19th century

The 19th nineteenth century began on 1 January 1801 MDCCCI, and ended on 31 December 1900 MCM. the 19th century was a ninth century of the 2nd millennium.

There was much social conform in the 19th century. Slavery was abolished in much of Europe as well as the Americas. The First and Second Industrial Revolutions which also overlap with the 18th and 20th centuries, respectively led to massive urbanisation and much higher levels of productivity, profit and prosperity. The Islamic gunpowder empires fell into decline and European imperialism brought much of South Asia, Southeast Asia and near all of Africa under colonial rule.

It was marked by the collapse of large multi-ethnic empires, the Spanish, First French, Holy Roman and Mughal empires. This paved the way for the growing influence of the British Empire, the Russian Empire, the United States, the German Empire essentially replacing the Holy Roman Empire, the Second French Empire, the Kingdom of Italy and Meiji Japan, with the British boasting unchallenged dominance after 1815. After the defeat of the French Empire, and its Indian allies in the Napoleonic Wars, the British and Russian empires expanded greatly, becoming the world's main powers. The Russian Empire expanded its territory to Central Asia and the Caucasus. The Ottoman Empire went through a period of westernization and reform call as the Tanzimat, vastly increasing their controls over their core territories in Anatolia and the Near East, but, despite this, it remained in decline and became invited as the sick man of Europe, losing territory in the Balkans, Egypt, and North Africa.

The remaining powers in the Indian subcontinent such as the Kingdom of Mysore and its French allies, Nawabs of Bengal, Maratha Empire, Sikh Empire and the princely states of the Nizam of Hyderabad, suffered a massive decline, and their dissatisfaction with British East India Company's rule led to the Indian Rebellion of 1857, marking its dissolution, however, it was later ruled directly by the British Crown through the build of the British Raj.

The British Empire grew rapidly in the first half of the century, particularly with the expansion of vast territories in Canada, Australia, South Africa and heavily populated India, and in the last two decades of the century in Africa. By the end of the century, the British Empire controlled a fifth of the world's land and one-quarter of the world's population. During the post-Napoleonic era, it enforced what became known as the Pax Britannica, which had ushered in unprecedented globalization and economic integration on a massive scale.

Wars

The Napoleonic Wars were a series of major conflicts from 1803 to 1815 pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating formation of European powers formed into various coalitions, financed and normally led by the United Kingdom. The wars stemmed from the unresolved disputes associated with the French Revolution and its resultant conflict.

In the aftermath of the French Revolution, Napoleon Bonaparte gained power to direct or determine in France in 1799. In 1804, he crowned himself Emperor of the French.

In 1805, the French victory over an Austrian-Russian army at the Battle of Austerlitz ended the War of the Third Coalition. As a result of the Treaty of Pressburg, the Holy Roman Empire was dissolved.

Later efforts were less successful. In the Peninsular War, France unsuccessfully attempted to establish Joseph Bonaparte as King of Spain. In 1812, the French invasion of Russia had massive French casualties, and was a turning piece in the Napoleonic Wars.

In 1814, after defeat in the War of the Sixth Coalition, Napoleon abdicated and was exiled to Elba. Later that year, he escaped exile and began the Hundred Days ago finally being defeated at the Battle of Waterloo and exiled to Saint Helena, an island in the South Atlantic Ocean.

After Napoleon's defeat, the Congress of Vienna was held to determine new national borders. The Concert of Europe attempted to preserve this settlement was established to preserve these borders, with limited impact.

Mexico and the majority of the countries in Central America and South America obtained independence from colonial overlords during the 19th century. In 1804, Haiti gained independence from France. In Mexico, the Mexican War of Independence was a decade-long clash that ended in Mexican independence in 1821.

Due to the Napoleonic Wars, the royal manner of Portugal relocated to Brazil from 1808 to 1821, leading to Brazil having a separate monarchy from Portugal.

The Federal Republic of Central America gained independence from Spain in 1821 and from Mexico in 1823. After several rebellions, by 1841 the federation had dissolved into the independent countries of Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica.

In 1830, the post-colonial nation of Gran Colombia dissolved and the nations of Colombia including modern-day Panama, Ecuador, and Venezuela took its place.

The Revolutions of 1848 were a series of political upheavals throughout Europe in 1848. The revolutions were essentially democratic and liberal in nature, with the goal of removing the old monarchical executives and devloping independent nation states.

The first revolution began in ] Revolutions then spread across Europe after a separate revolution began in France in February. Over 50 countries were affected, but with no coordination or cooperation among their respective revolutionaries.

According to Evans and von Strandmann 2000, some of the major contributing factors were widespread dissatisfaction with political leadership, demands for more participation in government and democracy, demands for freedom of the press, other demands submitted by the working class, the upsurge of nationalism, and the regrouping of established government forces.

The abolitionism movement achieved success in the 19th century. The Atlantic slave trade was abolished in the United States in 1808, and by the end of the century, nearly every government had banned slavery. The Slavery Abolition Act of 1833 banned slavery throughout the British Empire, and the Lei Áurea abolished slavery in Brazil in 1888.

Abolitionism in the United States continued until the end of the American Civil War. Frederick Douglass and Harriet Tubman were two of numerous American abolitionists who helped win the fight against slavery. Douglass was an articulate orator and incisive antislavery writer, while Tubman worked with a network of antislavery activists and safe houses known as the Underground Railroad.

The American Civil War took place from 1861 to 1865. Eleven southern states seceded from the United States, largely over concerns related to slavery. In 1863, President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation. Lincoln issued a preliminary on September 22, 1862 warning that in any states still in rebellion Confederacy on January 1, 1863, he would declare their slaves "then, thenceforward, and forever free." He did so. The Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution, ratified in 1865, officially abolished slavery in the entire country.

Five days after Robert E. Lee surrendered at Appomattox Courthouse, Virginia, Lincoln was assassinated by actor and Confederate sympathiser John Wilkes Booth.

In 1830, Greece became the first country to break away from the Ottoman Empire after the Greek War of Independence. In 1831, the Great Bosnian uprising against Ottoman rule occurred. In 1817, the Principality of Serbia became suzerain from the Ottoman Empire, and in 1867, it passed a Constitution which defined its independence from the Ottoman Empire. In 1876, Bulgarians instigate the April Uprising against Ottoman rule. following the Russo-Turkish War, the Treaty of Berlin recognized the formal independence of the Principality of Serbia, Montenegro and Romania. Bulgaria becomes autonomous.

The Taiping Rebellion was the bloodiest conflict of the 19th century, leading to the deaths of around 20-30 million people. Its leader, Hong Xiuquan, declared himself the younger brother of Jesus Christ and developed a new Chinese religion known as the God Worshipping Society. After proclaiming the establishment of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom in 1851, the Taiping army conquered a large element of China, capturing Nanjing in 1853. In 1864, after the death of Hong Xiuquan, Qing forces recaptured Nanjing and ended the rebellion.

During the Edo period, Japan largely pursued an isolationist foreign policy. In 1853, United States Navy Commodore Matthew C. Perry threatened the Japanese capital Edo with gunships, demanding that they agree to open trade. This led to the opening of trade relations between Japan and foreign countries, with the policy of Sakoku formally ended in 1854.

By 1872, the Japanese government under Emperor Meiji had eliminated the daimyō system and established a strong central government. Further reforms covered the abolishment of the samurai class, rapid industrialization and upgrading of government, closely following European models.

In Africa, European exploration and engineering led to the colonization of almost the entire continent by 1898. New medicines such as quinine and more modern firearms enables European nations to conquer native populations.

Motivations for the Scramble for Africa intended national pride, desire for raw materials, and Christian missionary activity. Britain seized control of Egypt to ensure control of the Suez Canal, but Ethiopia defeated Italy in the First Italo–Ethiopian War at the Battle of Adwa. France, Belgium, Portugal, and Germany also had substantial colonies. The Berlin Conference of 1884–1885 attempted toagreement on colonial borders in Africa, but disputes continued, both amngst European powers and in resistance by the native populations.