1855 | Political Events
Political Events
"The Angel of Death has been abroad throughout the land," says British orator John Bright in a February speech to the House of Commons. He urges withdrawal of British troops from Sevastopol and the Crimea. Prime Minister George Hamilton-Gordon, Viscount Gordon of Aberdeen, has not been well informed about the activities of his generals in the field but is constitutionally responsible for their errors; he resigns January 29 after 25 months and Henry J. T. Palmerston, 3rd Viscount Palmerston, now 70, heads a new cabinet that takes office February 5, beginning a ministry that will continue until his death in 1865.
Russia's Nicholas I dies March 2 at age 58 after remarking that "Generals January and February" would be his best allies against British and French troops in the Crimea. Having reigned since 1825, the "Iron Czar" is succeeded by his 36-year-old son, who will reign until 1881 as Aleksandr II, bringing great reforms to the nation (see 1861).
Prince Aleksandr S. Menshikov is relieved of his command in the Crimea in March as Russian casualties mount (he will later be appointed military commander of Kronshtadt), but other Russian forces retake Kars near the Armenian border.
Savoy's premier Count Camillo Benso di Cavour, 45, takes his country into the Crimean War on the side of Britain and France. A 10,000-man Piedmontese force helps win the Battle of Chermaia August 16.
Baron Raglan dies in the Crimea June 28 at age 66 as his forces prepare to storm Sevastopol; former Chartist leader Feargus O'Connor dies at Chiswick, England, August 30 at age 59, having been committed to a mental asylum in 1848.
"Here I am and here I stay" ("J'y suis, j'y reste"), says the French general Marie-Edmé-Patrice-Maurice de MacMahon, 47, September 8 in the trenches before Malakoff. He leads the assault on Malakoff. Russian forces abandon Sevastopol September 11, sinking their ships and blowing up their forts to keep them from falling into enemy hands.
The Treaty of Peshawar signed March 30 creates an Anglo-Afghan alliance against Persia, whose shah Nasir-ad-Din has designs on Herat. Russian forces complete a 5-year conquest of the Syr Darya Valley that marks the beginning of a Russian advance to the Persian frontier in Central Asia, threatening British India (see 1856).
Japan's shōgun Iesada Tokugawa signs treaties with Russia in February and the Netherlands in November; the foreigners call him "tycoon," mistakenly believing him to be the "secular emperor."
Hong Kong governor Sir John Bowring, 62, and British diplomat Harry Smith Parke, 27, negotiate the first treaty with Siam, obtaining rights to establish consuls and trade throughout the kingdom of the Siamese king Mongkut, whose prime minister Somdet Chao Phraya Si Suriyawong has helped the king deal with the British. The Bowring Treaty removes many restrictions imposed by earlier kings, permits British subjects to own land near Bangkok and to move freely about, exempts them from Siamese jurisdiction, and sets a 3 percent duty on all imports. Siam will sign similar treaties next year with the United States and France, and with other countries thereafter, making concessions that will ward off imperialist pressure and bring quick economic development.
Ethiopian chief Ras Kassa, 37, deposes Ras Ali of Gondar, conquers the rulers of neighboring Tigre, Goijam, and Shoa, proclaims himself king of kings, and begins a 13-year reign as the emperor Theodore. Englishmen Walter Plowden and John Bell will help him put down rebellions by subordinates.
Mexicans force dictator Antonio López de Santa Anna into exile once more and return liberals to power as La Reforma continues (see 1854). Guerrero governor Juan Alvarez assumes control of the government as provisional president but soon resigns in favor of his ally Ignacio Comonfort. Benito Juárez comes back from New Orleans, and the legislature enacts the Ley Juárez, ordering the sale of all Church lands not used specifically for religious purposes (the Church has owned practically half the country's real estate) and abolishing special privileges for the clergy and military (the fueros) (see Ley Lerdo, 1856).
Peru has a military coup d'état that ousts President José Rufino Echenique, who has held office since 1851 (see 1845). Former president Ramón Castilla, now 58, seizes presidential power once again, suppresses rebellions, and will rule as benevolent despot until 1862, using the proceeds from guano and sodium nitrate exports to reduce Peru's national debt, promote domestic business, improve transportation, build schools, abolish black slavery, remove the head tax on Indians, and eliminate Church courts and compulsory tithing (see constitution, 1860).
Paraguayan troops on the Paraná River near Fort Itapiru open fire on the U.S.S. Water Witch under the command of Lt. Thomas J. Page, killing one seaman and wounding a few others. Page has been on an exploring mission, he became involved last year in a dispute between the Paraguayan dictator Carlos Antonio López and a North American company, Paraguay has barred foreign war vessels from her waters, but the Water Watch has been in international waters and Page's crew returns fire, killing some Paraguayan soldiers. Washington will send a naval force in 1859 to demand settlement of claims arising from the incident, and the Asunción government will pay the U.S. seaman's family an indemnity of $10,000.