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1816 CE

This year falls in the Age of revolutions and empire (1789–1914). Revolutions in France, Haiti and Latin America overturn old regimes, and industry, beginning in Britain, changes work, cities and war. European powers and the United States expand their reach, and by 1914 much of Africa and Asia is under colonial rule.

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Dated to 1816 CE

Country · ArgentinaArgentina1816–Argentina is a large country in southern South America, stretching from the Andes to the Atlantic. It declared independence from Spain in 1816. It is a federal presidential republic known for tango, beef, and football.

Within fifteen years

Ruler · Age of revolutions and empire · GermanyOtto von Bismarck1815–1898Prussian and German statesman, 1815 to 1898, who unified Germany by war and diplomacy. As minister president of Prussia from 1862 he provoked wars with Denmark, Austria and France, then proclaimed the German Empire at Versailles in 1871. Dismissed by the young Kaiser Wilhelm II in 1890, he warned that his successors would ruin his work.
Country · ChileChile1818–Chile is a long, narrow country between the Andes and the Pacific. Bernardo O'Higgins declared independence from Spain in 1818. It is a presidential republic, now among South America's most stable states.
Philosopher · Age of revolutions and empire · GermanyKarl Marx1818–1883German thinker who turned Hegel's dialectic into historical materialism: class struggle drives history, and capitalism digs its own grave. The Communist Manifesto of 1848 and Capital of 1867 made him the most politically consequential philosopher of modern times. He lived 1818 to 1883, mostly in London exile.
Country · ColombiaColombia1819–Colombia is a large country in northwestern South America, named for Christopher Columbus. Simón Bolívar freed it from Spain in 1819. It is a presidential republic that has fought a long internal conflict.
Philosopher · Age of revolutions and empire · DenmarkSøren Kierkegaard1813–1855Danish thinker, the father of existentialism, who wrote under pseudonyms about the individual's leap of faith against Hegel's system. Fear and Trembling retells Abraham's trial. He lived 1813 to 1855 and died at forty two.
Ruler · Age of revolutions and empire · United KingdomVictoria1819–1901Queen of the United Kingdom from 1837 to 1901, born in 1819, whose sixty three year reign gave its name to an age. The British Empire reached its greatest extent under her, and she was proclaimed Empress of India in 1876. Her long mourning for Prince Albert made the monarchy a symbol of duty and empire.
Country · Costa RicaCosta Rica1821–Costa Rica is a small Central American country between Nicaragua and Panama. It became independent from Spain in 1821. It abolished its army in 1948 and is one of Latin America's steadiest democracies.
Country · MexicoMexico1821–Mexico is a large country in southern North America, heir to the Aztec and Maya worlds. It won independence from Spain in 1821. It is a federal presidential republic and the largest Spanish speaking country.
Country · ParaguayParaguay1811–Paraguay is a landlocked country in central South America. It declared independence from Spain in 1811. The War of the Triple Alliance in the 1860s killed most of its men; it is now a presidential republic.
Country · PeruPeru1821–Peru is a large country on the Pacific coast of South America, heartland of the Inca Empire. It declared independence from Spain in 1821. It is a presidential republic.
Country · BrazilBrazil1822–Brazil is the largest country in South America, covering half the continent. Portugal claimed it in 1500; it became an independent empire in 1822 and a republic in 1889. It is a federal presidential republic.
Ruler · Age of revolutions and empire · United StatesAbraham Lincoln1809–1865Sixteenth president of the United States, 1861 to 1865, born in 1809, who preserved the Union through civil war and ended slavery. The Emancipation Proclamation of 1863 freed the slaves in the rebellious states. He was assassinated at Ford's Theatre on 14 April 1865, five days after Lee's surrender.
Country · BoliviaBolivia1825–Bolivia is a landlocked country in central South America, named for Simón Bolívar. It declared independence from Spain in 1825. Its silver mines once funded the Spanish Empire; it is now a presidential republic.
Philosopher · Age of revolutions and empire · EnglandJohn Stuart Mill1806–1873English thinker raised by his father as a reasoning machine who became liberalism's great defender. On Liberty of 1859 made free speech and individuality the test of civilization. He lived 1806 to 1873.
Country · LiechtensteinLiechtenstein1806–Liechtenstein is a tiny German speaking principality in the Alps, between Switzerland and Austria. It became a sovereign state in 1806. It is a constitutional monarchy under the House of Liechtenstein, one of the richest countries in the world per person.
Country · HaitiHaiti1804–Haiti occupies the western third of Hispaniola. Its slaves rose in 1791 and defeated Napoleon to found the first Black republic in 1804. It is now the poorest country in the Americas, torn by gang rule.
Country · UruguayUruguay1828–Uruguay is a small country between Argentina and Brazil on the Atlantic. It became independent in 1828 as a buffer between its great neighbors. It is a presidential republic and one of Latin America's steadiest democracies.
Country · BelgiumBelgium1830–Belgium is a small country in western Europe, independent since 1830. Brussels, its capital, hosts the headquarters of the European Union and NATO. It is a federal monarchy divided between Dutch speaking Flanders and French speaking Wallonia.
Country · EcuadorEcuador1830–Ecuador is a small country on the Pacific coast of South America, named for the equator. It left Simón Bolívar's Gran Colombia in 1830. It is a presidential republic that includes the Galápagos Islands.
Country · GreeceGreece1830–Greece is a Balkan country of peninsulas and islands, heir to the ancient Greek world. It won independence from the Ottoman Empire in a war that began in 1821. The modern state is a parliamentary republic.
Country · VenezuelaVenezuela1830–Venezuela is a country on the northern coast of South America, sitting on some of the world's largest oil reserves. It left Simón Bolívar's Gran Colombia in 1830. Mismanagement under Hugo Chávez and Nicolás Maduro collapsed its economy.