1800 – 1899
19th century
- June 1799 – July 1800Toussaint Louverture defeats André Rigaud in the War of the Knives
From June 1799 to July 1800 Toussaint's forces fight the mulatto general André Rigaud for control of the south of Saint-Domingue. Toussaint wins and becomes master of the whole French colony.
- 1801Toussaint Louverture takes Spanish Santo Domingo and unites the island
In 1801 Toussaint Louverture's army occupies Spanish Santo Domingo, ceded to France at Basel in 1795, freeing its slaves and making him ruler of all Hispaniola. Paris had not authorised the move.
- July 1801Toussaint Louverture promulgates a constitution making himself governor for life
A constitution proclaimed in July 1801 makes Saint-Domingue a self-governing French colony, bans slavery forever and names Toussaint Louverture governor for life. Napoleon sees it as a challenge to French authority.
- 1802French forces arrest Toussaint Louverture and deport him to France
In 1802 General Leclerc has Toussaint Louverture seized under Napoleon's secret orders and shipped to France with his family. He is jailed at Fort de Joux. Sources give May or June for the arrest.
- February 1802Napoleon's brother-in-law Leclerc lands a French army in Saint-Domingue
In early February 1802 General Charles Leclerc arrives at Saint-Domingue with a large expeditionary force sent by Napoleon to restore French control. Toussaint retreats to the mountains and war resumes.
- March 2, 1802 – March 24, 1802French army takes Crête-à-Pierrot from Dessalines after a three-week siege
From 2 to 24 March 1802 Dessalines's troops hold the fort against Leclerc's army. The French win at heavy cost, but the resistance weakens Leclerc, who is struck by yellow fever.
- March 25, 1802Britain and France sign the Treaty of Amiens
The treaty, signed by Joseph Bonaparte and Lord Cornwallis, ended a decade of war between Britain and France. It was an uneasy truce, with each side later accusing the other of breaking its terms.
- May 1802Toussaint Louverture submits to Leclerc in return for an amnesty
In early May 1802, after Dessalines and other officers defect, Toussaint recognises Leclerc's authority and retires to his estate at Ennery. Sources give 2, 6 or 7 May.
- May 20, 1802Napoleon's law of 20 May 1802 maintains slavery in the French colonies
The law of 20 May 1802 keeps or restores slavery in colonies where it had not been abolished in practice. Saint-Domingue is not named, but news of it fuels resistance to the French army there.
- April 7, 1803Toussaint Louverture dies in captivity at Fort de Joux
Toussaint Louverture dies on 7 April 1803 in the French fortress of Fort de Joux near Besançon, probably of pneumonia and the harshness of his imprisonment. The war in Saint-Domingue goes on without him.
- May 18, 1803Britain declares war on France, opening the Napoleonic Wars
Britain, citing French expansion in Italy, Switzerland and the Netherlands and a dispute over evacuating Malta, resumed war; Napoleon had in turn protested British occupation of Malta and Egypt.
- November 18, 1803Haitian army defeats the French at the Battle of Vertières
On 18 November 1803 Jean-Jacques Dessalines's forces defeat Rochambeau's army at Vertières near Cap-Français, the last major battle of the revolution. The French evacuate soon after.
- January 1, 1804Dessalines declares the independence of Haiti at Gonaïves
On 1 January 1804 Jean-Jacques Dessalines proclaims Saint-Domingue independent under the old Taíno name Haiti. It is the first state founded by a successful slave revolt and the second independent republic in the Americas.
- February 1804 – April 1804Dessalines orders the killing of the remaining French in Haiti
From February to April 1804 Dessalines has the French who stayed in Haiti killed, an estimated 3,000 to 5,000 people. He exempts some groups, including Poles and Germans. It is defended as security against a French return.
- March 7, 1804The British and Foreign Bible Society is founded
On 7 March 1804 a group including William Wilberforce founds the British and Foreign Bible Society to spread the Scriptures widely and cheaply. It begins a wave of Bible societies and mass translation and distribution.
- March 21, 1804The Napoleonic Code takes effect in France
The French civil code replaced a patchwork of feudal and regional laws with a single secular, written system. It affirmed property and legal equality for men but strengthened a husband's authority over his wife and children.
- May 18, 1804Napoleon is proclaimed Emperor of the French
Napoleon's reign as Emperor began on 18 May 1804, ending the Consulate. He crowned himself in December 1804.
- September 1804Dessalines is proclaimed Emperor Jacques I of Haiti
In September 1804 Dessalines's generals proclaim him emperor of Haiti, and he is crowned the following month. He is killed in an ambush in 1806.
- October 21, 1805Nelson defeats the Franco-Spanish fleet at Trafalgar
Off Cape Trafalgar, a British fleet under Nelson (killed in the battle) beat the combined fleets of Villeneuve and Gravina. It ended Napoleon's chances of invading Britain and confirmed British naval supremacy.
- December 2, 1805Napoleon defeats Russia and Austria at Austerlitz
Outnumbered by about 85,000 to 72,000, Napoleon routed the Russian and Austrian armies of Alexander I and Francis II. Austria left the Third Coalition by the Treaty of Pressburg on 26 December.
- August 6, 1806Francis II dissolves the Holy Roman Empire
After sixteen German states formed the French-aligned Confederation of the Rhine in July, Emperor Francis II abdicated the imperial title, ending the Holy Roman Empire.
- October 1806Dessalines is killed and Haiti divides into Christophe's north and Pétion's south
After the ambush of Emperor Jean-Jacques Dessalines in October 1806, Haiti splits in two: Henri Christophe rules the north and Alexandre Pétion heads a republic in the south and west. The division lasts until 1820.
- October 14, 1806Napoleon crushes the Prussian army at Jena and Auerstedt
On the same day, Napoleon beat Prince Hohenlohe at Jena and Marshal Davout, though outnumbered, defeated the main Prussian army at Auerstedt. Berlin fell to the French soon after.
- November 21, 1806Napoleon's Berlin Decree launches the Continental System
Napoleon banned British goods from France's allies and dependents to isolate Britain economically. Britain answered with blockading Orders in Council, and smuggling and hardship spread on both sides.
- 1807 – April 17, 1814The Peninsular War in Portugal and Spain
French forces occupied Portugal in 1807 and then Spain, where Napoleon installed his brother Joseph. Spanish armies and guerrillas, with British and Portuguese forces under Wellesley, fought until the war ended on 17 April 1814.
- July 7, 1807Treaties of Tilsit: France allies with Russia and cuts Prussia down
Napoleon and Alexander I agreed an alliance on the Neman river on 7 July. By the 9 July treaty Prussia lost about half its territory and population, including lands that formed the Duchy of Warsaw.
- November 29, 1807 – March 7, 1808The Portuguese court flees Napoleon's invasion for Brazil
On 29 November 1807, as French troops advance on Lisbon, Prince Regent John and the court, perhaps 10,000-15,000 people, sail for Brazil. They reach Salvador on 22 January 1808 and Rio de Janeiro on 7 March, making it the seat of the empire.
- May 2, 1808Madrid rises against French rule on the Dos de Mayo
After Napoleon forced Charles IV and Ferdinand VII to abdicate and installed Joseph Bonaparte, an uprising in Madrid began the Spanish rebellion against French occupation.
- July 1808Spanish forces defeat a French army at Bailén
In Andalusia, Spanish forces defeated a French army in July 1808, regarded as the first open-field defeat of Napoleon's forces on a European battlefield.
- November 7, 1808Dominican rebels defeat the French at Palo Hincado, east of Santo Domingo
On 7 November 1808 Juan Sánchez Ramírez's rebels, supported by Puerto Rico and British Jamaica, beat General Ferrand's French army at Palo Hincado. The victory opens the siege of Santo Domingo and the return of Spanish rule.
- April 1809 – October 1809Austria, with Britain and Spain, renews war against Napoleon
In April 1809 Austria launched the War of the Fifth Coalition. Napoleon defeated it at Wagram and imposed a harsh peace in October 1809.
- July 1809French garrison surrenders Santo Domingo and Spanish rule returns
In July 1809, after a siege helped by a British blockade, the French garrison leaves Santo Domingo and Spain recovers its colony. The following period of neglect is remembered as the 'España Boba' (foolish Spain).
- 1811 – March 1812José Antonio Aponte's abolitionist conspiracy is uncovered in Cuba
A conspiracy led from Havana by the free Black carpenter José Antonio Aponte spreads across the island between 1811 and March 1812, as Cuba's sugar economy expands. Spanish authorities crush it and execute its leaders.
- June 24, 1812 – December 24, 1812Napoleon invades Russia with the Grande Armée
Over 450,000 men crossed the Neman on 24 June 1812. Russia withdrew deeper, preserving its army and, at Borodino and Moscow, denying a decisive result; only about 120,000 of Napoleon's force survived. The campaign ended 24 December.
- September 7, 1812Napoleon fights the Russian army at Borodino
West of Moscow, Napoleon failed to destroy Kutuzov's Russian army in what was among the bloodiest single days of the wars. The Russians then withdrew and abandoned Moscow.
- September 14, 1812Napoleon enters a burning, deserted Moscow
French troops occupied Moscow, set ablaze under governor Rostopchin. Napoleon waited about five weeks for a peace offer that never came, then began the retreat in October.
- 1813Robert Morrison completes a Chinese New Testament
Reaching Macau in 1807 as the first Protestant missionary in China, Robert Morrison completes and prints a Chinese New Testament by the end of 1813, working in Canton. A full Bible follows later.
- October 16, 1813 – October 19, 1813Battle of Leipzig: the Sixth Coalition defeats Napoleon
Russian, Austrian, Prussian and Swedish armies under Alexander I, Schwarzenberg, Blücher and Bernadotte defeated Napoleon in the largest battle of the wars. France lost control of lands east of the Rhine.
- 1814 – 1815Geneva joins the Swiss Confederation as a canton
After the French leave at the end of 1813 and Geneva's independence is restored, the Congress of Vienna admits it to the Swiss Confederation as a canton in 1814–1815.
- April 6, 1814Napoleon abdicates and is exiled to Elba
After the Sixth Coalition captured Paris, Napoleon's first reign ended on 6 April 1814. He was sent to the island of Elba, where he stayed from 30 May 1814 to 26 February 1815.
- August 3, 1814 – 1815Pumacahua and Cusco's creoles rise demanding the liberal reforms of 1812
On 3 August 1814 Mateo Pumacahua and creole leaders form a junta in Cusco, demanding the reforms of the 1812 Spanish Constitution. Royal forces retake the city and Pumacahua is executed in 1815.
- September 1814 – June 9, 1815The Congress of Vienna redraws Europe
Metternich, Castlereagh, Alexander I, Hardenberg and the defeated France's Talleyrand sought a balance of power and the restoration of the pre-revolutionary order. The Final Act was signed on 9 June 1815.
- March 20, 1815Napoleon returns from Elba: the Hundred Days begin
Napoleon left Elba and regained power in France, with his Hundred Days beginning on 20 March 1815. The Seventh Coalition of the allies ended it at Waterloo in June.
- June 18, 1815Wellington and Blücher defeat Napoleon at Waterloo
An Anglo-allied army under Wellington held until the Prussians under Blücher broke the French right flank. Napoleon abdicated again on 22 June and was exiled to Saint Helena.
- November 20, 1815The Napoleonic Wars formally end
The wars ended in a Coalition victory, with 20 November 1815 given as the end date, months after Waterloo and the Congress of Vienna's Final Act.
- September 1820San Martín's Liberating Expedition lands on the coast of Peru
In September 1820 José de San Martín's Expedición Libertadora, sailing from Chile, lands at Pisco Bay and Paracas to free Peru from Spain. Sources give 7 or 8 September for the landing.
- 1821 – February 9, 1822Núñez de Cáceres declares the independent Republic of Spanish Haiti
In late 1821 (30 November or 1 December) José Núñez de Cáceres declares Spanish Santo Domingo independent from Spain, intending to join Gran Colombia. It has little support and falls to Haiti on 9 February 1822.
- May 5, 1821Napoleon dies in exile on Saint Helena
Napoleon Bonaparte died at Longwood on the British-held island of Saint Helena in the South Atlantic, where he had been exiled since 1815.
- July 28, 1821San Martín proclaims the independence of Peru in Lima
On 28 July 1821, days after his army occupies Lima, José de San Martín proclaims Peru independent of Spain. The royalists keep the highlands, and the war continues for three more years.
- February 9, 1822Haitian president Boyer takes Santo Domingo and rules the whole island
On 9 February 1822 Jean-Pierre Boyer enters Santo Domingo with some 10,000-12,000 troops, uniting Hispaniola under Haiti and ending slavery in the east. The occupation lasts 22 years.
- July 26, 1822 – July 27, 1822San Martín and Bolívar meet in Guayaquil, and San Martín withdraws
In Guayaquil on 26-27 July 1822, sources giving one or both days, José de San Martín and Simón Bolívar disagree on how to govern the patriot cause. San Martín then leaves the war and Bolívar takes charge of Peru's liberation.
- August 6, 1824Bolívar's cavalry defeats the royalists at Junín
On 6 August 1824 Bolívar's patriot cavalry defeats José de Canterac's royalists on the plain of Junín in a short engagement fought with swords and lances. Sources disagree on troop numbers.
- December 9, 1824Sucre wins the Battle of Ayacucho and Spanish rule in Peru collapses
On 9 December 1824 Antonio José de Sucre defeats the royalist army at Ayacucho; Viceroy José de la Serna is wounded and captured, and Canterac signs the capitulation. The viceroyalty is dissolved on 30 December.
- 1825Haiti borrows 30 million francs in Paris to pay the first instalment
In late 1825 a bond issue of 30 million francs at 6% over 25 years, arranged by Ternaux Gandolphe and a Laffitte-led consortium, nets Haiti only 24 million after commissions. It is the first of the loans that become the 'double debt'.
- April 17, 1825Charles X recognises Haiti's independence in return for an indemnity of 150 million francs
A royal ordinance of 17 April 1825, backed by a French naval squadron, grants Haiti's independence on condition that it pay 150 million francs to former colonists. Haiti borrows in France to pay, a burden that lasts for generations.
- July 3, 1825French squadron under Baron de Mackau arrives at Port-au-Prince with Charles X's ordinance
On 3 July 1825 Captain Mackau reaches Port-au-Prince aboard La Circé; fourteen French warships with 528 cannons soon stand off the city. They carry the ordinance demanding 150 million francs for recognition of Haiti's independence.
- July 11, 1825Haiti's president Boyer and Senate accept France's terms under the guns of the squadron
Jean-Pierre Boyer accepts the French conditions on 8 July 1825, asking for a review, and the Haitian Senate registers the undertaking on 11 July. Haiti agrees to pay 150 million francs to former colonists in five annual instalments.
- 1826 – 1838Haiti pays the first fifth of the indemnity, then falls into default
After paying the first 30 million francs in 1826, partly with treasury funds shipped to France, Haiti cannot meet later instalments. It defaults on both the indemnity and the loan until the 1838 renegotiation.
- January 23, 1826Callao, the last Spanish stronghold in Peru, surrenders
On 23 January 1826 the Real Felipe fortress at Callao capitulates, after a siege that began after Ayacucho. It is the last major Spanish stronghold in Peru, and Spain recognises Peruvian independence only in 1879.
- April 30, 1826France passes a law to distribute Haiti's indemnity among former colonists
The law of 30 April 1826 sets up how the money Haiti pays is shared among former Saint-Domingue planters and their heirs, after Haiti pays the first fifth of the indemnity. A royal decree of 9 May fixes eligibility and valuation rules.
- February 12, 1838France and Haiti sign a treaty reducing the indemnity and recognising Haiti outright
On 12 February 1838 France lowers the remaining debt to 90 million francs, payable over 30 years, and recognises Haiti unconditionally. One source gives 60 million, and Haiti is pushed to borrow again to pay.
- July 16, 1838Juan Pablo Duarte founds La Trinitaria, a secret society for Dominican independence
On 16 July 1838 Duarte and friends in Santo Domingo form La Trinitaria, a secret society working in three-person cells for independence from Haitian rule. Its members go on to lead the 1844 revolt.
- March 1843Boyer is overthrown in Haiti and goes into exile
In March 1843 a liberal revolt forces Jean-Pierre Boyer out of Haiti after 25 years in power; Charles Hérard takes over. The turmoil gives the Dominican independence movement the opening it needs.
- February 27, 1844Dominican patriots declare independence from Haiti in Santo Domingo
On the night of 27 February 1844 Mella, Sánchez and Duarte's Trinitarios proclaim a separate state in the east of Hispaniola, ending 22 years of Haitian rule. The Dominican Republic is born.
- March 19, 1844 – March 30, 1844Dominican forces defeat Haitian armies at Azua and Santiago
In March 1844 Pedro Santana's troops repel a Haitian column at Azua (19 March), and José María Imbert's heavily outnumbered garrison beats Jean-Louis Pierrot's army at Santiago (30 March). The victories secure the newly declared Dominican Republic.
- April 1849Santana defeats Emperor Soulouque's invading Haitian army at Las Carreras
In April 1849 Pedro Santana defeats the Haitian army led in person by Emperor Faustin Soulouque in a two-day battle near Azua, the main Dominican victory between the 1844 battles and the last Haitian invasion of 1855-1856.
- August 1851Narciso López lands an expedition in Cuba and is defeated and executed
After earlier attempts in 1848-1850 failed, Narciso López lands in Pinar del Río in August 1851 with an armed force from abroad. Spanish troops defeat it and López is executed.
- October 1854US diplomats meet at Ostend and argue that the United States may seize Cuba
In October 1854 James Buchanan, Pierre Soulé and John Y. Mason meet at Ostend and write that the US should buy Cuba, and would be justified in taking it if Spain refuses. Criticism in the North and in Europe ends the plan.
- 1855The term "Sea Peoples" is coined
In 1855 Emmanuel de Rougé, working from the Medinet Habu inscriptions, proposes the name "Sea Peoples"; Gaston Maspero develops it in 1895-96. It is a modern term, and most of the groups it covers appear to have travelled by land.
- December 1855 – January 1856Dominican troops defeat Haiti’s 1855–1856 invasion at Santomé and Sabana Larga
Dominican troops defeat the Haitian southern column at Santomé (22 December 1855), killing General Antoine Pierrot, and a larger Haitian army near Dajabón at Sabana Larga (27 January 1856).
- February 4, 1859Tischendorf secures Codex Sinaiticus at Mount Sinai
On 4 February 1859 Constantin von Tischendorf is shown the 4th-century Codex Sinaiticus at Saint Catherine's Monastery. It goes to Russia, and in 1933 the Soviet state sells it to the British Museum.
- March 18, 1861Pedro Santana announces the Dominican Republic's return to Spanish rule
On 18 March 1861 the annexation of the Dominican Republic to Spain is announced under President Pedro Santana. Historians debate whether it was a return to Spanish rule or an annexation; it lasts until 1865.
- August 16, 1863Dominican rebels cross the border from Haiti and rise against Spain
On 16 August 1863 a group led by Santiago Rodríguez raises the flag of revolt at Capotillo. The Restoration War follows, with guerrilla fighting that costs Spain thousands of men, many to disease.
- March 3, 1865 – July 1865Spain annuls the annexation of Santo Domingo and withdraws its troops
Queen Isabella II signs the annulment of the annexation on 3 March 1865, after the US Civil War ended and four years of costly guerrilla war. The last Spanish troops leave by mid-July 1865.
- October 10, 1868 – February 10, 1878Carlos Manuel de Céspedes begins Cuba's Ten Years' War against Spain
On 10 October 1868 Carlos Manuel de Céspedes declares independence and frees his slaves. General Martínez Campos negotiates the Pact of Zanjón on 10 February 1878. Estimates of the dead vary widely.
- November 29, 1869Báez signs a treaty to annex the Dominican Republic to the United States
On 29 November 1869 President Buenaventura Báez signs annexation and Samaná Bay lease treaties backed by US president Ulysses S. Grant. A referendum in early 1870 shows about 10,000 votes for and 11 against, and is widely regarded as unreliable.
- June 30, 1870The US Senate defeats the treaty to annex Santo Domingo
On 30 June 1870 the Senate votes 28 to 28, short of the two-thirds needed, after Charles Sumner's opposition as chair of the Foreign Relations Committee. Grant's plan to annex the Dominican Republic fails.
- 1874 – 1875Haiti borrows from the Crédit Industriel et Commercial to clear the indemnity
In 1874-1875 Haiti takes two large loans from the Paris bank CIC to pay off the last of the independence debt. French banks kept about 40% of the capital in commissions and fees, according to the account on Wikipedia.
- 1878Wellhausen's Prolegomena gives the documentary hypothesis its classic form
In 1878 the German scholar Julius Wellhausen argues that the Torah was compiled from four originally independent sources written centuries after Moses. His formulation dominates Old Testament scholarship for generations.
- 1881The Paris-run National Bank of Haiti is founded to handle Haiti's debt
A currency-issuing concession granted around 1880-1881 creates the Banque Nationale d'Haïti, set up by the Crédit Industriel et Commercial in Paris. It handles Haiti's debt payments and holds the right to issue its money.
- 1881 – 1885The Revised Version updates the King James Bible
A British committee of over fifty scholars publishes the Revised Version New Testament in 1881 and the Old Testament in 1885. The New Testament follows the Westcott–Hort Greek text, drawing on Vaticanus and Sinaiticus.
- c. 1883Haiti finishes paying the 1825 indemnity to France
Sources disagree on when the indemnity itself was settled: Wikipedia's text gives 1883 and notes France acknowledged the 90 million francs in 1888, while a BnF chronology says 1878. Haiti's later loans kept its debts going.
- October 7, 1886Spain abolishes slavery in Cuba by royal decree
A royal decree of 7 October 1886 abolishes slavery in Cuba. Sources also mark 1880, when chattel ownership of enslaved people ended and a transitional system began.
- 1888Heureaux borrows from the Amsterdam bank Westendorp, tying Dominican customs revenue to creditors
In 1888 the dictator Ulises Heureaux takes a loan of about £750,000 from Westendorp & Co. After Westendorp's bankruptcy in 1892, New York's San Domingo Improvement Company takes over the claims, with a lien on customs revenue.
- April 10, 1892José Martí founds the Cuban Revolutionary Party
The Cuban Revolutionary Party is proclaimed on 10 April 1892 to organise a new war against Spain, and José Martí is elected its delegate. It prepares the 1895 uprising.
- February 24, 1895Cuban rebels rise against Spain on 24 February 1895
Uprisings across Cuba on 24 February 1895 begin the last war of independence against Spain. The conflict ends three years later with the Spanish-American War.
- May 19, 1895José Martí is killed in battle at Dos Ríos
José Martí, the writer and organiser of the independence war, is killed on 19 May 1895, shortly after the uprising begins.
- October 21, 1896Spain's General Weyler orders the rural population into fortified areas
On 21 October 1896 Valeriano Weyler orders Cuban villagers into fortified towns, a policy that lasts until March 1898. By the account on Wikipedia it killed at least a third of the rural population.
- 1898Eberhard Nestle publishes his Greek New Testament
In 1898 Eberhard Nestle issues the first edition of the critical Greek New Testament that, as the Nestle–Aland text (now NA28), underlies most modern translations and biblical scholarship.
- February 15, 1898The US battleship Maine explodes in Havana harbour
On 15 February 1898 the USS Maine blows up in Havana harbour and 268 crew die. The cause has not been clearly established; the incident feeds the road to the Spanish-American War.
- April 21, 1898 – August 13, 1898The United States blockades Cuba and goes to war with Spain
A US resolution of 20 April 1898 backs Cuban independence (the Teller Amendment). Congress declares that war has existed since the blockade of 21 April. Fighting ends with an armistice on 13 August.
- December 10, 1898The Treaty of Paris ends Spanish rule in Cuba
Signed on 10 December 1898 without Cuban delegates, the treaty has Spain relinquish Cuba, which the United States occupies from 1 January 1899. Spain also cedes Puerto Rico, Guam and the Philippines.
- July 26, 1899Dictator Ulises Heureaux is assassinated in Moca, leaving the Dominican Republic in debt
Ramón Cáceres shoots Heureaux on 26 July 1899 during a revolt by Cibao planters and merchants. The state's debt exceeds $35 million, and unpaid foreign creditors become the pretext for later US intervention.