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The world: 1850s

1850–1859

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Events in this period 7

  1. 1859 · Europe · Science

    On the Origin of Species

    On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life is a work of scientific literature by the English naturalist Charles Darwin that is considered to be the foundation of evolutionary biology. It was published on 24 November 1859. Darwin's book introduced the scientific theory that populations evolve over the course of generations through a process of natural selection, although Lamarckism was also included as a mechanism of lesser importance. The book presented a body of evidence that the diversity of life arose by common descent through a branching pattern of evolution. Darwin included evidence that he had collected on the Beagle expedition in the 1830s and his subsequent findings from research, correspondence, and experimentation.

  2. 1850 – 1864 · China · War

    Taiping Rebellion

    The Taiping Rebellion (1850–1864) was a civil war in late imperial China fought between the ruling Qing dynasty and the rebelling Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. It was the deadliest civil war in history and the second-deadliest conflict in history overall. Estimates of the war's death toll range from 20–30 million, around 5–10% of the total Chinese population at the time, to 73–100 million, around 25% of the population. The Rebellion is widely considered to be the most important event in 19th-century Chinese history, and although the kingdom was defeated, the victory came at a great cost to the Qing dynasty's economy and political stability.

  3. 1853 – 1854 · Japan · Politics

    Perry Expedition

    The Perry Expedition was a diplomatic and military expedition in two separate voyages to the Tokugawa shogunate (徳川幕府) by warships of the United States Navy. The goals of this expedition included exploration, surveying, and the establishment of diplomatic relations and negotiation of trade agreements with the various nations in the region. Opening contact with the government of Japan was considered a top priority of the expedition, and was one of the key reasons for its inception.

  4. 1853 – 1856 · Europe · War

    Crimean War

    The Crimean War was fought between Russia and an alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom, and Sardinia from October 1853 to February 1856. Geopolitical causes of the war included the Eastern question, the expansion of Russia in the preceding Russo-Turkish wars, and the British and French preference to preserve the Ottoman Empire to maintain the balance of power in the Concert of Europe.

  5. 1857 – 1858 · India · War

    Indian Rebellion of 1857

    The Indian Rebellion of 1857 was a major uprising in India in 1857–58 against the rule of the British East India Company, which functioned as a sovereign power, including military forces, on behalf of the British Crown. The rebellion began on 10 May 1857 as a mutiny of sepoys of the company's garrison in Meerut, a town 40 miles (64 km) northeast of Delhi. It then erupted into other mutinies and civilian rebellions, chiefly in the upper Gangetic plain and central India, though incidents of revolt also occurred farther north and east. The rebellion posed a military threat to British power in that region, and was contained only with the rebels' defeat in Gwalior on 20 June 1858. On 1 November 1858, the British granted amnesty to all rebels not involved in murder, though they did not declare the hostilities to have formally ended until 8 July 1859.

  6. 1851 · Oceania · Economy

    Australian gold rushes

    During the Australian gold rushes, a significant number of workers moved from elsewhere in Australia and overseas to where gold had been discovered. Gold had been found several times before, but the colonial government of New South Wales had suppressed the news out of the fear that it would reduce the workforce and destabilise the economy.

  7. 1856 – 1860 · China · War

    Second Opium War

    The Second Opium War, also known as the Second Anglo-Chinese War or Arrow War, was fought between the United Kingdom and France against the Qing dynasty of China between 1856 and 1860. It was the second major conflict in the Opium Wars, which were fought over the right to import opium to China, and resulted in a second defeat for the Qing and the forced legalisation of the opium trade. It caused many Chinese officials to believe that conflicts with the Western powers were no longer traditional wars, but part of a looming national crisis.

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