5 records
Africa
- COGPolitics & Power
Congo · 19th century
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.
Loango ports and the Atlantic slave trade
Sources: Kingdom of Loango (Encyclopædia Britannica) · Kingdom of Loango (Wikipedia) · Congo-Brazzaville — Early History (GlobalSecurity.org)
- GHAColonisation
Denmark sells its Gold Coast forts to Britain
Denmark sold its coastal forts to Britain, an early step in the consolidation of British control over the Gold Coast that would culminate in the formal colony.
The British Gold Coast colony
Sources: Ghana (country overview and history) (Encyclopaedia Britannica)
- TGOEconomy & Trade
Togo · mid-19th century
From slaving to 'legitimate' trade
As the slave trade was suppressed, commerce on the coast turned to palm oil and other goods, and German and other European merchant houses established themselves at Aného and along the shore.
The coast, the Guin and the Slave Coast
Sources: Togo (country overview and history) (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · Togoland (Wikipedia)
Europe
- LVACulture & Ideas
Latvia · c. 1850–1880
The First National Awakening
The Young Latvians led a cultural revival that championed the Latvian language and folklore against Baltic German dominance, creating the basis for a modern Latvian nation.
National Awakening, Independence and the First Republic
Sources: Latvia: History (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · History of Latvia (Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Latvia)
North America
- BHSEconomy & Trade
Bahamas · 19th century
An economy of wrecking and sponging
The poor post-emancipation colony lived largely on salvaging shipwrecks, sponge-fishing and salt, with wrecking for a time its single largest source of income.
Wrecking, blockade-running and rum
Sources: Bahamas: Local History and Genealogy — Research Guide (Library of Congress) · The Bahamas — British colonization (History) (Encyclopaedia Britannica)
6 records
Africa
- BENEconomy & Trade
Benin · 1851–1852
British blockade of Dahomey's ports
Britain imposed a naval blockade to force Dahomey to end the slave trade; Ghezo agreed in 1852 but soon resumed slaving, as palm oil rose to become the kingdom's chief legitimate export.
Ouidah, the slave trade, King Ghezo and the Agojie
Sources: The compatibility of the slave and palm oil trades in Dahomey, 1818–1858 (Cambridge University Press (From Slave Trade to 'Legitimate' Commerce)) · Ghezo (Wikipedia)
- NERPolitics & Power
Niger · mid-19th century
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.
Hausa states, Damagaram and the shadow of Bornu
Sources: History of Niger (Wikipedia) · Niger (country) (Encyclopaedia Britannica)
North America
- CRIPolitics & Power
Costa Rica · 24 Mar 1851
Diplomatic relations established
Costa Rican minister Felipe Molina presents his credentials in Washington; a US consulate opens in San Jose the following year.
Independence and a Coffee Republic
Sources: A Guide to the United States' History of Recognition: Costa Rica (U.S. Department of State, Office of the Historian)
South America
- FLKEconomy & Trade
Falkland Islands Company chartered
The Falkland Islands Company received a royal charter in 1851 and grew into the colony's largest landowner and sheep rancher, central to its wool economy.
The Pastoral Colony of Sheep and Wool
Sources: Falkland Islands — History (Encyclopaedia Britannica)
- URYWar & Rupture
Uruguay · 1851 CE
End of the long war
The Guerra Grande ends without outright victory, leaving Uruguay exhausted but independent and its two-party rivalry entrenched.
Blancos, Colorados, and the Guerra Grande
Sources: Uruguay: The struggle for national identity (Encyclopaedia Britannica)
Oceania
- AUSEconomy & Trade
Gold rushes begin
Discoveries of gold in New South Wales and Victoria triggered rushes that drew hundreds of thousands of migrants, transforming the colonies' population, economy, and society within a decade.
Colonial expansion, gold rushes, and frontier conflict
Sources: Australian gold rushes (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · Defining Moments: Eureka Stockade (National Museum of Australia)
5 records
Africa
- BWAWar & Rupture
Boer attack on the Bakwena
Transvaal Boers attack Sechele's Bakwena and sack Livingstone's Kolobeng mission, part of mounting pressure from the Transvaal on Tswana land.
Missionaries, Boers and Mounting Pressure
Sources: History of Botswana (Wikipedia)
Asia
- MMRWar & Rupture
Myanmar · 1852 CE
Second Anglo-Burmese War
British forces annex Lower Burma, including the Irrawaddy delta and the province renamed Pegu, tightening control of the coastline.
The Anglo-Burmese Wars and British Rule
Sources: Anglo-Burmese Wars (Encyclopaedia Britannica)
Europe
- FRAPolitics & Power
France · 1852–1953
Penal colonies in French Guiana
From 1852 France sends convicts to penal camps in French Guiana, including the Îles du Salut. A decree of 1938 ends transportation; the last return convoy leaves in 1953. The Archives nationales d’outre-mer database covers nearly 100,000 convicts sent to French Guiana or New Caledonia between 1852 and 1953.
Revolution & Empire
Sources: Base des bagnards (Archives nationales d’outre-mer), announcement (RFgenealogie) · Chronologie sommaire de la transportation (Académie de la Guyane (Éducation nationale))
- MNEPolitics & Power
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.
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)
South America
- ARGWar & Rupture
Argentina · 3 Feb 1852
Battle of Caseros
Justo Jose de Urquiza defeats Rosas at Caseros, opening the way to the constitutional organisation of the country.
Civil Wars, Unification and the Liberal Republic
Sources: Justo Jose de Urquiza (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · Argentina (Encyclopaedia Britannica)
3 records
Asia
- AREPolitics & Power
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.
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)
South America
- ARGPolitics & Power
Argentina · 1 May 1853
The National Constitution
A constituent congress at Santa Fe sanctions the Constitution of 1853, establishing a federal, representative and republican state.
Civil Wars, Unification and the Liberal Republic
Sources: Justo Jose de Urquiza (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · Argentina (Encyclopaedia Britannica)
Oceania
- NCLColonisation
New Caledonia · 24 September 1853
France annexes New Caledonia
Rear Admiral Febvrier-Despointes took possession of the archipelago for France, beginning formal colonial rule and pre-empting British ambitions in the region.
Annexation, the Bagne and Nickel
Sources: New Caledonia — History (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · New Caledonia (Encyclopaedia Britannica)
2 records
Oceania
- AUSPolitics & Power
Australia · 3 December 1854
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.
Colonial expansion, gold rushes, and frontier conflict
Sources: Defining Moments: Eureka Stockade (National Museum of Australia) · Australian gold rushes (Encyclopaedia Britannica)
- FJIReligion
Cakobau converts to Christianity
Seru Epenisa Cakobau, paramount chief of Bau and self-styled Tui Viti, accepts Christianity, bringing many Fijians under Methodist influence.
European Contact & the Rise of Cakobau
Sources: Cakobau — king of Fiji (Encyclopædia Britannica) · Fiji — History (Melanesian, Colonialism, Independence) (Encyclopædia Britannica)
6 records
Africa
- ETHPolitics & Power
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.
Gondar, the Era of the Princes and Reunification
Sources: Gondarine period (Wikipedia) · Ethiopia (country overview) (Encyclopaedia Britannica)
- SENColonisation
Senegal · 1854–1855
Faidherbe begins the conquest
Governor Louis Faidherbe pushes up the Senegal River, conquering Waalo and building forts that subdue the interior kingdoms over decades.
French Conquest, the Four Communes and the Marabouts
Sources: French conquest of Senegal (Wikipedia)
- ZMBCulture & Ideas
Zambia · 16 November 1855
Livingstone reaches Victoria Falls
Guided by local people, David Livingstone became the first European recorded to see the falls the inhabitants called Mosi-oa-Tunya, renaming them Victoria Falls and drawing European attention to the region.
Upheaval, the slave trade and Livingstone
Sources: David Livingstone (New World Encyclopedia) · Livingstone Sees the Victoria Falls (EBSCO Research Starters)
Asia
- THAEconomy & Trade
The Bowring Treaty
King Mongkut signs the Bowring Treaty with Britain, opening Siam to Western trade and granting extraterritoriality; comparable treaties with other powers follow.
Siam's Survival: Mongkut, Chulalongkorn, and the Imperial Century
Sources: Bowring Treaty (Encyclopædia Britannica) · Mongkut (Rama IV) (Encyclopædia Britannica)
North America
- NICWar & Rupture
Nicaragua · 1855–1857
William Walker's filibuster
Hired by León's Liberals, the American filibuster William Walker seizes Granada and makes himself president of Nicaragua in 1856 before a coalition of Central American states expels him.
Independence, Rivalry, and the Filibuster
Sources: William Walker (Encyclopædia Britannica) · Territorial Expansion, Filibustering, and U.S. Interest in Central America (U.S. Department of State, Office of the Historian)
- PANEconomy & Trade
Panama Railroad completed
Spurred by the California Gold Rush, a U.S. company completes the trans-isthmus railroad, the shortest route between the oceans.
A Province of Colombia
Sources: Panama: A Country Study (Library of Congress Country Studies) · Panama (Encyclopaedia Britannica)
5 records
Africa
- BDIPeoples & Migration
Burundi · 1850s
First European contact
European explorers and missionaries reach the Lake Tanganyika region for the first time, beginning sustained outside contact with the kingdom.
The Kingdom of the Mwami
Sources: History of Burundi (Wikipedia) · Kingdom of Burundi (Wikipedia)
- TZAPolitics & Power
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.
The Portuguese and Omani Zanzibar
Sources: Sultanate of Zanzibar (1856–1964) (BlackPast.org) · Saʿīd ibn Sulṭān (Encyclopaedia Britannica)
Asia
- OMNPolitics & Power
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.
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)
Europe
- MDAWar & Rupture
Southern Bessarabia briefly returned
The Treaty of Paris ending the Crimean War returned the southern strip of Bessarabia to Moldavia; Russia recovered it in 1878 at the Congress of Berlin, underlining the province's status as a contested borderland.
Russian Bessarabia
Sources: Bessarabia (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · Moldova: History (Encyclopaedia Britannica)
North America
- CRIWar & Rupture
Costa Rica · 1856-1857
National War against William Walker
Costa Rica joins Central America in defeating the American filibuster William Walker; the soldier Juan Santamaria becomes a national hero.
Independence and a Coffee Republic
Sources: William Walker (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · Juan Santamaria (Encyclopaedia Britannica)
1 record
North America
- MEXPolitics & Power
Mexico · 1857 CE
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.
Reform, Porfiriato, and Revolution
Sources: La Reforma (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · Benito Juarez (Encyclopaedia Britannica)
4 records
Africa
- GNQColonisation
Spain installs effective rule under Carlos Chacón
Spain sent the naval officer Carlos Chacón as governor in 1858 to organise a colonial administration on Fernando Pó; Baptist missionaries established under the British were pressed to withdraw in favour of Spanish Catholic missions.
The British base and the Spanish cocoa colony
Sources: History of Equatorial Guinea (Wikipedia) · History of Equatorial Guinea (Encyclopædia Britannica)
- LSOWar & Rupture
Senekal's War with the Orange Free State
Conflict erupts with the Boers of the Orange Free State over land in the western lowlands, the first of the Free State–Basotho Wars.
Moshoeshoe and the Birth of the Basotho
Sources: Lesotho: The Sotho kingdom (1824–69) (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · History of Lesotho (Wikipedia)
Asia
- INDColonisation
British Crown rule begins
After the suppression of the 1857 rebellion, the Crown abolishes East India Company rule and assumes direct governance of India, beginning the British Raj.
The East India Company and the British Raj
Sources: British raj (Encyclopaedia Britannica)
- VNMWar & Rupture
Vietnam · 1858 CE
French attack on Da Nang
A French and Spanish naval force assaults Da Nang, beginning the military conquest that would bring Vietnam under colonial rule.
The Nguyen Dynasty and Expansion South
Sources: Vietnam: A Country Study (U.S. Library of Congress, Federal Research Division) · Vietnam (Encyclopaedia Britannica)
6 records
Africa
- MWICulture & Ideas
Malawi · September 1859
Livingstone reaches Lake Nyasa
David Livingstone, on the Zambezi expedition, reached Lake Nyasa and reported it as a corridor of the slave caravans, calling for commerce and Christianity to end the trade.
Migrations, missionaries and the slave trade
Sources: David Livingstone (Zambezi expedition) (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · Universities' Mission to Central Africa (Wikipedia)
Asia
- TLSColonisation
Partition of the island
A Portuguese-Dutch treaty divides Timor between Dutch West Timor and Portuguese East Timor, leaving Portugal the eastern half plus the Oecusse enclave; the border is finalized in the early 20th century.
Portuguese Timor and the Divided Island
Sources: East Timor (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · Boundaries in the Island of Timor (Netherlands v. Portugal), Award of 25 June 1914 (Permanent Court of Arbitration)
Europe
- ROUFormation
Romania · Jan 1859
Union of the Principalities
Moldavia (5 January) and Wallachia (24 January) elected Alexandru Ioan Cuza as their common prince, uniting the two principalities and founding the modern Romanian state.
Union, independence and the Kingdom of Romania
Sources: 24 January 1859: A Glimpse on the Union of Romanian Principalities (AGERPRES / ACT Media)
- CHECulture & Ideas
Dunant at the Battle of Solferino
The Geneva businessman Henri Dunant witnessed the carnage of Solferino and organised relief for the wounded, an experience that inspired his 1862 book A Memory of Solferino and his call for protection of war victims.
The Federal State and the Birth of Humanitarian Geneva
Sources: Founding and early years of the ICRC (1863-1914) (International Committee of the Red Cross) · The Geneva Conventions: a common priority and ongoing relevance (Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (aboutswitzerland.eda.admin.ch))
North America
- BLZPolitics & Power
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.
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)
South America
- VENWar & Rupture
Venezuela · 1859-1863
The Federal War
A devastating civil war between Liberal federalists and Conservative centralists ravages the country and ends with the Treaty of Coche and a federal constitution.
Caudillos, the Federal War and the Rise of Oil
Sources: Federal War (Venezuela, 1859-1863) (Encyclopedia.com (Encyclopedia of Latin American History and Culture)) · Venezuela (Encyclopaedia Britannica)