8 records
Africa
- COM
Comoros · Economy & Trade · mid-19th century
Slave society on the islands
The slave trade and plantation labour expand greatly, and by the mid-nineteenth century enslaved people are estimated to make up a very large proportion of the islands' population.
The Swahili-Muslim Sultanates
Sources: Slavery in the Comoros (Wikipedia) · Comoros: History (Encyclopædia Britannica)
- SDS
South Sudan · Catastrophe · 1850s–1870s
Zariba slave and ivory raids
Armed traders such as al-Zubayr Rahma Mansur establish fortified zaribas across the south; contemporary estimates put captives taken at tens of thousands a year by the mid-1870s.
Conquest, Ivory and the Slave Raids
Sources: History of South Sudan (Wikipedia) · Al-Zubayr Rahma Mansur (Wikipedia)
- ZMB
Zambia · Economy & Trade · mid-19th century
Swahili-Arab and Chikunda slave trade
Swahili-Arab traders from the coast and Chikunda raiders from the Zambezi, with Bisa and Yao intermediaries, exchanged guns and cloth for ivory and captives, bringing violence and depopulation to the plateau.
Upheaval, the slave trade and Livingstone
Sources: Zambia: External contacts and the slave and ivory trade (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · History of Zambia (Wikipedia)
Asia
- LBN
Lebanon · War & Rupture
Sectarian conflict in Mount Lebanon
Violence between Druze and Maronites spreads to Damascus and kills many thousands of Christians (figures are disputed estimates), prompting a French-led European intervention.
1860, the Mutasarrifate and the French Mandate
Sources: History of Lebanon (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · Lebanon: The National Pact (Lebanon: A Country Study) (U.S. Library of Congress, Federal Research Division)
Europe
- ITA
Italy · War & Rupture
Garibaldi's Expedition of the Thousand
Giuseppe Garibaldi's volunteers conquered Sicily and southern Italy, bringing down the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies and clearing the way for unification.
Foreign Domination and the Risorgimento
Sources: Italy (country overview and history) (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · Italy Is Proclaimed a Kingdom (1861) (EBSCO Research Starters)
North America
- NIC
Nicaragua · Politics & Power · 1860 CE
Treaty of Managua
Britain cedes its claims on the Caribbean coast to Nicaraguan sovereignty, creating a self-governing Mosquito Reserve.
Independence, Rivalry, and the Filibuster
Sources: Mosquito Coast (Encyclopædia Britannica)
South America
- URY
Uruguay · Peoples & Migration · late 1800s
Cattle economy and immigration
Booming exports of hides, beef and wool, British-built railways, and waves of Italian and Spanish immigrants remake Montevideo and the countryside.
Blancos, Colorados, and the Guerra Grande
Sources: Uruguay (Encyclopaedia Britannica)
Oceania
- NZL
New Zealand · War & Rupture · 1860–1872
The New Zealand Wars
Disputes over land and sovereignty erupted into war in Taranaki in 1860 and spread across the North Island, pitting imperial and colonial forces against iwi defending their land and autonomy until about 1872.
The Treaty of Waitangi, the New Zealand Wars, and confiscation
Sources: New Zealand Wars (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · New Zealand Wars (Te Ara — The Encyclopedia of New Zealand)
14 records
Africa
- MLI
Mali · Religion
Umar Tal's Tukulor empire conquers Segou
Al-Hajj Umar Tal, leading the Tijaniyya jihad begun in the 1850s, overthrows the Bambara kingdom of Segou and extends the Tukulor empire across the upper Niger.
Segou, the Tukulor and Samori
Sources: ʿUmar Tal — West African Tukulor Leader & Jihadist (Encyclopædia Britannica) · Bamana (Ségou) Empire (Wikipedia)
- NGA
Nigeria · Colonisation
Britain annexes Lagos
After occupying Lagos in 1851, Britain annexed it as a crown colony in 1861, establishing a coastal foothold from which colonial power spread into the interior.
British conquest, amalgamation and colonial Nigeria
Sources: Nigeria (country overview and history) (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · A Guide to the History of Recognition: Nigeria (U.S. Department of State, Office of the Historian)
- SYC
Seychelles · Peoples & Migration · 1861–1874
Liberated Africans resettled
The Royal Navy landed thousands of Africans rescued from intercepted slave dhows, deepening the islands' Creole society.
British Rule and Emancipation
Sources: History of Slavery (Seychelles National Museum) · Seychelles at 250: Liberated slaves and the birth of the Creole identity (Seychelles News Agency)
- TUN
Tunisia · Politics & Power
First written constitution
Tunisia adopts the Arab world's first written constitution amid attempts at modernising reform.
Ottoman Rule & the Husaynid Beys
Sources: History of Tunisia (Wikipedia)
Asia
- LBN
Lebanon · Politics & Power
The Mount Lebanon Mutasarrifate
Under European pressure the Ottomans grant Mount Lebanon autonomy as the Mutasarrifate, governed by a Christian official and a council of the religious communities.
1860, the Mutasarrifate and the French Mandate
Sources: History of Lebanon (Encyclopaedia Britannica)
- OMN
Oman · Politics & Power
Zanzibar separated from Oman
Following an arbitration award, Zanzibar was formally separated from Muscat and Oman as an independent sultanate, severing the African empire and its revenues for good.
Decline, British Influence and Isolation
Sources: Al Bu Said dynasty (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · Said ibn Sultan, Omani ruler and Zanzibar sultan (Encyclopaedia Britannica)
Europe
- ITA
Italy · Independence · 17 March 1861
Proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy
The first Italian parliament in Turin proclaimed Victor Emmanuel II King of Italy, the founding act of the unified Italian state and climax of the Risorgimento.
Foreign Domination and the Risorgimento
Sources: Italy Is Proclaimed a Kingdom (1861) (EBSCO Research Starters) · Italy (country overview and history) (Encyclopaedia Britannica)
- MCO
Monaco · Politics & Power · 2 February 1861
Cession of Menton and Roquebrune
By the Franco-Monégasque Treaty, Prince Charles III ceded Menton and Roquebrune to France for four million francs; France recognised Monaco's sovereignty over its remaining territory.
Revolution, the Cession of 1861 and the Birth of Monte-Carlo
Sources: Secession of Menton and Roquebrune (Treaty of 1861) (Government of Monaco (gouv.mc)) · Monaco: 1815 to Present (GlobalSecurity.org) · Monaco (Encyclopaedia Britannica)
- RUS
Russia · Politics & Power · 3 March 1861
Emancipation of the serfs
Tsar Alexander II issues the Emancipation Manifesto, freeing more than twenty million serfs of the Russian Empire; the landmark reform grants legal freedom but leaves peasants burdened by redemption payments and land hunger.
The Russian Empire: Peter, Catherine, and the Romanov Zenith
Sources: Russia (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · Emancipation Manifesto (Encyclopaedia Britannica)
- SMR
San Marino · Politics & Power · 7 May 1861
Lincoln made an honorary citizen
Abraham Lincoln accepted honorary citizenship of San Marino, writing that 'although your dominion is small, your State is nevertheless one of the most honored, in all history' - the beginning of US recognition of the republic.
Napoleon, Garibaldi and Lincoln: a Republic Among Friends
Sources: A Guide to the United States' History of Recognition: San Marino (U.S. Department of State, Office of the Historian) · Lincoln Made Honorary Citizen of San Marino (Mystic Stamp Discovery Center)
- VAT
Vatican City · Politics & Power
The Kingdom of Italy claims Rome
The new Kingdom of Italy, proclaimed in 1861, regarded Rome as its capital, leaving the pope's remaining territory protected only by a French garrison.
The Loss of Rome and the Roman Question
Sources: Italy: The acquisition of Venetia and Rome (Encyclopaedia Britannica)
North America
- BHS
Bahamas · Economy & Trade · 1861–1865
Civil War blockade-running boom
During the American Civil War, Nassau became the chief hub for running the Union blockade, shipping arms to the Confederacy and cotton out, and growing fabulously wealthy in the process.
Wrecking, blockade-running and rum
Sources: Blockade Running from Nassau (History Today) · The Bahamas — British colonization (History) (Encyclopaedia Britannica)
- DOM
Dominican Republic · Colonisation · 18 Mar 1861
Annexation to Spain
President Pedro Santana returns the republic to Spanish rule, an unprecedented step that soon provokes fierce popular resistance.
Haitian Rule and Dominican Independence
Sources: History of the Dominican Republic (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · Dominican Republic and Haiti: Country Studies (U.S. Library of Congress, Federal Research Division)
- USA
United States · War & Rupture · 1861–1865
American Civil War
War between the Union and the secessionist Confederacy, ignited at Fort Sumter, became the deadliest conflict in U.S. history and decided the fate of slavery.
Expansion, slavery, and the Civil War
Sources: American Civil War (Encyclopaedia Britannica)
8 records
Africa
- DJI
Djibouti · Colonisation
France buys the anchorage of Obock
France purchases the anchorage of Obock on the Gulf of Tadjoura from local Afar sultans, its first foothold on the coast.
The French Foothold and the Founding of Djibouti
Sources: Djibouti (country and history) (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · History of Djibouti (Wikipedia) · Historique des relations franco-djiboutiennes jusqu'à l'indépendance (1977) (La France à Djibouti (French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs))
- LBR
Liberia · Politics & Power
United States recognises Liberia
Having delayed during the era of slavery, the United States formally recognised the Republic of Liberia in 1862 and concluded a treaty of commerce and navigation with it.
The republic and the True Whig order
Sources: A Guide to the History of Recognition: Liberia (U.S. Department of State, Office of the Historian)
Asia
- VNM
Vietnam · Colonisation · 1862 CE
France annexes Cochinchina
Following the capture of Saigon, France secures the southern provinces of Cochinchina as a colony, its first permanent foothold in Vietnam.
French Indochina
Sources: French Indochina / Conquest of Vietnam (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · Vietnam (Encyclopaedia Britannica)
Europe
- LIE
Liechtenstein · Politics & Power
First constitution and the Landtag
A constitution granted in 1862 established a parliament, the Landtag, beginning the slow growth of constitutional and representative institutions alongside the prince.
From the Empire to Sovereignty
Sources: Liechtenstein: History (Alpine, Principality, Sovereignty) (Encyclopaedia Britannica)
- SMR
San Marino · Independence
First treaty of friendship with Italy
After Italian unification, San Marino and the new Kingdom of Italy concluded a treaty of friendship in 1862 confirming the republic's independence, the first of the agreements that secure its sovereignty as an enclave.
Napoleon, Garibaldi and Lincoln: a Republic Among Friends
Sources: San Marino (Napoleon, Congress of Vienna, 1862 treaty) (New World Encyclopedia) · History of San Marino (Visit San Marino (official tourism site))
- SMR
San Marino · Independence · 1862 onward
Treaties of friendship with Italy
San Marino's sovereignty as an enclave is secured by treaties of friendship and good-neighbourliness with Italy first concluded in 1862 and renewed in 1939 and later, regulating relations while guaranteeing independence.
The Modern Republic: the UN, Europe and the Euro
Sources: San Marino (Napoleon, Congress of Vienna, 1862 treaty) (New World Encyclopedia) · History of San Marino (Visit San Marino (official tourism site))
North America
- BLZ
Belize · Colonisation · 12 May 1862
The Colony of British Honduras
The settlement was formally declared the Colony of British Honduras under a lieutenant-governor subordinate to Jamaica; it became a separate Crown Colony in 1871 and was made independent of Jamaica under its own governor in 1884.
British Honduras and a plural society
Sources: History of Belize (Encyclopædia Britannica) · A Guide to the History of Recognition, Diplomatic, and Consular Relations, by Country: Belize (U.S. Department of State, Office of the Historian) · Guyana and Belize: Country Studies (Federal Research Division) (Library of Congress)
South America
- PRY
Paraguay · Politics & Power · 1862 CE
Francisco Solano Lopez takes power
On his father's death, Francisco Solano Lopez becomes leader, inheriting a large army and ambitions that would soon plunge Paraguay into war.
Independence, Dr Francia and the Lopez Dynasty
Sources: Francisco Solano Lopez (Encyclopaedia Britannica)
12 records
Asia
- KHM
Cambodia · Colonisation · 1863 CE
French protectorate established
King Norodom signs a treaty placing Cambodia under French protection to fend off Siamese and Vietnamese pressure; Siam acknowledges the protectorate by 1867.
Decline, Foreign Pressure, and the French Protectorate
Sources: Norodom (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · Cambodia Gains Independence from France (EBSCO Research Starters)
Europe
- MCO
Monaco · Economy & Trade · 2 April 1863
Founding of the Société des Bains de Mer
Charles III established the Société des Bains de Mer to develop a casino quarter, leasing the gambling monopoly to François Blanc, who had previously enriched the spa of Homburg.
Revolution, the Cession of 1861 and the Birth of Monte-Carlo
Sources: History of the company (Société des Bains de Mer) (Monte-Carlo Société des Bains de Mer)
- NLD
Netherlands · Politics & Power · 1 Jul 1863
Abolition of slavery
The Netherlands abolishes slavery in Suriname and the Caribbean, freeing enslaved people, though most are forced into ten more years of supervised plantation labour.
Decline, French Rule and the Kingdom of the Netherlands
Sources: Slavery: the Rijksmuseum exhibition and Dutch colonial slavery (Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam) · Netherlands (Encyclopaedia Britannica)
- POL
Poland · War & Rupture · 1863–1864
The January Uprising
A protracted guerrilla insurrection against Russian rule ended in defeat and severe repression, including executions, deportations to Siberia and intensified Russification.
The Partitions and the Long Fight for Independence
Sources: History of Poland (1795-1918) (Encyclopaedia Britannica)
- CHE
Switzerland · Culture & Ideas
Founding of the Red Cross (ICRC)
A committee of five Genevans took up Dunant's proposals and formed the body that became the International Committee of the Red Cross, adopting the red cross on white — the inverse of the Swiss flag — as the emblem of neutral medical aid.
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)
North America
- DOM
Dominican Republic · War & Rupture · 1863-1865
War of Restoration
A guerrilla war against Spanish rule, launched from Santiago in 1863, forces Spain to abandon the colony in 1865 and restores Dominican independence.
Haitian Rule and Dominican Independence
Sources: History of the Dominican Republic (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · Dominican Republic and Haiti: Country Studies (U.S. Library of Congress, Federal Research Division)
- USA
United States · Politics & Power · 1 January 1863
Emancipation Proclamation
President Lincoln declared enslaved people in the rebelling states 'forever free,' redefining the war's purpose and clearing the way for Black enlistment in the Union army.
Expansion, slavery, and the Civil War
Sources: The Emancipation Proclamation (U.S. National Archives)
South America
- COL
Colombia · Politics & Power · 1863 CE
United States of Colombia
A Liberal-led federal constitution reorganises the country as the loosely united States of Colombia, intensifying partisan and regional rivalry.
Partisan Wars and the Loss of Panama
Sources: History of Colombia (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · Colombia: A Country Study (U.S. Library of Congress, Federal Research Division)
- SUR
Suriname · Politics & Power · 1 July 1863
Abolition of slavery
The Netherlands abolishes slavery in Suriname, though the freed are bound to a further decade of supervised apprenticeship until 1873.
Abolition and the Plural Society
Sources: Suriname: History (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · Suriname death records reveal fate of Hindustani indentured labourers after slavery (Radboud University)
Oceania
- NZL
New Zealand · Colonisation
Land confiscation legalised (raupatu)
The New Zealand Settlements Act 1863 gave a legal cloak to the confiscation of about 1.2 million hectares of Māori land, chiefly in the Waikato and Taranaki, often taking land from iwi who had not fought the Crown.
The Treaty of Waitangi, the New Zealand Wars, and confiscation
Sources: Raupatu — land confiscations (NZ History (Manatū Taonga — Ministry for Culture and Heritage)) · New Zealand Wars (Te Ara — The Encyclopedia of New Zealand)
- SLB
Solomon Islands · Peoples & Migration · 1860s–1900s
The blackbirding labour trade
Recruiters carry tens of thousands of Solomon Islanders, many coerced, to plantations in Queensland and Fiji, bringing disease and depopulation.
Blackbirding, Missions and the Protectorate
Sources: Blackbirding (Encyclopædia Britannica) · History of Solomon Islands (Encyclopædia Britannica)
- VUT
Vanuatu · Peoples & Migration · 1863–1904
The blackbirding labour trade
Recruiters carried over forty thousand islanders to Queensland and others to Fiji and New Caledonia for plantation labour, by indenture, deception and force.
Sandalwood, Blackbirding and Missions
Sources: Slaving in Australian Courts: Blackbirding Cases (Pacific Islands Legal Information Institute (Journal of South Pacific Law)) · An Archaeology of Early Christianity in Vanuatu (Ch. 2: contact, labour and missions) (ANU Press)
12 records
Africa
- MLI
Mali · War & Rupture
Death of Umar Tal
The Tukulor leader dies in 1864 near Hamdallahi amid revolt; his successors face mounting French pressure.
Segou, the Tukulor and Samori
Sources: ʿUmar Tal — West African Tukulor Leader & Jihadist (Encyclopædia Britannica)
- ZMB
Zambia · Politics & Power
Lozi restoration under Sipopa
A Lozi rebellion overthrew Kololo rule and restored the kingdom under Sipopa, reviving the indigenous monarchy of the upper Zambezi floodplain.
Upheaval, the slave trade and Livingstone
Sources: Barotseland (the Lozi kingdom) (Wikipedia)
Asia
- BTN
Bhutan · War & Rupture · 1864–1865
The Duar War with British India
After a failed British mission and disputes over the southern duars, Britain and Bhutan fight a five-month war that ends in Bhutanese defeat.
Civil Strife and the British Treaties
Sources: Bhutan — History (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · Nepal and Bhutan: Country Studies (Federal Research Division, Library of Congress)
Europe
- DNK
Denmark · Politics & Power · 30 Oct 1864
Cession of the duchies
By the peace ending the German-Danish War, Denmark surrendered the duchies to Prussia and Austria, placing tens of thousands of Danes under German rule and reshaping the southern frontier.
The Schleswig Question and the Making of the Modern Border
Sources: German-Danish War: War and the final settlement of the Schleswig-Holstein question (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · The nation state (1848-1915) (National Museum of Denmark)
- DNK
Denmark · War & Rupture
The Second Schleswig War
Prussian and Austrian armies invaded after Denmark sought to incorporate Schleswig; following defeat at Dybbol, Denmark ceded Schleswig, Holstein and Lauenburg, losing about a third of its territory.
The Schleswig Question and the Making of the Modern Border
Sources: German-Danish War (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · German-Danish War: War and the final settlement of the Schleswig-Holstein question (Encyclopaedia Britannica)
- LTU
Lithuania · Culture & Ideas · 1864–1904
The Lithuanian press ban
After the 1863 uprising the tsarist regime banned Lithuanian books in the Latin alphabet; the ban lasted forty years before being lifted in 1904.
The Commonwealth, the Partitions and the National Revival
Sources: History of Lithuania (Encyclopaedia Britannica)
- NOR
Norway · Culture & Ideas · 1840s–1890s
Romantic nationalism and a national culture
A movement of romantic nationalism drew on Norwegian history, landscape and folk tradition; Ibsen, Grieg and Munch gave the nation a place in world culture and reinforced a separate identity.
Eidsvoll, the Union with Sweden and National Awakening
Sources: Nasjonalromantikken (Store norske leksikon)
- ROU
Romania · Politics & Power
Cuza's reforms
Prince Cuza carried through agrarian reform giving land to some 400,000 peasant families, reformed law and taxation, introduced the metric system and a French-modelled civil code.
Union, independence and the Kingdom of Romania
Sources: 24 January 1859: A Glimpse on the Union of Romanian Principalities (AGERPRES / ACT Media)
- CHE
Switzerland · Politics & Power · Aug 1864
The first Geneva Convention
A diplomatic conference convened by the Swiss government adopted the first Geneva Convention for the protection of the wounded in war, the foundation of modern international humanitarian law, of which Switzerland remains depositary.
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))
South America
- BRA
- PRY
Paraguay · War & Rupture · 1864 CE
Paraguay invades Mato Grosso
Francisco Solano Lopez opens hostilities by invading the Brazilian province of Mato Grosso, the first move in a war that would soon include Argentina and Uruguay.
The War of the Triple Alliance
Sources: War of the Triple Alliance (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · Francisco Solano Lopez (Encyclopaedia Britannica)
Oceania
- NCL
New Caledonia · Colonisation · 1864–1897
Penal colony established
France made New Caledonia a penal settlement, transporting tens of thousands of convicts — including Communards after 1871 — whose forced labour helped build the colonial economy until transportation ended in the 1890s.
Annexation, the Bagne and Nickel
Sources: New Caledonia — History (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · New Caledonia — Visits by Foreign Leaders / Department History (U.S. Department of State, Office of the Historian)
9 records
Africa
- ERI
- LSO
Lesotho · War & Rupture
Seqiti War and loss of the lowlands
A devastating war with the Orange Free State sees Boer commandos overrun much of the fertile western lowlands and besiege Thaba Bosiu.
Moshoeshoe and the Birth of the Basotho
Sources: Lesotho: The Sotho kingdom (1824–69) (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · History of Lesotho (Wikipedia)
Asia
- BTN
Bhutan · Colonisation · 11 Nov 1865
Treaty of Sinchula
Bhutan cedes the Bengal and Assam duars to British India in exchange for an annual subsidy, fixing its modern southern border and binding it to the Raj.
Civil Strife and the British Treaties
Sources: Bhutan — History (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · Nepal and Bhutan: Country Studies (Federal Research Division, Library of Congress)
- UZB
Uzbekistan · Colonisation · 1865 CE
Russia takes Tashkent
Russian imperial forces storm Tashkent, beginning the conquest of the Uzbek lands; Samarkand falls in 1868 as the empire pushes into Central Asia.
Russian Conquest and Soviet Rule
Sources: Uzbekistan — The Russian Conquest (Country Studies) (U.S. Library of Congress Country Studies) · Uzbekistan — Russian and Soviet rule (Encyclopaedia Britannica)
Europe
- BEL
Belgium · Politics & Power
Accession of Leopold II
Leopold II succeeded Leopold I as King of the Belgians, ruling an industrialising kingdom while pursuing his own colonial ambitions in central Africa.
Leopold II, the Congo, and the Curiosities of the Border
Sources: Leopold II, king of Belgium (Encyclopaedia Britannica)
North America
- BHS
Bahamas · Economy & Trade
Collapse of the blockade boom
The defeat of the Confederacy in 1865 ended blockade-running overnight and plunged Nassau back into economic depression.
Wrecking, blockade-running and rum
Sources: Blockade Running from Nassau (History Today) · The Bahamas — British colonization (History) (Encyclopaedia Britannica)
- JAM
Jamaica · Politics & Power · Oct 1865
Morant Bay rebellion
Paul Bogle's uprising is brutally crushed; Bogle and George William Gordon are executed, and Jamaica becomes a crown colony.
Crown Colony, Morant Bay, and Garvey
Sources: Jamaica: British rule (Encyclopaedia Britannica)
- USA
United States · Politics & Power · 6 December 1865
Thirteenth Amendment abolishes slavery
Ratified after the Union victory, the Thirteenth Amendment abolished slavery and involuntary servitude throughout the United States.
Expansion, slavery, and the Civil War
Sources: 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution: Abolition of Slavery (1865) (U.S. National Archives)
South America
- PRY
Paraguay · War & Rupture · 1 May 1865
Treaty of the Triple Alliance
Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay sign a secret alliance against Paraguay, committing to wage war until the fall of Lopez.
The War of the Triple Alliance
Sources: War of the Triple Alliance (Encyclopaedia Britannica)
4 records
Europe
- AND
Andorra · Politics & Power
The New Reform
A reform led by syndic Guillem d'Areny-Plandolit and decreed by the episcopal co-prince broadened the Council and regularised elections, modernising Andorra's institutions while keeping the co-principality.
Reform, a Brief 'King', and the Strains of the Old Order
Sources: Six centuries of the Consell General (La Casa de la Vall (Consell General d'Andorra)) · Andorra: History, Facts & Points of Interest (Encyclopaedia Britannica)
- LIE
Liechtenstein · Independence
Full independence
When the German Confederation dissolved after the Austro-Prussian War, Liechtenstein became a fully sovereign and independent state, its links thereafter resting on treaty and choice rather than confederation.
From the Empire to Sovereignty
Sources: Liechtenstein: History (Alpine, Principality, Sovereignty) (Encyclopaedia Britannica)
- MCO
Monaco · Economy & Trade · 1 June 1866
Monte-Carlo named
Prince Charles III decreed that the new casino district be called Monte-Carlo in his honour; its gambling revenues rebuilt Monaco's finances and let the principality abolish direct taxation in 1869.
Revolution, the Cession of 1861 and the Birth of Monte-Carlo
Sources: History of the company (Société des Bains de Mer) (Monte-Carlo Société des Bains de Mer)
South America
- PRY
Paraguay · War & Rupture · 24 May 1866
Battle of Tuyuti
The allies inflict a heavy defeat on Paraguay at Tuyuti, one of the largest battles of the war, beginning the slow destruction of Lopez's army.
The War of the Triple Alliance
Sources: Francisco Solano Lopez (Encyclopaedia Britannica)
10 records
Africa
- GNB
Guinea-Bissau · War & Rupture
The Battle of Kansala ends Kaabu
A Fula army linked to Alfa Molo besieged and destroyed the Kaabu capital of Kansala; tradition holds the mansaba Dianke Walli blew up the gunpowder store rather than surrender, ending Kaabu and giving rise to the Fula kingdom of Fuladu.
Kaabu and the peoples of the Rivers of Guinea
Sources: Kaabu (Wikipedia) · Kansala (Battle of Kansala, 1867) (Wikipedia) · History of Guinea-Bissau (Wikipedia)
- RWA
Rwanda · War & Rupture · c. 1867–1895
Reign of Kigeri IV Rwabugiri
Mwami Kigeri IV Rwabugiri expands the kingdom through military conquest and administrative reform toward Lake Kivu, marking the high point of precolonial Rwandan power.
The Kingdom of the Mwami
Sources: Kigeli IV Rwabugiri (Wikipedia) · History of Rwanda (Wikipedia)
- ZAF
South Africa · Economy & Trade
Diamonds discovered at Kimberley
The discovery of diamonds near the Vaal and Orange rivers triggered a rush to Kimberley, beginning the mineral revolution and drawing capital and migrant labour into the region.
Diamonds, gold, the South African War and Union
Sources: South Africa: Diamonds, gold and imperialist intervention (1870–1902) (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · Grade 8 – Topic 2 – The Mineral Revolution in South Africa (South African History Online)
Asia
- QAT
Qatar · War & Rupture
Bahraini attack and the Qatari-Bahraini conflict
Forces from Bahrain and its allies attacked Al Wakrah and Al Bidda, an assault the British viewed as a breach of Gulf agreements and that sharpened Qatar's sense of separate identity.
The Rise of the Al Thani and the 1868 Agreement
Sources: History of Qatar (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · Sheikh Mohammed bin Thani — Qatar's Rulers (The Amiri Diwan, State of Qatar)
Europe
- AUT
Austria · Politics & Power
The Austro-Hungarian Compromise
The Ausgleich of 1867 reorganised the empire into the Dual Monarchy of Austria-Hungary, two states sharing a common monarch, foreign policy, finance and army; Franz Joseph was crowned king of Hungary on 8 June.
The Dual Monarchy and the Catastrophe of 1918
Sources: The Compromise with Hungary, 1867 (Die Welt der Habsburger (The World of the Habsburgs)) · Franz Joseph I (Die Welt der Habsburger (The World of the Habsburgs))
- HUN
Hungary · Politics & Power
Austro-Hungarian Compromise (Ausgleich)
The Ausgleich transformed the empire into the Dual Monarchy, granting Hungary full internal autonomy with its own parliament while keeping defence and foreign affairs common to Austria-Hungary.
Habsburg Rule, Revolution and the Dual Monarchy
Sources: Ausgleich (Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867) (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · Hungary: The Dual Monarchy, 1867-1918 (Encyclopaedia Britannica)
- LUX
Luxembourg · Politics & Power · 11 May 1867
Treaty of London: neutrality and the razing of the fortress
After the Luxembourg Crisis between France and Prussia, the powers guaranteed the Grand Duchy's perpetual neutrality, withdrew the Prussian garrison and ordered the fortress dismantled, a demolition completed in 1883.
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)) · History of the city of Luxembourg (Luxembourg City Tourist Office)
- SVK
Slovakia · Politics & Power
Magyarization under the Compromise
After the Austro-Hungarian Compromise the Hungarian government intensified Magyarization, pressing the Magyar language on Slovak schools and public life and denying the Slovaks recognition as a nation.
The Slovak National Awakening
Sources: Slovakia (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · Slovak literature (Encyclopaedia Britannica)
North America
- CAN
Canada · Formation · 1 July 1867
Confederation — the Dominion of Canada
The British North America Act united Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick into the self-governing Dominion of Canada, with Sir John A. Macdonald as first prime minister.
Confederation and nation-building across the continent
Sources: British North America Act (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · Confederation (The Canadian Encyclopedia) · British North America Act, 1867 (Canadian Museum of History)
- MEX
Mexico · War & Rupture · 1867 CE
Fall of the Second Empire
Mexican forces under Juarez defeat the French intervention; Emperor Maximilian is captured and executed, restoring the republic.
Reform, Porfiriato, and Revolution
Sources: Benito Juarez (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · La Reforma (Encyclopaedia Britannica)
12 records
Africa
- SWZ
- ETH
Ethiopia · War & Rupture
Siege of Magdala and death of Tewodros
A British military expedition storms Tewodros's fortress at Magdala; the emperor takes his own life rather than surrender, ending his reign but not his unifying legacy.
Gondar, the Era of the Princes and Reunification
Sources: Ethiopia (country overview) (Encyclopaedia Britannica)
- LSO
Lesotho · Colonisation · 12 March 1868
Basutoland declared a British protectorate
Britain takes Moshoeshoe's kingdom under its protection, halting Boer absorption and fixing the borders that broadly survive as modern Lesotho.
Basutoland: Protectorate and the Gun War
Sources: Lesotho: The Sotho kingdom (1824–69) (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · Basutoland (now Lesotho) becomes British territory (South African History Online) · History of Lesotho (Wikipedia)
Asia
- JPN
Japan · Politics & Power · 1868 CE
Meiji Restoration
A coup ends the Tokugawa shogunate and restores direct imperial rule under Emperor Meiji, launching rapid modernization and Westernization.
Meiji and Empire: Revolution from Above
Sources: Meiji Restoration (Encyclopaedia Britannica)
- QAT
Qatar · Politics & Power · 12 September 1868
British agreement with Sheikh Mohammed bin Thani
Colonel Lewis Pelly concluded a separate agreement with Mohammed bin Thani, widely taken to mark Qatar's emergence as a distinct entity and the rise of Al Thani rule.
The Rise of the Al Thani and the 1868 Agreement
Sources: Qatar: History (Persian Gulf, Oil, Gas) (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · Sheikh Mohammed bin Thani — Qatar's Rulers (The Amiri Diwan, State of Qatar)
- TJK
Tajikistan · Colonisation · 1868 CE
Bukhara becomes a Russian protectorate
Defeated by Russian forces, the Emir of Bukhara accepts Russian terms in 1868; the emirate becomes a protectorate and the northern Tajik lands are absorbed into Russian Turkestan.
Russian Conquest and the Soviet Republic
Sources: History of Tajikistan (Encyclopædia Britannica) · Kazakstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan: Country Studies (Federal Research Division, Library of Congress)
- THA
Thailand · Politics & Power · 1868–1910
Reforms of Chulalongkorn (Rama V)
Chulalongkorn abolishes slavery, reorganises the administration, and modernises law, finance, education, and infrastructure, building a centralised modern state.
Siam's Survival: Mongkut, Chulalongkorn, and the Imperial Century
Sources: Chulalongkorn (Rama V) (Encyclopædia Britannica) · Thailand (Encyclopædia Britannica)
Europe
- HRV
Croatia · Politics & Power
The Croatian-Hungarian Settlement (Nagodba)
Within the Dual Monarchy created in 1867, the Nagodba granted Croatia-Slavonia limited autonomy under its own ban and Sabor, though real authority remained with Budapest.
The National Revival and the End of Austria-Hungary
Sources: Croatia: History (Encyclopaedia Britannica)
- LIE
Liechtenstein · Politics & Power
Abolition of the army and neutrality
Liechtenstein disbanded its small military force as too costly and committed itself to permanent neutrality, a policy it has maintained through every subsequent European conflict.
From the Empire to Sovereignty
Sources: The History of the Princely House of Liechtenstein (Fürstenhaus von Liechtenstein (official Princely House)) · Liechtenstein: History (Alpine, Principality, Sovereignty) (Encyclopaedia Britannica)
North America
- CUB
Cuba · Independence · 10 Oct 1868
Grito de Yara
Carlos Manuel de Cespedes frees his slaves and proclaims independence at La Demajagua, beginning the Ten Years' War against Spain.
The Wars of Independence and 1898
Sources: Carlos Manuel de Cespedes (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · Cuba (Encyclopaedia Britannica)
- PRI
Puerto Rico · Independence · 23 Sept 1868
Grito de Lares
Rebels seize Lares and proclaim a Republic of Puerto Rico; though crushed, the uprising becomes the foundational moment of the island's independence movement.
Plantation, Abolition, and the End of Spanish Rule
Sources: The Grito de Lares: The Rebellion of 1868 (Library of Congress)
- USA
United States · Politics & Power
Fourteenth Amendment
Ratified during Reconstruction, it granted citizenship to all persons born in the United States and guaranteed equal protection of the laws.
Reconstruction, industrial rise, and the World Wars
Sources: Abraham Lincoln and Emancipation; U.S. History Collections (Library of Congress)
12 records
Africa
- CPV
Cape Verde · Politics & Power
Slavery abolished
Portugal abolished slavery in its territories in 1869, ending the legal trade that had built the islands' early wealth, though forced and contract labour systems persisted afterward.
Creole culture, the coaling port, and the years of hunger
Sources: History of Cape Verde (Wikipedia) · History of Cabo Verde (Encyclopaedia Britannica)
- COD
DR Congo · Peoples & Migration · c. 1860s–1880s
Tippu Tip's eastern slaving state
Swahili-Arab trader Tippu Tip builds a domain around Kasongo in Maniema, raiding the eastern Congo for ivory and slaves.
The Slave Trades & the Scramble
Sources: Tippu Tib, African slave trader and explorer (Encyclopædia Britannica) · Tippu Tip (Wikipedia)
- EGY
Egypt · Economy & Trade
Opening of the Suez Canal
The Suez Canal links the Mediterranean and Red seas, transforming global trade but deepening Egypt's debts to European powers.
Ottoman Rule, Muhammad Ali and British Occupation
Sources: Suez Crisis (Encyclopaedia Britannica)
- ERI
Eritrea · Colonisation
Italy gains a foothold at Assab
An Italian shipping company acquires the bay of Assab on the southern Red Sea coast, Italy's first toehold on the future Eritrean shore.
Ottomans, Egyptians and the Contested Coast
Sources: Italian Eritrea (Wikipedia) · Italian Colonialism in Eritrea (World History Encyclopedia)
- GNB
Guinea-Bissau · Economy & Trade
Slavery abolished, contract labour follows
Portugal abolished slavery in its territories, but replaced it with coercive "contract labour" arrangements; the transatlantic trade through Guinea's rivers had already declined across the nineteenth century.
The Rivers of Guinea and the Atlantic slave trade
Sources: History of Guinea-Bissau (Wikipedia) · Guinea-Bissau (country overview and history) (Encyclopaedia Britannica)
- LSO
Lesotho · War & Rupture · February 1869
Convention of Aliwal North
The boundary settlement with the Orange Free State confirms the loss of the fertile western lowlands, the "Conquered Territory", to the Boers.
Basutoland: Protectorate and the Gun War
Sources: Lesotho: The Sotho kingdom (1824–69) (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · History of Lesotho (Wikipedia)
- STP
São Tomé and Príncipe · Politics & Power
Portugal decrees abolition of slavery
Portugal began abolishing slavery in its empire, with an 1869 decree and full emancipation completed in the 1870s — though forced contract labour soon took its place.
Cocoa, the roças and the 'cocoa slavery' scandal
Sources: History of São Tomé and Príncipe (Wikipedia) · Sugar, Cocoa, and Slavery in Portuguese Colonial Africa (Chocolate Class (Harvard University course site))
- SDS
South Sudan · Colonisation
Equatoria province established
Samuel Baker is appointed governor of Equatoria, an Egyptian southern province later led by Charles Gordon, partly to suppress the slave trade.
Conquest, Ivory and the Slave Raids
Sources: History of South Sudan (Wikipedia)
Asia
- TKM
Turkmenistan · Colonisation
Russians found Krasnovodsk
A Russian military force landed on the eastern Caspian coast and founded the port of Krasnovodsk (now Türkmenbaşy), opening the conquest of the Transcaspian region.
The Turkmen Tribes and the Russian Conquest
Sources: Turkmenistan — Turkmen tribes and Russian invasion (Encyclopædia Britannica)
Europe
- EST
Estonia · Culture & Ideas
The first Estonian Song Festival
The first all-Estonian Song Festival was held at Tartu, founded by Johann Voldemar Jannsen, making mass choral singing the central expression of an awakening national identity.
The Russian Empire and the National Awakening
Sources: A history of the Estonian Song Celebration: timeline from 1869 to today (Estonian World) · Estonia: History (Encyclopaedia Britannica)
North America
- CAN
Canada · Politics & Power · 1869–1870
Red River Resistance and Manitoba
Métis led by Louis Riel resisted the transfer of Rupert's Land to Canada, securing rights that shaped the creation of the province of Manitoba in 1870.
Confederation and nation-building across the continent
Sources: Canada (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · Confederation (The Canadian Encyclopedia)
- USA
United States · Economy & Trade
Transcontinental railroad completed
The joining of the rails at Promontory, Utah, linked the Atlantic and Pacific coasts, accelerating settlement, commerce, and industrial growth.
Reconstruction, industrial rise, and the World Wars
Sources: Abraham Lincoln and Emancipation; U.S. History Collections (Library of Congress)