1820 | Political Events
Political Events
Britain's George III dies at Windsor Castle January 29 at age 81 and is succeeded by the corpulent prince regent George Augustus Frederick, now 57, who has ruled since 1811 and will reign until 1830 as George IV. The new king's official wife, Caroline of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, now 51, is no longer Princess of Wales; refused a passport by the French ministry, she obtains one as a private traveler from the British consul and demands recognition as queen. Her profligate husband offers her an annual income of £3,000 on condition that she remain abroad, never take any royal title, and not attempt to exercise any royal rights. Refusing the offer, she arrives at London June 7, and the new king's coronation is postponed as he continues his efforts to obtain a divorce. A Bill of Pains and Penalties is introduced in the House of Commons July 5 and the House of Lords August 17 to deprive "Her Majesty Queen Caroline Amelia Elisabeth of the title, prerogatives, rights, and privileges of queen consort of this realm and to dissolve the marriage between His Majesty and said Caroline Amelia Elisabeth," but the public rallies to her cause, the peers find only flimsy evidence to support allegations against her, and the bill is dropped November 10. London, Glasgow, Manchester, Liverpool, Edinburgh, Dublin, and other major cities are illuminated for 3 nights to celebrate (see 1821).
France's royal heir presumptive sustains a mortal wound as he leaves the Paris Opéra February 13 and dies the next day at age 42. Saddler and Bonapartist fanatic Louis-Pierre Louvel has boasted that he would wipe out the royal line by killing the last Bourbon young enough to produce a male heir. A nephew of Louis XVIII, Charles-Ferdinand de Bourbon, duc de Berry, married the eldest daughter the Francisco I, king of the two Sicilies, in June 1816 and she bears his son September 29; the infant (initially the duc de Bordeaux, later the comte de Chambord) becomes heir to the throne, but Louis XVIII ends a period of moderate rule, dismisses his prime minister Elie, duc Decazes, manipulates the elections to give ultras control of the Chamber, allows them to dominate the cabinet, and tries to reimpose the authoritarian rule enjoyed by Bourbon kings before the Revolution (see 1824).
The Cato Street conspiracy to murder members of the British cabinet comes to light February 23. The Bow Street Runners established by the late novelist-playwright Henry Fielding in 1848 has uncovered the conspiracy, whose ringleaders will be executed, but London still has no organized police force (see crime, 1829).
Irish independence leader Henry Grattan dies at London June 6 at age 73, having fought for Catholic emancipation since his election to the House of Commons 15 years ago.
A Spanish revolution led by Colonel Rafael Riego forces Ferdinand VII to restore the constitution of 1812, which he does March 7.
A Portuguese revolt begins August 24 at Oporto and reaches Lisbon 5 days later as discontent grows under the regency that rules with British influence while João VI lives in Brazil. General Beresford has gone to Brazil in March in a vain effort to persuade the king to return to Portugual, leaders of the revolution demand a constitution, and when Beresford gets back October 10 the Portuguese do not permit him to land and expel British officers from the army. Brazilian geologist José Bonifácio de Andrada e Silva, 57, gave up his position as professor at Coimbra and director of the Lisbon Academy last year to return home and participate in the independence movement (see 1821).
Ferdinand IV of Naples (Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies) promises a constitution July 7 following a revolt instigated by secret societies that include the Carbonaria and supported by the army (see 1816). Austrian intervention will soon nullify the promise.
An act signed at Vienna May 15 confirms the German Confederation established by the Congress of Vienna in mid-June 1815; it reduces the number of German states from more than 300 to just 39, makes Hanover a kingdom that includes East Frisia and Hildesheim, and gives Bavaria the territory extending from Prussia on the Rhine to Alsace, including the city of Mainz. The act establishes a Diet under the presidency of Austria, with an Ordinary Assembly sitting permanently at Frankurt-am-Main plus a General Assembly. Each state is to have autonomy with regard to internal affairs, war between the individual states is forbidden, and no foreign war may be undertaken without the consent of the Confederation.
Former Austrian field marshal Karl Philipp, Fürst zu Schwarzenberg, dies at Leipzig October 15 at age 49, having suffered a stroke 3 years ago.
Austrian police arrest Italian playwright-patriot Silvio Pellico in October on charges of treason (see 1818). Now 31, he will be sentenced to death in 1822, the sentence will be commuted to life imprisonment, and he will be confined for 8 years in prisons at Milan, Venice, and Brunn (where the Hapsburgs use the Spielberg fortress as a political prison) (see Nonfiction, 1832).
The Congress of Troppau opens in Silesia in October with Austria's Franz I, Russia's Aleksandr I, and Prussia's Wilhelm III in attendance along with their foreign ministers (including Prince von Metternich) and observers from Britain and France, although they have been excluded from the talks. The Troppeau protocol signed November 19 declares the signatories' intention to take collective action against revolution and they adopt another protocol asserting that they will exclude states that have had revolutions from the European alliance and will not recognize their new regimes. The emperor, czar, and king invite the king of the Two Sicilies to attend a congress next year at Laibach where the terms of intervention in Naples will be discussed, but British and French refusal to accept the protocol weakens the Quintuple Alliance (see 1821).
Egypt's Ottoman viceroy (vizier) Muhammad Ali Pasha sends an army to the Sudan in July under the command of his son Ismail with orders to conquer the country, which is rich in gold and slaves. Ismail will obtain the surrender of the Funji and the sultan of Darfur next year, the Nilotic Sudan from Nubia to the Ethiopian foothills will become part of Muhammad Ali's growing empire, as will the territory from the Atbarah River to Darfur.
Vietnam's emperor Gia Long dies at his native Hue January 25 (or February 3) at age 57 after an 18-year reign that has established the Nguyen dynasty. He has made Cambodia a vassal state, made significant legal and monetary reforms, repaired the old Mandarin Road, established an efficient postal service, permitted French missionaries to preach Christianity (which he himself disliked; see de Rhodes, 1630), but inaugurated a policy of isolation from European powers and insulation from Western technological skills. He is succeeded by Nguyen Phuoc Chi Dam, 27, his fourth son by his favorite concubine, whom he has chosen because of the young man's outspoken criticism of Europeans and who will reign until early 1841 as the emperor Minh Mang. The new emperor makes his father's key adviser Le Van Duyet governor of Gia Dinh province to get him out of the way.
China's unpopular Qing (Ch'ing, or Manchu) emperor Jiaqing (Chia-ching) dies at Rehe (Jeho) in Hopeh Province September 2 at age 59 after a weak 24-year reign in which he has suppressed revolts by impoverishing the provinces of Hupei, Shenxi, and Sichuan (Szechuan). Jiaqing is succeeded by his 37-year-old son Daoguang (Taokuang), who will reign until 1850 but have no more success than his father at reducing corruption and stemming the decline of the government.
Argentine military leader Manuel Belgrano dies at his native Buenos Aires June 20 at age 50.
The northern Haitian king Henri I (Henri Christophe) suffers a paralytic stroke in August (see 1811). News of his condition precipitates revolts, he cannot suppress them, he shoots himself at his Sans Souci palace October 8 at age 53, and the Haitian republic takes over his kingdom.
Maine enters the Union as the 23rd state under terms of the Missouri Compromise adopted by Congress March 3 (see Missouri, 1821).
U.S. Navy officer James Barron, now 51, accuses Stephen Decatur of leading a conspiracy against him and challenges him to a duel. Decatur is killed at Bladensburg, Maryland, March 22 at age 41, and Barron badly wounded. Fellow officers will ostracize Barron for the rest of his life.
President Monroe wins reelection with 231 electoral votes out of 232. One vote is cast for John Quincy Adams by an elector who either opposes the Virginia dynasty of presidents, wants to register a symbolic protest against the constitutional three-fifths rule that enables the Southern states to maintain their lead in the Electoral College, or simply holds the conviction that only George Washington should have the honor of unanimous election.