1884

1884 was a leap year in the Gregorian calendar that featured notable events in diplomacy, reform, and imperial expansion. It shaped geopolitical developments across Africa, Europe, and the Americas.

In Africa, the Berlin Conference began in November to regulate European colonization and trade. The General Act established rules and the principle of “effective occupation” that guided later territorial claims and the Scramble for Africa.

In international timekeeping, the International Meridian Conference met in October 1884 in Washington, D.C. and designated Greenwich as the prime meridian, formalizing a uniform reference for longitude and time zones.

In Asia, the Sino-French War began in 1884, with major engagements such as the Battle of Fuzhou (Foochow) in August, marking a confrontation over influence in Vietnam and surrounding regions.

In the United Kingdom, the Representation of the People Act 1884 expanded suffrage to rural male voters, continuing a reform process that broadened political participation.

In the United States, the presidential election of 1884 saw Grover Cleveland defeat James G. Blaine, beginning Cleveland’s first term in 1885 and signaling a Democratic return to the White House after a period of Republican leadership.

The year also saw the Fabian Society founded in London, a political think group that promoted gradual socialist reform and would influence British intellectual and political life.