The world in
What happened in 1818?
12 events across 5 world regions, each with its sources.
Europe
- Unification of Italy
The 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 ↗
- 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 ↗
- Caucasian War
The 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.
SourcesWikipedia ↗
- Outbreak of the Russo-Circassian War
In 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 ↗
- Signing of the Treaty of 1818
In 1818, the U.S. and U.K. signed a treaty in London, resolving most boundary disputes. It set the border along the 49th parallel from the Lake of the Woods to the Rocky Mountains and allowed joint occupation of Oregon Country.
SourcesWikipedia ↗
- Foundation of Saint Isaac's Cathedral
Saint Isaac's Cathedral was founded in 1818 in Saint Petersburg, Russia, commissioned by Emperor Alexander I and dedicated to Saint Isaac of Dalmatia, patron saint of Peter the Great. Its design was inspired by London's St Paul's Cathedral and intended to accommodate 14,000 worshippers. Upon completion, the cathedral exceeded 100 metres in height and became the largest church in the city.
SourcesWikipedia ↗
Central & South America
- Battle of Maipú
The Battle of Maipú was fought near Santiago, Chile on 5 April 1818, during the Chilean War of Independence. Patriot forces led by Argentine general José de San Martín decisively defeated the Spanish royalists, securing the independence of central Chile from Spanish rule.
SourcesWikipedia ↗
- Founding of precursor to National Museum of Brazil
Around 1818, a scientific research institute—the precursor to the National Museum of Brazil—was established in Rio de Janeiro. As Brazil's oldest scientific institution, it later moved into the Paço de São Cristóvão, a former royal palace. After the monarchy's fall, the building was assigned to the museum in 1892. Since 1946, the museum has been under the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro. A catastrophic fire in 2018 largely destroyed the main building.
SourcesWikipedia ↗
North America
- Spanish American wars of independence
A 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.
SourcesWikipedia ↗
- Founding of Mooresville
Mooresville was established as a town in Limestone County, Alabama, in the early 19th century. It lies near the junction of Interstate 565 and Interstate 65, covering a small area with a small population.
SourcesWikipedia ↗
South Asia
- Third Anglo-Maratha War
Between 1817 and 1819, the British East India Company fought the final large-scale conflict against the Maratha Empire. British forces, led by Governor-General Hastings, decimated the Maratha army despite being outnumbered. The war ended with the dissolution of the Maratha Empire and Company control over most of India.
SourcesWikipedia ↗
Oceania
- Musket Wars
The 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 ↗
Around 1818
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