Ahhhh, history. A lot happened in the early 1800's when Hans Christian Andersen was young. There was the War of 1812 between the United States and Great Britain. The United States finally won. In 1806 Noah Webster published his first dictionary. I like dictionaries. Then there were the Luddites. They went around in Great Britain destroying machines because they thought machines would take their jobs away—I would have destroyed them because they are just so noisy. I hate noise. In Europe Napolean Bonaparte, the emperor of France, was conquering everyone and it seemed that no one could stop him—until the Battle of Waterloo which is why when people say, "She met her waterloo," they mean that someone has experienced a final, crushing defeat. In the year that Andersen was born (1805) Joseph Louis Gay-Lussac proved that water was made up of hydrogen and oxygen. Suddenly, I'm very thirsty. Good-bye.
The War of 1812 between Great Britain and the U. S.
Noah Webster publishes his Dictionary (1806)
The Luddites destroy machinery (1811-1816)
Napolean attempts to conquer Europe (1796-1815)
Napolean defeated at the Battle of Waterloo (1815)
Joseph Louis Gay-Lussac proves water is made of hydrogen and oxygen (1805)
