Important Dates: Industrialization, Nationalism, Imperialism

c. 1750

Start of the Industrial Revolution in Britain

1764

Invention of the Spinning Jenny (textile mechanization)

1784

Steam engine improvements by James Watt

1825

First public railway (Stockton and Darlington, England)

1850s-1900

Second Industrial Revolution: steel, electricity, chemicals, petroleum

1869

Suez Canal completed, facilitating global trade

1815

Congress of Vienna (Europe redraws borders post-Napoleonic Wars; sparks nationalist movements)

1830

Belgian Revolution; rise of liberal/nationalist movements in Europe

1848

Revolutions in Europe; widespread nationalist and liberal uprisings

1859-1871

Italian Unification (Cavour, Garibaldi, Victor Emmanuel II)

1862-1871

German Unification (Bismarck, wars with Denmark, Austria, France)

1871

Franco-Prussian War ends; German Empire proclaimed

Late 19th century

Anti-colonial nationalism rises in India, Africa, and Southeast Asia

1870-1914

Height of New Imperialism

1884-1885

Berlin Conference: formalized “Scramble for Africa”

1898

Spanish-American War; U.S. gains Philippines, Guam, Puerto Rico

Late 19th century

British Raj in India solidifies after 1857 rebellion

1890s-1914

Expansion into Southeast Asia (French Indochina, Dutch East Indies)

1904-1905

Russo-Japanese War: Japan defeats Russia, asserts imperial power