1800tallet

1800tallet, or the nineteenth century, generally covers the period from roughly 1800 to 1899. It was characterized by rapid change, expanding world trade, and rising scientific and political ideas that shaped modern societies.

In Europe, the post-Napoleonic order established the Concert of Europe, while nationalist movements and liberal reforms challenged old monarchies. The mid-century revolutions of 1848 spread across the continent, and later in the century Italy and Germany achieved nation-state unifications. European powers also expanded their empires in Africa and Asia during the late century.

The economy saw the maturation of the Industrial Revolution: steam power, mechanized textile production, railways, and steamships transformed transport and manufacturing. Communications improved with the electric telegraph and, later in the century, the telephone. Scientific advances included Charles Darwin's theory of evolution (1859) and progress in chemistry, physics, and medicine.

Society experienced urbanization, rising literacy, and public health reforms. Abolition movements led to the legal end of slavery in much of the Atlantic world (for example, Britain’s Slavery Abolition Act in 1833 and the United States' 1865 abolition). Women's rights movements began in several countries, seeking greater political and educational opportunities. Social and labor movements also emerged to address workers' conditions.

Global connections intensified through trade, migration, and imperial competition, culminating in the so-called Scramble for Africa and new imperial infrastructures such as canals and railways. The nineteenth century laid the groundwork for modern states, economies, and technologies.