Knowledge-Encyclopedia

299

A CENTURY OF World War I World War II
CONFLICT
In 1914, the killing of Archduke In 1933, Adolf Hitler became leader
The first half of the 20th century saw Franz Ferdinand of Austria in of Germany. His campaign to
two of the bloodiest wars in human Sarajevo caused a war between the conquer neighboring countries set
history. Each started with conflicts in German-led Central Powers and the off a new global conflict in 1939.
Europe, then spread to countries all Allies (led by the French and British). German armies were victorious at
across the world. World War I Much of the fighting happened on first, but were defeated in 1945 by
(1914–18) saw millions of fighting the Western Front in France and their Allied enemies. Japan joined
men killed in bitter trench warfare. Belgium, where attempts to capture the war in 1941, but was forced to
World War II (1939–45) brought heavily defended trench systems surrender after the US attacked
battles between armies of tanks and caused massive casualties. Only in with atomic bombs in 1945.
aircraft, and the development of the 1918 did the Allies break through
atomic bomb. When the dust had and defeat Germany. 4 percent
settled, the world’s most powerful
nations were the US and the World War I cemetery
communist USSR. They fought a Cold Nearly 10 million soldiers died during
War, backed by vast nuclear arsenals. World War I. Many of them were buried
in graveyards near where they fell.

The Cold War IN 1982, THE USSR AND US BETWEEN

Although the US and USSR had THEM HAD MORE THAN 20,000 NUCLEAR WARHEADS

been allies in World War II, they WITH A COMBINED EXPLOSIVE POWER ESTIMATED

became enemies once it was over.

AT MORE THANThey did not fight directly, but

fought a “Cold War” by other
means, such as overthrowing

12,000 MEGATONS,governments friendly to the other
side. The Cold War was especially OR 1 MILLION TIMES THE ENERGY
dangerous since both sides had A terrible cost
nuclear weapons that could have RELEASED BY THE BOMB THAT World War II caused between
60 and 80 million deaths, estimated
killed many millions of people. DESTROYED HIROSHIMA. to be around 4 percent of the entire
population of the world before the war.

A TRANSFORMED WORLD Workers in US employed in agriculture The rise of industry
1800
While wars and revolutions brought political changes, The Industrial Revolution brought
advances in science and technology transformed society. 80% great new advances, but also new
Developments in medicine created cures for diseases problems. Goods and household
that had killed millions. The Industrial Revolution 1900 items became cheaper as they
brought new machines that could do the work of dozens were mass-produced in factories
of workers. These new societies brought much greater 35% instead of being made by hand.
equality, and the old order was overturned, as women However, many workers were
and nonwhite people fought to win equal rights. badly paid and lived in terrible
poverty, especially in cities.

Equal rights 1893 1920 1948 1964 1965 1994
New Zealand 19th Amendment to South Africa begins The Civil Rights Act Voting Rights Act South Africa holds
Before the 20th century, women, becomes first the United States passing legislation makes it illegal in (US) removes first elections in
African-Americans, and nonwhites country to grant Constitution grants discriminating the USA to deny obstacles to African- which adults of all
in European colonies were often women the right to women the vote. against nonwhites. black people equal Americans voting. racial groups can
denied basic freedoms. It took the vote in national This policy is called access to education vote, ending
determination of many brave elections. apartheid. and housing. apartheid.
campaigners to ensure that basic
rights such as voting and education
were available to all.

Science and medicines Environmental challenges 100LEVEL OF OZONE
150
The 20th century saw scientific advances beyond anything in The 19th and 20th centuries saw a 200
human history. Antibiotics cured untreatable diseases, and cars rapid rise in the world’s population, 250
and airplanes reduced journeys that would have taken days or and a huge increase in the resources 300
weeks to a few hours. Human beings discovered ever more human beings use. Supplies such as 350
about the universe, their history, and themselves. coal, oil, and even fresh water may 400
become scarce. Many natural habitats 450
“ANYONE WHO HAS NEVER MADE have been damaged by pollution or 500
human exploitation. Rising global
A MISTAKE HAS NEVER TRIED temperatures threaten to disrupt Ozone hole
vast areas of farmland and human In the 1990s, air pollution led to a breakdown in the
ANYTHING NEW.” living space across the world. ozone layer, a part of the atmosphere that protects the
ALBERT EINSTEIN Earth from harmful radiation. At its biggest, the hole,
situated above Antarctica, was twice the area of Europe.

300 history THE MODERN WORLD 115 The number of gallons of rum that could
be exchanged for a male slave in 1756.

North America NORTH
Around 650,000 African slaves AMERICA
were taken to plantations in
what is now the southern US.
In the north, which was more
industrial, merchants sometimes
took the place of Europe in the
triangular slave trade, selling
manufactured goods directly to
Africa in exchange for slaves.
The international slave trade
was banned by the US in 1808.

ATOLCAENATNIC

IRON TO BRAND SLAVES SOUTH AMERICA

Slave plantations
Most slaves transported to
the Americas were brought
to work on cotton, sugar,
and tobacco plantations in
the Caribbean, southern US,
and Brazil. Conditions were
harsh—the slaves were
often branded or shackled,
and overseers, those who
organized the work on the
plantations, were cruel.

The slave trade

European settlers in America needed laborers to work
on plantations. Between 1500 and 1900, this led to
12 million African slaves being taken to the Americas.

The slave trade is often called the “Triangular Trade” because
it had three stages. Goods from Europe were traded in Africa
for slaves, who crossed the Atlantic in a journey known as the
Middle Passage. These slaves were then exchanged for crops
to be sold in Europe. Many slaves died on the journey to the
Americas, and those who survived faced appalling working
conditions on the plantations. An international campaign
banned the Atlantic slave trade in the 19th century.

39 The percentage of slaves carried on 4 million—the estimated number of slaves in 301
the Middle Passage who went to Brazil. the US at the time of abolition in 1865.

EUROPE Terrible conditions

European traders On the voyage across the Atlantic, which
Until around 1640, Portugal was the could last from six weeks to six months,
only European country trading slaves slaves were crammed together below deck
in the Americas, but Britain, France, in the ship’s hold, with little fresh food or
the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, and water. Male slaves were chained together
Denmark later joined in. European to prevent them from attacking the crew.
merchants took manufactured goods
such as textiles, beads, guns, and Slave ship
ammunition to their colonies in Africa, To make the most profit
and sold them to local traders in possible, the traders
exchange for slaves at colonial forts packed slaves into very
along the African coast. small spaces, sometimes
less than 12 in (30 cm)
AFRICA high. One infamous
slave ship, the Brooke,
SLAVE SHIP SHACKLES African slaves carried as many as
The vast majority of slaves were 600 slaves, shackled
taken from the coastal regions of together in pairs.
western Africa between modern
Senegal and Angola. They were “THE NUMBER
captured in war or taken by
kidnappers and exchanged for IN THE SHIP,
trade goods from Europe.
WHICH WAS SO

CROWDED

THAT EACH HAD
SCARCELY ROOM

TO TURN HIMSELF,

ALMOST

SUFFOCATED US.”

OLAUDAH EQUIANO
(FORMER SLAVE)

A deadly voyage

Cramped conditions and lack of food and
water meant that 1.8 million slaves died
of disease or starvation while voyaging to
the Americas on the Middle Passage. Their
bodies were thrown overboard.

Death toll
The death rate
for slaves reached
as high as one in
four on the worst
Atlantic voyages.

Calling for an end

Calls to put an end to the inhumanity
of the slave trade led to its abolition in
Britain in 1807. Other countries soon
followed, until the final country to end
the trade, Brazil, did so in 1831.

“NEVER, NEVER

WILL WE DESIST TILL WE HAVE WIPED

AWAY THIS SCANDAL

FROM THE CHRISTIAN NAME,
RELEASED OURSELVES FROM

THE LOAD OF GUILT, UNDER WHICH

WE AT PRESENT LABOR,

AND EXTINGUISHED EVERY TRACE

OF THIS BLOODY TRAFFIC.”

WILLIAM WILBERFORCE
(ANTISLAVERY CAMPAIGNER)

302 history THE MODERN WORLD 72,000 The approximate number of
articles in Diderot’s Encyclopédie.

The Enlightenment Isaac Newton of light and heat, and was
one of the first to formulate
The 18th century was a time of revolution. The power One of the founding figures a mathematical process called
of governments, religious beliefs, and scientific of the Enlightenment was the calculus. His curiosity about the
principles were all challenged by a wave of new English scientist Isaac Newton world sometimes led him to do
thinkers determined to replace outdated traditions. (1642–1727). He is most famous strange things. For example, he
for working out the laws of pushed a blunt needle into his
The Renaissance had brought new ways of thinking about science gravity and motion, which eye socket to see how changing
and philosophy, but they were still based on old traditions: the showed how the movements of the shape of his eyeball affected
teachings of the Church and writings of the Ancient Greeks and the Moon and stars follow the his vision, as part of his studies
Romans. The thinkers of the Enlightenment wanted to replace same laws as the movements of into how light moves.
these sources of wisdom with individual observation, experiment, objects on Earth. He also made
and logic—the rule of reason. Their radical ideas would bring wars, vital discoveries about the nature
revolutions, and the beginnings of modern science.

Revolution of ideas Jupiter

In the 18th century, people who wanted to know about the world Sun
studied natural philosophy, which included all the sciences and maths.
At the time, a flood of new information was spreading across Europe, Celestial sphere
helped by new discoveries of explorers in Asia, Africa, and the From the early 17th
Americas, and by the printing press. A group of natural philosophers century, astronomers
in Paris, led by Denis Diderot and Jean d’Alembert, compiled an had known that the
Encyclopédie, a giant, 28-volume work summing up everything they Earth and other
knew about art, science, and crafts. Their message was that reason planets orbit the Sun.
and science could be applied to almost any subject, and their ideas Isaac Newton’s
spread across Europe and America. German philosopher Immanuel theory of gravity
Kant summed up the new way of thinking as: “Dare to know. Have explained why.
courage to use your own understanding.”

Earth
Moon

The Encyclopédie 1748 1762 1759
Diderot’s great work covered not
only art and science but everyday A French thinker named Charles-Louis Swiss philosopher Candide, a satirical novel
professions, such as music, cooking, de Secondat, known as Montesquieu, Jean-Jacques by French philosopher
and even farming. published Spirit of the Laws, which Rousseau proposed Voltaire, highlighted the
that governments hardships and injustices
Rights of Man—and Woman called for political should only suffered by many people
power to be divided rule with the around the world. Voltaire
As well as scientific advances, the Enlightenment between the consent of the people. wrote that, for people to
was marked by new ideas about society. From around monarchy, In The Social Contract, be truly free, they had to
1750, a group of radical philosophers in France began parliament, and he wrote, "Man be able to use the power
to spread ideas that questioned traditional thinking. the courts of law— is born free, and of reason, and they had
They argued that kings, nobles, and clergymen did a system known everywhere he to know and defend
not deserve special rights and privileges over as the "separation is in chains." the basic rights of all
other people. Other thinkers such as Jean-Jacques of powers." human beings.
Rousseau and Mary Wollstonecraft produced
powerful arguments calling for all human beings
to be treated equally, while writers such as Voltaire
and Montesquieu wrote satires (mocking imitations)
of corrupt institutions and outdated opinions.

87 percent—the drop in value of South Sea Company 9 The number of symphonies written by Romantic 303
stocks when the venture collapsed in 1720. composer Ludwig van Beethoven.

Revolution of wealth

Among the new concepts to develop at this time was the science of
economics, or the study of wealth and money. Great empires grew
rich by trading goods across the world. Banks offered a safe place for
the wealthy to deposit their money, and gave loans to people who
needed funds to start new businesses. Ordinary people were also
encouraged to invest in money-making projects. Financial projects
sometimes went disastrously wrong: for example, in 1720, when
the British South Sea Company collapsed, taking with it millions of
pounds (dollars) of investors’ money.

Financial centers
With the rise of
capitalism, cities such as
London and Amsterdam
became banking centers,
home to great wealth.

BY 1800, THE NUMBER OF BANKS IN LONDON $ Romantic rebellion Burning of the Houses
HAD GROWN TO 70 of Lords and Commons
$ The ideals of the Enlightenment spread Romantic artists such
BY 1770, THERE WERE 50 BANKS IN LONDON quickly, but by the late 18th century they as Englishman Joseph
$ had already inspired a backlash, especially Turner painted images
among artists, musicians, and poets. A new depicting the power of
movement, Romanticism, arose, arguing natural forces. This
that total reliance on reason ignored the painting shows a fire
values of emotion and natural beauty. that swept through the
Famous Romantics include the composer British Houses of
Beethoven, writers such as John Keats Parliament in 1834.
and Edgar Allan Poe, and painters such
as Eugène Delacroix. Supernatural
The spiritual
Nature Gothic world was seen as
Nature was seen The Romantics an answer to the
were inspired by dull, scientific
as intense and medieval fairy world of the
genuine, where tales, especially Enlightenment.
logic and reason fantasies and
were artificial and gruesome tales. Romantic hero
could deceive. The passionate,
IN 1750, THERE WERE JUST 20 BANKS IN LONDON solitary genius
Emotion ROMANTIC VALUES was seen as a
“LABOR WAS THE FIRST PRICE, Instinct and hero, rising above
emotion were
THE ORIGINAL PURCHASE-MONEY seen as the the ideas of
THAT WAS PAID FOR ALL THINGS. sources of truth, ordinary people.
IT WAS NOT BY GOLD OR BY SILVER, which could be
distorted by logic. Symbols and
BUT BY LABOR, THAT ALL THE WEALTH OF THE myths

WORLD WAS ORIGINALLY PURCHASED.” Mysterious
meanings could
ADAM SMITH, SCOTTISH ECONOMIST, 1776
be found in
1776 1792 Individuality Imagination symbols from
The Romantics The creative
English-American Thomas Englishwoman Mary thought being nature and
Paine published a Wollstonecraft called alone put you power of ancient languages.
pamphlet, Common for women to receive more closely in imagination could
Sense, which the same education touch with nature
supported and opportunities as and your true self. build wonders
America's men in A Vindication that logic found
independence of the Rights of
from Britain. His Women. She impossible.
later work, Rights of imagined a
Man, argued that people society based
should overthrow the on the rule of
government if it abuses reason, which
their rights. respects all
human beings.

304 history THE MODERN WORLD Patriot soldiers had to buy
their own weapons and gear.

The American The Continental Army Disciplined volley
Revolutionary War One of the key skills
From 1775, the American forces began to an army needed was
In the 18th century, Britain ruled 13 colonies along the organize their volunteer troops into a regular the ability to fire their
east coast of North America. From 1770, these colonies army. George Washington was determined to muskets all together in
began to rebel against British control and, 13 years train a force to rival the well-trained British a volley. This required
later, they won their independence. soldiers, and formed the Continental Army. training and discipline,
For much of the war the men were poorly so that the soldiers did
Britain’s colonies in North America were governed from London. paid and equipped, but they nevertheless not fire too early as the
Their inhabitants were British citizens, but were not given full achieved a number of stunning victories. enemy advanced.
rights: they could not vote and had no one representing their
views in parliament. The colonists were angry about this unfair
treatment, but the British ignored their concerns, passing
unpopular laws and putting high taxes on everyday goods
such as sugar, tea, and paper.

In 1775, tensions erupted into war. A large, well-trained
British army invaded from Canada in 1777, to support British
troops stationed in the colonies, but they were outmaneuvered
by skillful American commanders led by George Washington.
The war ended with the British defeated, and the creation of
a new independent country: the United States of America.

Lead-up to the war NEW NEW HAMPSHIRE
YORK MASSACHUSETTS
Britain had run up huge debts during the Seven PENNSYLVANIA RHODE ISLAND
Years War (1756–63), and urgently needed
money to pay them off. The government planned VIRGINIA CONNECTICUT
to raise the money by taxing its American NEW JERSEY
colonies. The colonists protested against this DELAWARE
taxation without representation, and the MARYLAND
revolutionary idea of becoming free of British
rule spread. In 1773, the British imposed a harsh WESTERN
new tax on tea, and colonists in Boston took TERRITORY
action. They boarded a ship in the harbor
and threw chests of British tea into the sea. NORTH
This event, famous as the Boston Tea Party, CAROLINA
lit the fuse for the war. The British responded
by imposing restrictive new laws on the colonies, SOUTH
and especially on Boston. The Continental CAROLINA
Congress—a group of representatives of the
13 colonies—called these laws intolerable acts GEORGIA Key
and sent messages of protest to the king.
Western territory
AT THE BOSTON TEA PARTY, 13 states

COLONISTS DESTROYED

342 CHESTS OF TEA
WITH A VALUE OF

ABOUT $15,000.

The new nation
At the end of the war, the 13 colonies that had
fought for independence became the first states
of the US. They signed a peace treaty with Britain
in 1783, which also granted them ownership of
substantial territory to the west.

2.5 million—the population of the colonies, Boys as young as 10 fought in the American army, 305
less than one-third of Britain’s. and women served as nurses, cooks, and even spies.

The Declaration of Independence to formalize their position. The argument The march to independence
of the Declaration was based on four
The 13 rebel colonies formed their own key points, listed below. On July 4, 1776, Nearly all of the early battles of the
government, the Continental Congress, which representatives of the 13 colonies signed American Revolutionary War ended in a
soon decided to seek complete independence the Declaration to form a new nation: the draw. The British forces were too powerful
from Britain. A lawyer from Virginia named United States of America. for the Americans to defeat outright, while
Thomas Jefferson was given the task of the colonial forces used local support and
drafting a Declaration of Independence knowledge of the land to escape attacks
by the British. As the war went on,
1 Right to rebel “WE HOLD THESE TRUTHS 1773 however, stronger leadership and
That colonies must be allowed to sever assistance from foreign allies tipped the
their connection with their rulers as long as TO BE SELF-EVIDENT, balance in favor of the Americans, and the
they have good reasons and can explain them. British suffered crushing defeat.
THAT ALL MEN ARE CREATED
2 Legitimate government The road to rebellion
That the only acceptable form of government EQUAL, THAT THEY ARE After the colonists destroyed shiploads of British tea
is one that tries to do the best for its people and in Boston harbor, the British tightened their control
respects their rights. ENDOWED BY on the colonies by passing laws to limit their
freedoms. It was the final straw, and two years later,
3 Crimes of the king THEIR CREATOR the first shots of the Revolutionary War were fired.
That the British king had ruled the colonies WITH CERTAIN
without respecting the rights and interests BELT OF A LOYALIST SOLDIER,
of the people who lived there. UNALIENABLE RIGHTS, WITH ROYAL INSIGNIA

4 Declaration of independence THAT AMONG THESE ARE The first battle
That, therefore, the colonies had a right British troops marched to Concord, Massachusetts,
to throw off the government of the British LIFE, LIBERTY AND THE to raid the colonists’ store of weapons. The colonists
and rule themselves, and were no longer sent a force to resist them. Although they were
part of the British Empire. PURSUIT OF forced to withdraw, the Americans succeeded in
blocking the British and protecting their supplies.
HAPPINESS.”
DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE Battle of Saratoga
More than 6,000 British soldiers were surrounded
Commander-in-chief April 1775 and forced to surrender by the Continental Army.
This resounding American victory encouraged
George Washington was a tobacco farmer and Autumn 1777 the French to join the war on the American side,
trained surveyor from Virginia who gained military followed by the Spanish and the Dutch.
experience fighting against the French in North
America during the Seven Years War. His opposition Valley Forge
to Britain’s treatment of its American colonies led With foreign support on the way, the American army
to his appointment as commander-in-chief of the sought shelter in a defensive camp at Valley Forge,
rebel American army. Washington turned his men near Philadelphia. Although safe from British attack,
into a professional fighting force. He held them they suffered from harsh conditions and lack of
together during tough times and lost battles, and supplies throughout the winter months. An estimated
led them to victory. In 1789, he was elected as the 2,000 men died of disease and starvation.
first President of the United States of America.
Victory for the colonists
Statue of Washington Winter 1777 After several further defeats, the British were forced
Washington is often referred to as to retreat to the east coast. As the American army
the father of the nation because of October 1781 and the French navy closed in, the British were
his leadership and influence in the trapped at Yorktown, Virginia, and surrendered.
founding of the United States. The war was over and the Americans had won.

The two sides (colonists who wanted to remain part of 1783 Peace treaty
the British Empire), German mercenaries, After long negotiations, a peace treaty was finally
The American forces relied heavily on militia— and Native Americans, who wanted to protect agreed in Paris in September 1783. Britain handed
local groups who organized themselves into trading and territory agreements with the over large areas of territory to the
fighting units. The Continental Army was also British. The British navy controlled the coast, US, and also signed separate
supported by French and Spanish troops, and but could not affect the war inland. treaties with the Americans’
some Native Americans. The “redcoats” of the European allies, France,
British army were assisted by Loyalists Spain, and the
Netherlands.
38% British 9% Native
army Americans PROPOSED MODEL FOR
THE FIRST UNITED STATES
38% 20% German
Continental mercenaries SILVER DOLLAR, 1777
Army

49% militia 13% French 33% Loyalist
army and others colonists

AMERICANS AND ALLIES BRITISH AND ALLIES

306 history THE MODERN WORLD Rioting men in France sometimes dressed as women,
because female rioters were punished less severely.

French Revolution An unequal society

In 1789, the French monarchy was overthrown in a French society was split into three classes, called Estates. The First
bloody revolution. The rebels created a government Estate, the clergy, and the Second Estate, the nobility, were extremely
run by the citizens rather than the nobility, but rivalry wealthy. Although they made up only 3 percent of the population, they
between its members brought chaos and bloodshed. owned 40 percent of the land and paid almost no taxes. The remaining
97 percent of the population made up the Third Estate, common people
At the end of the 18th century, France was nearly bankrupt after ranging from merchants and craftsmen to poor country farmers. Their
a series of costly wars. To make matters worse, a bad harvest in taxes paid for the wealthy lifestyle of the rich. All three Estates had
1788 left much of the population short of food. While the country representatives in the government assembly, the Estates General.
faced starvation, King Louis XVI and the nobility lived in luxury, On June 17, 1789, the representatives of the Third Estate decided
and rumors spread that they were hoarding grain that the poor to set up their own government, the National Assembly.
desperately needed. The French people had heard how the
Americans overthrew the rule of the British king in 1776, and as Key
the poor grew more dissatisfied, they demanded change. In 1789,
a sharp rise in the price of bread caused riots on the streets of First Estate, clergy
Paris, and when the king demanded a rise in taxes that same year, Second Estate, nobles
the people took action and the French Revolution began. Third Estate, commoners

POPULATION LAND OWNERSHIP

The end of the monarchy the revolution, and the king himself was imprisoned in the Tuileries
Palace in Paris. He tried to regain favor with the people by agreeing
The new National Assembly promised to give power to the people, to their demands for reform, but remained a hated figure. On August
leaving the king as only a figurehead. When rumors spread that the king 10, 1792, his palace was stormed by the mob and the king was sent
had ordered the army to close down the new government, the citizens to prison. In 1793, he was found guilty of plotting against the French
formed a National Guard to fight back. Their first target was the Bastille, people and sentenced to death by beheading.
a prison where enemies of the old government were held, which they
stormed on July 14, 1789. Many of the king’s supporters fled or joined

The Taking of the
Tuileries Palace, 1792
On August 10, 1792, a
mob stormed the Palace of
Tuileries, where the king
and queen were living,
and arrested them, ending
the French monarchy.
This painting depicts the
overwhelming numbers of
the revolutionaries, who
far outnumbered the Swiss
Guards protecting the palace.

The Bastille

was nearly empty
when it was stormed.
Only seven prisoners
were rescued, but
98 revolutionaries
died in the attack.

Timeline June 14, 1789 July 14, 1789 October 5, 1789

The French Revolution saw France The King of France, Louis XVI, asked the Rumors spread that the king had called for A crowd of about 7,000 women marched
change from a monarchy, ruled by government to approve an increase in the army to shut down the new National on the royal palace at Versailles, outside
the king, to a Republic, in which taxes. Already angered by a national food Assembly. Angry mobs began to riot Paris, to protest over the shortage of
power was held by the people, shortage and unfair taxes, representatives throughout Paris, bringing chaos to the bread. According to later rumor, when
although suspicion and brutality of the Third Estate (the working people) city. A crowd stormed the Bastille prison, she heard the people lacked bread, the
left many living in fear. The end broke away from the other two Estates. liberating seven inmates. This date came French queen, Marie Antoinette, said
of the Revolution saw the rise They announced their intention to govern to be known as the beginning of the “Let them eat cake.” This was taken as
of a new emperor. the country themselves, and formed Revolution, and July 14 is celebrated as a symbol of how little the monarchy
a National Assembly. a national holiday in France to this day. understood the sufferings of the people.

10 The number of days in a week in the 1.6 million—the number of soldiers 307
new revolutionary French calendar. in Napoleon’s army at its height.

The Terror The Napoleonic Wars

After the death of the king in 1793, the National Assembly After the Revolution, France was left without a strong
was headed by a group called the Jacobins, a political club leader and surrounded by enemies. In 1800, Napoleon
led by Maximilien de Robespierre. They believed that France Bonaparte (1769–1821), a young general, became a hero
was full of spies sent by foreign powers who wanted to bring to the people after a series of stunning military victories.
back the monarchy. The Jacobins began to execute anyone In 1804, he made himself Emperor of France, and began
they suspected of working against them. Around 40,000 a campaign of conquest across Europe. From 1805–1807,
people were killed in Paris alone during this bloody period, his armies defeated Austria, Russia, and Prussia until
known as The Terror, which only ended when Robespierre his empire covered most of Europe. He was finally
himself was sent to the guillotine in 1794. defeated in 1815 at the Battle of Waterloo by an
alliance of the nations of Europe.
The guillotine
This gruesome machine was used during UNIFORM
the French Revolution to execute people
as quickly and efficiently as possible. MUSKET

THE GUILLOTINE WAS NICKNAMED THE

“NATIONAL RAZOR”

AND WAS USED TO EXECUTE

UP TO 20 PEOPLE A DAY.

The ideals of the Revolution

The new Republic of France was influenced by the United States, which had
won independence from Britain in 1776. Like the Americans, the French
Revolutionaries wrote out a document, the “Declaration of the Rights of Man
and the Citizen,” which would underpin the new government. It proclaimed
that all men and women are born equal, so kings and nobles have no right to
rule over those of common birth, and that people should be allowed to
govern themselves by democratic vote. These ideas remain important to
theories of democracy and human rights to this day.

Maximilien de Robespierre French infantryman’s uniform
French lawyer Maximilien Napoleon’s soldiers were the most feared
de Robespierre was at the in Europe. They were superbly trained and
forefront of the Revolution. operated in tight formations. Their uniform
He believed passionately consisted of white breeches, dark blue jacket,
in equal rights and and a hat, or shako, decorated with a
government by the people. red plume. Each man was armed with
However, he betrayed his a large, heavy gun called a musket.
own beliefs by deciding the
only way for the Revolution
to succeed was by the
deaths of those who
opposed it. Tens of
thousands of so-called
“enemies of the Revolution”
were executed on the
orders of Robespierre
and his allies.

June 25, 1791 1792–1801 Spring 1793 December 2, 1804

The king and queen attempted to flee the France’s neighbors were outraged by the A Committee of Public Safety was Napoleon Bonaparte proclaimed himself
country in disguise. They were spotted overthrow and death of King Louis. They founded by Maximilien de Robespierre Emperor of France and was crowned in
and taken back to Paris, where they were also hoped to gain control of French lands to fight back against agents of the old Paris. A military genius, he had become
held under guard in the Tuileries Palace. in the confusion of the Revolution. Wars government, thought to be secretly enormously popular among the French
They were moved to prison in 1792 and, broke out between France and other undermining the Revolution. The people after winning a stunning series of
in 1793, they were executed by guillotine European countries such as Austria, Italy, Committee ran out of control, accusing victories during the wars of 1792–1801.
after being accused of helping Austria, and Britain, and in French overseas many innocent people of betraying the After his coronation, Napoleon’s armies
the queen’s homeland, which was at war territories such as Haiti. The French Republic. As many as 40,000 people were begin a war of conquest across Europe,
with Revolutionary France. armies emerged victorious. executed during this Reign of Terror. winning great success at first.

308 history THE MODERN WORLD 7 The average age at which children
were sent to work in the 1800s.

The Industrial Faster travel
Revolution
Industrial factories depended on being able
Between 1760 and 1860, an age-old way of life based on farming to bring in large quantities of raw materials
and crafting by hand was transformed, as people moved to (such as coal and cotton fiber) and send out
towns and goods were produced by machines in factories. large quantities of finished products. The old
methods of transportation—such as wagon trains and
This transformation began in Britain, where ingenious inventors and sailing ships—could not move materials quickly enough
engineers applied new scientific ideas to the old methods of farming, or in large enough amounts. Industrial countries built
mining, and manufacturing. Britain also had a ready supply of raw huge networks of canals, where barges carrying up to
materials, such as coal and iron ore, to power the new inventions, and a 33 tons were pulled along by horses. Rail networks and
rapidly growing population eager to work in the factories and buy the new steam engines allowed people and goods to travel
goods they produced. The Industrial Revolution transformed our way of life, quickly over long distances. Steam ships made ocean
bringing incredible wealth to some, but crushing poverty to many others. journeys far quicker and more reliable.

Steam locomotives
The railway became one of the greatest symbols of the
Industrial Revolution. From around 1840, the US led the
world in producing fast, reliable steam locomotives, such as
this one built in 1863 by the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad.

New machines Reeling and winding Water-powered cotton mill
These machines wind the Cotton is made by combing out fluffy fibers and
The backbone of the Industrial Revolution came from new cotton on to tapered rods spinning them into thread. Before the Industrial
machines. Cotton making, for example, had been a lengthy called bobbins. Revolution, this was done by workers in their
process involving hours of hard work. Inventions such as the own homes. Cotton mills could process much
Spinning Jenny (1764), and the Spinning Mule (1779) could do larger amounts of cotton far more quickly.
the work automatically in a fraction of the time. At first, these
bulky machines were powered by water wheels, and so were Carding machines
built-in factories next to rivers. The first water-powered cotton These machines comb and
mill was built by entrepreneur Richard Arkwright in 1771 untangle the raw cotton to
in Derbyshire, England. Over time, water wheels separate out the fibers.
were replaced by steam engines, and
factories moved into towns.

Water wheel River Water frame
Flowing water turns the Water-driven spinning
huge wheel’s paddles to frames are used to spin
the cotton into thread.
power the machines.

55 million tons—the amount of The new spinning machines produced cotton 4,000 miles (6,400 km)—the length of new 309
coal mined in 1850 in Britain. 1,000 times more quickly than a human worker. canal built in Britain from 1760–1840.

An island of ideas

The many inventions of the 18th century were made
possible by scientists and engineers, funded by rich
entrepreneurs. Together they developed new machines,
such as the steam engine, new ways of working, such as
factory mass production, and new industrial processes,
such as the Bessemer process for producing steel.

1701–1831 Farming with machines
A growing population called for more food and
more efficient ways to grow it. In 1701, English SEED
inventor Jethro Tull created a seed drill that DRILL
automatically sowed crops.
NO. 117 THATCHER PERKINS LOCOMOTIVE Steam-powered plows
appeared in the 1820s,
and the American
engineer Cyrus
McCormick designed
a mechanical
harvester in 1831.

Poverty in towns 50% women 1771 The first factories
Richard Arkwright built the first water-powered
Industrial progress brought great wealth to 24% girls mill in Derbyshire, England. Fast-flowing water
factory owners and entrepreneurs, and made created enough power to run his spinning
basic goods such as food and clothing cheaper 7% boys 1776 machines. This allowed cotton to be mass-
than ever before. However, it also created a produced, since more thread could be
new kind of poverty. Large numbers of people 19% men made much faster. Arkwright became WATT’S
moved to the cities in search of work, where a pioneer of modern factories. ENGINE
they were packed into crowded, dirty housing. Workers in a cotton mill, 1859
Many were unemployed and ended up in A third of workers in the mills ARKWRIGHT SPINNING FRAME
prison for debt, or forced to move into harsh were children, aged as young as five.
lodgings called workhouses, where they Some worked for 12 hours a day, and Watt’s steam engine
performed hard labor for no pay. Those who dangerous accidents were common. Inventors across the world had
did have jobs worked in unsafe conditions. experimented with using steam to
They were often paid poorly, and many power machinery for hundreds of
families struggled to afford basic essentials. years, with little success. In 1776,
Scottish inventor James Watt built
a much more efficient engine,
which could provide an up-down
movement for pumping and
a circular movement for
operating machines.

Rise of the machines factories. With so many people looking 1779 Bridges of iron
for work, factory owners offered low The era of modern bridge-building started in 1779 with the
The changes brought by industry quickly wages, which meant laborers looked construction of the Ironbridge in Shropshire, England, the first bridge
gathered momentum across Europe and for even cheaper goods. Scientists and to be made entirely of solid cast iron. With stronger bridges and
North America. New factories created entrepreneurs used their profits to built better-quality iron and steel, bridges could be built over longer
cheap goods and jobs for poor laborers. new machines and factories, bringing distances, opening up new routes for roads and railways.
At the same time, mechanized farming prices down and creating more jobs.
left many rural workers unemployed, and 1790 Gas lighting
forced them to move to cities to work in Gas from coal mines was burned in lamps to
provide lighting in streets and homes. It was
Science Invention Mechanization pumped through a network of pipes across GAS
New discoveries give Engineers and Business owners major cities. The large-scale introduction of gas STREET
scientists ideas about inventors experiment invest money in the lighting in the 1790s was the work of William LIGHT
better ways to do with new scientific new inventions. Farms Murdoch, a Scottish engineer who also built
things. They develop ideas, using them to and workshops use steam engines. Gas lighting was brighter and
new technologies such develop machines that machines instead of more reliable than candles and oil lamps,
as steam power and make farming and human workers, and allowing factories to remain open all night.
cheap steel. manufacturing easier. factories are built.
1833 Brunel and the railways
Isambard Kingdom Brunel was a bridge and railway
engineer who oversaw the creation of much of Britain’s rail network.
At age 27 he became engineer to the Great Western Railway, where
he constructed over 1,000 miiles (1,600 km) of track. He was famous
for his innovative designs for bridges, viaducts, and tunnels.

Demand for low prices Lower wages Migration to cities 1855 The steel revolution
Poor workers need In crowded cities, Machines replace In 1855, an Englishman named Henry Bessemer discovered
food and goods to be many people compete many jobs on farms. a new, cheap way of making steel, using a machine called a
cheap. This encourages for jobs. Business At the same time, new “Bessemer converter” to burn impurities out of iron. Steel was
business owners to owners pay low factories create jobs in essential for building railways, machinery, factories, and vehicles.
build more factories wages, since it is hard cities. Laborers move By making it cheap and widely available, Bessemer’s new process
and find cheaper for their employees to from the country into opened the way for a huge increase in the rate of industrialization.
ways of working. find work elsewhere. cities to find work.

310 history THE MODERN WORLD 1781 The date the first steam engine was
patented, by Scotsman James Watt.

How a steam engine works The Age of Steam

The engine is powered by heat from coal burning in the For thousands of years, humans had relied on animal and
firebox. Hot air from the fire passes along copper pipes people power to move heavy loads and drive machinery.
through a water tank or boiler. This heats the water to This all changed in the late 18th century with the arrival
boiling point, producing steam. The steam expands as of a bold new invention: the steam engine.
it is heated, creating pressure inside the boiler.
Steam engines operate by burning fuel to heat water until it boils.
Piston Boiler Hot steam from the boiling water is trapped to create pressure, which
pushed down is used to drive machinery. This simple principle opened the way
to powerful new engines. Steam engines were more flexible than
Valve windmills or waterwheels, which had to be built in specific places,
and more powerful than humans or animals. They could drive factory
Cylinder and farm equipment, and pull plows across fields or trains along
tracks. Larger models pumped vast amounts of water to drain mines
Firebox and supply canal systems, and hauled blocks of stone and ore from
quarries and mines. They were the driving force behind many
Valve control rod of the innovations of the Industrial Revolution.

Water barrel
Water from this barrel kept

the boiler topped off. The
driver controlled the flow of

water through pipes from
the barrel to the boiler.

Wheel control rod Wheel

1 Piston moves down
An opening at the top of the boiler allows steam into
sealed tubes called cylinders, one for each wheel. The
pressure from the steam pushes down a piston inside
the cylinder, which moves a control rod to turn the
wheel. The turning of the wheel moves a valve inside
the cylinder that controls the flow of steam.

Piston Boiler Tender (supply cart)
pushed up The engine

Valve required a constant
supply of coal and
water, kept on a
cart pulled behind.

Cylinder

Firebox
Valve control rod

Wheel control rod Wheel

2 Piston moves up Stephenson’s Rocket Train tracks
When the piston reaches the bottom, the valve inside
the cylinder switches the flow of steam from the top to the The first steam locomotives were unreliable
bottom of the cylinder. The steam now pushes the piston and very heavy. In 1829, a competition was
up, pulling on the wheel control rod to turn the wheel back held to design an engine to run on the newly
to where it started. Steam and smoke from the firebox built Liverpool to Manchester Railway. The
escape through the chimney. winner was the Rocket, built by Robert
Stephenson and his father, George.

27 mph (47 kph)—the 75 miles (120 km)—the distance the Rocket 4.7  311tons—the weight of the Rocket
Rocket’s top speed. traveled on its first day of trials. steam locomotive.
Smoke and steam
Cylinder Piston Boiler
Control rod
Firebox

Inside the engine Smokestack (chimney)
Early steam engines used a single A blast pipe sucked air up
large cylinder to power all the wheels through the chimney. The air
at once. The Rocket had two angled was drawn in through the
cylinders, each connected directly firebox, fanning the flames.
to a single wheel with a control rod.
This and other innovations, such Cylinder
as the blast pipe and a boiler with This sealed tube captured
multiple tubes for hot air, made the steam from the boiler and
Rocket faster and more efficient than used it to push a piston,
any steam engine built before. driving the wheels.

George Stephenson Control valves Safety valve Steam dome
Stephenson himself These levers allowed the This valve would allow Steam from the boiler
controlled the Rocket on driver to control the flow steam to escape if the collected under this dome
its first demonstration. of water and steam pressure rose too high, and was funneled into pipes
through the engine. preventing explosions. leading to the cylinders.
Stoker

Coal

Boiler
Water in this tank was
heated by pipes, which
ran through it carrying
hot air from the furnace.

Control rod
This rod transferred
the in-out movement
of the piston to the
circular movement
of the wheels.

Wooden wheels
with steel rims

312 history THE MODERN WORLD

The course of the war The Confederacy
Eleven Southern states broke away
The war pitted 23 Union states from the Union to form the
of the North and West against Confederacy: North Carolina,
11 Confederate states of the South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama,
South. The North had superior Mississippi, Louisiana, Florida,
numbers, wealth, and weaponry, Texas, Tennessee, Arkansas, and
and despite some brilliant Virginia. They fought for states’
military successes, the South was rights and the right to own slaves.
eventually forced to surrender. The Confederates had their own
capital in Richmond, Virginia, and
1 April 12, 1861 their own currency, flag (see left),
Tensions between the North and and president—Jefferson Davis.
South were running high. The war
began when the Confederate army INDIANA
shot at Union soldiers stationed at
Fort Sumter, South Carolina, and ILLINOIS
forced them to lower the American
flag in surrender.

2 July 21, 1861 MISSOURI KENTUCKY
The Confederates won their first
battle near a small stream in Virginia
called Bull Run. The Union answered
by blockading the ports and borders
of southern states, trying to wreck
their economy.

3 September 16–18, 1862 TENNESSEE
The Battle of Antietam, one of the
bloodiest of the war, left 23,000 ARKANSAS
soldiers dead, wounded, or missing.
The Confederates were beaten back
in a turning point of the war.

4 May 18–July 4, 1863 Mississippi River
The city of Vicksburg beside
the Mississippi River, held by MISSISSIPPI
the Confederates, was taken
by Union troops. Control of
the Mississippi was vital, since
the South was using it to
transport food and soldiers.

5 July 1–3, 1863 4
In Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, the Union
won the largest battle of the war after ALABAMA
three days of fighting. Confederate
leader General Lee lost 20,000 men,
who were killed or wounded.

6 April 9, 1865

With his troops surrounded, General

Lee surrendered to General Ulysses

S. Grant in a house in the village

of Appomattox, Virginia. SPRINGFIELD RIFLE

MUSKET 1861

Abraham Lincoln LOUISIANA FLORIDA

The 16th president of the United States, A nation divided
Abraham Lincoln was a brilliant orator.
He was determined to keep the states of Battles were fought across America, but most
America together at all costs. After the war, of the fighting occurred in the states of Virginia
he hoped to heal the divide between North and Tennessee, and along the border states—
and South, but was killed by a supporter slave states that did not declare independence.
of the South while at the theater in 1865. Much of the conflict was near the Confederacy’s
capital, Richmond, Virginia, and the Union capital
“GOVERNMENT OF THE PEOPLE, in Washington, DC.

BY THE PEOPLE,
FOR THE PEOPLE

SHALL NOT PERISH
FROM THE EARTH.”

ABRAHAM LINCOLN, SPEECH TO
UNION FORCES AT GETTYSBURG, 1863

2 The number of Union soldiers for The number of Americans killed in the Civil War is nearly equal to the 313
every one Confederate soldier. number who died in every other foreign war fought by the US since.

OHIO 3
5
Washington, DC,
2 Union capital

Union blockade

The Union set up a

naval blockade in the

6 Atlantic and Gulf of
Mexico to stop trade
VIRGINIA Richmond, to Southern ports.
Confederate capital

NORTH The Union
CAROLINA The Union of the northern states,
SOUTH led by President Abraham Lincoln,
CAROLINA had a larger army, including
200,000 freed slaves who joined
1 the fight. They also had greater
resources. Victory over the South
meant more than the ending of
slavery: the United States stayed
together as one nation with one
government. However, the
process of rebuilding the war-torn
country would be long and hard.

GEORGIA The Civil War

Artillery The election of Abraham Lincoln as president in 1860 tore the US
Both sides in the war used in half, and the Civil War broke out between the North and South
artillery fire to cause huge over the rights of individual states and the issue of slavery.
numbers of casualties
among enemy troops. The US had been one country made up of many states, but in the mid-19th
century it became a divided nation. The northern states, made strong by
industry and immigrants from Europe, had little sympathy for the old-
fashioned farm culture of the South, which depended on slavery. The people
of the South suspected that the North was seeking to destroy their way of
life. When Abraham Lincoln became president, 11 Southern states feared
he would abolish slavery and left the Union. The war that followed divided
families and friends. More than 620,000 soldiers died, and even though
the country was finally reunited, bitterness remained for decades.

314 history THE MODERN WORLD 80 The number of enemy planes shot down
by the German Red Baron fighter pilot.

World War I The fronts

Half a century of power struggles, in which The areas, or fronts, in which the war was fought War at sea
Germany and Austria-Hungary were set went right across Europe. The two main zones, or German U-boats (submarines)
against France and Russia, ended with four theaters, of war were the Western Front and the
years of bloody conflict that involved nearly Eastern Front. The Western Front stretched from attacked British ships. In
every country in the world. the North Sea to the Swiss border and was return, Britain blockaded
made up of a continuous line of trenches. The
The war that followed was fought mainly in Europe, but Eastern Front, on the other side of Europe, German ports.
fighting also spread to the Middle East, Africa, and Asia. saw the great armies of Germany and
Nations took part in bombing raids and chemical Austria-Hungary battle against Russia. BRITAIN
warfare, as well as experimenting with tanks, military
aircraft, and submarines. However, most of the war was London NETHERLANDS
fought using ordinary artillery, machine guns, rifles, and
horses. What was different about this war was the vast Brussels
numbers of those involved: soldiers fought and died in
the millions, and entire populations were expected to LUXEMBOURG BELGIUM
help make weapons and support the war. Somme

Causes of the war Western Front Paris
Long lines of trenches
On June 28, 1914, the Archduke of Austria-Hungary was shot Key stretched from Switzerland Marne
by a nationalist from Serbia in the Balkans. Austria-Hungary Verdun
blamed Serbia for the killing and declared war. Russia offered Major battle sites to the Belgian coast.
to support Serbia. Germany declared war on Russia, then on
France. Country after country rushed to defend their allies Central Powers SWITZERLAND
or declare war on their rivals until armies were on the move Allies FRANCE
across the world. Most people believed the war would be
over very quickly, but they were tragically mistaken. PORTUGAL SPAIN

Europe at war
World War I was fought largely
in Europe between the Central
Powers—Germany, Austria-
Hungary, and Turkey—and
the Allies—Britain, France, Italy,
Russia, Japan, and later the
United States.

RIVALRY ARMS RACE Course of the war 1914 1914
Tensions rose as giant European powers raced
European empires with to build the largest For four long years bloody Tannenberg Marne
colonies all across the armies and most battles were fought. The The Germans won an early Germany’s invasion of
world competed for powerful warships, Western Front, running across great victory against Russia France was halted at the
power by trying to setting the scene for eastern France, saw some of at the Battle of Tannenberg River Marne, just east of
control trade and war on a scale never the heaviest fighting. Until in August 1914, capturing the French capital city,
gain more land. seen before. 1917, Germany and the 125,000 men. Meanwhile, Paris. This left Germany
Central Powers seemed to be Germany invaded neutral and Austria-Hungary facing
winning, but that changed Belgium to attack France, attacks from both east and
when the US came to fight which they hoped to defeat west. Both sides suffered
for the Allies. quickly. British forces huge losses in open battle,
arrived to support and began to build trench
Belgium and France. systems for defense.

WAR

TWO SIDES TENSIONS The war at home
Neighboring countries Southeast Europe (the
sought alliances for Balkans) fought for World War I was the first “total” war,
protection against independence from meaning not just soldiers but the whole
their rivals, so that the Ottoman Empire. civilian population were involved. The entire
when war started all Violence in this region nation was expected to help keep the war
the major powers were heightened tensions effort going, by helping on the “Home Front.”
soon dragged in. across Europe. Civilians only received fixed rations of food
to make sure enough could be sent out to the
troops, and women took over many of the
jobs of men sent to fight. Bombing raids on
German, French, and some British cities
brought the war into ordinary homes.

Road to war Everyone must play their part RUSSIAN POSTER
In the early 1900s, powerful European nations competed This Russian poster reads: “All for the war.” In
for trade and land, and built up large armies. Nations made wartime, women took men’s places on farms,
agreements to support one another (alliances), but these in factories, and in offices. Every man was
were often fragile. Two groups of countries on opposite sides expected to fight: military leader Lord Kitchener
emerged: the Central Powers and the Triple Entente (Allies). (far right) calls on British men to join the army.

On Christmas Day 1914, British and German soldiers on the Western Front 600 The number of rounds that a World War I 315
stopped fighting to exchange gifts, sing carols, and even play soccer. machine gun could fire in one minute.

SWEDEN A new kind of warfare

EAST Russian revolution At the start of the war, armies on both sides
PRUSSIA A communist revolution were still using outdated tactics, such as
swept across Russia in 1917, cavalry and bayonet charges. However, with
Tannenberg RUSSIAN overthrowing the Tzar (emperor). deadly weapons like machine guns widely
EMPIRE Russian soldiers continued to available, these old tactics failed, resulting in
fight until March 1918. huge numbers of deaths. By the end of the

Moscow war, both sides had developed new
strategies, as well as new
Berlin POLAND weaponry, such as aircraft.
GERMANY Both sides used poison gas
to kill off enemy soldiers.
Italian Front Eastern Front Horses, shown to be
Fierce fighting took Russia fought against unsuited to the modern
place in the mountains Germany and Austria- battlefield, were replaced
between Italy and Hungary all across by the first tanks.
Austria-Hungary. Eastern Europe.
GERMAN GAS
AUSTRIA- MASK AND
HUNGARY CONTAINER

SERBIA ROMANIA Balkan front Mustard gas
MONTENEGRO BULGARIA Serbia fought against symbol
Germany, Austria-
ALBANIA Hungary, and Bulgaria. GERMAN GAS
SHELL
ITALY
Poison gas
Constantinople At first there was no protection against poison gas,
but by the middle of the war both sides carried
Gallipoli OTTOMAN Arab revolt gas masks. Around 30 types of gas were used,
EMPIRE The Arabs of North Africa causing more than 1.2 million casualties.
and the Middle East rose
GREECE up against the Ottoman 230The number of soldiers
Turks who ruled the region. that perished each
hour throughout the
1915–16 1916 1916 1918 four-and-a-quarter years of the war.

Gallipoli Verdun Somme Hundred Days
British Empire forces, Continuous fighting across The British and French, Offensive
including many troops the trenches produced a after little progress for two Provoked by German
from Australia and New stalemate on the Western years, began the Big Push submarine attacks on
Zealand, launched an Front. Trying to break the —a large-scale attack to American ships, the US
attack on the Ottoman deadlock, Germany launched break through German lines entered the war in 1917. In
Empire at Gallipoli, on an attack on the French at the Somme in France. 1918, American, British, and
the west coast of Turkey. fortifications at Verdun. Thousands were mown French soldiers mounted a
They landed in April 1915, After months of brutal down by German machine series of successful attacks,
but suffered heavy fighting, the exhausted guns. More than 600,000 known as the Hundred Days
casualties and were French army forced the Allied troops were killed or Offensive, forcing the
forced to withdraw. Germans to retreat. wounded, for little gain. Central Powers to surrender.

The cost of the war RUSSIA
GERMANY
There had never before been a human
conflict on this scale, and with it came FRANCE
huge cost to human life. More than half BRITISH EMPIRE
of the 65 million men who fought across AUSTRIA-HUNGARY
the world were killed or wounded, and
many died of disease. More than ITALY
six million ordinary citizens died, from
illness or starvation. Europe was left
in ruins, and its systems of government,
and the way people worked and
lived, changed forever.

Military deaths SERBIA
It is estimated that 15 million
people died in World War I. Key USA
Most of them were soldiers,
BRITISH POSTER especially in the armies of = 100,000 1 MILLION 2 MILLION
Russia and Germany. soldiers killed

316 history THE MODERN WORLD 6,000 miles (10,000 km)—the estimated length
of the trenches across France and Belgium.
Trench warfare
Shell explosion
Soldiers on both sides in World War I faced a lethal Artillery shells could be loaded
bombardment of bullets, shells, and poison gas. with explosives, poison gas, or
They lived and fought in deep trenches stretching pieces of metal called shrapnel.
great distances across the battlefields.
Gas warfare
Both sides suffered horrific losses in the first few months Both sides used poison
of the war, as armies of massed infantry charged toward gas as a weapon, and gas
deadly machine guns. It became clear that masks were essential.
neither side could break through the
other’s defenses. Instead they dug down
into long lines of fortified trenches, which
stretched all across Europe. The war
became a stalemate that lasted for
years, with soldiers camped in lines
of trenches, facing each other across
a strip of no man’s land.

New weapons

World War I saw some of the highest rates of
death and injury to frontline soldiers of any
war in history. This was partly due to the
development of powerful new weapons such
as machine guns and high-explosive artillery
shells, which could cause mass
casualties in a very short
space of time.

Artillery Life in the trenches Tunnel support
The largest guns could bombard trench
positions from miles away. A direct hit from The trenches were a harsh place to Underground war
an artillery shell would create a large crater, live. In winter they filled with mud and As well as attacking above ground,
and could kill a dozen men in an instant. ice, and they were infested with huge rats both sides tried to tunnel into
all year round. The soldiers were often enemy trenches, to place explosives.
Deadly enemies cold and wet, hungry and exhausted, Fierce battles were fought when
and to make matters worse, they knew enemy diggers met underground.
Life in the trenches was extremely an attack could come any moment.
dangerous. Around 9.7 million soldiers
were killed in combat, and many more were No man’s land
horribly wounded under a nearly constant The land between the trenches was a
barrage of bullets, shells, and poison gas. sea of mud blasted by artillery shells.
The bodies of dead soldiers often lay
20% machine-gun fire
here for days because it was too
10% rifle fire dangerous to retrieve them.

60% artillery 6% other weapons “What a bloodbath, what horrid
4% poison gas images, what slaughter…

CAUSES OF DEATH OF SOLDIERS Hell cannot be
IN WORLD WAR I this dreadful.”

Albert Joubaire, a French
soldier at Verdun in 1916

4,000 calories—daily ration of a 317
British soldier in the trenches.
Periscope
Shell hole Firing bay
Craters left by shell The bottom of the trench was dug to Sandbags for
explosions filled with protection
rainwater and mud, and be deep enough that soldiers could
could drown the unwary. walk along it without being exposed Field
to enemy fire. Steps enabled soldiers telephone

to see out over no man’s land, and Sniper
snipers to fire on the enemy. Pillbox
Concrete boxes were built
Barbed wire to shelter machine guns
and lookout posts.
Reconnaissance
During quiet times, Latrines
small groups might be Under constant threat
sent into no man’s from enemy fire, even
land to spy on enemy toilets and washrooms
movement. had to be built in trenches.

Soldiers’ shelter Officers’ dugout
Special rooms
Firing bay for officers
Soldiers standing here could look were dug
and fire out over no man’s land. below ground.
They had to beware of gunfire
from enemy snipers.

318 history THE MODERN WORLD 1.5 million children died 57 The number of consecutive nights
during the Holocaust. London was bombed during the Blitz.

World War II Rise of Fascism Nazi symbol
This German army
In September 1939, Germany, led by brutal Fascism, a new form of badge shows an eagle
dictator Adolf Hitler, stormed into Poland. This nationalism, rose out of the on top of a swastika—
was the beginning of World War II. Lasting six ashes of World War I. As the symbol of the
long years, it was the deadliest conflict in history. people struggled with mass National Socialist
unemployment and poverty, German Workers
World War I was supposed to be “the war to end all wars,” they were drawn to strong Party (Nazis), led
but defeated countries believed they had been treated badly leaders such as Benito Mussolini by Adolf Hitler.
by harsh peace terms. In the 1930s, a catastrophic global (Italy) and Francisco Franco (Spain) who
recession broke out, which left many people poor and promised national unity and prosperity.
destitute. Disillusioned, they began to turn to new, In Germany, Adolf Hitler declared himself
forceful leaders for solutions. Führer (leader) and led the country to war.

In Germany, the Nazi Party rose to power under Adolf Theaters of war Battle of the Atlantic
Hitler. He launched mass invasions west into Europe and The Allies needed to keep shipping
east into the USSR in search of more “living space” for the Battles raged on land, sea, and in
German people. At the same time, the Japanese fought to the air across Western Europe, the lanes open, so essential supplies
take control of Asia and the Pacific Ocean. The battle to Eastern Front, the Mediterranean, from the US could reach Britain
defeat Germany, Japan, and their allies would spread North Africa, and the Pacific and and the USSR. German U-boats
across the globe, and cost the lives of millions. Atlantic oceans. Few nations (submarines) sank many convoys,
remained neutral, supporting but the Allies eventually defeated
Codes, spies, and propaganda either the Allies (Britain, France,
the US, and Russia) or the Axis the German navy.
World War II was one of the first wars fought with modern (Germany, Italy, and Japan).
technology and electronics. Both sides became very good at
spying, and they used codes to pass on secret information. Spies
and double agents did their best to outwit the enemy. In their
own countries, they used posters, movies, and radio broadcasts
to spread propaganda—powerful messages designed to stir
national pride, loyalty, and hatred of the enemy.

United States of America NORTH
Neutral at the start of AMERICA
the war, the US helped
Enigma ATLANTIC
The Enigma machine was the Allies with loans of OCEAN
a German device used to money and materials.
send coded messages. A surprise attack by
It could only be read by Japan brought the US
another Enigma machine. into the war in 1941.
The British cracked the
codes in 1941 using an PACIFIC SOUTH
early form of computer. OCEAN AMERICA

Rotator cylinder Key
Letters are coded by a set
Allied nations
of rotating wheels. They Axis nations
can only be decoded using Countries conquered
by the Axis
the same settings.
North Africa
Keyboard The Axis and the Allies fought in
When a letter is pressed, it North Africa from 1940 to 1943. British
General Bernard Montgomery defeated
sends an electrical signal German Field Marshal Erwin Rommel in
to the rotator for coding.
tank battles across the desert.
Plugboard
The plugboard hugely
increases the number of
coding combinations.

16 million American soldiers 27 million Soviet soldiers and civilians 35,000 Allied prisoners of war escaped German 319
served in World War II. died on the Eastern Front. and Italian prisons during World War II.

The Holocaust The course of the war

Adolf Hitler was convinced that the German people were Hitler’s forces quickly conquered large
the “master race” and that other people, such as Jews, areas of Europe. He then attacked his
were inferior. Under German occupation, Jews were former allies, the USSR, but was halted
herded into ghettos where many starved to death. by fierce resistance. When the US joined
In 1942, Hitler instigated the Final Solution—the murder the Allies in 1941, the tide began to turn.
of all Jews. He set up concentration camps where German forces were pushed back, and the
“inferior” people such as Jews, homosexuals, gypsies, Japanese were defeated in brutal fighting
and Soviet prisoners of war were gassed to death in one across Asia and the Pacific.
of the most horrific campaigns in human history.
German invasion of Europe
“I STILL BELIEVE, IN SPITE OF The yellow star 1940 Sept 1, 1939 Hitler’s lightning invasion swiftly conquered Poland.
Jews were forced to wear this The following year, German troops took Denmark,
EVERYTHING, yellow badge to identify them Norway, Belgium, the Netherlands, and most of
as Jewish. It became a symbol France. The British were forced to evacuate 340,000
THAT PEOPLE ARE TRULY of Nazi persecution. Allied troops at Dunkirk, France, in May 1940.

GOOD AT HEART.” Battle of Britain
ANNE FRANK, JEWISH VICTIM OF THE HOLOCAUST During the Battle of
Britain, German and
Europe British aircraft fought
At the start of the war, most of for control of the skies.
mainland Europe fell to the Germans, Germany’s defeat
whose Blitzkrieg (lightning war) prevented a land
tactics proved hugely successful. From invasion of Britain, but
1942–43, the Allies began to fight back. bombers began deadly
air raids on British cities.
June 1941
GAS MASK ISSUED
ASIA TO CHILDREN IN
BRITISH CITIES
EUROPE Dec 7, 1941
AFRICA Operation Barbarossa
The USSR Oct 1942 The Germans turned on their former allies, the USSR,
In 1941, the war widened when reaching Moscow and Leningrad. But they were
driven back by Soviet counterattacks and the harsh
Hitler invaded the USSR. Early winter. Both sides suffered huge losses, and the
German successes were overturned Germans suffered their first defeat of the war.

by tenacious military and civilian Pearl Harbor
resistance in one of the bloodiest Japan, Germany’s allies, mounted a surprise attack
on American ships at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, bringing
campaigns of the war. the USA into the war. In June 1942, the US fleet
defeated the Japanese Navy at the Battle of Midway
PACIFIC in the Pacific Ocean, halting the Japanese advance.
OCEAN
El Alamein
INDIAN Winter 1942 The Allies won a major
OCEAN victory when the British
drove the Germans
AUSTRALIA out of Egypt at the
Battle of El Alamein.
The Pacific Aug 6, 1945 June 6, 1944
The Pacific theater of war included DESERT RAT BANNER
Japan, China, and Korea, and many OF BRITISH FORCES IN
small islands in Southeast Asia. The
NORTH AFRICA
Japanese won early victories, but
their advance was halted by the US Stalingrad
Navy at the Battle of Midway in 1942. The focus of the war on the Eastern Front, the brutal
Battle of Stalingrad, USSR, involved unimaginable
hardship as two armies fought for control of the city.
The Soviet Red Army destroyed superior German
forces, and soon began to march on Germany.

D-Day
After two years of planning, the Allies invaded
Europe in Operation Overlord. To liberate France,
4,000 landing craft, 600 warships, and thousands of
Allied aircraft hit five beaches in Normandy. Germany
was forced to surrender just 11 months later.

Hiroshima
In the last act of the war, the Americans used a new
weapon, the atomic bomb, to force the Japanese to
surrender. They dropped bombs on the cities of
Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The two explosions killed
more than 300,000 people.

320 history THE MODERN WORLD 30 mph (48 kph)—the top speed 200 miles (320 km)—the
of the Soviet T34 tank. range of a V-2 rocket.

Modern warfare

World War II was the most destructive conflict in Bomber plane Engines
history, since modern technology created new and During World War II, both sides Four powerful engines
deadly weapons. The war saw the introduction of used bombers to attack enemy allowed the B-17 to reach
guided missiles, mass tank battles, jet engines, cities: to destroy factories and a top speed of 290 mph
atomic weapons, and powerful bomber planes. damage enemy morale. German
planes pounded British cities in (460 kph).
Hitler’s armies planned to shock the Allies into surrender using 1940–41 in a series of attacks
surprise bomb attacks and rapid tank invasions—a strategy he called the Blitz, while Allied
called Blitzkrieg (lightning warfare). As the war went on, both aircraft leveled German cities
sides built tanks, planes, and ships in huge numbers, and these such as Dresden in 1945.
weapons caused mass casualties and pulverized vast areas of
land. Toward the end of the war, fleets of bombers numbering Bomb bay
more than 1,000 pummeled cities for days and nights on end. The B-17 could carry up

to 8,000 lb (3,600 kg)
of bombs.

Oxygen tanks Radio desk
These supplied A radio operator sat here
breathable air to the to communicate with the
crew at high altitudes.
bomber’s home base.

Nose guns

Navigator
The navigator plotted

the plane’s course
at this desk.

Bombardier Cockpit
This officer controlled the The pilot and
release of bombs as close as copilot controlled
the plane from here.
possible to the target.

2.9 million tons—the total Propeller
weight of bombs dropped
by the Allies on Europe.

90 The number of airplanes carried by 1 million—the number of houses in London 321
a Yorktown class aircraft carrier. destroyed by German air raids during the Blitz.

Waist turret Wings Mechanized warfare
Thirteen machine guns The B-17 has a
wingspan of 104 ft In World War II, mechanized warfare came of
protected all sides (32 m)—longer than age. Hitler’s Blitzkrieg proved that speed and
of the B-17 from a basketball court. mobility were crucial. Armies of tanks were
fighter attack. supported by airpower and artillery. Vehicles
Tail guns transported troops and weapons quickly
Aluminum frame to the front line. Submarines disrupted
The skeleton of the Camouflage paint supplies, and aircraft carriers became
bomber was made of The top of the bomber a prime offensive weapon. Engineers
aluminum, which is is painted drab green, worked furiously to design machines
light but strong. to make it hard to see that were faster, lighter, and deadlier.
when flying over land.
Soviet T34 tank
Insignia of the This speedy,
United States versatile tank
Air Force was key to the
Soviet defeat of the
German invasion.

British Spitfire
fighter plane
British Spitfires
defeated the German
airforce, preventing
an invasion.

USS Yorktown class
aircraft carrier
These great ships
allowed planes
to operate across
the Pacific Ocean.

German U-boat
U-boats sank
hundreds of ships
carrying supplies
from the US to
its allies.

German V-2 rocket
This long-range
rocket flew on
its own power
to explode in
enemy cities.

DURING WORLD WAR II,

33,000 PEOPLE

WERE KILLED OR INJURED

IN GERMAN MISSILE
ATTACKS ON LONDON.

Bombs B-17 bomber
These contained
explosives or materials The American Boeing B-17 was the first
for starting fires. mass-produced, four-engine heavy bomber.
Designed for long-range, high-altitude flight,
it flew 294,875 missions to targets all over
Europe, and dropped 716,800 tons of
bombs, mostly on German factories.

322 history THE MODERN WORLD 18 of the 22 major cities in North Korea were
flattened by air raids in the Korean War.
A world divided United States of America
The US was the most powerful NATO United Kingdom
The Cold War saw two superpowers country. Its leaders worked to destabilize Allied with the US, the UK had
face off, backed by global alliances. an extensive spy network and its
The communist nations (marked in communist states across the world, own arsenal of nuclear weapons.
red), led by the USSR, were opposed but were not always successful.
by NATO (marked in blue), an alliance
led by the US, and other allied
countries around the world.

The Cuban Missile Crisis The Space Race
The island of Cuba was a Both sides raced to send people
communist state and an ally of into space. The Soviets took the
the USSR. In 1962, the Soviets first victory when Russian pilot
began to build missile launch Yuri Gagarin orbited the Earth
sites in Cuba, within striking in 1961. But the Americans won
distance of major US cities. the race when, in 1969, the
The Americans demanded the crew of spacecraft Apollo 11
missiles be removed. Military became the first human beings
conflict seemed inevitable, to walk on the Moon.
but at the last minute, the
Soviets withdrew. Communism in Africa
Communist parties
Nicaragua
Communist parties had formed in several African
the support of the people countries as they gained their
in countries across Central independence from European
and South America. The empires. Backed by the USSR,
US tried to undermine they often battled with forces

them; for example, by allied with NATO.
supporting a guerrilla
rebellion in Nicaragua.

Global conflict 1945 1948 1950 1956 1979 1987
As World War II The German capital, The US government Hungary, a Soviet Soviet allies in The USSR was
The battle between NATO and the came to an end, Berlin, in Soviet- feared that Soviet ally in Eastern Afghanistan were faced with
USSR spread across the world. the Allied leaders controlled East spies had found Europe, elected attacked by Islamic economic collapse.
An “Iron Curtain” divided Europe arranged to divide Germany, was their way into key a new leader, resistance fighters. A new leader,
between communist east and Europe between partly controlled institutions such Imre Nagy, who The US supplied Mikhail Gorbachev,
democratic west. Violent struggles them. The USSR by the US, Britain, as the army and promised to reform weapons and announced a policy
broke out in Africa, Latin America, forced Eastern and France. The intelligence the communist training to the of openness,
and Asia. In the end it was European countries Soviets tried to services. A Senator government. The rebels, while the reforming the
economic more than military force such as Poland and squeeze the Allies named Joe USSR, determined USSR sent in an communist
that brought the war to an end. Hungary to turn out by blocking McCarthy began to keep control of army to back up government and
to communism. roads and railways. a campaign to hunt the country, sent the communists. seeking peace with
“FROM EACH ACCORDING TO By 1948, Europe The Americans and down enemy tanks to restore The war lasted for NATO. In 1989,
was divided, with British got around agents. His search Soviet control and almost a decade, Gorbachev and
HIS ABILITY, democracy in the blockade by became a witch remove Nagy from and millions of US President
the west and airlifting in more hunt where power. Many Afghan civilians George HW Bush
TO EACH ACCORDING TO communist rule than a million tons innocent people civilians were were forced to announced the end
in the east. of supplies. were persecuted. injured or killed. flee their homes. of the Cold War.
HIS NEEDS.”
COMMUNIST MOTTO

6 million—the estimated number of Afghan civilians forced 10 million Polish people joined the Solidarity protest 323
to flee their homes in the Soviet-Afghan War, 1979–88. movement in 1980, undermining communist rule.

The Iron Curtain USSR The Vietnam War
At the end of World War II, the USSR The revolution of 1917 saw In 1954, Vietnam split
took control of much of Eastern Europe, the Russian Empire become into communist North and
by force where necessary. The dividing the USSR, the world’s first US-allied South. As tensions
line between the two sides became communist state. rose, the US sent troops
known as the Iron Curtain. to support South Vietnam.
They were drawn into a
China brutal guerrilla war, and were
A brutal civil war saw forced to withdraw in 1973.
China become a communist South Vietnam was conquered
nation in 1949. Millions by the North in 1975.
died in the decades of
turbulence that followed.

Korea
Communist North
Korea, aided by China
and the USSR, battled
the US and its allies
for control of US-
allied South Korea
from 1950–53.

The great reformer Sputnik
Mikhail Gorbachev reformed the USSR The USSR took a
and sought peace with NATO. But he lead in the Space
was ousted from power in 1991 and Race by launching
the USSR split apart. the first man-made
satellite, Sputnik 1,
in 1957.

The Berlin Wall
Germany and its capital,
Berlin, were split between
the USSR, and the US,
France, and Britain. The
Soviets built a wall across
Berlin to keep people from
fleeing to the West. The wall
was demolished in 1989 as
the Cold War ended.

The Cold War

After World War II, the world was divided between two
immensely powerful rivals: the communist USSR and the
democratic US. Bitter enemies, these two superpowers
faced off, backed by massive arsenals of nuclear weapons.

The people of the USSR (the Soviets) believed in communism, a system that
shares all wealth equally. However, their government was often corrupt
and oppressive. The US was a capitalist democracy, and its people enjoyed
much greater freedom than those in communist countries. Both sides had
vast stores of nuclear weaponry, enough to wipe each other
out if they ever went to war. This threat of “mutually assured destruction”
forced them to fight by other means, using spies and economic warfare to
weaken the other’s position. Most of their battles were fought in smaller
countries such as Vietnam and Nicaragua, with the USSR trying to spread
communism and the US fighting to prevent them from succeeding.

324 history THE MODERN WORLD 1968 The year students and workers all over Europe
marched in protest against their governments.

The 1960s Peace and love

Filled with political revolutions, struggles for Many people were shocked by the violence they saw on their new
independence, and teenage rebellion, the 1960s television screens, especially in news reports from the Vietnam War.
was a decade of change, in which old values and Influenced by Eastern philosophies such as Hinduism and Buddhism,
traditions were challenged by a new generation. they formed protest movements calling for violence to be rejected in
favor of peace and universal love. The Campaign
In Europe and the USA, the 1960s were a time of social change. for Nuclear Disarmament (CND)
A new generation, growing up after the horrors of World War II, called for both sides in the
looked forward with optimism and the belief they could change Cold War to abandon
the world. They rejected their parents’ values and challenged all nuclear weapons.
forms of authority, embracing outrageous new styles of fashion, The hippie movement,
psychedelic art, and politically motivated music. At the same born in San Francisco,
time, protest movements called for peace across the world, for CA, called for a
the end to racial discrimination, and for equal rights for women. laid-back lifestyle
promoting peace,
The 1960s also saw wars in Vietnam, Nigeria, and Cyprus, love, and
and between Arabs and Israelis in the Middle East. Mao’s understanding.
Cultural Revolution turned Chinese society upside down.
African countries achieved independence from their old colonial
rulers, some becoming bright new democracies, while others
slipped into civil war. Despite the turmoil, the decade ended
with an astounding triumph for human science, technology,
and bravery, when the first people set foot on the Moon.

War and peace Campaign for civil rights Death of a president
At the beginning of the decade, many President John F. Kennedy was shot
Despite numerous protests Southern states encouraged separation
for peace, the 1960s became between white and black people (or and killed as he drove through the
increasingly violent. Tensions segregation). In February 1960, four black streets of Dallas, Texas. His murder
grew between the US and the students in South Carolina protested by sitting
USSR, in a Cold War between down at a “whites-only” lunch counter and shocked not just America,
East and West, and both sides refusing to leave. Their example sparked but the entire world, coming
built up massive arsenals of similar protests across segregated states. at a time of uncertainty and
nuclear weapons. However, tension between Russia and
the 1960s also saw huge
strides in the quest for equal the United States.
rights. Discrimination against
black people was outlawed in The first man in space A NEWSPAPER REPORTS
the US, and women gained On April 12 1961, the Russian Yuri KENNEDY’S DEATH
greater control over their Gagarin became the first person to
lives and choices. journey to outer space. His spaceship,
the Vostok I, just large enough for one
person, made a single orbit of the
Earth. His flight lasted a total of
108 minutes from launch to landing.

1960 1961 1962 1963 1964

Independence across Africa Martin Luther King The British invasion
Up to World War II, much of Africa was ruled by The campaign for civil rights in the US was led Pop music became a
European empires. These empires were greatly by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. In August 1963,
weakened by the war, and in 1960, 17 African powerful cultural force.
countries gained independence, including he gave a powerful speech to a crowd of British bands such as The
Nigeria, Chad, Somalia, and Madagascar. The campaigners in Washington, DC, calling for an
process of decolonization (giving power back Beatles and The Rolling
to local people) would continue for many years. end to racism. He was murdered five years Stones became world
later, but new laws in 1964 and 1965 famous, storming the
banned racial discrimination.
American charts in 1964.

MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR.,
ADDRESSING CROWDS IN
WASHINGTON, D.C.

KENYAN BANK NOTE SHOWING JOMO KENYATTA, “I HAVE A DREAM THAT MY FOUR THE BEATLES
THE COUNTRY’S FIRST PRESIDENT. ARRIVE IN THE USA
LITTLE CHILDREN WILL ONE DAY

LIVE IN A NATION WHERE
THEY WILL NOT BE JUDGED
BY THE COLOR OF THEIR SKIN

BUT BY THE CONTENT
OF THEIR CHARACTER.”

500,000 The number of troops that entered 400,000 The number of people who 325
Czechoslovakia during the Prague Spring. attended the Woodstock Festival.

Volkswagen camper van New art and fashion
An icon of 1960s counterculture, these
vans were perfect for people who wanted Many parts of Europe and the US became very
to drop out of mainstream society, travel wealthy in the 1960s. Teenagers suddenly had buying
the world, and try new things. power, and their shopping habits created new cultural
trends. Artists such as Andy Warhol created Pop Art,
using images from advertising, comic books, and
movies. Young people didn’t have to dress like their
parents anymore, and fashion was transformed by
designers such as Mary Quant. Carnaby Street in
London became the center of this creative energy.
In France, a New Wave of directors experimented
with films focusing on realistic situations and the
important social issues of the day.

“THE YOUNG TODAY

ARE LESS MATERIALISTIC
AND MORE INTELLIGENT

THAN THEY’VE EVER BEEN.”
MARY QUANT,
DESIGNER OF THE MINISKIRT, 1967

Fashion revolution
The miniskirt, by Mary Quant, is an icon of 1960s

fashion. The older generation thought it was
vulgar and indecent. The younger generation
adored it. The new designs made models such as
Twiggy (Lesley Hornby) overnight celebrities.

Vietnam War China’s Cultural Revolution ABORIGINAL FLAG Woodstock
In the bloodiest conflict of the Cold War, the Communist China was led by Mao The Woodstock Music and Art
US army supported South Vietnam against Zedong. He was loved by farmers Equality in Australia Fair was held In August 1969
communist North Vietnam, who were allied and workers, but he suspected the The indigenous people of Australia on farmland near Bethel, NY.
with the USSR and China. The war was a educated middle class of trying to —the Aborigines—campaigned for
disaster for the US, who were forced to undermine him. In 1966, to equality throughout the 1960s. It summed up the youthful
withdraw after years of brutal fighting. strengthen his hold on power, he Their lands had been taken by optimism of the decade
called for a Cultural Revolution white settlers, they were denied
DOGTAGS USED TO IDENTIFY to rebuild Chinese society. Schools access to education and healthcare, as hundreds of thousands came
US SOLDIERS IN VIETNAM and colleges were closed down. and many were not permitted to to watch their heroes perform
Millions of young people were vote. In 1967, Australia finally live. The festival featured
taken out of education and sent to granted citizenship to Aborigines, performances by the decade’s
work on farms. Scientists, but the struggle for equality greatest musicians, such as
teachers, scholars, writers, and continued for many years. Joan Baez, Janis Joplin,
business managers were beaten and Jimi Hendrix.
and humiliated by mobs in the
streets. The turbulence continued
until Mao’s death in 1976.

1965 1966 1967 1968 1969

Golan The Six Day War Prague Spring Moon landings
Heights Israel had long been in Czechoslovakia had lived under The decade ended
communist rule since 1948, with with an extraordinary
LEBANON dispute with its Arab the Czech government strongly achievement. In July
neighbors. In 1967, influenced by the Soviet Union. 1969, an American
Mediterranean SYRIA In 1968, Czech leader Alexander spacecraft carrying
Sea fearing an attack led Dubček tried to give the people Neil Armstrong and
West by Egypt, Israel struck Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin
Gaza Bank new freedoms. The Soviets landed on the surface
Strip Jerusalem first, capturing large would not allow this and sent
Dead areas of land in Egypt of the Moon.
Suez ISRAEL Sea and Palestine in a war tanks into Prague, the Czech Around 600 million
Canal capital. Despite protests by the
JORDAN lasting just six days. awestruck people
people of Prague, Dubček was watched the Moon
EGYPT removed from power and landing live on their
communist rule continued. television screens.

Gulf of Suez SAUDI Key SATURN V
ARABIA
Israeli territory before
Red Sea the war

Land captured by Israel
during the war

326 history THE MODERN WORLD 5 billion mobile phones were 6.1 billion—population of the world
in use globally by 2011. at the start of the 21st century.

The 21st century The War on Terror Sept 2001

At the end of the 20th century, the world got ready In 2001, a group of Islamist terrorists 9/11
to party. Huge celebrations took place across the globe named al-Qaeda launched a series of On September 11, 2001, the US
to greet the year 2000, the start of the new millennium. attacks on targets in the US. A decade suffered devastating terrorist
The new century brought grave new challenges, but of conflict followed. The US and its attacks. Members of al-Qaeda,
also amazing opportunities. allies launched a “War on Terror,” a global terrorist network of
invading Afghanistan to capture the radical Muslims, hijacked four
With the world’s population expanding, humanity’s demands terrorists and prevent further attacks. aircraft. They flew two into the
on the planet are growing rapidly. As the 21st century goes on, Meanwhile, al-Qaeda and their allies World Trade Center in New York
scientists have become increasingly concerned that we may plotted to cause more deaths and (pictured) and one into the
run out of some natural resources, and that human activity is destruction in other countries across Pentagon. The fourth crashed in
causing dangerous changes to our environment. Many countries the world. Pennsylvania. Almost 3,000
have also had to contend with devastating natural disasters. people were killed in the attacks,
Terrorist attacks brought fear and conflict to many cities, and which shocked the world.
a global financial collapse increased the hardship for millions.
The War in Iraq
At the same time, the 21st century has seen astonishing
new advances in technology. Smartphones and tablets have In 1991, Saddam Hussein, leader of Iraq, ordered
transformed the way we communicate, and the Internet has an invasion of neighboring Kuwait. His armies were
expanded hugely to give voices to users across the globe. driven out by an international force led by the US, but
tensions remained high. In 2001, the international
Digital revolution community suspected that Saddam Hussein possessed
weapons of mass destruction capable of causing huge
The digital revolution began in the 1980s, when computers became civilian casualties. As the War on Terror heightened
cheap enough for people to buy and use at home. At first computers tensions across the Middle East, the US and UK led an
were big metal boxes, but today they are hidden in everyday objects, invasion of Iraq in 2003, toppling Saddam Hussein from
such as smartphones, tablets, MP3 players, and cameras. The Internet power. Although the invasion lasted only a few weeks,
is rapidly evolving to play a central role in society, transforming violence would continue in Iraq for many years.
cultural, economic, and political landscapes. There are thought to be
more than 2 billion Internet users worldwide, all of whom can Saddam Hussein’s statue is toppled
exchange information in an instant. US tanks rolled into the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, in
April 2003, signaling the end of the dictatorship
of Saddam Hussein. Jubilant Iraqis toppled a
massive statue of the former leader in a
symbolic gesture of contempt.

WEB 1.0 WEB 2.0
250,000 SITES 620 MILLION+ SITES

PUBLISHED USER- PUBLISHED USER- Natural disasters
CONTENT GENERATED CONTENT GENERATED
The first years of the 21st century were beset by natural
CONTENT CONTENT disasters and extreme weather. In 2003, more than 40,000
people died in heat waves across Europe. In 2004, a huge
1996: 45 MILLION USERS 2013: MORE THAN 2 BILLION tsunami caused devastation around the Indian Ocean,
WORLDWIDE USERS WORLDWIDE killing almost 230,000 people in 14 countries. The
following year, a powerful storm, Hurricane Katrina, laid
Web use waste to the city of New Orleans, with wind speeds of
During the 1990s, most people only used the Internet to look up 125 mph (200 kph). A massive earthquake devastated the
information. In the 21st century, the amount of user-generated island of Haiti in the Caribbean in 2010, killing more than
content has hugely increased, with blogs and social networking 300,000 people and leaving millions homeless. In 2011,
sites allowing people to share their ideas and experiences. another earthquake triggered a tsunami in Japan,
destroying homes and causing radioactive material to
IN 2001, GOOGLE INDEXED leak from the Fukushima nuclear power plant.

250 MILLION IMAGES. Global dangers
IN 2010, IT INDEXED Countries all across the world experienced

MORE THAN 10 BILLION. devastating natural disasters in the early
years of the 21st century. Some were freak

chance events, while others have been
linked to changes in the world’s climate.

900 million people used 1,836 people were killed by 6,909 living languages were 327
Facebook in 2012. Hurricane Katrina. recorded in 2009.

Oct 2001 March 2004 July 2005 May 2011

Invasion of Afghanistan Madrid bombings London bombings Death of Bin Laden
The US and its NATO allies On the eve of Spanish political Britain experienced attacks on US President Barack Obama
launched Operation Enduring elections, members of al-Qaeda July 7, 2005, when terrorists received intelligence that Osama
Freedom after the 9/11 attacks, exploded bombs on four trains carried out a series of suicide bin Laden, the head of al-Qaeda,
in an effort to track down in Madrid, killing 191 people bombings on London’s transport was hiding out in a compound in
Osama bin Laden. The terrorist and wounding 1,841. The system. Three bombs exploded Abbottabad, Pakistan. In a daring
leader was thought to be in Spanish government had on underground trains, and one night raid named Operation
Afghanistan, where the Taliban supported the 2003 US-led on a double-decker bus. An Neptune Spear, a US Navy Seal
government was allied with invasion of Iraq. The Spanish al-Qaeda website claimed that team shot dead bin Laden and
al-Qaeda. The invasion public promptly voted that they had launched these attacks four others. It was an important
succeeded in overthrowing the political party out of office and in retaliation for Britain’s milestone in the War on Terror,
Taliban, but violence continued installed a party that withdrew involvement in the wars in but not an end to Islamist
in Afghanistan for years. Spanish troops from Iraq. Iraq and Afghanistan. extremist terrorist attacks.

The Arab Spring spread to Egypt, where President Hosni
Mubarak resigned after massive popular
In 2010, a Tunisian man set fire to protests. In 2011, there were uprisings
himself in protest to poor treatment in Yemen, Bahrain, Libya, and Syria.
by the Tunisian police. His rebellion Libya’s leader, Colonel Muammar
sparked a wave of unrest that spread Gaddafi, was overthrown by rebel
across the Arab world, in countries fighters. Free elections took place in
ruled by dictators or corrupt and some Arab countries, but others such
oppressive governments. First, the as Syria were thrown into civil war.
Tunisian leader, Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali,
was forced from power. Then dissent

MOROCCO TUNISIA SYRIA IRAQ
LEBANON KUWAIT
Western ALGERIA
Sahara JORDAN BAHRAIN

LIBYA EGYPT

OMAN

MAURITANIA SAUDI
ARABIA

SUDAN YEMEN

Wave of protest
Demonstrations in Tunisia spread
to countries across the Middle East
and North Africa.

EUROPEAN HEAT Global financial crisis Losses and bailouts
WAVE, 2003 The crisis wiped 33 percent off the
In 2007, US banks realized that they had value of the world’s companies.
HURRICANE KATRINA, 2005 JAPAN lent money for home mortgages to Governments were forced to pay out
HAITI EARTHQUAKE, TSUNAMI, hundreds of thousands of customers who huge sums of money to keep their
2010 2011 could not afford to pay them back. To make economies afloat.
matters worse, the banks had bundled up
FLOODING IN INDIAN OCEAN the mortgages with other investments, $14.5
BRAZIL, 2009 TSUNAMI, 2004 worth billions of dollars. These suddenly TRILLION
lost value, threatening financial systems
across the world. The value of investments $13.8 TRILLION
plummeted, and huge banks collapsed in the
US and Europe. The crisis brought poverty $1.4
and unemployment to many countries TRILLION
across the globe.

2009 financial statistics

Value of world’s companies wiped out

GDP (annual production) of US

Money spent by European governments
to prop up banks in debt



REFERENCE

Find out all about stars, wars, flags, empires, inventions,
wonders of the world, record-breaking animals, and history’s
looniest leaders in the reference section. A useful glossary
explains many of the terms used in this book.

330 reference

Sky maps The constellations Canes Venatici
Canis Major
These six maps fit together to form a map of the whole night Andromeda Canis Minor
sky. Together, the shape they create is known as the celestial Antlia Capricornus
sphere, and includes every star that can be seen from Earth. Apus Carina
The stars can also be linked together into shapes called Aquarius Cassiopeia
constellations—there are 88 constellations in total. Some have Aquila Centaurus
smaller shapes within them, which are called asterisms. The red Ara Cepheus
lines on these maps divide the celestial sphere into different Aries Cetus
regions, each with a single constellation as its focus. The dots show Auriga Chamaeleon
stars—the bigger the dot, the brighter the star it represents. Boötes Circinus
Caelum Columba
Camelopardalis
Cancer

THE NORTH POLAR SKY 18h
17h
The main feature of the north polar sky is Polaris, also 19h
DRACO
known as the North Star or Pole Star. Although not a 20h

particularly bright star, it is important, because it 16h CYGNUS

lets navigators on land or sea find which way

north is, and set their direction of travel

accordingly. As the Earth’s axis points to

a spot very close to Polaris, the star 15h 21h

appears to stay in virtually the same

place, while the sky rotates

around it. BOÖTES

14h 22h

CEPHEUS

13h URSA MINOR LACERTA

CANES 90˚ 23h
VENATICI
ANDROMEDA
12h
80˚ 70˚ 60˚ ˚50 0h
URSA MAJOR

CASSIOPEIA

11h 1h

PERSEUS

10h 2h
9h
CELESTIAL SPHERE CAMELOPARDALIS
CONSTELLATIONS
LYNX 3h
4h
8h
7h AURIGA 5h

6h

331

Coma Berenices Fornax Libra Pavo Scorpius Ursa Minor
Corona Australis Gemini Lupus Pegasus Sculptor Vela
Corona Borealis Grus Lynx Perseus Scutum Virgo
Corvus Hercules Lyra Phoenix Serpens (Caput) Volans
Crater Horologium Mensa Pictor Serpens (Cauda) Vulpecula
Crux Hydra Microscopium Pisces Sextans
Cygnus Hydrus Monoceros Piscis Austrinus Taurus
Delphinus Indus Musca Puppis Telescopium
Dorado Lacerta Norma Pyxis Triangulum
Draco Leo Octans Reticulum Triangulum Australe
Equuleus Leo Minor Ophiuchus Sagitta Tucana
Eridanus Lepus Orion Sagittarius Ursa Major

THE SOUTH POLAR SKY 18h

While the northern hemisphere has Polaris 19h ARA 17h
20h 16h
to guide travelers, there is no equivalent
TELESCOPIUM NORMA
south star. Here, observers must use a
PAVO
fairly complicated method to find the

south celestial pole, since it lies in a

faint and barren part of the night sky.

However, the constellations nearby 21h 15h

contain some wonderful stars, and LUPUS

there is a good view of our

galaxy, the Milky Way.

22h INDUS TRIANGULUM 14h
AUSTRALE

GRUS APUS CIRCINUS CENTAURUS 13h
MUSCA
23h ˚ ˚–90 –80

OCTANS CRUX

0h ˚ ˚ ˚–70 –60 –50 12h

PHOENIX

TUCANA

1h CHAMAELEON 11h
MENSA

HYDRUS

ERIDANUS 10h

2h RETICULUM VOLANS VELA

HOROLOGIUM DORADO

CELESTIAL SPHERE 3h 9h
CONSTELLATIONS
CARINA

4h PICTOR 8h
7h
5h
6h

332 reference

EQUATORIAL SKY CHART 1 3h 2h 22h 21h
50˚ 50˚
This section of the night sky is best observed in the evenings of
September, October, and November. It mainly consists of empty areas 1h 0h 23h
of space and faint stars, but there are some objects worth looking
out for. In the Andromeda constellation you can see the Andromeda PERSEUS CASSIOPEIA
Galaxy, which is our largest neighboring galaxy. Just north of the 40˚
celestial equator (shown as a yellow line here) is the Great Square 40˚
of Pegasus, an asterism (part of a larger constellation). In Piscis
Austrinus is Fomalhaut, the brightest star in this region. CYGNUS

ANDROMEDA LACERTA

30˚ TRIANGULUM 30˚

20˚ ARIES PEGASUS VULPECULA
10˚ ECLIPTIC 20˚

DELPHINUS

PISCES 10˚

0˚ EQUULEUS
0˚
ERIDANUS
10˚ CETUS

–10˚

AQUARIUS

CELESTIAL SPHERE CONSTELLATIONS –20˚ –20˚
CAPRICORNUS
–30˚ SCULPTOR PISCIS
AUSTRINUS –30˚

FORNAX

20h 16h PHOENIX GRUS
50˚ MICROSCOPIUM –40˚
40˚ 19h 50˚ –40˚
DRACO 18h 17h

BOÖTES ERIDANUS 1h 0h 23h INDUS

40˚ –50˚ 2h 22h 21h–50˚

LYRA 3h

CYGNUS CORONA 30˚
30˚ BOREALIS

VULPECULA HERCULES 20˚ EQUATORIAL SKY CHART 2
20˚ OPHIUCHUS
This part of the night sky is filled with interesting star patterns
SAGITTA SERPENS and is best observed in the evenings of June, July, August, and
CAPUT September. The northern area is dominated by the Summer Triangle
asterism, made up of three stars: Deneb, in the Cygnus constellation;
10˚ DELPHINUS 10˚ Vega, in Lyra; and Altair, in Aquila. To the south is a curving
arrangement of stars that forms the constellation Scorpius,
AQUILA and the constellation Sagittarius is also nearby.

0˚ VIRGO
AQUARIUS 0˚

10 SCUTUM SERPENS LIBRA –10˚
˚

CAUDA

–20˚ CAPRICORNUS ECLIPTIC –20˚

–30˚ SAGITTARIUS SCORPIUS LUPUS –30˚

MICROSCOPIUM CORONA
AUSTRALIS

–40˚ –40˚
15h –50˚
TELESCOPIUM ARA NORMA
16h
INDUS 19h 18h 17h
–50˚
20h
21h
CELESTIAL SPHERE CONSTELLATIONS

333

EQUATORIAL SKY CHART 3 15h 14h 10h 9h
50˚ 13h 11h 50˚
This part of the night sky is best observed in evenings in March, April, URSA MAJOR
and May. It contains two of the brightest stars of the whole celestial 40˚ URSA MAJOR 12h
sphere: reddish Arcturus, in Boötes, and bluish Spica, in Virgo. Virgo LEO MINOR
is the second-biggest constellation, and just to its south is the largest, 30˚ 40˚
Hydra, which weaves its way across—and beyond—the entire region.
Just above the center and to the right are the stars that make up CANES VENATICI
Leo, the Lion. One of the few constellations with an easily
recognizable pattern, its head forms a distinctive backward LYNX
question mark of six stars.
30˚

20˚ COMA CANCER 20˚
BERENICES
0˚ BOÖTES LEO ECLIPTIC 10˚
VIRGO
0˚ 0˚
CORVUS CRATER –10˚
SEXTANS

10˚

LIBRA

CELESTIAL SPHERE CONSTELLATIONS –20˚ HYDRA –20˚

–30˚ ANTLIA PYXIS
CENTAURUS –30˚

9h 8h 3h –40˚
50˚ 4h 50˚

7h 6h 5h VELA –40˚
AURIGA
40˚ 40˚ LUPUS 13h 12h 11h
30˚ ECLIPTIC
ORION –50˚ 14h 10h –50˚
15h 9h
LYNX PERSEUS

30˚

GEMINI ARIES
20˚
20˚
10 EQUATORIAL SKY CHART 4
CANCER CETUS 0
10˚ This section of the night sky is best observed in the evenings
–1 of December, January, and February. It is one of the most
CANIS MINOR TAURUS stunning areas of the night sky as it contains more bright
MONOCEROS stars than any other. A good constellation to try to identify
0˚ is Orion, which has an easily recognizable line of three bright
HYDRA stars across its center, known as Orion’s Belt. Adjacent to
Orion is Taurus, containing the star Aldebaran, as well as
–10˚ one of the celestial sphere’s finest star clusters—the Pleiades
or the Seven Sisters.

ERIDANUS

–20˚ LEPUS –20
PYXIS COLUMBA
CANIS
–30˚ MAJOR

PUPPIS –30˚
FORNAX

–40˚ VELA CAELUM –40˚

PICTOR

7h 6h 5h HOROLOGIUM

–50˚ 8h 4h –50˚

9h 3h CELESTIAL SPHERE CONSTELLATIONS

334 reference

The world Continental populations Europe Australasia and Oceania
740 million 37 million
The Earth’s surface is divided into There are now more than 7 billion people in
seven large land masses called the world. Asia is the most densely populated South America Asia
continents: Antarctica, North America, continent, with around 60 percent of the 596 million 4.2 billion
South America, Europe, Asia, Africa, world’s population, including the world’s two
and Australasia and Oceania. Most of most populous nations: China (1.3 billion North America
this land is further divided into people) and India (1.2 billion people). By 346 million
contrast, there are never more than a few
thousand people living the harsh climate of Africa
Antarctica at any one time—and these are 1 billion
mostly scientists doing research.

countries—194 in total. The only

major exception is Antarctica, where

there are no countries, although many 150°W 120°W 90°W 60°W
nations claim ownership of parts of
the land there. ARCTIC OCEAN Baffin Green
Bay (to Den

Arctic Circle Alaska Great Bear Lake
Great Slave Lake
(to US)

60°N Hudson Bay A
Aleutian Islands (to US)
CANAD St Pierre
& Miquelon
Lake (to France)
Winnipeg
ATLANTIC
NORTH Great OCEAN
Lakes

AMERICA

Dividing the world PACIFIC UNITED STATES Bermuda
OCEAN OF AMERICA (to UK)
This political map of the world,
shows the continents and countries. 30°N Guadalupe MEXICO Gulf of BAHAMAS
An imaginary line known as the (to Mexico) Mexico
equator runs horizontally around Midway Islands Turks & Caicos Islands (to UK)
the center of the Earth. The region Revillagigedo
either side of the equator—within (to US) Islands Cayman British Virgin Islands (to UK)
the Tropic of Cancer to the north
and the Tropic of Capricorn to the Tropic of Cancer (to Mexico) Islands
south—is known as the Tropics. (to UK)
This is the world’s hottest region, Clipperton Island Virgin Islands (to US)
where the Sun’s rays strike the (to France)
Earth directly. Hawaii DOMINICAN Anguilla (to UK)
REPUBLIC
(to US) CUBA ST KITTS & NEVIS

JAMAICA HAITI ANTIGUA & BARBUDA

Montserrat (to UK)

BELIZE C a r i b b e a n Puerto Guadeloupe (to France)
Rico
Johnston Atoll (to US) Sea (to US) DOMINICA C
Aruba Neth. Ant. VE
GUATEMALA HONDURAS Martinique (to France)

ST LUCIA
BARBADOS
EL SALVADOR (to Neth.) (to Neth.) ST VINCENT & THE GRENADINES

NICARAGUA GRENADA
TRINIDAD & TOBAGO
COSTA RICA

Kingman PANAMA VENEZUELA
Reef (to US) GUYANA

Palmyra Atoll (to US) French Guiana

Baker & COLOMBIA (to France)
Howland
Islands Galapagos Islands SURINAM

(to US) Equator (to Ecuador)

Jarvis Island ECUADOR
(to US)
Fernan
KIRIBATI (to Braz

Time zones Tokelau Cook PACIFIC PERU BRAZIL
(to NZ) Islands OCEAN
The Earth is also divided by SOUTH
imaginary vertical lines known as Wallis & (to NZ) AMERICA
lines of longitude. For every 15° Futuna
you head east or west, you either (to France) BOLIVIA
gain an hour or lose an hour. The
world is divided into 24 of these SAMOA American
time zones. Samoa (to US)

TONGA T
(
Niue (to NZ) French Polynesia
(to France)

Tropic of Capricorn PARAGUAY
URUGUAY
Pitcairn Sala y Gomez (to Chile) San Felix Island CHILE ARGENTINA
Islands (to Chile)
(to UK) Easter Island
San Ambrosio
165° W 180° E 165° E (to Chile) Island
150° W 150° E (to Chile)
30°S
135° W 135° E
12 Midnight 1 AM Kermadec Islands Juan Fernandez Islands
2 AM (to NZ) (to Chile)
11 PM 3
120° W 8 PM 10 PM AM 120° E
105° W 7 PM PM 4 AM
9
5 AM 105° E
Chatham Islands
(to NZ)

090° W 6 PM 6 AM 090° E Falkland
Islands
075° W 5 PM 7 AM 075° E (to UK) S
S
4 PM 8 AM 60°S South Shetland Islands (
(To UK)
South Orkn
(To UK)

060° W 3 PM 9 AM 060° E

2 PM 10 AM Antarctic Circle
1 PM 11 AM
045° W 12 Noon 045° E

030° W 000° 030° E 150°W 120°W 90°W 60°W
015° W 015° E

335

Continent size Europe Australasia and Oceania
3,998,000 miles² 2,967,000 miles²
The largest continent in the world is (10,355,000 km²) (7,687,000 km²)
Asia. Australia and Oceania is the smallest
continent, at only about a sixth of the size of Antarctica Asia
Asia. The biggest country in the world is 5,500,000 miles² 17,140,000 miles²
Russia, which crosses the border between (14,245,000 km²) (44,391,000 km²)
Europe and Asia, at 6,601,668 miles²
(17,098,242 km²). The second and third South America With an area of 0.2 miles² (0.5
largest countries are Canada and the US, 6,880,000 miles² km²), Vatican City is the world's
both in North America. Canada has a total (17,821,000 km²)
area of 3,855,102 miles² (9,984,670 km²) and smallest country.
the US is 3,794,100 miles² (9,826,675 km²). North America
9,362,000 miles² Africa
(24,247,000 km²) 11,677,000 miles²
(30,244,000 km²)

30°W 0° 30°E 60°E 90°E 120°E 150°E

nland Jan Mayen Svalbard ARCTIC OCEAN
nmark) (to Norway)
(to Norway)

Arctic Circle

Faeroe Islands SWEDEN

ICELAND (to Denmark) FINLAND RUSSIAN FEDERATION
ESTONIA
NORWAY 60°N

Isle Of Man UNITED DENMARK RUSS. LATVIA Sea of Okhotsk
KINGDOM FED. LITHUANIA
(to UK)
NETHERLANDS POLAND BELARUS Lake
E U R O P E A C S H II ANK A Z A K H S T A NL I B Y A I R A NA(tozo(PtCoroaeMrPnstouaargrdtauyelg)GiaIrslia)lbCaPrnhaOdalsntRaInRrTeE(lUt(IoLtsGolAUaAUnNKLdK)DsR)AOSNCPDCOAORIFRNMBRAOEALNLMNGUAIXCUSCVe.WOEMACTdGIITTILCEZYICiAE.RIZSTtCNAELTMUHeOCUC.NAHASVSrMRATIENARSOrLRNANBELIYAIaLI.APBAYM&ATT.AnHIHA.SAN.ULeGMIONASRaEOVKGRAERNOAnBKMRSO.EIIA.YBAACMSCUEAUEMeLDNGOKaOBILANATRCDlRaYIOAAIPcIUSAVkRRIAUARSNSEeLEKaGLSJEAEYOEBORRRAMRIYNDAEGONAIINRIANAA
(to Spain) Aral Baikal Kurile Islands
(to Russ. Fed.)
MONGOLIA

Lake
ACSZa ERBASTIeUJaARUKNZMBEENKIISSTBTAaANlNkhashTAKJYIKRIGSYTZASNTAN
spieaan NORTH Sea of
KOREA Japan
ALGERIA A JAPAN PACIFIC
SOUTH OCEAN
KOREA

Q AFGHANISTAN

KUWAIT PAKIST
RITANIA MO OMAN NEPAL 30°N
AN
EGYPT The Gulf BHUTAN Ryukyu Islands
Red Sea (to Japan)
Western BAHRAIN

Sahara QATAR U.A.E. BANGLADESH TAIWAN Tropic of Cancer

(occupied
by Morocco)
AFR ICA SAUDI I N D I A MYANMAR
ARABIA (BURMA) LAOS Wake Island
MAU VI Northern (to US)
Arabian Mariana
MALI NIGER Sea Bay of Paracel Islands
Bengal Islands
APE C H A D S U D A N ERITREAYEMEN ETNAM (to US)
RDE THAILAND
SENEGAL Socotra (disputed)
GAMBIA (to Yemen)
BURKINA Andaman CAMBODIA PHILIPPINES
Islands Guam
(to US)
GUINEA- GUINEA FASO DJIBOUTI Laccadive (to India) South MARSHALL
BISSAU NIGERIA Islands China ISLANDS
BENIN SRI LANKA Spratly S e a
TOGO C O N G O CAMEROON (to India)
Islands
SIERRA LEONE IVORY GHANA CENTRAL SOUTH ETHIOPIA
COAST AFRICAN SUDAN
SOMALIA Nicobar (disputed) MICRONESIA

LIBERIA MEQE. GUINEA REPUBLIC MALDIVES Islands BRUNEI PALAU
Gulf UGANDA (to India) MALAYSIA

of Guinea SINGAPORE

SAO TO Equator

& PRINCIPE Lake KENYA NAURU

GABON Victoria INDIAN OCEAN KIRIBATI
DEMOCRATIC RWANDA
ndo de Noronha SEYCHELLES INDONESIA PAPUA
il) REPUBLIC BURUNDI NEW
Java Sea GUINEA
ANGOLA OF THE CONGO TANZA British Indian
(Cabinda) Lake Ocean Territory TUVALU
(to UK) SOLOMON
Ascension Island Tanganyika NIA COMOROS Agalega Islands Christmas Island EAST TIMOR
(to UK) (to Mauritius) Cocos (Keeling) Islands (to Australia) ISLANDS
Lake (to Australia)
Nyasa Ashmore &
ANGOLA MALAWI

St Helena ZAMBIA Mayotte Cartier Islands
(to UK) (to Australia)
E (to France)
MOZAMBIQU Coral Sea Islands FIJI
MADAGASCAR
(to Australia) VANUATU

Trinidade NAMIBIA ZIMBABWE MAURITIUS AUSTRALASIA
to Brazil) BOTSWANA New
Réunion (to France) & O C E A N I A Caledonia
ATLANTIC (to France)

AUSTRALIA Tropic of Capricorn

OCEAN SWAZILAND Norfolk Island
LESOTHO (to Australia)
SOUTH 30°S
AFRICA Lord Howe Island
(to Australia)
Prince Edward Islands
Tristan da Cunha (to South Africa) NEW
(To UK) ZEALAND

Gough Island
(To UK)

French Southern Auckland Islands Bounty Islands
& Antarctic Territories (to NZ) (to NZ)

South Georgia & Bouvet Island (to France) Macquarie Island Campbell Island
South Sandwich Islands (to Norway) (to Australia) (to NZ)
to UK) Heard & Mcdonald Islands
(to Australia)
ey Islands

60°S

Antarctic Circle

ANTARCTICA

30°W 0° 30°E 60°E 90°E 120°E 150°E

336 reference

World flags AFRICA

Every country has a national flag with a ALGERIA EGYPT LIBYA MOROCCO TUNISIA
unique design that identifies it to other
countries. There are no international rules for BENIN BURKINA FASO CAPE VERDE GAMBIA GHANA
flag design—each country can choose any
pattern, though they are usually based on the GUINEA GUINEA–BISSAU IVORY COAST LIBERIA MALI
country’s history or culture. Most flags are
rectangular in shape, but the proportions of MAURITANIA NIGER NIGERIA SENEGAL SIERRA LEONE
the rectangle are not always the same. This is
not always the case, however—Nepal, for TOGO CAMEROON CENTRAL AFRICAN CHAD CONGO
example, has a distinctive, nonrectangular flag, REPUBLIC
which looks like two triangles on top of each
other. National flags first became widespread in
the 19th century, but Denmark has the
oldest national flag still in use, dating
back as far as the 13th century.

NORTH AMERICA

CANADA UNITED STATES MEXICO BELIZE DEM. REP. EQUATORIAL GABON SAO TOME & BURUNDI
OF AMERICA CONGO GUINEA PRINCIPE

COSTA RICA EL SALVADOR GUATEMALA HONDURAS DJIBOUTI ERITREA ETHIOPIA KENYA RWANDA

NICARAGUA PANAMA ANTIGUA & BAHAMAS SOMALIA SUDAN SOUTH SUDAN TANZANIA UGANDA
BARBUDA

BARBADOS CUBA DOMINICA DOMINICAN ANGOLA BOTSWANA LESOTHO MALAWI MOZAMBIQUE
REPUBLIC

GRENADA ST. VINCENT & TRINIDAD & ST. KITTS & NAMIBIA SOUTH AFRICA SWAZILAND ZAMBIA ZIMBABWE
THE GRENADINES TOBAGO NEVIS

ST. LUCIA HAITI JAMAICA COMOROS MADAGASCAR MAURITIUS SEYCHELLES

SOUTH AMERICA

COLOMBIA GUYANA SURINAM VENEZUELA BOLIVIA ECUADOR PERU BRAZIL ARGENTINA

URUGUAY CHILE PARAGUAY

337

EUROPE ASIA

DENMARK FINLAND ICELAND NORWAY ARMENIA AZERBAIJAN GEORGIA TURKEY

SWEDEN IRELAND UNITED KINGDOM BELGIUM IRAQ ISRAEL JORDAN LEBANON

LUXEMBOURG NETHERLANDS GERMANY FRANCE SYRIA BAHRAIN KUWAIT OMAN
SPAIN QATAR
MONACO ANDORRA PORTUGAL AUSTRIA IRAN SAUDI ARABIA UNITED ARAB YEMEN
EMIRATES TAJIKISTAN

ITALY SAN MARINO VATICAN CITY KAZAKHSTAN KYRGYZSTAN

LIECHTENSTEIN SLOVENIA SWITZERLAND CZECH TURKMENISTAN UZBEKISTAN AFGHANISTAN PAKISTAN
SLOVAKIA REPUBLIC INDIA NEPAL

HUNGARY POLAND ALBANIA BANGLADESH BHUTAN

BOSNIA & CROATIA KOSOVO MACEDONIA SRI LANKA CHINA MONGOLIA NORTH KOREA
HERZEGOVINA SERBIA (DISPUTED) TAIWAN
GREECE SOUTH KOREA JAPAN BURMA
MONTENEGRO BULGARIA

MOLDOVA ROMANIA UKRAINE BELARUS CAMBODIA LAOS PHILIPPINES THAILAND

ESTONIA LATVIA LITHUANIA CYPRUS VIETNAM BRUNEI INDONESIA EAST TIMOR

MALTA RUSSIAN FEDERATION MALAYSIA SINGAPORE MALDIVES

AUSTRALASIA AND OCEANIA

AUSTRALIA NEW ZEALAND PAPUA NEW FIJI SOLOMON VANUATU MARSHALL MICRONESIA NAURU
GUINEA TONGA ISLANDS ISLANDS

PALAU KIRIBATI TUVALU SAMOA

338 reference Woodpeckers Kingfishers

Tree of life Lichens Mushrooms, Yeasts and Birds
rusts, and sac fungi of prey
Life has evolved into an amazing variety of forms, smuts Albatrosses
but they are all related to the first living things that
appeared on Earth more than 3.8 billion years ago. Chytrids Penguins
This tree of life shows how the simplest single-celled Pelicans
organisms—prokaryotes such as bacteria—developed
into the more complex single-celled eukaryotes and the Fungi
multicelled plants, fungi, and animals.

The main groups of the diversity of life are shown
in this diagram, including all the vertebrates or animals
with backbones. Humans are part of the primate group
of mammals, so we are also linked through billions
of years of evolution to the simplest living organisms
on the planet.

LIFE Storks
BEGINS
Archaea
Prokaryotes Eukaryotes Animals
Protists
Bacteria Sponges Cyndarians

Plants

Giardia Foraminiferans

Bryozoans

Brown Diatoms Water Dinoflagellates Apicomplexans
algae molds (red tides) (plasmodium
malariae)

Vascular plants Nonvascular plants
Liverworts Hornworts Mosses
Flowering Ginkgos Horsetails Ferns
plants

Club Spiders and
mosses scorpions

Cycads Conifers

339

Songbirds Cuckoos

Parrots Owls

Flightless birds Turtles and
(ostrich and kiwi) tortoises

Birds

Crocodilians

Gamebirds Waterfowl
Snakes
Reptiles
Frogs and
toads Newts and
salamanders

Lizards Tuataras Caecilians

Amphibians

Chordates VERTEBRATES

Echinoderms Jawless fish Bony fish Mammals
(starfish and (lamprey)
sea urchins) Invertebrate Egg-laying
chordates (hagfish mammals

and tunicates) Cartilaginous fish
(sharks and rays)
Pouched
mammals

Lobe-finned Ray-finned Anteaters Placental
(coelacanth) (perch) and sloths mammals

Segmented Flatworms Aardvark
worms

Mollusks

Sengis Armadillos

Bivalves (clams Tenrecs and
and scallops) golden moles

Gastropods Roundworms Primates Elephants Hyraxes
(snails and Tree shrews
Cephalopods Sirenians
slugs) (octopuses and

squids) Colugos
Arthropods

Centipedes and Insects Crustaceans Rabbits
millipedes (crabs and and pikas
lobsters)
Rodents

Scaly anteaters Hedgehogs
Carnivores
Bats
Odd-toed Whales
ungulates

Even-toed
ungulates

340 reference

Nature’s record GETTING AROUND
breakers
Some predators achieve astonishing speeds as they attack their
Some animals are capable of the most amazing feats, prey. By contrast, the sloth seems to live its life in slow motion.
moving at extraordinary speeds or producing incredibly
loud noises. Others are remarkable for their size—either Fastest
weighty giants or so small that it is difficult to imagine
how their bodies function. Some live to advanced ages, PEREGRINE FALCON
while others survive for just a few days. 220 MPH (350 KPH)

CHEETAH
70 MPH (114 KPH)

WEIGHTY WILDLIFE ATLANTIC SAILFISH
62 MPH (100 KPH)
Most of the heaviest animals, such as whales and giant sharks,
live in the sea, where the ocean water supports their bodies. PRONGHORN
60 MPH
66 66
(98 KPH)
0.5 TON 0.55 TON
(0.45 TONNES) (0.495 TONNES) OSTRICH
44 MPH
(70 KPH) 31 62 93 124 155 186 217

0 198 0 198 0 MILES PER HOUR (MPH)
SALTWATER CROCODILE
COLOSSAL SQUID THREE-TOED SLOTH Slowest
66 0.002 MPH
66
13.5 TONS (0.004 KPH)
(12.25 TONNES) 23.5 TONS
(21.5 TONNES) GARDEN SNAIL
0.02 MPH
0 198 0 198
(0.04 KPH)

AFRICAN SAVANNA 66 WHALE SHARK STARFISH
ELEPHANT 0.05 MPH
198 TONS (0.09 KPH)
(180 TONNES)
GIANT TORTOISE
0 198 0.18 MPH 0.03 0.06 0.09 0.12 0.15 0.18
BLUE WHALE (0.3 KPH)

0

MILES PER HOUR (MPH)

NOISIEST ANIMALS JUMPING CREATURES

The snapping shrimp stuns its prey with the loudest noise Craggy mountain terrain allows the snow leopard to leap huge
made by any animal, but luckily it only lasts for a split-second. distances to attack prey. Other animals jump to escape danger.

SNAPPING SHRIMP 100 200 0 AMERICAN BULLFROG
BLUE WHALE DECIBELS FEET (FT) 6½ FT (2 M)

WATER BOATMAN KANGAROO RAT
HOWLER MONKEY 6½ FT (2 M)

OILBIRD JUMPING SPIDER
0 2½ FT (0.8 M)

15

341

ANIMAL LIFESPANS TALL AND SMALL

Big animals tend to live longer than small ones, and some insects, The smallest animals are microscopic, such as the rotifers that
such as mayflies, survive for just a few hours as flying adults. live mainly in ponds and streams. Other creatures are giants
that tower over all the other animals living alongside them.
Longest Lives (YEARS)
Tallest
OCEAN QUAHOG
20
BOWHEAD WHALE MOLLUSC 400 Giraffe
20 ft (6 m)
211 ALDABRA GIANT

TORTOISE

0 255

ROUGHEYE ROCKFISH 500
140

16½

1,000

1,500 African elephant
13 ft (4 m)

2,000 13

GIANT BARREL 2,500 FEET (FT) Ostrich
SPONGE 30 9¼ ft (2.8 m)
2,300
Moose
Shortest Lives (DAYS) 7½ ft (2.3 m)

DRONE ANT 10
14
MAYFLY
1 6½

0 GASTROTRICH BEE
3 31

60 90

120 3

150 Man
5¾ ft (1.7 m)
DRAGONFLY
121 0

Smallest

1.6

Paper clip Bumblebee bat
1¼ in (3.2 cm) 1½ in (4 cm)

SNOW LEOPARD 1.2
50 FT (15 M)

INCHES (IN) Moss rotifer Dwarf sphaero

0.001 in gecko ⅔ in

(0.005 cm) (1.6 cm)

.8 Paedocypris 

Amau frog fish ½ in
¼ in (1 cm)

.4 (0.8 cm)

50 75 0

342 reference

Conversion Tables MAKING
CONVERSIONS
Measurements are important because they help people agree on things.
Without accurate measurements, there would be no world records, You can convert imperial
cooking would be guesswork, and it would be hard to find clothes that fit. measurements to metric ones
Ancient measurements were often based on body parts, which is why we or vice versa, by multiplying
still measure in units such as feet to this day. However, everyone’s body or dividing by a fixed number
is a different size, so now we use more standard measures. called a conversion factor.
The only thing that cannot
be converted in this way is
temperature, which has its
own unique method.

UNITS OF MEASUREMENT TEMPERATURE

There are two common systems for measuring most things. The traditional way is To convert from
called imperial and it is still popular in the United States. The metric system is more Fahrenheit (˚F) to Celsius (˚C)
suited to scientific work and is widely used in Europe. In metric, each measurement C = (F − 32) × 5 ÷ 9
is linked to others by powers of 10. To convert from
Celsius (˚C) to Fahrenheit (˚F)
AREA LENGTH F = (C × 9 ÷ 5) + 32

METRIC METRIC
10 millimeters (mm)
100 square millimeters (mm2) 1 square centimeter (cm2) 100 centimeters (cm) 1 centimeter (cm) Fahrenheit ˚F Celsius ˚C
1,000 millimeters (mm) 1 meter (m) -4 -20
10,000 square centimeters (cm2) 1 square meter (m2) 1,000 meters (m) 1 meter (m)
IMPERIAL 1 kilometer (km)
10,000 square meters (m2) 1 hectare (ha) 12 inches (in)
3 feet (ft) 1 foot (ft)
100 hectares (ha) 1 square kilometer (km2) 1,760 yards (yd) 1 yard (yd)
5,280 feet (ft) 1 mile
1 square kilometer (km2) 1,000,000 square meters (m2) 8 furlongs 1 mile 14 -10
IMPERIAL 1 mile

144 square inches (sq in) 1 square foot (sq ft)

9 square feet (sq ft) 1 square yard (sq yd) 32 0

1,296 square inches (sq in) 1 square yard (sq yd)

43,560 square feet (sq ft) 1 acre 50 10

640 acres 1 square mile (sq mile)

LIQUID VOLUME MASS 68 20

METRIC 1 liter (l) METRIC 1 gram (g) 86 30
1,000 milliliters (ml) 1 hectoliter (hl) 1,000 milligrams (mg) 1 kilogram (kg)
100 liters (l) 1 kiloliter (kl) 1,000 grams (g) 1 tonne (t) 104 40
10 hectoliters (hl) 1 kiloliter (kl) 1,000 kilograms (kg)
1,000 liters (l) IMPERIAL 1 pound (lb) 122 50
IMPERIAL 1 cup 16 ounces (oz) 1 stone
8 fluid ounces (fl oz) 1 pint (pt) 14 pounds (lb) 1 hundredweight 140 60
16 fluid ounces (fl oz) 1 pint (pt) 112 pounds (lb) 1 ton
4 gills (gi) 1 quart (qt) 2,000 pounds (lb)
2 pints (pt) 1 gallon (gal)
4 quarts (qt) 1 gallon (gal) 158 70
8 pints (pt)

TEMPERATURE FAHRENHEIT CELSIUS TIME 1 minute 176 80
212˚ 100˚ 1 hour 194 90
Boiling point of water 32˚ 0˚ METRIC AND IMPERIAL 1 day 212 100
Freezing point of water −459˚ −273˚ 60 seconds 1 week
Absolute zero 60 minutes 1 year
24 hours 12 months
7 days
52 weeks
1 year

343

HOW TO CONVERT METRIC AND IMPERIAL MEASURES

TO CHANGE TO MULTIPLY BY TO CHANGE TO DIVIDE BY
hectares acres 0.40
acres hectares 0.40 feet centimeters 0.03
inches centimeters 0.39
centimeters feet 0.03 cubic inches cubic centimeters 0.06
cubic meters cubic feet 0.03
centimeters inches 0.39 cubic centimeters cubic inches 16.39
cubic feet cubic meters 35.32
cubic centimeters cubic inches 0.06 centimeters feet 30.48
meters feet 0.30
cubic feet cubic meters 0.03 liters gallons 3.79
ounces grams 0.04
cubic inches cubic centimeters 16.39 acres hectares 2.47
centimeters inches 2.54
cubic meters cubic feet 35.32 pounds kilograms 2.20
miles kilometers 0.62
feet centimeters 30.48 miles per hour kilometers per hour 0.62
gallons liters 0.26
feet meters 0.30 pints liters 2.11
feet meters 3.28
gallons liters 3.79 yards meters 1.09
centimeters per second meters per minute 1.67
grams ounces 0.04 feet per second meters per minute 0.05
kilometers miles 1.61
hectares acres 2.47 kilometers per hour miles per hour 1.61
meters per second miles per hour 0.45
inches centimeters 2.54 inches millimeters 0.04
grams ounces 28.35
kilograms pounds 2.20 liters pints 0.47
kilograms pounds 0.45
kilometers miles 0.62 square inches square centimeters 0.16
square centimeters square inches 6.45
kilometers per hour miles per hour 0.62 square meters square feet 0.09
square miles square kilometers 0.39
liters gallons 0.26 square feet square meters 10.76
square yards square meters 1.20
liters pints 2.11 square kilometers square miles 2.59
square meters square yards 0.84
meters feet 3.28 tons (imperial) tonnes (metric) 0.89
tonnes (metric) tons (imperial) 1.10
meters yards 1.09 meters yards 0.91

meters per minute centimeters per second 1.67

meters per minute feet per second 0.05

miles kilometers 1.61

miles per hour kilometers per hour 1.61

miles per hour meters per second 0.45

millimeters inches 0.04

ounces grams 28.35

pints liters 0.47

pounds kilograms 0.45

square centimeters square inches 0.16

square inches square centimeters 6.45

square feet square meters 0.09

square kilometers square miles 0.39

square meters square feet 10.76

square meters square yards 1.20

square miles square kilometers 2.59

square yards square meters 0.84

tonnes (metric) tons (imperial) 1.10

tons (imperial) tonnes (metric) 0.89

yards meters 0.91

344 reference

INCREDIBLE LONGEST WARS
HISTORY
Conflicts have been fought throughout history, all around the world.
Throughout the ages, in every corner of the While some wars are resolved quickly, others continue for decades,
globe, history has been happening. From crazy or even a century, until the last battle is fought and won.
rulers and child prodigies to huge empires and
life-changing inventions, history is filled with 116 Years The Hundred Years’ War,
people and events that often seem too incredible
to be true. Here are some of the amazing events, 1337—1453
inventions, and people that have gone The longest in recorded history,
down in history. this war was fought between the
English and French. Despite the
BIGGEST EMPIRES name, it lasted 116 years.

The greatest empires in history ruled over large areas of land, often 43 Years The Punic Wars, 264—146 bce
spanning many continents. Empires are ruled by a single monarch This was a series of three wars between Carthage
or an oligarchy (a small group of people, such as a powerful family). (the major maritime power) and Rome (which
They rule over vast territories, and must maintain control of their controlled the Italian peninsula). Rome defeated
lands as well as conquering new places if they want to expand. Carthage, and destroyed the city in 146 bce.
Here are the five biggest empires the world has ever seen.
30 Years The Thirty Years’ War, 1618—1648
Although there were many reasons for this war,
it was mainly a religious conflict between Catholics
and Protestants. Mostly fought in Germany, it
became a political war and changed Europe forever.

30 Years The Wars of the Roses, 1455—1485
The fight for the crown of England lasted 30 years
and was fought between the Houses of York and
Lancaster. The Tudor king, Henry VII, led the House of
Lancaster to victory over Richard III’s House of York.

British Empire 27 Years The Peloponnesian War, 431—404 bce
At its peak in the late 19th This war was fought between rival alliances of Greek
century, the British empire city-states led by Athens and Sparta. Athens was
covered about a quarter of strongest at sea, but Sparta was more powerful on
Earth’s land area. It was land and eventually crushed the Athenian forces.
said that the “Sun never
British Empire sets” on its lands. 23 Years Napoleonic Wars, 1796–1815
Napoleon Bonaparte was a skilled general who
20.9 Mongol Empire declared himself Emperor of France in 1804. He led
Under the Genghis Khan, France in a series of wars against other European
Million miles the empire of the Mongols powers, until his defeat at the Battle of Waterloo.
(a group of eastern nomadic
33.7 tribes) grew rapidly in the SHORTEST WARS 38 6
13th and 14th centuries.
Million km It expanded across Asia, Not all conflicts are long and MINUTES DAYS
including China and Russia. drawn out—some are over in
Mongol Empire just a few days. The shortest Anglo-Zanzibar, Six Day War, 1967
Russian Empire war ever began when the Between Israel and
20.5 The Russian Empire existed Zanzibar sultan’s successor 1896 neighboring states
from 1721 until the Russian took control without gaining Between Britain Egypt, Jordan,
Million miles Revolution in 1917. At its the permission of the British and the Zanzibar and Syria.
peak in the middle of the consul first. He fled from the Sultanate.
33 19th century, it stretched palace almost immediately.
across Eastern Europe, Asia,
Million km Spanish Empire and North America. 13 14 24

Russian 12.4 20 Spanish Empire DAYS DAYS DAYS
Empire Under the rule of the
Million miles Million km Habsburg dynasty, the
14.7 Spanish Empire became
Qing Empire the major global power in
Million miles the 16th and 17th centuries.
9.1 14.7 Territories included North
23.7 and South America and
Million miles Million km parts of Europe.
Million km
Qing Empire
Ruling for 267 years from Indo-Pakistan War, Serbo-Bulgarian War, Georgian-Armenian
the mid-17th century to 1971 1885 War, 1918
the beginning of the 20th Between India Between Serbia Between Georgia
century, the Qing (Manchu) and Pakistan. and Bulgaria. and Armenia.
dynasty was the last
imperial dynasty of China.

345

AMAZING INVENTIONS

Our everyday lives would be very different if these inventions had never happened. From
simple household objects to complex modern technology, these incredible discoveries have
transformed the way we live and think, and changed the course of history.

1440: Printing 1776: Steam 1876: Telephone 1879: Light bulb 1886: Car 1903: Airplane 1928: Penicillin 1941: Modern 1969: Internet
press engine Alexander This bright idea German engineer The Wright The accidental computer The first network
Johannes James Watt Graham Bell is for electric light Karl Benz took to brothers invented discovery of The first was set up by the
Gutenberg’s press added a separate famous for this in the home was the road in a a flying machine, mold growing on electronic, Pentagon. Twenty
let people make condensing invention, but the invention of three-wheeled which would bacteria led programmable years later, Tim
copies of writings chamber to the many others Thomas Edison car, powered by revolutionize Alexander computer was Berners-Lee
quickly and early steam claimed to have and Joseph Swan. an internal travel across Fleming to invented by invented the
cheaply. engine, making it beaten him to it. combustion the world. discover the first Konrad Zuse. It World Wide Web.
more efficient. engine. antibiotic. was called the Z3.

LOONY LEADERS ANCIENT WONDERS

Throughout history there have been many eccentric leaders. Some were Admired and marveled by Ancient Greek
just victims of bad publicity, while others were cruel oractually insane. Here travelers, the Seven Wonders of the
is a selection of just a few of history’s loony leaders. Ancient World were amazing landmarks
around the eastern Mediterranean rim.
Hatshepsut (1470s bce) Nero (37–68) 15,000 Bulgarian prisoners Only one, the Great Pyramids of Giza,
This Egyptian ruler knew her This Roman emperor had his by scooping out their eyes. still remains today.
people did not like the idea mother and adoptive brother A single man was allowed
of a female pharaoh, so she killed. It is said that he to keep one eye so that he Lighthouse of Alexandria
put on a fake beard and called captured Christians and had could lead the others home. Built by the Nile River in the
herself king instead of queen. them burned in his garden third century bce, this was the
at night, to provide light. Timur the Lame world’s first lighthouse.
Ashurnasirpal II (1336–1404) It used mirrors to reflect
(ruled 884–859 bce) Caligula (12–41) A nomadic warlord from sunlight out to sea.
This Assyrian general enjoyed The Roman emperor Caligula modern-day Uzbekistan,
boasting about his conquests. was known for his cruelty and this leader killed anyone Great Pyramids of Giza
An inscription at the entrance extravagance. He proclaimed who got in his way. On These three pyramids near
to his palace described the himself a god, and expected one occasion this meant all Cairo are called Khufu, Khafra,
tortures inflicted on those people to worship him. He 30,000 inhabitants of a city. and Menkaura. They were
who rebelled against him. replaced the heads on many built as royal tombs for
statues of gods so that they Vlad III (1431–76) Egyptian pharaohs.
Nebuchadnezzar II looked like him. Nicknamed Vlad the Impaler,
(ruled 605–562 bce) this Transylvanian ruler Statue of Zeus at Olympia
A Babylonian king who Irene of Athens (752–803) marched into neighboring This statue of Zeus, the Greek
believed that he was a cow, Mother of Emperor Bulgaria, where he captured god of thunder, was 40 ft
Nebuchadnezzar II spent Constantine VI, Irene of 20,000 people and impaled (12 m) high. It was placed
seven years in a field, Athens had her son’s eyes them on stakes. at Olympia, the site of the
chewing his cud. gouged out so that she could Ancient Olympic games.
rule the Byzantine Empire Farouk of Egypt
Peisistratus (560s bce) on her own. (1920–65) Temple of Artemis at Ephesus
This Athenian citizen claimed This Egyptian leader was a This large temple was built in
he had been attacked, so Basil II (958–1025) thief who enjoyed picking honor of Artemis, the Greek
the city let him have After victory in battle with pockets while on state visits. goddess of the hunt and
bodyguards. He then used the Bulgarians in 1014, He once stole an expensive childbirth. It was made of
his bodyguards to take over Emperor Basil of Byzantium pocket watch from marble, and had 127 columns.
the city, becoming its ruler. ordered his troops to punish Winston Churchill.
Colossus of Rhodes
CHILD PRODIGIES Made of bronze, this statue
of Greek sun god Helios
Some people are born brilliant, and achieve great things from a very young age. was 110 ft (33.5 m) tall.
From musicians to mathematicians, these clever children made their mark on It stood for 60 years before
the world with their amazing achievements and impressive talents. falling during an earthquake.

Avicenna (980–1037) Maria Gaetana Agnesi Jean F. Champollion Mausoleum at Halicarnassus
At 10, this Persian polymath (1718–99) (1790–1832) This enormous marble tomb
(expert in many subjects) By 13, Agnesi could speak at This French linguist knew was for Mausolus, the King of
had memorized the Qur’an. least seven languages. She 12 languages by the age of 16. Carnia. It was built by his
He was a qualified physician became a mathematician, linguist, As an adult, he deciphered the grieving wife Artemisia.
at 18. and philosopher. Egyptian hieroglyphics.
Hanging Gardens of Babylon
Blaise Pascal (1623–62) W. Amadeus Mozart (1756–91) Pablo Picasso (1881–1973) Built on a huge brick terrace,
This talented mathematician Mozart was playing keyboard Trained by his father, Picasso these gardens were said to be
wrote a significant treatise and violin at the age of four, was painting incredible works 75 ft (22 m) in the air. Many
on geometry at 16. and composing music at five. of art from a very early age. experts believe they may not
have existed at all.

346 reference

Glossary

ACCELERATION ARTHROPOD BRONZE AGE CHLOROPLASTS

In physics, a term meaning the rate An invertebrate (animal lacking a A period of ancient history, between Special structures in plant
of change in velocity. backbone) that has a jointed, outer about 2500–1200 BCE, when people cells containing the green
body case. Arthropods include insects, mostly used bronze for making tools pigment chlorophyll.
ADAPTATION spiders, crustaceans such as crabs and and weapons.
lobsters, and scorpions. CHROMOSOME
The way in which a living species, CAMOUFLAGE
such as an animal or a plant, has ASTEROID A threadlike structure, found in the
developed in appearance or behavior The way animals blend in with their nucleus of body cells, that is made
to fit in with its environment. A small object in space, made from background or use disguises to escape up of coiled strands of DNA (an
a mixture of rock and metals, that notice by predators; this includes organism’s genetic code).
AGRICULTURE orbits the Sun. seasonal changes of coat color and
mimicry of a more dangerous animal. CHRYSALIS
Using the land to grow food crops ATMOSPHERE
or raise domestic animals. CANOPY The hard, protective case, also called
The layer of breathable gases, a pupa, which encloses the larva of
ALGAE mainly oxygen and nitrogen, that The topmost branches of the trees in an insect such as a moth or butterfly
surrounds Earth. a forest; canopy also means the part as it develops its adult form.
Simple, often single-celled, organisms, of a plant showing above ground.
some of which look like plants; algae ATOM CITIZEN
are found in a variety of habitats but CAPITALISM
occur most commonly in water. The smallest particle of an element A person who belongs to a city or
that has the same chemical makeup A system for organizing society that a bigger community such as a state
AMPHIBIAN as the element. is in favor of capitalists: people or or country.
private organizations that make a
A cold-blooded animal, such as a frog AURORA profit and accumulate wealth (capital) CITY-STATE
or newt, that can live both in water by producing goods and services.
and on land. Bands of light in the sky caused by A city, together its surrounding
high-energy particles from space CARNIVORE territory, that has its own independent
ANARCHY meeting atoms in the atmosphere. system of government. Athens, Sparta,
A meat-eating animal with teeth and Corinth in ancient Greece were
Disorder in society, especially BACTERIA especially shaped for tearing flesh. very powerful city-states.
when there is no leader or
government in control. Microscopic, single-celled organisms, CAVALRY CIVIL WAR
some of which are helpful—for
ANTENNA example, by helping us to digest Historically, military troops mounted War between different political groups
our food or keeping the soil healthy— on horseback. The term now also or regions within the same country.
A sensitive feeler on the head of an while others are responsible for means army units that move around
insect or a crustacean (for example, serious diseases. in vehicles such as cars and tanks. CNIDARIA
a lobster, crab, or housefly).
BCE CE A large group of marine animals,
APARTHEID including jellyfish and many types
Before Common Era: the years before Common Era: the years from 1 ce of coral, which carry stinging cells
An official policy of keeping people 1 ce (start of the Common Era). This to the present day. This abbreviation in their tentacles.
apart because of their racial origins. abbreviation has largely replaced has largely replaced ad (Anno Domini,
It was used to separate black Africans bc (Before Christ). Latin for “In the year of our Lord”). COELACANTH
from white in South Africa.
BIOME CELLULOSE A deep-sea fish with a distinctive
ARCHAEA shape, long thought to be extinct.
A large-scale biological community A substance found in plant cell walls It has features very similar to those
A biological group of microscopic, with a particular climate and that gives plants their structure. seen in fossil fish from the age of
single-celled organisms that look like certain types of plants—for example, dinosaurs.
bacteria but have different genes. a rainforest. CHLOROPHYLL
COLD-BLOODED
ARCHAEOLOGY BLACK HOLE The green coloring in plants that
enables them to absorb sunlight, Describing an animal whose body
Study of the ancient past through A body of matter in space of such which they use for photosynthesis heat depends on the temperature of
looking at the remains of buildings intense gravity that even light cannot (the process of converting water and its surroundings; reptiles, for example,
and objects that people once used. escape from it. carbon dioxide into their own food). are cold-blooded.

347

COLONY DETRITIVORE ERUPTION FUSION

A group of people who leave their An animal that feeds on dead plant A violent discharge of lava, hot ashes, A joining together; nuclear fusion is
native country to settle elsewhere but or animal matter. and gases from a volcano. Eruptions the joining of two atomic nuclei.
keep links with their homeland. Also: are the result of molten rock, or
a group of animals, usually of one DNA magma, working its way from the GALAXY
species, that live and work together. inside of Earth to the surface.
Abbreviation for deoxyribonucleic A gigantic group of stars, dust, and
COMBUSTION acid, the material packed inside EXOPLANET gas. Our own galaxy is the Milky Way.
chromosomes that holds all the
A chemical reaction in which a instructions for making and A planet that is outside our GENE
substance, for example, a fuel oil, maintaining a living body. Solar System.
mixes and burns with oxygen. One of the tiny units found inside
EXOSKELETON cells that determine what a living
COMET DYNASTY thing looks like and how its body
A hard outer skeleton, such as that works. Genes are passed on from
Small astronomical body of ice and A family or group that rules over of insects and crustaceans, which one generation to the next.
dust that orbits the Sun. a country for several generations. supports and protects the body.

COMMUNISM ECHINODERM EXTINCTION GESTATION

A political system based on the belief A spiny-skinned marine animal with The disappearance from Earth of the The period during which young
that property should not be owned by a radially symmetrical body: if it is last living representative of a species. develop in the womb.
individual people but shared by all. divided through the middle in any
direction the halves look exactly alike. FAULT GLACIER
COMPOUND This group includes starfish and
sea urchins. A crack in Earth’s surface where the A moving mass of ice, formed from
A chemical substance in which two or rocks on either side have shifted in accumulated snow. Some glaciers flow
more elements have bonded together. ECOSYSTEM relation to each other, either upward like rivers, while others are vast ice
downward, or sideways. The sheets such as those covering
COMPOUND EYE A community of animals and plants continuing movement of the rocks Antarctica and much of Greenland.
that share, and interact with, the can cause earthquakes.
The eyes of adult insects and some same habitat. GRAVITY
crustaceans consist of many sections.
Each section has its own lens, and ELECTRON FETUS The force that attracts one object to
together they create a mosaic image. another and prevents things from
One of the tiny particles inside an The unborn young of an animal; in floating off into space.
CONSTELLATION atom; electrons have a negative humans, what a baby is called from
electric charge. the ninth week of pregnancy onward. GUERRILLA
A group of stars that form a pattern
in the sky; many constellations ELEMENT FEUDALISM A member of a small, independent
are named after animals or fighting force that operates by making
mythical characters. In chemistry, a simple substance made A social system that developed in surprise attacks on an enemy.
of atoms that are all of the same kind. medieval times, when people of the
CORE serving classes (such as laborers and HABITAT
EMBRYO peasants) pledged support to their
The innermost and hottest part of overlord in return for his protection. The area where an animal naturally
Earth, consisting of a liquid outer The earliest stage in the development makes its home.
layer around a solid center, both of an animal or plant. A human FISSION
thought to be made of iron and nickel. embryo forms when sex cells join. HERBIVORE
A splitting apart; nuclear fission is the
CRUST EMPIRE splitting of the nucleus of an atom. An animal that feeds on plants.

Earth’s hard, rocky, outermost layer. A group of countries or states united FOSSIL HOMINID
under one ruling power.
CULTURE The preserved remains of life from A word meaning humanlike, which
ENZYME an earlier geological time. refers to humans and all our extinct
The customs, beliefs, and behavior ancestors. It can also include the
shared by a society. A substance in animals and plants that FRICTION great apes (chimpanzee, bonobo,
speeds up a chemical reaction. gorilla, and orangutan).
DEMOCRACY The dragging force that occurs when
EROSION one object moves over another. HORMONES
A political system in which people
have power to control their The process by which Earth’s surface FULCRUM Natural chemicals that are produced
government, usually by electing rocks and soil are worn away by the by glands and circulate in the
politicians to represent their views. action of winds, water, and glaciers The fixed point on which a lever bloodstream to have an effect
(moving ice). moves. on particular parts of the body.

348 reference

HURRICANE KARST MELANIN NEPHRON

A violent tropical storm with A type of landscape formed from Dark pigment that gives skin its One of millions of minute filtering
torrential rain and high winds that limestone rocks. Karst country color; it is also found in hair and units found in the kidneys.
reach more than 74 miles (119 includes steep cliffs and, below the the colored part of the eye (iris).
kilometers) per hour. surface, caves and tunnels where
underground streams have slowly METAMORPHIC ROCK NEUTRON
IGNEOUS ROCK dissolved the soft limestone.
Rock that has been changed from one One of the tiny particles inside an
Rock formed from magma—hot, KERATIN type to another through immense heat atom; neutrons have no electric
liquid material inside Earth—that or pressure underground. charge.
has come to the surface then cooled A tough protein found in the top layer
and hardened. of skin and also in hair, nails, horns, METAMORPHOSIS NOMADIC
and hooves.
INDIGENOUS A change from one form to another, Describing people who move from
LAVA sometimes very different, form; place to place, usually according
Occurring naturally in a particular metamorphosis is seen in animals to the seasons, but never establish
environment or country. Hot, liquid rock forced out of a such as insects and amphibians as a permanent settlement.
volcano during an eruption. they develop into adults.
INERTIA NUCLEUS
LIGHT YEAR METEORITE
The tendency of an object to either The control center of a body cell,
stay still or to move in a straight line A measurement used by astronomers, A small body of rock or debris that where information about a living
at an unchanging speed until a force based on the distance that light falls to Earth from space. organism is held in the form of genes.
acts upon it. travels in one year. Also: the central core of an atom.

INFANTRY MAGMA MIGRATION NUTRIENTS

The part of an army made up Hot, liquid rock that is found beneath Seasonal mass movement of animals Food substances that are necessary
of soldiers who fight on foot. Earth’s surface. from one place to another in search for life and growth.
of food and places to breed.

INVERTEBRATE MAMMAL MINERAL ORBIT

An animal without a backbone: A warm-blooded animal that has a A solid, inorganic (nonliving) material The path taken by an object—for
for example, an insect, a worm, backbone, feeds its young on milk, occurring naturally in Earth; different example, a planet—that is circling
or a crustacean. and usually has a covering of fur. minerals are classified according to around another.
their elements and crystal structure.
ION MANTLE ORGANISM
MITOCHONDRIA
An atom that has lost or gained one The rocks that lie beneath Earth’s Any living thing, including an animal,
or more electrons and as a result has crust (surface), extending almost to Tiny organs inside a body cell that a plant, or a microscopic lifeform such
either a positive or negative the innermost core, and making up create energy to keep the cell alive. as a bacterium.
electrical charge. most of our planet’s weight.
MOLECULE PERMAFROST
IONOSPHERE MARSUPIAL
A group of atoms bonded together. Ground that remains permanently
The area of Earth’s atmosphere A mammal that carries its developing frozen beneath the topsoil.
through which radio waves can young in a pouch, usually on MONARCHY
be transmitted. its stomach. PHARAOH
A type of government in which a king
IRON AGE MASS or queen is recognized as the head of Title given to a king in ancient Egypt.
a country, even though he or she may People believed that the pharaohs
The historical period characterized by The amount of matter in an object. have no real power. had sacred powers.
the use of iron for making weapons
and tools. The earliest known iron MAUSOLEUM MORAINE PHOTOSYNTHESIS
implements were found in the Middle
East and southern Europe, and date A large tomb or, often, a splendidly Rocks and soil carried downhill by A chemical process by which plants
to about 1200 bce. impressive building for housing a glacier and deposited as heaps use the energy from sunlight to make
several tombs. of debris. their own food.

ISOTOPE MEDIEVAL PERIOD NEBULA PHYLUM

One of two or more atoms of a Also known as the Middle Ages, A cloud of gas and dust in outer space; One of the major scientific divisions
chemical element that have different the period in European history that some nebulas are the debris from that group together living things
numbers of neutrons (particles with lasted from about the 5th to the dead stars, others are where new according to what their ancestors
no electric charge) compared to other 16th century. stars form. were like and the way their bodies
atoms of the element. are made.