The world in 1815

In 1815, the timeline shows 254 states, empires and colonies and 90 peoples across 12 regions. The most significant include Ethiopian Empire (Solomonic dynasty), Ottoman Empire, Portuguese Empire, Kingdom of Kongo, Mughal Empire, Portuguese Brazil, New Spain and Viceroyalty of Peru.

See 1815 on the interactive chart

What was happening around 1815

1791 Haitian Revolution begins, Mesoamerica and Caribbean. Enslaved people in northern Saint-Domingue rise up in August 1791. France abolishes slavery in its colonies in 1794, and after years of war Dessalines declares Haiti independent on 1 January 1804.
1798 Napoleon invades Egypt, North and West Africa. Napoleon defeats the ruling Mamluks at the Battle of the Pyramids and takes Cairo. The French occupation lasts until 1801, and the Rosetta Stone found during it later allows hieroglyphs to be read.
1803 Louisiana Purchase, North America. The United States buys Louisiana, a nominal 2.1 million square km west of the Mississippi, from France for 15 million dollars, nearly doubling its size. Most of the land was held by Native nations.
1804 Usman dan Fodio's jihad, North and West Africa. The Fula scholar Usman dan Fodio declares a holy war against the Hausa king of Gobir, founding the Sokoto Caliphate within a few years.
1808 Portuguese court arrives in Rio, South America. Fleeing Napoleon, the Portuguese royal family moves to Rio de Janeiro, making it the capital of a European empire.
1810 Grito de Dolores, Mesoamerica and Caribbean. The priest Miguel Hidalgo calls for revolt against Spanish rule, starting the Mexican War of Independence, won in 1821.
1815 Battle of Waterloo, Europe. A British-led allied army under Wellington and Blucher's Prussians defeat Napoleon near Waterloo, in present-day Belgium, on 18 June. It is his last battle.
1815 Congress of Vienna, Europe. Chaired by Metternich, representatives of the European powers meet from September 1814 to June 1815 to settle Europe's order after Napoleon's downfall. The Final Act is signed on 9 June, nine days before Waterloo.
1815 Eruption of Tambora, Southeast Asia. Mount Tambora on Sumbawa produces the most powerful eruption in recorded history, killing at least 71,000 people by one estimate and causing the Year Without a Summer in 1816.
1816 Shaka becomes Zulu king, Central and Southern Africa. Shaka becomes king of the Zulu. His reign coincides with the start of the Mfecane or Difaqane, decades of war and migration in which the Ndebele, Gaza, Basotho and Swazi states took shape. His role in it is debated.
1821 Greek War of Independence, Europe. Greek revolutionaries rise against Ottoman rule. After Britain, France and Russia intervene and destroy the Ottoman and Egyptian fleet at Navarino in 1827, Greece is recognized as independent by the London Protocol of 1830.
1823 Monroe Doctrine, North America. President James Monroe tells Congress on 2 December that the New World and Old World are to remain separate spheres of influence, and that further European efforts to control states in the region would be viewed as a threat to US security.
1824 Anglo-Dutch Treaty, Southeast Asia. Britain and the Netherlands divide the Malay world along the Strait of Malacca, roughly fixing the later border between Malaysia and Indonesia.
1824 Battle of Ayacucho, South America. Antonio José de Sucre defeats the royalist army and its commanders capitulate, securing Peru's independence. Fighting goes on in Upper Peru until 1825 and at Callao and Chiloé until 1826.
1833 Slavery Abolition Act, Europe. Parliament abolishes slavery in the British Empire by compensated emancipation, in force from 1 August 1834. Around 800,000 freed people were attested in the claims process, and India was excluded.
1836 The Great Trek begins, Central and Southern Africa. About 12,000 Dutch-speaking settlers, a fifth of the Cape's Dutch-speaking whites, leave by wagon for the interior. The trek leads to the founding of the Natalia, Orange Free State and Transvaal republics.
1838 Trail of Tears, North America. The US Army and state militias force most remaining Cherokee west to Indian Territory on a 1,600 km march. About 4,000 Cherokee die on the trek.
1839 First Opium War, East Asia. After Lin Zexu destroys British opium at Canton, Britain goes to war and forces the Treaty of Nanjing, opening ports and taking Hong Kong.
1840 Treaty of Waitangi, Oceania. Over 500 Māori chiefs and the British Crown sign a treaty whose English and Māori texts differ on sovereignty, a founding document of New Zealand.

Central and Southern Africa

Kingdom of Kongo c. 1390 to 1914 CE
Central African forest foragers c. 3200 BCE to the present
San hunter-gatherers c. 3200 BCE to the present
Khoekhoe herders c. 100 BCE to 1904 CE
Kingdom of Buganda c. 1300 to 1966 CE
Portuguese Mozambique 1505 to 1975 CE
Portuguese Angola 1575 to 1975 CE
Bunyoro-Kitara c. 1575 to 1899 CE
Luba Empire c. 1585 to 1889 CE
Kingdom of Imerina c. 1540 to 1817 CE
Lunda Empire c. 1665 to 1887 CE
Rozvi Empire c. 1683 to 1866 CE
Omani East Africa 1698 to 1856 CE
British Cape Colony 1806 to 1910 CE
East African hunter-gatherers c. 3200 BCE to the present
Kikuyu people c. 1200 CE to the present
Tio Kingdom (Anziku) c. 1350 to 1880 CE
Sotho-Tswana chiefdoms c. 1300 to 1830 CE
Nguni chiefdoms c. 1300 to 1820 CE
Kingdom of Nkore (Ankole) c. 1450 to 1967 CE
Portuguese São Tomé and Príncipe 1470 to 1975 CE
Xhosa chiefdoms c. 1400 to 1879 CE
Kingdom of Rwanda c. 1500 to 1961 CE
Maravi Confederacy c. 1400 to 1860 CE
Herero pastoralists c. 1450 to 1904 CE
Kingdom of Karagwe c. 1450 to 1890 CE
Maasai pastoralists c. 1600 CE to the present
Comorian sultanates c. 1500 to 1912 CE
Antemoro kingdom c. 1500 to 1890 CE
Kingdom of Loango c. 1550 to 1883 CE
Ovambo kingdoms c. 1600 to 1917 CE
Lozi Kingdom (Barotseland) c. 1650 to 1964 CE
Kingdom of Kasanje c. 1620 to 1910 CE
Kingdom of Burundi c. 1680 to 1966 CE
Kuba Kingdom c. 1625 to 1900 CE
Sakalava kingdoms c. 1600 to 1840 CE
Pedi Kingdom c. 1650 to 1879 CE
Ovimbundu kingdoms c. 1700 to 1904 CE
Spanish Guinea 1778 to 1968 CE
Kingdom of Kazembe c. 1740 to 1899 CE
Swazi Kingdom c. 1745 to 1903 CE
British Mauritius 1810 to 1968 CE
Betsimisaraka Confederation c. 1712 to 1817 CE

North and West Africa

Ethiopian Empire (Solomonic dynasty) 1270 to 1974 CE
Kingdom of Benin c. 1180 to 1897 CE
Oyo Empire c. 1300 to 1835 CE
Bornu Empire c. 1387 to 1893 CE
Funj Sultanate of Sennar 1504 to 1821 CE
Regency of Algiers 1516 to 1830 CE
Alaouite Sultanate of Morocco 1666 to 1912 CE
Ashanti Empire 1701 to 1901 CE
Muhammad Ali dynasty (Khedivate) 1805 to 1914 CE
Sokoto Caliphate 1804 to 1903 CE
Medjay, Blemmyes and Beja nomads c. 2300 BCE to the present
Cushitic-speaking peoples c. 2000 BCE to the present
Sahelian cereal farmers c. 1500 BCE to the present
West African yam and oil palm farmers c. 1500 BCE to the present
Amazigh (Berber) tribes c. 1400 BCE to the present
Coptic Christians c. 300 CE to the present
Saharan camel nomads (Sanhaja and Tuareg) c. 300 CE to the present
Chadic-speaking farmers c. 700 CE to the present
Kingdom of Nri c. 900 to 1911 CE
Arab tribes of Sudan c. 1150 CE to the present
Mossi kingdoms c. 1250 to 1896 CE
Hadiya c. 1300 to 1893 CE
Kingdom of Bamum 1394 to 1923 CE
Portuguese Cape Verde 1462 to 1975 CE
Oromo Gadaa confederations c. 1522 CE to the present
Sultanate of Agadez c. 1405 to 1906 CE
Kingdom of Dagbon c. 1400 to 1896 CE
Sultanate of Bagirmi 1522 to 1897 CE
Shilluk Kingdom c. 1490 to 1861 CE
Sultanate of Darfur c. 1550 to 1916 CE
Ottoman Tripolitania 1551 to 1911 CE
Ottoman Egypt 1517 to 1867 CE
Kingdom of Gonja c. 1552 to 1899 CE
Kingdom of Cayor 1549 to 1886 CE
Kaabu 1537 to 1867 CE
Dendi Kingdom 1591 to 1901 CE
Regency of Tunis 1574 to 1881 CE
Kingdom of Dahomey c. 1600 to 1904 CE
French Senegal 1659 to 1960 CE
Wadai Sultanate 1635 to 1912 CE
Aro Confederacy c. 1640 to 1902 CE
Dutch Gold Coast 1612 to 1872 CE
Pashalik of Timbuktu 1591 to 1833 CE
Emirate of Harar 1647 to 1887 CE
Geledi Sultanate c. 1700 to 1911 CE
Sultanate of Aussa 1734 to 1936 CE
Fante Confederacy c. 1680 to 1873 CE
Kong Empire 1710 to 1898 CE
Majeerteen Sultanate c. 1750 to 1927 CE
Imamate of Futa Jallon 1725 to 1896 CE
Sierra Leone Colony 1808 to 1961 CE
Bambara Empire of Ségou 1712 to 1861 CE
Kingdom of Jimma c. 1790 to 1932 CE
Isaaq Sultanate 1750 to 1884 CE
Imamate of Futa Toro 1776 to 1861 CE

Europe

Ottoman Empire 1299 to 1922 CE
Portuguese Empire 1415 to 1999 CE
United Kingdom 1801 CE to the present
Russian Empire 1721 to 1917 CE
First French Empire 1804 to 1815 CE
Papal States 756 to 1870 CE
Kingdom of Portugal 1139 to 1910 CE
Kingdom of Bohemia 1198 to 1918 CE
Kingdom of Naples 1282 to 1816 CE
Kingdom of Sweden 1721 CE to the present
Kingdom of Prussia 1701 to 1918 CE
Kingdom of the Netherlands 1815 CE to the present
Kingdom of Sardinia (Piedmont-Sardinia) 1720 to 1861 CE
Kingdom of Spain (1814 to 1931) 1814 to 1931 CE
Austrian Empire 1804 to 1867 CE
Sami people c. 1000 BCE to the present
Basques c. 500 BCE to the present
San Marino c. 1243 CE to the present
Andorra 1278 CE to the present
Bavaria (Wittelsbach) 1180 to 1918 CE
Monaco 1297 CE to the present
Kingdom of Sicily (island) 1282 to 1816 CE
Wallachia 1330 to 1859 CE
Moldavia c. 1346 to 1859 CE
Montenegro (Prince-Bishopric to Kingdom) 1516 to 1918 CE
Duchy and Grand Duchy of Tuscany 1532 to 1859 CE
British Gibraltar 1713 CE to the present
Liechtenstein 1719 CE to the present
Switzerland 1803 CE to the present
Kingdom of Denmark 1814 CE to the present
Luxembourg 1815 CE to the present
British Malta 1800 to 1964 CE
Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria 1772 to 1918 CE
Grand Duchy of Finland 1809 to 1917 CE
Principality and Kingdom of Serbia 1815 to 1918 CE
Congress Poland 1815 to 1915 CE
Union of Sweden and Norway 1814 to 1905 CE
Kingdom of Hanover 1814 to 1866 CE
German Confederation 1815 to 1866 CE
Kingdom of Lombardy-Venetia 1815 to 1866 CE
Bourbon Restoration 1815 to 1830 CE
Duchy of Warsaw 1807 to 1815 CE

Middle East

Ottoman Empire 1299 to 1922 CE
Zaydi Imamate of Yemen 897 to 1918 CE
Ottoman Syria and Palestine 1516 to 1918 CE
Ottoman Iraq 1534 to 1920 CE
Qajar dynasty 1789 to 1925 CE
Russian Caucasus 1801 to 1917 CE
Emirate of Diriyah 1744 to 1818 CE
Arab Bedouin tribes c. 900 BCE to the present
Kurdish tribes and emirates c. 640 CE to the present
Sharifate of Mecca c. 967 to 1916 CE
Mahra Sultanate 1432 to 1967 CE
Ottoman Hejaz and Yemen 1517 to 1918 CE
Emirate of Mount Lebanon c. 1516 to 1842 CE
Sheikhdom of Kuwait c. 1752 to 1961 CE
Bahrain under the Al Khalifa 1783 to 1971 CE
Mamluk dynasty of Iraq 1704 to 1831 CE
Omani Empire (Al Bu Said) 1744 to 1856 CE
Erivan Khanate 1747 to 1828 CE

South Asia

Mughal Empire 1526 to 1857 CE
Ahom Kingdom 1228 to 1826 CE
Kingdom of Mysore c. 1399 to 1950 CE
Kingdom of Kandy 1469 to 1815 CE
Kingdom of Nepal 1768 to 2008 CE
Hyderabad State 1724 to 1948 CE
Maratha Confederacy 1674 to 1818 CE
Company rule in India 1757 to 1858 CE
Durrani Empire 1747 to 1823 CE
Sikh Empire 1799 to 1849 CE
Munda-speaking peoples c. 1500 BCE to the present
Tibeto-Burman hill peoples c. 1000 BCE to the present
Vedda people c. 900 BCE to the present
Kingdom of Mewar c. 728 to 1948 CE
Pashtun tribes c. 1000 CE to the present
Kingdom of Manipur c. 1110 to 1949 CE
Sultanate of the Maldive Islands c. 1153 to 1887 CE
Kingdom of Marwar c. 1226 to 1947 CE
Dimasa Kachari Kingdom c. 1250 to 1832 CE
Twipra Kingdom c. 1400 to 1949 CE
Portuguese Goa 1510 to 1961 CE
Koch dynasty and Cooch Behar 1515 to 1949 CE
Kingdom of Sikkim 1642 to 1975 CE
Bhutan under the Zhabdrung 1616 to 1907 CE
French India 1674 to 1954 CE
Bhopal State 1707 to 1949 CE
Baroda State 1721 to 1949 CE
Jaipur State 1727 to 1949 CE
Travancore 1729 to 1949 CE
Gwalior State 1731 to 1948 CE
Bahawalpur State 1748 to 1955 CE
Thanjavur Maratha kingdom 1675 to 1855 CE
Carnatic Sultanate c. 1692 to 1855 CE
British Ceylon 1796 to 1948 CE
Awadh 1722 to 1856 CE
Talpur dynasty 1783 to 1843 CE

Central and North Asia

Kazakh Khanate 1465 to 1847 CE
Russian Siberia 1582 to 1917 CE
Qing rule in Mongolia 1691 to 1911 CE
Qing Xinjiang 1759 to 1912 CE
Yukaghir peoples c. 1000 BCE to the present
Chukchi, Koryak and Itelmen peoples c. 1000 BCE to the present
Evenki and Even reindeer herders c. 500 CE to the present
Khanty, Mansi and Samoyedic peoples c. 1000 CE to the present
Buryats c. 1200 CE to the present
Turkmen tribes c. 1100 to 1881 CE
Sakha (Yakuts) c. 1250 CE to the present
Khanate of Khiva 1511 to 1920 CE
Russian Far East and Yakutia 1632 to 1917 CE
Kumul Khanate 1696 to 1930 CE
Khanate of Kokand 1709 to 1876 CE
Emirate of Bukhara 1785 to 1920 CE

East Asia

Qing dynasty 1636 to 1912 CE
Joseon 1392 to 1897 CE
Ganden Phodrang (Dalai Lama government) 1642 to 1951 CE
Edo period (Tokugawa shogunate) 1603 to 1868 CE
Formosan Austronesian peoples before 3200 BCE to the present
Qiang peoples c. 1250 BCE to the present
Ainu c. 1200 CE to the present
Ryukyu Kingdom 1429 to 1879 CE
Portuguese Macau 1557 to 1999 CE
Manchuria under the Qing 1644 to 1907 CE

Southeast Asia

Dutch East Indies 1800 to 1949 CE
Champa c. 192 to 1832 CE
Bruneian Sultanate c. 1368 to 1888 CE
Sultanate of Sulu c. 1457 to 1915 CE
Aceh Sultanate c. 1496 to 1903 CE
Spanish Philippines 1565 to 1898 CE
Johor Sultanate 1528 to 1824 CE
Rattanakosin Kingdom (Siam) 1782 to 1932 CE
Nguyen dynasty 1802 to 1945 CE
Konbaung dynasty 1752 to 1885 CE
Philippine Negrito foragers c. 3200 BCE to the present
Orang Asli (Semang and Senoi) c. 1800 BCE to the present
Dayak peoples of Borneo c. 1000 BCE to the present
Shan States c. 1215 to 1959 CE
Balinese kingdoms 1343 to 1908 CE
Pattani Sultanate c. 1400 to 1902 CE
Pagaruyung Kingdom 1347 to 1833 CE
Post-Angkor Cambodia 1431 to 1863 CE
Ternate and Tidore sultanates c. 1486 to 1914 CE
Sultanate of Maguindanao c. 1515 to 1899 CE
Portuguese Timor 1702 to 1975 CE
Surakarta and Yogyakarta 1755 to 1950 CE
Kingdom of Champasak 1713 to 1904 CE
Kingdom of Luang Phrabang 1707 to 1893 CE
Dutch Malacca 1641 to 1824 CE
Kingdom of Vientiane 1707 to 1828 CE
Lanfang Republic 1777 to 1884 CE

North America

United States 1776 CE to the present
Pacific Northwest peoples c. 500 CE to the present
Pueblo peoples (Hopi, Zuni, Rio Grande) c. 1300 CE to the present
Iroquois Confederacy (Haudenosaunee) c. 1450 CE to the present
Navajo (Diné) c. 1500 CE to the present
Inuit peoples c. 1600 CE to the present
Lakota (Teton Sioux) c. 1700 CE to the present
Rupert's Land (Hudson's Bay Company) 1670 to 1870 CE
Comanche empire (Comancheria) c. 1706 to 1875 CE
British North America 1783 to 1867 CE
Russian America 1799 to 1867 CE
Unangan (Aleut) peoples c. 2500 BCE to the present
Dene (Northern Athabaskan) peoples c. 750 BCE to the present
Chumash c. 500 CE to the present
California peoples (Ohlone, Miwok, Pomo, Tongva) c. 500 CE to the present
Caddo confederacies c. 800 to 1859 CE
Cree peoples c. 1000 CE to the present
Numic peoples (Shoshone, Paiute, Ute) c. 1000 CE to the present
Apache peoples c. 1400 CE to the present
Wichita peoples (Quivira) c. 1450 CE to the present
O'odham peoples c. 1450 CE to the present
Mandan and Hidatsa villages c. 1300 to 1837 CE
Blackfoot Confederacy c. 1600 CE to the present
Beothuk c. 1500 to 1829 CE
Danish Greenland 1721 to 1979 CE
Spanish Florida 1565 to 1821 CE
Santa Fe de Nuevo México 1598 to 1821 CE
Muscogee (Creek) Confederacy c. 1650 to 1836 CE
Spanish Texas 1690 to 1821 CE
Cherokee Nation 1794 to 1907 CE
Red River Colony 1812 to 1870 CE
Alta California 1769 to 1821 CE
Upper Canada 1791 to 1841 CE
Lower Canada 1791 to 1841 CE

Mesoamerica and Caribbean

New Spain 1521 to 1821 CE
Haiti 1804 CE to the present
Spanish Cuba 1511 to 1898 CE
British West Indies 1624 to 1983 CE
Captaincy General of Santo Domingo 1493 to 1821 CE
Colony of Jamaica 1655 to 1962 CE
Captaincy General of Guatemala 1543 to 1821 CE
Island Caribs (Kalinago) c. 1200 CE to the present
Zapotec, Mixtec and Mixe peoples c. 1521 CE to the present
Maya peoples (colonial and modern) c. 1524 CE to the present
Yaqui, Mayo and Raramuri peoples c. 1533 CE to the present
Dutch Caribbean 1634 CE to the present
Spanish Puerto Rico 1508 to 1898 CE
Spanish Panama (Castilla de Oro) 1510 to 1821 CE
French Antilles 1635 to 1946 CE
Nueva Vizcaya 1562 to 1821 CE
Mosquito Kingdom c. 1638 to 1894 CE
Danish West Indies 1672 to 1917 CE
Baymen settlement of Belize c. 1650 to 1862 CE
Kingdom of Haiti 1811 to 1820 CE

South America

Portuguese Brazil 1500 to 1815 CE
Viceroyalty of Peru 1542 to 1824 CE
Tupi-Guarani peoples c. 500 CE to the present
Mapuche c. 1000 CE to the present
Viceroyalty of New Granada 1717 to 1819 CE
Fuegian canoe peoples (Yaghan, Kawésqar) before 3200 BCE to the present
Jê peoples c. 1 CE to the present
Patagonian peoples (Tehuelche, Selk'nam) c. 1 CE to the present
Arawakan peoples of the Amazon c. 1000 CE to the present
Carib peoples of the Guianas c. 1000 CE to the present
Guaraní c. 1000 CE to the present
Charrúa c. 1000 to 1831 CE
Quechua and Aymara peoples c. 1533 CE to the present
French Guiana 1664 CE to the present
Dutch Suriname 1667 to 1975 CE
Araucanía (independent Mapuche lands) 1598 to 1883 CE
Captaincy General of Chile 1541 to 1818 CE
Charcas (Upper Peru) 1559 to 1825 CE
Real Audiencia of Quito 1563 to 1822 CE
Paraguay 1811 CE to the present
State of Maranhão and Grão-Pará 1621 to 1823 CE
British Guiana 1814 to 1966 CE
Captaincy General of Venezuela 1777 to 1823 CE
United Provinces of the Río de la Plata 1810 to 1831 CE
United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves 1815 to 1822 CE

Oceania

Aboriginal Australian peoples before 3200 BCE to the present
Māori iwi c. 1500 CE to the present
Papuan farmers and foragers before 3200 BCE to the present
Kuk Swamp agriculture before 3200 BCE to 1900 CE
Tu'i Tonga Empire c. 950 to 1865 CE
Colony of New South Wales 1788 to 1901 CE
Kingdom of Hawaii 1795 to 1893 CE
Tasmanian Aboriginal peoples before 3200 BCE to the present
Torres Strait Islanders c. 500 BCE to the present
Island Melanesian societies c. 500 BCE to the present
Fijian chiefdoms c. 500 BCE to 1874 CE
Eastern Micronesian islanders c. 200 BCE to the present
Samoan chiefdoms c. 1000 to 1900 CE
Rapa Nui society c. 1200 to 1888 CE
Moriori c. 1500 to 1835 CE
Nahnmwarki chiefdoms of Pohnpei c. 1628 to 1887 CE
Spanish Marianas 1668 to 1898 CE
Macassan trepangers c. 1720 to 1907 CE
Kingdom of Tahiti c. 1788 to 1880 CE

Questions

What countries existed in 1815?

The timeline shows 254 states, empires and colonies alive in 1815. Among the most significant: Ethiopian Empire (Solomonic dynasty), Ottoman Empire, Portuguese Empire, Kingdom of Kongo, Mughal Empire, Portuguese Brazil, New Spain and Viceroyalty of Peru. The full list by region is on this page.

What was happening in the world in 1815?

Within 25 years of 1815, the timeline records Haitian Revolution begins (1791), Napoleon invades Egypt (1798), Louisiana Purchase (1803), Usman dan Fodio's jihad (1804), Portuguese court arrives in Rio (1808) and Grito de Dolores (1810).

Which empires existed in 1815?

Ethiopian Empire (Solomonic dynasty), Ottoman Empire, Portuguese Empire, Mughal Empire, Qing dynasty, Russian Empire, First French Empire, Tu'i Tonga Empire, Oyo Empire and Bornu Empire.

Where do these dates come from?

Each row's dates were checked against the sources listed on that row's own page, mostly English Wikipedia articles, which cite the underlying scholarship. Dates that are uncertain are marked c.