1890-1900 AD

World History 1890-1900 AD

1890 AD Bismark Resigns -William II Emperor of Germany dismissed Chancellor Bismarck. This ended the career of the man who was singly responsible for the unification of Germany.

1890 AD Eiffel Tower -In 1890 the Eiffel Tower was completed.

1890 AD Uganda Occupied by Britain -The Germans and the British resolve their differences in Africa when the Germans give up claims to Uganda which the British occupy, in return for receiving the island of Hegoland in the North Sea from Britain.

1890 AD Van Gogh Dies -On July 29, 1890 Vincent Van Gogh the Dutch painter committed suicide. During his lifetime he sold only one painting becoming successful only upon death.

1890- Womens Suffrage Groups Merge-The nation's two largest women's organizations, the National Woman Suffrage Association and the American Women's Suffrage Organization, merged to form the National American Women's Suffrage Association. NAWSA was dedicated to obtaining the vote for women.

1890-McKinely Tariff-The highest tariff in American history, to date, was passed. It called for a tariff of over 49.5% on most goods. The eastern industrialist interests, who were strong supporters of protectionism, were the prime movers behind the tariffs. The Democrats, under Cleveland, lowered the tariffs slightly. They were soon raised again.

1891- Yellowstone Becomes First National Park-After a concerted effort by conservationalists, a vast area of Wyoming and Colorado was set aside to become Yellowstone National Park. Yellowstone marked the first concrete action by the federal government to preserve parts of the western wilderness, which was rapidly being settled.

1892- Steel Strike Broken By Militia- The first large industrial strike against the Carnegie Steel Works was eventually broken by state militia.
The strike began when the company demanded a wage cut of 18-26%. The union refused. They were locked out, and in turn, closed the plant. After Pinkerton guards failed to dislodge the strikers, the state militia removed them successfully.

1892 AD Ellis Island Opens -The flood of immigration forced the federal government to open up a new center for immigrant processing in a new center for immigrant processing in New York harbor. That center was called "Ellis Island." Millions of immigrants passed through its portal.

1893- Panic of 1893-A growing credit shortage created panic, resulting in a depression. Over the course of this depression 15,000 businesses, 600 banks, and 74 railroads failed. There was severe unemployment and wide-scale protesting, which in some cases became very violent.

1893 AD Revolt in Hawaii -American sugar growers revolted against the native Hawaiian monarchy, The revolt received assistance from the Marines.
The new government received American recognition. A treaty was drawn up to annex the Hawaiian Islands, but it did not pass before Harrison left office. McKinley removed US troops.

1893- Repeal of Silver Act-President Cleveland called Congress to a special session to repeal the Sherman Silver Purchase Act, in order to stop the drain on US gold reserves. The repeal was passed in the House by a vote of 239-108, and by a vote of 48-37 in the Senate.

1894 AD Debussy Composes Prelude a Lapres-midi Dun Faune -Claude Debussy, French Impressionist composer, composes Prelude a lapres-midi dun faune (The Afternoon of a Faun) for orchestra, based on a poem by French Symbolist poet Stephane Mallarme.

1894- Coxey Army-An "army of unemployed" was expected to invade Washington demanding relief from the depression. The demonstrators called for a government program of public works which would create jobs. In the end, less than 1,000 demonstrators arrived in Washington, most of whom were arrested for various misdemeanors.

1894 AD Robert Louis Stevenson Dies-The Scottish writer Robert Louis Balfour Stevenson died. Some of his better works included Treasure Island and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

1894- Pullman Rail Strike- A Major strike led by Eugene Debs was directed against the Pullman Rail company after the company responding to the depression cut worker salaries but refused to cut their rent payments in Pullman houses.

1895

1895 AD First Sino-Japanese War -The Japanese defeat the Chinese in the Sino-Japanese War. The Chinese army and navy were both defeated by the Japanese. The war ended with the signing of the Treaty of Shimonsoseki. Under its terms Taiwan and the Pescasdoeres Islands were ceded to Japan. China recognized Korea's independence, and China was forced to pay a large indemnity to Japan.

1895 AD French West Africa -The French organized their territorial holding in West Africa into French West Africa. It comprised what today are Guinea, Mali, Ivory Coast and Senegal. The French governor general made his headquarters in Dakar. That same year it established a protectorate over Madagascar

1895 AD Sun Yatsen Revolt -Sun Yat-sen organized a secret revolutionary society in Canton in 1894. In 1895 he attempted to overthrow the Manchu dynasty. His first attempt at revolt was unsuccessful.

1896 AD Battle of Adwa -The Ethiopians defeated the Italians at the Battle of Adwa. This brought to an end the Italian invasion of Ethiopia. Italy was force to acknowledge Ethiopian independence at the treaty of Addis Abba on October 26, 1896.

1896 AD Ghana Captured by Great Britain -The Ashanti capital of Kumasi was captured by a British expeditionary force. The area, which is in present day Ghana was made a British protectorate.

1897 AD Nkosi Sikelel iAfrika Composed -Rev. Enoch Sontonga composes the famous Xhosa hymn, Nkosi Sikelel iAfrika (God bless Africa). Its melody is used for the national anthems of Tanzania and Zambia, and it becomes an anthem for those who struggled to eradicate apartheid in South Africa.

1898 AD Dewey Captures Philippines -Before the Spanish American War broke out Assistant Naval secretary Teddy Roosevelt had sent a message to Admiral Dewey, commander of US naval forces in the western pacific, to be prepared if war came with Spain to proceed to Manila and defeat the Spanish fleet there. When war was declared Dewey received orders to proceed and destroy the Spanish fleet.

Admiral Dewey commanded a squadron of six ships, including modern cruisers. The Spanish had a force of 10 old ships, which were no match for the American ships. The Spanish commander Admiral Patricio Montojo decided to fight the battle anchored in Manila Bay hoping to gain some advantage from shore batteries. Dewey acted aggressively, entering Manila Bay at night, thus providing the Spanish very little time to prepare for battle. Leading the American force was the Olympia with Dewey aboard. At 5:15 in the morning of the first, the Spanish battery at Cavite opened fire on the American force. The American fleet continued and at 5:41 at a distance of 4,000 yards Dewey gave the order to open fire. The American squadron steamed up and down the Spanish line five times, laying devastating fire on the Spanish ships. At 7:35 Dewey temporarily withdrew believing, mistakenly, that his ships had only 15% of their ammunition left. After it was ascertained that only 15% had been used, Dewey resumed his attacks at 11:00 against a rapidly sinking Spanish force. At 12:30 the battle ended, with the entire Spanish fleet sunk.

1898 AD Fashoda Incident -The Fashoda incident occured when a French military expedition reached Fashoda in the present Sudan. Jean Baptist Marchand led the French force. A larger British force, led by Horatio Herbert Kitchener, arrived at Fashoda. A war-like crisis ensued between France and England as the British demanded the French withdraw. The crisis ended when France recognized British claims to the Nile basin, while Britain recognized French claims to the Sahara as well as Western Sudan.