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In the third quarter of the 19th Century, all over the world, there were a number of wars which saw a number of similarities. Here's what I'm primarily talking about:

The Crimean War (1853-56) saw Russia decline as a major power, the rise of France in the ME, and also an impetus for a number of reforms in the Ottoman Empire weakening slavery.

Indian Rebellion of 1857 -- British Empire establishes direct colonial rule in the sub-continent

Taiping Rebellion (1850/60-64)* -- Question of whether Qing Dynasty could survive their defeat in first Opium War, and subsequently how China would enter the modern age

Wars in Japan (1860/63-69)** -- Similar issues following Perry's opening, including wars against foreign powers and civil wars, including the Boshin War which ended the Shogunate

Italian Wars of Unification (1859-70) -- a new nation, with the chief military hero being one Guiseppe Garibaldi

US Civil War (1861-65) -- created Modern US; ended US slavery

January Uprising (1863) -- following the Russian Emancipation of 1861, a Polish revolution by the political and military class; as I understand, in large measure they opposed the reform, and managed to blunt the effect within the partition

Paraguayan War (1864-70) -- the bloodiest war ever fought on South American soil, also played heavy role in abolition of slavery in Brazil

Austro-Prussian War (1866) and Franco-Prussian War (1870-71) -- A industrial and military new power in Europe

And those are the big ones I could think of -- there's also smaller wars that might have been bigger (like the Second Anglo-Ashanti War turning into something like the Third Anglo-Ashanti War), and there's all kinds of other conflicts that could have tied these together (like Mexico, between France and the US).

In common between these conflicts was modernity -- from the battlefield, where in many of the conflicts, it was becoming apparent that technology had made Napoleon's tactics obsolete; to fundamental moral, political, and economic issues like slavery and serfdom.

So here's the challenge: starting no earlier than 1845 (or, ideally, than 1848) how do these conflicts -- and really, feel free to add more -- get moved around, tied together, and condensed into a single, global conflict.

I have a feeling this will get interesting.

*Rebellion began 1850, turned to all out war with siege of Shanghai 1860

**1860, riots broke out against Shogun, military conflict with foreign powers started 1863
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