Art, obsession, and identity
Every day, we're reminded of how past events shape our lives and the society we live in. From family to culture and the economy to religion, history has played an important role in all these sectors. Whether it was sudden, unseen, or planned, certain historical events have had a long-lasting impact, also affecting how we understand reality and our future.
From the invention of the Gutenberg printing press to the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand II, read through this gallery for the most important historical events that shaped our modern world. Click on.
Translated from Latin as the "Roman Peace," the Pax Romana was a period of relative peace within the Empire, which was a big change from the many wars and militarism.
Pax Romana was the period where the Empire's hegemony peaked. Commerce and industry were further developed, infrastructure was thriving, and the different nationalities withing the Empire found peace.
This epidemic of bubonic plague killed 30-60% of the entire population of Europe. It claimed anywhere from 75-200 million lives.
The huge death toll caused an extreme labor shortage, which meant wages got higher and there was a greater choice of work for peasants. The Black Death also helped break the absolute authority of the Catholic Church.
One of the most culturally- and architecturally-rich periods of world history, names like Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo made the Renaissance. This period provoked the rebirth of civilization after the Black Death, and pushed for knowledge in mathematics and astronomy.
It was a time when great minds questioned tradition and standing beliefs. The culture was secular, humanistic, and had a worldview in mind.
One of the most important inventions of the last 2,000 years, the Gutenberg printing press introduced movable type printing to Europe. It also revolutionized literacy and acted as a tool to spread knowledge.
Before the Gutenberg press, books were copied by hand and were very expensive. After the creation of this machine, prices dropped and books were no longer just for the rich. Gutenberg’s printing press changed the world and the everyday lives of people everywhere.
After a 53-day siege by the then 21-year-old Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II, Constantinople came to a fall. The Roman capital since 330 CE, it was a huge loss for Christianity.
After the Ottoman conquest, the city became a stronghold for Islam. Constantinople was renamed Istanbul and became the capital of Turkey until 1923.
The Reformation is more than just Martin Luther nailing his theses to the door of a church. It was actually a major sociopolitical movement, which questioned the Catholic Church and became an anti-feudal movement.
The Reformation separated many aspects of life, mainly the Church from the state. It also split culture, science, and the arts from Catholicism.
The historical effect of colonialism can still be felt across all the continents of the world. From the 16th century onward, several European nations set up colonies in Africa, Asia, and the Americas. This was when centuries of exploitation began.
Colonialism caused changes in culture, language, and society. It also resulted in millions of deaths as Europeans caused terror to the natives and the enslaved people.
In 1760, the Industrial Revolution first started in Great Britain, and soon spread to the rest of Europe after the French Revolution. Thus began the beginnings of modern capitalism.
The Industrial Revolution wasn’t just about machines and factory work. It also meant profound changes in all social relations, with the spread of new ideas based on science, logic, and reason.
The revolutionaries fighting for the independence of the Thirteen Colonies fought against the British monarchy and became a symbol against authority. And it didn't only impact the US.
The American Revolution shaped the next two centuries, giving birth to the United States and also inspiring the French Revolution and other revolutionary movements worldwide.
The French Revolution is incredibly important to world history. It set the stage for revolutionary uprisings and shaped the modern world, paving the way for capitalism.
It was a period of radical and political upheaval that transformed the social structures in every country. The French Revolution also introduced the concept of the republic to the world.
The American Civil War didn't just have implications for the continental US, but also for the slave-holding Confederacy stretching across international boarders. Slavery still existed in many countries, and Europeans were still active in the transatlantic slave trade.
However, everything changed when the Union won the war. The Republic was restored, and slavery was made illegal. This was a major blow to the global slave trade.
Today, a world without doctors or modern medicine is unimaginable. But there used to be a time when diseases were thought to be caused by evil spirits and were punishment for sinners. Thanks to the work of individuals like chemist Louis Pasteur, there was a wide acceptance of the germ theory of disease. This allowed for cures to be developed in the 19th century.
In 1928, Alexander Fleming invented penicillin as the first real antibiotic. It proved to be effective against many deadly bacterial infections. Public health measures were also passed around the world, as cities became larger and more prone to diseases.
The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand II of Austria sparked the beginning of World War I. Killed by Yugoslav nationalist Gavrilo Princip, Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia after the murder. This started a chain of events, as Germany declared war on France and Russia, and Britain declared war on Germany.
WWI was the first time modern lethal weapons, such as chemical weapons and tanks, were used in conventional warfare. Over nine million people were killed and several empires, like Germany, Austria, and Russia, were dismantled.
After the Russian Empire was overthrown by Vladimir Lenin’s Bolsheviks, a second revolution to overthrow the provisional government began. The overthrow immediately resulted in the world’s first self-proclaimed socialist state, the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic. This would later become the Soviet Union in 1922.
The October Revolution changed the course of WWI and set the stage for WWII. It later became an inspiration for communist revolutions in Mongolia, Cuba, China, and Vietnam.
World War II involved almost every nation on earth. With an estimated 50-80 million lives lost, it became the deadliest war in human history. The Holocaust alone saw some 11 million people murdered.
World War II changed the world forever. It ended European empires, created the United Nations, and saw the beginning of the Cold War.
Sources: (TheRichest) (Historyplex)
See also: Defining moments in black history
Important historical events that changed the world forever
They shaped the way we live today
LIFESTYLE History
Every day, we're reminded of how past events shape our lives and the society we live in. From family to culture and the economy to religion, history has played an important role in all these sectors. Whether it was sudden, unseen, or planned, certain historical events have had a long-lasting impact, also affecting how we understand reality and our future.
From the invention of the Gutenberg printing press to the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand II, read through this gallery for the most important historical events that shaped our modern world. Click on.