The autocratic George Grey, appointed governor of New Zealand in 1845, begins suppressing the Maoris who resist the British invasion.

The New Zealand Wars open with the Flagstaff War when, on March 11, 1845, Chiefs Kawiti and Hone Heke lead seven hundred Māori in the burning of the British colonial settlement of Kororāreka (modern-day Russell, New Zealand).

Charles Sturt leads an expedition from Adelaide in 1844-45 in an unsuccessful bid to reach central Australia in search of a postulated inland sea, penetrating more than a thousand miles northward before heat and drought forces the party’s return.

Edward Eyre, who has gained a reputation for protecting the aborigines, leaves Australia in 1845 for what will be a series of administrative posts in New Zealand and the West Indies.

Ludwig Leichhardt overcomes formidable hardships to make the first land crossing of tropical northern Australia from Brisbane in 1844 to near present Darwin in 1845, for which feat the Prussian explorer is awarded a gold medal by the Royal Geographical Society.

The European Economic Depression and Agricultural Crises (1845–1848)

A pan-European economic depression, accompanied by widespread crop failures, began in 1845, leading to severe social unrest, economic hardship, and political upheaval across Europe. The crisis exacerbated tensions between ruling elites and the working classes, fueling radical movements that culminated in the Revolutions of 1848.

Causes of the Economic Depression (1845–1848)

1. Crop Failures and Agricultural Collapse

   • The potato blight (Phytophthora infestans) devastated harvests across Europe, causing mass starvation, particularly in Ireland, Scotland, and Germany.
   • Grain shortages led to sharp increases in food prices, making basic staples unaffordable for the poor.
   • Countries such as France, Italy, and Austria experienced severe rural distress, leading to mass migrations and unrest.

2. Industrial Downturn

   • A decline in industrial production led to widespread unemployment, especially in urban areas.
   • The textile industry, a key sector in Britain, Belgium, and Germany, suffered from falling demand, causing factory closures and layoffs.

3. Financial Crisis

   • A decline in investment and credit shortages triggered bank failures in several European financial centers.
   • Government debt increased as states struggled to maintain economic stability while facing social unrest.

Major Effects of the Economic Crisis

• The Irish Great Famine (1845–1852): Ireland was the hardest hit, with over a million deaths and massive emigration.
• Food riots and uprisings erupted in France, Germany, and Italy, with hungry populations demanding government action.
• Rural and urban working-class unrest intensified, fueling anti-monarchical and revolutionary sentiment.

Political Consequences – The Road to the Revolutions of 1848

• The economic depression and food shortages weakened monarchies and conservative governments, as they struggled to respond effectively.
• The crisis fueled demands for political reform, including constitutional government, expanded suffrage, and social welfare measures.
• By 1848, revolutionary movements erupted across France, the German states, Italy, and the Austrian Empire, driven in part by economic desperation and frustration with autocratic rule.

Conclusion – A Catalyst for Change

The economic depression of 1845–1848 was one of the most severe crises of the 19th century, contributing to mass starvation, social unrest, and political revolutions. The failure of governments to address economic and food crises played a significant role in triggering the Revolutions of 1848, which would shake the foundations of Europe’s political order.

The mid-19th century crises (1845–1848) were among the most immediate and direct catalysts for mass migration, particularly to North and South America. These movements fundamentally reshaped global demographics and established enduring European diasporas worldwide, as millions sought refuge and opportunity in the New World.

Alexander von Humboldt, who has spent the last fifteen years writing his great work, Kosmos, an attempt at a comprehensive description of the universe, publishes the first volume in 1845 at the age of seventy-six.

Humboldt believes that the universe is an inseparable organic whole and that all phenomena are interdependent.

Wazir Akbar Khan, son of Dost Mohammed Khan, had captured Bala Hissar in Kabul in 1842 and become the new emir of Afghanistan.

He dies in Jalalabad in 1845; his father, Dost Mohammad Khan, succeeds him.

The establishment in Zanzibar of foreign consulates marks, at a formal level, the transfer of Sa'id's court and other change.

The United States had opened a consulate in 1837, followed by Britain in 1841, and France in 1844, simultaneously signing a treaty with the last.

These countries, with Germany, become the principal buyers, but Sa'id also exports goods in his own ships to Arabia and India and, occasionally, to Europe and to the United States.

By the 1840s, he has made Zanzibar the principal power in eastern Africa and the commercial capital of the western Indian Ocean.

He says, in all seriousness, “I am nothing but a merchant.”

By 1842, the average annual import of slaves is reported as approximately fifteen thousand, many of these necessitated by the development of the clove plantations of Zanzibar and ...