Timeline / 1840 to 1850
Date Country Theme
1840 Turkey Reforms And Social Changes
12 October: The Ministry of Post is established.
1840s United Kingdom Music, Literature, Dance And Fashion
Western classical music penetrates the courtly circles of the Ottoman Empire. The imperial Ottoman family includes composers, such as Sultan ‘Abd al-‘Aziz who composes dance music. On a visit to London in 1867, the band of the Grenadier Guards plays one of the Sultan’s own compositions at a reception for him.
1840 Turkey Music, Literature, Dance And Fashion
3 July: The first newspaper in Ottoman Turkish published by a private individual, Cerîde-I Havâdis (Journal of News), begins to appear in #stanbul as a weekly, published by an English journalist, William Churchill.
1840 Turkey Political Context
After his term as governor in Samos, Kostaki Musurus Pa#a, a Phanariot Greek becomes the first Ottoman envoy to independent Athens (1840–47) followed by Vienna (1848) and London (1851–55).
1840 Turkey Reforms And Social Changes
The first mixed courts are introduced to hear civil and criminal cases involving Muslims and non-Muslims.
1840 Lebanon Political Context
Conflicts between the Druze and the Maronite Christians explode. A Maronite revolt against the feudal class erupts, lasting till 1858.
1840 - 1841 Austria Political Context
Austria cooperates in a settlement to the Turkish–Egyptian crisis of 1840, sending intervention forces to conquer the Ottoman fortresses of Saida (Sidon) and St Jean d’Acre, and concluding with the Dardanelles Treaty signed at the London Straits Convention of 1841.
1840 Turkey Reforms And Social Changes
7 February: The tax system is reorganised.
1840 Romania Economy And Trade
Austrian engineers Karol and Rafael Hoffmann and Carol Maderspach initiate the extraction of coal in the Jiu Valley (south Transylvania), which was and still is the main coal-mining region of Romania. Date Country Theme
1840 Turkey Reforms And Social Changes
Official recognition of the Mâli Takvim (Rumi calendar) as the second calendar system alongside the Hijra calendar.
1840 Romania Music, Literature, Dance And Fashion
Top hats begin to be worn in the United Principalities, where they were called joben, from the name of Jobin, the French merchant who first sold them in Bucharest.
1840s United Kingdom Migrations
Aden becomes a British Crown Colony in 1839 administered (until 1937) not from London but from India. Indians migrating to practise trade and the professions help to duplicate what is happening in India, albeit in a smaller way, in the Gulf and Iraq.
1840 Turkey Great Inventions Of The 19th Century
23 October: The Ottoman Ministry of Post is established in Istanbul.
1841 France Music, Literature, Dance And Fashion
The leading roles in Giselle, a ballet by Adolphe Adam are played by Carlotta Grisi and Lucien Petipa.
1841 France Reforms And Social Changes
Law of 22 March 1841, inspired by the work of Louis-René Villermé: the Act prohibits the employment of children younger than eight years. It limits the working day to eight hours for ages 8–12 and twelve hours for ages 12–16. Night work (9 p.m.–5 a.m.) is prohibited for anyone under 13 years; and for those who are older two hours is to be paid as three.
1841 Lebanon Economy And Trade
Teams of spinners are brought from France to train young women. This was a real social revolution in this rural and traditional part of the country. According to G. Ducousso’s book The Silk Industry in Syria and Lebanon (1912), the French Consul in Beirut counted no fewer than 183 spinning mills in Lebanon.
1841 - 1844 Germany Travelling
The Berlin Zoological Gardens was established in 1841 and opened to the public in 1844. The oldest zoo in Germany, today, it hosts more visitors than any zoo in Europe (around 3 million visitors per year).
1841 Greece Economy And Trade
The National Bank of Greece is founded.
1841 United Kingdom Economy And Trade Date Country Theme
The Ottoman Bank is founded in this year, registered in London, to channel overseas investment in the Ottoman Empire.
1841 United Kingdom Great Inventions Of The 19th Century
William Henry Fox Talbot announces his calotype photography, which, using a developing agent, drastically reduces exposure time. A negative image is created, from which it is possible to produce countless positive images. Talbot is keen to apply the technique to archaeological objects, and photography is then used increasingly for recording objects and sites.
1841 Turkey Political Context
13 July: The Straits Convention, signed by the Ottoman Empire and the great powers, prohibits foreign warships from entering the Bosphorus or the Dardanelles.
1842 Tunisia Reforms And Social Changes
Educational reform and restructuring of the Zaytuna Mosque through the introduction of new disciplines and incentives for teachers in Tunisia.
1842 United Kingdom Political Context
Evangelists in Britain and Germany found the Jerusalem Protestant bishopric. There is an idea of converting Jews – the first bishop is a converted Jew – and the bishopric establishes a British cultural and educational interest in the Levant. It also stimulates archaeological work.
1842 Republic of Macedonia Fine And Applied Arts (FYROM)
The portrait of Gjurchin Kokale, founder of the Church of St George in Lazaropole, is painted inside the church by Dicho Krstevic Zograph. It is one of the earliest known portraits in Macedonia. In 1854 this prolific artist painted the icon of Archpriest Samoil from the Treskavec Monastery near Prilep.
1842 Portugal Great Inventions Of The 19th Century
Daguerreotype starts to be used in Portugal two years after its invention in France and is mostly used in commercial portrait lithographs. The oldest ones still existing in Portugal reproduce the Palace (Paços) of Coimbra University in 1842. The University is at the time the major centre for the dissemination of scientific knowledge.
1842 Austria Music, Literature, Dance And Fashion
The Wiener Philharmoniker is founded. It becomes one of the most famous orchestras in the world.
1842 Austria Reforms And Social Changes
Child labour under 12 years of age is outlawed in Austria. Date Country Theme
1842 Italy Music, Literature, Dance And Fashion
Triumph of Nabuccodonosor by Giuseppe Verdi (1831–1901) at La Scala Theatre (Milan): it marks the appearance of a new operatic style, in which both voice and music show an entirely new heroic passion and strength.
1842 - 1846 Germany Rediscovering The Past
The Egyptologist Karl Richard Lepsius is appointed director of an expedition to Egypt by Friedrich Wilhelm IV.
1842 Italy Travelling
A seaside hostel is opened in Viareggio (Tuscany) for the treatment of children affected by tuberculosis (the first of its kind in Italy). In Tuscany, experiments of “marine therapy” for children started in the 1820s. By 1882, 21 seaside hostels for medical purposes are active in Italy.
1843 Romania Fine And Applied Arts
Carol Popp de Szathmari, the most important Romanian photographer of the 19th century (born in Cluj, Transylvania), moves to Bucharest, where he opens a photo studio.
1843 Egypt Cities And Urban Spaces
Muhammad Sharif Pasha builds the Sharif Pasha Palace situated on Kirdassi Street, off Hasan al-Akbar Street, in Cairo. The Pasha held a number of important posts during the reigns of Muhammad ‘Ali and his successors.
1843 Turkey Economy And Trade
The first successful attempt to open a modern bank in the Empire. Smyrna Bank is established by foreign merchants (English, French, Austrian, Dutch, Russian, American, Italian, Danish, Spanish and Greek) under the Swedish Consulate in Izmir in order to diminish their dependence on other merchants and bankers. It is closed in the same year for operating without permission.
1843 Austria Reforms And Social Changes
Gas lighting is installed on the streets of Vienna.
1843 Germany Great Inventions Of The 19th Century
Friedrich Gottlob commodifies paper production (the mass production of cheap paper).
1843 Italy Travelling
First bathing establishment created in Rimini.
1843 Greece Fine And Applied Arts Date Country Theme
The School of the Fine Arts becomes a five-year higher education institution under its director, the architect Lissandros Kautantzoglou.
1844 Germany Reforms And Social Changes
First proletarian uprising: 3000 weavers in Silesia are protesting against the inhumane working conditions and their exploitation. They are all being killed by the Prussian military.
1844 Portugal Rediscovering The Past
Publication of the novel Eurico,O Presbítero by Alexandre Herculano (1810–77). The story takes place during the period of the Arab invasion of Visigoth Hispania, led by Tarik in 711.
1844 Portugal Rediscovering The Past
Frei Luís de Sousa, by Almeida Garrett. A romantic drama on the myth of King Sebastian, killed in the Battle of Alcacer Quibir, Morocco, in 1578. The myth of a disappeared king who will return to regain freedom and independence for his people underlies the plot together with the extreme love of Brother Luís de Sousa for his country.
1844 Portugal Economy And Trade
Foundation of the National Tobacco Company in Xabregas, Lisbon. Following the 18th-century tendency, the profits of tobacco manufacturing and trade became the major source of revenue for oligarchic businessmen (known as the Caixas) seeking its control. The monopoly was rented out by the state, usually on a triennial base.
1844 Germany Reforms And Social Changes
The first Proletariat uprising, the Weber Rebellion, witnesses 3,000 weavers in Silesia protesting against inhumane working conditions and exploitation. The uprising is quashed by the Prussian military – which murders them all.
1844 Turkey Economy And Trade
Monetary reform. Ottomans accept bimetallism. Lira, mecidiye and kuru# become official units. 100 kuru# are equal to one Ottoman lira. Silver mecidiyes equal to 20 kuru# are issued.
1844 - 1846 Spain Economy And Trade
British interests in raw material – iron and coal – lead to the foundation of the iron and steel industry in Bilbao and Santander and industrial exploitation of the coal mines in Asturias.
1844 Turkey Travelling
June–July: Sultan Abdülmecid visits #zmit, Bursa, Gallipoli and the Aegean Islands. Date Country Theme
1844 Morocco Political Context
The Battle of Isly is fought on 14 August 1844 between the Moroccan army employing an archaic strategy against professional soldiers trained in the Napoleonic campaigns and armed with batteries of light guns. The battle ended with the defeat of the Moroccans. The consequences of this defeat were grave for Morocco. It was the first time the country had lost a battle in more than two centuries, and it showed Mulay ‘Abd al-Rahman just how weak his army was.
1844 Serbia Political Context
Serbia’s oldest museum, Museum Serbski, now the National Museum in Belgrade, is founded by the Minister of Education Jovan Sterija Popovi#.
1845 France Great Inventions Of The 19th Century
The First electric telegraph in France between Paris and Rouen.
1846 Tunisia Reforms And Social Changes
Ahmad Pasha Bey promulgates a decree freeing all black slaves in the country. Everyone born in Tunisia is declared free regardless of their parents’ origins.
1846 Tunisia Travelling
Ahmad Pasha Bey is received by King Louis Philippe at the Tuileries Palace. He stays at the Élysée Palace. He visits the parliament, the Hôtel des invalids, Napoleon’s tomb and the Palace of Versailles.
1846 Turkey Reforms And Social Changes
A gendarme organisation is formed.
1846 Turkey Travelling
May: Sultan Abdülmecid visits Varna.
1846 Romania Economy And Trade
The rulers of Moldavia and Wallachia, Mihail Sturdza and Gheorghe Bibescu, sign a convention that stipulates the abolishment of the customs between the two countries. The convention becomes effective in January 1847.
1846 France Music, Literature, Dance And Fashion
Premiere of the opera La damnation de Faust by Hector Berlioz.
1846 Egypt Travelling
Ibrahim Pasha is received with respect and curiosity when he visits western Europe. Date Country Theme
1846 Portugal Economy And Trade
Merger of Banco de Lisboa and the investment company Companhia Confiança Nacional (1844–46) creating Banco de Portugal, which by 1887 shares the right to issue banknotes with other institutions. By 1891, Banco de Portugal becomes the sole issuer of bank notes for the mainland, the Azores and Madeira.
1847 Turkey Reforms And Social Changes
Publication of the first government yearbook (salnâme).
1847 Romania Great Inventions Of The 19th Century
The construction of a road to link Wallachia and Transylvania, crossing through the Predeal Pass in the Southern Carpathians, is begun during the reign of Prince Gheorghe Bibescu.
1847 - 1848 Tunisia Great Inventions Of The 19th Century
Following creation of, in the Regency of Tunis, the first mail-distribution system, the first aerial telegraph system is inaugurated connecting the Bardo, official headquarters of the Bey’s government, with Tunis and La Goulette.
1847 Turkey Great Inventions Of The 19th Century
American John Lawrence Smith, an agricultural chemist and mineralogist in Ottoman employ, demonstrates the electric telegraph invented by Samuel Morse in an elaborate presentation to Sultan Abdülmecid and his officials. The sultan bestows on Morse the prestigious Nishan-# #ftihar (Order of Glory of the Empire), Morse’s first official honour.
1847 - 1848 Italy Great Inventions Of The 19th Century
First Italian telegraph line (Florence–Pisa–Livorno).
1847 Turkey Reforms And Social Changes
September: First government secondary schools (rü#diyye mektebi) are established.
1847 Austria Reforms And Social Changes
Foundation of the Academy of Science in Vienna.
1848 - 1849 Romania Political Context
Revolution in the Romanian countries: in Wallachia and Moldavia revolutionaries demand their countries’ right to self-determination, while in Transylvania Romanians want equal rights to those of the Hungarians and Germans.
1848 Turkey Cities And Urban Spaces Date Country Theme
Ebniye Nizamnamesi (Regulation for Buildings) issued.
1848 Spain Great Inventions Of The 19th Century
The first railway in Spain is built between Barcelona and Mataró for the transport of goods and passengers. The first railway built by the Spaniards had been built in Cuba in 1837 linking Havana with Güines.
1848 Serbia Political Context
The Serbian uprising against the Austrian monarchy sees the formation of Srpsko Vojvodstvo (the Serbian Duchy). Stevan Kni#anin-Vojvoda (military commander) commands Serbian volunteers during the Hungarian Revolution (1848–49).
1848 Germany Reforms And Social Changes
Liberal regimes, now with seats in government, herald a series of liberal reforms in all German states. After riots in Berlin, Prussian King Frederick William IV promises liberal and national reforms.
1848 - 1849 Italy Political Context
Uprisings in different parts of Italy demand constitutional rule and national unification. In Rome and Venice, short-lived republics are proclaimed. King Carlo Alberto (Kingdom of Sardinia) grants a constitution and wages war against the Austrian Empire, but he is defeated.
1848 Austria Reforms And Social Changes
Silesian Deputy Hans Kudlich introduces legislation to abolish the enforced servitude of peasants in the Reichstag.
1848 Germany Political Context
The German National Assembly meets in Frankfurt.
1848 Turkey Great Inventions Of The 19th Century
The earliest Turkish textbook on chemistry, Usul-i Kimya (Elements of chemistry), is written by Mehmed Emin Dervi# Pa#a, a graduate of the Military Engineering School in Istanbul, based on the chemistry books he used during his studies in the École des Mines in Paris.
1848 Romania Music, Literature, Dance And Fashion
The premiere at the National Theatre in Ia#i of the first Romanian operetta, Baba Hârca, with a script by poet Matei Millo and music composed by Alexandru Flechtenmacher.
1848 Germany Political Context
Establishment of the first parliament in German history (at the Paulskirche, Frankfurt am Main), and elaboration of the German Imperial Constitution. Date Country Theme
1848 - 1849 Germany Political Context
The Pre-March Revolution involves a series of protests, gatherings and disturbances, but by July 1849 the Bundes troops are victorious and the revolution fails.
1848 Lebanon Travelling
Established by Congregational and Presbyterian American missionaries, the National Evangelical Church of Beirut is the oldest and largest of nine congregations situated outside Beirut.
1848 France Political Context
Revolution of February 1848: Louis-Philippe abdicates and the Republic is proclaimed.
1848 - 1849 Austria Political Context
Revolution in Austria-Hungary and northern Italy.
1848 Germany Reforms And Social Changes
Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels publish the Communist Manifesto.
1848 France Fine And Applied Arts
The "special national school for design, mathematics, architecture and ornamental sculpture applied to the industrial arts", which succeeds the Royal school of design founded in the 18th century, becomes the École nationale supérieure des arts décoratifs in 1877.
1848 Italy Music, Literature, Dance And Fashion
Donizetti dies and Verdi remains the only heir to the Italian melodrama, which is increasingly identified with the Risorgimento movement, becoming a “sound track” of the Italian fight for independence and unification.
1849 Germany Political Context
The Prussian King Friedrich Wilhelm IV refuses the German Imperial Crown.
1849 Turkey Rediscovering The Past
English archaeologist and politician Austen Henry Layard (1817–94) publishes Nineveh and its Remains.
1849 Germany Reforms And Social Changes
Popular movements in Saxony, Baden and the Pfalz attempt to put into effect the Constitution of the Empire, but they are defeated by Prussian troops. Date Country Theme
1849 Turkey Reforms And Social Changes
The Teachers’ Seminary is founded in #stanbul.
1849 Portugal Economy And Trade
The Tribunal de Contas (Supreme Audit Institution), the independent financial control department, is separated from the financial administration. The public accounts are verified by the Tribunal de Contas and approved by Parliament.
1849 Germany Political Context
The German National Assembly approves the Constitution of the German Empire.
1849 - 1850 Austria Migrations
The revolutionary General Józef Zachariasz Bem flees Austria for the Ottoman Empire along with 6,000 Hungarian soldiers. He becomes a Turkish General and in 1850 suppresses a Muslim pogrom against the Christian minority in Aleppo.
1850 Romania Music, Literature, Dance And Fashion
January: the birth of Mihai Eminescu, who is considered to be the most important Romanian poet of the 19th century.
1850 Austria Travelling
Archduke Maximilian visits Asia Minor and Egypt.
1850 France Fine And Applied Arts
A Burial At Ornans by the Realist painter Gustave Courbet.
1850 Spain Rediscovering The Past
First photography of the Islamic monuments and remains in Spain such as the Great Mosque of Córdoba and the Alhambra palace.
1850 France Migrations
First wave of Italian immigrants to France.
1850s United Kingdom Music, Literature, Dance And Fashion
The Crimean War brings thousands of British soldiers to Constantinople. After the war, certain innovations can be traced back to it – such as beards! There is a craze for things all things Turkish; the Turkish commander even becomes something of a folk hero in Britain.
1850 Spain Fine And Applied Arts Date Country Theme
First photography of Arab monuments such as the Alhambra and the Great Mosque of Córdoba. The development of photography sheds new light on these monuments and these first photographs are important documents on Arab remains in Spain.