Timeline / 1860 to 1890 /

Date Country Theme

1860 Lebanon Political Context

A full-scale war erupts between Maronites and Druze. Napoleon III of France sends 7,000 troops to and helps impose a partition: Druze control of the territory is recognised as the fact on the ground, and the Maronites are forced into an enclave. This is ratified by the Concert of Europe in 1861.

1860 Lebanon Political Context

Yusuf Bek Butros Karam, a Lebanese Maronite born in 1823 fights in the 1860 civil war and leads a rebellion in 1866-67 against the Ottoman Empire’s rule in Mount Lebanon. His proclamations have been interpreted as an early expression of Lebanese nationalism.

1861 Lebanon Political Context

In the aftermath of the in 1860, the Ottoman authorities impose a new system of government for the mountain of Lebanon. Formerly, the region had been divided into two districts, one with a Maronite Christian administrator and the other with a Druze. The Ottomans combine them into a single , known as the mutasarrifiyya.

1864 Lebanon Political Context

Dawud Pasha (the mutasarrif [governor] of Lebanon, appointed by the Ottomans) restores to Lebanon a part of its lost territory, establishes for the Druze a school in Abayh that still bears his name and struggles against the feudal lords in the south and the clerical party in the north.

1864 Lebanon Travelling

Inauguration of the Capuchin cathedral dedicated to Saint Louis IX King of France. The Capuchins had arrived in Beirut in 1628, practising their rites in the old Saint George church where the current Maronite cathedral now stands. Before moving to their present location the Capuchins built their first church, also dedicated to Saint Louis, in Beirut in 1732.

1865 Lebanon Cities And Urban Spaces

Sultan ‘Abd al-‘Aziz orders the building of a hospital known as the military infirmary. It will later be turned into a courthouse after the French Mandate and then become the Insitute of Fine Arts of the Lebanese University.

1868 Lebanon Rediscovering The Past

Luigi Palma di Cesnola, the American Consul in Cyprus, gives a collection of Cyprian pottery to the Syrian Protestant College (now the American University) in Beirut. This event is the first step towards the foundation of the Archaeological Museum of the American University.

1868 Lebanon Travelling Date Country Theme

Foundation of the Archaeological Museum of the American University of Beirut after Luigi Palma di Cesnola gives a collection of Cypriot pottery to the newly formed university.

1870 Lebanon Political Context

Ottomans appoint Rustam Pasha as mutasarrif (governor). He is an equally firm and economical administrator.

1873 Lebanon Economy And Trade

Beirut Water Works factory is founded, providing water for daily use by the Lebanese people, taking water from Nahr al-Kalb and distributing it through an extensive water network.

1875 Lebanon Cities And Urban Spaces

Maronite clergy move their school from to Beirut. Granted the title of university by the authorities, which allows it to grant academic degrees, mainly doctoral degrees in philosophy and theology, the school takes the name of Saint Joseph’s University. Faculties and institutes are founded in subsequent years.

1875 Lebanon Reforms And Social Changes

Maronite clergy move their school from Ghazir to Beirut. Granted the title of university by the authorities, which allows it to grant academic degrees, mainly doctoral degrees in philosophy and theology, the school takes the name of Saint Joseph’s University. Faculties and institutes are founded in subsequent years including, in 1883, a Faculty of Medicine.

1876 Lebanon Cities And Urban Spaces

By 1876 Beirut has increased 10–12 times its size in 1841. Eleven districts are added and Danish acting Consul Julius Loyvted draws the new map and presents it to Sultan ‘Abd al-Hamid II. Banks, quarantine office, quays, railway office, telegraph, post office, police stations and offices for foreign agencies are all established in the existing city centre.

1880 Lebanon Migrations

A small number of Lebanese people emigrate to the USA, the first of a wave of migration abroad.

1885 Lebanon Cities And Urban Spaces

Part of the Old Serail in Zahlé is used to house the local prison, with severe overcrowding. The prison was moved to a better location in 2009. Still known as the Old Serail, the restored monument today serves as the Town Hall and houses the offices of the and a museum illustrating Zahlé’s history.

1887 Lebanon Great Inventions Of The 19th Century Date Country Theme

The foundation, under Wassa Pasha’s rule, of the port of Beirut on the eastern part of the Saint George Bay on Beirut’s northern Mediterranean cost, west of Beirut River. It is one of the largest and busiest ports on the eastern Mediterranean.

1890 Lebanon Cities And Urban Spaces

Khan Antun Bey Square evolves after the construction of the great Ottoman jetty and quays from 1890 that changes the design of the urban area.