May 13, 1888★★★★★
Brazil abolishes slavery (Golden Law)
Princess Isabel signs the Golden Law (Lei Áurea), abolishing slavery in Brazil, the last country in the Americas to do so.
Politics· Brazil
← Previous year with events: 1887Next year with events: 1889 →View on map →View the whole 19th century
Events this year
Ongoing
1858 – 1947★★★★★
Beginning of the British Raj
After the 1857 rebellion, the Government of India Act transfers rule from the East India Company to the British Crown; the Mughal Empire formally ends.
Politics· India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Myanmar, United Kingdom
1885 – 1908★★★★★
Leopold II's Congo Free State
King Leopold II of Belgium ruled the Congo as a personal possession; its forced-labour rubber regime caused mass deaths until Belgium annexed the territory in 1908.
PoliticsEconomy· DR Congo, Belgium
July 1885 – 1896★★★★★
Cần Vương movement
After a failed attack on the French at Huế, Emperor Hàm Nghi flees the capital and issues an edict calling for resistance to French rule.
WarRevolution· Vietnam, France