The United States and Mexico signed the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, which ended the war between the two countries and allowed the U.S. to purchase the territory stretching from Texas and Wyoming to California for $15 million dollars. (By Brian Bockelman)

In a controversial move towards free trade, the British parliament voted to repeal the Corn Laws, a series of traditional measures protecting local agricultural producers and their workers from foreign competition. (By Brian Bockelman)