Editing 1808 (section)

=== January&ndash;March ===
* [[January 1]]
** The importation of slaves into the United States is formally banned, as the 1807 [[Act Prohibiting Importation of Slaves]] takes effect. However Americans still continue the slave trade by transporting Africans to [[Cuba]] and [[Brazil]].<ref>Joseph R. Conlin, ''The American Past: A Survey of American History'' (Cengage Learning, 2008)</ref><ref name="Childs">{{cite book |author-last=Childs |author-first=Matt D. |title=American Civil Wars: The United States, Latin America, Europe, and the Crisis of the 1860s |date=2017 |publisher=[[University of North Carolina Press]] |editor-last=Doyle |editor-first=Don H. |chapter=Cuba, the Atlantic Crisis of the 1860s, and the Road to Abolition}}.</ref>
** [[Sierra Leone]] becomes a British Crown Colony.<ref name=CBH>{{cite book|last=Palmer|first=Alan|author2=Veronica|year=1992|title=The Chronology of British History|publisher=Century Ltd|location=London|pages=242–243|isbn=0-7126-5616-2}}</ref>
* [[January 22]] &ndash; [[Transfer of the Portuguese court to Brazil]]: [[John VI of Portugal|John]] (Dom João), Prince Regent, and the [[House of Braganza|Braganza]] royal family of Portugal arrive in their colony of [[Brazil]] in exile from the French occupation of their home kingdom.
* [[January 26]] &ndash; [[Rum Rebellion]]: On the 20th anniversary of the foundation of the [[crown colony|colony]] of [[New South Wales]], disgruntled military officers of the [[New South Wales Corps]] (the "Rum Corps") overthrow and imprison [[Governor of New South Wales|Governor]] [[William Bligh]] and seize control of the colony.
* [[February 2]] &ndash; French troops take [[Rome]] as part of the [[Napoleonic Wars]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=SJ |first=John W. O'Malley |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sWHwrmZowu8C&dq=french+troops+occupy+papal+states+february+2+1808&pg=PA236 |title=A History of the Popes: From Peter to the Present |date=2009-11-16 |publisher=Government Institutes |isbn=978-1-58051-229-9 |pages=236 |language=en}}</ref>
* [[February 6]] &ndash; The ship ''[[Topaz (ship)|Topaz]]'' (from Boston April 5, 1807, hunting seals) "rediscovers" the [[Pitcairn Islands]]; only one [[HMS Bounty|HMS ''Bounty'']] mutineer is still alive, [[John Adams (mutineer)|John Adams]], who is using the pseudonym Alexander Smith.
* [[February 11]] &ndash; In [[Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania]], [[Jesse Fell]] becomes the first known person to burn [[anthracite]] coal as residential heating fuel.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Lewis |first=Edward |date=2022-02-06 |title=Look Back: Stone coal first burned for domestic use in 1808 |url=https://www.timesleader.com/news/1538486/look-back-stone-coal-first-burned-for-domestic-use-in-1808 |access-date=2025-02-18 |website=Times Leader |language=en-US}}</ref>
* [[February 21]]
** The [[Finnish War]] begins as Russian troops cross the border into Finland without a [[declaration of war]].
** Russia issues an ultimatum to [[Sweden]], to join Napoleon's [[Continental System]] against the [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|United Kingdom]].<ref>E. I. Kouri and Jens E. Olesen, eds. ''The Cambridge History of Scandinavia: Volume 2, 1520–1870'' (Cambridge University Press, 2016)</ref>
* [[March 1]] &ndash; The slave trade is abolished by the United Kingdom in all of its colonies as the [[Slave Trade Act 1807]] takes effect.<ref>''Antigua and the Antiguans: A Full Account of the Colony and Its Inhabitants'' (1844, reprinted by Cambridge University Press, 2011) p136</ref> This year, the British [[Royal Navy]] establishes the [[West Africa Squadron]] on the coast of [[West Africa]] to enforce the abolitionist [[Blockade of Africa]].
* [[March 2]]
** Russian troops occupy [[Helsinki]] and threaten [[Sveaborg]].
** The inaugural meeting of the [[Wernerian Natural History Society]], a Scottish [[learned society]], is held in [[Edinburgh]] (preliminary meeting January 12).
** [[Action of 2 March 1808|A minor naval battle]] which takes place off the coast of Scarborough results in the capture of the Danish brig ''[[Admiral Juel|Admiral Yawl]]'', commanded by Danish adventurer [[Jørgen Jørgensen]]. 
* [[March 7]] &ndash; [[Transfer of the Portuguese court to Brazil]]: The Portuguese royal court arrives in [[Rio de Janeiro]], making it the centre of the [[Portuguese Empire]].
* [[March 11]] &ndash; Russian troops occupy [[Tampere]] in Finland.
* [[March 13]] &ndash; Upon the death of [[Christian VII of Denmark|Christian VII]], [[Frederick VI of Denmark|Frederick VI]] becomes king of Denmark. The next day ([[March 14]]), Denmark declares [[Dano-Swedish War of 1808–1809|war on Sweden]].
* [[March 19]] &ndash; [[Charles IV of Spain]] abdicates in favor of his son, [[Ferdinand VII of Spain|Ferdinand VII]].
* [[March 22]] 
** Russian troops occupy [[Turku]] in Finland.
** [[English Wars (Scandinavia)]]: [[Battle of Zealand Point]] &ndash; British ships defeat those of Denmark and Norway.