History of Europe
The Industrial Revolution, beginning in Great Britain, allowed masses of people, not just the rich, to escape for the first time from lives of being always poor and barely able to afford either food or shelter. The early British Empire split as its colonies in America revolted to establish their own representative government. Political change in continental Europe was spurred by the French Revolution, as people cried out for liberté, egalité, fraternité (liberty, equality, brotherhood). The French leader, Napoleon Bonaparte, conquered and reformed the social structure of the continent through war up to 1815, when he met his final defeat at the Battle of Waterloo and was sent away into exile. As more and more small property holders were granted the vote, especially in France and the UK, socialist and trade union activity developed and revolution gripped Europe in 1848. The last vestiges of serfdom were abolished in Austria-Hungary in 1848. Russian serfdom was abolished in 1861. The Balkan nations began to regain their independence from the Ottoman Empire. After the Franco-Prussian War, Italy and Germany were formed, each from groups of smaller countries which spoke the same languages, in 1870 and 1871.