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2000 BCE
New Economic Systems
As early as 2000 BCE humans have been using credit and interest. -
1450 BCE
Printing Press
The Printing press was invented in Germany but quickly spread throughout Europe. The printing press revolutionized the spread of information in mass throughout Europe, and the rest of the world. Books and letters could be massed produced, generation information that could benefit anyone significantly faster, as well as easier. -
1100
The birth of Banks
Banks originated in Venice/Florence Italy. They were used for organizing and storage of money, as well as for loans and distribution of loans. Jewish people represented most of the people who owned banks/loaned money, but they would also charge interest which went against the Christian Church and Islam. This led to severe prosecution. -
1299
The Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire is known for being one of the most successful empires, lasting over 600 years. After taking over Constantinople in 1453, the Ottomans had control over a large portion of the old world. This gave them access to many trade routes and allowed them to conquer different places significantly faster. -
1451
The Colombian Exchange
The Colombian Exchange was a trade route from Europe and African coasts, also know as the old world, to the Americas, or new world. The spread of goods helped our country develop significantly faster than before, rapidly changing our culture in ways never seen before. Along with goods, diseases were brought which caused extreme amounts of damage. -
1491
Birth of Colombian Exchange
Colombus reached the Caribbean Ocean in 1491. This allowed for people to then travel to the Americas, increasing trade and spread of population. 6 years later the Portuguese traveled to India around the cape of Africa. They also set up posts on the Coast of Southern Africa in order to take control of water ways. This further increased trades between Europe and the Americas, allowing the the "Colombian Exchange" routes to be set in place. -
1526
Trans Atlantic Slave Trade
The Trans Atlantic Slave Trade was the movement of slaves to America during its economic boom. Although the Trans Atlantic Slave trade started in 1526, slavery and the selling of human beings has been dated back to very early human society. -
1529
Ethiopian Adal War
The Adal Sultanate invaded the Horn of Africa in an attempt to convert the Christian Ethiopians to Islam. This ended very poorly for the Adal Sultanate resulting in fractured Somali territories and strengthened Christianity among the Ethiopians. -
Trans-Atlantic Slave trade and Ties to Slavery In the Caribbean
After roughly 12.5 million slaves were brought from Africa to Mesoamerica, to the Caribbean. This was done so that slaves could work on the farming of cash crops such as tobacco and sugar cane. The conditions that the slaves had to live in lead to the death and suffering of many. -
The Dutch Control of East Indies
The Dutch East India company seized control of East Indies and many ports in India. The Dutch were very good at spreading overseas and controlling the flow of trade in the area. This quickly led to the Dutch Empire being one of the most formidable economic superpowers of its time. -
Anglo Spanish War
The Anglo Spanish war was between England and Spain. It was caused by a religious argument and over economic/colonial competition. It resulted in the growth of the English empire and forced some European powers to get involved in war. -
Galileo's Suggestion
In 1610 Galileo proposed the idea that the sun, rather than the earth was at the center of the solar system. This created a lot of controversy because the Roman church, as well as common citizens had always thought that the earth was at the center. -
The Enlightenment
The Enlightenment was a period of time in the late 1700's that allowed for the growth and development of many cultures, as well as governments. Many governments introduced the idea of basic human rights, which created a lot of controversy due to previous use of humans as labor in slavery. The enlightenment also introduced a lot of scientific development. -
Great Northern War
The Great Northern War was a competition for dominance over land in Northern and Eastern Europe. It was also caused by the war of Spanish Recession. It ended with Swedens power diminished and allowed for Russia's territory to expand towards the Baltic sea. -
Yaa Asantewaa, Queen Mother of Ejisu
Asante was the most powerful country in its region. Asante was a confederation, which meant that many of the states would have revolts/violent interactions somewhat frequently. -
De-Industrialization Of India
India stopped producing textiles and switched to farming cotton. This marked India's de-industrialization. -
Famine In India
Because India decided to begin farming cotton instead of producing textiles, many rice fields were replaced to farm cotton. This caused multiple famines as well as 30 million deaths. -
French Second Estate
Similar to the first Estate, the second Estate did not have to pay taxed. Controlling more of the land at about 25% the Second estate was made up of government officials, named the Nobility. The Second estate lived lavishly at 2% of the population. -
French Third Estate
Making up the remaining 97% of the population, the French 3rd Estate ranged from the middle class to peasants in the very bottom class. Artisans, Peasants, and members of the bourgeoisie as well as many other members of the working class took up this class. This was also the only class that was taxed. This made it so it was very difficult for them to exit the lower class, while an increase of population and economic demand made cost of living extremely high happened at the same time. -
The Great Fear
After raising awareness about the extreme poverty the 3rd estate was going through, the French Monarchy did nothing. This caused a riot among peasants, where they stormed the Bastille, a fortress in France. This was to gather weapons for a revolt. The raid ended the life of 98 peasants as well as the prison commander and many guards. The violence was dubbed the Great Fear. At the same time, 7 prisoners were released and many weapons were gathered, marking the beginning of the french revolution. -
French First Estate
The French First estate consisted of the Roman Catholic clergy. Making up the 1% of the population, Bishops, Abbotts, and Noblemen owned 5-10% of the land in France, and were not required to pay taxes. -
Responses to Industrial Imperialism
Hanoi, Vietnam, was heavily colonized by the French. The French accidentally released lots of rats during their colonization, so they would pay locals to kill them. They would use the rat tails as proof. Instead of killing the rats, locals would just cut off their tails and release the rats into the sewers to reproduce. This gave locals lots of money. -
Sepoys
Sepoys were natives to India that were employed by the British as military both inside as well as outside of India. -
EIC (East India Company)
The EIC was a company disguised as a southern Asia trading company, but it partook in a part the majority of Imperialism within India as well as other countries in Asia. -
Haitian Revolution
The Haitian revolution was a success, freeing all African slaves from their absurd living conditions. Although successfully eradicating slavery within Haiti, the new constitution established was very limiting. One example could be how the practice of Voodoo, the original religion within Haiti, was completely illegal. -
Opium Wars
The opium wars were two wars fought between the British and Chinese over regulations on the trade of Opium to China. -
Communist Manifesto
The communist manifesto is a multiple step plan for creating a communist society. This manifesto was influential because it made a basis different societies could follow to create a communist society. -
Peninsulares
The Peninsulares were people born in either Portugal or Spain. This group of people had the most significant jobs in their colonial governments or within the Roman Catholic Church. -
Creoles
Creoles were after peninsulares on the rank of power in Latin America. They were people who were born in Latin America with ancestry in Europe. They took up around 1/5th of the population and formed a sort of Aristocracy. -
Latin American Common People
The Latin American common people had very little political power and barely any wealth. The common people were mestizos, mulattoes, Africans, and Indians. Mestizos were Indian and European mixed while the mulattoes were African and European mixed. Many owned small farms/business, or rented farms from landlords. Indians were legally free but were not treated as such. -
Xhosa Cattle Killing Movement
The Xhosa Cattle Killing Movement came into place when a young girl in southern Africa explained how in a vision her divine ancestors told her that the village needed to kill all of their cattle and destroy all of their crops so the colonizers will leave. This resulted with widespread famine and poverty within Xhosa. -
Mokrani Revolt
The Mokrani revolt took place in Algeria between 1871-1872. They did not appreciate culture assimilation forced by the French. They decided to revolt with force, which failed. -
Indirect Rule
Indirect rule was used as a tactic for colonizers. This is where they would use local leaders under their control to rule over their colony. -
Causes of Industrial Imperialism
New developments with technology in Europe and Japan guided industrial imperialism significantly. Medicines allowed for safer and more productive travel while trains and steamships allowed for travel to be significantly faster. This allowed for people to move ideas a lot faster and provided a backbone for industrial imperialism. -
Boxers
The boxers were a group of rebels who's primary focus was getting foreigners of all kinds out of China. Their rebellion was supported by the Qing family. -
Desertification
Desertification is a term for the loss of moisture and vegetation in the soil of a designated area. This was used to describe areas where colonizers had abused the land caused infertile soil. -
Somaliland Campaign
A war between the British and the Dervish. The British defended Dervish attacks before defeating and contributing to the decline of Dervish in the horn of Africa. -
Oil
Oil is another word for petroleum liquids, primarily used to make fuel. Its significance comes from its boom in demand after WWI -
Maji Maji Rebellion
A rebellion in modern German East Africa where a group of rebels attacked German outposts. The Maji Maji were eventually defeated because of the German's more developed weapons. The Germans also destroyed many of their crops causing famine. -
Siege of Qingdao
The Siege of Qingdao was very important because it eliminated the German control over an extremely important port. The affects of this lead to significantly increased Japenese influence and control in the area. -
Zaian War
The Zaian war was a long lasting collection of battles between France, and the Zaian Confederation in the French protectorate of Morocco. The Zaian confederation was defending their lands from approaching French military. Lead to French Protectorate of Morocco. -
Kamerun Campaign
Between French and British allies and the defending Germans, the Kamerun campaign was set to eradicate German forces in the area as well as take control of the local colonies. Led to a successful control of the area. -
WWI
WWI was a war lasting 4 years that affected the world at a global scale. It's significance affected the control of various countries in Europe. -
Bolsheviks
The Bolsheviks party was the party that seized power after the Russian revolution. The Bolsheviks party's ideas and practices slowly became communism as we know it today. -
Russian Revolution
The Russian Revolution was an uprising of Russians due to the extreme conditions they had to face while working. After protesting for shorter work hours many Russians were slaughtered, leading to more protests until the the committee agreed to share power
with the Petrograd Soviet council. -
The Mexican Revolution
A revolution fighting for the return of land to the lower classes because of the extreme imbalance between rich and the poor. Many dictators were cycled through and were executed, also lead to Mexican presidents to not be allowed to run for a second term. -
Eugenics
Eugenics was an idea popularized in the 1930's through the 1940's fascists that there is a superior race. Eugenicists believed that certain races were diseases that needed to be eradicated. An idea of scientific racism that overwhelmed the world in WWII. -
The Great Depression
The Great Depression started after WWI when a series of unlucky financial situations brought the global economy to its knees. Significant because it leveled out the economy across the board leaving a large middle class. -
Social Darwanism.
Social Darwanism is the idea that the "survival of the fittest" applies to humans as well and that only the most superior race should survive. Significant because of its popularity during WWII and its similarity of reasoning to eugenics. -
The Holocaust
The Holocaust was the genocide of millions of people, but specifically European Jews. Other people were also targeted and killed due to their race, political beliefs,
disability, religion, or sexual orientation. This event is significant because of the level of destruction it caused in WWII. -
WWII
A global war starting in 1939 that devastated humanity and has left an lasting impact on the way our society functions today. Significant because of the destruction and death left in the wars wake. -
Genocide
Genocide is the planned killing of a specific group of people, typically due to their specific race or ethnicity. This idea is significant because of its popularity in the 1930's-1940's among Hitlers Nazi party. -
Aryan Race
The idea of the Aryan race came from Hitler's Holocaust, where he believed that the individuals who were racially pure germans, were superior. This idea was significant because it was a reason for Hitlers eradication of other races throughout Europe, primarily Jews. -
Extermination Camps
Extermination Camps were a place that Hitler and his party sent Jewish individuals to during WWII. The sole purpose of the camps were for the murder and cremation of Jews. In total 3 million Jews were killed over the course of two years. -
Good Neighbor Policy
The Good Neighbor Policy was implemented by the USA to prevent intervention in foreign affairs. Significant because it was not used by Washington during Guatemala's Communist Revolution. -
Irans Oil
Iran's Oil was extremely impactful because of the usefulness and the desire that came with it. It's significance came from other countries involvement in purchasing the land from Iran. Further political struggles arose from there. -
Algerian War
The Algerian War was fought between Algerian nationalists and French colonial forces, leading to Algeria gaining independence from France. Its significance is that it led to the independence of Algeria. -
Suez Canal
The Suez Canal was a canal in Egypt frequently used by Europeans to get to the Indian ocean. It's significance comes from the power dynamics that were affected between Europeans and others. -
Fidel Castro
Fidel Castro was a Cuban revolutionary leader who overthrew the government in 1959. He was known for his communist ideology, and his aggression with the United States. -
OPEC
Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) was formed between Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq, Venezuela, and Kuwait to nationalize their oil. The significance of OPEC comes from its success. -
Red Gaurds
The Red Guards were a military group of mostly teenagers employed by communist China to eradicate pre-communist China. Significant because of their use in China's cultural revolution. -
China's Cultural Revolution
A revolution set up by Mau Zedong to eradicate previous chinas capitalist ways and ideas. Significant because of the damage and death that came with it. A lot of capitalist traditions were lost in the revolution. -
The Oil Revolution
When OPEC nationalized their oil production they shifted their control of oil from western to eastern influence. It's significance comes from the eventual conflict that arose between Israel and a group of Arab
nations led by Egypt and Syria.