1851★★★★★
Victorian gold rush begins
Gold discoveries in the colony of Victoria drew hundreds of thousands of immigrants, transforming Australia's population and economy.
Economy· Australia
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Events this year
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
November 3, 1839 – 1876★★★★★
Tanzimat reforms begin
The Edict of Gülhane opens the Tanzimat, a series of reforms modernising Ottoman administration, law and the army.
Politics· Turkey
1845 – 1852★★★★★
Great Famine in Ireland
Potato blight triggers a famine that kills about a million people and drives more than a million to emigrate from Ireland.
Disaster· Ireland, United Kingdom
1845 – 1872★★★★★
The New Zealand Wars
A series of armed conflicts between the colonial government and Māori iwi, chiefly over land and sovereignty, which led to large confiscations of Māori land.
War· New Zealand, United Kingdom
January 24, 1848 – 1855★★★★★
California Gold Rush
The discovery of gold at Sutter's Mill draws some 300,000 people to California from around the world, transforming the American West.
Economy· United States
1850 – 1864★★★★★
Taiping Rebellion
Hong Xiuquan's movement founds the 'Taiping Heavenly Kingdom'; the ensuing civil war causes tens of millions of deaths.
WarReligionRevolution· China