In February 1912 a six-year-old emperor gave up the throne of China, ending 267 years of Qing rule. A year later rebel generals turned their guns on Mexico City for ten days. In 1915 John Chilembwe led a rising against British rule in Nyasaland, and on Easter Monday 1916 Irish republicans seized buildings across Dublin and declared a republic. That June, the Sharif of Mecca launched an Arab revolt against the Ottoman Empire.
Then came 1917. Unrest in Petrograd brought down the Russian monarchy in March, and in November the Bolsheviks seized power. Within a year a mutiny at Kiel had grown into a revolution that swept away the German Empire, and Hungary entered its own years of upheaval. In 1919 the risings kept coming: the Spartacists in Berlin in January, then nationwide protests against British rule in Egypt in March. In April, Emiliano Zapata, leader of the peasants' revolution in Morelos, was shot dead at Chinameca.
The events that carry the story, in date order. Each card links to its full entry on the page for its year.
· China · Asia
The six-year-old Xuantong Emperor's abdication edict was issued on 12 February 1912, closing the revolution that began with the Wuchang Uprising in October 1911. It ended the 267-year Qing reign, and Yuan Shikai took the presidential oath a month later.
Why it is interesting. The abdication edict of a six-year-old emperor closed more than two thousand years of imperial rule in China.
· Mexico City, Mexico · North America
Opponents of President Francisco I. Madero, including generals Félix Díaz and Bernardo Reyes, staged a coup in Mexico City from 9 to 19 February 1913. Bombardment hurt civilians and the downtown, and a pact between the rebel generals ended the fighting.
Why it is interesting. The coup opened a second phase of the Mexican Revolution and ended with Victoriano Huerta taking the presidency.
· South Africa
Exact day uncertain.
Boer insurgents who backed Germany rose against the South African government at the start of the First World War. The rebellion was put down; its surviving leaders were fined or jailed, and one of them, Jopie Fourie, was executed.
Why it is interesting. The rebels hoped to restore the South African Republic, and many government members had once fought alongside them.
· Nyasaland (modern-day Malawi) · Africa
Rebels led by the Baptist minister John Chilembwe attacked the A. L. Bruce Estates headquarters at Magomero on 23 January 1915 and killed three white settlers. Colonial forces suppressed the revolt by 26 January; Chilembwe was shot dead on 3 February.
Why it is interesting. Chilembwe is considered a national hero in Malawi, and the rising is remembered as a key moment in the country's history.
· Russian Turkestan, Russian Empire · Asia
Exact day uncertain.
When the Tsarist government ended the exemption of Muslims from military service, major violence broke out in Russian Turkestan. The revolt was put down under martial law and later fed the Basmachi movement.
Why it is interesting. The 1916 violence was the root of the Basmachi movement, an uprising against Soviet rule in Central Asia.
· Dublin, United Kingdom (now Ireland) · Europe
Irish republicans led by Patrick Pearse seized key buildings in Dublin on Easter Monday and declared an Irish Republic. British forces put down the rising within six days, and Pearse surrendered unconditionally on 29 April.
Why it is interesting. Sixteen leaders were executed afterwards, and opinion shifted toward independence, with Sinn Féin winning 73 of 105 Irish seats in 1918.
· Mecca, Ottoman Empire · Middle East
Date may use an older calendar.
Hussein bin Ali, Sharif of Mecca, told his supporters to strike at the Ottoman garrison in Mecca, formally launching a Hashemite-led Arab uprising against the Ottoman Empire during the First World War.
Why it is interesting. The rebels aimed at an independent, unified Arab state from Aleppo to Aden, which Britain had promised to recognize.
· Petrograd, Russian Empire · Europe
In 1917 unrest in Petrograd during World War I led to the fall of the monarchy and a provisional government, setting off the revolution that later brought the Bolsheviks to power.
Why it is interesting. The revolution ended the monarchy and led to a socialist government in Russia.
· Petrograd, Russian Republic (now Saint Petersburg, Russia) · Europe
Some details uncertain.
Bolshevik-led forces rose against the Provisional Government in Petrograd after it closed newspapers and the city. A full-scale uprising followed, and Red Guards occupied government buildings, then captured the Winter Palace, seat of the government, in the early hours of 8 November.
Why it is interesting. The initial assault on Petrograd happened largely without casualties, and the event set off the Russian Civil War.
· Hungary · Europe
Between 1918 and 1920 Hungary went through the Aster Revolution, a Soviet republic in March 1919, wars against Romania, Serbia and Czechoslovakia, and a Romanian occupation that reached Budapest in August 1919. It signed the Treaty of Trianon in 1920.
· Germany · Europe
Sources differ on the date.
Beginning with the Kiel sailors' mutiny, workers' and soldiers' councils took over from the old authorities at little cost in lives. The upheaval reached Berlin on 9 November, where a republic was declared, and Wilhelm II escaped to Holland a day later.
Why it is interesting. The empire fell almost without bloodshed within days of the Kiel sailors' mutiny.
· Berlin, Germany · Europe
Supporters of Friedrich Ebert's provisional government fought Communists led by Karl Liebknecht and Rosa Luxemburg, who wanted a council republic. Roughly 150 to 200 people died, mostly insurgents, and Liebknecht and Luxemburg were executed without trial on 15 January.
Why it is interesting. Crushing the revolt let elections for the National Assembly go ahead on 19 January 1919, and that assembly drafted the Weimar Constitution.
· Sultanate of Egypt (now Egypt) · Middle East
Some details uncertain.
Nationwide protests and riots against British occupation broke out in Egypt in March 1919, after Saad Zaghloul was arrested on 8 March and sent to Malta. The wider revolution is dated from November 1918 to July 1919, and Britain recognised an independent Kingdom of Egypt in 1922.
Why it is interesting. Britain's arrest and exile of Saad Zaghloul in March 1919 set off a nationwide revolution.
· Chinameca, Morelos, Mexico · North America
Zapata led the peasants' revolution in Morelos and inspired the agrarian movement called Zapatismo; in November 1911 he issued the Plan of Ayala, calling for land to go to the peasants. Men under General Jesus Guajardo shot him at a hacienda in Chinameca.
Why it is interesting. Zapata's Plan of Ayala of November 1911 demanded that lands be handed over to the peasants.
One line each, in date order. Every link opens the event’s full entry, with its summary, notes and sources, on the page for its year.