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Indian Independence
Through mostly non-violent partition, an example led by Mohandas Gandhi, India faced the empire of Great Britain, eventually gaining its independence. Three nations emerged from this: India, West Pakistan, and Bangladesh. -
Creation of Israel
Following the tragedies of World War II, the Balfour Declaration was passed, creating a home for the Jewish people in Palestine, an area previously identified as Jewish homeland. This area is known as Israel. -
Formation of NATO
Due to fears of Soviet agression, 12 nations (including the U.S. and Canada) formed a defensive alliance in 1949. This was called NATO, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. -
Formation of the Warsaw Pact
The Warsaw Pact was a counter-alliance formed by the Soviet Union and Eastern European nations in 1955, in response to West Germany joining NATO. -
Launch of Sputnik
In 1957, the Soviets launched Sputnik, the first unmanned satellite, using an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). The United States responded by launching their own satellite into space the following year, after pouring money into science education. -
Cuban Missile Crisis
Beginning on October 14, 1962, the Cuban Missile Crisis was a 13-day conflict between the United States and Soviet Union, when the U.S. discovered by spy plane that the Soviets were secretly building missile sites in Cuba. It posed a threat of nuclear war, but came to an end when the Soviets agreed to remove their missiles as long as the U.S. did not invade Cuba. -
Ayatollah Khomeini is Supreme Leader of Iran
Ayatollah Khomeini represented the religious authority of Iran, which challenged the Secular government of the Shah (which was supported by the United States) and defeated it. In the process, he took U.S. hostages for 444 days and ignited a continuing battle in the Middle East, specifically with Iraq. -
Assassination of Egytian President Sadat
On October 6, 1981, Egyptian President Anwar Sadat was assassinated in Cairo, Egypt by Islamic fundamentalists. They believed him to be a political pawn of the United States and its secular belief system, while they supported an Islamic state. -
Tiananmen Square Protest
From April 15 to June 4 in 1989, hundreds of thousands of Chinese civilians gathered in Tiananmen Square in China to voice their discontents and meet with the premiere for a political reform to end the Communist rule. China attempted to use force to end these protests, which resulted with a death toll of hundreds to thousands, and over 10,000 arrests. -
Fall of the Berlin Wall
When conditions became more harsh after East German borders closed due to travellers wandering to West Germany, protests erupted throughout the country. Eventually, stability was restored when the new leader of East Germany began allowing people to leave. This resulted in the collapse of the communist party.
