Chronology for the Age of Imperialism, 1800–1914

 Cross-references to entries in the main entry section are in boldface.

 1. Napoleonic Wars, 1800-1815

 1799–1804: The Consulate ends the France’s revolutionary period. A dictatorship by Napoleon

 Bonaparte with the formal trappings of a republic is established.

 1800

 ♦ May: Napoleon crosses the St. Bernard Pass with 40,000 men.

 ♦ June 14: Battle of Marengo, a great Napoleonic victory brings all fortresses west of the Mincio and south of the Po under French control.

 ♦ December 3: Battle of Hohenlinden, French General Moreau defeats Austrians decisively.

 ♦ Austria sues for peace.

 ♦ December 16: League of Armed Neutrality formed.

 1801

 ♦ February 9: Treaty of Lunéville dissolves the Second Coalition and dismantles much of the

 ♦ Holy Roman Empire.

 ♦ March 23: Tsar Paul I murdered, Alexander I succeeds.

 ♦ March 29: Treaty of Florence.

 ♦ April 2: British attack Copenhagen.

 ♦ July 15: The Concordat establishes a new relationship between the French state and the Catholic Church.

 ♦ October 8: Treaty of Paris .

 1802

 ♦ West India docks built in London.

 ♦ French expeditionary forces arrive in Santo Domingo.

 ♦ March 27: Treaty of Amiens between Britain and France establishes fourteen-month Anglo-French truce.

 ♦ August 2: Napoleon named Consul for life.

 ♦ September 11: France annexes Piedmont.

 1803

 ♦ Ludwig van Beethoven completes Symphony No. 3, “Eroica.”

 ♦ Henry Schrapnel invents the fragmentation shell.

 ♦ Battle of Assaye: Arthur Wellesley defeats the Marathas.

 ♦ April 30: Louisiana purchased by the United States.

 ♦ May 16: Britain declares war on France.

 ♦ June 1: Frances seizes Hanover.

 ♦ June 15: French forces concentrate along English Channel.

 1804

 ♦ March: Code Civil established.

 ♦ May 18: Napoleon Bonaparte becomes Napoleon I, Emperor of the French.

 ♦ December 2: Napoleon is crowned.

 ♦ December 14: Spain declares war on Britain.

 1805

 ♦ Modern Egypt established, Mehemet Ali is Pasha.

 ♦ Formation of the Third Coalition: Britain is joined by Austria, Russia, and Sweden in alliance against France and Spain.

 ♦ May 26: Napoleon crowned king of Italy.

 ♦ Battle of Elchingen.

 ♦ October 17: 30,000 Austrians surrender to France at Ulm.

 ♦ October 21: Battle of Trafalgar, Nelson’s naval victory over a combined French and Spanish fleet.

 ♦ November 14: Napoleon enters Vienna.

 ♦ December 2: Battle of Austerlitz, Napoleon routs combined Austrian and Russian armies.

 ♦ December 26: Treaty of Pressburg signed between France and Austria.

 1806

 ♦ Slave trade to British colonies prohibited.

 ♦ United States bans importation of slaves.

 ♦ 1806–1812: Russia at war with Turkey

 ♦ June 12: Confederation of the Rhine organized under French auspices.

 ♦ August 6: Napoleon formally dissolves the Holy Roman Empire.

 ♦ August 9: Prussia mobilizes against France.

 ♦ September 26: Fourth Coalition formed.

 ♦ October 10: British forces return to the Cape; surrender of Pappendorp.

 ♦ October 14: Battle of Jena-Auerstädt, Napoleon routs Prussian armies.

 ♦ October 27: French army occupies Berlin.

 ♦ November 21: Berlin Decree, Napoleon proclaims a blockade of Britain.

 1807

 ♦ Napoleon campaigns in Poland against Russia.

 ♦ British invasion and occupation of Alexandria.

 ♦ Britain abolishes slave trade.

 ♦ February 7–8: Battle of Eylau, a bloody but indecisive Franco-Russian engagement.

 ♦ March 18–May 27: Siege of Danzig

 ♦ March 25: Abolition of slavery in the British dominions.

 ♦ June 14: Battle of Friedland, Napoleon defeats the Russian army.

 ♦ July 7–9: Treaties of Tilsit, diplomatic and territorial concessions by Prussia and Russia to France.

 ♦ September 5–7: Royal Navy bombards Danish fleet at Copenhagen, denying Danish coast to

 ♦ Napoleon’s Continental System.

 ♦ November: Portugal refuses to join the Continental System and is occupied by French troops, Peninsular War begins.

 1808

 ♦ Sierra Leone declared a British colony.

 ♦ 1808–1815: Britain releases 6,000 slaves taken at sea in Sierra Leone.

 ♦ February 2: Occupation of Rome.

 ♦ March: 100,000 French troops invade Spain.

 ♦ May: Napoleon ousts Ferdinand VII from Spanish throne and replaces him with his brother, Joseph, precipitating a nationalist uprising.

 ♦ May 2: Murat represses Madrid uprising.

 ♦ July 22: Battle of Bailén.

 ♦ August 21: British forces defeat French at Vimeiro.

 ♦ September: Congress of Erfurt reinforces Franco-Russian alliance; Napoleon is at the height of his power.

 ♦ November 30: Battle of Somosierra.

 ♦ December 13: Madrid falls to French army.

 1809

 ♦ British capture French settlements on the Senegal.

 ♦ The Khoikhoi of South Africa placed under colonial law.

 ♦ January 8: Austria decides on war.

 ♦ January 16: French victory in the Battle of Corunna. Britain forced to evacuate Spain.

 ♦ February 21: French forces take Oporto.

 ♦ April 9: Fifth Coalition formed.

 ♦ April 10: Austria invades Bavaria.

 ♦ May 12: Anglo-Portuguese forces under Wellesley recapture Oporto.

 ♦ July 28: Battle of Talavera slows French invasion of Portugal.

 ♦ November 19: Battle of Ocaña, Spanish army defeated by French forces.

 ♦ May 21–22: Battle of Aspern-Essling, Napoleon defeated by Austrian forces.

 ♦ July 5–6: Battle of Wagram, Napoleon defeats Austrian forces.

 ♦ October 14: Treaty of Schönbrunn, Austria cedes territory to France and French allies.

 1810

 ♦ British capture Guadaloupe.

 ♦ Revolutions in Buenos Aires and Bogata.

 ♦ Simon Bolivar emerges as “The Liberator.”

 ♦ Britain seizes Mauritius, Réunion, and French stations in Madagascar.

 ♦ April 1: Napoleon marries Archduchess Marie Louis of Austria, a union arranged by Metternich.

 ♦ March 13: King Gustavus IV of Sweden arrested and forced to abdicate, is succeeded by Charles XIII.

 ♦ July 9: France annexes Holland.

 ♦ September 17: Treaty of Friederichsham.

 1811

 ♦ British occupy Java.

 ♦ Paraguay and Venezuela declare independence.

 ♦ 1811–1812: British forces drive 20,000 Xhosa from Zuurveld.

 ♦ March 1: Massacre of the Mamluks in Cairo.

 ♦ March 5: Massena begins retreat from Portugal.

 ♦ May 3–5: Battle of Fuentes de Oñoro.

 ♦ May 16: Battle of Albuera.

 1812

 ♦ Outbreak of the Anglo-American War of 1812.

 ♦ Usuman dan Fodio establishes the Sokoto Caliphate.

 ♦ January: France reoccupies Swedish Pomerania.

 ♦ January 19: Wellington storms Ciudad Rodrigo.

 ♦ April: Treaty of St. Petersburg signed by Sweden and Russia.

 ♦ May 28: Treaty of Bucharest signed by Ottoman Empire and Russia.

 ♦ June: Britain makes peace with Sweden and Russia.

 ♦ June 20: Sixth Coalition formed.

 ♦ June 24: French troops cross the Nieman River, Napoleonic invasion of Russia begins.

 ♦ August 12: Wellington enters Madrid.

 ♦ August 17–18: Battle of Smolensk.

 ♦ September 7: Battle of Borodino, a costly Napoleonic victory.

 ♦ September 14: French troops occupy Moscow.

 ♦ September 15–17: Burning of Moscow.

 ♦ October 19: Napoleon begins retreat from Moscow.

 ♦ November 26–28: Battle of the Beresina.

 ♦ December 30: Prussian General Yorke concludes Convention of Tauroggen with Russia.

 1813

 ♦ Monopoly of the East India Company abolished.

 ♦ Russia seizes Dagestan.

 ♦ Austria and Prussia join Russia to push France out of Germany.

 ♦ February 28: Treaty of Kalisch signed by Prussia and Russia.

 ♦ March 4: Russians enter Berlin.

 ♦ March 16: Prussia declares war on France.

 ♦ March 17–27: Prussians and Russians occupy Hamburg and Dresden.

 ♦ May 2: Battle of Lutzen.

 ♦ May 20: Battle of Bautzen .

 ♦ May 23: Wellington advances into Spain.

 ♦ June 12: French army evacuates Madrid.

 ♦ June 21: Wellington victorious at Vitoria.

 ♦ August 12: Austria declares war on France.

 ♦ August 26–27: Battle of Dresden.

 ♦ September 9: Treaty of Teplitz agreed by Austria, Prussia, and Russia.

 ♦ October 16–19: Battle of Leipzig, Allied victory forces further French retreat.

 1814

 ♦ January 14: Treaty of Kiel, Denmark cedes Norway to Sweden.

 ♦ February 1: Battle of La Rothière.

 ♦ March 9: Treaties of Chaumont provide for continued Allied struggle against Napoleon.

 ♦ February 5–March 19: Congress of Châtillon.

 ♦ March 20: Battle of Arcis-sur-Aube.

 ♦ March 31: Allies enter Paris.

 ♦ April 6: Napoleon abdicates.

 ♦ April 10: Wellington defeats Soult at Toulouse.

 ♦ May 30: First Treaty of Paris, a lenient peace for France restores the Bourbons.

 ♦ September–June 1915: Congress of Vienna, establishes a comprehensive European settlement.

 ♦ December 24: Treaty of Ghent ends War of 1812.

 1815

 ♦ Britain declares control of South African Cape Colony.

 ♦ Slachter’s Nek rebellion in the Eastern Cape.

 ♦ February 26: Napoleon escapes from Elba.

 ♦ March 1: Napoleon lands at Cannes.

 ♦ March 3: United States begins naval operations against Algiers.

 ♦ March 27: Seventh Coalition formed.

 ♦ June 15: Napoleon crosses into Belgium.

 ♦ June 16: Battle of Ligny, Battle of Quatre Bras.

 ♦ June 18: Battle of Waterloo, Anglo-Prussian forces under Wellington inflict final defeat on Napoleon.

 ♦ June 22: Second abdication of Napoleon.

 ♦ September 26: Creation of the Holy Alliance.

 ♦ November 20: Second Treaty of Paris imposes territorial losses and reparations on France and renews the Quadruple Alliance of Austria, Britain, Prussia, and Russia.

 2. Pax Britannica, 1815-1870

 1816

 ♦ Britain returns Java to the Netherlands.

 ♦ Intensified Protestant missionary activity in the Eastern Cape.

 ♦ British bombard Algiers and demand that the dey end Christian slavery.

 ♦ Argentine provinces declare independence.

 ♦ August 27: Anglo-Dutch bombardment of Algiers.

 ♦ December 22: United States signs peace treaty with Algiers.

 1817

 ♦ San Martin defeats Spain at Chacubuco.

 ♦ Shaka becomes chief of the Zulu Kingdom.

 ♦ March: British parliament passes Coercion Acts.

 1818

 ♦ End of Maratha Wars, Raijput States, and Poona under British rule.

 ♦ Martin defeats Spanish at Maipó.

 ♦ Chile declares independence.

 ♦ Canada and United States establish border at 49th parallel.

 ♦ 1818–1819: Xhosa war of resistance defeated.

 ♦ Wahabis defeated in Arabia.

 ♦ September: Congress of Aix-la-Chapelle.

 1819

 ♦ East India Company establishes settlement at Singapore.

 ♦ 1819–1820: Zulus defeat Zwide’s Ndwandwe.

 ♦ August 16: Peterloo Massacre.

 ♦ September 20: Carlsbad Decrees sanctioned by the Diet of the German Confederation.

 ♦ October: Prussia begins construction of the German Zollverein .

 ♦ December: British parliament passes the Six Acts.

 1820

 ♦ 10,000 British settlers land on Eastern Cape.

 ♦ Tijaniyya Sufiuprising in Oran against Ottoman rule.

 ♦ 1820–1830: Rise of the Basotho Kingdom.

 ♦ March 3 : Missouri Compromise.

 ♦ October 20: Congress of Troppau.

 1821

 ♦ San Martin declares Peruvian independence.

 ♦ Guatemala, Mexico, Panama, and Santo Domingo independent of Spain.

 ♦ Egyptian governor-general installed in Khartoum.

 ♦ Sierra Leone, Gold Coast, and Gambia joined as British West Africa.

 ♦ January–May: Congress of Laibach .

 1822

 ♦ Brazil independent of Portugal.

 ♦ English replaces Dutch as the official language of South Africa.

 ♦ Egyptian forces complete conquest of the Sudan.

 ♦ Liberia becomes a colony for freed American slaves.

 ♦ October 20: Congress of Verona.

 1823

 ♦ Outbreak of the First Anglo-Ashanti War.

 ♦ December 2: U.S. President James Monroe articulates the Monroe Doctrine.

 1824

 ♦ Ludwig van Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 premiers in Vienna.

 ♦ British traders establish post at Port Natal.

 ♦ January: Outbreak of the First Anglo-Burmese War.

 1825

 ♦ Bolivia declares independence.

 ♦ Ndebele become the dominant kingdom of the high veld.

 1826

 ♦ Cape Colony extended north to the Orange River.

 ♦ January 2: British troops storm Melloon, ending First Anglo-Burmese War.

 1827

 ♦ Dey of Algiers hits French consul with a fly whisk; France demands satisfaction.

 1828

 ♦ The Black War in Australia.

 ♦ Shaka assassinated; Dingane becomes king of the Zulu.

 ♦ July 15: British parliament passes the revised Corn Law.

 1829

 ♦ Suttee is abolished in Bengal.

 ♦ British Slave Trade Commission takes over Fernando Po.

 ♦ March–April: Catholic Emancipation passes British Parliament.

 1830

 ♦ Mysore becomes new British possession in India.

 ♦ July 5: French expeditionary force occupies Algiers.

 ♦ July 26: French government imposes the July Ordinances.

 ♦ July 28: Insurgents control much of Paris, the July Revolution.

 ♦ July 30: Louis Philippe proclaimed constitutional monarch of France.

 1831

 ♦ Darwin begins voyage in Beagle.

 ♦ March 31: Louis Philippe creates the French Foreign Legion.

 1832

 ♦ Black Hawk War and Indian war in the American Midwest.

 ♦ Britain occupies Falkland Islands.

 ♦ 1832–1834: Attacks on French forces by Abd al-Qādr .

 1833

 ♦ August 23: Abolition of slavery in the British Empire.

 1834

 ♦ Outbreak of the Carlist War in Spain.

 ♦ Angola ignores antislavery laws.

 ♦ 12,000 Xhosa attack Cape Colony outposts.

 ♦ Dutch slaveholders in Africa Cape protest lack of compensation.

 ♦ April 22: Quadruple Alliance.

 1835

 ♦ Turkish forces land at Tripoli.

 ♦ 1835–1837: Outbreak of the French war against Abd al-Qādr.

 ♦ Beginning of the Great Trek of the Boers to the north and east of the Orange River.

 1836

 ♦ Republic of Texas established.

 ♦ French defeat Abd el-Qādr at Sikka River.

 1837

 ♦ Revolts in Upper and Lower Canada.

 ♦ Lin Zexu, governor of Hunan and Hupeh, orders destruction of opium cargoes.

 ♦ Treaty of Tafna: France abandons Algerian interior to Abd al-Qādr.

 1838

 ♦ Founding of the New Zealand Company.

 ♦ Governor of Angola removed for slave trafficking.

 ♦ First Afghan War begins.

 ♦ June 28: Coronation of Victoria I.

 ♦ February: Zulus massacre Boer Vortrekkers in Natal.

 ♦ December 16: Battle of Blood River, Boers defeat Zulus, establish Republic of Natal.

 1839

 ♦ British expedition into Afghanistan.

 ♦ Quadruple Alliance of Britain, France, Portugal, and Spain defeats Carlists.

 ♦ Mpande and Boers overthrow Dingane.

 ♦ November 3: Imperial Commissioner Lin Zexu forces surrender of opium cargo, outbreak of the Opium War .

 1840

 ♦ Abd el-Qādr begins new attacks on French settlers.

 ♦ Upper and Lower Canada united.

 ♦ Treaty of Waitangi, Britain claims sovereignty over New Zealand.

 ♦ Portuguese merchants found port of Mocamedes on Angolan coast.

 ♦ Britain occupies Chusan and Canton river ports.

 ♦ December: Start of French campaign against Abd al-Qādr.

 1841

 ♦ Britain proclaims sovereignty over Hong Kong.

 ♦ New Zealand becomes British colony.

 ♦ July 13: Straits Convention.

 1842

 ♦ 1842–1843: War between Britain and Boers, Britain takes Natal.

 ♦ August 29: Treaty of Nanjing ends the Opium War.

 ♦ August 9: Britain and United States sign Webster-Ashburton Treaty.

 ♦ September: British force captures Kabul, ending First Anglo-Afghan War.

 1843

 ♦ June 17: Outbreak of First Maori War.

 ♦ August 8: Natal becomes a British colony.

 ♦ December: Basutoland becomes a de facto British protectorate.

 1844

 ♦ Arab trading post established at Umyanyembe.

 ♦ French defeat Abd el-Qādr at Isly.

 ♦ September 10: Treaty of Tangier concludes French campaign in Morocco.

 1845

 ♦ March 1: United States Congress votes to annex Texas.

 ♦ John O’Sullivan publishes an article on the Manifest Destiny of the United States.

 ♦ July 7: John Drake Sloat claims Mexican territory in California for the United States.

 ♦ December 11: Outbreak of the First Sikh War.

 1846

 ♦ 1846–1848: United States at war with Mexico.

 ♦ 1846–1847: Shepstone establishes reserve system in Natal.

 ♦ March 11: Treaty of Lahore ends First Anglo-Sikh War and makes the Punjab a British protectorate.

 ♦ April 12: Mexican troops cross the Rio Grande, outbreak of the Mexican War.

 ♦ May 8–9: American victories at Palo Alto and Resaca de la Palma.

 ♦ May 24: U.S. troops capture Monterey.

 ♦ June 15: Britain and United States sign Oregon Treaty.

 1847

 ♦ Slavery abolished throughout French Empire.

 ♦ February 22–23: Battle of Buena Vista.

 ♦ July 26: Free and Independent Republic of Liberia established.

 ♦ September 12–13: Battle of Chapultepec.

 ♦ September 14: U.S. troops capture Mexico City.

 ♦ December 23: Abd al-Qādr surrenders to France and is imprisoned.

 1848

 ♦ Marx and Engels issue The Communist Manifesto .

 ♦ Algeria annexed to France, organized into three departments.

 ♦ First delegate from Senegal sent to French National Assembly.

 ♦ February: February Revolution in Paris.

 ♦ February 2: Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo ends Mexican War.

 ♦ March 15: Uprisings in Berlin.

 ♦ April 20: Outbreak of Second Sikh War.

 1849

 ♦ France founds Libreville with freed slave settlers.

 ♦ 1849–1852: Influx of British-sponsored settlers to Natal.

 ♦ April 5: France declares protectorate over French Guinea.

 ♦ 1849–1850: Don Pacifico Affair.

 ♦ February 22: Battle of Gujarat ends Second Anglo-Sikh War; Britain annexes the Punjab.

 1850

 ♦ The Kololo of South Africa enter the Angolan slave trade.

 ♦ 1850–1860: Ivory trade fuels gun trade in South Central Africa.

 ♦ 1850–1864: Taiping Rebellion.

 ♦ August: Australian Colonies Government Act.

 1852

 ♦ Sand River Convention between British and Transvaal Boers.

 ♦ April 1: Outbreak of Second Anglo-Burmese War.

 ♦ November 21: British troops capture Pegu, ending Second Anglo-Burmese War.

 1853

 ♦ Cape Colony constitution establishes an elected parliament.

 ♦ Hanover, Brunswick, and Oldenburg join the Prussian Zollverein .

 1854

 ♦ Slave-trading boom in Karka and Shillukland.

 ♦ Bloemfontein Convention paves way for an Orange Free State.

 ♦ 1854–1884: Rule of Kabaka Mutesa in Buganda.

 ♦ 1854–1861: France revives colonial interests in Senegal.

 ♦ March 28: Outbreak of Crimean War.

 ♦ November 30: Suez Canal concession granted to Ferdinand de Lesseps.

 1855

 ♦ The Economist begins publication.

 ♦ Taiping Rebellion ends.

 ♦ Paris World’s Fair.

 ♦ 1855–1868: Tewodros II begins modern period in Ethiopia.

 1856

 ♦ Swahili traders reach Katanga.

 ♦ July 12: Natal becomes a British colony; civil war in the Zulu kingdom.

 ♦ October 8: Qing officials search British ship Arrow, outbreak of Arrow War.

 1857

 ♦ British destroy Chinese fleet.

 ♦ 1857–1858: Indian Mutiny .

 ♦ Anglo-French seizure of Canton.

 1858

 ♦ East India Company is transferred to the British crown.

 ♦ Slavery abolished in Russia.

 ♦ Suez Canal Company established.

 ♦ Treaty of Aigun .

 ♦ June 26–29: Treaties of Tientsin.

 1859

 ♦ Spain sends expeditionary force to Morocco.

 ♦ Darwin publishes The Origin of Species.

 ♦ London Missionary Society founded in Inyati Rhodesia.

 ♦ First indentured Indian labor arrives in Natal.

 ♦ April 29: Work begins on the Suez Canal.

 1860

 ♦ Republic of Lydenburg joins South African Republic.

 ♦ 1860–1890: Expansion of slave trade northward and eastward from Congo Basin.

 ♦ October 12: Anglo-French occupation of Peking ending Arrow War.

 ♦ November 6: Abraham Lincoln is elected President of the United States.

 ♦ December 20: South Carolina secedes from the United States.

 1861

 ♦ Sikkum campaign.

 ♦ French expeditions in Mexico.

 ♦ January 9–26: Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, and Louisiana secede from the United States.

 ♦ April 12–13: Bombardment of Sumter, American Civil War begins.

 ♦ November–December: Trent Affair.

 1862

 ♦ Victor Hugo publishes Les Miserables.

 ♦ R. J. Gatling invents machine gun.

 ♦ France acquires the port of Obock from the Sultan of Tarjura.

 ♦ Anglo-French forces defeat Chinese, Treaty of Peking signed.

  September 23: Bismarck appointed minister-president of Prussia.

  September 30: Bismarck delivers “iron and blood” speech to Prussian parliament.

 1863

  Outbreak of the Second Maori War.

  Ismael Pasha becomes khedive of Egypt.

  Battle of Camerone in Mexico.

  1863–1865: France revives territorial expansion west of Sudan.

  January 1: Lincoln issues Emancipation Proclamation.

  February: Polish uprising in Russian Poland.

  February 25: France establishes a protectorate over Porto Novo.

  July 1–3: Battle of Gettysburg.

  July 4: Fall of Vicksburg.

  June 5: Treaty of Saigon. France acquires control of three southern provinces of Cochin China.

 1864

  France takes Cochin China.

  Geneva Convention establishes rules for war.

  January 16: Austro-Prussian alliance.

  February 1: Austrian and Prussian armies invade Schleswig.

  October 30: Treaty of Vienna confirms Austrian and Prussian control of Schleswig-Holstein and Lauenburg

 1865

  Richard Wagner finishes Tristan und Isolde.

  1865–1866: War between Orange Free State and Moshoeshoe’s Sotho.

  January 31: Slavery is abolished in the United States

  April 9: Lee surrenders to Grant at Appomattox.

  April 14: President Abraham Lincoln is assassinated.

  May 26: Last Confederate army surrenders, ending American Civil War.

  August: Austro-Prussian Gastein Convention.

 1866

  Kaffraria is joined to the Cape Colony.

  April 8: Prussian alliance with Italy.

  June 6: Prussia protests Austrian policy in Holstein.

  June 14: Austro-Prussian War begins.

  July 3: Prussians defeat Austria at Königgrätz.

  August 18: Prussian treaty of federation with North German states.

  August 23: Treaty of Prague ends Austro-Prussian War.

 1867

  British North America Act establishes Dominion of Canada.

  Karl Marx publishes Das Kapital.

  British expeditionary mission sent to Ethiopia.

  April: Diamonds discovered near Hopetown on the Orange River.

  April 16: Constituent Reichstag passes constitution of North German Confederation.

  April–May: Luxemburg Crisis.

 1868

  Dostoevsky publishes The Idiot.

  British forces invade Abyssinia.

  Sir John Kirk becomes British representative in Zanzibar.

  January 1: Hyōgo and O¯ saka opened to foreign trade.

  January 3: Inauguration of the Meiji Restoration in Japan.

  March 12: Britain annexes Basotholand and establishes white government.

  April 13: British capture Magdala.

  1868–1869: Irish Question.

 1869

  Richard Wagner’s Rheingold premiers in Munich.

  Gustave Flaubert publishes l ’ Education sentimentale.

  Red River Rebellion in Canada.

  Italian Rubattino Company buys the port of Assab on the Red Sea.

  November 17: Suez Canal officially opens.

 3. Period of Intensified Imperial Competition, 1870-1900

 1870

  Richard Wagner’s Die Walküre premiers in Munich.

  Digger’s Republic proclaimed at Klipdrift.

  Diamonds discovered in the Orange Free State.

  1870–1876: Bunganda moves toward Islam, then Christianity.

  March 15: Bismarck backs Hohenzollern candidacy for the Spanish throne.

  July 13: Bismarck releases Ems Telegram.

  July 19: France declares war on Prussia. Franco-Prussian War begins.

  September 1: Battle of Sedan. Prussia defeats French army, captures Napoleon III.

 1871

  Giueseppe Verdi’s Aïda premiers in Cairo.

  Town of Kimberley founded as the center of the South African diamond industry.

  January 15: Proclamation of the German Empire at Versailles. Wilhelm I is Emperor.

  February: Provisional peace facilitates German annexation of Alsace Lorraine.

  April: Britain annexes Griqualand West diamond region.

  April 14: Remodeled constitution amalgamates 25 states in the German Reich.

  May 10: Treaty of Frankfurt.

 1872

  1872–1874: Egypt occupies Red Sea coast.

  Cape Colony granted self-government.

 1873

  Onset of economic recession.

  Tolstoy publishes Anna Karenina.

  General Charles Gordon seconded to the khedive of Egypt as governor of Equatoria.

  Outbreak of the Second Anglo-Ashanti War.

 1874

  Gordon becomes governor-general of the Sudan.

  Japanese occupation of Formosa.

 1875

  United Free Church of Scotland founds mission at Blantrye and Livingstonia.

  Slavery and forced labor abolished in Angola.

  1875–1878: Egyptian war with Ethiopia.

  November 25: Britain purchases 40 percent share in Suez Canal from khedive of Egypt.

 1876

  Victoria proclaimed Empress of India.

  First complete performance of Richard Wagner’s Der Ring des Niebelungen.

  Telephone is invented in the United States.

  February: Ethiopian army defeats Egyptian forces.

  April 4: Egyptian finances declared insolvent.

  September 12: King Leopold of Belgium hosts international conference on Africa.

  November 18: Anglo-French controllers appointed to administer Egyptian debt.

 1877

  March 18: Britain annexes Walvis Bay in Southwest Africa.

  April 12: Britain annexes Transvaal in violation of the Sand River Convention .

  April 24: Russia declares war on Turkey.

 1878

  German Africa Society establishes posts between Bagamoyo and Lake Tanganyika.

  March 3: Treaty of San Stefano.

  June 13–July 13: Congress of Berlin.

  October 7: German-Austrian alliance.

  June 18: Alliance of the Three Emperors.

  August 15: Nubar Pasha Ministry in Egypt.

  November: British army invades Afghanistan, starting Second Anglo-Afghan War.

  November 15: Belgium commissions Henry Stanley to establish posts in Congo region.

 1879

  Jesuits establish mission at Bulawayo.

  France begins conquest of Umarian Empire.

  Afrikaner Bond founded.

  Catholic White Fathers arrive in Buganda.

  1879–1881: Franco-Italian rivalry in Tunis.

  January 12–September 1: British forces invade and defeat Zulu Kingdom.

 1880

  France founds Brazzaville and establishes a protectorate.

  1880–1900: Christian missionaries penetrate East African interior.

  1880–1881: Boers of Transvaal revolt against the British. Barnato Diamond Mining Company founded; De Beers Mining Corporation founded.

  Madrid Convention sets status and rights of foreigners in Morocco.

  September 1: Battle of Kandahar, British defeat Ayub Khan, ending Second Anglo-Afghan War.

  December 30: Boers proclaim Republic of South Africa, starting First Boer War.

 1881

  France makes first attempt at a Trans-Saharan Railway.

  1881–1885: International Association of the Congo established.

  1881–1885: Mahdist revolution against Turco-Egyptian power in Sudan.

  January 28: Boers defeat British at Laing’s Nek.

  February 27: Boer’s defeat British at Majuba Hill.

  April 5: Treaty of Pretoria between Britain and Boers recognizes South African Republic.

  April 30: French navy seizes Bizerta.

  May 12: Treaty of Barto, Bey of Tunis accepts French protectorate.

  February 1: Rising of Egyptian officers.

  September 9: Second rising of Egyptian officers.

 1882

  Boer expansion into Bechuanaland.

  Italian government takes over Assab.

  January 8: Anglo-French “Gambetta Note” delivered to Egypt.

  May 20: Triple Alliance of Germany, Austria, and Italy formed.

  June 12: Riots in Alexandria.

  July 11: British bombardment of Alexandria.

  September 13: British victory at Tel-el-Kebir.

  September 15: British occupy Cairo and Suez Canal Zone.

 1883

  French invade Annam and Tonkin.

  Marxist party founded in Russia.

  Britain defeats Pedi Kingdom.

  German settlers come to Southwest Africa.

  Convention of Marsa gives France control of Tunisian affairs.

  Civil War in Zululand.

  April 16: Paul Kruger becomes president of South African Republic.

  November 5: Battle of Obeid.

 1884

  Germany occupies South-West Africa.

  Britain establishes a protectorate around Zeila on the Somali coast.

  1884–1885: Berlin West Africa Conference.

  January 18: Gordon sent to evacuate Khartoum.

  April 22: U.S. recognizes International Association of the Congo as a territorial power.

 1885

  Britain establishes Bechuanaland Protectorate.

  Outbreak of the Franco-Mandingo Wars.

  Anglo-Egyptian forces evacuate Sudan.

  Defeat of Second Riel rebellion in Canada.

  French attempt and fail to take Madagascar.

  French defeat in Tonkin topples Ferry government.

  January 26: The Mahdi captures Khartoum.

  February: German East Africa Company claims protectorate between Umba and Rovuma Rivers.

  February 6: Italy establishes a base at Massawa.

  April: Belgium establishes Congo Independent State.

  April: Anglo-Russian crisis in Afghanistan.

  August: Germany establishes protectorate over Witu in Zanzibar.

  November: Third Anglo-Burmese War lasts 20 days.

 1886

  First meeting of Indian National Congress.

  Burma incorporated into British India.

  Gold discovered on Witwatersrand.

  September: Town of Johannesburg established.

 1887

  First Colonial Conference opens in London.

  British East Africa Company secures 50-year lease between Umba and Tanas Rivers.

  January 26: Ethiopians defeat Italians at the Battle of Dogali.

  February 12: First Mediterranean Agreement.

  February 20: Renewal of the Triple Alliance.

  May 22: Drummond-Wolff Convention.

  June 21: Britain annexes Zululand.

  June 18: Russian-German Treaty.

  December 12: Second Mediterranean Agreement.

 1888

  Wilhelm II becomes Emperor of Germany.

  Matabele accept British protection, Cecil Rhodes is granted mining rights.

  French conquest of upper Niger completed.

  October 29: Treaty of Constantinople.

 1889

  Eiffel Tower opens in Paris.

  Britain establishes protectorate over the Shire River region.

  Outbreak of the First Franco-Dahomean War.

  1889–1913: Menelik II enlarges the Ethiopian Empire.

  January 10: French protectorate over Ivory Coast.

  May 2: Treaty of Uccialli; Italy confirms claim to protectorate over Ethiopia.

  October 18: Muslims faction dominant in Buganda, Christian missionaries expelled.

  October 29: British South Africa Company chartered to develop territory north of the Zambezi and west of Mozambique.

 1890

  Alfred Thayer Mahan publishes The Influence of Sea Power upon History.

  French troops capture Umarian city of Segu.

  France establishes protectorate over Dahomey.

  Rise of Ahmad Bamba’s Mouridiyya brotherhood.

  Rhodes’s British South Africa Company sends settlers into Rhodesia.

  Rhodes becomes prime minister of the Cape Colony.

  Italian Red Sea possessions become the colony of Eritrea.

  1890–1892: Portugal conquers Ovimbundu kingdoms.

  June 27: British South Africa Company signs treaty of protection with Barotseland.

  July 2: Brussels Act calls European power to end slave and arms trade in colonies.

  August 1: Sultan of Zanzibar signs antislavery decree.

  October: End of First Franco-Dahomean War, France establishes protectorate over Dahomey.

  November 4: Britain claims protectorate over Zanzibar.

  December: Lugard arrives in Buganda with armed force.

 1891

  Pan-German League is formed.

  French offensive against Samori.

  April 15: Katanga Company established.

  May 1: Renewal of Triple Alliance.

 1892

  Intensified Arab and Swahili slave trading in Congo and Tanganyika region.

  1892–1893: Ndebele rebellion against British South Africa Company (BSAC).

  March 27: Outbreak of Second Franco-Dahomean War.

 1893

  French troops capture Umarian city of Nioro.

  Outbreak of the Third Anglo-Ashanti War.

  July 15: German military bill increases size of forces.

 1894

  Lugard partitions Buganda among Protestant, Catholic, and Muslim groups.

  Britain annexes Pondoland, linking Cape Colony and Natal; expedition against Matabele begins.

  January 29: French capture Dahomean King Behanzin, France annexes Dahomey.

  May 12: Treaty between Britain and Congo Free State for Cape-to-Cairo railway and telegraph.

  August: Glen Grey Act provides for indirect African self-rule.

  August 1: Outbreak of Sino-Japanese War.

  December 27: Franco-Russian exchange of notes on army mobilization.

 1895

  French invade Madagascar.

  Outbreak of Fourth Anglo-Ashanti War.

  Slave trade abolished in Cameroon.

  1895–1899: Anti-Portuguese risings in Mozambique.

  1895–1905: Labor migration from Congo due to Belgian work conditions.

  January 1: Royal Niger Company proclaims protectorate in Busa and Nikki.

  March 25: Italy begins advance into Ethiopia.

  April 17: Treaty of Shimonoseki .

  April 23: Formation of the Far Eastern Triplice.

  December 29, 1895–January 2, 1896: Leander Starr Jameson raids Johannesburg.

 1896

  C. E. Calwell publishes Small Wars.

  Marchand expedition sets out.

  Matabele revolt defeated.

  1896–1898: British reconquest of the Sudan.

  January 6: Implicated in the Jameson Raid, Cecil Rhodes resigns.

  March 1: Ethiopians defeat Italians at Battle of Adowa.

  January 3: Kaiser sends Kruger Telegram in support of Natal.

  September 21: Kitchener takes Dongola.

  October 26: Italy and Ethiopia sign Treaty of Addis Ababa, declaring Ethiopia independent.

 1897

  Colonial Conference in London.

  Zululand incorporated into Natal Colony.

  Shona risings in Rhodesia.

  February: Belgian forces reach the Nile, occupy Loda and Wadelai.

  April 5: Slavery abolished in Zanzibar.

  April 17: War between Greece and Turkey.

  July–August: British defeat Mwanga rebellion in Uganda.

 1898

  Britain obtains 99-year lease on Kowloon and New Territories.

  Uitlander agitation against South African Republic increases.

  January: Anglo-Portuguese operations against Yao.

  January 10: Rioting in Havana, Cuba; U.S. sends U.S.S. Maine.

  February 15: Maine destroyed in Havana harbor.

  March 28: First German Naval Bill passes Reichstag.

  April 8: Battle of Atbara River.

  April 15: United States declares war on Spain; Spanish-American War begins.

  May: French troops occupy Sikasso and capture Samori.

  May 1: Battle of Manila Bay.

  June 29: U.S. Navy captures Guam.

  July 3: U.S. Navy destroys Spanish fleet in Cuba.

  July 4: U.S. occupies Wake Island.

  July 6: U.S. annexes Hawaii.

  July 10: French forces under Marchand reach Fashoda.

  September: End of the Franco-Mangingo Wars.

  September 2: Battle of Omdurman; British forces defeat Mahdists.

  September 6: Filipinos declare independent republic.

  September 19: British forces reach Fashoda, occupied by Marchand’s French forces, Fashoda Crisis .

  December 10: United States and Spain sign Treaty of Paris.

 1899

  Portuguese labor law subjects Africans to moral duty to work.

  1899–1902: General unrest in German East Africa.

  January 23: Aguinaldo elected president of Philippine republic.

  February 4: Fighting erupts between U.S. forces and Filipinos in Manila.

  February 6: U.S. annexes Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines.

  March 11: Britain, Germany, and the United States quarrel over Somoa.

  March 21: Anglo-French convention ends Fashoda Crisis.

  May 18–July 29: First Hague Peace Conference.

  May 31–June 5: Bloemfontein Conference.

  September 6: U.S. asks European powers and Japan to recognize Open Door in China.

  September 8: Britain sends 10,000 troops to Natal.

  October 9: Kruger Ultimatum.

  October 11: Orange Free State joins Transvaal, Second Boer War begins.

  October 14: Boer siege of Kimberley and Mafeking begins.

  November 2: Boer siege of Ladysmith begins.

  November 25: Berlin-Baghdad Railway concession.

 1900

  January 1: British protectorate declared over Nigeria; Frederick Lugard is high commissioner.

  February 28: Ladysmith relieved by British forces.

  March 10: Definitive Anglo-Ugandan treaty.

  March 13: Bloemfontein captured by British forces.

  May 17: Mafeking relieved by British forces.

  May 28: Britain annexes Orange Free State.

  May 31: British forces capture Johannesburg.

  June 5: British forces capture Pretoria.

  June: Second German Naval Bill passes Reichstag.

  June 13–August 14: Boxer Insurrection in China.

  September 1: Britain annexes Transvaal.

  September 5: France proclaims protectorate over Chad.

  December 14: Secret Franco-Italian over Morocco and Tripoli.

 4. Collapse of the European Balance of Power, 1901-1914

 1901

  Ugandan Railway opened.

  February 10: Boers invade British Cape Colony.

  September 26: Kingdom of the Ashanti annexed into the Gold Coast.

 1902

  J. A. Hobson publishes Imperialism.

  January 30: Anglo-Japanese Alliance.

  May 15–31: Anglo-Boer peace talks and Treaty of Vereeniging; Boer War Ends.

  June 28: Renewal of Triple Alliance for six years.

  November 8: Franco-Spanish agreement on Morocco.

 1903

  Popular agitation in Britain, U.S., and Germany against labor conditions in Congo.

  British Royal Niger Company seizes Kano, Sokoto, Burwuri in northern Nigeria.

  June: Lord Delamere settles Kenya.

  November: Anglo-Russian conversations.

 1904

  February 4: Outbreak of Russo-Japanese War.

  April 8: Anglo-French Entente Cordiale established.

  July 4: Tripartite Pact; Britain, France and Italy declare independence of Ethiopia.

  October 21: Dogger Bank Incident.

  October 27–November 23: German-Russian alliance negotiations.

 1905

  1905–1907: Maji-Maji rebellion in German East Africa.

  March 31: Kaiser Wilhelm I visits Tangier, provoking First Moroccan Crisis.

  May 17, 25: Britain proposes confidential discussions with France.

  May 27 : Battle of Tsushima.

  July 24: Björkö Treaty.

  August 12: Renewal of Anglo-Japanese Alliance.

  September 5: Treaty of Portsmouth.

 1906

  1906–1908: Congo Reform Association exposes labor abuses in Congo.

  January 10: Beginning of Anglo-French military and naval conversations.

  January 16–April 7: Algeciras Conference ends First Moroccan Crisis.

  February 10: H.M.S. Dreadnought launched.

  May: German government decides to widen Kiel Canal.

  May: Lagos incorporated into Southern Nigeria.

  May 9: Anglo-Belgian agreement on the Congo.

 1907

  Large-scale insurrections in Angola.

  Transvaal government passes Asiatic Registration Bill; Mohandas Gandhi begins passive resistance movement.

  May 17: Pact of Cartagena among Britain, France, and Spain.

  June 15–October 18: Second Hague Peace Conference.

  July: Russian Japanese Agreement.

  July: Renewal the Triple Alliance for six years.

  August 4: French forces bombard Casablanca.

  August 31: Anglo-Russian Convention.

 1908

  April 23: Baltic and North Sea Conventions.

  July 24: Young Turk victory.

  September 25: Casablanca Affair.

  October 6: Austrian annexation of Bosnia-Herzegovina.

  October 18: Belgium annexes Congo Free State.

  October 28: Daily Telegraph Affair.

  December 4: London Naval Conference.

 1909

  January: Native court system established in Buganda.

  January 12: Austro-Ottoman agreement on Bosnia.

  February 9: Franco-German agreement on Morocco.

  March 21: German note to Russia urging recognition of Bosnian annexation.

  March 31: Serbian note to Austria recognizing Bosnian annexation.

  April: Ottoman government recognizes independence of Bulgaria.

 1910

  French Congo renamed French Equatorial Africa.

  1910–1914: Young Ethiopians lead program of national modernization.

  May 13: Union of South Africa created.

 1911

  June–November: Second Moroccan Crisis

  July 1: Agadir Incident. German gunboat Panther visits Moroccan port.

  July 15: Germany seeks French Congo in return for abandoning rights in Morocco.

  July 21: Lloyd George delivers Mansion House speech.

  September 28: Outbreak of Tripolitan War.

  November 4: Franco-German agreement on Morocco.

 1912

  South African Native National Congress established.

  February 8: Haldane mission to Berlin to seek agreement on colonies and German fleet.

  March 8: Publication of a new German Naval Bill.

  March 13: Alliance between Bulgaria and Serbia.

  April: Italy bombards Dardenelles.

  May 4–16: Italians capture Rhodes.

  May 29: Alliance between Bulgaria and Greece.

  July 16: Naval convention between France and Russia.

  October 8: Austro-Russian note to Balkan states.

  October 8: Montenegro declares war on Ottoman Empire.

  October 18: Outbreak of First Balkan War.

  October 18: Treaty of Lausanne ends Tripolitan War.

  December 3: Armistice of Turkey, Bulgaria, and Serbia.

  December 5: Last renewal of Triple Alliance.

 1913

  March 26: Bulgarians capture Adrianople.

  April 16: Bulgaria and Ottoman Empire conclude an armistice.

  April 22: Montenegrins take Scutari.

  May 3: Montenegrins leave Scutari and Serbs Durazzo under threat of war from Austria.

  May 30: Treaty of London ending First Balkan War.

  June 1: Greece and Serbia ally against Bulgaria.

  June 14: Native Land Act establishes territorial segregation in South Africa.

  June 29–July 30: Outbreak of Second Balkan War.

  August 10: Treaty of Bucharest.

  September 23: Serbia invades Albania.

  September 29: Treaty of Constantinople.

  October: Austria demands Serb evacuation of Albania; Serbia complies.

 1914

  January 1: Northern and southern Nigeria are merged; Frederick Lugard is governor-general.

  June 15: Britain and Germany resolve Berlin-Baghdad Railway dispute.

  June 28: Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand assassinated in Sarajevo.

  July 5: Austrian Count Alexander Hoyos seeks support in Berlin.

  July 7: Austrian crown council favors war; Hungarian Count Tisza opposed.

  July 14: Second Austrian council wins Tisza to war footing.

  July 20–23: French President Poincaré and Prime Minister Viviani visit St. Petersburg.

  July 23: Austria delivers ultimatum to Serbia.

  July 25: Serbian reply is evasive; Austria mobilizes against Serbia.

  July 26: British Foreign Secretary Grey proposes conference; France accepts, Austria declines.

  July 27: France makes first preparations for war; British fleet is assembled.

  July 28: Austria declares war on Serbia.

  July 29: German Chancellor Bethmann-Hollweg urges Austro-Russian negotiations and British neutrality; Tsar agrees to Russian general mobilization.

  July 30: Austro-Russian discussions resume.

  July 31: Germany proclaims imminent danger of war, demands Russia cease preparations on German frontier; Germany seeks clarification of France’s position on a Russo-German war; Germany refuses British demand for respect for Belgian neutrality; Austria begins general mobilization; Germany declares war on Russia.

  August 1: France states that it will be guided by its interests, begins mobilization; Germany begins mobilization.

  August 2: British cabinet votes to protect French coast from German attack; Germany invades Luxembourg.

  August 3: Germany declares war on France, begins invasion of Belgium.

  August 4: Britain declares war on Germany.

  August 6: Austria declares war on Russia; World War I begins.