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The 1820s: 1820–1829
1820–1829 · worldwide, all places
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Greece revolted against Ottoman rule in 1821 and won independence by decade's end with British, French and Russian help. The American whaler Essex was sunk by a whale in 1820, Latin American republics consolidated, and the first Tasmanian frontier war began.
1821 freed Greece and 1820 sank the Essex. The Revenant follows a mauled fur trapper's crawl across the 1820s American West, and Jennifer Kent's The Nightingale tracks an Irish convict hunting a soldier through Tasmania in 1825. Open the 1820s on the StoryTerra map and explore its stories by place.
10 famous stories set in the 1820s
Live snapshot of the top 10 most popular catalogue items (2026-09-05). Click any card to open this entry on the live map.
Browse 28 books, 33 movies and 1 TV show set in the 1820s (1820–1829).
The Revenant
In the 1820s a frontiersman Hugh Glass sets out on a path of vengeance against those who left him for dead after a bear mauling.
The Woman King
The story of the Agojie the all-female unit of warriors who protected the African Kingdom of Dahomey in the 1800s with skills and a fierceness unlike anything the world has ever seen and General Nanisca as she trains…
In the Heart of the Sea
In the winter of 1820 the New England whaling ship Essex is assaulted by something no one could believe—a whale of mammoth size and will and an almost human sense of vengeance.
The Mask of Zorro
It has been twenty years since Don Diego de la Vega fought Spanish oppression in Alta California as the legendary romantic hero Zorro. Having escaped from prison he transforms troubled bandit Alejandro into his…
The Nightingale
In 1825 Clare a 21-year-old Irish convict chases a British soldier through the rugged Tasmanian wilderness bent on revenge for a terrible act of violence he committed against her family. She enlists the services of an…
The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser
The film follows Kaspar Hauser (Bruno S.) who lived the first seventeen years of his life chained in a tiny cellar with only a toy horse to occupy his time devoid of all human contact except for a man who wears a black…
First Cow
In the 1820s a taciturn loner and skilled cook travels west to Oregon Territory where he meets a Chinese immigrant also seeking his fortune. Soon the two team up on a dangerous scheme to steal milk from the wealthy…
The Mark of Zorro
Around 1820 the son of a California nobleman comes home from Spain to find his native land under a villainous dictatorship. On the one hand he plays the useless fop while on the other he is the masked avenger Zorro.
The Conspirators
Rome 1825. Bishop Rivarola (Tognazzi) and colonel Nardoni (Salerno) are in charge to suppress liberal revolution. Shoemaker Cornacchia (Manfredi) got the information that the liberal Filippo Spada (Ekland) is a spy and…
Burke & Hare
Two 19th-century opportunists become serial killers so that they can maintain their profitable business supplying cadavers to an anatomist.
The 10 stories above are just a sample of the 62 in the catalogue for this entry. For the live 1820–1829 catalogue, use the button above — or browse the whole 19th century. On the live map you can also filter by the exact time the stories take place — any year, decade or century, from BCE to the future.
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1810s · 19th century · Time hub · All places · 1830s