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Today is September13, 2026 Sunday.

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The World in 1870 the year France fell apart in six weeks

France declared war in the third week of July. Six weeks later the emperor himself surrendered at Sedan, along with more than 100,000 of his soldiers.

Life back then

Paris spent the last months of the year cut off. German armies ringed the city in September, and the only way out was up, so mail and a few officials left by hot air balloon. Trained pigeons carried tiny photographed sheets of letters back in. Food ran out in stages. Horse meat went first, then cats and dogs, then the animals in the zoo. The Franco-Prussian War also emptied Rome of French troops, which is why Italian soldiers were able to walk in.

The year in 8 events

• 🗳️Feb 3 The 15th Amendment is ratified, saying a man cannot be barred from voting because of his race.
• 🏛️Feb 25 Hiram Revels of Mississippi is sworn in as the first Black member of the US Senate.
• 🕯️Mar 1 Paraguay's president is killed at Cerro Cora, ending five years of war that ruined the country.
• 🍁Jul 15 Manitoba becomes a Canadian province, after Louis Riel's settlers force a deal out of Ottawa.
• ⛪Jul 18 Bishops meeting at the Vatican declare that the pope cannot be wrong on matters of faith.
• ⚔️Jul 19 France declares war on Prussia. The German states line up behind Prussia instead of staying out.
• 🏳️Sep 2 Napoleon III surrenders at Sedan. Two days later a republic is declared in Paris.
• 🏛️Sep 20 Italian troops breach the wall at Porta Pia and take Rome, finishing the unification of Italy.

Who Was in Charge?

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