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Year 1804

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Events this year

1804★★★★★

The name Việt Nam adopted

Emperor Gia Long adopts the name Việt Nam for the country, with Qing approval.

Politics· Vietnam
1804★★★★★

Usman dan Fodio founds the Sokoto Caliphate

The Islamic scholar Usman dan Fodio launched a jihad against the Hausa kingdoms and founded the Sokoto Caliphate, one of the largest states in 19th-century Africa.

ReligionWarDynasty· Nigeria, Niger
January 1, 1804★★★★★

Haiti declares independence

Jean-Jacques Dessalines proclaims Haiti's independence, making it the second independent nation in the Americas and the first republic founded by formerly enslaved people.

RevolutionPolitics· Haiti, France
May 14, 1804 – September 23, 1806★★★★★

Lewis and Clark Expedition

Meriwether Lewis and William Clark lead an expedition across the American West to the Pacific coast and back.

Exploration· United States

Ongoing

c. 15th century – c. 1860s★★★★★

The transatlantic slave trade

From the 16th to the 19th century, an estimated 12.5 million enslaved Africans were shipped across the Atlantic to the Americas, with profound consequences for both continents.

Economy· Ghana, Nigeria, Benin, Senegal, Angola, Brazil, United States, Portugal, United Kingdom
1639 – 1853★★★★★

Japan's sakoku isolation policy

The shogunate expels the Portuguese and severely restricts foreign contact, allowing only Dutch and Chinese trade at Nagasaki.

PoliticsEconomy· Japan
August 22, 1791 – January 1, 1804★★★★★

Haitian Revolution begins

Enslaved people in the French colony of Saint-Domingue rise up, beginning the only successful slave revolution in history.

RevolutionWar· Haiti, France