The Enlightenment A wave of scientific discovery swept through Europe in the 1600s and 1700s Explorers mapped the world. Christopher Columbus, Magellan, John Cabot Astronomers mapped the solar system. Copernicus – Suggested the Earth revolved around the sun. Philosophers used reason to observe the world around them. John Locke, Thomas Hobbs As a result people began to question the authority of Kings and the Church.

Industrial Revolution During the 1800s the western civilizations became industrialized, or changed from an agricultural society so a industrial one. From 1760 to 1830 Britain began using steam powered innovations, a new idea, device, or method, to perform actions normally done by humans. As a result less people were needed to farm so many people moved to the cities for work. Alliances shifted too, France and England became closer as Germany gained military power.

World War I 1914 – 1918 Started because of rivalries between nations and secret alliances. The spark that started the fighting was when Archduke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated by Serbian nationals. Due to many different nations promising to support each other in secret eventually everyone was pulled into the fighting. Between 1914 and 1918 around 37 million people died in the fighting.

World War I pt 2 Due to advancements in warfare trench warfare was the main style used. The war ended with the Treaty of Versailles. The treaty blamed Germany for the starting the war, despite it having nothing to do with the start. Germany would be forced to pay out reparations for damages.

World War II The German economy was wrecked by the defeat in the war. Germans believed that they were punished too harshly for the war. A political radical named Adolf Hitler used the people’s anger and fear to build a party called the Nazi Party. By 1933 he was elected the dictator of Germany.

The Holocaust The Nazis believed Germans were the superior race of people. As a result anyone that wasn’t of German decent, mainly Jews, were deemed undesirable and needed to be terminated. By the end of the second World War Hitler and the Nazi party were responsible for over 6 million Jewish deaths.

World War II The Axis Powers: Germany, Italy, and Japan The Allied Powers: Britain, France, Russia, China, and the United States Fighting waged all over Europe, in Africa, and in the Pacific. Due to Allied efforts they forced Germany to surrender on May of 1945 after Hitler killed himself. The war fully and finally ended after the US dropped the atomic bombs on Japan in August 1945. Total world wide death toll: Between 40 – 60 Million.

Cold War After the War the two strongest nations to emerge was the Soviet Union (Russia) and the United States. Due to opposing ideologies, a system of ideas or beliefs, the two counties threatened each other with war. Both sides stockpiled nuclear weapons in preparations for war. For more than 40 years the two countries squared off with each other ready to fight but never following through. The Cold War ended in 1991 with the collapse of the Soviet Union.