Timeline of Modern Revolutions and National Unifications

Posted on Mar 10, 2026 in History

The Age of Revolutions: USA and France

  • 1620: Arrival of the Mayflower in Massachusetts (Pilgrim Fathers).
  • 1756–1763: Seven Years’ War (cause of the British and French financial crisis).
  • 1776: Declaration of Independence of the 13 colonies in Philadelphia (July 4).
  • 1781: Battle of Yorktown (decisive colonial victory).
  • 1783: Peace of Paris (Great Britain recognizes U.S. independence).
  • 1787: Approval of the United States Constitution (first liberal constitution).
  • 1789: Outbreak of the French Revolution; meeting of the Estates-General.
  • 1789 (July 14): Storming of the Bastille.
  • 1789–1791: National Constituent Assembly phase.
  • 1791: First French Constitution (constitutional monarchy).
  • 1791–1792: Legislative Assembly phase.
  • 1792 (Sept): Proclamation of the French Republic after the fall of the King.
  • 1792–1795: National Convention phase (Jacobin period).
  • 1793: Execution of Louis XVI by guillotine.
  • 1794: Coup d’état and execution of Robespierre (end of the Terror).
  • 1795: Constitution of Year III; beginning of the Directory.
  • 1799: Napoleon’s coup d’état (18 Brumaire); beginning of the Consulate.
  • 1804: Napoleon crowns himself Emperor of the French.

Restoration and Revolutionary Waves

  • 1805: Battle of Trafalgar (British naval supremacy).
  • 1812: Russian Campaign (Napoleon’s military disaster).
  • 1814: Defeat of Napoleon and exile to Elba. Louis XVIII grants the French Charter.
  • 1814–1815: Congress of Vienna (redrawing of Europe and restoration of absolutism).
  • 1815: Napoleon’s return and final defeat at the Battle of Waterloo.
  • 1820: Revolutionary wave in Spain (Constitution of 1812), Portugal, and Italy.
  • 1822: Declaration of Greek independence. Uprisings in France and Russia.
  • 1827: European powers intervene in favor of the Greeks.
  • 1830: Official independence of Greece and Belgium.
  • 1830 (July): July Revolution in France; Louis Philippe of Orléans ascends the throne.
  • 1845: Beginning of a severe international economic crisis.
  • 1848: “Springtime of the Peoples”; fall of Louis Philippe and proclamation of the Second French Republic.
  • 1851: Louis Napoleon Bonaparte (Napoleon III) proclaims the Second French Empire.

Latin America and National Unifications

  • 1808: Invasion of Spain; creation of the first Juntas in America.
  • 1810: Major revolt in Mexico led by popular sectors.
  • 1811: Bolívar’s rebellion in New Granada.
  • 1816: Declaration of independence in the Río de la Plata (San Martín).
  • 1824: Battle of Ayacucho (definitive independence of South American states).
  • 1825: Consolidation of 14 independent countries in Latin America.
  • 1834: Creation of the Zollverein (German Customs Union).
  • 1859: Battles of Magenta and Solferino (Piedmont gains control of northern Italy).
  • 1864: War of the Duchies (Denmark loses Schleswig and Holstein to Prussia).
  • 1866: Battle of Sadowa (Prussia defeats Austria).
  • 1870: Battle of Sedan (Prussia defeats France).
  • 1870: Italy annexes the Papal States (Rome).
  • 1871: Proclamation of the Second Reich (German Empire) in Versailles.
  • 1871: Rome becomes the capital of unified Italy.
  • 1929: Lateran Treaties (end of diplomatic conflict with the Pope).