Chronology 1869 Transcontinental Railroad On May 10, at Promontory Point, Utah, a golden rail spike is struck, completing the first U.S transcontinental railroad line 1870 Italy Is Unified Italy is unified when Italian troops enter Rome after the withdrawal of French troops The Italians strip all temporal power from Pope Pius IX, whom they imprison in the Vatican 1870 Franco-Prussian War The Franco-Prussian War begins at the instigation of Prussian minister Otto von Bismarck, who believes the war will help unify Germany On January 28, 1871, Paris falls and the French surrender 1871 Paris Commune When word spreads in Paris that the legislative assembly is considering restoring the monarchy, students and workers take to the streets The Commune of Paris controls the city from March 18 until May 28 1871 Second Reich With the German victory in France complete, the German Reichstag (parliament) proclaims the creation of the Second Reich 1872 Second Carlist War The Second Carlist War begins in the spring of 1872 when Don Carlos III tries to reestablish the Bourbon reign in Spain The war continues for two years until 1874 when a coalition declares Alfonso XII king 1874 Japanese Invade Taiwan The Japanese invade Taiwan—their pretext is the killing of an Okinawan seaman after a shipwreck 1876 War in Ottoman Empire In May the Bulgarians begin an insurrection against the Ottomans The insurrection is brutally quelled, and thousands of Bulgarians are slain 1876 Korean Independence Japan recognizes Korean independence from China Under a treaty with Korea, trade between Japan and Korea opens China does not object to the treaty 1879 Edison Invents Electric Light Thomas Edison overcomes the obstacle to finding a lightbulb that will burn long enough to become com- xxiii mercially viable by developing a bulb based on carbonized cotton 1879 Zulu War The Zulu nation that was founded in 1876 ends when the British defeat it in battle On January 22 the British are defeated at the Battle of Isandhlwand The British, however, decisively defeat the Zulu at the Battle of Ulundi 1881 Alexander II Dies A bomb in St Petersburg kills Alexander II, czar of Russia, on March 13 1881 Assassin Shoots President Garfield U.S president James Garfield is shot on July as he walks through the waiting room of the Baltimore & Potomac Railroad in Washington, D.C His assassin, Charles Guiteau, had been rejected for a position in Garfield’s administration The president dies on September 19 1881 French Invasion of Tunisia Tunisian tribesmen raid Algeria, which provides the French with a pretext for attacking Tunisia The French withdraw after signing the Treaty of Bardo 1882 Britain Invades Egypt The British invade Egypt in response to antiforeign riots The British defeat the army of Arabi Pasha at Al Tell 1882 Triple Alliance The Triple Alliance is created when Italy, Germany, and Austria-Hungary promise mutual support 1883 Anglo-French Punitive Expedition The French and the British launch a punitive expedition against Sudan that is decisively defeated by Muhammad Ahmad at the Battle of El Ubbayid 1883 Brooklyn Bridge Opens On May 25 the New York boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn are linked with the opening of the Brooklyn Bridge 1883 Sino-French War The French and the Chinese fight in the Sino-French war The French occupy most of Annam (Vietnam and Cambodia), but their trade is disrupted by Chinese in northern Vietnam