| 1830 |
The French move into Algeria |
| 1839-1842 |
Opium War: the British defeat the Chinese, annexing treaty ports in China
and opening them to Western trade |
| 1853 |
U.S. naval forces open Japan to Western trade |
| 1857-58 |
Sepoy Mutiny; Britain replaces the East India Company and governs India directly |
| 1867 |
Mexicans led by Juárez execute Maximilian; Meiji Restoration in Japan |
| 1869 |
Opening of Suez Canal |
| 1876 |
Stanley sets up posts in the Congo for Leopold II of Belgium |
| 1878 |
Congress of Berlin: Great Powers meet to prevent Russia from upsetting the
balance of power in the Near East |
| 1878-1881 |
British and Russian troops occupy Afghanistan |
| 1881 |
The French take control of Tunisia |
| 1882 |
Britain occupies Egypt |
| 1883-85 |
The French fight the Chinese to claim Indochina |
| 1884 |
Berlin Conference on Africa |
| 1894-95 |
Sino-Japanese War: the British, Russians, and French intervene to take away
Japan's gains |
| 1896 |
Ethiopians defeat Italian invaders at Adowa |
| 1898 |
Spanish-American War: the United States annexes the Philippines and Puerto
Rico and occupies Cuba; the battle of Omdurman in the Sudan |
| 1899-1902 |
Boer War between the British and the Afrikaners |
| 1900 |
Boxers rebel against foreign presence in China |
| 1904-1905 |
Russo-Japanese War: the Japanese defeat the Russians |
| 1911 |
Mexican Revolution; Manchu dynasty is overthrown in China, a republic formed,
and Sun Zhongshan (Sun Yat-sen) becomes its president; civil war breaks out in China |
| 1919 |
Britain grants a legislative assembly in India; Gandhi's passive resistance movement broadens in response to the Amritsar Massacre;
Kemal Atatürk emerges as the Turkish national leader; League of Nations mandate system
established |
