Modern Era
Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857): The Supreme Court and Slavery
By 7 votes to 2 the Court denied Scott his freedom, declared that Black Americans were not citizens and struck down the Missouri Compromise ban on slavery in the territories.
Era · c. 1800 – 1945
Modern Era
Industry, science and global conflict: the century and a half that built the modern world.
Modern Era
Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi: Warrior Queen of the 1857 Rebellion
Jhansi fell to British forces in April 1858, and the Rani was killed in battle near Gwalior on 17 or 18 June 1858.
Modern Era
Siege of Lucknow (1857): The Residency Under Fire
The Residency held out and was evacuated after Campbell's relief in November 1857; the British recaptured Lucknow in March 1858.
Modern Era
Indian Rebellion of 1857: The Great Uprising Against Company Rule
The uprising was suppressed, and in 1858 the British Crown took over the government of India from the East India Company.
Modern Era
Darwin-Wallace Paper (1858): Natural Selection Goes Public
The theory of evolution by natural selection was presented publicly for the first time, crediting both Darwin and Wallace.
Modern Era
Transatlantic Telegraph Cable (1858-1866): Linking Two Continents
After a short-lived link in 1858, the 1866 cable laid by the Great Eastern gave Europe and North America permanent, near-instant communication.
Modern Era
French Conquest of Vietnam (1858-1885): Birth of French Indochina
France annexed Cochinchina as a colony and imposed protectorates on Annam and Tonkin, which became the core of French Indochina from 1887.
Modern Era
British Raj (1858-1947): Crown Rule in India Explained
The British Crown ruled India directly for almost ninety years, building a centralised colonial state that lasted until independence and partition in 1947.
Modern Era
Great Stink of London (1858): The Thames and Bazalgette's Sewers
Parliament passed emergency legislation in August 1858 funding a new intercepting sewer network for London.
Modern Era
Battle of Solferino (1859): Bloodshed That Led to the Red Cross
Franco-Sardinian victory; Austria withdrew behind the Mincio and soon agreed to the armistice of Villafranca, giving up most of Lombardy.
Modern Era
John Brown's Raid on Harpers Ferry (1859): Spark of the War
The raid was crushed within 36 hours; Brown was captured, tried for treason against Virginia and hanged on 2 December 1859, becoming a martyr in the North and a symbol of menace in the South.
Modern Era
Suez Canal (1859-1869): Building the Link Between Two Seas
A sea-level canal opened in 1869, cutting thousands of kilometres from voyages between Europe and Asia but leaving Egypt deeply in debt.