1810s

The 1810s decade ran from January 1, 1810, to December 31, 1819.

The decade was opened with a very hostile political climate around the world. was invading France's neighbours in efforts to build a, causing a chain of global-scaled conflicts known as the. Here, France's Napoleonic empire saw its rise and fall through events such as, the (spillover to America), and the  (Napoleon's ultimate defeat). began to encroach towards African and Asian territories through trade, as the United States saw mass-scaled migration that headed (mostly through the opening of the .)

Napoleonic Wars
In 1810, the French Empire reached its greatest extent. On the continent, the British and Portuguese remained restricted to the area around and to. Napoleon married, an Austrian Archduchess, with the aim of ensuring a more stable alliance with Austria and of providing the Emperor with an heir. As well as the French Empire, Napoleon controlled the Swiss Confederation, the Confederation of the Rhine, the Duchy of Warsaw and the Kingdom of Italy. Territories allied with the French included: the Kingdom of Spain, the, the Kingdom of Naples, the of Lucca and Piombino, and Napoleon's former enemies, Prussia and Austria. also allied with France in opposition to Great Britain and Sweden in the.

The of 1812 was a turning point, which reduced the  and allied invasion forces (the ) to a tiny fraction of their initial strength and triggered a major shift in European politics, as it dramatically weakened the previously dominant French position on the continent. After the disastrous invasion of Russia, a coalition of, , , Sweden, the , and a number of , and the rebels in  and  united to battle France in the. Two-and-a-half million troops fought in the conflict and the total dead amounted to as many as two million. This era included the battles of, , , , and the. It also included the epic in October, 1813 (also known as the Battle of Nations), which was the largest battle of the Napoleonic wars, which drove Napoleon out of Germany.

The final stage of the War of the Sixth Coalition, the defense of France in 1814, saw the French Emperor temporarily repulse the vastly superior armies in the. Ultimately, the Allies occupied Paris, forcing Napoleon to abdicate and. Napoleon was exiled to. Also in 1814, Denmark–Norway was defeated by Great Britain and Sweden and had to cede the territory of mainland Norway to the King of Sweden at the.

Napoleon shortly returned from exile, landing in France on March 1, 1815, marking the, heading toward Paris while the was sitting. On March 13, seven days before Napoleon reached Paris, the powers at the Congress of Vienna ; four days later the, , and , members of the , bound themselves to put 150,000 men each into the field to end his rule. This set the stage for the last conflict in the, the defeat of Napoleon at the , the restoration of the French monarchy for the second time and the permanent exile of Napoleon to the distant island of , where he died in May 1821.

Spanish American wars of independence
Spain in the 1810s was a country in turmoil. Occupied by from 1808 to 1814, a massively destructive "" ensued, driven by an emergent Spanish. Already in 1810, the and  juntas declared their independence from the Bonapartist government in Spain and sent ambassadors to the United Kingdom. The British against Spain had also moved most of the Latin American colonies out of the Spanish economic sphere and into the British sphere, with whom extensive trade relations were developed. The remaining Spanish colonies had operated with virtual independence from Madrid after their pronouncement against Joseph Bonaparte.

The Spanish government in exile created the first modern. Even so, agreements made at the (where Spain was represented by ) would cement international support for the old,  regime in Spain.

King, who assumed the throne after Napoleon was driven out of Spain, refused to agree to the  on his accession to the throne in 1814. The in the New World had largely supported the cause of Ferdinand VII over the Bonapartist pretender to the throne in the midst of the. When Ferdinand's rule was restored, these juntas were cautious of abandoning their autonomy, and an alliance between local elites, merchant interests, nationalists, and liberals opposed to the abrogation of the Constitution of 1812 rose up against the Spanish in the New World.

The arrival of Spanish forces in the American colonies began in 1814, and was briefly successful in restoring central control over large parts of the Empire. , the leader of revolutionary forces in, was briefly forced into exile in British-controlled , and independent. In 1816, however, Bolivar found enough popular support that he was able to return to South America, and in a daring march from Venezuela to New Granada, he defeated Spanish forces at the in 1819, ending Spanish rule in Colombia. was liberated June 24, 1821, when Bolivar destroyed the Spanish army on the fields of Carabobo on the Battle of Carabobo. declared its independence in 1816 (though it had been operating with virtual independence as a British client since 1807 after successfully ). was retaken by Spain in 1814, but lost permanently in 1817 when an army under, for the first time in history, crossed the from Argentina to Chile, and went on to defeat Spanish royalist forces at the  in 1817.

Spain would also lose to the United States during this decade. First, in 1810, the declared its independence from Spain, and was quickly annexed by the United States. Later, in 1818, the United States invaded Florida, resulting in the, wherein Spain ceded the rest of Florida to the United States.

In 1820,, , , and still remained under Spanish control. Although had been in revolt in 1811 under, resistance to Spanish rule had largely been confined to small  bands in the countryside. King Ferdinand was still dissatisfied with the loss of so much of the Empire and resolved to retake it. A large expedition was assembled in with the aim of reconquest. However, Ferdinand's plans would be disrupted by, and Ferdinand was eventually forced to give up all of the New World colonies, except for and.

War of 1812
In 1812, the United States declared war on in the. The U.S. reasons for war included the humiliation in the, continued British of American sailors into the , restrictions on trade with France, and arming hostile American Indians in Ohio and the western territories. United States President signed a declaration of war on June 18, 1812.

The United States conducted two failed invasion attempts in 1812, first by General across the  into what is now, and a second offensive at the. A major American success came in 1813, when the American Navy destroyed the British fleet on Lake Erie, and forced the British and their American Indian allies to retreat back toward Niagara. They were intercepted and destroyed by General at the  in October 1813. , the leader of the tribal confederation, was killed, and his Indian coalition disintegrated.

At sea, the powerful blockaded much of the coastline, conducting frequent raids. The most famous episode was a series of British raids on the shores of, including an attack on Washington that resulted in the British burning of the , the , the , and other public buildings, in the "" in 1814.

Once Napoleon was defeated in 1814, France and Britain became allies and Britain ended the trade restrictions and the impressment of American sailors. Running out of reasons for war and stuck in a military stalemate, the two countries signed the on December 24, 1814. News of the peace treaty took two months to reach the U.S., during which fighting continued. In this interim, the British made one last major invasion, attempting to capture New Orleans, but were decisively defeated with very heavy losses by General Andrew Jackson at the in January 1815. The ending of the war opened a long era of peaceful relations between the United States and the British Empire.

1804–1813 Russo-Persian War
The was one of the many wars between the  and, and was well underway at the beginning of the decade. In 1810, the Persians scaled up their efforts late in the war, declaring a holy war on Imperial Russia. However, Russia's superior technology and tactics ensured a series of strategic victories. Even when the French were in occupation of the Russian capital Moscow, Russian forces in the south were not recalled but continued their offensive against Persia, culminating in 's victories at and, in 1812 and 1813 respectively. Upon the Persian surrender, the terms of the ceded the vast majority of the previously disputed territories to Imperial Russia. This led to the region's once-powerful being decimated and forced to pay homage to Russia.

Concert of Europe
By 1815, Europe had been almost constantly at war. During this time, the military conquests of France had resulted in the spread of throughout much of the continent, resulting in many states adopting the. Largely as a reaction to the radicalism of the, the victorious powers of the resolved to suppress liberalism and , and revert largely to the  of Europe prior to 1789.

The result was the, also known as the "Congress System". It was the that existed in Europe from 1815 until the early 20th century. Its founding members were the, , and , the members of the  responsible for the downfall of the ; in time France became established as a fifth member of the concert. At first, the leading personalities of the system were British foreign secretary, Austrian chancellor and   of Russia.

The, and  formed the  with the expressed intent of preserving  social values and traditional. Every member of the coalition promptly joined the Alliance, save for the.

Among the meetings of the Powers in the latter part of the 1810s were the Congresses of (1814–1815),  (1818), and  (1819).

Australia

 * (1804–1835)
 * (1795-1816)

Asia

 * 1810: and  surrender their pirate fleet to the Chinese government.
 * 1810: Russia acquires through a treaty with the n dukes, and declares a  over the whole of.
 * May 28, 1812 – Russian Field Marshal signs the, ending the  and making  a part of.
 * October 31, 1817 – accedes to the throne of Japan.
 * 1818: The is fought between the  and the  troops resulting in the defeat of the, the breakup of the , and the loss of Maratha independence to the British as they annexed Central India. The last Peshwa is exiled to Bithur near Kanpur. His adopted son and heir  was one of the principal revolutionary commanders in the.
 * 1818: The is fought between the  and the  troops resulting in the defeat of the, the breakup of the , and the loss of Maratha independence to the British as they annexed Central India. The last Peshwa is exiled to Bithur near Kanpur. His adopted son and heir  was one of the principal revolutionary commanders in the.

Europe

 * August 21, 1810 –, , is elected of Sweden by the Swedish.
 * September 26, 1810 – A new is adopted by the  and  becomes heir to the  throne.
 * October 12, 1810 – First : The n royalty invites the citizens of to join the celebration of the marriage of  to.
 * February 5, 1811 – : becomes  because of the perceived insanity of his father, King.
 * September, 1811 – leads the first annual  (pilgrimage) of  Hasidim to the grave of  in.
 * January 1, 1812 – The  (the Austrian ) enters into force in the.
 * May 11, 1812 – assassinates    in the lobby of the.
 * July 18, 1812 –, 1812 – : defeats  but sustains a mortal wound.
 * October 18–October 20, 1812 – – Russia
 * December 30, 1812 – was signed.
 * 1812 – The of Finland is moved from  to.
 * November 10, 1813 – A in the United Kingdom sees victory for the  Party under.
 * 1813 – serves as ambassador extraordinaire in.
 * January 14, 1814 – Denmark cedes Norway to Sweden in exchange for west, as part of the.
 * February 11, 1814 – Norway's independence is proclaimed, marking the ultimate end of the.
 * April 12, 1814 – The is re-established.
 * May 17, 1814 – The is signed and the    is elected  by the.
 * May 3, 1814 – The, the future , returns to Paris.
 * May 17, 1814 – The of  changes from French to Austrian hands.
 * May 30, 1814 – The is signed returning France's borders to their 1792 extent.  is exiled to  on the same day.
 * August 12, 1814 – In England, the last hanging under the is carried out, of William Potter for cutting down an  (even the  petitioned for reprieve).
 * August 13, 1814 – The is signed.
 * January 3, 1815 –, Britain, and Bourbon-restored France form a secret defensive alliance treaty against and Russia.
 * March 15, 1815 –, declares war on  in an attempt to save his throne, starting the.
 * March 16, 1815 – becomes.
 * April 23, 1815 – The against  rule takes place in, . By the end of the year  is acknowledged as a semi-independent state; the ideals of the  have thus been temporarily achieved.
 * May 3, 1815 – : defeats the, which quickly ends the . , the defeated King of Naples, is forced to flee to  and is later executed.
 * 1815: In Britain, use of the is limited to punishment for.
 * January 1, 1816 –  signs an order for the expulsion of the  from the Russian Empire.
 * March 25, 1816 – dies and is succeeded by the later, his son and founder of the.
 * 1816: The is established.
 * 1816: The grant  local.
 * April 3, 1817 – appears in  in, England.
 * May 11, 1818 – of  is crowned king of Sweden.
 * September 7, 1818 – of  is crowned king of Norway, in.
 * September 23, 1818 – Border markers are formally installed for the European territory of.
 * September 20, 1819 – The is issued throughout the.
 * September 20, 1819 – The is issued throughout the.

Africa

 * 1810: initiates his  in present-day.
 * 1810: The Battle of Vieux Grand Port (Great Old Port)'' in the Indian Ocean, off the coast of the Island of Mauritius, was the only naval victory won by Napoleon. This battle has very often been ignored by scholars, but was of great importance for the control of the Indian Ocean as a trade route between Europe and the East.
 * March 1, 1811 – : ian ruler kills the last  leaders.
 * 1813: Following the death of his father, arrives at the capital Qundi before his other brothers, and is made Méridazmach of.
 * 1816:, capital of , is founded as a trading post, and named Bathurst.
 * August 27, 1816 – : Various European Allie ships force the to free Christian slaves.
 * 1818: starts to rule.
 * Expansion

North America

 * May 1, 1810 – becomes law.
 * June 4, 1810 – is founded in.
 * 1811: The is founded in, Canada.
 * March 22, 1811 – The for Manhattan is presented.
 * November 6, 1811 – : American troops led by defeat the  chief Tecumseh.
 * February 11, 1812 –   invents.
 * April 4, 1812 –  enacts a 90-day  on trade with the United Kingdom.
 * April 30, 1812 – is admitted as the 18th.
 * June 4, 1812 – Following 's admittance as a, the territory by that name is renamed the.
 * October 1812 – The capital of the, United States is permanently moved from to.
 * November 5, 1812 – defeats  in the.
 * March 27, 1814 – – : In northern, United States forces under General  defeat the  Indians.
 * December 15, 1814 – The is convened by members of the American.
 * February – The arrives in Washington, D.C..
 * August 24, 1816 – The is signed in.
 * November 6, 1816 – defeats  in the.
 * December 11, 1816 – is admitted as the 19th.
 * 1816: The obtains its charter.
 * The (1816–1823/1824) in the U.S.
 * March 3
 * President vetoes 's.
 * U.S. Congress passes law to split the, after Mississippi drafts a constitution, creating the effective in August.
 * March 4, 1817 –   as President of the United States of America.
 * April 29, 1817 – The is signed.


 * August 15, 1817 – By act of the U.S. Congress (March 3), the is created by splitting the  in half, on the day the Mississippi constitution is drafted, 4 months before  becomes a U.S. state.
 * November 20, 1817 – The begins in.
 * December 10, 1817 – is admitted as the 20th, formerly the.
 * April 4, 1818 – The adopts the  as having 13 red and white stripes and one star for each state (20 stars) with additional stars to be added whenever a new state is added to the Union.
 * August 1, 1818 – Separate of the.
 * October 20, 1818 – The between the United States and the United Kingdom establishes the northern boundary as the 49th parallel from the  to the, also creating the.
 * December 3, 1818 – is admitted as the 21st.
 * February 2, 1819 – The Supreme Court under rules in favor of  in the famous  case, allowing Dartmouth to keep its charter and remain a private institution.
 * March 6, 1819 – : The rules that the  is constitutional.
 * 1819: The movement takes power in.
 * The city of Fernandina of Jagua (later Cienfuegos City) is founded in.
 * December 14, 1819 – is admitted as the 22nd.

South America

 * 1814: is transferred from the Netherlands to Britain; it is renamed .
 * August 22, 1817 – The city of, Brazil is founded.
 * The Spanish of  declares independence as the  under President  (1800–1900)* Stars the period of . Several states declare their independence from Spain.
 * 1817: The breaks out in Brazil.

Trading companies

 * June 23, 1810 – forms the.
 * September 8, 1810 – The  sets sail from with 33 employees of 's newly created  on board. After a 6-month journey around the tip of South America, the ship arrives at the mouth of the  and Astor's men establish the fur-trading town of.
 * 1810: sales from West Africa to Britain reach 1,000 tons.
 * February 2, 1812 – Russia establishes a fur trading colony at.
 * June 19, 1816 – : The is defeated by the, near , , Canada.
 * 1818:, of India, gives approval to   to establish trading station at the southern tip of the  (modern-day ).
 * 1818: The controls territory occupied by 180 million.
 * January 29, 1819 – Sir lands on the island of.
 * February 6, 1819 – A formal treaty between and the British Sir  establishes a trading settlement in.

Establishments

 * 1812: The Old Oscar Pepper Distillery (now the ), the oldest , is established along  in.
 * February 3, 1815 – The first commercial factory is founded in Switzerland.
 * 1816:  (the famous firearm and later typewriter manufacturing company) is founded.
 * April 7, 1818 – , the oldest men's clothier in the United States, opens its first store on the northeast corner of Catherine and Cherry Streets in New York City, where the  now stands.
 * March 20, 1819 – opens in London.

Slavery, Serfdom and Labor

 * 1810: Adult cotton spinners stage a in.
 * 1810: 18,000 ns are sold at, Brazil.
 * January 8, 1811 – An unsuccessful slave revolt is led by in St. Charles and St. James Parishes,.
 * March 23, 1816 – emancipates its peasants from.
 * February 15, 1819 – The agrees to the Tallmadge Amendment barring slaves from the new state of Missouri (the opening vote in a controversy that leads to the ).
 * August 16, 1819 – : The cavalry charges into a crowd of protesters in, UK, resulting in 11 deaths and over 400 injuries.
 * 1819: is abolished in.

Luddites

 * The s (1811–1816) in Britain were machine-wreckers, protesting against machines perceived as taking their jobs.
 * November, 1811 – uprisings begin in northern England and the.
 * February 27, 1812 –  gives his first address as a member of the, in defense of  violence against  in his home county of.
 * March 15, 1812 – attack the  processing factory of  in.

Economics

 * February 21, 1814 –.
 * January 2, 1819 – The (the first major  in the United States) begins.

Science and technology

 * becomes a practical technology and is implemented in cities in Europe and the United States.
 * June – publishes L'art de conserver pendant plusieurs années toutes les substances animales ou végétales, the first description of modern food preservation using airtight containers
 * 1810: publishes his .
 * July 11, 1811 – Italian scientist publishes his memoire about the molecular content of gases.
 * February 12, 1812 – authorizes the usage of "", a system of  introduced as compromise between the  and traditional French measurements. The system was restricted to use in the retail industry and continued in use until 1840, when the laws of measurement from the 1795 and 1799 were reinstituted. (see also: )
 * 1813: publishes his groundbreaking Traité des poisons, formalizing the field of.
 * October 21, 1815 – patents the  for use in.
 * January 9, 1816 – Sir tests the  for Miners at  Colliery.
 * 1816 – invents the.
 * 1816 – s his, then known as Stirling's air engine.
 * extracts from  tar.

Astronomy

 * , – The  is discovered by.
 * , –  discovers the, (C/1819 N1). It was the first comet analyzed using , by.

Steamboats
The 1810s continued a trend of increasing commercial viability of s in North America, following the early success of and others in the preceding years. In 1811 the first in a continuously operating line of river steamboats left the dock at to steam down the  to the  and on to. Inventor ' boat, the Juliana, began operation as the first -powered October 11, 1811, with service between, and. 's was the first steamboat on the  and in Canada. Unlike Fulton, Molson did not show a profit. Molson had also two paddle steamboats "Swiftsure" of 1811 and "Malsham" of 1813 with engines by B&W. The experience of these vessels, especially that they could now offer a regular service, being independent of wind and weather, helped make the new system of propulsion commercially viable, and as a result its application to the more open waters of the was next considered. That idea went on hiatus due to the.

In a 25-day trip in 1815, the further demonstrated the commercial potential of the steamboat with a 2,200-mile voyage from  to. In 1817, a consortium in, funded the construction of the first US steamboat, Ontario, to run on and the , beginning the growth of lake commercial and passenger traffic.

The first commercially successful steamboat in Europe,  of 1812, started a rapid expansion of steam services on the, and within four years a steamer service was in operation on the inland , a forerunner of the lake steamers still gracing Swiss lakes. On the Clyde itself, within ten years of Comet's start in 1812 there were nearly fifty steamers, and services had started across the to  and on many British estuaries. P.S."Thames", ex "Argyle" was the first seagoing steamer in Europe, having steamed from Glasgow to London in May 1815. P.S."Tug", the first tugboat, was launched by the Woods Brothers, Port Glasgow, on November 5, 1817; in the summer of 1817 she was the first steamboat to travel round the North of Scotland to the East Coast.

The first steamship credited with crossing the Atlantic Ocean between North America and Europe was the American ship , though she was actually a hybrid between a steamship and a sailing ship. The SS Savannah left the port of, on May 22, 1819, arriving in , England, on June 20, 1819; her steam engine having been in use for part of the time on 18 days (estimates vary from 8 to 80 hours).

Locomotives

 * July 25, 1814 – tests his  successfully.
 * February 6, 1815 – grants the first American  charter to a.
 * 1816: A capable of supporting a heavy  is developed.

Other transportation

 * July 4, 1817 – At, construction on the begins.
 * 1818 - Baron patents the, a forerunner to the

Natural events

 * December 16, 1811 – The in  near  reverses the course of the river for a while. Other earthquakes along the fault occur on January 23, 1812, and February 7, 1812.
 * February 7, 1812 – The last strikes, with an estimated  of over 8;
 * March 26, 1812 – An destroys,.
 * April, 1817 – An strikes, Italy.
 * August 23, 1817 – An earthquake near the site of the ancient Greek city of results in 65 deaths.

Year Without a Summer

 * April 5–April 12, 1815 – in the  blows its top explosively during an eruption, killing upwards of 92,000 and propelling thousands of tons of aerosols ( gas compounds) into the upper atmosphere . The following year (1816) becomes known as "Year Without a Summer", as the high level gases reflect sunlight and cause the widespread cooling (known as a ) and heavy rains, snows in June and July in the northern hemisphere, and widespread crop failures.

Literature
, regarded as one of the greatest British poets and remains widely read and influential, wrote his most well-known work during this decade. Amongst Byron's works are the brief poems ', When We Two Parted, and ', in addition to the poems ' and '.

Other events in literature:
 * December 20, 1812 - The first volume of is published.
 * January 28, 1813 – 's  is published.
 * September, 1813 – becomes Poet Laureate of Britain.
 * 1813: The of the  is founded (the oldest continuously existing literary society in the United States).
 * 1814: attempt to write down the.
 * 1814: writes .
 * 1817: publishes .
 * January 1, 1818 – 's  is published.

Theatre

 * 1818: founded (as Royal Coburg Hall).

Music

 * April 27, 1810 – composes his famous piano piece, .
 * January 24, 1813 – The Philharmonic Society founded in London (later the ).
 * February 20, 1816 – 's  debuts at, with a fiasco.
 * December 24, 1818 –  composed by and.

Other

 * 1815: begins.
 * 1817: are displayed in the.
 * 1818: The first edition of the is published.

Authors

 * (Frankenstein)

Disasters

 * June 9, 1811 – The breaks out in,.
 * May 25, 1812 – : A mine explosion at the  near, England leaves 96 dead.
 * February 12, 1814 – A fire destroys the in London.
 * October – A large vat full of owned by  of London bursts, demolishing houses and killing 9 people. See.
 * May 30, 1815 – The , an repatriating wounded troops to England from, is wrecked near ,  with the loss of 372 of the 378 people on board.
 * September 23, 1815 – The is the first  to strike New England in 180 years.
 * October 3, 1815 – The Mars meteorite falls in Chassigny, Haute-Marne, France.
 * February 12, 1816 – Fire nearly destroys the city of,.
 * July 17, 1816 – The French passenger ship  runs aground off the coast of, with 140 lives lost in the botched rescue that takes weeks, leading to a scandal in the French government.
 * June 25, 1817 – A large riot breaks out in Prison; the army is sent to quell it.
 * 1817 – A epidemic occurs in  and.

Establishments

 * 1812 – The is founded at the,.
 * August 7, 1814 – decrees the bull  reestablishing the  (Jesuits) all over the world, after having approved their survival and existence in Russia.
 * February 4, 1815 – The first Dutch student association, the Groninger Studenten Corps, is founded in the Netherlands. The first rector of the senate was B.J. Winter.
 * April 11, 1816 – In, the is established by  and other African-American Methodists, the first such denomination completely independent of White churches.
 * 1816 – founds  in, offering instructions in Western languages and subjects.
 * April 15, 1817 – The first American school for the deaf opens in.
 * May, 1817 – The of the  founds the  while meeting in New York City.
 * November 11, 1818 – is founded by  in  (later renamed ).
 * January 25, 1819 – founds the.
 * August 6, 1819 – is founded by Captain  in  as the first private military school in the United States.

Other events

 * August 3, 1811 – First ascent of, third highest summit in the ,
 * July 13, 1813 – Missionaries and his wife  arrive in.
 * 1815 – British missionaries arrive in New Zealand.
 * 1815 – The second wave of immigration to North America begins.
 * 1816 – becomes the 10th.
 * November 22, 1817 – discovers the old Roman  mines at,.