It is easier to list parts of Europe that avoided revolution in 1848: Holland, Scandinavia, Britain and Iberia. Poor harvests, urbanization and bourgeois dissatisfaction all played their parts, but a significant new element was nationalism. The success of Greek independence inspired Romantic, liberal and nationalist movements, united against common enemies. New Pope Pius IX raised hopes of reform and news of each revolt spread by telegraph, encouraging others. After rebellion in Vienna, German-speaking principalities set out to form a state - Prussia remained aloof, giving rise to the Schleswig-Holstein Question. Austria remained Habsburg, suppressing Czech independence, but Habsburg and Ottoman plans for AustroHungary were thwarted and the region abolished serfdom; Poland gained Habsburg support for its own nationhood; while Italian radical Mazzini forged an improbable alliance of intellectuals and peasants. In France, Louis-Philippe's monarchy ended and Louis-Napoleon, Bonaparte's nephew, was elected president, becoming Emperor Napoleon III in 1852.

Like Thailand, Tonga always maintained indigenous rule [a L900 British protectorate was honorary ]. Its main island of Tongatapu has beeninhabited for perhaps 5,000 years, and from about AD 950 to 1500 it became a dominant cultural and political power in Polynesia, before declining amid civil war, revolt and assassinations. The first visiting Europeans were traders from the Dutch East India Company [VOC ]. In 1799, the tyrannous secular ruler Tuku'aho was assassinated, and conflict began, as local rulers vied to establish themselves. Finau Feletoa established what amounted to an independent kingdom; his death in 1809 halted hostilities temporarily.

Sailors had used flags for long-distance communication for centuries, but something more reliable was needed, especially with new railways to coordinate. In 1837, electronic telegraphs were developed in both Britain and America. Samuel Morse also devised an efficient alphabetical code that became standard. Telegraph systems were soon established across America and Europe, and after several thrilling attempts, a transatlantic cable was permanently established in 1866. Real-time international communications were now possible. Military applications were obvious: Prussia used the telegraph to immense effect in its Schleswig-Holstein conflicts. By World War I, Britain had
established a world-spanning series of cables for its empire. Information relays accelerated share dealings, while journalists rejoiced; many newspapers are still called The Telegraph. Even after telephones and radio, the telegraph remained economically important up to the 1980s, when it was finally replaced by telex and then the Internet.