1790-1800 AD

World History 1790-1800 AD

Fries' Rebellion, Napoleon Bonarparte, Siege of Acre, War of the 2nd Coalition, U.S. Navy Department, Alien And Sedition Acts, Battle of Pyramids, Battle of Nile, Treaty of Campo Formio, XYZ Affair, Battle of Arcole, Pickney's Treaty , Jay's Treaty, Treaty of Basel , Siam Annexes Western Cambodia, Uprising in Poland, Haiti Independent , Battle Of Fallen Timbers , Whiskey Rebellion, Proclamation Of Neutrality , Reign of Terror, Second Partition of Poland, Louis XVI Guillotined , Genet Affair, Cotton Gin, Russia Invades Poland, French Nat'l Convention , France Declares War on Austria, Battle Of Miami, Bank Of United States ,Nat'l Assembly Establishes Constitutional Monarchy, Blacks Granted Rights in St. Dominque , Fed Government State Debts

1790 AD Federal Government Assumes State Debts-The federal government agreed to redeem the debts of individual states. Debt assumption was supported by Hamilton, but opposed by Madison, who said it rewarded speculators. It was also opposed by a number of key states, such as Virginia, who had repaid all their debts.

1791 AD Blacks Granted Full Rights in St. Dominque -The French National Assembly granted free Blacks full French rights in Saint Domingue. The White colonist refused to implement the decision and the blacks revolted. Within a short period 2,000 whites and 10,000 blacks and mulattos are dead.

1791 AD Nat'l Assembly Establishes Constitutional Monarchy - In 1791 the French National Assembly passed a new constituition. Under its terms France was to become a limited monarchy. There was to be a Legislative Assembly that was made up of 745 representatives.

1791 AD Bank Of United States Founded Hamilton urged the founding of the Bank of the United States. Jefferson opposed the idea. The Bank was to be a depository of federal funds and a means of regulating the currency. Its establishment, in February 1791, strengthened the federal government.

1791 AD Battle Of Miami-As settlers pushed further and further into the Pacific Northwest territories, clashes with American Indians increased. On January 2, 1791, the most exposed settlement in Ohio, Big Bottom, was attacked; and all of the settlers, including women and children, were killed. In response, General Washington appointed St. Clair to lead forces to pacify the Indians. The Miami Indians attacked St. Clair and his militia on the banks of the Wabash River. The Indians routed the government forces, who were forced to flee.

1792 AD France Declares War on Austria - European nations feared the spread of revolutionary fervor from France and were highly critical of the new government in France threatening to intervene to restore the power of King. A number of other issues divided Austria and France, and both sides seemed to want war. On April 20, 1792 France declared war on Austria. That began the War of the First Coalition. The French suffered initial defeats in the field.

1792 AD French Nat'l Convention - On September 21, 1792 the French National Convention met for the first time. The convention was made up of 749 members. The convention was comprised entirely of republicans who abolished the monarchy and declared France a Republic.

1792 AD Russia Invades Poland -On May 19, 1792 Russia invaded Poland. The Russians feared the strengthening of Poland under its new constitution. Thaddeus Kosciusko, a veteran of the American Revolutionary War returned to Poland to help to defend it. The valiant defense was ultimately futile.

1793 AD Cotton Gin Invented Eli Whitney, a young New Englander, invented a cotton gin which automatically cleaned cotton. This transformed the southern economy, making cotton "king" and greatly increasing the need for slaves.

17 Genet Affair- Citizen Genet was sent by France to be its new ambassador to the United States. Genet's instructions were to use the United States as a base to equip privateers against the British. He was also determined to do his utmost to embroil the US in the war with the British. He then attempted to bring about change in the American government. The US government unanimously requested his recall.

1793 AD Louis XVI Guillotined - Louis XVI was accused of treason. A chest of letters that indicated court intrigue and communications with other European powers were found. On December 26, 1792 Louis XVI went on trail for treason, on January 15, 1793 the National Convention found him guilty of treason by a near unanimous vote. It then went on to vote the death penalty by a vote of 387 to 334. On January 21, 1793 the death sentence was carried out when the king was guillotined.

1793 AD Second Partition of Poland The second partition of Poland divided Poland between Prussia and Russia. This effectively made Poland a protectorate of Russia. A year later the third partition of Poland ended Polands independence completely.

1793 AD Reign of Terror Begins - Maxmilien Robespierre the leader of the Jacobins, the most radical faction of the National Convention began the Reign of Terror. The war was initially going badly for France, so the National Assembly authorized the creation of the Committee for Public Safety. That committee declared on August 23, 1793 for the universal mobilization of all men. The result was that France was able to field an army of 1,169,000 men, the largest in European history. The large French army was able to stem the tied of French defeats and take the offensive.

The Committee of Public Safety also turned its attention to domestic opponents of republic. It established revolutionary courts that were empowered to quickly try the opponents of the regime. It is estimated that 30,000 people, included Marie Antionnette the queen, were beheaded during the reign of terror. The Reign of Terror effectively ended when the National Assembly, whose members began to fear for their own lives, condemned its leader Maxmillien Robespiere. On July 28th he was guillotined.

1793 AD Proclamation Of Neutrality-As war broke out between France and England, President Washington announced that the United States would be "friendly and impartial towards the belligerent powers." The Jeffersonians felt this was an insult to the French, America's first ally. Hamiltonians, on the other hand, were satisfied with this decision.

1794 AD Whiskey Rebellion-The Excise Tax of 1791 incited many western settlers. The distillation of whiskey was a good way to transfer excess corn. Whiskey was easier to transport than corn, and served as an alternate currency. Mass meetings were held in western Pennsylvania, in which farmers entered into covenants agreeing not to pay the taxes. They created local militias to protect their liberty not to pay these taxes. When the Governor of Pennsylvania failed to act, Hamilton convinced Washington to take strong action. Washington personally led an army of 13,000 into western Pennsylvania. The rebellion waned. This ended the only armed rebellion until the Civil War.

1794 AD Battle Of Fallen Timbers-After the rout of General St. Clair, President Washington appointed General Wayne to the task of pacifying the Indians of the Northwest. Wayne assembled a force of 4,000 men. He trained his men well and moved cautiously, building forts as he went. Finally, Wayne met the Indians near a British fort on the Maumee River. There, in a clearing known as Fallen Timbers, he decisively defeated the Indians; clearing the way for a peace treaty the following year that effectively ceded all of today's Ohio to the settlers.

1794 AD Haiti Independent After defeating a 5,000 man army sent by Napoleon, Haiti is declared a Black Republican government. All slaves were freed and all whites that did not flee were killed.

1794 AD Uprising in Poland After Poland was partitioned for the second time, the Poles led by Thaddeus Kosciusko rose up against the Russians. The Polish achieved an initial victory at Raclawice, but soon the Russians gained the upper hand and captured Kracow. The Russians besieged Warsaw, and although the Poles defended Warsaw brilliantly. In October, Kosciusko was captured and this effectively ended the uprising.

1795 AD Siam Annexes Western Cambodia The King of Siam, Rama I, extended his kingdom by annexing parts of Cambodia including the ruined Khmer capital.

1795 AD Treaty of Basel -The French and Austrians reached a Peace agreement at Basel Switzerland on April 5, 1795. Under the terms of the treaty France returned all of the lands captured during the war with the exception of land along the west side of the Rhine. On July 22nd Spain and France made peace. It ceded two thirds of the island of Haiti to France.

1795 AD Jay's Treaty The “Jay Treaty” was ratified by Congress in 1797. John Jay negotiated this treaty with Great Britain. Under Jay's Treaty, the British agreed to leave areas in the Northwest territory which they had been required to return earlier under the Treaty of Paris. This treaty did not, however, oblige the British to observe American neutral rights. Despite the fact that Jay's Treaty was very unpopular, it was ratified by the Senate; 20 to 10.

1795 AD Pickney's Treaty -This treaty established the 31st parallel as the Southern border of the United States with the Spanish Empire. It also gave the United States navigation rights to the Mississippi.

1796 AD Battle of Arcole The French led by general Napolean Bonaparte invades Italy. Napolean successfully defeated the Austrians at the Battle of Arcole. This victory combined with other victories led to French conquest from Sardinia to Venice.

17 XYZ Affair President Adams sent three envoys to France to negotiate a new agreement. French Minister Talleyrand demanded a personal bribe of $250,000 and loan of $12 million dollars to France. When word of the affair became public, the American people were incensed. They demanded war with France. Adams refrained from declaring war, but a quasi-war took place for two years.

1797 AD Treaty of Campo Formio -Austria and France signed the Peace Treaty of Campo Formio ending the War of the First Coalition. Under the terms of the agreement Austria ceded to France Belgium and Luxembourg. The Republic of Venice was partitioned between France and Austria.

1798 AD Battle of Nile The Battle of the Nile took place in Aboukir Bay near the mouth of the Nile River. The French fleet commanded by Admiral Francois Paul Bruey d’ Aigalliers. He had transported the army of Napoleon to Egypt where they had captured Cairo. The British, taken by surprise by this action, responded with a fleet led by Admiral Horatio Nelson. On August 1st he came upon it anchored in the Aboukir Bay. The French fleet consisted of 17 ships including the Orient a massive 120 ton flagship. The battle began at 1800 hours as daylight was fading. The British column divided in two, some of the ships, led by Goliath under the command of Captain Foley, moving to the landward side of the French ships, while others stayed on the sea side. Thus the British were able to attack the French ships on two sides simultaneously. They slowly rolled up the French line.
The battle ended with a complete victory. All of the French ships were either captured, destroyed, or aground. It was probably the most one sided naval victory in history.

1798 AD Battle of Pyramids -The Marmuluke Egyptians were easily defeated by Napoleon at the Battle of the Pyramids on July 21. Napoleon went on the next day to occupy Cairo.

1798 AD Alien And Sedition Acts-The Alien and Sedition Acts marked an attempt by Federalists to suppress opposition at home. These acts gave the President the power to arrest and deport any alien suspected of having "treasonable or secret leanings."

1798 AD U.S. Navy Department Created-On May 3rd, Congress authorized the creation of a Naval Department. This was done to help prepare the United States for war with France.

1798 AD War of the 2nd Coalition Begins In December 1798 Great Britain and Russia signed a treaty of alliance against France, thus beginning the War of the Second Coalition. Britain had been fighting France in Egypt. Soon Portugal and the Ottoman Empire joined the coalition.

1799 AD Siege of Acre -After the Ottoman Empire declared war on Napoleon, he attacked the Ottomans in Palestine capturing Jaffe. He then went on to begin a siege of Acre on March 18, 1799. In April a plague broke out among Napoleon's men and he was forced to break the siege and return to Egypt.

1799 AD Napoleon Overthrows the Directory On November 9th Napoleon Bonarparte overthrew the failing French Directory. Napoleon had arrived unannounced from Egypt at Frejus. With the help of Sieyes and Roger-Ducos as well his brother Lucien he succeeded in ending the Directory and becoming first consul of France.

1799 AD Fries' Rebellion-In July 1798, the federal government approved a tax on property. John Fries of Pennsylvania led a group of Pennsylvanians in a revolt against this tax. Fries was captured, tried and sentenced to death for treason. President Adams pardoned Fries and his fellow rebels.