payment page
Frankfurt Assembly
May 1848-June 1849. German national parliament that tried and failed to create a united German state during the 1848 revolutions. First meeting in May 1848, the convention was populated by middle class civil servants, lawyers, and intellectuals dedicated to liberal reform. However, after drawing the boundaries for a German state and offering the crown to Friedrich Wilhelm, the Kaiser refused in March 1849, dooming hopes for a united, liberal Germany, and the Frankfurt assembly dissolved soon after.
Crimean War
War taking place from 1853-1856 that pitted Russia against the alliance of Britain, France, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Sardinia. Russia wanted warm water ports on Black Sea and thus hoped to take advantage of weakening Ottoman Empire. France and Britain feared an upset to the balance of power in Europe. The war resulted in an complete military defeat for Russia.
Siege of Sevastopol
In 1854-1855, a harsh battle during the Crimean War that took place at Russia’s heavily fortified chief naval base in the Black Sea. After just under a year of constant battle and being under siege by French an British, lying on the Crimean peninsula, the Russians abandoned the fortress, blowing up their fortifications and sinking their own ships.
Emancipation of the Serfs
Emancipation Edict offered by Alexander II in 1861 It ended the institution of serfdom in Russia after centuries of its use. Most likely occurred because the government needed an effective pool of men from which it could conscript soldiers and stregthen its weak military forces after the Russian defeat in the Crimean War.
US Civil War
Bloody 1861-1865 conflict between the Northern states and the breakaway Confederate South over slavery, states’ rights, economic rights, and federalism.
Seven Weeks’ War
War in 1866 between Prussia and Austria, named for its very short duration. It was a fabricated conflict over administration of Holstein and resulted in a complete victory for Prussia. Prussia gained Holstein and put an end to all Austrian involvement in German affairs, clearing a major obstacle to German unification.
Franco-Prussian War
July 1870-January 1871 conflict between France and Prussia over a fabricated insult allegedly made by the French ambassador to the Prussia king. Prussia defeated France and her own territory by taking the Alsace-Lorraine region from France and laying siege to Paris until the French gave in. Resulted in the overthrowing of the government and set up a parliamentary system in Paris.
