1871

1871 was a year of major political change and social upheaval. In Europe, the German Empire was proclaimed in Versailles on January 18, uniting the German states under Prussian leadership after the victories in the Franco-Prussian War. Kaiser Wilhelm I was proclaimed Emperor, with Otto von Bismarck as Chancellor, marking the unification of Germany and shifting the balance of power in Europe.

France, defeated in the war, experienced the Paris Commune, a radical municipal government that briefly controlled Paris from March 18 to May 28, 1871. The Commune implemented social reforms but was suppressed by French government forces during the Bloody Week.

Elsewhere, the Franco-Prussian War formally ended with the Treaty of Frankfurt on May 10, 1871. France ceded Alsace-Lorraine to the German Empire and agreed to pay an indemnity; the settlement aggravated Franco-German tensions for decades.

On October 8–10, 1871, the Great Chicago Fire devastated a large part of Chicago, killing several hundred people and leaving more than 100,000 residents homeless. The disaster prompted reforms in urban planning and building safety in the United States.