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The foundation of Jamestown and the new colony of Virginia
The colony of Virginia was the first English colony in the world; the name Virginia was first applied by Sir Walter Raleigh and Queen Elizabeth I in 1584. Tobacco became Virginia's first profitable export, and slaves were employed when the plantations grew and expanded. -
The Pilgrim Fathers landed in America
Pilgrims, or Pilgrim Fathers, is a name commonly applied to early settlers of the Plymouth Colony in present-day Plymouth, Massachusetts, who left England for religious and political freedom. The Pilgrims' story of seeking religious freedom has become a central theme of the history and culture of the United States. -
The First Industrial Revolution 1760-1820
It was the transition from the cottage industry and hand production methods to mechanical manufacturing processes, new chemical manufacturing and iron production processes, thanks to the invention of the steam engine and the increasing use of steam power. It brought about the rise of the factory system and urban growth of cities. Textiles were the dominant industry. The Industrial Revolution began in the United Kingdom and most of the important technological innovations were British. -
The American Revolution 1775/1783
The American Revolution was a political upheaval that took place between 1765 and 1783 during which the colonists of the thirteen American colonies rejected the British monarchy and aristocracy, overthrew the authority of Great Britain, and founded the United States of America. -
The American Civil War 1861/1865
The American Civil War, widely known in the United States as simply the Civil War, was a civil war fought from 1861 to 1865 to determine the survival of the Union or independence for the Confederacy. Seven Southern slave states individually declared their secession from the United States of America and formed the Confederate States of America, or the South, which was defeated by the North. Slavery was abolished by Lincoln with the Emancipation Proclamation. -
The Second Industrial Revolution 1870-1914
Also known as the Technological Revolution, it was based on the use of new energy sources such as gas and electricity and the introduction of Bessemer steel, which permitted the construction of large means of transport (boats, trains) and improved communication, and on industrial innovations such as early factory electrification, mass production and the production line. In the US the railway system and other means of transport permitted the Conquest of the West. -
The Long Depression
It was a worldwide price recession, beginning in 1873 and running through the spring of 1879. It was the most severe in Europe and the United States during the Second Industrial Revolution. It was mainly caused by financial movements and speculations in the railways investments which produced a bankrupt and a general deflation. It was labelled the "Great Depression" until the Great Depression of the 1930s. -
The European Diaspora 1881-1920
It consists of European people and their descendants who emigrated from Europe. Emigration from Europe began on a large scale during the European colonial empires of the 18th to 19th centuries. The diaspora is concentrated in countries such as the United States, Brazil, Argentina, Canada, Australia, Venezuela, and Uruguay. From 1815 to 1932, 60 million people left Europe (with many returning home), primarily to "areas of European settlement" in the Americas, Australia, New Zealand and Siberia. -
Gandhi's March to Johannesburg
Several events in South Africa were decisive in Gandhi's growth. Gandhi fought to obtain equal rights for Indian workers and fought also against racial prejudice in South Africa. As only Christian marriages were accepted by the courts, on 6th November 1913 the march began like a nonviolent protest and every married Hindus or Muslim protested against the new racial law. -
World War I 1914-1918
It was the first global war originating in Europe: more than 70 million military were mobilised in one of the largest wars in history. Over 9 million combatants and 7 million civilians died (including the victims of genocides), a casualty rate exacerbated by the belligerents' technological and industrial sophistication, and the trench warfare. It was one of the deadliest conflicts in history, and paved the way for major political changes, including revolutions in many of the nations involved. -
The Wall Street Crash and the Policy of New Deal
The Wall Street Crash of 1929, also known as Black Tuesday, was the most devastating stock market crash in the history of the United States: 12 million people out of work, 20 000 companies and 11 000 banks gone bankrupt. The crash signaled the beginning of the 10-year Great Depression that affected all Western industrialized countries. A way out was found by Peesident Roosvel, who passed the New Deal, a series of domestic programs enacted in the United States between 1933 and 1938. -
The Salt March
The Salt March, also known as Dandi March, was a march initiated by Mohandas Gandhi in favour of illegally produced salt from seawater. It began on 12th March 1930 and was a direct action campaign of tax resistance and nonviolent protest against the British salt monopoly in colonial India. -
World War II
The WWII, or Second World War, was a global war that lasted from 1939 to 1945 and involved many countries around the world; the US entered the conflict in 1941 and helped bring it to its end. It was marked by mass deaths of civilians, including the Holocaust, as never before.The first atomic bombs were used. -
The Cold War 1945-1991
The Cold War was a long period of tension between the democracies of the Western world, led by the United States, and Eastern Europe which was led by the Soviet Union. The United States and the Soviet Union tried to fight this war by demonstrating their power and technology. For example in the Arms Race, each side tried to have the best weapons and the most powerful nuclear bombs. The idea was that a large stockpile of weapons would deter the other side from ever attacking. -
The United Nations
It was founded by the five permanent members of the Security Council ( France, the Republic of China, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom and the United States ) and its main headquarters are in New York. It has six principal organs.
The UN aims at keeping peace throughout the world. They also wrote the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948, stating the recognition of human dignity of all people as the foundation of justice and peace in the world. -
Gandhi's Speech at the Inter-Asian Relation Conference
This speech was held in New Delhi in front of 20000 visitors, politicians, observers and it shows Gandhi's vision about the values and heritage of India compared to those of the Western world. -
The Independence of India
The Indian Independence Act (1947) was as an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that officially declared the Independence of India from the British rule and partitioned British India into the two new independent dominions of India and Pakistan. The Act received the royal assent on 18th July 1947, and Pakistan came into being on August 14, and India on August 15, as two new countries. -
The European Union
It originated from the Treaty of Paris in 1951, and in 1957 as the European Economic Community by the Treaty of Rome. It was renamed the European Union in 1993 by the Maastricht Treaty and became a unique institution with a proper constitution by the Treaty of Lisbon in 2009. It was designed to create a common market and to reduce tensions in the aftermath of World War II. Its main organs are: the Commission; the Council of Ministers; the European Parliament; the European Court of Justice. -
JFK's Inaugural Address
It establishes JFK's vision for the US about global unity, supporting freedom and human rights for all humankind. He gave a new course to history and began the policy of Détente with the Soviet Union, with the aim of breaking the Balance of Terror and stopping Cold War between the Eastern and Western Blocs.
This speech is one of the finest in American history. By invoking the American dream and extending its promise to the rest of the world, it was and is a powerful inspirational call to action. -
MLK's Speech 'I have a Dream'
This speech was held at the Lincoln Memorial after the March on Washington by Martin Luther King, who was an American Baptist minister, and leader in the African-American Civil Rights Movement. He is best known for his role in the advancement of civil rights using nonviolent civil disobedience based on his Christian beliefs and Gandhi’s teaching. This moving powerful speech is known all around the World and it's also considered one of the greatest speech in the history of humanity. -
The Protests of 1968
Throughout the 60s and culminating in 1968 all over the world there were events of protest, predominantly characterized by popular rebellions against military and bureaucratic elits, who responded with political repression. People protested for civil liberties, against racism, for feminism, against the Vietnam War and the use of biological and nuclear weapons. To remember: the May 1968 Protests in France, the Troubles in Northern Irland, the Civil Rights Movement in the US, the Prague Spring. -
The Tiananmen Square Protests-15th April 4th July 1989
The Tianamen square protest or massacre was a popular demonstration guided by the students who asked more civil liberty. This popular uprising occupied the square in the heart of Beijing for 7 weeks, whereupon it was repressed by the military who killed thousand of civilians. The Chinese government has prohibited all forms of discussion or remembrance of the events. -
The Fall of the Berlin Wall
The Berlin Wall was a barrier that divided Berlin from 1961 to 1989. Constructed by the German Democratic Republic (East Germany), starting on 13 August 1961, the Wall completely cut off (by land) West Berlin from surrounding East Germany and from East Berlin. The Wall served to prevent the massive emigration and defection that had marked East Germany and the communist Eastern Bloc during the post-World War II period. Its demolition officially began on 13 June 1990 and was completed in 1992. -
Mandela's Inaugural Speech
From 26th to 29th April 1994 the South African population voted in the first universal suffrage general elections. The African National Congress won, which meant the end of apartheid and of Afrikaner white minority’s rule. Nelson Mandela was elected as President on 9 May 1994 and formed a Government of National Unity, with FW De Klerk as his vice-presidents. The Rainbow Nation was born.
