-
France's three Estates
In the 1700s, France had three classes of society. The first was the Catholic Clergy (the first estate). Making up 1% of the population, the estate was split into the high and low clergy, with bishops and abbots and parish priests. The nobility was the second estate, and made up 2% of the population. They lived grand lifestyles in lavish homes on inherited land. The third estates made up 97% of the population and included peasants, merchants, artisans, and the bourgeoisie. -
Period: to
Industrial Revolution
During the 1700s and 1800s many new inventions and innovations were made, which lead to a significant change in the way of European and American life. New machinery allowed for more production, and industries boomed. Some influential people were James Hargreaves, who invented a more efficient spinning wheel in 1760 and Richard Arkwright, who invented a water-powered spinning wheel in 1768. Eli Whitney, an American, invented the cotton gin. -
Start of the French Revolution and Storming of Bastille
Due to social unrest in France in the late 1700s, a huge mob of peasants surround Bastille prison in an attempt to steal weapons to protect the National Assembly (the third Estate's legislative body along with supporters from other estates). They freed 7 prisoners, but 98 peasants were killed along with the prison commander and some soldiers. This marked the beginning of the French Revolution and sparked the Great Fear, a wave of violence that spread throughout the country. -
Period: to
Napoleon and the beginnings of Nationalism
In 1795, Napoleon was a great French general. In 1804, he named himself Emperor and promoted Enlightenment ideals. In 1805, France was defeated by Britain, Napoleon set up Continental system, which failed. By 1812, he controlled most of Europe. People resented his rule, having to pay taxes, and serving the army. Nationalism grew popular. They wanted freedom of ruling their own nation; they wanted to be independent. 1811, Russia began trade w/Britain. 1814, Napoleon's Empire defeated. -
Ending of the French Revolution
In 1795, the Assembly Confederation wrote a new contribution that brought the government under the wealthy middles classes' rule. The constitution put power into five male directors. The directory was ruled with a two house legislature. It used its army to put uprising to a stop, but the Directory soon turned out to be inept, and the French turner toward a new leader, Napoleon Bonaparte. -
William Wilberforce and Lord Shaftesbury
During the 1700s and early 1800s, a series of religious awakenings swept through the Protestant churches. The outcome was Evangelism, a movement that joined personal faith with social improvement. William Wilberforce, a key leader, opposed slavery and had a bill passed in 1807 that ended the British Slave Trade. In 1833, a year after his death, slavery in Britain was abolished completely. Lord Shaftesbury helped bring about laws to limit work hours for women and children. -
The Beginnings of Socialism
During the Industrial Revolution, workers were exploited. There was long hours, hard work, and little pay. People started to believe that the only way to fix that was by throwing out capitalism and advocating for socialism. This was lead by leaders like Robert Own, Karl Marx, and Friedrich Engles. -
Authors of the 19th century
The Bronte sisters, Charlotte and Emily Bronte, are some of the most accomplished classical authors of their time. They created works such as, Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights. -
Period: to
Age of Imperialism
The world was almost fully controlled by a handful of European countries and the U.S. by the end of the 1800s. Countries had expanded, and this age was called Imperialism. Countries implemented imperialism by creating colonies, a territory which was ruled by colonial officials, protectorates, which had their own government but were still influenced by a foreign power, and spheres of influence, which was a region in which the imperial power had certain trading rights. -
Start of WWI
In July, 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated. And by August, many major European powers were in a full-scale war. One cause of the war was long-standing rivalries between nations, which led to hostile competition and goals that sometimes clashed with one another. Nationalism, most prominent with the Austria-Hungarian Slavs, caused internal uprising. Militarism led to comparison of armies and conscription in many nations. And alliances between nations brought about further tension. -
End of WWI
World War I ended on Nov 11, 1918 when Germany signed the armistice agreement. In total, 20 million people were killed. Some important events were when the Archduke was assassinated in 1914, when the Lusitania was sunk in 1915, the Zimmerman Telegram of 1917, and when the U.S. entered the war in 1917. -
Period: to
The arrival of Mussolini, Hitler, Franco, and Japan after WWI
Mussolini was a fascist who appealed to all the people in Italy and made promises to make Italy great again. Hitler also preached of making Germany great again and of how the Germans were superior. Franco lead the Spanish nationalists in the civil war of the 30s, and was aided by the Germans and Italians. All these leaders caused much bloodshed. Meanwhile, Japan attacked China and took over Manchuria, left the League of Nations, and killed over 200,000 Chinese civilians in the city of Nanjing -
Period: to
Start and End of WWII
WWII started with Germany's invasion of Poland on Sep1, 1939. It was fought between the Axis Powers (Japan, Germany, Italy) and the Allied Powers (Great Britain, the Soviet Union, the U.S., > China) The U.S. didn't enter until Pearl Harbor. Axis victory was looking pretty sure until the Soviet victory in 1942. Following that was D-Day in 1944, the U.S. bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945, and V-J Day on Sep 2, 1945. This was the bloodiest war in history with 55 mil dead. -
United Nations becomes established
After WWII, the Allies replaced the League of Nations with the United Nations, an international organization whose purpose was to prevent further wars, resolve world issues, and promotes peace by ensuring security. In April of 1945, delegates from 50 countries gathered in San Francisco and drafted the UN charter (completed the following June). The UN's headquarters were in New York City, and the first sessions were in 1946. -
European Union
The Common Market broader its activities to include political and financial affairs. The members met in the Netherlands in 1992, and signed the Treaty of Maastricht, and became known as the European Union. Their goal was to establish closer ties. Later, seven nation members allowed citizens to pass from one to another without a passport.