1820
Missouri Compromise
Henry Clay stitched together a deal that admitted Missouri as a slave state, Maine as free, and drew a line across the Louisiana Territory at 36 degrees 30 minutes. Jefferson, old and frightened, called it "a fire bell in the night." The compromise bought thirty-four years and made the coming war larger.
Spanish Liberal Revolt
At Cabezas de San Juan, Colonel Rafael del Riego turned his expedition - bound for the rebel American colonies - against the king instead. Within weeks Ferdinand VII was forced to restore the liberal Cadiz constitution. The Trienio Liberal had begun, and so had the slow death of Bourbon absolutism in Spain.
Antarctica Sighted
In January, Russian, British, and American sealers - Bellingshausen, Bransfield, and Palmer - caught separate glimpses of ice walls and dark mountains south of nothing. The seventh continent, guessed at by the Greeks, existed. No one would stand on it for another eighty years, but it was on the map.
Egypt Invades Sudan
Muhammad Ali's forces, seeking slaves and gold, marched south into Sudan under his son Ismail. Over two years they would conquer Sennar and Kordofan and found the colonial capital of Khartoum at the confluence of the White and Blue Niles. The Egyptian-Turkish rule they imposed lasted until the Mahdi drove them out sixty years later.
Florence Nightingale Born
In a Tuscan villa she was named for, a daughter was born to wealthy English tourists. Three decades later she would defy her family, run a hospital in a Crimean barracks, reduce deaths by handwashing and ventilation, and invent modern nursing - and the art of persuading bureaucracies with statistics.
Carbonari Rise in Naples
Secret societies of liberal officers - the Carbonari, or charcoal burners - forced Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies to grant a constitution. It lasted seven months before Austrian troops, dispatched by the Congress of Laibach, marched in and restored absolutism. The revolt failed, but Italian nationalism had found its first modern grievance.
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Frequently asked
What happened in the year 1820?
Saeculum lists 6 curated events from 1820. The most significant is Missouri Compromise: Henry Clay stitched together a deal that admitted Missouri as a slave state, Maine as free, and drew a line across the Louisiana Territory at 36 degrees 30…
What era was 1820 part of?
1820 falls within the Industrial Age (1801-1900). Steam, empire, and the unmaking of the old order.
Which regions saw notable events in 1820?
The curated events from 1820 span North America, Europe, Oceania and Africa.