Modern Era
Great Trek (1835-1840s): The Boer Migration from the Cape
Some 12,000-15,000 Boers settled beyond British rule, displacing African kingdoms and founding republics that became the Transvaal and the Orange Free State.
Era · c. 1800 – 1945
Modern Era
Industry, science and global conflict: the century and a half that built the modern world.
Modern Era
Battle of San Jacinto (1836): Texas Wins Its Independence
Decisive Texian victory; Santa Anna was captured and signed the Treaties of Velasco, and the Republic of Texas secured its independence.
Modern Era
Battle of the Alamo (1836): The Siege That Shaped Texas
Mexican victory; nearly all the Alamo's defenders were killed, but the loss became a rallying cry that helped Texas win independence weeks later.
Modern Era
Queen Victoria's Accession (1837): The Start of an Era
Eighteen-year-old Victoria succeeded her uncle William IV, began a reign of more than 63 years and ended the personal union of the British and Hanoverian crowns.
Modern Era
Rebellions of 1837-1838: Uprisings in Upper and Lower Canada
Both uprisings were crushed, but the Durham Report led to the union of the Canadas in 1841 and responsible government by 1848.
Modern Era
Cooke and Wheatstone Telegraph (1837): Britain's First Line
The needle telegraph became the first commercial electric telegraph, used first on railways and then for public messages across Britain.
Modern Era
Analytical Engine (1837): Babbage, Ada Lovelace and Computing
The Analytical Engine was never completed, but its design anticipated the main parts of the modern computer, and Lovelace's notes included the first published algorithm intended for such a machine.
Modern Era
Chartist Movement (1838): Britain's Mass Fight for the Vote
All three national petitions were rejected by Parliament, but five of the Charter's six points later became law between 1858 and 1918.
Modern Era
Battle of Blood River (1838): Voortrekkers Against the Zulu
Decisive Voortrekker victory; the Zulu army suffered heavy losses and Dingane's power began to collapse.
Modern Era
Amistad Case (1839-1841): The Revolt and the Supreme Court
The US Supreme Court ruled in March 1841 that the Africans had been illegally enslaved and were free; 35 survivors returned to Sierra Leone.
Modern Era
Vulcanized Rubber (1839): Charles Goodyear's Accidental Discovery
Vulcanization turned natural rubber into a durable material that stayed elastic in heat and cold, founding the modern rubber industry.
Modern Era
Daguerreotype (1839): Daguerre Gives Photography to the World
The French state bought the process and published it, launching photography as a worldwide practice and a commercial portrait industry.