Other European History from 1500 C.E. to 1900 C.E. - AP World History: Modern

The Franco-Prussian War was a major victory for Prussia, which took less than 10 months from July 1870 to May 1871 to overrun the French armies and take possesion of the territories of Alsace and Lorraine. The war saw drastic changes for both countries. The French Second Empire was dissolved, with the Third Republic being established, and Emperor Napoleon III having to abdicate. The various German states were unified under a project long attempted by Prussian King Wilhelm I (who became German Emperor Wilhelm I) and Chancellor Otto Bismarck.

During the Napoleonic Wars, Napoleon sought to isolate Britain from the rest of the world. In a process known as the Continental System, Napoleon prevented all the European nations under his control (which were most of them) from trading with Britain. The idea was that a British nation starved of much-needed imports and unable to raise revenue through exports would make for a much less challenging rival. In the end, Napoleon lacked the naval power to fully enforce the Continental System.

The Berlin Conference of 1884 to 1885 was set up to try and "peacefully" divide the territories of Africa between the various imperial European powers. This marked Germany's emergence onto the world stage as a significant imperial power.

For much of European history what is now known as Germany had been a collection of numerous princely states and small kingdoms. Moreover, the German speaking people were scattered throughout Europe from the Netherlands and Denmark to Hungary and Romania. Now, whilst you may not have known that the unification of Germany took place in 1871, in the Nineteenth Century, you should have known that the Nineteenth Century was the century where European nationalism grew into a dominant political ideology. Different people all over Europe were suddenly coming to see themselves as part of a distinct, and usually “special”, nationality. Germany was no exception and under the chancellorship of Bismarck, Prussia used German nationalism to unify the country. You might also have been confused and considered the reunification of Germany at the end of the Cold War, when the Berlin Wall was taken down, but this would better be called the "reunification" of Germany.

Neither Germany nor Italy were unified countries at the time of the Civil War so you can rule out this answer. Britain considered that a divided United States would be good for its economic interests, but because the British public would never support joining the Confederacy in a war that was seemingly about slavery the British government could not get involved. France likewise wanted the American union to break up because it had colonial ambitions in the continent still. Russia, however, under Tsar Alexander (the man who freed the serfs) supported the Union. It is highly likely that the most important factor that prevented France and Britain from getting involved was the fear that this would lead to another war with Russia.

The Battle of Lepanto was a naval battle fought in 1571 between the Ottoman Empire and the Holy League (an alliance of Venice, the Spanish forces of Charles V, and the Hapsburg forces of the Holy Roman Empire). The battle can be most clearly understood as a battle between Catholic and Islamic Empires for control of the Mediterranean. It was a significant victory for the Catholic forces.

The Battle of Austerlitz is one of the most famous land battles of the Napoleonic Wars. The French forces of Napoleon defeated the combined armies of Austria and Russia and gave France control of most of the European continent. The Battle of Trafalgar is one of the most significant losses for Napoleon during his decade-long attempt to conquer Europe. It was a naval battle won by the British navy (led by Lord Admiral Nelson) that resulted in the annihilation of the French navy.

Albrecht von Wallenstein was a military commander from Bohemia who fought for the Holy Roman Emperor against the armies of Northern Protestantism during the Thirty Years' War. He was a highly succesful leader who won many battles, but his ambition and success began to worry the Emperor, who subsequently had him assassinated.

John Cabot was an Italian explorer who sailed for the New World in 1497 (just five years after Columbus' voyage) under the sponsorship of King Henry VII of England. He is generally considered to be the first European to set foot on the American mainland. Columbus, although widely credited with being the first European in the Americas, never made it past the Caribbean. It is also possible that Cabot may not be quite deserving of the credit bestowed upon him, as many historians consider it likely that the Vikings arrived in North America sometime in the eleventh century.

The Columbian Exchange describes the widespread exchange of animals, human populations, cultures, religions, diseases, and plants between the Old World of Europe, North Africa, and Asia and the New World of North and South America. It took place, primarily from the late fifteenth century through the seventeenth century and changed the very nature of the human experience.

Napoleon III was defeated and captured by the Prussians in the battle of Sedan in 1870, and was formally removed from office several days later. Both Waterloo and Leipzig were battles fought by Napoleon I over five decades earlier. Sebastopol was a battle fought in the Crimean War in the 1850s. Verdun was a battle fought in World War I, long after the downfall of Napoleon III.

In the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-71, the German states led by Prussia defeated France, and in the peace negotiations that followed, the German states all agreed to unite under the Prussian monarchy. The Seven Years' War occurred over a century before, and simply saw Prussia secure its position as a major European power. The Congress of Vienna in 1815 concluded the Napoleonic Wars, and saw Prussia merely re-establish a powerful position in European affairs. The Revolutions of 1848, including German nationalistic uprisings, all ended in failure, and did not lead to unification. World War I was fought in the 1910s, long after Germany had united under Prussia.

While Louis XIV was an absolutist monarch who sought to curtail the power of the nobility, he was only successful in this to a degree, and did not abolish their special privileges (that, namely, kept them largely exempt from royal taxes). Louis and his ministers did, however, enact a number of military and administrative reforms designed to strengthen both the French military and the French royal government. Louis also had the impressive Palace of Versailles built, where he not only kept most of his government but his lavish court, which he used to distract the nobility from interfering with his ambitions. With the conquest of Alsace and other areas to the east, Louis also extended French territory to the Rhine river, and oversaw expansion of the French colonial empire, mainly in North America, India, and the Caribbean.

While the Thirty Years' War was a major victory for Protestant European states and confirmed the principle that sovereign rulers could decide the official religion of their state without outside interference, it did not cause all of the German states to adopt Protestantism, as many of them (such as Austria and Bavaria) remained Catholic. In confirming the principle that states should be free from foreign interference in religious affairs, the war was the last major European conflict in which religion was a major factor, and from this point international affairs and conflicts were focused mainly on secular matters such as territorial expansion, the balance of power, and colonial rivalries. As the war saw the defeat of the Catholic Habsburg states by France and its Protestant allies, namely Sweden, it led to the further decline of Habsburg power, France replacing Spain as the dominant military power in Europe, and Sweden securing its position as a major European power.

The Russian Code of Laws (1649) was designed to strengthen the institution of serfdom in Russia. Until then, the serfs (peasants who worked the lands) still enjoyed some rights, including the ability to abandon their land and move about. With the introduction of the Code of Laws, most Russian peasants were firmly tied to the feudal system and had almost no rights of their own.

St. Petersburg was founded in 1703 as a major port city and capital for the Russian Empire. Its name was later changed to Leningrad with the rise of the Soviet Union in the twentieth century.

Under Napoleon III, France and the Ottoman Empire made a special agreement, part of which allowed Catholics, particularly French Catholics, free access to the parts of the Holy Land around Jerusalem controlled by the Ottomans. Russia objected to the exclusion of Orthodox Christians by the Ottomans, and in due course the Ottomans reversed course. The open conflict erupted in 1854 and saw the Russian Empire take on an Allied force of British, French, and Ottoman troops. The result was a decisive Allied victory.

The Crimean War was fought in the 1850s between the French and British on one side and the Russians on the other. The British and French had long feared Russian expansion into the Mediterranean, and when Russia attacked the Ottoman Empire, British and French foreign policy necessitated a declaration of war. The war ended in victory for the British and French forces. The Crimean War is also notable for the work of Florence Nightingale and the subsequent changes in medical practice brought about by her efforts.

During the nineteenth century, following the Napoleonic Wars, British foreign policy became much less focused on competition with France and the other Western European nations, and much more concerned with limiting the expansion of the Russian empire. The British and French feared the growth of Russian influence in the Middle East and the Mediterranean and so sought to sure up the failing Ottoman Empire. The most notable incident derived from the British policy of containment was the Crimean War, fought between France and Britain on one side and Russia on the other.

The Rurik family ruled over Russia from its inception in the ninth century until 1613 when they were replaced by the Romanov family. The Romanovs ruled from 1613 until they were ousted from power during the Russian Revolution of 1917. Notable Romanovs include Catherine the Great, Peter the Great, Alexander I and II, and Nicholas I.