WORLD HISTORY

Prehistory

2.6 million years ago - In the Paleolithic Era, early humans gained awareness, developing tools, language, and methods for their nomadic hunting life.

8,000 BCE - Modern humans had spread in various continents, and they developed farming in the Agricultural Revolution. People began staying at fertile areas near bodies of water.

3,500 BCE - Because agriculture allowed settlement, it led to the creation of early cities, and therefore, civilization. The first of these was in Mesopotamia, around the area of what is now Iraq.

Ancient times

3,300 BC - The three-age system began, consisting of the Stone Age, the Bronze Age, and the Iron Age. Throughout these periods, civilizations had sprung up around the world. Each had great advancements in aspects like literature, authority, and trade.

3,100 BC - The first empire was established in Egypt. Many other empires then followed. With the growth of empires, the concepts of territory and military force became the major themes.

500 BCE - Cultures prospered largely, with the Greeks and Romans leading in the West, and the Chinese and Indians in the East.

5th century - Powers began to fall. The Roman Empire suffered religious conflicts, while Chinese dynasties were attacked by invaders. In contrast, Central America was developing with the rise of the Maya culture, while Islamic conquests resulted to the Islamic golden age.

1340s - The world fell prey to the Black Death, one of the most tragic pandemics for humanity.

Modern World

14th century - The European Renaissance marked a reawakening of cultures and recovery from societal deterioration.

1600 - Singular authorities ruled the major realms: the Ottoman Empire in the Middle East, the Mughal Empire in India, and the Ming Dynasty in China. Europe also rose and expanded across countries.

18th century - The Industrial Revolution kicked off, significantly modernizing technologies. At the same time, British and Dutch forces respectively gained power in parts of various continents, including the Americas and the East Indies. Other colonizers also expanded, and later on, colonies began fighting for autonomy.

1941 - World War I commenced. As a result, many of Europe's regimes were destroyed, communism arose in Russia, and fascist dictatorships held other European countries like Italy and Germany.

1939 - World War II commenced, triggered largely by sharp rivalries during the heavy economic troubles of the Great Depression. Dictatorships, mainly of Europe and Japan, and including Adolf Hitler's rule in Germany, were defeated, allowing communism to expand in Europe and Asia.

1945 - The United Nations was established after the two world wars.

1946 - A political, military, and economic tension developed between the two most influential nations, the United States and the Soviet Union. This was the beginning of the Cold War.

1991 - The Soviet Union disintegrated. The United States became the only superpower in the world.

Today - The greatest world wars may have ended, but across the globe, various conflicts still exist. Natural threats, such as climate change and resource scarcity, have also risen. Still, the 20th century saw giant leaps in science and social studies, dawning such developments as information technology.

INTRODUCTION:

In 1914, war broke out between two European alliances- Germany, Austria and Turkey (the central power) and France, Britain and Russia. Each country had a global empire and the war was fought outside Europe as well as in Europe. This was the First World War.

Soldiers from around the world, in Europe and its colonies, the U.S., Japan… fought on fronts that were located in the heart of Europe and in remote and exotic lands. In addition, the industrial powers were able to utilize their technologies to work for the war. The result was devastating. The suffering of the civilian population and soldiers reached limits that no one could conceive of in 1914.

Causes of the War:

• The new international expansionist policy undertaken by the German Emperor Wilhelm II in 1890.

• The change in the power balance between economic powers, with Britain frightened before the German industrial might and the naval rearmament, which was initiated by the government of Berlin.

• Conflicts between colonial powers in Africa and Asia.

• Territorial rivalry between France and Germany for the regions of Alsace and Lorraine.

• Rivalry between Russia and Austria-Hungary for the hegemony in the Balkans. Psychological rivalry between peoples, encouraged by nationalist propaganda campaigns. Hatred of the neighbor was more the norm than the exception.

• Finally, two non-European powers, the US and Japan, joined the group in the world hegemonic powers. The new war would have a global dimension.

Course of the war:

• 1882: Triple Alliance Bismarck, German Chancellor (1871-1890) and skilled diplomat, built a complex wed of international treaties whose key element was the triple alliance (1882) linking Germany with Austria-Hungary and Italy.

• 1893: Franco-Russia Alliance. The aggressive policy of Kaiser Wilhelm II led to the signing of military agreement, which established mutual military assistance against Germany.

• 1905-1906: The first Moroccan crisis. William II, on a visit to Tangiers, Morocco, proclaimed the German opposition to French colonization of Morocco. This challenge precipitated the convening of an international conference in Algeciras (1906).

• 1907: Anglo-Russian agreement. Under pressure from France, an ally of both powers, and growingly suspicious of German expansionism, Britain and Russia finally settled their colonial differences in Central Asia. This agreement laid the foundations of one block that would fight in World War 1.

• 1912-1913: The Balkan Wars. Two successive Balkan wars that involved Turkey, Serbia, Greece, Montenegro and Bulgaria concluded with the Treaty of Bucharest in 1913.

• 1914: The assassination of Sarajevo. June 28, 1914 Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, was assassinated in Sarajevo (Bosnia). Gavrilo Princip, a member of the Serbian terrorist organization "Black Hand" was the assassin. Its diplomatic commitments and the crisis quickly went from a local incident to a general war in Europe.

• 1914: The start of the war. The terrorist attack in Sarajevo was the spark that started the fire of the First World War. This is a summary of the sequence of events that led to war.

Results of the war:

• Massive loss of public money – Around six and a half Crore soldiers from both sides participated in the First World War. Out of this, 1 Crore 30 Lakhs soldiers were killed. 20 million soldiers were injured. Out of these 70 Lakhs soldiers were disabled. A large number of people were killed by massacres, starvation, and disease. Both sides spent one trillion and six billion dollars on this war.

• After this Great War many changes were made on the world map by peace treaties. Democratic states were established in all these states.

• World War I increased America’s power and political influence.

• After the First World War, the competition of armament in place of neutralization was encouraged.

• One of the main reasons for the First World War was the lack of any international organization.

Germany, a powerful empire in the early years of the 20th century, fought the First World War (1914-1918) alongside the Austrian empire and against the Allies (England, France , and Russia.) all joined the war enthusiastically hoping to gain from a quick victory. Little did they realize that the war would stretch on, eventually draining Europe of all its resources. Germany made initial gains by occupying France and Belgium. However the Allies, strengthened by the US entry in 1917, won, defeating Germany and the central powers in November 1918.

The defeat of Imperial Germany and the abdication of the emperor gave an opportunity to parliamentary parties to recast German polity. The National Assembly met Weimar and established a democratic institution with a federal structure. Deputies were now elected to the German Parliament , on the basis of equal and universal votes cast by all adults including women’s .

The peace treaty of Versailles with the Allies was harsh and humiliating peace. Germany lost its overseas colonies, a tenth of its population, 13 percent of its territories, 75 percent of its iron and 26 percent of its coal to France, Poland, Denmark and Lithuania. The Allied powers demilitarized Germany to weaken its powers. The war guilt clause held Germany responsible for the war and damages the Allied countries suffered. Germany was forced to compensation amounting £6 billion. The Allied armies also occupied the resources-rich Rhineland for much of the 1920s.

Russian Revolution :

The Russian Revolution of 1917 was a series of political events in Russia, involving first the overthrow of the system of autocracy, and then the overthrow of the liberal Provisional Government ( Duma), resulting in the establishment of the Soviet power under the control of the Bolshevik party. This eventually led to the establishment of the Soviet Union, which lasted until its dissolution in 1991.

The Revolution can be viewed in two distinct phases:

The February Revolution of 1917, which displaced the autocracy of Tsar Nicholas II of Russia, the last effective Tsar of Russia, and sought to establish in its place a liberal republic.

The October Revolution, in which the Bolshevik party and the workers' Soviets, led by Vladimir Lenin, overthrew the Provisional Government. While many notable historical events occurred in Moscow and St. Petersburg, there was also a broadly based movement in the rural areas as peasants seized and redistributed land.

Causes of the Russian Revolution:

1917 saw two distinct revolutions in Russia: the overthrow of the Tsarist regime and formation of the Provisional Government ( February Revolution), and the October Revolution in which the Bolsheviks overthrew the Provisional Government. The causes of these two revolutions encompass Russia’s political, social, and economic situation.

Politically, the people of Russia resented the autocracy of Tsar Nicholas II and the corrupt and anachronistic elements in his government.

Socially, Tsarist Russia stood well behind the rest of Europe in its industry and farming, resulting in few opportunities for fair advancement on the part of peasants and industrial workers.

Economically, widespread inflation and food shortages in Russia contributed to the revolution.

Militarily, inadequate supplies, logistics, and weaponry led to heavy losses that the Russians suffered during World War I; this further weakened Russia’s view of Nicholas II. They viewed him as weak and unfit to rule. Ultimately, a combination of these four, coupled with the development of revolutionary ideas and movements (particularly since the 1905 Bloody Sunday Massacre) led to the Russian Revolution.

RUSSIAN CIVIL WAR:

Civil War broke out in Russia in late 1917 after the Bolshevik Revolution. The warring factions included the Red and White Armies. The Red Army fought for the Lenin’s Bolshevik government. The White Army represented a large group of loosely allied forces, including monarchists, capitalists and supporters of democratic socialism. The Russian Civil War ended in 1923 with Lenin’s Red Army claiming victory and establishing the Soviet Union.

ROLE OF LENIN:

• When the Mensheviks under Kerenskii lost popular support, Lenin on his return from exile organized the Bolshevik Party to take over the reins of the government.

• He put forward clear policies to end Russia’s participation in World War I, transfer of land to tiller, and popularized the slogan “All power to the soviets”.

• He proclaimed the right of all people, including those under the Russian Empire to self-determination. On November 7, 1917, with the fall of Kerenskii’s government, Lenin became the head of the world’s first communist state.

• He organized the economy like an army. On orders from the high command state appointed managers operated various functions of the economy.

• Foreign capital was welcomed for the development of state industries. This helped to revive the Russian economy and improvement in the condition of the common people.

• Lenin succeeded in destroying the feudal structure in Russia and establishing the world’s first communist state.

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE RUSSIAN REVOLUTION:

The events of the Russian Revolution that brought the Soviet Union about had a deep impact on the entire world. It generated a new way of thinking about economy, society and the government. The Bolsheviks set out to cure Russia of all its injustices that arouse from social class differences. They succeeded in some ways. Even still, the revolution marked the end of a dynasty that had lasted 300 years and concluded with the seizure of power by a small revolutionary group. The tsar was replaced with a Council of People’s Commissars and private ownership was abolished. The Communist movement began to grow worldwide, which frightened the capitalist world. Although the strength of Communism did not last, because it existed at all is proof that the Russian Revolution was a major event of the twentieth century.