Napoleon established the Cispadane Republic in Italy (Modena, Reggio, Ferrara) and then the Cisalpine Republic (Lombardy), which later absorbed the Cispadane Republic. The Cispadane Republic adopted the tricolor as its flag, which had been adopted the previous year by a military confederation of Emilian cities.
Modena. The Italian tricolor is flown for the first time in Piazza Grande (now renamed Piazza della Rivoluzione).
In the Ducal Archives of Reggio Emilia, the congress decided to establish a government; the chosen flag was a horizontal tricolor, with red, white, and green stripes. At the center, an emblem composed of a quiver, rising on war trophies, with four arrows inside, symbolizing
Modena. At the Congress in Via Farini (then called Rua Grande, since Farini had not yet led the Piedmontese army!), it was decided to unite Modena with the Cisalpine Republic (which would later become the Italian Republic in 1802). The Modena area became the Department
congress was held in Modena with representatives of the provinces of Modena and Reggio Emilia, and the former papal legations of Ferrara, Bologna, and Romagna, uniting the four cities in what became known as the Cispadane Confederation. The green, white, and red tricolor flag with
Modena. Napoleon Bonaparte returned to Modena, welcomed triumphantly. A few days later, Modena’s union with the Cisalpine Republic was decided (which would later become the Italian Republic in 1802).
Gauss wrote in his notebook: “Vicemus GEGAN.” It is one of many cryptic phrases never understood. The failure to publish his discoveries has been blamed by some for delaying the development of mathematics by half a century.
Bologna. Luigi Zamboni organizes an uprising among the people of Bologna against the absolutist domination of the Church, enlisting students from the University of Bologna to join the cause, including Giovanni Battista De Rolandis, Antonio Succi, Camillo Tomesani, Antonio Forni, Angelo Sassoli, Tomaso Bambozzi, Pietro
Robespierre and his followers were executed: the same guillotine that had claimed thousands of victims among Robespierre’s enemies in the previous months.
Antoine-Laurent Lavoiser was guillotined on May 5, 1794 for his sympathies for the crown.
Danton and Desmoulines and other Indulgents are executed by Robespierre
Lazare Carnot was among those in the National Convention who declared the fatal vote to guillotine the King of France. Lazare was a friend of Robespierre. Perhaps a deep root of Science is the Revolution: refusing to accept the order of things.
Britain provides France’s continental enemies with £65.8 million in funding.
France, the “one and indivisible” Republic is born and the monarchy is abolished; two political factions soon form: the Girondins on the right and the Montagnards on the left
The unrivaled Prussian army, the most powerful component of the European coalition against the French Revolution, marches from the Rhine to reverse the events of 1789. Verdun and Longwy, border fortresses, quickly surrender. But at Valmy, the rapid and well-aimed fire of the French artillery
Brazil: Lieutenant Colonel Francisco de Paula Freire de Andrade (known as Tiradentes) is hanged as part of the so-called Inconfidencia Mineira (Mining Conspiracy) for Brazil’s independence from Portugal. His body is dismembered and sent to Vila Rica, the Minas Gerais captaincy, to be displayed in
The French royal family attempts to escape, the King is recognized in Varennes and brought back to Paris
The French National Constituent Assembly, at Taylorand’s proposal, defines a unified system of weights and measures. The commission includes Lavoiser, Lagrange, and Laplace. The standard length is chosen as the forty-millionth part of the Earth’s meridian: the meter.
At the Cordeliers’ Conference, the “Society of Friends of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen” was founded; the figures of Danton and Marat emerged.
Paris. Lavoisier publishes “Elementary Treatise on Chemistry,” in which he divides substances into four categories: the first includes gases (hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen), light, and heat; the second includes nonmetallic substances that form acids (carbon, sulfur, phosphorus, and the still-unknown bases muriatic, hydrochloric, fluoric, and
The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen in France. It uses language and recalls concepts common to those already used and signed a few years earlier in the newly formed (with crucial French support) United States of America.
new vision of the Self, Man is free! Abolition of slavery.And also London Stock Exchange, Industrial Revolution, Railways, Waterloo, Greatest Expansion of the British Empire, South Africa, East India Company, Egypt
The American Constitutional Convention proposed abolishing the slave trade throughout the Union but encountered opposition from the Northern states that profited from the business. It was eventually abolished in 1808, and then declared a piracy in 1820. By that time, however, the slave population in
Paris. Lavoisier repeats Cavendish’s experiments in London on a demonstration scale, using hydrogen and oxygen to create flames and explosions that generate water, thus confirming that water is not an element but a compound. This time, everything is done in a more rigorous and scientific
India. William Jones publishes his notes on Sanskrit, an ancient Indian language used in Hindu rituals, which connects it with Ancient Greek, Latin, Gothic, Celtic, Old Persian, German, French, and English. He thus establishes comparative linguistics. For example, in Sanskrit, “mother” is “matar,” in Latin
Treaty of Paris: England, France, Spain, and the United States of America end the eight-year conflict between the former and the latter three. The treaty marks the end of the American Revolutionary War and consists, in summary, of: England’s recognition of the independence of the
Great Siege of Gibraltar. The Spanish and French besiege the Rock of Gibraltar from land and sea. The English are bombarded by mortars and cannons mounted on large rafts. This is the third attempt by the Spanish in the same century (previous attempts were in
Battle of Negapatam, India. Eleven British warships under Hughes and eleven French ships under De Suffren confront each other. The British lose 310 sailors killed or wounded, and the French 779, but the result is inconclusive. The French had hoped until the last moment for
Battle of the Saintes (or Battle of Dominica or of the Saintes). Thirty-six English warships under the command of Sir George Rodney faced thirty-three warships under the command of Count François Joseph Paul de Grasse. The English lost 1,259 sailors killed or wounded, the French
London. Lord North resigns as British Prime Minister after the defeat at Yorktown, Virginia, against the French and Americans. He is succeeded by Lord Rockingham, who negotiates the surrender to the Americans and the complete withdrawal of British troops and navy from the former thirteen
London. By 19 votes, Parliament votes to abandon the war effort in the former American colonies. After seven years, the American Revolutionary War ends.
Upon hearing that two French naval forces (one from the Caribbean and one from Newport) were heading for Yorktown, the British war fleet under Rear Admiral Sir Thomas Graves set sail from New York with 19 vessels.
De Grasse’s French fleet, with 3,000 soldiers aboard 28 warships, set sail from Haiti for Chesapeake Bay to engage the British fleet off Yorktown. The fleet was “lent” to the American Revolutionary War but was to return to the French West Indies as soon as
Dogger Bank, North Sea. In the shallow waters of the gigantic Dogger Bank in the North Sea, the first naval battle between the English and the Dutch in over a century is fought. The Dutch are no longer the powerful naval force they once were,
England. William Herschel notices, through his telescope, a bluish dot changing position over time and begins to suspect it. It is Uranus.
London. The government launches a plan for a major military expedition to be completed the following year against the Dutch and Spanish possessions in the Far East, particularly the Dutch East Indies and the Philippines. Due to other difficulties the British will face, the plan
London Gordon Riots. London experiences the worst urban uprising of the century, leading to a massacre of Catholics in the name of Protestantism. After consultations, the government, supported by the king, decides to use force. The 8th Regiment occupies the city with orders to shoot
Battle of Waxhaws, South Carolina. The British and Banastre Tarleton’s loyalists continued to attack Abraham Buford’s Americans even after the latter demanded their surrender. It was a massacre: 113 were killed, 150 were seriously wounded beyond recovery, and 53 were captured. “Tarleton Quarter” remains a
Charleston, South Carolina. Lincoln’s Americans surrender to Clinton’s British. They take 6,000 prisoners. But the British will soon discover that the loyalists they had counted on to govern the colony are far fewer than they thought.
The French and British fleets clashed off Martinique in the Caribbean (West Indies). The fierce battle ended in a stalemate, with no enemy ships sunk or captured, but all heavily damaged. The French’s attempts to escape the battle, however, gave the British a moral advantage.
Sir Henry Clinton completes the evacuation of Philadelphia. After crossing 90 dangerous miles of rebel territory, he rejoins Sir William Howe’s troops in New York.
Philadelphia. Sir Henry Clinton replaces Sir William Howe as commander of the British troops. He succeeds Howe and Burgoyne, who had their chance, and failed. He intends to abandon Philadelphia to more effectively deploy the 27,000 remaining troops: 8,400 in New York, 3,500 in Rhode
American Revolution. New orders from London command the defense of only the most secure possessions, such as New York, Rhode Island, Canada, and Newfoundland.
American Revolution. French King Louis XVI, without even consulting his Spanish ally, recognized American independence and signed a treaty of alliance with the United States of America. Some historians believe he thus missed the opportunity to exploit Germany’s temporary weakness and embarked on a path
Philadelphia, the capital of the United States, is occupied by British troops. The U.S. Congress has been evacuated eight days earlier.
Battle of Princeton, New Jersey. The Continental Army, led by George Washington and Hugh Mercer, surprises Cornwallis’s British forces, capturing 250 of them and killing about 50. The American casualties are approximately 30.
Battle of Trenton, New Jersey. George Washington and Nathaniel Greene, in difficult conditions, cross the Delaware River and surprise the German Hessians of the British Army, capturing 896 of them and killing 22. Two Americans were killed during the arduous march.
New York. British troops, actually composed mostly of German Hessian mercenaries, assault Fort Washington, 10 miles north of New York. They lose 440 lives, but capture the fort with 3,000 prisoners, 146 cannons, 12,000 cannon shells, 2,800 muskets, and 400,000 musket balls.
Brigadier General Benedict Arnold launches an improvised American fleet on Lake Champlain (Vermont); this will prevent the British from overrunning New England.
New York, United States of America. British troops under General Howe break through to Manhattan and occupy the southern tip of the island, capturing 67 artillery pieces. Washington retreats to Harlem Heights in the north of the island.
Captain James Cook’s third voyage; he was assassinated by the Hawaiians in 1779; at that moment the K-1 watch, which he had brought with him for the second time, stopped ticking.
United States Declaration of Independence. After a decade of conflict with Great Britain, the 13 American colonies responded to King George III’s outright refusal to grant political reform with a call for revolution. On July 4, 1776, more than 14 months after the war began