New Caledonia

State · 1856–1859 CE · at its largest around 1859 CE

A Pacific archipelago annexed by France in 1853, which later served as a penal colony and remains a French territory.

On its lands while it lasted

Vallabhi (c. 476–1948 CE): Capital of Maitraka Dynasty (476–731).
Portuguese settlement of Macau (c. 1557–1999 CE): Ming authorities allowed Portuguese traders to settle at Macau, which became Europe's longest-held outpost in East Asia.
Macassan trepang trade (c. 1720–1906 CE): Fishermen from Makassar in Sulawesi sailed annually to northern Australia to harvest trepang (sea cucumber), trading with Yolŋu and other Aboriginal peoples until the practice was banned in 1906.
Great Trigonometrical Survey (1802–1871 CE): Survey that measured the Indian subcontinent by triangulation, beginning at Madras in 1802; it established the height of Mount Everest.
Nguyễn dynasty (1802–1945 CE): Last imperial dynasty of Vietnam, founded by Gia Long in 1802 with its capital at Huế; its last emperor, Bao Dai, abdicated in 1945.
Anglo-Burmese Wars (1824–1885 CE): Three wars in which Britain conquered Burma; the last, in 1885, ended the Konbaung dynasty at Mandalay.
British Hong Kong (1841–1997 CE): Britain occupied Hong Kong Island in 1841 and ruled the colony, later enlarged, until 1997.
Chulalongkorn (1853 CE – 1910 CE): King Rama V of Siam, who modernised the state, abolished slavery and preserved Siamese independence amid British and French colonial expansion.
Kuala Lumpur (1857 CE): Capital of Federation of Malaya (1958–1962), Malaysia (1963–today).
British Raj (1858–1947 CE): After the 1857 rebellion the British Crown took direct rule of India from the East India Company, governing until independence in 1947.
Wallace's essay on natural selection (1858 CE): Alfred Russel Wallace wrote from Ternate to Charles Darwin describing natural selection, prompting the joint presentation of their theory in 1858.