Brazil is founded. The Spanish colony of New Granada declares independence as the Republic of Gran Colombia under President Simón Bolívar (1800–1900)* Stars the period of Latin American revolutions. Several states declare their independence from Spain. 1817: The Pernambucan Revolt breaks out in Brazil. Commerce Trading companies June 23, 1810 – John Jacob Astor forms the Pacific Fur Company. September 8, 1810 – The Tonquin sets sail from New York Harbor with 33 employees of John Jacob Astor's newly created Pacific Fur Company on board. After a 6-month journey around the tip of South America, the ship arrives at the mouth of the Columbia River and Astor's men establish the fur-trading town of Astoria. 1810: Palm oil sales from West Africa to Britain reach 1,000 tons. February 2, 1812 – Russia establishes a fur trading colony at Fort Ross, California. June 19, 1816 – Battle of Seven Oaks: The Hudson's Bay Company is defeated by the North West Fur-Trading Company, near Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. 1818: Lord Hastings, governor-general of India, gives approval to Sir Stamford Raffles to establish trading station at the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula (modern-day Singapore). 1818: The British East India Company controls territory occupied by 180 million Indians. January 29, 1819 – Sir Stamford Raffles lands on the island of Singapore. February 6, 1819 – A formal treaty between Hussein Shah of Johor and the British Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles establishes a trading settlement in Singapore. Establishments 1812: The Old Oscar Pepper Distillery (now the Woodford Reserve Distillery), the oldest Kentucky Bourbon distillery, is established along Glenn's Creek in Woodford County, Kentucky. February 3, 1815 – The first commercial cheese factory is founded in Switzerland. 1816: E. Remington and Sons (the famous firearm and later typewriter manufacturing company) is founded. April 7, 1818 – Brooks Brothers, the oldest men's clothier in the United States, opens its first store on the northeast corner of Catherine and Cherry Streets in New York City, where the South Street Seaport now stands. March 20, 1819 – Burlington Arcade opens in London. Slavery, Serfdom and Labor 1810: Adult cotton spinners stage a general strike in Manchester. 1810: 18,000 Angolans are sold at Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. January 8, 1811 – An unsuccessful slave revolt is led by Charles Deslandes in St. Charles and St. James Parishes, Louisiana. March 23, 1816 – Estonia emancipates its peasants from serfdom. February 15, 1819