1798 Facts for Kids

Millennium:	2nd millennium
Centuries:	17th century – 18th century – 19th century
Decades:	1760s 1770s 1780s – 1790s – 1800s 1810s 1820s
Years:	1795 1796 1797 – 1798 – 1799 1800 1801

The year 1798 was a time of big changes and important events around the world. Many of these events involved France and its leader, Napoleon Bonaparte. There were also new inventions and discoveries that would change how people lived.

Major Events of 1798
Discoveries and Inventions
- Ongoing Conflicts
Images for kids
See also

Major Events of 1798

January 22 – In the Batavian Republic (which is now the Netherlands), there was a sudden change in government. This is called a coup d'état. A group called the Unitarian Democrats took power from the old parliament.
March 7 – French soldiers marched into the Papal States in Italy. They set up a new government called the Roman Republic.
April 7 – The Mississippi Territory was created in the United States. This new area was formed from land that used to belong to Georgia and South Carolina.
April 26 – France officially left the city of Geneva.
May 24 – In Ireland, people who wanted independence started a big rebellion against British rule. It was a very bloody conflict.
June 12 – French forces took control of the island of Malta.
June 12 – Another coup d'état happened in the Batavian Republic. This time, a group called the Moderates removed the previous leader, Pieter Vreede.
July 1 – Napoleon and his army landed in Egypt. This was part of his plan to disrupt British trade routes.
July 14 – The Alien and Sedition Acts became law in the United States. These laws made it a crime to say or write false things about the government.
July 21 – Near the Pyramids in Egypt, Napoleon's army fought and defeated the Mamluk forces.
July 24 – Napoleon's troops took over the city of Cairo, the capital of Egypt.
July 30 – The Ottoman leader Selim III defeated Napoleon in a battle in Egypt.
July 31 – The Batavian Republic held its second elections of the year.
August 1 – A very important sea battle happened. Horatio Nelson, a British admiral, defeated the French navy led by Admiral Brueys at the Battle of the Nile. Nelson was hurt during this battle.
August 22 – French soldiers landed in County Mayo, Ireland. They came to help the Irish rebels.
September 18 – A famous book of poems called Lyrical Ballads was published. It was written by Samuel Taylor Coleridge and William Wordsworth.

Discoveries and Inventions

Franz Xaver von Zach, an astronomer, started publishing journals. These journals were about navigation and the exact locations of cities.
The XYZ Affair happened in the United States. This led to some naval battles, but a full war was not officially declared.
The first mechanical music boxes were invented. These devices could play music automatically.
Scientists Alessandro Volta and La Place made important discoveries about electricity.
The Afghan Army took control of Lahore in the Punjab.
The city of Aarau became the temporary capital of the Helvetic Republic.
Alois Senefelder invented lithography. This was a new way to print images and text.
Eli Whitney made a deal with the U.S. government to produce 10,000 rifles. He used interchangeable parts to make them. This meant parts could be easily swapped between different rifles.
Charles Brockden Brown published Wieland, which was one of the first American novels.

Ongoing Conflicts

The French Revolution was still happening. It had started in 1789 and would continue until 1799.
The Revolutionary Wars were also ongoing. These wars involved many European countries and had started in 1792.
The War of the Second Coalition and Napoleon's campaign in Egypt were part of these larger conflicts.
The Irish Rebellion of 1798 continued from May to October.