1875
Britain Buys Suez Shares
Benjamin Disraeli, with a four-million-pound loan from the Rothschilds and without asking Parliament, bought the bankrupt Khedive Ismail's forty-four percent stake in the Suez Canal Company. Britain now effectively controlled the shortest route to India. It was, Disraeli told Queen Victoria, hers - and she enjoyed the news considerably. The purchase led, within seven years, to the British occupation of Egypt that would last until 1956.
Third French Republic
After five years of monarchist hopes and republican caution, the French National Assembly passed a set of constitutional laws - by one vote on the key article - establishing the Third Republic. It was meant as a placeholder until the Bourbons could be restored. It lasted until 1940, the longest-lived French regime since 1789.
Captain Webb Swims the English Channel
Matthew Webb, a Shropshire merchant seaman, waded into the sea at Dover and swam breaststroke for nearly twenty-two hours through jellyfish and tidal currents to reach Calais. He became the first person to swim the English Channel. Victorian Britain, already obsessed with physical endurance, had a new hero. Webb died eight years later attempting Niagara Falls.
Gilbert and Sullivan's Trial by Jury
The first of thirteen comic operas by W. S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan opened in London to instant acclaim. Their collaboration would produce HMS Pinafore, The Mikado, and The Pirates of Penzance - satirizing British institutions with tunes the institutions themselves could not help humming. It was the grandfather of the modern musical.
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Frequently asked
What happened in the year 1875?
Saeculum lists 4 curated events from 1875. The most significant is Britain Buys Suez Shares: Benjamin Disraeli, with a four-million-pound loan from the Rothschilds and without asking Parliament, bought the bankrupt Khedive Ismail's forty-four percent…
What era was 1875 part of?
1875 falls within the Industrial Age (1801-1900). Steam, empire, and the unmaking of the old order.
Which regions saw notable events in 1875?
The curated events from 1875 span Middle East and Europe.