Last reviewed 22 Sept 2026 · 4 min read
Renaissance and exploration
The Renaissance (14th–16th centuries) revived classical learning in Italy — Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Copernicus, Galileo. Gutenberg's printing press (c. 1450) spread the new ideas. Voyages followed: Columbus (1492) reached the Americas, Vasco da Gama (1498) India, and Magellan's expedition (1519–22) circled the globe. The Reformation began with Martin Luther in 1517.
Three revolutions
| Revolution | Years | What it established |
|---|---|---|
| English (Glorious) | 1688 | parliamentary supremacy over the crown; Bill of Rights 1689 |
| American | 1775–83 | independence from Britain; Declaration of Independence 4 July 1776; written constitution 1787 |
| French | 1789 | liberty, equality, fraternity; end of feudal privilege; Declaration of the Rights of Man |
The French revolution began with the fall of the Bastille on 14 July 1789, passed through the Reign of Terror, and ended in Napoleon's rise; he was finally defeated at Waterloo (1815), after which the Congress of Vienna redrew Europe.
Industrial Revolution
Began in Britain around 1760, with coal, iron, the steam engine (James Watt), textile machinery and later railways. Consequences: urbanisation, the factory system, child labour, trade unions, and the rise of capitalism and, in reaction, socialism — Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels published the Communist Manifesto in 1848.
Unifications
- Italy (1861–70): Mazzini (idea), Cavour (diplomacy), Garibaldi (the Red Shirts).
- Germany (1871): Otto von Bismarck, "blood and iron", after wars with Denmark, Austria and France.
The World Wars
| First World War | Second World War | |
|---|---|---|
| Years | 1914–1918 | 1939–1945 |
| Immediate cause | assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand at Sarajevo | German invasion of Poland, 1 September 1939 |
| Sides | Allies vs Central Powers | Allies vs Axis |
| Turning points | entry of the USA, 1917 | Stalingrad, 1942–43; D-Day, 6 June 1944 |
| End | armistice 11 November 1918 | Germany surrendered May 1945; Japan in August 1945 after Hiroshima (6 August) and Nagasaki (9 August) |
| Settlement | Treaty of Versailles, 1919; League of Nations | United Nations, 1945; division of Germany |
The League of Nations (1920) failed for want of enforcement and of American membership; the United Nations was founded on 24 October 1945 with 51 original members, a Security Council of five permanent members with a veto, and the General Assembly.