The world: 1780s

1780–1789

Events in this period 5

1. 1789 – 1799 · Europe · Politics

   French Revolution

   The French Revolution was a period of political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the Coup of 18 Brumaire on 9 November 1799. Many of the revolution's ideas are considered fundamental principles of liberal democracy, and its values remain central to modern French political discourse. It was caused by a combination of social, political, and economic factors which the existing regime proved unable to manage.

2. 1787 · North America · Politics

   Constitution of the United States

   The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the United States of America. It superseded the Articles of Confederation, the nation's first constitution, on March 4, 1789. Originally including seven articles, the Constitution defined the foundational structure of the federal government.

3. 1788 · Oceania · Politics

   First Fleet

   The First Fleet were eleven British ships which transported a group of settlers to mainland Australia, marking the beginning of the British colonisation of Australia. It consisted of two Royal Navy vessels, three storeships and six convict transports under the command of Captain Arthur Phillip. On 13 May 1787, the ships, with over 1,400 convicts, marines, sailors, colonial officials, and free settlers onboard, left Portsmouth and travelled over 24,000 kilometres and over 250 days before arriving in Botany Bay, New South Wales, on 18 January 1788. Governor Arthur Phillip rejected Botany Bay, choosing instead Port Jackson to the north as the site for the new colony; the Fleet arrived there on 26 January 1788. The Fleet established the Colony of New South Wales as a penal colony; the first British settlement in Australia.

4. 1780 – 1783 · South America · War

   Rebellion of Túpac Amaru II

   The Rebellion of Túpac Amaru II was an uprising by kuraka-led Aymara, Quechua, and mestizo rebels aimed at overthrowing Spanish colonial rule in Peru, from 1780 to 1783. The causes of the rebellion included opposition to the Bourbon Reforms, an economic downturn in colonial Peru, and a grassroots revival of Inca cultural identity led by Túpac Amaru II, an indigenous kuraka and the leader of the rebellion. While Amaru II and other prominent rebel leaders were captured and executed by the Spanish in 1781, the rebellion continued for at least another year under Diego Cristóbal Túpac Amaru, Túpac Katari and Andrés Túpac Amaru, among others.

5. 1789 · Europe · Politics

   Storming of the Bastille

   The Storming of the Bastille, also known as Fall of the Bastille, which occurred in Paris, France, on 14 July 1789, was an act of political violence by revolutionary insurgents who attempted to storm and seize control of the medieval armoury, fortress, and political prison known as the Bastille. After four hours of fighting and 94 deaths, the insurgents were able to enter the Bastille. The governor of the Bastille, Bernard-René Jourdan de Launay, and several members of the garrison were killed after surrendering. At the time, the Bastille represented royal authority in the centre of Paris. The prison contained only seven inmates at the time of its storming and was already scheduled for demolition but was seen by the revolutionaries as a symbol of the monarchy's abuse of power. Its fall was the flashpoint of the French Revolution.

Descriptions are the opening paragraph of each Wikipedia article (CC BY-SA 4.0). Open an event for the full text and a link to the source.

Still under way

• American Revolution1763 – 1783

Around the same time

• Watt steam engine1776
• US Declaration of Independence1776
• Napoleonic Wars1803 – 1815
• Spanish American wars of independence1808 – 1833
• Seven Years' War1756 – 1763
• Cook reaches Australia's east coast1770
• French and Indian War1754 – 1763
• Third Battle of Panipat1761
• Haitian Revolution1791 – 1804
• French Revolutionary Wars1792 – 1802
• French invasion of Egypt and Syria1798 – 1801
• Louisiana Purchase1803

Other maps for this period

• War mapsAmerican Revolutionary War
• War mapsAnglo-Maratha Wars
• Inventions mapHot air balloon
• Epidemics map1775–1782 North American smallpox epidemic