The world: 1830s

1830–1839

Events in this period 6

1. 1831 – 1836 · South America · Science

   Second voyage of HMS Beagle

   The second survey expedition of HMS Beagle took place from 27 December 1831 to 2 October 1836. Robert FitzRoy, the newest commander of Beagle, had thought of the advantages of having someone onboard who could investigate geology, and sought a naturalist to accompany them as a supernumerary. At the age of 22, the graduate Charles Darwin hoped to see the tropics before becoming a parson, and accepted the opportunity. He was greatly influenced by reading Charles Lyell's Principles of Geology during the voyage. By the end of the expedition, Darwin had made his name as a geologist, and fossil collector, and the publication of his journal gave him wide renown as a writer.

2. 1830 · Africa · War

   Invasion of Algiers (1830)

   The invasion of Algiers was a large-scale military operation by which the Kingdom of France, ruled by King Charles X, invaded and conquered the Regency of Algiers. A diplomatic incident in 1827, the so-called 'Fan Affair', served as a pretext to initiate a blockade against the port of Algiers. After three years of standstill and a more severe incident in which a French ship carrying an ambassador to the dey with a proposal for negotiations was fired upon, the French determined that more forceful action was required. Charles X also sought to divert attention from turbulent French domestic affairs which culminated with his deposition during the later stages of the invasion in the July Revolution.

3. 1830 · Europe · Politics

   July Revolution

   The July Revolution, also known as the French Revolution of 1830, Second French Revolution, or les Trois Glorieuses, was a second French Revolution after the first of 1789–99. It led to the overthrow of King Charles X, the French Bourbon monarch, and the ascent of his cousin Louis Philippe, Duke of Orléans, who governed for 18 years as the last king of France.

4. 1831 · Europe · Politics

   Belgian Revolution

   The Belgian Revolution was a conflict which led to the secession of the southern provinces from the United Kingdom of the Netherlands and the establishment of an independent Kingdom of Belgium.

5. 1839 – 1842 · China · War

   First Opium War

   The First Opium War, also known as the Anglo-Chinese War, was a series of military engagements fought between the British Empire and Qing China between 1839 and 1842. The immediate issue was the Chinese enforcement of their ban on the opium trade by seizing private opium stocks from mainly British merchants at Guangzhou and threatening to impose the death penalty for future offenders. Despite the opium ban, the British government supported the merchants' demand for compensation for seized goods, and insisted on the principles of free trade and equal diplomatic recognition with China.

6. 1839 – 1895 · Central Asia · War

   Russian conquest of Central Asia

   In the 16th century, the Tsardom of Russia embarked on a campaign to expand the Russian frontier to the east. This effort continued until the 19th century under the Russian Empire, when the Imperial Russian Army succeeded in conquering all of Central Asia. The majority of this land became known as Russian Turkestan—the name "Turkestan" was used to refer to the area due to the fact that the vast majority of the population was inhabited by Turkic peoples, excluding the Tajiks, who are ethnolinguistically Iranian people; the ethnolinguistic map of the region has not changed significantly since then. Upon witnessing Russia's absorption of the various Central Asian realms, the British Empire sought to reinforce India, triggering the Great Game, which ended when both sides eventually designated Afghanistan as a neutral buffer zone.

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Still under way

• Spanish American wars of independence1808 – 1833

Around the same time

• Napoleonic Wars1803 – 1815
• On the Origin of Species1859
• War of 18121812 – 1815
• Battle of Waterloo1815
• Third Anglo-Maratha War1817 – 1819
• Independence of Brazil1822
• The Communist Manifesto1848
• Taiping Rebellion1850 – 1864
• Perry Expedition1853 – 1854
• Crimean War1853 – 1856
• Indian Rebellion of 18571857 – 1858
• May Revolution1810

Other maps for this period

• War mapsSpanish American wars of independence
• War mapsFirst Opium War
• Epidemics map1826–1837 cholera pandemic
• Inventions mapElectrical telegraph
• Inventions mapVapor-compression refrigeration
• Inventions mapAnalytical engine
• Inventions mapSewing machine