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Period: 1492 to
Colonialism
Motivated by the three G's, God, gold and glory, the European empires massively influenced the modern global map. The Continents of North America, South America, Africa, Indonesia, and Australia have been at the receiving end of European imperialist colonialism and many of the countries that exist in those regions were birthed from those foreign influences. Many countries are a product of European influence and have shaped the modern map as such. -
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World War I
The influence of World War I and World War II have not only shifted political boundaries massively but have also resulted in the assimilation of countries in the Persian Gulf. World War I collapsed the Ottoman and Russian Empire which had to be redrawn. -
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Communist Revolutions
Revolutions within developing and first world powers has changed the drawing of maps during the 21st century. Countries such as Russia, China, North Korea, and Cuba have changed their political boundaries and government because of coups and revolutions launched under the banner of communism. Failed examples include developing African and South American countries. -
World War II
World War II began the prominence of modern day Israel, the expansion of the Soviet Union, and the destruction of the Third Reich. Political, economic, ethnic, and cultural destruction massively updated the political geography of Europe. -
Decolonization: Modern Colonial Independence Movements
During the first year of its conception, the United Nations advocated for the independence of exploited nations and in turn birthed the decolonization movement. Though Independent, decolonized nations now faced the problems left behind from decades of oppression as the vacuum left in the wake of independence was filled by transnational corporations. The term Neocolonialism was coined to label the control over developed countries through economic, political and cultural power. -
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The Cold War
The conflict between capitalist power United States and the Soviet Communist Powers of the Soviet Union resulted in many satellite state wars and eastern European expansion. Soviet expansion continued into Eastern Europe and even into Scandinavia where smaller countries were assimilated under the Soviet banner. -
Civil War: Developing Countries
Cultural and economic conflicts set the groundwork for civil wars to take place, especially in developing countries where social and class cohesiveness is at its lowest. A prominent example is the Rwandan Genocide, where ethnic cleansing resulted in the deaths of over 1 million civilians. -
Collapse of Soviet Union
The collapse of the Soviet Union resulted in the independence of many European and Eastern European nations. Germany, where the line was drawn physically between Capitalist and Soviet factions via the Berlin Wall, had become independent and rid itself of Soviet influence.