The Great Events in the History of the Last One Hundred Years, Assembled
so as to Present a Nutshell Record of Each Decade.
_Compiled and edited for_ THE SCRAP BOOK.
In many respects the nineteenth century was the most
remarkable in the history of the world. In no corresponding
period did science vouchsafe to men so many revelations, or
did wars result in such sweeping political changes. It was
the age of steam, electricity, and steel; of Napoleon,
Wellington, Nelson, Grant, Lee, and Moltke; of Bismarck,
Gladstone, and Lincoln; of Garibaldi and Bolivar; of
Stephenson, Fulton, Morse, and Edison; of Darwin, Huxley,
and Emerson; of Wagner and Verdi; of Byron and Scott, of
Tennyson and Victor Hugo, of Dickens and Balzac, of
Hawthorne and Poe.
In the nineteenth century were all the glories of the
Victorian Era, and in it slavery was abolished in the United
States and serfdom in Russia. It saw the liberation of South
America, the unification of Italy, and the creation of the
kingdoms of Greece, Servia, and Rumania. It saw the United
States grow from a small nation to a rich and powerful one;
it witnessed the development of Great Britain's scattered
colonies into the most extensive empire the world has yet
known; and in its latter years it beheld the rise of Germany
to commanding military power and great industrial
prosperity. The progress made in the field of invention was
astounding. The coming of the railroad and the steamship
revolutionized the history of civilization. The art,
literature, and drama of the world were greatly enriched,
and music entered upon what may truly be said to be its
golden age.
But, confronted by this great mass of events, how many
persons are there who are able to tell the story of the
years in which those events occurred? Several histories of
the nineteenth century have been written, but none of them
has yet succeeded in giving the clear, concise view that the
one now published in THE SCRAP BOOK purposes to give. This
will be complete in ten instalments, each instalment
covering a period of ten years. We begin with the year 1800,
the last of the eighteenth century, in order to give the
reader a clearer understanding of the situation of affairs
at the opening of the nineteenth.
1800
Napoleon, then the dominating figure of the world, continued the work of
reorganizing the government, centralizing power in his own hands; subdued
the last of the French loyalists, and took the Tuileries as his residence.
Only Paul, the imbecile Czar of Russia, returned a favorable answer to the
request for friendly relations sent by Napoleon to the powers the previous
December.
In Egypt, General Kleber, commander of the French forces, agreed with the
English admiral, Sir Sydney Smith, to evacuate the country; treaty
rejected by the English Parliament; Kleber drove the grand vizier into
Syria; restored French rule in Egypt; assassinated by an Arab; succeeded
by General Menou.
War resumed between France and Austria; General Moreau defeated the
Germans and Austrians under Kray at Engen and Moeskirch in Baden and at
Biberach in Wuertemberg; in Bavaria Lecourbe and Ney took Memmingen; Ney
defeated General Mack at Ulm; and at Hochstaedt Moreau again defeated the
Austrians. Finally, at Hohenlinden, the Austrians suffered a crushing
defeat, and sued for an armistice.
Meanwhile the French under Massena were hemmed in in Genoa by an English
fleet and an Austrian army. Napoleon started from France with a force of
thirty-six thousand men, in four days crossed the Alps into Piedmont, and
attacked the Austrians under Melas at Marengo; Napoleon saved from defeat
by General Desaix's division, which arrived in time to make a brilliant
charge when Napoleon's army was retreating; Desaix killed; Melas sued for
an armistice; French masters of Italy. Genoa surrendered, fifteen thousand
men having died of starvation, but was returned to the French. England
reduced Malta. Russia joined with Denmark and Sweden in an armed
neutrality against England. The English stood firm against Napoleon. The
English navy grew stronger, and maritime trade increased. The French navy
dwindled, and trade was at a standstill. The Irish Parliament met for the
last time, one hundred members from Ireland being admitted to the next
session of the English Parliament. Bread riots in England.
The United States Congress met for the first time at Washington. Voltaic
pile discovered by Volta. Mary Kres, for a straw-weaving device, obtained
the first patent granted a woman in America. William Cowper, English poet,
died.
=POPULATION--Washington, D.C., 3,210; New York City (with boroughs now
forming Greater New York), 79,216; New York (Manhattan), 60,515; London
(including Metropolitan District, census 1801), 864,484; London (old city,
census 1801), 158,859; United States, 5,308,433; Great Britain (census
1801), 10,942,646.=
=RULERS--United States, John Adams; Great Britain, George III; France,
Napoleon Bonaparte, First Consul; Spain, Charles IV; Prussia, Frederick
William III; Russia, Paul; Germany, including Austria, Francis II; Sweden,
Gustavus IV; Portugal, Maria Francesca--eldest son, John, regent; Pope,
Pius VII.=
1801
Peace of Luneville between France and Germany; the Rhine as far as the
Dutch frontier made the boundary of France, the Helvetian (Swiss),
Cisalpine, and Ligurian republics to be recognized, and the treaty of
Campo Formio confirmed. Spain ceded Louisiana to France. Peace between
France and Naples closed the ports of Naples to England, and began a
continental embargo. Pitt resigned as English prime minister. King George
III suffered a recurring attack of insanity; recovered. English defeated
the French at Aboukir and Alexandria and captured Cairo. French evacuated
Egypt; Turkish rule restored.
Paul, Czar of Russia, struck down by Prince Zubov and strangled by the
prince's followers. Alexander I, his successor, favorable to the English;
Denmark and Sweden continued armed neutrality, and on Denmark's refusing
terms offered by England, a fleet under Parker, Nelson second in command,
prepared to attack Copenhagen. Nelson commanded the attack; seemed to
fail; was signaled to retreat; put his blind eye to the telescope and
said, "I really do not see the signal," and then "Damn the signal! Keep
mine for closer action flying." Continued the attack, took or destroyed
eighteen vessels out of the Danish fleet of twenty-three, and summarily
ended the dispute.
In San Domingo, Toussaint L'Ouverture led an unsuccessful revolt against
the French. Exhausted resources necessitated a cessation of hostilities
between France and England, October 1. Catholic Church, under state
supervision, restored in France. Robert Fulton offered to build steam
vessels for Napoleon, who rejected the idea as visionary.
In the United States, Congress decided the tie vote of the previous year
between Jefferson and Burr in Jefferson's favor; Burr Vice-President;
Jefferson inaugurated March 4, first President to be inaugurated in
Washington; wore long trousers and aroused a storm of protest, many
considering them a dangerous innovation. Open conflict between America and
the Barbary pirates. Jacquard weaving-loom invented. Lavater,
physiognomist, died.
=RULERS--The same as in the previous year, except that Thomas Jefferson
became President of the United States March 4, and Alexander I succeeded
Paul as Czar of Russia.=
1802
General destitution prevailed in England; governmental expenses reduced.
The Italian Republic succeeded the Cisalpine Republic, and Napoleon was
elected President. The Peace of Amiens between England and France, Holland
and Spain; France, Spain, and Holland received back all colonies except
Trinidad and Ceylon, retained by England, and England to have an open port
at the Cape of Good Hope; Malta to be restored by England to the Knights
of St. John; France to leave Elba, Rome, and Naples; integrity of the
Turkish Empire to be maintained. Napoleon permitted all but one thousand
French loyalists to return; a portion of their lands was restored, but all
hereditary privileges were denied.
Napoleon reformed the French educational system, established the Legion of
Honor, and restored slavery in the West Indies. Toussaint, after a short
and horrible war, was treacherously captured in Hayti, taken to France,
and died in a French dungeon the year following. Turkey allowed France
access to the Black Sea. English embassy reestablished in Paris.
Switzerland invaded by the French, and Napoleon's course in Italy caused
friction with the English; in reply to protests, Napoleon declared Italy,
Switzerland, and Holland were at the absolute disposal of France. In
carrying out the terms of the Peace of Luneville France began a systematic
encroachment on German territory. British naval mutiny in Bantry Bay,
Ireland, quelled and six leaders hanged. Hortense, daughter of Josephine,
married Louis, brother of Napoleon.
Humphry Davy produced light by using two carbon points and an electric
current--the forerunner of the arc light, and entered on studies that led
to photography. One thousand persons drowned in Lorca, Spain, by a
bursting reservoir. West Point Military Academy founded. Ohio admitted to
the Union.
=RULERS--The same as in the previous year.=
1803
April 30, the American commissioners, Monroe and Livingston, signed the
transfer treaty whereby France ceded Louisiana for sum of fifteen million
dollars. The United States ship Philadelphia captured by pirates in the
harbor of Tripoli, and three hundred American sailors sold into slavery;
Stephen Decatur entered the harbor, blew up the Philadelphia, and escaped.
Emmet rebellion in Ireland suppressed; Emmet hanged. Active work on the
Code Napoleon begun, and part of the civil code promulgated. English
travelers in France declared prisoners; Napoleon announced that England,
alone, was powerless against him; a feint made of invading England; war
declared by England May 13; French commerce almost destroyed. French
driven out of Hayti, having suffered from disease, and lost heavily in a
war in which atrocities were practised by both sides.
Mahratta War in India; natives in some cases incited and led by French
officers; Sir Arthur Wellesley, afterward Duke of Wellington,
distinguished himself; much of northern India came under British rule.
English troops massacred in Colombo, Ceylon. Treaty between France and
America; Bank of France founded; censorship of the press in France,
English papers excluded from the country. Robert Fulton failed in his
steamboat experiments on the Seine. Mme. de Stael again exiled from
France.
United States made grants of land to colleges. September 30, corner-stone
of New York City Hall laid. Malthus published his "Essay on Population."
The first printing press in New South Wales set up. Alfieri, Italian poet,
and Sir William Hamilton, British diplomat, died.
=RULERS--The same as in the previous year.=
1804
England recalled Pitt to power. Napoleon made costly and futile
preparations to invade England. Moreau and Pichegru conspiracy against
Napoleon; Pichegru found strangled in prison; Moreau exiled; Duc d'Enghien
captured and shot; twenty persons guillotined. France ordered German
states to expel French loyalists and English subjects. French Senate urged
Napoleon to found a hereditary monarchy, succession to be in the male
line, or, in default of issue, the crown to go to Joseph, and, if he died,
to Louis Bonaparte. May 18, Napoleon accepted, and December 2 he and
Josephine were crowned; when Pius VII went to place the crown on
Napoleon's head, the latter snatched it and crowned himself. Napoleon
created a new nobility and eight marshals. Prussia and Austria recognized
him as Emperor of France. Dessalines, a Haytian negro, followed
Bonaparte's example, and created himself Emperor Jean Jacques I.
Lewis and Clark set out on their trip across the American continent. Burr
killed Hamilton in a duel. America continued a running fight with the
Barbary pirates. Shaft sunk for a Thames tunnel; work later abandoned.
England captured Spanish ships bearing ten million dollars' tribute to
Napoleon; Spain declared war. English Bible Society founded. Immanuel
Kant, German philosopher, died.
=RULERS--The same as in the previous year, except that Napoleon Bonaparte
became Emperor of France, and Francis II of Germany assumed the title of
Emperor Francis I of Austria.=
1805
Russia and Sweden joined in the coalition against Napoleon. Active war
preparations in France; grand review of the French army on the field of
Marengo; Genoa annexed by France; Napoleon crowned King of Italy. France,
Spain, and South German states pitted against England, Russia, Austria,
and Sweden. Admiral Villeneuve moved against the British fleet; bottled up
in Cadiz by Admiral Collingwood; threats of disgrace caused Villeneuve to
make a desperate rush; met near Cape Trafalgar by Nelson and Collingwood,
October 21; in the ensuing battle the French and Spanish fleet was
practically destroyed. Nelson was fatally shot in the hour of victory;
Villeneuve was captured, and later committed suicide.
Abandoning his plan to invade England, Napoleon marched into Germany,
threw the badly battered Austrian forces under General Mack into Ulm, and
captured the city with twenty-three thousand men. In Italy, Massena,
French commander, inflicted heavy losses on Archduke Charles, and forced
him to sue for an armistice. Vienna captured by Murat. Prussian prime
minister demanded reparation for French violation of Prussian territory,
but was temporized with in negotiations by Talleyrand while Napoleon
prepared to move against the Russians and Austrians. On December 2 he
inflicted a crushing defeat on the allies at Austerlitz, and the Russian
army withdrew. Austria forced to grant all demands. Dalmatia and Venice
taken from Austria and given to Italy; alliance against France temporarily
broken; England left to fight alone.
Jefferson began his second term as President of the United States. The
Barbary pirates beaten by an American force under General Eaton and forced
to relinquish their claims to tribute. Agitation in the United States
strong for a war with Spain and for the annexation of Texas and part of
Mexico; the agitation subsided when the French ambassador declared France
would side with Spain. Aaron Burr went West, and began planning for the
invasion of Texas. Jerome Bonaparte married Miss Eliza Patterson, an
American.
Five thousand persons killed by an earthquake near Naples. Schiller,
German poet, historian, and dramatist; Paley, English theologian; and
Mungo Park, Scottish traveler, died.
=RULERS--The same as in the previous year.=
1806
Napoleon dethroned the Bourbons in Naples, and made Joseph Bonaparte King
of Naples and Sicily; Louis Bonaparte made King of Holland, and Jerome
Bonaparte was commanded to leave his American wife and child, marry
Catherine of Wuertemberg, and rule Westphalia; Lucien Bonaparte exiled for
refusing to leave his wife and become a king. Napoleon parceled out
acquired territory among his followers and members of his family; obliged
neighboring countries to harbor and support the French army, and ordered
the completion of the Louvre.
The English admirals Strachan, Duckworth, Warren, and Hood destroyed
almost all of the few remaining French war-ships. England and France
mutually laid embargoes. English interference with the commerce of all
nations; President Jefferson protested without avail; anger in America
because of the killing of an American sailor by a stray shot from the
British cruiser Leander.
At Maida, Calabria, four thousand English under Sir John Stuart killed or
captured four thousand out of seven thousand French, and lost but
forty-five men killed. France, however, suppressed the revolt in Calabria
at great loss of lives.
The Holy Roman Empire dissolved, and the Confederation of the Rhine
formed. Denmark annexed Holstein. Palm, a Nuremberg publisher, shot for
circulating an anti-Napoleonic book. Queen Louise led the Prussian
opposition to Napoleon, and Prussia joined the war against him. Germany
invaded, and at Auerstadt, Davoust defeated Charles William of Brunswick,
while at Jena Napoleon defeated Prince Hohenlohe; in both battles, fought
August 14, the Prussians lost nearly fifty thousand killed, wounded, and
captured, while the French lost about sixteen thousand. The French entered
Berlin, and Napoleon despoiled Frederick the Great's tomb with his sword.
Napoleon constructed the kingdom of Westphalia from a part of Prussia,
Hanover, Hesse-Cassel, and upper Saxony; exacted an indemnity of thirty
million dollars from Prussia; forbade trade with Great Britain, and
stirred the Poles to revolt against Russia, then at war with Turkey. He
advanced through Poland against Russia, won hard-fought battles at
Moehrungen, Golymin, and Pultusk. The French army wintered around Warsaw.
Here Napoleon met Countess Walewski, who later became the mother of his
son Alexander.
Lewis and Clark returned from their trip across America. William Pitt and
Charles Fox, English statesmen, died. Public funeral of Nelson.
=RULERS--The same as in the previous year.=
1807
The winter quarters of Napoleon's army in Warsaw were unendurable, and in
attempting to move on Koenigsberg the French were attacked by the Russians
at Eylau, where both sides lost sixty thousand men in a desperate but
indecisive battle. The Russian Czar Alexander freed the serfs of the
Baltic Provinces. England declared war against Turkey in order to assist
Russia. Continuation of the fight of the Russians and Prussians against
the French in Poland. The Prussian fortress of Dantzig captured by the
French. Sweden was forced to a truce with Russia. At Heilsburg the
Russians and Prussians inflicted a loss of ten thousand on the French.
June 14, anniversary of Marengo, Napoleon won a superb victory at
Friedland, Ney saving the day by a splendid charge. Russia and Prussia
forced to ask for an armistice.
Napoleon met Alexander on a richly carpeted raft on the Niemen, and peace
was arranged; Russia to break with England and annex Finland; Prussia to
be left out of the Federation of the Rhine; the Ionian Isles and
Montenegro to be taken from Turkey, and war to be begun against Sweden,
Denmark, and Portugal, unless they join in the blockade against England.
The British evacuated Egypt. Napoleon began internal reforms at home and
aided manufacturers.
Encounter between the American frigate Chesapeake and the British ship
Leopard; three Americans killed and eight wounded; Commodore Barron, of
the Chesapeake, disgraced; three of the sailors taken from the Chesapeake
received five hundred lashes each, and one was hanged. America threatened
war, but English authorities approved. England seized the Danish fleet to
prevent Napoleon from turning it against her. The slave-trade abolished by
the English Parliament. England forbade American vessels to trade between
any but its own or British ports. The Sultan Selim was deposed by his
followers. Sweden lost Stralsund to the French. Prussia abolished serfdom
and feudal social distinctions. French troops occupied Portugal, driving
the Portuguese court and royal family to Brazil. America laid an embargo
on British goods. The trial of Aaron Burr for treason, and his acquittal,
the growing discussion of slavery in the American Congress, and the
trouble with England harassed Jefferson and made his position almost
unendurable.
In August, Robert Fulton at last succeeded in his experiments on the
Hudson, and his steamship, the Clermont, on September 14, began a trip
from New York to Albany, one hundred and ten miles, taking twenty-four
hours. A great Sanhedrim, or convention, of Jewish rabbis, in Paris passed
upon and modified the interpretation of the Mosaic dispensation.
Artificial aeration of waters discovered. First capitol built at Albany.
Davy separated potassium and sodium. Illuminating-gas first used in
London.
=RULERS--The same as in the previous year.=
1808
France seized strongholds in northern Spain; Murat took command of the
French forces. Spanish Minister Godoy, possessor of immense wealth looted
from the government, resigned power. King Charles of Spain abdicated in
favor of his son Ferdinand. Murat entered Madrid; riots there against the
French. Ferdinand of Spain, decoyed to meet Napoleon, forced to abdicate
and held prisoner. Rome invaded by Napoleon, who, threatened with
excommunication, seized part of the Papal States. Joseph Bonaparte made
King of Spain. England sent troops and money to aid Spain against France.
Murat crowned King of Naples. Spanish guerrillas harried the French
troops, but Napoleon neglected to take command of his forces. A French
force looted Cordova, was captured at Baylen, and sent to the galleys. The
French repulsed at Saragossa and Gerona. King Joseph, after nine days in
Madrid, fled with the Spanish royal treasure. Wellington landed in
Portugal. Spanish soldiers in the French army deserted with their leader,
Marquis Romana.
Austria, Prussia, and Turkey--where the Janizaries had deposed Mustapha
and made Mahmoud Sultan--prepared to follow up advantages won by Spain.
Napoleon attempted to enlist the United States against England, but
Jefferson kept away from the conflict. The Spanish colonies in America
expelled French settlers. Napoleon oppressed Prussia and extorted money.
Goethe decorated by Napoleon with the cross of the Legion of Honor. Russia
and France formed an alliance and unavailingly submitted peace proposals
to England. Napoleon took command in Spain, routed the Spaniards at
Espinoza, Burgos, and Tudela, and forced his way to Madrid. China
suspended trade with England.
Trade in America ruined by the embargo, and great suffering resulted.
Madison elected President; George Clinton, Vice-President. Importation of
slaves to the United States prohibited. Anthracite coal first used as a
fuel in the United States. First printing press in Brazil set up. First
American temperance society founded, Saratoga County, New York.
=RULERS--The same as in the previous year, except that Charles IV of Spain
abdicated in favor of his son Ferdinand VII, who, in turn, was forced by
Napoleon to abdicate in favor of Joseph Bonaparte.=
1809
In the retreat to Corunna the British lost heavily, made a stand there,
repulsed the French, and successfully embarked; Sir John Moore was killed;
many British transports were wrecked, and the troops returned in a
deplorable condition. The Duke of York, commander-in-chief of the British
forces, compelled to resign for malfeasance in office. Mrs. Clark was his
agent in selling military commissions. The Earl of Chatham resigned as
master-general of the ordnance, after having allowed ten thousand British
troops to die in the swamps of Walcheren, Holland.
Napoleon returned to Paris, at one stage covering eighty-five miles on
horseback in five hours, quarreled with Talleyrand and Fouche, reproved
Louis Bonaparte, and openly insulted Josephine. Saragossa taken by the
French, after a marvelous resistance. War between France and Austria. The
Austrians defeated at Abendsberg, Eckmuehl, and Regensburg, and forced to
retreat. The French occupied Vienna. The remaining Papal States annexed to
Italy. Napoleon excommunicated; seized Pius VII and imprisoned him at
Savona. The French armies in Spain and Portugal suffered reverses. At
Aspern and Esslingen, Austria, Napoleon was defeated; but he retrieved
this disaster in the great battle of Wagram, in which sixty thousand men
fell on both sides, and Austria sought an armistice, Napoleon exacting an
indemnity of forty-seven million dollars. The British destroyed a French
fleet at Aix. At Talavera, Wellington defeated the French, but was forced
later to retreat. The Spaniards were defeated at Ocana, and the French
captured Cordova, Seville, and Gerona. Andreas Hofer, leader of the
Tyrolese, was betrayed, and executed by the French the following February.
Peace signed at Vienna, October 14. Napoleon leveled the fortifications of
Vienna, and took fifty thousand square miles of Austrian territory. He
also ordered all American merchandise confiscated, and issued a decree
divorcing Josephine.
Madison inaugurated as President of the United States. The embargo against
England removed. American trade ruined. Jefferson went out of office,
generally condemned. New British ministry repudiated the agreement with
the United States, and friction between the two countries increased.
Staaps, a German student, executed for attempt on Napoleon's life. General
destitution and bread riots throughout England; the whole continent
plunged in want and misery. Gustavus IV of Sweden deposed, and his uncle
became Charles XIII. Russia turned against France. Finland formally ceded
to Russia.
Thomas Paine, publicist, and Joseph Haydn, musician, died. Mammoth Cave,
Kentucky, discovered.
=RULERS--The same as in the previous year, except that James Madison
became President of the United States, March 4, and Charles XIII succeeded
Gustavus IV of Sweden.=
1810
Anti-Ministerial riots in London. French successful in Spain, winning at
Beylen, Cordova, Seville, Granada, and Malaga. At Valencia they were
defeated, but slaughtered the garrison at Hostalrich. Napoleon married
Archduchess Marie Louise at Vienna, by proxy, the ceremony being repeated
later in Paris. Ordered all American ships in French ports seized. Louis
Bonaparte objecting, a French force marched into Holland, and Louis
abdicated. Holland annexed by France. Lucien Bonaparte went into voluntary
exile. The Crown Prince of Sweden having died, Marshal Bernadotte, once a
common soldier in the French marines, became crown prince.
Wellington repulsed the French in Portugal from his position at Torres
Vedras. Cadiz bravely resisted the French. War between Turkey and Russia
stopped by Russia's approaching conflict with France. Napoleon ordered all
goods of English manufacture burned. Spanish provinces throughout America
revolted. The British seized French Guadeloupe and Ile de Bourbon. Fouche
sent into exile. Queen Louise of Prussia died.
Daniel O'Connell began agitation for a repeal of the Irish union with
England. Trade throughout the world ruined, and many merchants committed
suicide. Prince of Wales became regent; George III absolutely demented.
Sweden declared war against England. Henry Cavendish, scientist, died.
Astoria, Oregon, founded. Dr. Hahnemann, Leipsic, announced the theory
that is the foundation of homeopathic medicine.
=POPULATION--Washington, D.C., 8,208; New York (with boroughs now forming
Greater New York), 119,734; New York (Manhattan), 96,373; London
(including Metropolitan District, census 1811), 1,009,546; London (old
city), 120,909; United States, 7,239,881; Great Britain and Ireland
(census 1811), 15,547,720.=
=RULERS--United States, James Madison; Great Britain, George III; France,
Napoleon Bonaparte, emperor; Spain, Joseph Bonaparte; Prussia, Frederick
William III; Russia, Alexander I; Austria, Francis I; Sweden, Charles
XIII; Portugal, Maria Francesca--eldest son, John, regent; Pope, Pius
VII.=