- — Europe:
Swiss arbitration fixes the Brazil–French Guiana border
The Swiss Federal Council rules at Bern that the “Japoc or Vincent Pinson” of the Treaty of Utrecht is the Oyapock, as Brazil had argued, not the Araguari as France had. The border follows the Oyapock and, inland, the Tumuc-Humac watershed.
Era: The Republics & the Modern Nation
Sources: Arbitral award on the Brazil/French Guiana boundary, 1 December 1900 · United Nations, Reports of International Arbitral Awards vol. XXVIII, Coopération transfrontalière franco-brésilienne (rapport r22-846) · Sénat
- — North America:
The Platt Amendment
The U.S. Congress conditions withdrawal on the Platt Amendment, reserving a right of intervention and a naval base at Guantanamo Bay; Cuba writes it into its constitution.
Era: The Republic: Occupation, Platt, Machado, and Batista
Sources: Platt Amendment (1903) · U.S. National Archives, Milestone Documents, Platt Amendment · Encyclopaedia Britannica
- — Oceania:
Women win the federal vote
The Commonwealth Franchise Act gave most (non-Aboriginal) women the right to vote and to stand for the federal parliament, making Australia one of the first nations to enfranchise women nationally.
Era: Federation and the new nation
Sources: Australia (country) · Encyclopaedia Britannica, Defining Moments: Federation · National Museum of Australia
- — Africa:
Treaty of Vereeniging
The peace signed at Pretoria ended the South African War, bringing the Transvaal and Orange Free State under British sovereignty with promises of eventual self-government.
Era: Diamonds, gold, the South African War and Union
Sources: Treaty of Vereeniging · Wikipedia, South African War · Encyclopaedia Britannica
- — Europe:
Diplomatic relations with the United States
The United States established diplomatic relations with Bulgaria in 1903, the first US diplomatic agent presenting his credentials in Sofia on 19 September of that year.
Era: San Stefano, Berlin and the Making of Modern Bulgaria
Sources: A Guide to the United States' History of Recognition, Diplomatic, and Consular Relations: Bulgaria · U.S. Department of State, Office of the Historian
- — South America:
Separation of Panama
Backed by U.S. warships, Panama secedes after Colombia rejects the canal treaty; the United States recognises it and secures the canal zone.
Era: Partisan Wars and the Loss of Panama
Sources: The Panama Canal and Panamanian Independence, 1903 · U.S. Department of State, Office of the Historian, The War of a Thousand Days · Encyclopaedia Britannica
- — North America:
Hay-Bunau-Varilla Treaty
The treaty grants the United States a Canal Zone across the isthmus in perpetuity and guarantees Panama's independence.
Era: The Canal and the Zone
Sources: Hay-Bunau-Varilla Treaty · Encyclopaedia Britannica, The Panama Canal and the Torrijos-Carter Treaties · U.S. Department of State, Office of the Historian
- — Africa:
Separate Crown Colony
Seychelles was detached from Mauritius and constituted as a British Crown Colony in its own right.
Era: British Rule and Emancipation
Sources: History of Seychelles · Wikipedia, Background Note: Seychelles · U.S. Department of State (archived)
- — South America:
Batlle y Ordonez becomes president
Jose Batlle y Ordonez of the Colorado Party wins the presidency, beginning the reform era that would make Uruguay an early welfare-state democracy.
Era: Batlle y Ordonez and the Model Country
Sources: Jose Batlle y Ordonez · Encyclopaedia Britannica, Uruguay · Encyclopaedia Britannica
- — South America:
Treaty confirms the loss of the coast
A treaty between Bolivia and Chile formally cedes the Pacific coast to Chile, fixing Bolivia's landlocked status and a lasting national grievance.
Era: Lost Wars, the Sea, and the Tin Republic
Sources: War of the Pacific · Encyclopaedia Britannica, Bolivia · Encyclopaedia Britannica, Bolivia: A Country Study · Library of Congress, Federal Research Division
- — Africa:
The Casement Report
British consul Roger Casement publishes a report documenting atrocities; E. D. Morel's Congo Reform Association amplifies the outcry.
Era: The Congo Free State
Sources: Casement Report (1904) · Wikipedia, Congo Free State · Wikipedia
- — Asia:
First Partition of Bengal
Viceroy Lord Curzon divides Bengal into a Muslim-majority east (capital Dacca) and a Hindu-majority west, sparking the Swadeshi movement; the partition is annulled in 1911.
Era: British Conquest and Colonial Bengal
Sources: Partition of Bengal (1905) · Encyclopædia Britannica
- — Europe:
- — Europe:
First Montenegrin constitution
Prince Nikola I granted Montenegro its first constitution, establishing an assembly and modern institutions as the principality consolidated its recognised statehood.
Era: Secular Principality, the Congress of Berlin and the Kingdom
Sources: Nicholas I, king of Montenegro · Encyclopaedia Britannica, Montenegro: History · Encyclopaedia Britannica
- — Europe:
Plebiscite on offering the throne to Prince Carl
Prince Carl of Denmark had insisted on a plebiscite so as not to come to Norway as a party king; after Fridtjof Nansen persuaded him to drop the demand, the government held one anyway. On a turnout of 75.3 per cent, 78.9 per cent, almost 260,000 voters against just over 69,000, approved offering him the throne.
Era: Independence, Polar Sovereignty and the Second World War
Sources: Kongevalget i 1905 · Store norske leksikon, Folkeavstemningen om monarki i 1905 · Norgeshistorie, University of Oslo
- — Europe:
Election of King Haakon VII
After the plebiscite, the Storting unanimously elected Prince Carl of Denmark as king; he took the name Haakon VII, renamed his son Alexander Olav, took the motto 'All for Norway' and arrived with his family on 25 November, founding the modern Norwegian royal house.
Era: Independence, Polar Sovereignty and the Second World War
Sources: Haakon VII · Encyclopaedia Britannica, Kongevalget i 1905 · Store norske leksikon
- — Europe:
The Revolution of 1905
Defeat by Japan and the 'Bloody Sunday' shooting of demonstrators spark strikes, mutinies, and unrest across the empire, forcing Nicholas II to grant a parliament (Duma) and limited civil liberties in the October Manifesto.
Era: The Russian Empire: Peter, Catherine, and the Romanov Zenith
Sources: Russia · Encyclopaedia Britannica, Russian Revolution · Encyclopaedia Britannica
- — Europe:
A modern parliament and votes for women
Finland adopted a unicameral parliament elected by universal suffrage, becoming the first country in Europe to grant women the right to vote and to stand for election.
Era: The Grand Duchy of Finland under the Russian Empire
Sources: History of Finland · Encyclopaedia Britannica
- — Asia:
Persian Constitutional Revolution
After mass protests, Mozaffar al-Din Shah grants a constitution and the first Majles (parliament), a pioneering experiment in constitutional government in the Middle East.
Era: The Qajars, Constitutional Revolution and the Pahlavi Shahs
Sources: Persian Constitutional Revolution · Wikipedia, Iran — history · Encyclopaedia Britannica
- — Asia:
Founding of the All-India Muslim League
The All-India Muslim League is founded to represent the political interests of India's Muslims; it would become the engine of the Pakistan Movement.
Era: The British Raj and the Pakistan Movement
Sources: Pakistan: A Country Study · Library of Congress, Federal Research Division, Mohammed Ali Jinnah · Encyclopædia Britannica
- — Europe:
The Arengo and the end of oligarchy
Summoned for the first time in three centuries, the Arengo of household heads voted on 25 March 1906 to abolish lifelong co-option of councillors, opening the way to democracy.
Era: The Arengo, Fascism and the World Wars
Sources: Anniversary of the Arengo (1906 democratic reform) · Office Holidays
- — Europe:
First modern democratic elections
Following the Arengo vote, San Marino held its first modern democratic elections on 10 June 1906, ending centuries of oligarchic rule by co-opted councillors.
Era: The Arengo, Fascism and the World Wars
Sources: Anniversary of the Arengo (1906 democratic reform) · Office Holidays
- — Oceania:
New Zealand becomes a Dominion
New Zealand's status was raised from colony to Dominion within the British Empire, a symbolic advance toward nationhood that left its close ties to Britain largely intact.
Era: Colony, women's suffrage, and Dominion
Sources: Statute of Westminster enacted · NZ History (Manatū Taonga — Ministry for Culture and Heritage), New Zealand (country) · Encyclopaedia Britannica
- — Asia:
Battambang and Siem Reap ceded to France
Under continued French pressure, Chulalongkorn surrenders the Cambodian provinces of Battambang and Siem Reap to French-ruled Cambodia.
Era: Siam's Survival: Mongkut, Chulalongkorn, and the Imperial Century
Sources: Thailand: A Country Study · Library of Congress, Federal Research Division
- — Europe:
Annexation by Austria-Hungary
Vienna formally annexed Bosnia and Herzegovina, triggering a European diplomatic crisis and inflaming South Slav nationalist opposition to Habsburg rule.
Era: Habsburg Rule, Sarajevo 1914 and the Yugoslav Kingdom
Sources: Bosnia and Herzegovina: History · Encyclopaedia Britannica, Archduke Franz Ferdinand · Lumen Learning, History of Western Civilization II
- — Asia:
Founding of Budi Utomo
The cultural society Budi Utomo is founded, widely regarded as the start of organised Indonesian nationalism and the National Awakening.
Era: The Dutch East Indies and the National Awakening
Sources: Indonesian National Awakening · Wikipedia, Indonesia (toward independence; Japanese occupation; after Suharto) · Encyclopaedia Britannica
- — Asia:
Young Turk Revolution
The Young Turk movement forced Sultan Abdülhamid II to restore the constitution, ushering in a turbulent constitutional era dominated by the Committee of Union and Progress.
Era: The Ottoman Empire: Height and Decline
Sources: Ottoman Empire · Encyclopædia Britannica, Kemal Atatürk · Encyclopædia Britannica
- — South America:
The dictatorship of Juan Vicente Gomez
Gomez seizes power in 1908 and rules until 1935, presiding over the rise of the oil industry while suppressing opposition.
Era: Caudillos, the Federal War and the Rise of Oil
Sources: Venezuela: A Country Study · U.S. Library of Congress, Federal Research Division, Venezuela · Encyclopaedia Britannica
- — Asia:
Northern Malay states ceded to Britain
Siam relinquishes its claims to the Malay states of Kelantan, Trengganu, Kedah, and Perlis to Britain, in exchange for legal jurisdiction over British subjects on its soil and a large loan for railway construction. Much diminished, Siam remains independent as a buffer between British and French territory.
Era: Siam's Survival: Mongkut, Chulalongkorn, and the Imperial Century
Sources: Thailand: A Country Study · Library of Congress, Federal Research Division
Politics & Power in the 1900s
Every event in the Terralore archive tagged politics and power — dynasties, constitutions, revolutions and changes of regime, narrowed to the 1900s — 29 of them, drawn from 25 nations, running from 1900 to 1909. Each entry keeps the sources it was verified against and links back to the chronicle it came from.
- Events
- 29
- Nations
- 25
- Earliest
- 1900
- Latest
- 1909
- Europe
- 11
- Asia
- 7
- South America
- 4
- Africa
- 3
- North America
- 2
- Oceania
- 2
Every entry below is the same record, with the same sources, as the one on its nation’s chronicle.