When was the American Revolution?



By the year 1763 more than two million British colonists were living in North America. Their main ambition was to be able to govern themselves. Britain, however, had different ideas about her colonies, because they were an important market for trade. The British government were concerned about who was going to pay for the forces that were still stationed to protect North America. The answer was the colonists themselves through new and increased taxes.



The Americans had never been taxed before and protested loudly. They had no-one to put their case to the parliament in London, so they took direct action. By 1775 the whole colony was in a state of rebellion. This was the opening of America’s struggle for freedom.










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In July 4, 1776, representatives of the 13 colonies signed a Declaration of Independence. This broke off all political connections with Britain.




 



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When was Australia discovered?



In 1768, the British government sent an expedition to find the mysterious southern continent. Its leader was James Cook, and his ship was a small but tough vessel called Endeavour. After visiting the island of Tahiti, Cooked sailed southwards and then west until he sighted an unknown land. It turned out to be New Zealand. The Endeavour sailed on, searching for the east coast of Australia. By 1770 Cook reached the coast of what he knew to be Australia. He followed it northwards until he found a suitable place to land. He called this Botany Bay.










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In 1776, Cook set sail to find a sea passage from the Pacific round the north of America to the Atlantic, he blocked his way. He was the first European to reach Hawaii, where he was killed in 1779.




 



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When did peter become tsar of Russia?



Peter the Great was a giant figure, well over 2 m tall, and full of violent energy. When he became tsar of Russia in 1696, he was determined to use all his energy to make Russia a strong and modern state.



After many years of civil war, invasion and bloodshed, Russia had just begun a slow progress out of its backward and primitive past. Under the new tsar, this progress became far more rapid.



Peter himself spent years touring western Europe to find out for himself how other countries were won. He was also a great builder. He built roads, canals and introduced modern methods to mining and other industries.










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The beautiful city of St Petersburg lives beside the River Neva. Its magnificent Winter Palace was the winter home of the tsars. As a result of working in the difficult marshy conditions, thousands of peasants died while building Peter the Great’ new city.




 



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When was the Civil War in Britain?



In the year 1603, Britain had a new king James I. He was the first of the Stuart monarchs, and ruled not only England and Wales, but also Scotland. James believed strongly that God had given kings their right to govern, and no one could question this authority. James’s arrogant views and conduct made him very unpopular with his subjects. His son Charles I, who followed him to the throne in 1625, was even less popular. Soon Britain was split by civil wars.



Charles wanted to rule without consulting parliament but he was faced with enormous rebellion. Enraged by this, Charles tried to arrest five members of parliament for treason. The action made him hated all the more and he was forced to flee to London. By August 1642 he had declared war on the parliamentary supporters (known as ‘Roundheads’).










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A Roundhead helmet. Oliver Cromwell reorganized the Roundhead forces into a professional force known as the ‘New Model Army’.




 



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When was the Thirty Years’ War?



The last and biggest religious war began in Germany in 1618 and continued until 1648. This very messy conflict became known as the Thirty Years’ War.



The war started in a dramatic way. Protestants in Bohemia (now part of the Czech Republic) were angry with their new king, Ferdinand. He was a member of the powerful Spanish Habsburg family, and wanted to restore Bohemia to the Catholic faith. The Protestants banded together and threw some Catholic officials from the upstairs window in Prague Castle.



The incident sparked off a civil war in Bohemia. In 1619 the rebels expelled Ferdinand and chose a new king, the Protestant Frederick.










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When the Protestant threw the Catholic officials out of the window of Prague Castle, it became known as the ‘Defenestration of Prague’.




 



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When did the great nations of Europe emerge?



After about 1450, the great nations of Europe began to emerge. For most of their history they had consisted of small warring states, or had been invaded by powerful neighbours. Now things were changing fast.



The connection between France and England was broken at last. Spain and Portugal grew stable enough to found their great seagoing empires. Germany (part of the Holy Roman Empire) had strong leaders from the Habsburg dynasty.



The marriage in 1492 of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain helped to unite the two strong Christian kingdoms of Aragon and Castile. Ferdinand and Isabella also completed the great ‘reconquest’ of Spain from Muslim control, which had begun over 400 years earlier.










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Unlike Spain, Italy remained a divided country, split up into several states rules by different powers. In the north were the wealthy city-states, such as Florence, Milan and Urbino. The crest belongs to the Sforza family, who ruled over Milan.




 



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When was the Hundred Year’s War?



The 14th century was filled with wars. The longest and most exhausting of these wars was between England and France. It lasted, on and off, until the middle of the 1400's, and is known as the Hundred Years’ War. It actually spanned from 1337 until 1453, by which time the French, inspired by Joan of Arc, had driven the English from Maine, Gascony and Normandy the war was finally won. The conflict was a very complicated one. The Plantagenet kings of England also ruled a large part of France, while the rest belonged to the king of France. Both kings wanted to be the sole ruler of a united country.



There were plenty of other reasons for the war. The French supported the Scots in their struggle against England. The English, in turn, claimed the throne of France when Charles IV died in 1328 and left no heirs.










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English troops lay siege to the French town of Troyes. The city gates have been shut and barred against them. English officials are trying to persuade the leaders of Troyes to surrender.




 



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When was the era of Genghis Khan?



In the year 1167, a child called Temujin was born on the desolate plains of Mongolia. When the boy was nine, his father was murdered and his family was left poor and friendless. From this grim beginning Temujin grew up to become one of the world’s greatest conquerors. He was hailed by the Mongols as Genghis Khan – the ‘Universal Ruler’.



In 1206, Genghis Khan became leader of all the Mongol people, and began to build his astonishing empire. He was a ruthless warrior, destroying entire cities and their populations during his conquests. Yet he succeeded in keeping the peace.



Genghis Khan died of a fever in 1227, but the Mongols continued to build up the empire.










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The Mongols lived on the flat, grassy steppes of Asia, wandering with their herds of sheep, goats and cattle. They carried their tent like felt homes, called yurts, around with them. The Mongols were tough and violent, and splendid horse riders.




 



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When was the Norman Conquest?



William of Normandy ruled England from AD 1066 to 1087. He claimed that Edward the Confessor promised him the throne in AD 1051. He also said that Harold (who was shipwrecked in France in AD 1064) had sworn to accept this.



The story of William’s invasion and the battle of Hastings on October 14, 1066, is told in 72 scenes in the Bayeux Tapestry. After the crucial battle William declared himself king. The English nobles lost their lands and French became the language of government. William and his barons built castles to guard their new land. A new age was beginning.










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In AD 1085 William I ordered a survey of land in England. The findings were written down in the Domesday Book (Domesday means ‘Day of Judgement’). It is the best record we have of life in England at that time.




 



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When did the Vikings progress through Europe?



The Vikings came from Scandinavia (Norway, Denmark and Sweden). Their homelands offered little spare farmland for a growing population, so many Vikings went abroad in search of new lands. The Vikings were farmers, but also fierce warriors, and their first impact on western Europe was a violent one. They began to sail across the North Sea in the late AD 700's, raiding the coasts of Britain and mainland Europe. They raided churches and towns, carrying off loot and slaves, their raids caused panic, and rulers tried to buy off the invaders with gold. This, however, only encouraged the Vikings to come back for more.










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Decorative brooches such as this were used by both Viking men and women to hold their outer garments (cloaks and tunics) in place.




 



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When was the start of Saxon Britain?



In the late AD 300 s the Roman army was hard pressed to fight off waves of barbarian invasions. Troops in distant outposts, such as the British Isles, were needed to defend the empire, and by AD 410 the last Roman soldiers had left England for mainland Europe. Without the Roman army to protect them, the Roman Britons of England were unable to prevent these mercenaries, and any new bands of invaders, from taking over land they wanted. The newcomers were a mixture of people – Angles, Saxons, Jutes, Frisians – who became known as the ‘English’. The invaders came to England to find land to farm. They were well armed and tough, and drove away many Britons, who moved into western England.










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Treasures unearthed from a burial site of Sutton Hoo, Suffolk, included a gold belt, a sword and shield, an iron helmet, and several items of jewels. Finally there was a scepter and standard which must have belonged to the dead King Redwald.




 



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When was the biggest growth of the Muslim empire?



The advance of Islam seemed unstoppable in the late 600 s. The Byzantine and Persian empires could not halt the armies of Islam, and nor could Egypt. By AD 700 Muslims controlled most of the North African coast and ships patrolled the Mediterranean Sea and Indian Ocean. Muslims from Morocco invaded Spain, but the advance of Islam into Western Europe was stopped in AD 732 by the Frankish army of Charles Martel.



Under the Ummayad family rule there were four classes of citizens: Arabian Muslims; new converts; Christians, Jews and Mandaens (a Persian sect); and slaves. The new converts included people from Egypt, Syria, a Persia and Asia Minor. They adopted Arab ways, but brought to the Arabs a wealth of new learning in philosophy, medicine, art and science.










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The crescent moon and star became important symbols in Islam, and were often incorporated into architecture and other designs.




 



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When was the start of the Islam faith?



In the first centuries after Christ, Christianity spread from Palestine into North Africa, Asia Minor and across Europe. Further east, many people in the Arabian Peninsula were still pagans, worshipping ancient gods. In this region, during the 600 s, there arose a new religion called Islam.



Islam had its roots in the Hebrew-Christian belief in one God, and its prophet was Muhammad (AD 570-632). Through Muhammad’s Mecca became the holiest city of Islam. Muhammad’s teachings appear in the Koran, the holy book of the Islam.










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The people of Arabia traded by camel caravans, which broke their journeys at an oasis.




 



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When was Hadrian’s Wall built?



Hadrian’s Wall was built in AD 122 to defend the northern frontier of Roman Britain. It acted as a checkpoint on movement between England and Scotland. The wall took eight years to build and stretches for 118 km.



At this time the Roman Empire was governed by the personal will of the emperor, but the emperor’s power rested on his army. Weak or bad emperors were sometimes overthrown by army generals. Some emperors ruled well – Hadrian, for example, travelled widely to inspect building projects. Others, such as Nero and Caligula, were cruel or mad. The Romans were such good organizers that the empire usually kept working even when there was a fool at its heart.










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A Roman coin stamped with the head of the Emperor Hadrian. During his reign, he personally visited nearly every province in the Roman Empire.




 



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When was the Parthenon built?



The ancient Greeks were pioneers in medicine, mathematics and science. They looked at the world in the light of logic and reason, and made some important discoveries. In the year 432 BC a building called the Parthenon was completed. The Parthenon was built in Athens to honour the city’s protector, the goddess Athene. Her gold and ivory decorated statue was inside the great hall, enclosed by columns which supported the roof like a forest of stones.



The Greeks built many beautiful temples to their gods. Stone columns, as used in the Parthenon, were a typical feature of many Greek buildings.










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Greek actors wore masks to show what kind of character (comic or tragic) they played. Audiences would sit in the open air on a hillside to watch the plays.




 



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