
Earliest
1850
Latest
1859
Africa
4
Asia
2
North America
2
Europe
1
Oceania
1
South America
1

Every entry below is the same record, with the same sources, as the one on its nation’s chronicle.

  1. Africa

    Congo

    Decline as the slave trade is suppressed

    The European suppression of the Atlantic slave trade undercut the Loango coast's economy; the kingdom fragmented into small chieftaincies and had effectively ceased to exist as a unified state by the early 1880s.

    Era: Loango ports and the Atlantic slave trade

    Sources: Kingdom of Loango · Encyclopædia Britannica, Kingdom of Loango · Wikipedia, Congo-Brazzaville — Early History · GlobalSecurity.org

  2. Africa

    Niger

    Bornu's enduring influence

    The empire of Kanem-Bornu near Lake Chad continued to project Islamic culture and political weight over Niger's east, where many small states had begun as its tributaries.

    Era: Hausa states, Damagaram and the shadow of Bornu

    Sources: History of Niger · Wikipedia, Niger (country) · Encyclopaedia Britannica

  3. Europe

    Montenegro

    Montenegro becomes a secular principality

    Danilo renounced the office of prince-bishop, married and proclaimed himself prince, ending the theocracy; his 1855 code gave the principality its first modern legal framework.

    Era: Secular Principality, the Congress of Berlin and the Kingdom

    Sources: Montenegro: History · Encyclopaedia Britannica, Danilo II, prince-bishop and first secular prince of Montenegro · Encyclopaedia Britannica

  4. South America

    Argentina

    The National Constitution

    A constituent congress at Santa Fe sanctions the Constitution of 1853, establishing a federal, representative and republican state.

    Era: Civil Wars, Unification and the Liberal Republic

    Sources: Justo Jose de Urquiza · Encyclopaedia Britannica, Argentina · Encyclopaedia Britannica

  5. Asia

    United Arab Emirates

    The Perpetual Maritime Truce

    The Treaty of Maritime Peace in Perpetuity committed the rulers to a permanent truce at sea, giving the coast the name Trucial Coast and its statelets the name Trucial States.

    Era: The Qawasim and the Making of the Trucial States

    Sources: Perpetual Maritime Truce of 1853 · Encyclopaedia Britannica, History of the United Arab Emirates · Encyclopaedia Britannica

  6. Oceania

    Australia

    Eureka Stockade

    Goldminers at Ballarat rebelled against oppressive licensing and the denial of political rights; troops stormed their stockade, killing more than twenty, but the revolt helped secure democratic reforms.

    Era: Colonial expansion, gold rushes, and frontier conflict

    Sources: Defining Moments: Eureka Stockade · National Museum of Australia, Australian gold rushes · Encyclopaedia Britannica

  7. Africa

    Ethiopia

    Tewodros II reunifies Ethiopia

    Kassa Hailu defeats the regional warlords and is crowned Emperor Tewodros II, ending the Era of the Princes and launching efforts to centralise and modernise the state.

    Era: Gondar, the Era of the Princes and Reunification

    Sources: Gondarine period · Wikipedia, Ethiopia (country overview) · Encyclopaedia Britannica

  8. Asia

    Oman

    Death of Said and the split of the empire

    On Said bin Sultan's death his realm was divided between his sons, one taking Muscat and Oman and the other Zanzibar, severing the African empire from Arabia.

    Era: The Al Bu Said Dynasty and the Empire of Zanzibar

    Sources: Said ibn Sultan, Omani ruler and Zanzibar sultan · Encyclopaedia Britannica, Al Bu Said dynasty · Encyclopaedia Britannica

  9. Africa

    Tanzania

    Zanzibar becomes a separate sultanate

    On Said's death his domains are divided; his son Majid becomes the first sultan of Zanzibar, separating the islands from Oman.

    Era: The Portuguese and Omani Zanzibar

    Sources: Sultanate of Zanzibar (1856–1964) · BlackPast.org, Saʿīd ibn Sulṭān · Encyclopaedia Britannica

  10. North America

    Mexico

    Constitution of the Reform

    The liberal Constitution of 1857 limits church and army privileges and establishes a bill of rights, deepening conflict between liberals and conservatives.

    Era: Reform, Porfiriato, and Revolution

    Sources: La Reforma · Encyclopaedia Britannica, Benito Juarez · Encyclopaedia Britannica

  11. North America

    Belize

    The Anglo-Guatemalan boundary treaty

    Britain and Guatemala signed a treaty fixing the settlement's limits from the Río Hondo to the Sarstoon; the unfulfilled Article 7, promising a means of communication never built, became the root of Guatemala's later claim.

    Era: British Honduras and a plural society

    Sources: The Belize–Guatemala Territorial Differendum (Peace Fund) · Organization of American States, Guatemala's Territorial, Insular and Maritime Claim (Guatemala/Belize), Case No. 177 · International Court of Justice, Our History · Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Government of Belize