The world in
What happened in 1815?
17 events across 4 world regions, each with its sources.
Europe
Unification of ItalyThe unification of Italy, also known as the Risorgimento, was the 19th-century political and social movement that consolidated various states of the Italian peninsula into the single Kingdom of Italy. On 17 March 1861 the Kingdom of Italy was proclaimed in Turin, and the process completed in 1871 with Rome as the capital, following its capture in 1870.
SourcesWikipedia ↗Image: Sebastiano De Albertis / Public domain ↗
- Industrial Revolution
A transition in manufacturing processes that began in Great Britain around the 1760s and spread to continental Europe and the United States by about 1840. It was marked by the replacement of human and animal power with machinery and of handicraft with factory production, signaling a historic shift from agrarian to industrial society.
SourcesWikipedia ↗
Napoleonic WarsThe Napoleonic Wars were a series of global military conflicts from 1803 to 1815 between the First French Empire and shifting coalitions of European powers. Originating in the political upheavals following the French Revolution, the wars primarily took place in Europe but extended to the Middle East, Asia-Pacific, and beyond. They are divided into seven major campaigns, including the War of the Third Coalition and the Peninsular War. Napoleon was ultimately defeated, the French Empire dissolved, and the European balance of power restored.
SourcesWikipedia ↗Image: Jacques-Louis David / Public domain ↗
- Transfer of the Portuguese Court to Brazil
In November 1807, the Portuguese royal family and nearly 10,000 attendants sailed from Lisbon to the colony of Brazil. Departure was delayed to 29 November, just two days before Napoleonic forces invaded Portugal. This relocation kept the Portuguese court in Brazil for over a decade, profoundly influencing Brazil's path to independence.
SourcesWikipedia ↗
Congress of ViennaBetween September 1814 and June 1815, diplomats of the European great powers convened in Vienna, chaired by Austrian statesman Klemens von Metternich, to settle Europe’s post-Napoleonic order. Emphasizing legitimacy and balance of power, they reversed France’s recent conquests while Prussia, Austria, and Russia received territorial advantages.
Battle of WaterlooOn 18 June 1815 near Waterloo, south of Brussels, Napoleon’s French Imperial Army fought the Seventh Coalition. A British-led allied force under the Duke of Wellington, joined by Prussian troops under Field Marshal Blücher, defeated the French. The outcome was the collapse of Napoleon’s empire and the end of the Napoleonic Wars.
Battle of LignyOn 16 June 1815, Napoleon I's French army defeated Field Marshal Blücher's Prussian army at Ligny. This was Napoleon's last victory, but the Prussian army withdrew in good order and played a key role two days later at the Battle of Waterloo.
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Caucasian WarThe Caucasian War was a 19th-century conflict of conquest by the Russian Empire against various peoples of the North Caucasus, lasting from 1817 to 1864. Imam Shamil led fierce resistance, repeatedly repelling Russian attacks, until the fall of Gunib and his capture in 1859. The war ended with the final subjugation of the Circassians and the annexation of the region in 1864.
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Outbreak of the Russo-Circassian WarIn 1763, the Russian Empire invaded Circassia and occupied Mozdok, prompting the Circassian people to organize a resistance movement to preserve their independence, marking the beginning of the Russo-Circassian War. This conflict became the longest war in the history of the Caucasus and of Russia, ending in 1864 with the defeat of Circassian forces.
SourcesWikipedia ↗Image: Heinrich Ambros Eckert / Public domain ↗
- Treaty of Paris (1815) signed
On 20 November 1815, after the defeat at Waterloo and Napoleon's second abdication, France signed the Treaty of Paris with the Seventh Coalition to conclude the Napoleonic Wars.
SourcesWikipedia ↗
Muskau Park Laid OutIn 1815, at the behest of Prince Hermann von Pückler-Muskau, the laying out of Muskau Park commenced. This landscape park along both sides of the Lusatian Neisse River on the border between Germany and Poland later became one of the most famous English gardens in Central Europe.
SourcesUNESCO World Heritage listing ↗Wikipedia ↗Image: Hedwig Storch / CC BY-SA 3.0 ↗
Founding of the Basilica of St Dominic in VallettaThe Basilica of St Dominic is one of the three parish churches of Valletta, Malta. Administered by the Dominican Order, its convent is located behind the church. The basilica is dedicated to Our Lady of Safe Haven due to the devotion of many sailors.
North America
Battle of New OrleansThe Battle of New Orleans was fought on January 8, 1815, in Louisiana, as the final major engagement of the War of 1812. Although the Treaty of Ghent had been signed in December 1814, news had not reached the front lines. British forces under Major General Edward Pakenham attacked US troops commanded by Major General Andrew Jackson. The Americans achieved a decisive victory, inflicting over 2,000 British casualties while suffering about 300. The battle solidified US control over the Louisiana Territory and boosted Jackson's national reputation.
Spanish American wars of independenceA series of armed conflicts in the early 19th century across Spanish American colonies, aiming to end Spanish rule and achieve political independence. The conflicts were fought primarily between Royalists, who supported a unitary Spanish monarchy, and Patriots, who sought autonomy or independence. This ultimately led to the separation and independence of most of Spanish America, occurring roughly between 1808 and 1833, and closely linked to the Napoleonic Wars and the Peninsular War in Spain.
War of 1812The War of 1812 was launched by the United States against the United Kingdom and its allies amid the Napoleonic Wars, fought mainly in North America and at sea. The United States declared war on 18 June 1812. Although peace terms were set in the Treaty of Ghent in December 1814, the war officially ended only after U.S. Senate ratification on 17 February 1815.
SourcesWikipedia ↗Image: Michel Felice Corne (1752-1845) / Public domain ↗
South Asia
Anglo-Nepalese WarThe Anglo-Nepalese War (1814–1816) was a conflict between the British East India Company and the Kingdom of Nepal, sparked by territorial disputes and expansionist ambitions. Fought in the rugged Himalayas, the war saw fierce Nepalese resistance under commanders like Amar Singh Thapa, and early British setbacks followed by advances under leaders such as Major General David Ochterlony. The war ended with the Treaty of Sugauli.
Oceania
Musket WarsThe Musket Wars were a series of large-scale armed conflicts among Māori tribes in early 19th-century New Zealand, involving up to 3,000 battles and raids from around 1807 to 1842. Sparked by an intertribal arms race following the acquisition of muskets, the wars sought territorial gain or revenge, causing tens of thousands of casualties and enslavements, profoundly altering tribal boundaries, and influencing later New Zealand Wars.
SourcesWikipedia ↗Image: Merrett, Joseph Jenner, 1816-1854. / Public domain ↗
Around 1815
These are known only to the century, not to the year. They are listed separately so a rough date is never mistaken for an exact one.
- Emergence of the Enlightenment
- Museum Island construction begins
- Completion of Dom Pedro V Theatre
- Establishment of Tomioka Silk Mill and Related Industrial Heritage
- Construction of Hôtel Solvay begins
- Founding of Kulangsu as an International Settlement
- Construction of the Four Hydraulic Boat Lifts on the Canal du Centre begins
- Founding of Nelson's Dockyard