| 1800 Act of Union -Great Britain annexed Ireland in the Act of Union on May 5, 1800. The Irish Parliament was dissolved and Ireland gained representation in the British Parliament. |
| 1800 Battle of Marengo - The Austrians captured Genoa by starving it into submission. Napolean responded with a force of 40,000 men. On June 14, 1800 Napolean's army met the Austrians at the Battle of Marengo. Napolean was victorious and the Austrians were forced to retreat to Northwestern Italy. |
| 1800 Manufacture With Interchangable Parts Begins -In 1800 Eli Whitney introduced the idea of production with interchangeable parts. This became the basis of the American system of mass production. |
| 1800 Peace Treaty With France - The United States signed “The Convention of Paris” with France. Under this treaty, France accepted US neutrality rights at sea. The French also discharged the US from its obligations established under the alliance formed by the two nations during the American Revolution. In return, the United States granted France “most favored nation” trading status. |
| 1801 Tripolitan War The United States fought the pirates of the Barbary coast, in a war that continued on and off for four years. The pirates demanded that tribute be paid in order to ensure safe passage of American ships. When Jefferson refused, the pirates declared war. Ultimately, the American fleet defeated the pirates. |
| 1802 Treaty of Amiens - The war of the Second Coalition came to an end with the treaty of Amiens. The British gave up all claims to the French crown and territory. It did retain Trinidad and Ceylon. France separately agreed to return Egypt to the Ottoman Empire. The peace did not last long. |
| 1803 War of the Third Coalition Begins The War of the Third Coalition began when on May 18, 1803 Great Britain declared war against France believing that Napolean was violating the Treaty of Amiens. The Swedish and the Russians joined the British in declaring War against France. For the first year the war was fought almost exclusively at sea. |
| 1803 Louisiana Purchase - The United States purchased the Louisiana Territory for $15 million. Napoleon agreed to sell this territory because he was desperately in need of cash. Acquiring the Louisiana Territory doubled the size of the United States. Jefferson, who was usnsure of the constitutionality of the move, rushed to complete the sale anyway, lest Napoleon change his mind. |
| 1803 Marbury vs Madison - In this landmark decision the Supreme Court effectively stated that it was the final arbitor of law. This established the Supreme Court as a co-equal branch of government |
| 1803- Lewis and Clarke Expedition - On May 14, 1804, Lewis and Clark's expedition set off from St. Louis. The crew consisted of 32 soldiers and 10 civilians. They headed up the Missouri River; as far as South Fork, Montana. They spent the first winter among the Mandan Indians in South Dakota.They crossed the Rockies and were able to float down the Clearwater River, into the Snake River, and then onto the Columbia River. Then, on November 5, 1805, they reached the Pacific Ocean. The expedition returned to St. Louis on September 23, 1806. |
| 1804 Serb Uprising In February 1804 Serbs under the leadership of Kara George rose up against the Ottomans. The uprising was directed against the Janissary garrison in Belgrade. The garrison was driven out by the end of 1806. |
1805 Battle of Trafalgar The Battle of Trafalgar established British naval superiority for over a hundred years. Napoleon was intent on crossing the English channel and capturing England. The minor impediment to this plan was the English navy that guarded the channel. The French navy under admiral Villeneuve developed a complicated plan to lure enough of the British fleet away from England to allow him a decisive victory. His plans however, failed to work out and eventually he found himself and his combined French and Spanish fleet in Cadiz, with Nelson awaiting off shore. Villeneuve facing imminent dismissal on the part of Napoleon decided to weigh anchor and fight Nelsons fleet.
The Allied fleet of French and Spanish ships outnumbered and outgunned Nelson ships. However, Nelson's innovative tactics and agressivness combined with superior British gunnery and ship handling insured a decisive British victory. |
| 1805 Peace of Pressburg The Peace of Pressburg followed the battle of Austerlitz which took place on December 2, 1805 Napolean's army defeated the combined Russian and Austrian armies. As a result Austria was forced to recognize Bavaria and Wurttmemberg as independent kingdoms. It surrendered Venice to France and recognized Napolean as the King of Northern Italy. |
| 1807 Treaty of Tilsit -In July the French signed two major treaties of Tilsit. It established a Franco-Russian Alliance. After it's defeat in the battle of Friedland, Russia was forced to sign the treaty , to accept the existence of the Grand Duchy of Warsaw and the status of Danzig as a free state. Prussia ceded to Russia Bialstock and all the lands between the Rhine and Elbe to France. The treaty confirmed Napoleon as the dominant power on the European continent. |
| 1807 Invasion of Portugal Portugal refused to participate in Napoleon's continental system that was designed to deny food and other products produced in the continent to Great Britain. Napleon then sent his Andoche Junot with an army to conquer Portugal. In November he succeeded in occupying Lisbon forcing the royal family to flee to Brazil where they set up a government in exile. |
| 1807 Robert Fulton Sails on the Clermont |
1807 Embargo Act The U.S. Chesapeake was fired upon and boarded in open waters by the British. Twenty–one American sailors were killed or wounded; four sailors were taken away by the British, who claimed the four were British deserters.
As a result, Congress passes a law banning trading with almost every nation. |
| 1808 Battle of Vimeiro- Pennisular War -In March of 1808, the French sent 100,000 troops into Spain under the pretext of guarding the coast of Spain against the British. A popular uprising developed in Spain against the French, forcing French troops to withdraw behind the Ebro. The French returned in force and reoccupied Madrid in July. Meanwhile the British sent a expiditionary force to Portugal. They defeated the French at the battle of Vimeiro on August 21, 1808. In the aftermath of the battle the French agreed to withdraw from Portugal |
| 1808 Beethoven's 5th Completed Ludwig van Beethoven composes his famous Fifth Symphony. |
| 1809 Napoleon Occupies Vienna -The Austrians took advantage of Napoleon's preoccupation with the Peninsular War, to make preparations to attack the French. In April 1809 Archduke Charles appealed to the German nation to embark on a war of liberation. His appeal was mostly unheeded, but he continued his invasion of Bavaria with an army of 170,000. Napoleon hurried back from Spain and drove the Austrians back. On May 13th Napoleon occupied Vienna. His initial victory was short-lived and he was soon forced to withdraw across the Danube after his defeats at the battle of Aspern and Essling. |
| 1809 Peace of Schonbrunn The Austrians were decisively defeated at the battle of Schonbrunn. As a result they are forced to agree to the Treaty of Schonbrunn. Under its terms the Austrians lose 32,000 square miles of territory as well as 3,500,000 inhabitants. Austria is forced to join Napoleon's continental system and in effect becomes a vassal state of Napoleon. |
>