1.
2nd millennium
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The second millennium was a period of time that began on January 1,1001 and ended on December 31,2000 of the Gregorian calendar. It was the period of one thousand years in the Anno Domini or Common Era. The Renaissance saw the beginning of the migration of humans from Europe, Africa. The interwoven international trade led to the formation of multi-national corporations, international business ventures reduced the impact of nationalism in popular thought. The world population doubled over the first seven centuries of the millennium, consequently, unchecked human activity had considerable social and environmental consequences, giving rise to extreme poverty, climate change and biotic crisis. The 2nd millennium was a period of time began on January 1,1001. It was the period of one thousand years in the Anno Domini or Common Era. The Julian calendar was used in Europe at the beginning of the millennium, so the end date is always calculated according to the Gregorian calendar, but the beginning date is usually according to the Julian calendar. Stephen Jay Gould argued that it is not possible to decide if the millennium ended on December 31,1999, or December 31,2000. The second millennium is perhaps more popularly thought of as beginning and ending a year earlier, thus starting at the beginning of 1000 and finishing at the end of 1999. Many public celebrations for the end of the millennium were held on December 31,1999 – January 1, the civilizations in this section are organized according to the UN geoscheme. The events in this section are organized according to the UN geoscheme, the people in this section are organized according to the UN geoscheme. See also Lists of people by nationality Category, People by century Category, People by nationality and period Gottlieb, Agnes Hooper, Henry Gottlieb, Barbar Bowers,1,000 Years,1,000 People, Ranking the Men and Women Who Shaped the Millennium
2.
18th century
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The 18th century lasted from January 1,1701 to December 31,1800 in the Gregorian calendar. During the 18th century, the Enlightenment culminated in the French, philosophy and science increased in prominence. Philosophers dreamed of a brighter age and this dream turned into a reality with the French Revolution of 1789-, though later compromised by the excesses of the Reign of Terror under Maximilien Robespierre. At first, many monarchies of Europe embraced Enlightenment ideals, but with the French Revolution they feared losing their power, the Ottoman Empire experienced an unprecedented period of peace and economic expansion, taking part in no European wars from 1740 to 1768. The 18th century also marked the end of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth as an independent state, the once-powerful and vast kingdom, which had once conquered Moscow and defeated great Ottoman armies, collapsed under numerous invasions. European colonization of the Americas and other parts of the world intensified and associated mass migrations of people grew in size as the Age of Sail continued. Great Britain became a major power worldwide with the defeat of France in North America in the 1760s, however, Britain lost many of its North American colonies after the American Revolution, which resulted in the formation of the newly independent United States of America. The Industrial Revolution started in Britain in the 1770s with the production of the steam engine. Despite its modest beginnings in the 18th century, steam-powered machinery would radically change human society, western historians have occasionally defined the 18th century otherwise for the purposes of their work. To historians who expand the century to include larger historical movements, 1700-1721, Great Northern War between Tsarist Russia and the Swedish Empire. 1701, Kingdom of Prussia declared under King Frederick I,1701, Ashanti Empire is formed under Osei Kofi Tutu I. 1701–1714, The War of the Spanish Succession is fought, involving most of continental Europe, 1701–1702, The Daily Courant and The Norwich Post become the first daily newspapers in England. 1702, Forty-seven Ronin attack Kira Yoshinaka and then commit seppuku in Japan,1703, Saint Petersburg is founded by Peter the Great, it is the Russian capital until 1918. 1703–1711, The Rákóczi Uprising against the Habsburg Monarchy,1704, End of Japans Genroku period. 1704, First Javanese War of Succession,1705, George Frideric Handels first opera, Almira, premieres. 1706, War of the Spanish Succession, French troops defeated at the Battles of Ramilies,1706, The first English-language edition of the Arabian Nights is published. 1707, The Act of Union is passed, merging the Scottish and English Parliaments,1707, After Aurangzebs death, the Mughal Empire enters a long decline and the Maratha Empire slowly replaces it. 1707, Mount Fuji erupts in Japan for the first time since 1700,1707, War of 27 Years between the Marathas and Mughals ends in India
3.
19th century
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The 19th century was the century marked by the collapse of the Spanish, Napoleonic, Holy Roman and Mughal empires. After the defeat of the French Empire and its allies in the Napoleonic Wars, the Russian Empire expanded in central and far eastern Asia. By the end of the century, the British Empire controlled a fifth of the worlds land, the Industrial Revolution began in Great Britain and spread to continental Europe, North America and Japan. The Victorian era was notorious for the employment of children in factories and mines, as well as strict social norms regarding modesty. Japan embarked on a program of rapid modernization following the Meiji Restoration, before defeating China, under the Qing Dynasty, europes population doubled during the 19th century, from approximately 200 million to more than 400 million. Numerous cities worldwide surpassed populations of a million or more during this century, London became the worlds largest city and capital of the British Empire. Its population increased from 1 million in 1800 to 6.7 million a century later, liberalism became the pre-eminent reform movement in Europe. Slavery was greatly reduced around the world, following a successful slave revolt in Haiti, Britain and France stepped up the battle against the Barbary pirates and succeeded in stopping their enslavement of Europeans. The UKs Slavery Abolition Act charged the British Royal Navy with ending the slave trade. The first colonial empire in the century to abolish slavery was the British, americas 13th Amendment following their Civil War abolished slavery there in 1865, and in Brazil slavery was abolished in 1888. Similarly, serfdom was abolished in Russia, in the 19th century approximately 70 million people left Europe, with most migrating to the United States of America. The 19th century also saw the creation, development and codification of many sports, particularly in Britain. Also, ladywear was a sensitive topic during this time. 1801, Ranjit Singh crowned as King of Punjab,1801, Napoleon signs the Concordat of 1801 with the Pope. 1801, Cairo falls to the British,1801, Assassination of Tsar Paul I of Russia. 1802, Ludwig van Beethoven performs his Moonlight Sonata for the first time,1803, William Symington demonstrates his Charlotte Dundas, the first practical steamboat. 1803, The United States more than doubles in size when it buys out Frances territorial claims in North America via the Louisiana Purchase. This begins the U. S. s westward expansion to the Pacific referred to as its Manifest Destiny which involves annexing and conquering land from Mexico, Britain,1803, The Wahhabis of the First Saudi State capture Mecca and Medina
4.
20th century
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The 20th century was a century that began on January 1,1901 and ended on December 31,2000. It was the tenth and final century of the 2nd millennium and it is distinct from the century known as the 1900s, which began on January 1,1900 and ended on December 31,1999. It saw great advances in communication and medical technology that by the late 1980s allowed for near-instantaneous worldwide computer communication, the term short twentieth century was coined to represent the events from 1914 to 1991. It took all of history up to 1804 for the worlds population to reach 1 billion, world population reached 2 billion estimates in 1927, by late 1999. Globally approximately 45% of those who were married and able to have children used contraception, 40% of pregnancies were unplanned, the century had the first global-scale total wars between world powers across continents and oceans in World War I and World War II. The century saw a shift in the way that many people lived, with changes in politics, ideology, economics, society, culture, science, technology. The 20th century may have seen more technological and scientific progress than all the other centuries combined since the dawn of civilization, terms like ideology, world war, genocide, and nuclear war entered common usage. It was a century that started with horses, simple automobiles, and freighters but ended with high-speed rail, cruise ships, global commercial air travel and the space shuttle. Horses, Western societys basic form of transportation for thousands of years, were replaced by automobiles and buses within a few decades. Humans explored space for the first time, taking their first footsteps on the Moon, mass media, telecommunications, and information technology made the worlds knowledge more widely available. Advancements in medical technology also improved the health of many people, rapid technological advancements, however, also allowed warfare to reach unprecedented levels of destruction. World War II alone killed over 60 million people, while nuclear weapons gave humankind the means to annihilate itself in a short time, however, these same wars resulted in the destruction of the Imperial system. For the first time in history, empires and their wars of expansion and colonization ceased to be a factor in international affairs, resulting in a far more globalized. The last time major powers clashed openly was in 1945, and since then, technological advancements during World War I changed the way war was fought, as new inventions such as tanks, chemical weapons, and aircraft modified tactics and strategy. After more than four years of warfare in western Europe, and 20 million dead. The regime of Tsar Nicholas II was overthrown during the conflict, Russia became the first communist state, at the beginning of the period, Britain was the worlds most powerful nation, having acted as the worlds policeman for the past century. Meanwhile, Japan had rapidly transformed itself into an advanced industrial power. Its military expansion into eastern Asia and the Pacific Ocean culminated in an attack on the United States
5.
1790s
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January 8 – United States President George Washington gives the first State of the Union address, in New York City. January 11 –11 minor states of the Austrian Netherlands which took part in the Brabant Revolution at the end of 1789 sign a Treaty of Union creating the United States of Belgium, prime Minister of Great Britain William Pitt refuses to recognize the new confederations independence. January 26 – Mozarts opera Così fan tutte premiered in Vienna, January 30 – The first boat specialized as a rescue lifeboat is tested on the River Tyne in England. February 1 – In New York City the Supreme Court of the United States convenes for the first time, February 4 – Louis XVI of France declares to the National Assembly that he will maintain the constitutional laws. February 11 – Two Quaker delegates petition the United States Congress for the abolition of slavery, march 1 – The first United States Census is authorized, it is held later in the year. March 4 – France is divided into 83 départements, which cut across the former provinces, march 21 – Thomas Jefferson reports to President George Washington in New York as the new United States Secretary of State. April 10 – The United States patent system is established, may 17–18 – Battle of Andros, an Ottoman–Algerian fleet destroys the fleet of the Greek privateer Lambros Katsonis. May 29 – Rhode Island ratifies the United States Constitution and becomes the last of the 13 original states to do so, June 9 – Royal assent is given to establishment of the port of Milford Haven in Wales. June 23 – The alleged London Monster is arrested in London, july – Louis XVI of France accepts a constitutional monarchy. July 12 – French Revolution, The Civil Constitution of the Clergy is passed and this completes the destruction of the monastic orders, legislating out of existence all regular and secular chapters for either sex, abbacies and priorships. July 14 – French Revolution, Citizens of Paris celebrate the unity of the French people, july 16 – The signing of the Residence Bill establishes a site along the Potomac River as the District of Columbia, the capital district of the United States. S. July 27 – The Convention of Reichenbach is signed between Prussia and Austria, july 31 – Inventor Samuel Hopkins becomes the first to be issued a U. S. patent. August 4 – A newly passed U. S. tariff act creates the system of cutters for revenue enforcement, August 14 – The Treaty of Värälä ends the Russo-Swedish War. December 11 – Russo-Turkish War,26,000 Turkish soldiers lose their lives during Alexander Suvorovs storm of Izmail, January 12 – Holy Roman troops reenter Liège, heralding the end of the Liège Revolution and the restoration of its Prince-Bishops. January 25 – The British Parliament passes the Constitutional Act 1791, February 21 – The United States opens diplomatic relations with Portugal. March 2 – In France, Abolition of guilds is enacted, a mechanical semaphore line for rapid long-distance communication is demonstrated by Claude Chappe in Paris. March 4 – Vermont is admitted as the 14th U. S. state, march 13 – Thomas Paines chief work Rights of Man is published in London. March – In France, the National Constituent Assembly accepts the recommendation of its Commission of Weights, april 21 – The first of forty boundary stones delineating the borders of the new District of Columbia in the United States is laid at Jones Point Light, in Alexandria, Virginia
6.
1800s (decade)
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The 1800s decade lasted from January 1,1800, to December 31,1809. French power rose quickly, conquering most of Europe by the end of the decade, on 9 November 1799, Napoleon overthrew the French government, replacing it with the Consulate, in which he was First Consul. On 2 December 1804, after an assassination plot, he crowned himself Emperor. On 2 December 1805, Napoleon defeated a numerically superior Austro-Russian army at Austerlitz, forcing Austrias withdrawal from the coalition and dissolving the Holy Roman Empire. In 1806, a Fourth Coalition was set up, on 14 October Napoleon defeated the Prussians at the Battle of Jena-Auerstedt, marched through Germany, the Treaties of Tilsit divided Europe between France and Russia and created the Duchy of Warsaw. The War of the Fifth Coalition, fought in the year 1809, pitted a coalition of the Austrian Empire, major engagements between France and Austria, the main participants, unfolded over much of Central Europe from April to July, with very high casualty rates. After much campaigning in Bavaria and across the Danube valley, the war ended favorably for the French after the struggle at Wagram in early July. End of the White Lotus Rebellion, an uprising against the Qing Dynasty in China, beginning of the Russo-Turkish War between Russia and the Ottoman Empire. The First Barbary War is fought between the United States and the Barbary States of North Africa, the Fulani War is fought in present-day Nigeria and Cameroon. The First Serbian Uprising marks the first time in 300 years Serbia perceives itself an independent state, haiti gains independence from France on January 1,1804. This decade marked the height of the Atlantic slave trade to the United States, during the period of 1798 and 1808, approximately 200,000 slaves were imported from Africa to the United States. Still, the abolitionist movement began to ground in this period. Britain enacted the Slave Trade Act 1807, which barred the trade of slaves in Great Britain, the United States enacted a similar ban in 1808. However, Napoleon revoked the French Empires ban on slavery with the Law of 20 May 1802. 1801 Under the District of Columbia Organic Act of 1801, Washington, D. C. a new planned city, the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Ireland merge into the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland in 1801. 1803 United States doubles its size with territories gained from Napoleon Bonaparte in the Louisiana Purchase and this decade contained some of the earliest experiments in electrochemistry. In 1800 Alessandro Volta constructed a voltaic pile, the first device to produce an electric current. Napoleon, informed of his works, summoned him in 1801 for a performance of his experiments
7.
1820s
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The 1820s decade ran from January 1,1820, to December 31,1829. 1820, Anchor coinage is issued for use in some British colonies,1824 – The Dutch sign the Masang Agreement, temporarily ending hostilities in the Padri War in West Sumatra. The Java War was fought in Java between 1825 and 1830 and it started as a rebellion led by Prince Diponegoro after the Dutch decided to build a road across a piece of his property that contained his parents tomb. The troops of Prince Diponegoro were very successful in the beginning, controlling the middle of Java, furthermore, the Javanese population was supportive of Prince Diponegoros cause, whereas the Dutch colonial authorities were initially very indecisive. As the Java war prolonged, Prince Diponegoro had difficulties in maintaining the numbers of his troops, Prince Diponegoro started a fierce guerrilla war and it was not until 1827 that the Dutch army gained the upper hand. The Dutch colonial army was able to fill its ranks with troops from Sulawesi, the rebellion finally ended in 1830, after Prince Diponegoro was tricked into entering Dutch custody near Magelang, believing he was there for negotiations for a possible cease-fire. It is estimated that 200,000 died over the course of the conflict,8,000 being Dutch, the campaign initiated a period of two decades in which Kedah resisted Siamese control. The Sultan took refuge on Penang Island, then under British control, by 1822 there was a rise in the population of the British territories caused by an influx of Malays displaced by the invasion. 1826 – The Burney Treaty allowed the Siamese view of their rights to prevail in Kelah,1826 – The British crown colony of the Straits Settlements is established in what is now Malaysia and Singapore. February 14,1820 – Minh Mang starts to rule in Vietnam,1825 – Minh Mang outlaws the teaching of Christianity in Vietnam. 1828 Siamese-Lao War, Siam invades and sacks Vientiane,1827 – Laos, King Anouvong of Vientiane declares war on Siam and successfully attacks Nakhon Ratchasima. November 12,1828 – Anouvong, ruler of the Kingdom of Vientiane, is deposed, during the war, the city of Vientiane is obliterated by Siamese forces. 1824-1826, The First Anglo-Burmese War ended in a British victory, and by the Treaty of Yandabo, Burma lost territory previously conquered in Assam, Manipur, and Arakan. The British also took possession of Tenasserim with the intention to use it as a chip in future negotiations with either Burma or Siam. 1824-1826 - Rattanakosin Kingdom, Rama II died in 1824 and was succeeded by his son Jessadabodindra. In 1825 the British sent another mission to Bangkok led by East India Company emissary Henry Burney and they had by now annexed southern Burma and were thus Siams neighbours to the west, and they were also extending their control over Malaya. The King was reluctant to give in to British demands, in 1826, therefore, Siam concluded its first commercial treaty with a western power, the Burney Treaty. Under the treaty, Siam agreed to establish a uniform system, to reduce taxes on foreign trade
8.
1830s
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The 1830s decade ran from January 1,1830, to December 31,1839. July 30,1836 – The first English language newspaper is published in Hawaii,1838 – The Pitcairn Islands become a Crown colony of the United Kingdom, and women there are the first in the world to be granted and maintain, another one womens suffrage. China was ruled by the Daoguang Emperor of the Qing dynasty during the 1830s, the decade witnessed a rapid rise in the sale of opium in China, despite efforts by the Daoguang Emperor to end the trade. A turning point came in 1834, with the end of the monopoly of the British East India Company, by 1838, opium sales climbed to 40,000 chests. In 1839, newly appointed imperial commissioner Lin Zexu banned the sale of opium, Lin also closed the channel to Guangzhou, leading to the seizure and destruction of 20,000 chests of opium. The British retaliated, seizing Hong Kong on August 23 of that year and it would end three years later with the signing of the Treaty of Nanking in 1842. July 1837 – Charles W. King sets sail on the American merchant ship Morrison, in the Morrison Incident, he is turned away from Japanese ports with cannon fire. 1830 – The Java War ends, Prince Mongkut of Siam founds the Dhammayut Buddhist reform movement. The Padri War was fought from 1803 until 1837 in West Sumatra between the Padris and the Adats, the latter asked for the help of the Dutch, who intervened from 1821 and helped the Adats defeat the Padri faction. The conflict intensified in the 1830s, as the war centered on Bonjol. It finally fell in 1837 after being besieged for three years, and along with the exile of Padri leader Tuanku Imam Bonjol, the conflict died out,1839 – The Emperor Minh Mạng renames Việt Nam to Đại Nam. The various Maori chieftains of Northland region of North Island proclaim their independence as the United Tribes of New Zealand, the British Crown immediately recognizes their claim. August 15,1834 – The South Australia Act allows for the creation of a colony there, June 8,1835 – The Australian city of Melbourne is founded by John Batman and John Pascoe Fawkner. October 28,1835 – United Tribes of New Zealand founded at Waitangi with the Declaration of Independence of New Zealand, November 19,1835 – A force of 500 Māori people invade and enslave the peoples of the Chatham Islands. July 27,1836 – Adelaide, South Australia, is founded, December 26,1836 – The colony of South Australia is officially proclaimed. December 28,1836 – Colony of South Australia founded by Captain John Hindmarsh June 10,1838 –28 Indigenous Australians are killed in the Myall Creek Massacre. 1838 – Five nuns from the Religious Sisters of Charity in Ireland become the first women of religion to set foot on Australian soil. December 1838 – First Anglo-Afghan War, British and Presidency armies set out from Punjab in support of Shah Shujah Durranis claim to the throne of Afghanistan
9.
1810
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As of the start of 1810, the Gregorian calendar was 12 days ahead of the Julian calendar, which remained in localized use until 1923. January 4 – Australian seal hunter Frederick Hasselborough discovers Campbell Island in the Subantarctic, january 12 – The marriage of Napoleon and Joséphine is annulled. February 20 – Tyrolean rebel leader Andreas Hofer is executed, march 4 – Peninsular War, The French Army, under the command of André Masséna, retreats from Portugal. March 11 – Napoleon marries Marie-Louise of Austria, april 19 – Venezuela achieves home rule, Vicente Emparán, Governor of the Captaincy General of Venezuela, is removed by the people of Caracas and a junta is installed. Venezuela is the first South American state to proclaim independence from Spain, april 27 – Beethoven composes his famous piano piece, Für Elise. May 1 – Macons Bill Number 2 becomes law in the United States, intending to motivate Britain, may 3 – Lord Byron swims across the Hellespont in Turkey. May 10 – Rev. Henry Duncan opens the worlds first commercial bank in Ruthwell. May 18–May 25 – May Revolution, Armed citizens of Buenos Aires expel the Viceroy, june 4 – The Society in Dedham for Apprehending Horse Thieves is founded in Dedham, Massachusetts. June 23 – John Jacob Astor forms the Pacific Fur Company, june – Nicolas Appert publishes Lart de conserver pendant plusieurs années toutes les substances animales ou végétales, the first description of modern food preservation using airtight containers. April through Summer – Kingdom of Hawaii unified, july 9 – Napoleon annexes the Kingdom of Holland. July 11 – Frederick Hasselborough discovers Macquarie Island in the subantarctic, july 20 – Patria Boba, A junta of seven patriots led by José Acevedo y Gómez assemble in Bogotá in the Viceroyalty of New Granada to declare its independence from the Spanish Empire. August 2–200 citizens are slaughtered in the Royal barracks and the streets of Quito. August 6 – The city of Santa Cruz de Mompox, in modern-day Colombia, august 20–27 – Battle of Grand Port, The French force the British Royal Navy fleet attempting to blockade a harbour on Isle de France to surrender. August 21 – Jean Baptiste Bernadotte, Marshal of France, is elected Crown Prince of Sweden by the Swedish Riksdag of the Estates, september 8 – The Tonquin sets sail from New York Harbor with 33 employees of John Jacob Astors newly created Pacific Fur Company on board. After a 6-month journey around the tip of South America, the ship arrives at the mouth of the Columbia River, september 16 – Grito de Dolores, Miguel Hidalgo, a Catholic priest from Guanajuato, incites the revolt that becomes the Mexican War of Independence. September 18 – Chile forms its First National Junta, which is the countrys first step towards its independence, september 23 – The Republic of West Florida declares independence from Spain. September 26 – A new Act of Succession is adopted by the Riksdag of the Estates, october – King George III of the United Kingdom is recognized as insane. October 27 – The United States annexes the Republic of West Florida, November 17 – Anglo-Swedish War, Sweden declares war on the United Kingdom
10.
1811
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As of the start of 1811, the Gregorian calendar was 12 days ahead of the Julian calendar, which remained in localized use until 1923. January 8 – An unsuccessful slave revolt is led by Charles Deslondes in St. Charles and St. James Parishes, January 22 – The Casas Revolt begins in San Antonio, Spanish Texas. February 5 – British Regency, George, Prince of Wales becomes Prince Regent because of the insanity of his father. February 19 – Peninsular War, Battle of the Gebora – An outnumbered French force under Édouard Mortier routs, march 1 – Citadel Massacre in Cairo, Egyptian ruler Muhammad Ali kills the last Mamluk leaders. March 5 – Peninsular War, Battle of Barrosa, an unsuccessful French attack on a larger Anglo-Portuguese-Spanish force attempting to lift the Siege of Cádiz in Spain, march 13 – Battle of Lissa, The British fleet defeats the French. March 22 – The Commissioners Plan for Manhattan is presented, march 25 – Great Comet discovered by Honoré Flaugergues. March 27 – Battle of Anholt, The British Navy defeats Denmark, march 28 – Henri Christophe is proclaimed King Henri I, turning the northern State of Haiti into the Kingdom of Haiti. April 5–6 – Revolutionary riots occur in Buenos Aires, may 14 – Paraguay declares independence from the Spanish Empire. May 16 – Peninsular War Battle of Albuera, Spain, Portugal, may 18 – The Battle of Las Piedras is fought near Las Piedras, Banda Oriental, resulting in the first victory for the independentists of Uruguay. June 9 – The Great Podil fire breaks out in Kiev, June 10 – A volcanic eruption briefly creates Sabrina Island. June 15 – The Klågerup riots in Sweden, July 5 – Venezuela declares its Independence from the Spanish Empire. July 9 – British explorer David Thompson posts a notice at the confluence of the Columbia, July 11 – The Russian Empire removes Anton II, Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia, from his office, placing a Russian-appointed bishop at the head of the Georgian church. July 14 Italian scientist Amedeo Avogadro publishes his memoire about the content of gases. David Thompson reaches the mouth of the Columbia River, finding Fort Astoria under construction, July 30 — Mexican War of Independence, Priest and military leader Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla is executed as a rebel by the Spanish government of New Spain. October 11 – Inventor John Stevens boat, the Juliana, begins operation as the first steam-powered ferry service, october 23 – José Gervasio Artigas and 16.000 orientales leave the Banda Oriental del Uruguay to go into exile. October 26 – The Argentine Government declares freedom of expression for the press, november – Luddite uprisings begin in northern England and the Midlands. November 7 – Battle of Tippecanoe, American troops led by William Henry Harrison defeat the Native American spiritual leader Tenskwatawa, november 17 – José Miguel Carrera, Chilean founding father, is sworn in as President of the executive Junta of the government of Chile. December 2 – Reverend Samuel Marsden sends the first commercial shipment of wool from New South Wales to England, december 16 – The New Madrid earthquake in the Mississippi Valley near New Madrid reverses the course of the river for a while
11.
1812
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As of the start of 1812, the Gregorian calendar was 12 days ahead of the Julian calendar, which remained in localized use until 1923. January 1 – The Allgemeines bürgerliches Gesetzbuch enters into force in the Austrian Empire, february 7 The last New Madrid earthquake strikes New Madrid, Missouri, with an estimated moment magnitude of over 8. Novelist Charles Dickens is born in Portsmouth, England, february 12 – Napoleon authorizes the usage of Mesures usuelles, the basis of the metric system. February 13 – First Chilean newspaper Aurora de Chile is dealing with political philosophy, february 27 Argentine War of Independence, Manuel Belgrano raises the Flag of Argentina in the city of Rosario for the first time. English poet Lord Byron gives his first address as a member of the British House of Lords, March 5 – Prussia and France sign the Treaty of Paris March 15 – Luddites attack the wool-processing factory of Frank Vickerman in West Yorkshire. March 16–April 6 – Siege of Badajoz, The Anglo-Portuguese Army, under the Earl of Wellington, besieges Badajoz in Spain, March 19 – The Cádiz Cortes create the first modern Spanish constitution. The 1812 Caracas earthquake destroys Caracas in Venezuela, april 4 – U. S. President James Madison enacts a 90-day embargo on trade with the United Kingdom. April 30 – Louisiana is admitted as the 18th U. S. state, may 11 – John Bellingham assassinates British Prime Minister Spencer Perceval in the lobby of the British House of Commons. May 16 – Russian Field Marshal Mikhail Kutuzov signs the Treaty of Bucharest, ending the Russo-Turkish War, may 25 – Felling mine disaster, A mine explosion at the Felling colliery near Jarrow, England leaves 96 dead. June 1 – War of 1812, U. S. President James Madison asks the U. S. Congress to declare war on the United Kingdom. June 4 – Following Louisianas admittance as a U. S. state, june 16 – New York State charters City Bank of New York, which later became Citibank. June 18 – The War of 1812 between the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom begins, june 24 – Napoleons Grande Armée crosses the Neman River and invades Russia. July 12 – Americans invade Canada at Windsor, Ontario, july 18 – Russias Patriotic War – Battle of Klyastitsy, Kulnev defeats Oudinot but sustains a mortal wound. July 22 – Peninsular War – Battle of Salamanca, British forces led by Lord Wellington defeat French troops near Salamanca in Spain, august 5 – War of 1812, Tecumsehs Indian force ambushes Thomas Van Hornes 200 Americans at Brownstone Creek, causing them to flee and retreat. August 12 – Peninsular War, The combined English and Portuguese army under the command of Wellington enters Madrid following the Battle of Salamanca, august 15 – War of 1812, Battle of Fort Dearborn – Potawatomi warriors overrun the United States fort in Illinois Territory. August 16 – War of 1812, American General William Hull surrenders Fort Detroit without a fight to the British Army, august 19 – War of 1812, The USS Constitution defeats the British frigate Guerriere off the coast of Nova Scotia. The British shot is said to have bounced off the Constitutions sides, september 7 – Napoleonic Wars – French invasion of Russia – Battle of Borodino, The bloodiest battle of the Napoleonic Wars ends in a tactical victory for Napoleon. There are at least 70,000 casualties, with a minimum of 6,562 dead from the French Grande Armée alone, september 14 – French invasion of Russia, Napoleons troops enter Moscow, which is deliberately set on fire by Muscovites on orders of Fyodor Rostopchin
12.
1813
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As of the start of 1813, the Gregorian calendar was 12 days ahead of the Julian calendar, which remained in localized use until 1923. January 24 – The Philharmonic Society founded in London, January 28 – Jane Austens Pride and Prejudice is published anonymously in London. January 31 – The Assembly of the Year XIII is inaugurated in Buenos Aires, February 3 – Argentine War of Independence, José de San Martín and his Regiment of Mounted Grenadiers gain a largely symbolic victory against a Spanish royalist army in the Battle of San Lorenzo. February 7 – Napoleonic Wars, Action of 7 February 1813 between the French frigate Aréthuse and HMS Amelia in British service in the Îles de Los on the Guinea Coast, both ships retire unbeaten. February 9 – Prussia abolishes the canton system February 11 – War of 1812, major Amos Stoddard assumes command of its artillery. March 4 Cyril VI of Constantinople is elected Ecumenical Patriarch, James Madison is sworn in for a second term as President of the United States. March 17 – Napoleonic Wars, Prussia declares war on France, march 29 – Mexican War of Independence –Battle of Rosillo Creek, The Republican Army of the North defeats the Spanish Royalist Army in present-day Bexar County, Texas. April 8 – Colonel James Ball arrives at Fort Meigs with 200 dragoons, april 27 –War of 1812 –Battle of York, United States troops raid, destroy, but do not hold the capital of Upper Canada, York. May 1–May 9 –War of 1812 – First siege of Fort Meigs by British allied forces under General Henry Proctor, may 2 –Battle of Lützen, Napoleon wins against the German alliance. May 11 –Gregory Blaxland, William Lawson and William Wentworth leave on an expedition to cross the Blue Mountains of Australia, may 20–May 21 –Battle of Bautzen, Napoleon again defeats his combined enemies. May 27 –War of 1812, In Canada, American forces capture Fort George, june 6 War of 1812 –Battle of Stoney Creek, A British force of 700 under John Vincent defeat an American force three times its size under William Winder and John Chandler. Gregory Blaxland, William Lawson and William Wentworth succeed in crossing the Blue Mountains and return home. June 21 –Peninsular War –Battle of Vitoria, A British, Spanish, july –War of 1812 –Second siege of Fort Meigs by British allied forces fails. July 5 –War of 1812, Three weeks of British raids on Fort Schlosser, Black Rock and Plattsburgh, july 13 The Carabinieri, the national military police of Italy, are founded by Victor Emmanuel I as the police force of the Kingdom of Sardinia. Missionaries Adoniram Judson and his wife Ann Hasseltine Judson arrive in Burma, august 12 – Austria declares war on France. August 19 –Gervasio Antonio de Posadas joins Argentinas second triumvirate, august 23 –Battle of Großbeeren, Napoleon is defeated by Prussia and Sweden. August 26 –Battle of Katzbach, Napoleons troops are defeated by Prussia and Russia, august 26–27 –Battle of Dresden, Napoleons troops are victorious. August 29–30 –First Battle of Kulm, French Marshal Vandamme defeated, captured by allied Coalition forces from Russia, Prussia and Austria, august 30 –Creek War –Fort Mims massacre, A force of Creeks belonging to the Red Sticks faction kill hundreds of settlers in Fort Mims in Alabama
13.
1814
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As of the start of 1814, the Gregorian calendar was 12 days ahead of the Julian calendar, which remained in localized use until 1923. January 14 – Denmark cedes Norway into personal union with Sweden in exchange for west Pomerania, Sweden never again takes part in war. January 29 – Battle of Brienne, Emperor Napoleon I of France is victorious against von Blücher, January 31 – Gervasio Antonio de Posadas becomes Supreme Director of Argentina. February – George Hamilton-Gordon, 4th Earl of Aberdeen, represents Britain at the Congress of Chatillon, February 1 Lord Byrons semi-autobiographical tale in verse The Corsair is published by John Murray in London and sells 10,000 copies on this day. Mount Mayon eruption the 2nd time, Cagsawa Church is destroyed is devastated, February 11 – Norways independence is proclaimed, marking the ultimate end of the Kalmar Union. February 12 – A fire destroys the Custom House, London, February 14 – Battle of Vauchamps, Napoleon I of France is victorious against von Blücher. February 18 – Battle of Montereau, Napoleon is victorious against Austrian forces, February 21 – Great Stock Exchange Fraud in London. March 7 – Battle of Craonne, Napoleon is victorious against von Blücher, march 8 – Napoleonic Wars, A night attack by the British under Sir Thomas Graham on the French fortress of Bergen op Zoom ends in failure. March 9 – American naval schooner USS Enterprise reaches Wilmington, North Carolina, march 10 – Battle of Laon, von Blücher defeats Napoleon. March 12 – Louis Antoine, Duke of Angoulême enters Bordeaux, march 25 – De Nederlandsche Bank is established. March 27 – War of 1812 – Battle of Horseshoe Bend, In northern Alabama, march 30 – Napoleonic Wars, Battle of Paris. March 31 – Anti-Napoleonic troops occupy Paris, april 6 – Bourbon Restoration, Louis XVIII is invited to occupy the restored French throne. April 10 – The Duke of Wellington wins the Battle of Toulouse, april 11 – Napoleon abdicates unconditionally as Emperor of the French. April 12 – The Royal Norwegian Navy is re-established, april 18/19 – Genoa surrenders to the British Royal Navy. April 28 – Ligurian Republic revived, may 3 – The Duke of Provence, the future Louis XVIII of France, returns to Paris. May 4 – Ferdinand VII of Spain abolishes the Spanish Constitution of 1812, may 5 – British-American War, British forces attack Fort Ontario at Oswego, New York. May 17 The Constitution of Norway is signed and the Danish Crown Prince Christian Frederik is elected King of Norway by the Norwegian Constituent Assembly, the occupation of Monaco changes from French to Austrian hands. May 30 – The First Treaty of Paris is signed returning Frances borders to their 1792 extent, Napoleon is exiled to Elba on the same day
14.
1815
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As of the start of 1815, the Gregorian calendar was 12 days ahead of the Julian calendar, which remained in localized use until 1923. January 2 – Lord Byron marries Anna Isabella Milbanke in Seaham, january 3 – Austria, Britain, and Bourbon-restored France form a secret defensive alliance treaty against Prussia and Russia. January 8 – War of 1812 – Battle of New Orleans, ironically, the Battle of New Orleans was fought after the Commissioners had signed the Treaty of Ghent which would be ratified in Feb of 1815. Thus, this battle had no impact on the outcome of the war, january 15 – War of 1812 – Capture of USS President, American frigate USS President, commanded by Commodore Stephen Decatur, is forced to surrender to a squadron of four British frigates. February – The Hartford Convention arrives in Washington, D. C, february 3 – The first commercial cheese factory is founded in Switzerland. February 4 – The first Dutch student association, the Groninger Studentencorps Vindicat atque Polit is founded in the Netherlands, the first rector of the senate is B. J. Winter. February 6 – New Jersey grants the first American railroad charter to John Stevens, february 17 – The Spanish reconquest of Latin America begins. February 18 – The War of 1812 between the United States the United Kingdom, officially ends, following ratification of the Treaty of Ghent in Washington, february 26 – Napoleon Bonaparte escapes from Elba. March 1 Napoleon returns to France from his banishment on Elba, march 16 – William I becomes King of the Netherlands. March 2–18 – Sri Vikrama Rajasinha of Kandy, the last king in Ceylon, is deposed under the terms of the Kandyan Convention, which results in Ceylon becoming a British colony. March 20 – Napoleon enters Paris after escaping from Elba with an army of 140,000. April 5–12 – Mount Tambora in the Dutch East Indies blows its top explosively during an eruption, killing upwards of 92,000, april 21 – The eastern part of the former Garhwal Kingdom is joined with Kumaon division under the administration of the British Raj. April 24 – The Second Serbian Uprising against Ottoman rule takes place in Takovo, by the end of the year Serbia is acknowledged as a semi-independent state, the ideals of the First Serbian Uprising have thus been temporarily achieved. May 3 – Battle of Tolentino, Austria defeats the Kingdom of Naples, joachim Murat, the defeated King of Naples, is forced to flee to Corsica and is later executed. May 30 – The Arniston, an East Indiaman repatriating wounded troops to England from Ceylon, is wrecked near Waenhuiskrans, South Africa, june 9 – Final Act of the Congress of Vienna is signed, A new European political situation is set. The German Confederation and Congress Poland are created and the neutrality of Switzerland is guaranteed, also, Luxembourg declares independence from the French Empire. June 15 – The Duchess of Richmonds ball is held in Brussels, june 16 Battle of Ligny, Napoleon defeats a Prussian army under Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher. Battle of Quatre Bras, Marshal Ney wins a victory over an Anglo-Dutch force
15.
1816
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As of the start of 1816, the Gregorian calendar was 12 days ahead of the Julian calendar, which remained in localized use until 1923. This year was known as the Year Without a Summer because of low temperatures in the Northern Hemisphere, the sulfur from this eruption reflected the suns rays and caused severe global cooling, catastrophic in some locations. December 25 1815/January 6 – Tsar Alexander I of Russia signs an order for the expulsion of the Jesuits from St. Petersburg, January 9 – Sir Humphry Davys Davy lamp is first tested underground as a coal mining safety lamp at Hebburn Colliery in north east England. January 17 – Fire nearly destroys the city of St. Johns, february 10 – Friedrich Karl Ludwig, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Beck, dies and is succeeded by Friedrich Wilhelm, his son and founder of the House of Glücksburg. February 20 – Gioachino Rossinis opera buffa The Barber of Seville premières at the Teatro Argentina in Rome, march 29/April 10 – The Second Bank of the United States obtains its charter. April 28 – The French Caisse des dépôts et consignations is created by Louis XVIII, may 2 – Leopold of Saxe-Coburg marries Charlotte Augusta, but she dies the next year. June 4 – The Governorate of Estonia of the Russian Empire emancipates its peasants from serfdom, june 19 – Battle of Seven Oaks, The Hudsons Bay Company is defeated by the North West Company, near Winnipeg, Canada. July – Lord Byron, Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin, Percy Bysshe Shelley and John Polidori, gathered at the Villa Diodati by Lake Geneva in a rainy Switzerland and this gives rise to two classic Gothic narratives, Mary Shelleys Frankenstein and Polidoris The Vampyre. July 9 – The United Provinces of South America declares independence from Spain, july 17 – The French passenger ship Medusa runs aground off the coast of Senegal, with 140 lives lost in the botched rescue that takes weeks, leading to a scandal in the French government. August 14 – The United Kingdom formally annexes the Tristan da Cunha archipelago in the southern Atlantic Ocean, august 12/24 – The Treaty of St. Louis is signed in St. Louis. August 27 – Bombardment of Algiers, Various European Allies ships force Omar Agha, october 21 – Penang Free School is founded by Rev. Sparke Hutchings on the island of Penang. October 25/November 6 – James Monroe defeats Rufus King in the United States presidential election, november 19 – University of Warsaw established. November 30/December 11 – Indiana is admitted as the 19th U. S. state, december 12 – Merger of the thrones of Sicily and Naples into the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies under King Ferdinand I. December 9/21 – American Colonization Society established to support the emigration of free African Americans to Africa, shaka starts to rule the Zulu Kingdom at about this date. Banjul, capital of the Gambia, is founded as a trading post named Bathurst, E. Remington and Sons is founded in the United States. Robert Stirling patents his Stirling engine, at this time known as Stirlings air engine, a rail capable of supporting a heavy locomotive is developed. Pomeroy, American politician and railroad executive January 30 – Nathaniel P. S
16.
1817
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As of the start of 1817, the Gregorian calendar was 12 days ahead of the Julian calendar, which remained in localized use until 1923. January 1 – Sailing through the Sandwich Islands, Otto von Kotzebue discovers New Year Island, january 19 – An army of 5,423 soldiers, led by General José de San Martín, starts crossing the Andes from Argentina to liberate Chile and then Peru. January 20 – Ram Mohan Roy and David Hare found Hindu College, Calcutta, offering instructions in Western languages, february 12 – Battle of Chacabuco, The Argentine/Chilean patriotic army defeats the Spanish. March 3 President James Madison vetoes John C, U. S. Congress passes law to split the Mississippi Territory, after Mississippi drafts a constitution, creating the Alabama Territory effective in August. March 4 – James Monroe is sworn in as President of the United States, march 21 – The flag of the Pernambucan Revolt is publicly blessed by the dean of Recife cathedral, Brazil. April – An earthquake strikes Palermo, Sicily, april 3 – Princess Caraboo appears in Almondsbury in Gloucestershire, England. April 15 – The American School for the Deaf opens in Hartford, april 29 – The Rush–Bagot Treaty is signed. May – The General Convention of the Episcopal Church founds the General Theological Seminary while meeting in New York City, june 12 – German inventor Karl Drais drives his dandy horse, the earliest form of bicycle, in Mannheim. June 25 – A large riot breaks out in Copenhagen Prison, july 4 – At Rome, New York, construction on the Erie Canal begins. July – Tradesman Jeffery Sedwards establishes the Skibbereen Abstinence Society in Ireland, August 15 – By act of the U. S. August 22 – The town of Araraquara, Brazil is founded. August 23 – An earthquake near the site of the ancient Greek city of Helike results in 65 deaths, october 31 – Emperor Ninkō accedes to the throne of Japan. November 5 – Third Anglo-Maratha War breaks out with the Battle of Khadki, november 20 – The first Seminole War begins in Florida. November 22 – Frédéric Cailliaud discovers the old Roman emerald mines at Sikait, december 10 – Mississippi is admitted as the 20th U. S. state, formerly the Mississippi Territory. First cholera pandemic originates in Bengal, reaching Calcutta by September, a typhus epidemic occurs in Edinburgh and Glasgow. King Ferdinand VII of Spain, by decree, makes the production and sale of tobacco a legal endeavor in Cuba
17.
1818
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As of the start of 1818, the Gregorian calendar was 12 days ahead of the Julian calendar, which remained in localized use until 1923. January 1 Battle of Koregaon, Troops of the British East India Company score a victory over the Maratha Empire. January 3 – Venus occults Jupiter and it is the last occultation of one planet by another before November 22,2065. January 11 – Percy Bysshe Shelleys Ozymandias is published pseudonymously in London, february 5 – Upon his death, King Charles XIII of Sweden is succeeded on both thrones by his adoptive son Charles XIV/III John, starting the Royal House of Bernadotte. February 12 – Chile proclaims its independence from Spain, march 11 – Mary Shelleys Frankenstein is published anonymously in London. March 15 – First Seminole War, General Andrew Jackson and his American army invade Florida, march 22 – Easter Day in Western Christianity falls on its earliest possible date. In Western Christianity, it not occur on this date again until 2285. April – John Ross sets sail in search of the Northwest Passage, april 1 – First Seminole War, Battle of Miccosukee, Florida, General Andrew Jackson defeats chief Kinhagee. April 5 – Battle of Maipú in the Chilean War of Independence, april 14–August 9 – United States Survey of the Coast operations suspended. May 11 Charles XIV of Sweden–Norway is crowned king of Sweden, the Old Vic theatre founded in London. The Westmorland Gazette is first published at Kendal in the Lake District of England, in July, August 1 – Separate Topographical Bureau of the United States Department of War established. September – Sir Stamford Raffles sets out to visit Lord Hastings, september 7 – Carl III of Sweden–Norway is crowned king of Norway, in Trondheim. September 23 – Border markers are installed for the European territory of Moresnet. October 5 – Claudine Thévenet founds the Roman Catholic order Religieuses de Jésus-Marie in Lyon, November 11 – Anglo-Chinese College is founded by Robert Morrison in Malacca. November 16 – The Saint Louis Academy, which later becomes Saint Louis University, is founded by Reverend Louis William Valentine Dubourg, december 3 – Illinois is admitted as the 21st U. S. state. December 13 – Cyril VI of Constantinople quits his place as an Ecumenical Pariarch, the Afghans defeat a Persian invasion at the Battle of Kafir Qala. The first edition of the Farmers Almanac is published in the United States, First Serbian dictionary, made by Vuk Karadžić. Besses o th Barn brass band is formed in Whitefield, near Manchester, congressman August 31 – Arthur St
18.
1819
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As of the start of 1819, the Gregorian calendar was 12 days ahead of the Julian calendar, which remained in localized use until 1923. January 2 – The Panic of 1819, the first major financial crisis in the United States. January 25 – Thomas Jefferson founds the University of Virginia, january 29 – Sir Stamford Raffles lands on the island of Singapore. February 6 – A formal treaty between Hussein Shah of Johor and the British Sir Stamford Raffles establishes a settlement in Singapore. February 15 – The United States House of Representatives agrees to the Tallmadge Amendment barring slaves from the new state of Missouri, march 1 – The U. S. naval vessel USS Columbus is launched in Washington, D. C. March 6 – McCulloch v. Maryland, The U. S. Supreme Court rules that the Bank of the United States is constitutional, march 20 – Burlington Arcade opens in London. March 23 – In Mannheim, Duchy of Baden, German dramatist August von Kotzebue is assassinated by Karl Ludwig Sand, april 7 – The Governorate of Livonia of the Russian Empire emancipates its peasants from serfdom. May 22 – The SS Savannah leaves port at Savannah, Georgia on a voyage to become the first steamship to cross the Atlantic Ocean, the ship arrives at Liverpool, England on June 20. August 6 – Norwich University is founded by Captain Alden Partridge in Vermont as the first private school in the United States. August 7 – Battle of Boyacá, Simón Bolívar is victorious over the Royalist Army in Colombia, Colombia acquires its definitive independence from Spanish rule. August 16 – Peterloo Massacre, The cavalry charges into a crowd of protesters in Manchester, UK, resulting in 15 deaths, september 20 – The Carlsbad Decrees are issued throughout the German Confederation. October 15 – Desolation Island in the South Shetland Islands of the Antarctic is discovered by Captain William Smith in the Williams, december 14 – Alabama is admitted as the 22nd U. S. state. December 17 – The Republic of Gran Colombia is formally established with Simón Bolívar as its first president, the ʻAi Noa Movement takes power in Hawaii. The city of Fernandina of Jagua is founded in Cuba, the African Slave Trade Patrol is founded to stop the slave trade on the coast of West Africa
19.
Napoleonic Wars
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The wars resulted from the unresolved disputes associated with the French Revolution and the Revolutionary Wars, which had raged on for years before concluding with the Treaty of Amiens in 1802. Napoleon became the First Consul of France in 1799, then Emperor five years later, inheriting the political and military struggles of the Revolution, he created a state with stable finances, a strong central bureaucracy, and a well-trained army. The British frequently financed the European coalitions intended to thwart French ambitions, by 1805, they had managed to convince the Austrians and the Russians to wage another war against France. At sea, the Royal Navy destroyed a combined Franco-Spanish fleet at Trafalgar in October 1805, Prussian worries about increasing French power led to the formation of the Fourth Coalition in 1806. France then forced the defeated nations of the Fourth Coalition to sign the Treaties of Tilsit in July, although Tilsit signified the high watermark of the French Empire, it did not bring a lasting peace for Europe. Hoping to extend the Continental System and choke off British trade with the European mainland, Napoleon invaded Iberia, the Spanish and the Portuguese revolted with British support. The Peninsular War lasted six years, featured extensive guerrilla warfare, the Continental System caused recurring diplomatic conflicts between France and its client states, especially Russia. Unwilling to bear the consequences of reduced trade, the Russians routinely violated the Continental System. The French launched an invasion of Russia in the summer of 1812. The resulting campaign witnessed the collapse and retreat of the Grand Army along with the destruction of Russian lands. In 1813, Prussia and Austria joined Russian forces in a Sixth Coalition against France, a lengthy military campaign culminated in a large Allied army defeating Napoleon at the Battle of Leipzig in October 1813. The Allies then invaded France and captured Paris in the spring of 1814 and he was exiled to the island of Elba near Rome and the Bourbons were restored to power. However, Napoleon escaped from Elba in February 1815 and took control of France once again, the Allies responded by forming a Seventh Coalition, which defeated Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo in June. The Congress of Vienna, which started in 1814 and concluded in 1815, established the new borders of Europe and laid out the terms, Napoleon seized power in 1799, creating a de facto military dictatorship. The Napoleonic Wars began with the War of the Third Coalition, Kagan argues that Britain was irritated in particular by Napoleons assertion of control over Switzerland. Furthermore, Britons felt insulted when Napoleon stated that their country deserved no voice in European affairs, for its part, Russia decided that the intervention in Switzerland indicated that Napoleon was not looking toward a peaceful resolution of his differences with the other European powers. The British quickly enforced a blockade of France to starve it of resources. Napoleon responded with economic embargoes against Britain, and sought to eliminate Britains Continental allies to break the coalitions arrayed against him, the so-called Continental System formed a league of armed neutrality to disrupt the blockade and enforce free trade with France
20.
130 departments of the First French Empire
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This is a list of the 130 departments, the conventional name for the administrative subdivisions of the First French Empire at the height of its territorial extent, circa 1811. Note that the Illyrian Provinces were also part of France, but were not organised into departments, similarly, four additional French departments were also created in Catalonia, their juridical status remained incomplete until the French lost their grip on Spain in 1814. Those departments were, Bouches-de-lÈbre, Montserrat, Sègre, and Ter and its territory was divided between the three départments of Marengo, Stura, and Montenotte. Descriptions of the departments in French
21.
First French Empire
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The First French Empire, Note 1 was the empire of Napoleon Bonaparte of France and the dominant power in much of continental Europe at the beginning of the 19th century. Its name was a misnomer, as France already had colonies overseas and was short lived compared to the Colonial Empire, a series of wars, known collectively as the Napoleonic Wars, extended French influence over much of Western Europe and into Poland. The plot included Bonapartes brother Lucien, then serving as speaker of the Council of Five Hundred, Roger Ducos, another Director, on 9 November 1799 and the following day, troops led by Bonaparte seized control. They dispersed the legislative councils, leaving a rump legislature to name Bonaparte, Sieyès, although Sieyès expected to dominate the new regime, the Consulate, he was outmaneuvered by Bonaparte, who drafted the Constitution of the Year VIII and secured his own election as First Consul. He thus became the most powerful person in France, a power that was increased by the Constitution of the Year X, the Battle of Marengo inaugurated the political idea that was to continue its development until Napoleons Moscow campaign. Napoleon planned only to keep the Duchy of Milan for France, setting aside Austria, the Peace of Amiens, which cost him control of Egypt, was a temporary truce. He gradually extended his authority in Italy by annexing the Piedmont and by acquiring Genoa, Parma, Tuscany and Naples, then he laid siege to the Roman state and initiated the Concordat of 1801 to control the material claims of the pope. Napoleon would have ruling elites from a fusion of the new bourgeoisie, on 12 May 1802, the French Tribunat voted unanimously, with exception of Carnot, in favour of the Life Consulship for the leader of France. This action was confirmed by the Corps Législatif, a general plebiscite followed thereafter resulting in 3,653,600 votes aye and 8,272 votes nay. On 2 August 1802, Napoleon Bonaparte was proclaimed Consul for life, pro-revolutionary sentiment swept through Germany aided by the Recess of 1803, which brought Bavaria, Württemberg and Baden to Frances side. The memories of imperial Rome were for a time, after Julius Caesar and Charlemagne. The Treaty of Pressburg, signed on 26 December 1805, did little other than create a more unified Germany to threaten France. On the other hand, Napoleons creation of the Kingdom of Italy, the occupation of Ancona, to create satellite states, Napoleon installed his relatives as rulers of many European states. The Bonapartes began to marry into old European monarchies, gaining sovereignty over many nations, in addition to the vassal titles, Napoleons closest relatives were also granted the title of French Prince and formed the Imperial House of France. Met with opposition, Napoleon would not tolerate any neutral power, Prussia had been offered the territory of Hanover to stay out of the Third Coalition. With the diplomatic situation changing, Napoleon offered Great Britain the province as part of a peace proposal and this, combined with growing tensions in Germany over French hegemony, Prussia responded by forming an alliance with Russia and sending troops into Bavaria on 1 October 1806. In this War of the Fourth Coalition, Napoleon destroyed the armies of Frederick William at Jena-Auerstedt, the Eylau and the Friedland against the Russians finally ruined Frederick the Greats formerly mighty kingdom, obliging Russia and Prussia to make peace with France at Tilsit. The Treaties of Tilsit ended the war between Russia and the French Empire and began an alliance between the two empires that held power of much of the rest of Europe, the two empires secretly agreed to aid each other in disputes
22.
Lisbon
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Lisbon is the capital and the largest city of Portugal, with a population of 552,700 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km². Its urban area extends beyond the administrative limits with a population of around 2.7 million people. About 2.8 million people live in the Lisbon Metropolitan Area and it is continental Europes westernmost capital city and the only one along the Atlantic coast. Lisbon lies in the western Iberian Peninsula on the Atlantic Ocean, the westernmost areas of its metro area is the westernmost point of Continental Europe. Lisbon is recognised as a city because of its importance in finance, commerce, media, entertainment, arts, international trade, education. It is one of the economic centres on the continent, with a growing financial sector. Humberto Delgado Airport serves over 20 million passengers annually, as of 2015, and the motorway network, the city is the 7th-most-visited city in Southern Europe, after Istanbul, Rome, Barcelona, Madrid, Athens and Milan, with 1,740,000 tourists in 2009. The Lisbon region contributes with a higher GDP PPP per capita than any region in Portugal. Its GDP amounts to 96.3 billion USD and thus $32,434 per capita, the city occupies 32nd place of highest gross earnings in the world. Most of the headquarters of multinationals in the country are located in the Lisbon area and it is also the political centre of the country, as its seat of Government and residence of the Head of State. Lisbon is one of the oldest cities in the world, julius Caesar made it a municipium called Felicitas Julia, adding to the name Olissipo. Ruled by a series of Germanic tribes from the 5th century, in 1147, the Crusaders under Afonso Henriques reconquered the city and since then it has been a major political, economic and cultural centre of Portugal. Unlike most capital cities, Lisbons status as the capital of Portugal has never been granted or confirmed officially – by statute or in written form. Its position as the capital has formed through constitutional convention, making its position as de facto capital a part of the Constitution of Portugal. It has one of the warmest winters of any metropolis in Europe, the typical summer season lasts about four months, from June to September, although also in April temperatures sometimes reach around 25 °C. Although modern archaeological excavations show a Phoenician presence at this location since 1200 BC, another conjecture based on ancient hydronymy suggests that the name of the settlement derived from the pre-Roman appellation for the Tagus, Lisso or Lucio. Lisbons name was written Ulyssippo in Latin by the geographer Pomponius Mela and it was later referred to as Olisippo by Pliny the Elder and by the Greeks as Olissipo or Olissipona. The Indo-European Celts invaded in the 1st millennium BC, mixing with the Pre-Indo-European population and this indigenous settlement maintained commercial relations with the Phoenicians, which would account for the recent findings of Phoenician pottery and other material objects
23.
Marie Louise, Duchess of Parma
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Marie Louise was an Austrian archduchess who reigned as Duchess of Parma from 1814 until her death. She was Napoleons second wife and, as such, Empress of the French from 1810 to 1814, a series of military defeats at the hands of Napoleon Bonaparte had inflicted a heavy human toll on Austria and led Francis to dissolve the Holy Roman Empire. The end of the War of the Fifth Coalition resulted in the marriage of Napoleon and Marie Louise in 1810, Marie Louise dutifully agreed to the marriage despite being raised to despise France. She was an obedient wife and was adored by Napoleon, who had been eager to marry a member of one of Europes leading royal houses to cement his relatively young Empire. With Napoleon, she bore a son, styled the King of Rome at birth, later Duke of Reichstadt, Napoleons fortunes changed dramatically in 1812 after his failed invasion of Russia. The European powers, including Austria, resumed hostilities towards France in the War of the Sixth Coalition, the 1814 Treaty of Fontainebleau handed over the Duchies of Parma, Piacenza and Guastalla to Empress Marie Louise. She ruled the duchies until her death, Marie Louise married morganatically twice after Napoleons death in 1821. Her second husband was Count Adam Albert von Neipperg, an equerry she met in 1814 and she and Neipperg had three children. After Neippergs death, she married Count Charles-René de Bombelles, her chamberlain, in 1834, Marie Louise died in Parma in 1847. Archduchess Marie Louise of Austria was born at the Hofburg Palace in Vienna on 12 December 1791 to Archduke Francis of Austria and his wife, Maria Theresa of Naples. Her father became Holy Roman Emperor a year later as Francis II, Marie Louise was a great granddaughter of Empress Maria Theresa through both her parents, as they were first cousins. She was also a granddaughter of Queen Maria Carolina of Naples. Marie Louises formative years were during a period of conflict between France and her family and she was brought up to detest France and French ideas. Marie Louise was influenced by her grandmother Maria Carolina, who despised the French Revolution which ultimately caused the death of her sister, Maria Carolinas Kingdom of Naples had also come into direct conflict with French forces led by Napoleon Bonaparte. The War of the Third Coalition brought Austria to the brink of ruin, the Imperial family was forced to flee Vienna in 1805. Marie Louise took refuge in Hungary and later Galicia before returning to Vienna in 1806 and her father relinquished the title of Holy Roman Emperor but remained Emperor of Austria. To make her more marriageable, her parents had her tutored in many languages, in addition to her native German, she became fluent in English, French, Italian, Latin, and Spanish. In 1807, when Marie Louise was 15, her mother died after suffering a miscarriage, less than a year later, Emperor Francis married his first cousin Maria Ludovika Beatrix of Austria-Este, who was four years older than Marie Louise
24.
Kingdom of Westphalia
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The Kingdom of Westphalia was a kingdom in Germany, with a population of 2.6 million, that existed from 1807 to 1813. It included territory in Hesse and other parts of present-day Germany, while formally independent, it was a vassal state of the First French Empire and was ruled by Napoleons brother Jérôme Bonaparte. It was named after Westphalia, but this was a misnomer since the kingdom had little territory in common with that area, Napoleon imposed the first written modern constitution in Germany, a French-style central administration, and agricultural reform. The Kingdom liberated the serfs and gave equal rights and the right to a jury trial. In 1808 the Kingdom passed Germanys first laws granting Jews equal rights, Westphalia seemed to be progressive in immediately enacting and enforcing the new reforms. The country was poor but Napoleon demanded heavy taxes and payments. Few of the men who marched into Russia with Napoleon in 1812 ever returned, the Kingdom was bankrupt by 1812. When Napoleon was retreating in the face of Allied advances in 1813, most of the reforms, however, remained in place. Hesses capital Cassel then fulfilled the function for Westphalia. The state was a member of the Confederation of the Rhine, the constitution made all male residents citizens with equal rights. Thus serfs were liberated and Jews emancipated, and soccage was abolished, the Napoleonic code was enacted, doing away with guilds and providing for the right of capitalism. A metric system of weights and measures was introduced, the organisers used French terms to designate the regional territories within the kingdom, departments received names based on watercourses and mountains, regardless of their traditional names. These departments were generally composed of territories taken from a number of petty states, compared to the departments of France itself the Westphalian departments were relatively small and sparsely populated. While administrative divisions were certainly less unequal than the territorial divisions. The desire to break from the past, and not just from the territorial divisions of the former manorial justices. Just as before the conquest, freedom of expression remained curtailed, in 1810 the coastal and northern départements North and Lower Elbe had to be ceded to the French Empire. Following the French example, Jewish congregations were reorganised and a Consistory supervising them was established, the former Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel merchant and man of letters, Israel Jacobson, became its consistorial president, assisted by a board of officers. Jacobson did his best to exercise an influence upon the various congregations of the country
25.
Principality
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Most of these states have historically been a polity, but in some occasions were rather territories in respect of which a princely title is held. The princes estate and wealth may be located mainly or wholly outside the confines of the principality. Generally recognised surviving sovereign principalities are Liechtenstein, Monaco, and the co-principality of Andorra, extant royal primogenitures styled as principalities include Asturias, and Wales. The term principality is often used informally to describe Wales as it currently exists, since that time, the title Prince of Wales has traditionally been granted to the heir to the reigning monarch of the United Kingdom, but it confers no responsibilities for government in Wales. It has country status and is one of four countries in the United Kingdom, principality of Asturias is the official name of autonomous community of Asturias. No sovereign duchy currently exists, but Luxembourg is an example of a sovereign grand duchy. Historically there have been sovereign principalities with many styles of ruler, such as Countships, Margraviates and even Lordships, feudalism increased the power of local princes within a kings lands. As princes continued to more power over time, the authority of the king was diminished in many places. This led to political fragmentation as the lands were broken into mini-states ruled by princes and dukes who wielded absolute power over their small territories. This was especially prevalent in Europe, and particularly with the Princes of the Holy Roman Empire, during the Late Middle Ages from 1200 to 1500, principalities were often at war with each other as royal houses asserted sovereignty over smaller principalities. These wars caused a deal of instability and economies were destroyed. Episodes of bubonic plague reduced the power of principalities to survive independently. Eventually, agricultural progress and development of new goods and services boosted commerce between principalities. Many of these states became wealthy, expanded their territories and improved the services provided to their citizens, Princes and dukes developed their lands, established new ports and chartered large thriving cities. Some used their wealth to build palaces and other institutions now associated with sovereign states. While some principalities prospered in their independence, less successful states were swallowed by stronger royal houses, Europe saw consolidation of small principalities into larger kingdoms and empires. This had already happened in England in the first millennium, and this subsequently led to the creation of such states as France, Portugal. Another form of consolidation was orchestrated in Italy during the Renaissance by the Medici family, a banking family from Florence, the Medici took control of governments in various Italian regions and even assumed the papacy
26.
Gunboat War
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The Gunboat War was the naval conflict between Denmark–Norway and the British Navy during the Napoleonic Wars. The wars name is derived from the Danish tactic of employing small gunboats against the conventional Royal Navy, in Scandinavia it is seen as the later stage of the English Wars, whose commencement is accounted as the First Battle of Copenhagen in 1801. The naval conflict between Britain and Denmark commenced with the First Battle of Copenhagen in 1801 when Horatio Nelsons squadron of Admiral Parkers fleet attacked the Danish capital, the tactical advantages were that they were highly manoeuvrable, especially in still and shallow waters and presented small targets. On the other hand, the boats were vulnerable and likely to sink from a single hit and they therefore could not be used in rough seas, and they were less effective against large warships. The Danish Commander Steen Andersen Bille is credited with being the force behind the post-1807 Dano-Norwegian strategy of gunboat warfare. Below is a description of each of the four classes of gunboats according to Junior Lieutenant Garde, kanonchaluppen, These were the larger type of gunboat. Each was armed with two 24-pound cannon and four 4-pound howitzers and had an establishment of 69 –79 men. Kanonjollen, These were the type of gunboat. Each was armed with one 24-pound cannon and two 4-pound howitzers, and had wartime establishment of 41 men, morterchaluppen, These were the larger, mortar-armed gunboats. Each was armed with one 100-pound mortar and two 4-pound howitzers, and had an establishment of 40 men. Morterbarkasserne, These were smaller, mortar-armed gunboats, each was armed with one mortar and had a wartime establishment of 19 men. They were little more than ordinary ships’ boats into which a mortar had been set and they had a tendency to leak badly after 5 –7 mortar shells had been fired. Their crews then had to bring back into harbour, remove the mortar. Reserve crew who could not be accommodated on board were quartered in buildings on land or in the frigate Triton which was in ordinary, battle-ready gunboats had their crews on board. Defences on the Norwegian coast in 1808 are listed at Royal Dano-Norwegian Navy order of battle in Norway, ten schooner-rigged gunboats capable of operating in the rougher Norwegian Sea were built in Bergen and Trondheim in the years 1808 to 1811. Further economic damage was done by raids on the smaller islands, British warships landed to replenish firewood and water supplies, and forcibly to buy, commandeer or simply take livestock to augment their provisions. The war overlapped, in time, the Anglo-Russian War, as a result, the British expanded their trade embargo to Russian waters and the British navy conducted forays northwards into the Barents Sea. The navy conducted raids on Hasvik and Hammerfest and disrupted the Pomor trade, in the engagement the British suffered only one man wounded, the Danes lost 12 men while 20 were wounded, some mortally
27.
French invasion of Russia
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Napoleon hoped to compel Tsar Alexander I of Russia to cease trading with British merchants through proxies in an effort to pressure the United Kingdom to sue for peace. The official political aim of the campaign was to liberate Poland from the threat of Russia, Napoleon named the campaign the Second Polish War to gain favor with the Poles and provide a political pretext for his actions. The Grande Armée was a large force, numbering 680,000 soldiers. Napoleon hoped the battle would mean an end of the march into Russia, plans Napoleon had made to quarter at Smolensk were abandoned, and he pressed his army on after the Russians. As the Russian army fell back, Cossacks were given the task of burning villages, towns and this was intended to deny the invaders the option of living off the land. The actions forced the French to rely on a system that was incapable of feeding the large army in the field. Starvation and privation compelled French soldiers to leave their camps at night in search of food and these men were frequently confronted by parties of Cossacks, who captured or killed them. The Russian army retreated into Russia for almost three months, the continual retreat and the loss of lands to the French upset the Russian nobility. They pressured Alexander I to relieve the commander of the Russian army, Alexander I complied, appointing an old veteran, Prince Mikhail Kutuzov, to take over command of the army. However, for two more weeks Kutuzov continued to retreat as his predecessor had done, on 7 September, the French caught up with the Russian army which had dug itself in on hillsides before a small town called Borodino, seventy miles west of Moscow. The battle that followed was the bloodiest single-day action of the Napoleonic Wars until that point, involving more than 250,000 soldiers, the French gained a tactical victory, but at the cost of 49 general officers and thousands of men. The Russian army was able to extricate itself and withdrew the following day, Napoleon entered Moscow a week later. In another turn of events the French found puzzling, there was no delegation to meet the Emperor, the Russians had evacuated the city, and the citys governor, Count Fyodor Rostopchin, ordered several strategic points in Moscow set ablaze. Napoleons hopes had been set upon an end to his campaign. The loss of Moscow did not compel Alexander I to sue for peace, Napoleon stayed on in Moscow looking to negotiate a peace, his hopes fed in part by a disinformation campaign informing the Emperor of supposed discontent and fading morale in the Russian camp. After staying a month Napoleon moved his army out southwest toward Kaluga, the French advance toward Kaluga was checked by a Russian corps. Napoleon tried once more to engage the Russian army for an action at the Battle of Maloyaroslavets. Despite holding a position, the Russians retreated following a sharp engagement
28.
Austrian Empire
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The Austrian Empire was an empire in Central Europe created out of the realms of the Habsburgs by proclamation in 1804. It was an empire and one of Europes great powers. Geographically it was the second largest country in Europe after the Russian Empire and it was also the third most populous after Russia and France, as well as the largest and strongest country in the German Confederation. Proclaimed in response to the First French Empire, it overlapped with the Holy Roman Empire until the dissolution in 1806. The Ausgleich of 1867 elevated Hungarys status and it became a separate entity from the Empire entirely, joining with it in the dual monarchy of Austria-Hungary. Changes shaping the nature of the Holy Roman Empire took place during conferences in Rastatt, on 24 March 1803, the Imperial Recess was declared, which reduced the number of ecclesiastical states from 81 to only 3 and the free imperial cities from 51 to 6. This measure was aimed at replacing the old constitution of the Holy Roman Empire, taking this significant change into consideration, the German Emperor Francis II created the title Emperor of Austria, for himself and his successors. In 1804 the Holy Roman Emperor Francis II, who was ruler of the lands of the Habsburg Monarchy, founded the Empire of Austria. In doing so he created a formal overarching structure for the Habsburg Monarchy, to safeguard his dynastys imperial status he adopted the additional hereditary title of Emperor of Austria. Hungarys affairs remained administered by its own institutions as they had been beforehand, thus under the new arrangements no Imperial institutions were involved in its internal government. The fall and dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire was accelerated by French intervention in the Empire in September 1805, on 20 October 1805, an Austrian army led by general Karl Mack von Leiberich was defeated by French armies near the town of Ulm. The French victory resulted in the capture of 20,000 Austrian soldiers, Napoleons army won another victory at Austerlitz on 2 December 1805. Francis was forced into negotiations with the French from 4 to 6 December 1805, the French victories encouraged rulers of certain imperial territories to assert their formal independence from the Empire. On 10 December 1805, the prince-elector Duke of Bavaria proclaimed himself King, finally, on 12 December, the Margrave of Baden was given the title of Grand Duke. In addition, each of these new countries signed a treaty with France, the Treaty of Pressburg between France and Austria, signed in Pressburg on 26 December, enlarged the territory of Napoleons German allies at the expense of defeated Austria. Certain Austrian holdings in Germany were passed to French allies—the King of Bavaria, the King of Württemberg, Austrian claims on those German states were renounced without exception. On 12 July 1806, the Confederation of the Rhine was established, comprising 16 sovereigns and this confederation, under French influence, put an end to the Holy Roman Empire. On 6 August 1806, even Francis recognized the new state of things and proclaimed the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, as he did not want Napoleon to succeed him
29.
Kingdom of Prussia
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It was the driving force behind the unification of Germany in 1871 and was the leading state of the German Empire until its dissolution in 1918. Although it took its name from the region called Prussia, it was based in the Margraviate of Brandenburg, the kings of Prussia were from the House of Hohenzollern. Prussia was a power from the time it became a kingdom, through its predecessor, Brandenburg-Prussia. Prussia continued its rise to power under the guidance of Frederick II, more known as Frederick the Great. After the might of Prussia was revealed it was considered as a power among the German states. Throughout the next hundred years Prussia went on to win many battles and it was because of its power that Prussia continuously tried to unify all the German states under its rule. Attempts at creation of a federation remained unsuccessful and the German Confederation collapsed in 1866 when war ensued between its two most powerful states, Prussia and Austria. The North German Confederation which lasted from 1867–1871, created a union between the Prussian-aligned states while Austria and most of Southern Germany remained independent. The North German Confederation was seen as more of an alliance of military strength in the aftermath of the Austro-Prussian War, the German Empire lasted from 1871–1918 with the successful unification of all the German states under Prussian hegemony. This was due to the defeat of Napoleon III in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–71, in 1871, Germany unified into a single country, minus Austria and Switzerland, with Prussia the dominant power. Prussia is considered the predecessor of the unified German Reich. The Kingdom left a significant cultural legacy, today notably promoted by the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation, in 1415 a Hohenzollern Burgrave came from the south to the March of Brandenburg and took control of the area as elector. In 1417 the Hohenzollern was made an elector of the Holy Roman Empire, after the Polish wars, the newly established Baltic towns of the German states including Prussia, suffered many economic setbacks. Many of the Prussian towns could not even afford to attend political meetings outside of Prussia, the towns were poverty stricken, with even the largest town, Danzig, having to borrow money from elsewhere to pay for trade. Poverty in these towns was partly caused by Prussias neighbors, who had established and developed such a monopoly on trading that these new towns simply could not compete and these issues led to feuds, wars, trade competition and invasions. However, the fall of these gave rise to the nobility, separated the east and the west. It was clear in 1440 how different Brandenburg was from the other German territories, not only did it face partition from within but also the threat of its neighbors. It prevented the issue of partition by enacting the Dispositio Achillea which instilled the principle of primogeniture to both the Brandenburg and Franconian territories, the second issue was solved through expansion
30.
Russian Empire
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The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until it was overthrown by the short-lived February Revolution in 1917. One of the largest empires in history, stretching over three continents, the Russian Empire was surpassed in landmass only by the British and Mongol empires. The rise of the Russian Empire happened in association with the decline of neighboring powers, the Swedish Empire, the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, Persia. It played a role in 1812–14 in defeating Napoleons ambitions to control Europe. The House of Romanov ruled the Russian Empire from 1721 until 1762, and its German-descended cadet branch, with 125.6 million subjects registered by the 1897 census, it had the third-largest population in the world at the time, after Qing China and India. Like all empires, it included a large disparity in terms of economics, ethnicity, there were numerous dissident elements, who launched numerous rebellions and assassination attempts, they were closely watched by the secret police, with thousands exiled to Siberia. Economically, the empire had an agricultural base, with low productivity on large estates worked by serfs. The economy slowly industrialized with the help of foreign investments in railways, the land was ruled by a nobility from the 10th through the 17th centuries, and subsequently by an emperor. Tsar Ivan III laid the groundwork for the empire that later emerged and he tripled the territory of his state, ended the dominance of the Golden Horde, renovated the Moscow Kremlin, and laid the foundations of the Russian state. Tsar Peter the Great fought numerous wars and expanded an already huge empire into a major European power, Catherine the Great presided over a golden age. She expanded the state by conquest, colonization and diplomacy, continuing Peter the Greats policy of modernisation along West European lines, Tsar Alexander II promoted numerous reforms, most dramatically the emancipation of all 23 million serfs in 1861. His policy in Eastern Europe involved protecting the Orthodox Christians under the rule of the Ottoman Empire and that connection by 1914 led to Russias entry into the First World War on the side of France, Britain, and Serbia, against the German, Austrian and Ottoman empires. The Russian Empire functioned as a monarchy until the Revolution of 1905. The empire collapsed during the February Revolution of 1917, largely as a result of failures in its participation in the First World War. Perhaps the latter was done to make Europe recognize Russia as more of a European country, Poland was divided in the 1790-1815 era, with much of the land and population going to Russia. Most of the 19th century growth came from adding territory in Asia, Peter I the Great introduced autocracy in Russia and played a major role in introducing his country to the European state system. However, this vast land had a population of 14 million, grain yields trailed behind those of agriculture in the West, compelling nearly the entire population to farm. Only a small percentage lived in towns, the class of kholops, close to the one of slavery, remained a major institution in Russia until 1723, when Peter I converted household kholops into house serfs, thus including them in poll taxation
31.
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
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The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was established as a sovereign state on 1 January 1801 by the Acts of Union 1800, which merged the kingdoms of Great Britain and Ireland. The growing desire for an Irish Republic led to the Irish War of Independence, Northern Ireland remained part of the United Kingdom, and the state was consequently renamed the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Britain financed the European coalition that defeated France in 1815 in the Napoleonic Wars, the British Empire thereby became the foremost world power for the next century. The Crimean War with Russia and the Boer wars were relatively small operations in a largely peaceful century, rapid industrialisation that began in the decades prior to the states formation continued up until the mid-19th century. A devastating famine, exacerbated by government inaction in the century, led to demographic collapse in much of Ireland. It was an era of economic modernization and growth of industry, trade and finance. Outward migration was heavy to the colonies and to the United States. Britain also built up a large British Empire in Africa and Asia, India, by far the most important possession, saw a short-lived revolt in 1857. In foreign policy Britain favoured free trade, which enabled its financiers and merchants to operate successfully in many otherwise independent countries, as in South America. Britain formed no permanent military alliances until the early 20th century, when it began to cooperate with Japan, France and Russia, and moved closer to the United States. A brief period of limited independence for Ireland came to an end following the Irish Rebellion of 1798, the British governments fear of an independent Ireland siding against them with the French resulted in the decision to unite the two countries. This was brought about by legislation in the parliaments of both kingdoms and came into effect on 1 January 1801, however, King George III was bitterly opposed to any such Emancipation and succeeded in defeating his governments attempts to introduce it. When the Treaty of Amiens ended the war, Britain agreed to return most of the territories it had seized, in May 1803, war was declared again. In 1806, Napoleon issued the series of Berlin Decrees, which brought into effect the Continental System and this policy aimed to eliminate the threat from the British by closing French-controlled territory to foreign trade. Frances population and agricultural capacity far outstripped that of the British Isles, Napoleon expected that cutting Britain off from the European mainland would end its economic hegemony. The Spanish uprising in 1808 at last permitted Britain to gain a foothold on the Continent, after Napoleons surrender and exile to the island of Elba, peace appeared to have returned. The Allies united and the armies of Wellington and Blucher defeated Napoleon once, simultaneous with the Napoleonic Wars, trade disputes, arming hostile Indians and British impressment of American sailors led to the War of 1812 with the United States. The war was little noticed in Britain, which could devote few resources to the conflict until the fall of Napoleon in 1814, American frigates inflicted a series of defeats on the Royal Navy, which was short on manpower due to the conflict in Europe
32.
Confederation of the Rhine
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The Confederation of the Rhine was a confederation of client states of the First French Empire. It was formed initially from 16 German states by Napoleon after he defeated Austria and Russia in the Battle of Austerlitz, the Treaty of Pressburg, in effect, led to the creation of the Confederation of the Rhine. It lasted from 1806 to 1813, the members of the confederation were German princes from the Holy Roman Empire. They were later joined by 19 others, all together ruling a total of over 15 million subjects providing a significant strategic advantage to the French Empire on its eastern front, Prussia and Austria were not members. Napoleon sought to consolidate the modernizing achievements of the revolution, but he wanted the soldiers, Napoleon required it to supply 63,000 troops to his army. The success of the Confederation depended on Napoleons success in battle, on 12 July 1806, on signing the Treaty of the Confederation of the Rhine in Paris,16 states in present-day Germany joined together in a confederation. On 1 August, the members of the confederation formally seceded from the Holy Roman Empire, Francis and his Habsburg dynasty continued as emperors of Austria. According to the treaty, the confederation was to be run by common constitutional bodies, as such, he was President of the College of Kings and presided over the Diet of the Confederation, designed to be a parliament-like body although it never actually assembled. The President of the Council of the Princes was the Prince of Nassau-Usingen, in return for their support of Napoleon, some rulers were given higher statuses, Baden, Hesse, Cleves, and Berg were made into grand duchies, and Württemberg and Bavaria became kingdoms. States were also made larger by incorporating the many smaller Kleinstaaten and they had to pay a very high price for their new status, however. The Confederation was above all a military alliance, the members had to maintain substantial armies for mutual defense, as events played out the members of the confederation found themselves more subordinated to Napoleon than they had been to the Habsburgs. After Prussia lost to France in 1806, Napoleon cajoled most of the states of Germany into the Confederation of the Rhine. Eventually, an additional 23 German states joined the Confederation and it was at its largest in 1808, when it included 36 states—four kingdoms, five grand duchies,13 duchies, seventeen principalities, and the Free Hansa towns of Hamburg, Lübeck, and Bremen. Only Austria, Prussia, Danish Holstein, and Swedish Pomerania stayed outside, not counting the west bank of the Rhine and the Principality of Erfurt, which were annexed by the French empire. In 1810 large parts of what is now northwest Germany were quickly annexed to France in order to monitor the trade embargo with Great Britain. The Confederation of the Rhine collapsed in 1813, in the aftermath of Napoleons failed campaign against the Russian Empire, many of its members changed sides after the Battle of Leipzig, when it became apparent Napoleon would lose the War of the Sixth Coalition. The following table shows the members of the confederation, with their date of joining, the allies opposing Napoleon dissolved the Confederation of the Rhine on 4 November 1813. It was dissolved on 20 June 1815, on 30 May 1814 the Treaty of Paris declared the German states independent
33.
Restoration (Spain)
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After almost a whole century of political instability and many civil wars, the aim of the Restoration was to create a new political system, which ensured stability by the practice of turnismo. This was the rotation of the Liberal and Conservative parties in the government, so no sector of the bourgeoisie felt isolated. This was achieved by electoral fraud, opposition to the system came from republicans, socialists, anarchists, Basque and Catalan nationalists, and Carlists. The pronunciamiento by Martinez Campos established Alfonso XII as king, marking the end of the First Spanish Republic, after this, the Constitution of 1876 was written and enforced during the whole restoration. This constitution established Spain as a monarchy with a bicameral legislature, consisting of an upper house. This constitution gave the King the power to name Senators and to revoke laws if he wanted to and these years were marked by economic prosperity. Spains economy had fallen behind those of the other European countries, on most fronts production was increased, supported by extreme protectionist measures. The two parties alternated in the government in a process known as el turno pacífico, the Liberal Party was led by Sagasta. In 1898, Spain lost its last major overseas colonies in the Spanish–American War and this was the start of the systems decline, giving energy to all manner of conflicting opposition movements at a local and national level. The government declared a state of war and sent the army to crush the revolt, causing over a hundred deaths, the problems in Morocco worsened as an army of natives attacked the Spanish army. They achieved surprise and, due to the skill of the Moroccan chieftain, Abd-Al-Krim, virtually annihilated the Spanish army, advancing almost as far as Melilla in the Battle of Annual. The military discontent, the fear of anarchist terrorism or a revolution, and the rise of nationalist movements ultimately caused great agitation amongst the civilians. On 13 September 1923, Miguel Primo de Rivera, Captain General of Catalonia, orchestrated a coup détat, Alfonso XIII backed the General and named him Prime Minister. Primo de Rivera proceeded to suspend the Constitution and assume absolute powers as a dictator and he created the Unión Patriótica Española, which was meant to be the sole legal party, abolishing all other parties. During this time, he increased government spending on business and public services. He lost the support of the military and faced serious health problems, opposition to his regime was so great that Alfonso XIII stopped supporting him and forced him to resign in January 1930. Alfonso XIII, in an attempt to gradually to the previous system and restore his prestige. This failed utterly, as the King was considered a supporter of the dictatorship, Berenguer resigned and the King gave the government to Admiral Juan Bautista Aznar
34.
Kingdom of Portugal
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The Kingdom of Portugal was a monarchy on the Iberian Peninsula and the predecessor of modern Portugal. It was in existence from 1139 until 1910, after 1248, it was also known as the Kingdom of Portugal and the Algarves and between 1815 and 1822, it was known as the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves. The name is often applied to the Portuguese Empire, the realms extensive overseas colonies. The nucleus of the Portuguese state was the County of Portugal, established in the 9th century as part of the Reconquista, by Vímara Peres, a vassal of the King of Asturias. The county became part of the Kingdom of León in 1097, the kingdom was ruled by the Alfonsine Dynasty until the 1383–85 Crisis, after which the monarchy passed to the House of Aviz. During the 15th and 16th century, Portuguese exploration established a vast colonial empire, from 1580 to 1640, the kingdom of Portugal was in personal union with Habsburg Spain. After the Portuguese Restoration War of 1640–1668, the passed to the House of Braganza and after to the House of Braganza-Saxe-Coburg. From this time, the influence of Portugal declined, but it remained a major due to its most valuable colony. Portugal was an absolute monarchy before 1822. It rotated between absolute and constitutional monarchy from 1822 until 1834, and was a constitutional monarchy after 1834. The Kingdom of Portugal finds its origins in the County of Portugal, the Portuguese County was a semi-autonomous county of the Kingdom of León. Independence from León took place in three stages, The first on 26 July 1139 when Afonso Henriques was acclaimed King of the Portuguese internally, the second was on 5 October 1143, when Alfonso VII of León and Castile recognized Afonso Henriques as king through the Treaty of Zamora. The third, in 1179, was the Papal Bull Manifestis Probatum, once Portugal was independent, D. Afonso Is descendants, members of the Portuguese House of Burgundy, would rule Portugal until 1383. Even after the change in houses, all the monarchs of Portugal were descended from Afonso I, one way or another. With the start of the 20th century, Republicanism grew in numbers and support in Lisbon among progressive politicians, however a minority with regard to the rest of the country, this height of republicanism would benefit politically from the Lisbon Regicide on 1 February 1908. When returning from the Ducal Palace at Vila Viçosa, King Carlos I, with the death of the king and his heir, Carlos Is second son would become king as King Manuel II of Portugal. Manuels reign, however, would be short-lived, ending by force with the 5 October 1910 revolution, sending Manuel into exile in England, on 19 January 1919, the Monarchy of the North was proclaimed in Porto. The monarchy would be deposed a month later and no other monarchist counterrevolution in Portugal has happened since, after centuries of Portuguese dominion in Angola, the Kingdom of Kongo was made a vassal state of the Portuguese kingdom, its king pledging allegiance to the King of Portugal
35.
War of the Sixth Coalition
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After the disastrous French invasion of Russia of 1812, the continental powers joined Russia, the United Kingdom, Portugal and the rebels in Spain who were already at war with France. The War of the Sixth Coalition saw major battles at Lützen, Bautzen, the even larger Battle of Leipzig was the largest battle in European history before World War I. Ultimately, Napoleons earlier setbacks in Russia and Germany proved to be the seeds of his undoing, with their armies reorganized, the allies drove Napoleon out of Germany in 1813 and invaded France in 1814. The Allies defeated the remaining French armies, occupied Paris, and forced Napoleon to abdicate, the French monarchy was revived by the allies, who handed rule to the heir of the House of Bourbon in the Bourbon Restoration. This was not however the end of the Napoleonic Wars, Napoleon subsequently escaped from his captivity and returned to power in France, sparking the War of the Seventh Coalition in 1815. In 1812 Napoleon invaded Russia to compel Emperor Alexander I to remain in the Continental System, the Grande Armée, consisting of as many as 650,000 men, crossed the Neman River on 23 June 1812. Russia proclaimed a Patriotic War, while Napoleon proclaimed a Second Polish War, but against the expectations of the Poles, who supplied almost 100,000 troops for the invasion force, and having in mind further negotiations with Russia, he avoided any concessions toward Poland. Russian forces fell back, destroying everything potentially of use to the invaders until giving battle at Borodino where the two armies fought a devastating but inconclusive battle. Following the battle the Russians withdrew, thus opening the road to Moscow, by 14 September the French had occupied Moscow but found the city practically empty. Alexander I refused to capitulate, leaving the French in the city of Moscow with little food or shelter and winter approaching. In these circumstances, and with no path to victory. Total losses of the Grand Army were at least 370,000 casualties as a result of fighting, starvation and the weather conditions. By November, only 27,000 fit soldiers re-crossed the Berezina River, Napoleon now left his army to return to Paris and prepare a defence of Poland against the advancing Russians. The situation was not as dire as it might at first have seemed, on 9 January 1812, French troops occupied Swedish Pomerania to end the illegal trade with the United Kingdom from Sweden, which was in violation of the Continental System. Swedish estates were confiscated and Swedish officers and soldiers were taken as prisoners, in response, Sweden declared neutrality and signed the secret Treaty of Saint Petersburg with Russia against France and Denmark–Norway on 5 April. On 18 July, the Treaty of Örebro formally ended the wars between Britain and Sweden and Britain and Russia, forming an alliance between Russia, Britain, and Sweden. However, when Napoleon marched on Moscow, neither Britain nor Sweden would give any support to Russia. The alliance existed only on paper, according to the Treaty of Tilsit, Prussia had to support Napoleons invasion of Russia
36.
Battle of Smolensk (1812)
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Napoleon attacked Smolensk occupied by Russian General Bagrations corps and captured two of the suburbs. During the night the Russians evacuated the burning city, the Battle of Smolensk is commemorated on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, Warsaw, with the inscription SMOLENSK17 VIII1812. Initially the Russians employed hit and run tactics against the Grande Armée, Napoleon therefore devised the Smolensk Manoeuvre in an attempt to sweep behind the enemy and inflict a decisive defeat. On August 14,1812 forces under the command of Joachim Murat, Marshal Davout, and Michel Ney crossed the Dnieper River at Rassna using bridges constructed overnight. The plan was to race toward the city, taking it without a fight, unfortunately for the French, conflicting orders and a breakdown in communication had already led Bagration to disobey orders and instead of marching west, he occupied Smolensk to the south. By August 16, French forces found the city heavily garrisoned by Bagrations troops, further reinforced with the subsequent arrival of Barclay and the main Russian army. Smolensk, a fortress city of 12,600 inhabitants on the main Western invasion route to Moscow was defended by bastion towers. The River Dnieper ran through the middle, the main battle was fought on August 16. An initial probing force captured two suburbs but failed to bring the Russians out to battle, Napoleon ordered a general assault with three corps of the Grande Armée, supported by two hundred artillery pieces. By nightfall, most of the city was burning, estimates of casualties vary, Alain Pigeard quotes French losses at 4,200 and Russian at 4, 000–6,000. Around dawn on August 17, Grande Armée Polish forces successfully breached the walls, Barclay retained forces on the other side of the river preventing a crossing until the night of August the 18th. The city was almost completely destroyed, technically the battle of Smolensk was a victory for Napoleon as he captured the city. However his soldiers were running short of food and its destruction denied him a useful supply base. Napoleons invasion of Russia Battle of Smolensk Jean-Victor Poncelet Color Map of the Battle of Smolensk in 1812
37.
Battle of Borodino
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The Battle of Borodino was a battle fought on 7 September 1812 in the Napoleonic Wars during the French invasion of Russia. The fighting involved around 250,000 troops and left at least 70,000 casualties, Napoleons Grande Armée launched an attack against the Russian army, driving it back from its initial positions but failing to gain a decisive victory. Both armies were exhausted after the battle and the Russians withdrew from the field the following day, Borodino represented the last Russian effort at stopping the French advance on Moscow, which fell a week later. After a series of Russian retreats at the beginning of the campaign, Mikhail Kutuzov was appointed as his replacement. In a final attempt to save Moscow, the Russians made a stand near the village of Borodino and they fortified their positions and waited for the French to attack. The Russian right wing occupied ideal defensive terrain, so the French tried to press the Russian left for much of the battle, the highlight of the fighting became the bloody struggle for the large Raevsky redoubt near the village of Borodino. The French managed to capture this redoubt late into the day, the Russians suffered terrible casualties during the fighting, losing over a third of their army. French losses were heavy, exacerbating the logistical difficulties that Napoleon encountered in the campaign. Napoleons Imperial Guard, the unit on the battlefield that saw no fighting, was available to swing into action at a moments notice. In refusing to commit the Guard, some believe, he lost his one chance to destroy the Russian army. The capture of Moscow proved a pyrrhic victory since the Russians had no intention of negotiating with Napoleon for peace. The French evacuated Russias spiritual capital in October and conducted a retreat that only ended in December. Historical reports of the battle differed significantly depending on whether they originated from supporters of the French or Russian side, factional fighting among senior officers within each army also led to conflicting accounts and disagreements over the roles of particular officers. The French Grande Armée began its invasion of Russia on 16 June 1812, in response, Emperor Alexander I proclaimed a Patriotic War and prepared to face the French. However, Phulls plan soon proved to be a mistake, as the enormous Grande Armée was more than enough to separate. Furthermore, the participation of Tsar Alexander I as commander caused more chaos in the Russian army, the Russian forces which were massed along the Polish frontier were obliged to fall back in the face of the swift French advance. Napoleon advanced from Vitebsk, hoping to catch the Russian Army in the open where he could annihilate it, the French army was not positioned well for an extended overland campaign, it was 925 km from its nearest supply base at Kovno. French supply lines were vulnerable and Cossacks, light cavalry, guerrilla forces and even French deserters attacked and seriously depleted French supply columns
38.
Battle of Bautzen
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In the Battle of Bautzen a combined Russian/Prussian army was pushed back by Napoleon I of France, but escaped destruction, some sources claim, because Michel Ney failed to block their retreat. The Prussians under Count Gebhard von Blücher and Russians under Prince Peter Wittgenstein, the Prusso-Russian army was in a full retreat following their defeat at the Battle of Lützen. Finally, generals Wittgenstein and Blücher were ordered to stop at Bautzen by Tsar Alexander I, the Prusso-Russian army was nearly 100,000 men strong, but Napoleon had 115,000 troops. Additionally, Marshal Ney had 85,000 more men within easy marching distance, Wittgenstein formed two defensive lines, with the first holding strongpoints in villages and along ridges and the second holding the bridges behind a river bend. Napoleon had planned to pin down his enemies to their lines, however, due to faulty reconnaissance, he became concerned that the Prusso-Russians had more soldiers and held stronger positions than they actually did. So Napoleon then decided he would not set up his trap until they had been softened up, after an intense bombardment by the grande batterie of Napoleons artillery and hours of heated fighting, the French overpowered the first defensive lines and seized the town of Bautzen. The Prusso-Russians appeared to be buckling, by nightfall, the French were ready to cut the allies off from their line of retreat. But Marshal Ney became confused and his faulty positioning left the open for the Allies to escape. Fighting on the day, the 21st, was again hard and after several hours of setbacks. But these assaults were only intended to fix the allies in place so they could be cut off, once again, Marshal Ney became distracted and decided to seize the village of Preititz, and thus lost sight of the strategic importance of cutting off the allies. The Prusso-Russians were being pushed back across the river and, at 4 p. m. when the Imperial Guard was sent in, without Neys forces to seal them in, however, they again escaped the total defeat Napoleon had planned. Losses on both sides totaled around 20,000, the French victory at Bautzen is therefore often called a Pyrrhic victory. Although a success for the French, Bautzen was not the decisive, Neys failure to cut the line of retreat robbed the French of complete victory. Once more Napoleon had to settle for a narrow, pyrrhic victory, to make matters worse, during the battle, Napoleons close friend and Grand Marshal of the Palace, General Geraud Duroc, was mortally wounded by a cannonball and died hours after the battle. Following Bautzen, Napoleon agreed to a truce with the Coalition. The Armistice of Pleischwitz was signed on 4 June, and lasted until 20 July, during this time he hoped to gather more troops, especially cavalry, and better train his new army. The allies, however, would not be idle, they too would mobilize and better prepare, and after hostilities were resumed, the Austrians joined the ranks of the allies. It is reported that Napoleon later quoted, that his agreement to this truce was a bad mistake, the campaign would resume in August
39.
Battle of Dresden
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The Battle of Dresden was a major engagement of the Napoleonic Wars. The battle took place around the city of Dresden in modern-day Germany, with the recent addition of Austria, the Sixth Coalition felt emboldened in their quest to kick the French out of Central Europe. Despite being heavily outnumbered, French forces under Napoleon scored a modest victory against the Allied army led by Field Marshal Schwarzenberg, however, Napoleons victory did not lead to the collapse of the coalition, and the lack of effective French cavalry units precluded a major pursuit. A few days after the battle, the Allies surrounded and captured a French corps at the Battle of Kulm. On 16 August, Napoleon had sent Marshal Saint-Cyrs corps to fortify and hold Dresden in order to hinder allied movements and he planned to strike against the interior lines of his enemies and defeat them in detail, before they could combine their full strength. He had some 300,000 men and 800 cannons against allied forces totaling over 450,000 and 1200 cannons, but the Coalition avoided battle with Napoleon himself, choosing to attack his subordinate commanders instead. On 23 August, at the Battle of Grossbeeren, south of Berlin, and on 26 August, Prussian Marshal Blücher defeated Marshal MacDonald at the Katzbach. In Dresden, French infantry manned the various redoubts and defensive positions and they hoped to last long enough for reinforcements to arrive. Sure enough, they got their wish, Napoleon arrived quickly and unexpectedly with reinforcements to repel this assault on the city. French counterattacks on the Great Garden in the southeast and on the center were successful. Although outnumbered three to two, Napoleon attacked the following morning, turned the allied left flank, and won a tactical victory. The flooded Weisseritz cut the wing of the Allied army, commanded by Johann von Klenau and Ignaz Gyulai. Marshal Joachim Murat took advantage of isolation and inflicted heavy losses on the Austrians. A French participant observed, Murat. cut off from the Austrian army Klenaus corps, nearly all his battalions were compelled to lay down their arms, and two other divisions of infantry shared their fate. Gyulais divisions also suffered losses when they were attacked by Murats cavalry during a rainstorm. With damp flints and powder, their muskets would not fire and many became a easy prey to the French cuirassiers. However, Napoleons failure to follow up on his success allowed Schwarzenberg to withdraw, the Coalition had lost some 38,000 men and 40 guns. Some of Napoleons officers noted he was suffering from a violent colic, on 27 August, General Vandamme received orders to advance on Pirna and bridge the Elbe there
40.
Battle of Leipzig
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The Battle of Leipzig or Battle of the Nations was fought from 16 to 19 October 1813, at Leipzig, Saxony. Napoleons army also contained Polish and Italian troops, as well as Germans from the Confederation of the Rhine, the battle was the culmination of the 1813 German campaign and involved nearly 600,000 soldiers, making it the largest battle in Europe prior to World War I. Being decisively defeated for the first time in battle, Napoleon was compelled to return to France while the Coalition hurried to keep their momentum, Napoleon was forced to abdicate and was exiled to Elba in May 1814. However, the Russian Tsar refused to even as the French occupied the city. With this string of defeats, the armies of France were in retreat on all fronts across Europe, anti-French forces joined Russia as its troops pursued the remnants of the virtually destroyed Grande Armée across central Europe. He sought to regain the offensive by re-establishing his hold in Germany, the victories led to a brief armistice. He then won a victory at the Battle of Dresden on 27 August. This policy led to victories at Großbeeren, Kulm, Katzbach, after these defeats, the French emperor could not easily follow up on his victory at Dresden. With the intention of knocking Prussia out of the war as soon as possible, Oudinot was defeated at the Battle of Großbeeren, just south of the city. With the intact Prussian force threatening from the north, Napoleon was compelled to withdraw westward and he deployed his army around the city, but concentrated his force from Taucha through Stötteritz, where he placed his command. The Prussians advanced from Wartenburg, the Austrians and Russians from Dresden, the coalition had some 380,000 troops along with 1,500 guns, consisting of 145,000 Russians,115,000 Austrians,90,000 Prussians, and 30,000 Swedes. This made Leipzig the largest battle of the Napoleonic wars, surpassing Borodino, Wagram, Jena and Auerstadt, Ulm, Napoleon conscripted these men to be readied for an even larger campaign against the newly formed Sixth Coalition and its forces stationed in Germany. While he won several battles, his army was being steadily depleted as Coalition commanders, closely following the Trachenberg Plan. The Swedes also had under their command a company of the British Rocket Brigade armed with Congreve rockets, despite being outnumbered, Napoleon planned to take the offensive between the Pleisse and the Parthe rivers. The position at Leipzig held several advantages for his army and his battle strategy, the rivers that converged there split the surrounding terrain into many separate sectors. The northern front was defended by Marshals Michel Ney and Auguste de Marmont, the artillery reserve and parks, ambulances, and baggage stood near Leipzig, which Napoleon made his supply base for the battle. The bridges on the Pleisse and White Elster rivers were defended by infantry, the main battery stood in reserve, and during battle was to be deployed on the Gallows Height. This battery was to be commanded by the artillery expert Antoine Drouot, the western flank of the French positions at Wachau and Liebertwolkwitz was defended by Prince Joseph Poniatowski and Marshal Pierre Augereau and his young French conscripts
41.
Battle of Waterloo
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The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday,18 June 1815, near Waterloo in present-day Belgium, then part of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands. Upon Napoleons return to power in March 1815, many states that had opposed him formed the Seventh Coalition, Wellington and Blüchers armies were cantoned close to the north-eastern border of France. Napoleon chose to attack them in the hope of destroying them before they could join in an invasion of France with other members of the coalition. Despite holding his ground at Quatre Bras, the defeat of the Prussians forced Wellington to withdraw to Waterloo, Napoleon sent a third of his forces to pursue the Prussians, who had withdrawn parallel to Wellington. This resulted in the separate and simultaneous Battle of Wavre with the Prussian rear-guard, upon learning that the Prussian army was able to support him, Wellington decided to offer battle on the Mont-Saint-Jean escarpment, across the Brussels road. Here he withstood repeated attacks by the French throughout the afternoon, in the evening Napoleon committed his last reserves to a desperate final attack, which was narrowly beaten back. With the Prussians breaking through on the French right flank, Wellingtons Anglo-allied army counter-attacked in the centre, Waterloo was the decisive engagement of the Waterloo Campaign and Napoleons last. According to Wellington, the battle was the thing you ever saw in your life. Napoleon abdicated four days later, and on 7 July coalition forces entered Paris, the defeat at Waterloo ended Napoleons rule as Emperor of the French, and marked the end of his Hundred Days return from exile. This ended the First French Empire, and set a chronological milestone between serial European wars and decades of relative peace, the battlefield is located in the municipalities of Braine-lAlleud and Lasne, about 15 kilometres south of Brussels, and about 2 kilometres from the town of Waterloo. The site of the battlefield today is dominated by a large monument, as this mound was constructed from earth taken from the battlefield itself, the contemporary topography of the battlefield near the mound has not been preserved. On 13 March 1815, six days before Napoleon reached Paris, four days later, the United Kingdom, Russia, Austria, and Prussia mobilised armies to defeat Napoleon. Crucially, this would have bought him time to recruit and train more men before turning his armies against the Austrians and Russians, an additional consideration for Napoleon was that a French victory might cause French speaking sympathisers in Belgium to launch a friendly revolution. Wellingtons initial dispositions were intended to counter the threat of Napoleon enveloping the Coalition armies by moving through Mons to the south-west of Brussels and this would have pushed Wellington closer to Blücher, but may have cut Wellingtons communications with his base at Ostend. In order to delay Wellingtons deployment, Napoleon spread false intelligence which suggested that Wellingtons supply chain from the ports would be cut. By June, Napoleon had raised a total strength of about 300,000 men. The force at his disposal at Waterloo was less than one third that size, Napoleon divided his army into a left wing commanded by Marshal Ney, a right wing commanded by Marshal Grouchy and a reserve under his command. Crossing the frontier near Charleroi before dawn on 15 June, the French rapidly overran Coalition outposts and he hoped this would prevent them from combining, and he would be able to destroy first the Prussians army, then Wellingtons
42.
Six Days' Campaign
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The Six Days Campaign was a final series of victories by the forces of Napoleon I of France as the Sixth Coalition closed in on Paris. Napoleon managed to inflict 17,750 casualties on Blüchers force of 70,000 with his 40, the Army of Silesia, with 50, 000–75,000 Prussians and Russians under Prince Blücher, crossed the Rhine between Rastadt and Koblenz on 1 January 1814. At the same time Wellington invaded France over the Pyrenees, leaving Marshals Soult and Suchet to defend south-west France, Napoleon commanded the French resistance in North East France. Napoleon had about 200,000 men in all, of whom upwards of 100,000 were held by the Duke of Wellington on the Spanish frontier, hence less than 80,000 remained available for the east and north-eastern frontier. If, however, he was weak in numbers, he was now operating in a friendly country, the fighting in north-east France was indecisive during January and the first week of February. Napoleon won the Battle of Brienne but only succeeded in driving Blücher a few miles east, on 2 February Napoleon engaged Schwarzenbergs Austrian army at the Battle of La Rothière. It was fought in appalling weather, with snow flurries and drifts that hampered movement, although the French won the battle they were unable to capitalise on their victory. Napoleon retired to Lesmont, and from there to Troyes, Marshal Marmont being left to observe the enemy, owing to the state of the roads, or perhaps to the extraordinary lethargy which always characterized Schwarzenbergs headquarters, no pursuit was attempted. In the night Blüchers headquarters were surprised, and Blücher learnt that Napoleon himself with his main body was in full march to fall on his scattered detachments. At the same time he heard that Pahlens Cossacks had been withdrawn forty-eight hours previously and he himself retreated towards Étoges endeavouring to rally his scattered detachments. Napoleon was too quick for Blücher, he decimated Lieutenant General Olssufievs Russian IX Corps at the Battle of Champaubert, There were 4,000 Russian casualties and Russian General Zakhar Dmitrievich Olsufiev taken prisoner, to approximately 200 French casualties. This placed the French army between Blüchers vanguard and his main body, Napoleon turned his attention to the vanguard and defeated Osten-Sacken and Yorck at Montmirail on 11 February, There were 4,000 Coalition casualties, to 2,000 French casualties. Napoleon attacked and defeated again the next day at the Battle of Château-Thierry. There were 1,250 Prussian,1,500 Russian casualties and nine cannons lost, Napoleon then turned on the main body of the Army of Silesia and on 14 February defeated Blücher in Battle of Vauchamps near Étoges, pursuing the latter towards Vertus. There were 7,000 Prussian casualties and 16 cannons lost and these disasters compelled the retreat of the whole Silesian army, and Napoleon, leaving detachments with marshals Mortier and Marmont to deal with them, hurried back to Troyes. Napoleons troops had greatly outnumbered, and he therefore fought by means of careful tactical manoeuvring. But the campaign rallied the Allies and helped end their internal bickering, Napoleon inflicted further defeats on both Schwarzenbergs and Blüchers armies. Thus after six weeks fighting the Coalition armies had gained any ground
43.
Bourbon Restoration
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The Bourbon Restoration was the period of French history following the fall of Napoleon in 1814 until the July Revolution of 1830. The brothers of executed Louis XVI of France reigned in highly conservative fashion, and they were nonetheless unable to reverse most of the changes made by the French Revolution and Napoleon. At the Congress of Vienna they were treated respectfully, but had to give up all the gains made since 1789. King Louis XVI of the House of Bourbon had been overthrown and executed during the French Revolution, a coalition of European powers defeated Napoleon in the War of the Sixth Coalition, ended the First Empire in 1814, and restored the monarchy to the brothers of Louis XVI. The Bourbon Restoration lasted from 6 April 1814 until the uprisings of the July Revolution of 1830. There was an interlude in spring 1815—the Hundred Days—when the return of Napoleon forced the Bourbons to flee France, when Napoleon was again defeated by the Seventh Coalition they returned to power in July. During the Restoration, the new Bourbon regime was a monarchy, unlike the absolutist Ancien Régime. The period was characterized by a conservative reaction, and consequent minor but consistent occurrences of civil unrest. It also saw the reestablishment of the Catholic Church as a power in French politics. The eras of the French Revolution and Napoleon brought a series of changes to France which the Bourbon Restoration did not reverse. First of all, France became highly centralized, with all decisions made in Paris, the political geography was completely reorganized and made uniform. France was divided more than 80 departments, which have endured into the 21st century. Each department had an administrative structure, and was tightly controlled by a prefect appointed by Paris. The Catholic Church lost all its lands and buildings during the Revolution, the bishop still ruled his diocese, and communicated with the pope through the government in Paris. Bishops, priests, nuns and other people were paid salaries by the state. All the old rites and ceremonies were retained, and the government maintained the religious buildings. The Church was allowed to operate its own seminaries and to some extent local schools as well, bishops were much less powerful than before, and had no political voice. However, the Catholic Church reinvented itself and put a new emphasis on personal religiosity that gave it a hold on the psychology of the faithful, education was centralized, with the Grand Master of the University of France controlling every element of the entire educational system from Paris
44.
Elba
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Elba is a Mediterranean island in Tuscany, Italy,10 kilometres from the coastal town of Piombino, the largest island of the Tuscan Archipelago. Elba is also part of the Arcipelago Toscano National Park, and it is located in the Tyrrhenian Sea, about 50 kilometres east of the French island of Corsica. The island is part of the province of Livorno and is divided into eight municipalities, with a population of about 30,000 inhabitants. The municipalities are Portoferraio, which is also the principal town, along with Campo nellElba, Capoliveri, Marciana, Marciana Marina, Porto Azzurro, Rio Marina. Elba is the largest remaining stretch of land from the ancient tract that connected the Italian peninsula to Corsica. The island itself is made up of slices of rocks which formed part of the ancient Tethyan seafloor. These rocks have been through at least two orogenies, the Alpine orogeny and the Apennine orogeny, the second of these two events was associated with subduction of the Tethyan oceanic crust underneath Italy and the obduction of parts of the ancient seafloor onto the continents. Later extension within the inner part of the Apennine mountains caused adiabatic melting and the intrusion of the Mount Capanne. These igneous bodies brought with them skarn fluids which dissolved and replaced some of the carbonate units, one of the iron-rich minerals, ilvaite, was first identified on the island and takes its name from the Latin word for Elba. More recently, high-angle faults formed within the pile, allowing for the migration of iron-rich fluids through the crust. The deposits left behind by these formed the islands rich seams of iron ore. The terrain is varied, and is thus divided into several areas based on geomorphology. The mountainous and most recent part of the island can be found to the west, the mountain is home to many animal species including the mouflon and wild boar, two species that flourish despite the continuous influx of tourists. The central part of the island is a flat section with the width being reduced to just four kilometres. It is where the major centres can be found, Portoferraio, to the east is the oldest part of the island, formed over 3 million years ago. In the hilly area, dominated by Monte Calamita, are the deposits of iron that made Elba famous, rivers rarely exceed 3 kilometres in length, and it is common for the shorter ones to dry up during the summer. The climate of the island is predominantly Mediterranean, except for Mount Capanne, precipitation is concentrated in autumn and comprises a normal rainfall. The island lies in the shadow of the large and mountainous island of Corsica
45.
Treaty of Kiel
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Specifically excluded from the exchange were the Norwegian dependencies of Greenland, Iceland and the Faroe Islands, which remained in the union with Denmark. Norway unsuccessfully contested the Danish claim to all of Greenland in the East Greenland case of 1931–1933, however, not all provisions of the treaty would come into force. Norway declared its independence, adopted a Constitution and elected Crown Prince Christian Frederik as its own king, Sweden therefore refused to hand over Swedish Pomerania, which instead passed to Prussia after the Congress of Vienna in 1815. After a short war with Sweden, Norway accepted entering into a union with Sweden at the Convention of Moss. King Christian Frederik abdicated after convening an extraordinary Storting, which revised the Constitution to allow for the Union and it was formally established when the Storting elected Charles XIII as king of Norway on 4 November 1814. In the beginning of the Napoleonic Wars, Denmark-Norway and the Kingdom of Sweden tried to maintain neutrality, the United Kingdom, which had declared war on France in 1803, paid subsidies to Sweden. Before Gustav IV Adolf marched his forces out of Swedish Pomerania, in 1807, Napoleonic forces seized Swedish Pomerania and forced Prussia and Russia to sign the Treaty of Tilsit. Sweden could no longer uphold her anti-French foreign policy, and French Marshal Jean Baptiste Bernadotte was elected heir to the Swedish throne in 1810, Denmark-Norway entered an alliance with France after the second British bombardment of Copenhagen in 1807. In 1812, Napoleons forces were decimated in their attempt to subdue Russia. Sweden allied with Russia on 30 August 1812, with the United Kingdom on 3 March 1813, previously, on 23 March 1813, she had declared war on Napoleon. Bernadottes condition for entering the anti-Napoleonic alliance was the gain of Norway, Prussia however did not acknowledge this claim at first. Thus, Bernadotte hesitated to enter the war with full force, when Prussia finally accepted the Swedish claim to Norway on 22 July, Sweden joined the alliance of Reichenbach concluded between Russia, the United Kingdom and Prussia on 14/15 June. With three armies, the allies subsequently cleared Northern Germany of French forces, Denmark, who had maintained the alliance with Napoleon because of the Swedish claim to Norway, was isolated and, as a consequence of the war, bankrupt. It consisted of 14 articles, to two articles were added in Brussels on 7 April. In article III, the United Kingdom was obliged to return all occupied Danish possessions to the Danish king, excepted was the island of Heligoland, where the British king was granted full and unlimited sovereignty. Article VIII was concerned with the abolishment of slave trade, in article X, the British king promised the Danish king to negotiate further compensation for Denmarks territorial cessions to Sweden in a pending final peace. In article XIII, older Dano-British treaties were confirmed, the treaty between the Kingdom of Denmark and the Kingdom of Sweden was negotiated by Danish diplomat Edmund Bourke and Swedish envoy Baron Gustaf af Wetterstedt with British mediation. It consisted of 28 articles and one separate article, in article IV, the Danish king in his and his successors name irrevocably and forever renounced claims to the Kingdom of Norway in favor of the Swedish king
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