Age of Optimism

If “progress” destroyed formal slavery and combated illiteracy, it also substituted top hats and frock coats for the colorful costumes of the Japanese samurai and made white collars and sober ties the symbol of social standing in the towns of southeast Asia. The nineteenth century was the Age of European Primacy, a span of four generations in which the smallest of continents molded the world in its image – barely noticing, in its aggressive ebullience, that in doing so it was selling its soul to industry and materialism.

– Alan Palmer, editor
(from the introduction)

1803: Beethoven’s Rededicated Masterpiece – H.C. Robbins Landon

A brilliant young German composes a vast new symphony that both fascinates and bewilders its first audiences

1811: “General” Lud’s Army – W.H. Chaloner

Roving bands of jobless English textile workers vandalize the labor-saving machines that have robbed many of them of their livelihood

1812: Retreat from Russia – Jean Tulard

Cossack raiding parties and an awesome Russian winter combine to decimate Napoleon’s Grand Army as it retreats from Moscow

1824: Death of a Poet – Peter Quennell

England’s foremost Romantic poet dies in Greece attempting to aid insurgent natives in the struggle against their Ottoman oppressors

1829: The People’s President – Francis Russell

American voters overwhelmingly endorse Andrew Jackson, populist candidate and hero of the Battle of New Orleans, for the nation’s highest office

1830: The Age of Steam – W.H. Chaloner

In an effort to restore domestic tranquility, an unpopular Tory Prime Minister inaugurates Britain’s first railway amid considerable fanfare

1848: A Manifesto for the Masses – Jean Jacques Chevallier

The last line of Marx and Engels’ Communist Manifesto – “Workers of the world unite!” – sparks riot and revolution around the world

1854: Perry Opens Japan – Richard Storry

A bold U.S. naval commander all but singlehandedly forces the isolationist Japanese to open their country to international trade

1856: The Emergence of Italy – Maurice Vaussard

Sardinia’s astute Prime Minister capitalizes on European rivalries to piece together the first modern Italian state

1857: Mutiny in India – Taya Zinkin

Upper-caste Hindus serving in the British-led Bengal Army rebel against the reforms instituted by their English overlords

1859: Ape or Angel? – J.W. Burrow

British naturalist Charles Darwin’s scandal provoking “monkey theory” of natural selection denies Genesis and advocates evolution

1863: A Nation Divided – Robert Conquest

The defeat of Robert E. Lee’s valiant army of “starving ragamuffins” at Gettysburg deals the Confederacy a mortal blow

1871: A Proclamation at Versailles – Georges Roux

Bismarck’s dream of a united Germany is fulfilled when his sovereign, William I of Prussia, is proclaimed Emperor of Germany in Versailles’ Hall of Mirrors

1881: Assassination of Alexander II – Ronald Hingley

Political terrorists assassinate Russia’s reforming Tsar, and their terrible deed is noted with alarm by every autocrat in Europe

1882: The Birth of Big Business – Charlotte Erikson

Industrialist John D. Rockefeller’s immense holdings are merged into the Standard Oil Trust, the world’s largest manufacturing firm

1886: The Riches of the Rand – G.H. Le May

The discovery of vast reefs of gold ore transforms the peaceful farmlands of the Transvaal into a booming industrial center

1897: “Next year, in Jerusalem” – Michael Bar-Zohar

The dedication of a single man brings the centuries-old dream of a separate Jewish state a step closer to realization