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What happened in 1879?

19 events across 8 world regions, each with its sources.

See 1879 on the map

Central & South America

  • War of the Pacific

    1879–1884Lima

    From 1879 to 1884, Chile fought a war against a Bolivian–Peruvian alliance over disputes concerning coastal territories rich in nitrates in the Atacama Desert. Chile won due to its military-technological superiority, annexing Peru's Tarapacá and Arica provinces and Bolivia's Litoral province, which deprived Bolivia of access to the sea.

    SourcesWikipedia ↗Image: Thomas Somerscales / Public domain ↗

  • Chilean occupation of Araucanía

    1861–1883Araucanía Region

    Between 1861 and 1883, Chile incorporated the ancestral Mapuche territory of Araucanía through a series of military campaigns, agreements, and penetrations. Referred to by Chilean authorities as the 'Pacification of Araucanía'.

    SourcesWikipedia ↗

  • Battle of Iquique

    1879

    On 21 May 1879, during the War of the Pacific, the Peruvian ironclad Huáscar sank the Chilean wooden corvette Esmeralda off the port of Iquique, giving Peru a naval victory.

    SourcesWikipedia ↗Image: Thomas Somerscales / Public domain ↗

Sub-Saharan Africa

  • Battle of Rorke's Drift

    1879

    On 22–23 January 1879, during the Anglo-Zulu War, a small British garrison under the command of Lieutenants John Chard and Gonville Bromhead successfully defended the mission station and supply depot at Rorke's Drift against a large force of Zulu warriors.

    SourcesWikipedia ↗Image: Alphonse de Neuville / Public domain ↗

  • Battle of Isandlwana

    1879

    On 22 January 1879, during the Anglo-Zulu War, a Zulu force of some 20,000 warriors attacked a portion of the British main column that had invaded the Zulu Kingdom. The British contingent consisted of about 1,800 troops and 350 civilians. Equipped mainly with traditional weapons, the Zulus overwhelmed the British, inflicting one of the greatest colonial defeats on the British Empire.

    SourcesWikipedia ↗Image: After John Charles Dollman / Public domain ↗

  • Anglo-Zulu War

    1879Bulawayo

    In 1879, a war broke out in South Africa between the British Empire and the Zulu Kingdom. Early large-scale bloody battles drew widespread attention, making the conflict emblematic of British colonial rule in the region. The war ended the Zulu Kingdom's existence as an independent state.

    SourcesWikipedia ↗Image: Alphonse de Neuville / Public domain ↗

Oceania

South Asia

  • Treaty of Gandamak signed

    1879Jalalabad

    On 26 May 1879, British representative Louis Cavagnari and Afghan emir Yaqub Khan signed the Treaty of Gandamak, officially ending the first phase of the Second Anglo-Afghan War. Afghanistan ceded frontier territories and surrendered control of its foreign affairs to the British Raj. The treaty aimed to regulate relations, but full peace remained elusive for months.

    SourcesWikipedia ↗Image: The Graphic: An Illustrated Weekly Newspaper / Public domain ↗

  • Outbreak of the Aceh War

    1873–1904

    In early 1873, discussions between representatives of the Aceh Sultanate and the United States in Singapore provoked the Netherlands, leading to a Dutch military attack on Aceh and the start of the Aceh War. The conflict was part of a series of late 19th-century wars that consolidated Dutch rule over modern-day Indonesia, ultimately ending in 1904 with the Dutch annexation of Aceh and control over the entire Indonesian archipelago. The war lasted over three decades, resulting in around 4,000 Dutch and 25,000 Acehnese deaths.

    SourcesWikipedia ↗Image: Unknown author Unknown author / Public domain ↗

  • Outbreak of the Second Anglo-Afghan War

    1878–1880Kabul

    In 1878, the Second Anglo-Afghan War broke out between the British Raj and the Emirate of Afghanistan. Afghanistan was then ruled by Sher Ali Khan of the Barakzai dynasty, son of former Emir Dost Mohammad Khan. The war was part of the Great Game between the British and Russian empires.

    SourcesWikipedia ↗Image: Richard Caton Woodville Jr. / Public domain ↗

East Asia

  • Meiji Restoration

    1868–1889Kyoto Imperial Palace, Kyoto, Japan

    The Meiji Restoration was a series of modernising reforms carried out in Japan between 1868 and 1889. It began with the restoration of imperial rule in 1868, overthrowing the Tokugawa shogunate and the warrior government that had ruled Japan for over six hundred years, and bringing an end to the feudal system. During the reforms, Japan actively adopted Western ideas, production methods and technology, rapidly industrialised, and underwent fundamental changes to its political and social structure, transforming the country into a modern power.

    SourcesWikipedia ↗Image: Alfred Roussin / Public domain ↗

  • Self-Strengthening Movement Begins

    1861–1895Shanghai, China

    Qing officials launched the Self-Strengthening Movement in 1861, aiming to strengthen China by adopting Western military technology. Though lasting until 1895, its beginning marked the start of modern industrialization and military modernization in China.

    SourcesWikipedia ↗Image: Unknown author Unknown author / Public domain ↗

North Africa

  • Urabi revolt

    1879–1882Cairo, Egypt

    The Urabi revolt was a nationalist uprising in the Khedivate of Egypt from 1879 to 1882, led by Colonel Ahmed Urabi, seeking to depose Khedive Tewfik Pasha and end British and French influence. It concluded with the Anglo-Egyptian War and the British takeover of Egypt.

    SourcesWikipedia ↗Image: The Illustrated London News / Public domain ↗

  • French conquest of Algeria

    1830–1904Algiers, 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 ↗Image: Horace Vernet / Public domain ↗

Europe

North America

  • Outbreak of the Caste War of Yucatán

    1847–1901

    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 ↗Image: CC SA 1.0 ↗

Around 1879

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.

  • Second Industrial Revolution

    c. 1860–1899Essen, Ruhr, Germany

  • Emergence of the Enlightenment

    c. 1601–1900Western Europe

  • Museum Island construction begins

    c. 1801–1900

  • Completion of Dom Pedro V Theatre

    c. 1801–1900

  • Establishment of Tomioka Silk Mill and Related Industrial Heritage

    c. 1801–1900

  • Construction of Hôtel Solvay begins

    c. 1801–1900

  • Founding of Kulangsu as an International Settlement

    c. 1801–1900

  • Construction of the Four Hydraulic Boat Lifts on the Canal du Centre begins

    c. 1801–1900