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The Salt March
The Salt March, which took place from March to April 1930 in India, this protest was an act of civil disobedience which was led by Mohandas Gandhi to protest British rule in India. During the march, thousands of Indians followed Gandhi from his religious retreat near Ahmedabad to the Arabian Sea coast, which was a distance of 240 miles. -
France In May
Beginning in May 1968, a period of civil unrest occurred throughout France, lasting some seven weeks and punctuated by demonstrations, general strikes, as well as the occupation of universities and factories. At the height of events, which have since become known as May 68, the economy of France came to a halt. -
Earth Day
Earth day was first held in the U.S. in 1970 to channel calls for a healthier, more sustainable environment. Democrat Senator Gaylord Nelson had seen the damage of an oil spill and took recent anti war protests as a template for action. His idea of a day of demonstrations to highlight the environment soon took off and on April 22, designated Earth Day, over 20 million people took to the streets of tens of thousands of places across the U.S. -
People's Protest
From February 22 to 25, 1986, hundreds of thousands of Filipinos gathered on Epifanio de los Santos Avenue to protest President Ferdinand Marcos
The People Power Revolution surprised and inspired anti-authoritarian activists around the world.
After declaring martial law in 1972. Marcos had tens of thousands of opponents arrested and thousands tortured, killed, or disappeared. -
Tianamen Square
An unknown man, alone in front of tanks at Tiananmen Square in China, became one of the best known symbols of defiance of the 20th century. His solitary stand was a final act of a populist protest which at one point brought around a million people together to demand more freedoms in the Communist country -
The Baltic Way
On the evening of Aug. 23, 1989, millions of people formed a human chain over 400 miles long across Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia. This protest was intended to be a visible but peaceful symbol of protest against the Communist regimes which ruled the countries. It was over within hours but its impact was almost immediate. -
Anti-Iraq Protest
On Feb. 15, 2003, millions of people marched in over 600 cities against the plans of the U.S. President George W which was to invade Iraq. In Rome alone, 3 million people took part in the protest. But weeks later, The invasion of Iraq began. -
Women's March
When retired lawyer, Teresa Shook, put out a Facebook call to action following the victory of Donald Trump in the 2016 Presidential race, she began a chain of events that would lead to the biggest one-day protest in U.S. history. She was joined by millions more across the US. Official estimates put turn out at around 1.5% of the total population of the country. That same day, Jan. 21, 2017, "sister" marches across the world brought out hundreds of thousands in support. -
George Floyd and Black Lives Matter Protest
The murder of one man led to a mass protest that quickly spread around the world. The killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, on May 25, 2020, caused a wave of anger that soon saw mass demonstrations involving millions of people. George Floyd died after police officer Derek Chauvin knelt on his neck for over nine minutes during an arrest. Within 48 hours of his death, thousands of protesters were on the streets of American cities, lying on the floor and chanting "I can’t breathe," -
Indian Farmers Protest
In early Dec. 2021, tens of thousands of farmers in India who had been protesting against planned changes to laws around their produce agreed to go home. It brought to an end demonstrations that had seen around 250 million people take to the streets. Narendra Modi had been forced to climb down after 18 months of action. Farmers said it would leave them at the mercy of big businesses. With around half the population involved in agriculture, the possible impact was huge.