Important Historical Events

The Boston Tea Party took place in 1773 against British tax policy. For exams, connect it with the background of the American independence movement.

Garibaldi contributed to Italian unification with his Red Shirt volunteers. In exams, link him with Italian nationalism.

Bismarck unified Germany through the policy of blood and iron. For exams, link 1871 with the proclamation of the German Empire.

NATO was founded in 1949 during the Cold War for collective security. In exams, remember it as a Western military alliance.

The Warsaw Pact was a Soviet led military alliance formed in 1955. For exams, remember it as a response to NATO.

The League of Nations was formed in 1920 after the First World War to maintain peace. For exams, link its failure with the Second World War.

The People's Republic of China was established in 1949 under Mao Zedong. In exams, connect it with the Chinese Communist Revolution.

The Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962 was a major example of nuclear tension between the USA and the Soviet Union. For exams, treat it as a dangerous Cold War event.

The defeat of the Spanish Armada in 1588 increased England's naval power. In exams, connect it with the background of maritime imperialism.

The American Civil War was fought from 1861 to 1865 over slavery and federal unity. For exams, remember Abraham Lincoln.

The Renaissance promoted art, science and humanism and gave rise to modern thinking. For exams, connect it with Europe's intellectual change.

The assassination of Franz Ferdinand in 1914 acted as the immediate trigger of the First World War. In exams, connect it with the Sarajevo incident.

The Glorious Revolution of 1688 strengthened parliamentary power in England. For exams, link it with constitutional monarchy.

The Congress of Vienna in 1815 tried to restore balance of power in Europe after Napoleon. For exams, connect it with the restoration system.

The Bretton Woods Conference of 1944 was linked with creating the post war economic order. For exams, remember the IMF and World Bank with it.

Apartheid was South Africa's racial segregation system that ended through democratic change. In exams, connect Nelson Mandela with this event.

The Protestant Reformation challenged the authority of the Church in Europe. For exams, link it with religious and political change.

The Bolsheviks gained power through the October Revolution of 1917. In exams, connect it with the beginning of Soviet rule.

After the Franco Prussian War, German nationalism strengthened and unification was completed in 1871. For exams, remember Bismarck with it.

The Chinese Revolution of 1911 paved the way for the end of the Qing dynasty. In exams, link Sun Yat sen with it.