"Write, gentlemen, to your respective courts that I am in good health,
and that the mad enterprise of this man will no longer trouble the repose
of Europe nor my own." --
Louis XVIII, to assembled European
ambassadors, on hearing that Napoleon Bonaparte had landed in France.
Born in 1815:
Died in 1815:
Events of 1815:
-
Portuguese King Joao VI, in exile in Brazil since being forced out
by Napoleon, decides to stay in Brazil. He makes Brazil an independent
kingdom, and rules both countries from Rio de Janeiro.
-
A treaty ending the war between the United
States and Great Britain was signed in Ghent, Belgium the previous
year; however, news of the treaty has not yet reached America. This leads
to the final absurdities of the war.
-
(January 5) The Federalist Party's Hartford Convention demands changes
to the Constitution to reduce the influence
of the South and West, and thus avoid another war.
-
(January 8) A frontal assault by British troops against American forces
defending New Orleans turns into a turkey
shoot, as the British must march across an open field with no cover.
-
(February 12) British forces retake Mobile.
-
(February 8) News of the Treaty of Ghent reaches Washington,
at about the same time that news of the American victory at New Orleans.
This juxtaposition leads many Americans to believe they had "won" the War
of 1812. This causes a political firestorm in light of the Federalists'
recent demands, and the embarrassment smashes the Federalist Party forever.
-
Napoleon Bonaparte has been exiled to the island of Elba, but hears
of resistance to the reinstated king (and former Jacobin) Louis XVIII.
He decides that France needs him again.
-
(March 1) Napoleon lands at Golfe-Juan near Cannes.
-
(March 20) Napoleon Enters Paris; cries of "vive le Roi!" change
to cries of "vive L'Empereur!", beginning one Hundred Days
of Napoleon's resurgence.
-
(March 25) Great Britain, Austria, Prussia, Russia form a Seventh
Coalition against France.
-
Joachim Murat, King of Naples, Napoleon's brother-in-law, and former
Marshal of France, decides that the time is ripe for extending his kingdom
to all of Italy. The Italians are all for Italian independence1
from the influence of Austria; he leads his army north and captures Rome,
Florence, and Bologna easily. But his army is also the worst in Europe;
the Austrians stop him at Modena and his advance turns into a long retreat.
-
(May 2-3) Murat nearly defeats the Austrians at Tolentino but
is forced to retreat.
-
(May) Murat flees to France. Spanish King Ferdinand VII is restored
to the throne of Naples.
-
(June 8) With Napoleon still on the field, the Congress of Vienna
reaches a settlement for post-Napoleonic Europe.
-
(June 12) Napoleon leads an army into Belgium. There is an allied
Anglo-Dutch army under the Duke of Wellington and a Prussian army under
von Blücher.
-
(June 16) Napoleon defeats the Prussian army at Ligny.
However, marshal Ney allows the Prussians to escape.
-
(June 18) (acc. to Alexandre Dumas) In Toulon, Marshal Brune tells
Murat that Napoleon will have no more to do with him.
-
(June 18) Napoleon engages the British and Dutch at Waterloo.
Napoleon is expecting reinforcements, but the Prussian army arrives first,
and the battle turns into a rout.
-
(June 22) Napoleon abdicates again. He is shipped off the the remote
South Atlantic island of St. Helena.
-
(September 28) Murat decides to retake his kingdom, but his ships are scattered,
and upon landing at Pizzo with 30 followers, he is immediately captured.
-
Spain sends a large force to pacify its rebellious American colonies.
-
With Simon Bolivar in Haiti, Venezuela puts up little resistance.
-
New Granada puts up more of a fight. Cartagena and Bogota
are eventually taken, but the reprisals of the new Spanish viceroy in Bogota
destroy the support of the Creole royalists.
-
José de San Martin leads an army into Upper Peru.
This invasion is a disaster, and San Martin realizes that he cannot take
Peru by marching over the Andes.
-
José Gervasio Artigas breaks Montevideo and its surroundings
from Argentinian control, forming an off an "Eastern State", later Uruguay.
-
(November 5) Royalist forces catch up with the Mexican Congress and military
leader José Morelos at Temazcala.
-
(November 24) Morelos goes before the Inquisition.
-
(November 27) Morelos undergoes an auto-da-fé (not involving
a burning at the stake, however), the last one in Mexico.
-
(December 1-22) During Morelos' trial he repeatedly divulges military secrets,
allowing the Spanish to capture many rebel-controlled areas. This
is not enough to save him, however, and on December 20 the death sentence
is approved.
-
Tambora, a volcano on the island of Sumbawa, erupts, one of the largest eruptions ever recorded (Thira may have been larger). Enough material is ejected into the atmosphere to cause worldwide climate change; the following year is also known as "The Year Without A Summer".
-
John MacAdam invents a new material for road surfaces.
1814 - 1815 - 1816
How they Were Made - 19th Century
1In fact, Italians consider Murat's 1815 campaign to be
the opening phase of
Il Risorgimento.