France

On 18 March 1871, Adolphe Thiers sent soldiers before dawn to seize 170 cannons from Montmartre. By evening, the French government had abandoned Paris. The working class ran the city for seventy-two days, long enough to terrify every government in Europe.

On 4th February 1794, the French National Convention abolished slavery throughout all territories of the First Republic — a revolutionary act that would shape colonial policy for generations.