World History 1821

About the history of the world in 1821, Peru and Venezuela gain independence, John Keats and Napoleon Bonaparte died.

TWO CENTURIES OF WORLD HISTORY: 1778-1978

1821

* Jose de San martin declared Peru's independence, though Spain, still holding much of the country, did not recognize it for half a century.

Feb. 23 John Keats, 25, at the height of his poetic powers, died in Rome of tuberculosis. On his grave in Rome's Protestant Cemetery is inscribed an epitaph he wrote for himself: "Here lies one whose name was writ in water."

May 5 At St. Helena, Napoleon Bonaparte, 52, ended his incredible life story, dying in agony of stomach cancer while the English governor, Sir Hudson Lowe, accused him of malingering to gain sympathy. (See "The High and the Mighty-Famous and Infamous Rulers in History," Chap. 7.)

June After 10 years' struggle, Creoles (native-born whites) led by Simon Bolivar threw off Spanish rule in Venezuela.