19century

The nineteenth century, covering 1801 through 1900, was marked by rapid industrialization, the rise of nation-states, and sweeping social, political, and scientific change. It saw a shift from agrarian to urban and industrial societies in Europe and North America, with widening global impact beyond Europe as well.

Politically, it featured the final decline of Napoleon’s empire, the Vienna settlement, and waves of liberalism and nationalism. Revolutions in 1830 and 1848, the unifications of Germany and Italy, and expansions of parliamentary reform in Britain reshaped governance. The era also included abolition movements and the American Civil War (1861–65).

Economically, the century encompassed two industrial eras: early steam-powered production and, from the 1870s onward, the Second Industrial Revolution with steel, electricity, chemicals, railways, telegraphs, and telephones. Global trade expanded, and colonial empires grew, especially in Africa and Asia.

Science and culture advanced rapidly: Darwin’s theory of evolution (1859), advances in chemistry, and the emergence of germ theory; photography and later cinema; and shifts in art from Romanticism to Realism and Impressionism. Notable writers included Dickens, Tolstoy, and Dostoevsky.

Society transformed through urbanization, education expansion, and public health improvements. Labor movements sought better conditions, and early feminism and suffrage efforts challenged traditional roles, laying groundwork for social reform in the following century.