Modern Era
Treaty of Paris (1856): The Peace That Ended the Crimean War
The Crimean War ended; the Black Sea was neutralised, Russia lost southern Bessarabia, and the Ottoman Empire's integrity was guaranteed by the powers.
Region
Europe
Modern Era
Bessemer Process (1856): Cheap Steel for the Industrial Age
Steel could be made in tonnes in minutes instead of days, cutting its price sharply and replacing wrought iron in rails, ships and structures.
Modern Era
Second Opium War (1856-1860): Britain, France and the Qing Empire
Anglo-French victory; the Treaties of Tianjin and the Convention of Peking opened more ports, legalised the opium trade, placed envoys in Beijing and ceded Kowloon to Britain.
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
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
On the Origin of Species (1859): Darwin's Theory of Evolution
Darwin's book convinced most scientists within two decades that species evolve, and made natural selection the central idea of modern biology.
Modern Era
Expedition of the Thousand (1860): Garibaldi Conquers Sicily
The Kingdom of the Two Sicilies collapsed; after plebiscites, Sicily and Naples were annexed to the Kingdom of Sardinia, soon the Kingdom of Italy.
Modern Era
Burning of the Old Summer Palace (1860): Yuanmingyuan Destroyed
The imperial gardens were looted by British and French troops and burned by the British, and the Qing court signed the Convention of Peking days later.
Modern Era
Emancipation of the Serfs (1861): Alexander II's Great Reform
About 23 million privately owned serfs gained personal freedom and land allotments, but on terms that left many peasants with less land and decades of redemption debt.