5.7Meanwhile, elsewhere (1824–1854)

Europe seethed with the tension between old monarchies and new demands for liberty and nationhood. In 1848, revolutions swept across the continent—France, Germany, Italy, and Austria—most crushed within a year, though they planted ideas that endured. Britain, avoiding revolution, industrialized rapidly and expanded its global empire.

Elsewhere, China was shaken by the First Opium War (1839–1842), which forced open its ports to British trade and began a century of foreign encroachment. In the newly independent states of Latin America, the promise of liberation gave way to instability and strongman rule. Around the world, the questions of the age were nation, liberty, and who counted as a citizen.