1820sSimon Bolivar leads independence movements in Latin America1839Opium Wars: economic power shifts from China to Great Britain for the first time1848Karl Marx writes the Communist Manifesto (urban workers will rise up in a spontaneous revolution)1848Communism: a new socioeconomic theory that challenges capitalism; develops out of criticism of the Industrial Revolution1850Taiping Rebellion; deadliest civil war in history; guesstimate that 20 million die1853Matthew Perry "opens up" Japan for international trade effectively ending ~250 years of Japanese isolation1857Sepoy Mutiny; Great Britain begins direct rule of India1861 & 1863Major coerced labor systems end: serfdom in Russia, chattel slavery in the USA1869Major infrastructure projects are completed: Suez Canal under French control & the transcontinental railroad in the US. These facilitate the speed and volume of global trade.1871German unification (shift from being politically fragmented to centralized gov't)1884No Africans were represented at this meeting and Bantu tribalism & language groups were ignored1884Berlin Conference (Scramble for Africa); beginnings of European imperialism as Euro creates modern political boundaries in Africa1888Brazil is the last country to outlaw slavery; indentured servants from China become the replacement labor for the sugar plantations1898Spanish-America War: US takes control of the Philippines and becomes an imperialistic power1899Boer War: British win control of South Africa from Dutch settlers; unofficial beginnings of apartheid (racial segregation)1900Boxer Rebellion: caused by corrupt government, food shortages, opium, foreign influence; US marines led a multinational force to end the rebellion1902Great Britain and Japan created a naval alliance (Anglo-Japanese Alliance); Japan was now a global power1904-1905Russo-Japanese War; Japan becomes the most powerful country in East Asia, replacing China1910, 1911, 1917revolutions all based on land redistribution - take from the powerful and give to the peasants (these were non-industrialized countries)1911the last Civil Service Exam (CSE) was given, ending ~2000 years of government continuity1914WWI: first modern war & so deadly due to weapons from the Industrial Revolution
