The world in
What happened in 1859?
17 events across 6 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 ↗
- Battle of Solferino
On 24 June 1859, the allied French and Sardinian armies under Napoleon III and Victor Emmanuel II defeated the Austrian army led by Emperor Franz Joseph I at Solferino, northern Italy. It was the decisive battle of the Second Italian War of Independence and the last major battle in world history in which all armies were under the personal command of their monarchs.
SourcesWikipedia ↗
- Battle of Magenta
The Battle of Magenta was fought on 4 June 1859 during the Second Italian War of Independence. Napoleon III's Franco-Sardinian army defeated the Austrians, forcing their retreat. Though not a large battle, it was a decisive victory for the alliance. Patrice de MacMahon was created Duke of Magenta for his role.
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 ↗
- Treaty of Zurich Signed
The Treaty of Zurich was signed on 10 November 1859 by the Austrian Empire, the French Empire, and the Kingdom of Sardinia, officially ending the Austro-Sardinian War. It reaffirmed the terms of the preliminary peace of Villafranca, with Austria ceding Lombardy to France, which then transferred it to Sardinia, restoring peace among the three powers.
SourcesWikipedia ↗
- Casa Buonarroti opened as a museum dedicated to Michelangelo
Casa Buonarroti in Florence, Italy, was converted into a museum dedicated to the sculptor Michelangelo. The buildings had been owned by Michelangelo and were later transformed by his great-nephew, Michelangelo Buonarroti the Younger. The museum houses some of Michelangelo's earliest sculptures, the Madonna of the Stairs and the Battle of the Centaurs, along with his letters, drawings, and family archives.
SourcesWikipedia ↗
North America
- Outbreak of the Caste War of Yucatán
In 1847, the Indigenous Maya people of the Yucatán Peninsula launched an armed revolt against the Hispanic population, known as the Caste War. The uprising stemmed from the latter's political and economic dominance since the Spanish conquest in the 16th century, and it is considered one of the most successful modern Native American revolts. The conflict primarily unfolded between government forces in the northwest and independent Maya groups in the southeast, lasting nearly five decades.
SourcesWikipedia ↗
- Founding of Cooper Union
American industrialist Peter Cooper founded The Cooper Union in 1859 in Manhattan, New York, aiming to provide free higher education. Inspired by the French École Polytechnique, the institution offered full scholarships to all admitted students, marking an educational innovation in the United States at the time.
SourcesWikipedia ↗
- Pig War
In 1859, the US and Britain clashed over the San Juan Islands in a dispute sparked by an American farmer shooting a Canadian pig. The standoff saw no shots fired and ended with a compromise favoring the US claim.
SourcesWikipedia ↗
- Founding of the Missouri Botanical Garden
The Missouri Botanical Garden was founded by American philanthropist Henry Shaw in St. Louis, also known as Shaw's Garden. It is a major botanical garden, with its herbarium being the second largest in North America, after the New York Botanical Garden.
SourcesWikipedia ↗
East Asia
- Second Opium War
Between 1856 and 1860, the United Kingdom and France waged a war against Qing China over disputes including opium trade rights. The war ended in another Qing defeat and the legalisation of the opium trade, seen as a continuation of the First Opium War and heightening China's sense of national crisis.
SourcesWikipedia ↗
- Opium Wars
The Opium Wars were two military conflicts between the Qing dynasty and Western powers in the mid-19th century, beginning in 1839. The first conflict was triggered by the opium prohibition, and the second is considered a continuation of the first.
SourcesWikipedia ↗
North Africa
- Hispano-Moroccan War
Spain declared war on Morocco on 22 October 1859 over a dispute about the borders of Ceuta. Fighting took place in northern Morocco. After a Spanish victory at the Battle of Tetuán, Morocco sued for peace, and the conflict ended with a treaty on 26 April 1860.
SourcesWikipedia ↗
- French conquest of Algeria
Between 1830 and 1904, France launched a military invasion and prolonged war of conquest in Algeria. In June 1830, French forces landed near Algiers, quickly seizing the capital and coastal areas. Over the following decades, despite internal political strife, France repeatedly reinforced its military presence to suppress resistance in the interior, gradually extending control southward into the Sahara, and finalizing its colonial borders by 1904.
SourcesWikipedia ↗
South Asia
- Founding of Singapore Botanic Gardens
The Singapore Botanic Gardens was founded around the mid-19th century. Located near Orchard Road, it covers 74 hectares and is a tropical garden. It is one of three gardens, and the only tropical one, to be a UNESCO World Heritage Site, inscribed in 2015.
Oceania
- New Zealand Wars outbreak
The New Zealand Wars broke out in 1845, a series of armed conflicts between the British colonial government and Māori. The root cause was disputes over the sale of Māori land to British settlers, with the conflicts lasting until 1872 across multiple campaigns.
SourcesWikipedia ↗
Around 1859
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