- Napoleon is Defeated at the Battle of Waterloo
1815After Napoleons force was reduced to 10,000. The other nations capitalized on Napoleon's weak force and Napoleon was defeated at the battle of Waterloo in 1815.
- Padre Hidalgo Calls for Mexican Independence
1810In 1810, Padre Miguel Hidalgo was a priest in the small village of Dolores called for independence in Mexico. Padre Hidalgo assembled a force of 80,000 men to rebel against the Spanish. In 1811, his force was crushed by the Spanish.
- Napoleon Crowns Himself Emperor
1804In 1804, he declared himself emperor of France and began to create an empire. Napoleon began to try and conquer lands that he had lost but his soldiers were devastated by disease. Soon he sold all of the Louisiana Territory to the United States to gain money. The downfall of the empire began in 1806 when Napoleon decided to try to cut off Great Britain's connection with Europe and to try and destroy Great Britain's economy. This was known as the Continental System. Napoleon also tried to get Portugal to accept the Continental System by invading Spain. Napoleon lost about 300,000 men to guerrillas or peasant fighters. Napoleon then tried to invade Russia and succeeded, but as his force traveled back to France they were constantly attacked and only 10,000 soldiers remained when they were back in France.
- Haiti Wins Independence from France
1804African slaves in the French colony of Saint Domingue, or currently Haiti, wanted the ideas proposed by the National Assembly in France. In 1791, 100,000 enslaved Africans revolted with a leader by the name of Toussaint L'Ouverture. By 1801, he ruled the entire island and freed all of the slaves. In January of 1802, Napoleon tried to recapture the colony when 30,000 of his troops landed. L'Ouverture made a compromise to end the revolution if slavery was stopped but soon the French accused him of planning another attack and he was sent to prison in the French Alps.
- Napoleon Overthrows the Directory
1799Napoleon Bonaparte was born 1769 in Corsica. In 1785, he became a lieutenant in the artillary and when the Revolution broke out, became part of the new government's army. In 1795, he lead a successful French mission against forces of Austria. Later, he tried to disrupt English trade and led an expedition to Egypt but he was defeated. In 1799, he returned to France as the leader of the Directory. His seize of power angered other nations and soon Britain, Austria and Russia joined forces against Napoleon. In 1802, the three nations signed peace treaties and France was finally at peace. Napoleon, in the beginning, acted like a democratic leader allowing voters to vote on a constitution.
- The French Revolution
1789Major spending and the bad crop seasons led up to the French Revolution. Many people were starved due to the bad harvest pf 1789. Also, the previous dept and the extravagant spend of Louis XVI and his wife, Marie Antoinette, did not help the situation. Louis XVI did not address the countries situation and put off the emergency until they were literally broke. On May 5, 1789 he was forced to call a meeting of the Estates-General, or the representatives from all three states. It was the first time in 175 years this meeting was called. The Third Estate wanted to make changes to the government and soon they named themselves the National Assembly. Soon great fear struck France as the National Assembly created a type of Constitution and some politicians joined the group. Rebellions and murders took place and in October 1789, the National Assembly ordered the king and queen to Paris. It took a couple years for a Constitution to be written that satisfied the needs of most of the nation. The new reformed government gained power and Louis XVI tried to flee the country due to fear. He was recaptured and later in January of 1793, Louis XVI was charged with treason and beheaded.
- America Declares Independence
1776After the Second Continental Congress voted to raise an army after a British attack led by George Washington in 1775. The American Revolution had began. On July 4th, 1776, the Second Continental Congress issued the Declaration of Independence, a document that declared the independence of the colonies from Britain. Fighting continued until 1781 when finally the British were defeated.
- Montesquieu Publishes a Book
1748 to 1748Baron de Montesquieu was an influential French writer who devoted himself to the study of political liberty. In 1748, Montesquieu wrote his most famous book "On the Spirit of Laws". In this book he proposed the separation of powers idea which would become known as check and balances. His book was admired by political leaders in Europe and the Americas.
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