Important Historical Events

Magna Carta is related to English history. For exams connect it with limits on royal power.

Columbus made his famous voyage in 1492. For exams connect it with European contact with the New World.

The Great Depression is considered to have begun in 1929. For exams connect it with the global economic crisis.

The atomic bombs were dropped near the end of World War II. For exams connect it with 1945.

The Cold War was a major rivalry between the USA and Soviet Union. For exams connect it with ideology and power struggle.

The People's Republic of China was established on 1 October 1949, when Mao Zedong proclaimed it in Beijing after the Chinese Communist Party's victory in the civil war. The year 1937 is associated with the beginning of the Second Sino-Japanese War, not the formation of the PRC. Exam tip: Remember 1949 with Mao Zedong and the establishment of the People's Republic of China.

The ending of colonial rule is called decolonization. For exams connect it with independence in Africa and Asia.

The Suez Crisis arose in 1956 after Egypt nationalised the Suez Canal. Therefore, the Suez Canal is the correct answer. The Panama Canal is also an important international waterway, but it was not connected with this crisis. Exam tip: Remember the Suez Crisis with Egypt’s President Gamal Abdel Nasser and the year 1956.

The American Civil War took place in the USA. For exams connect it with slavery and Abraham Lincoln.

The unification of Italy is an important event in Italian history. For exams connect it with Garibaldi and Cavour.

German unification is associated with Bismarck. For exams remember him as the Iron Chancellor.

The Protestant Reformation is linked with Martin Luther. For exams connect it with religious change in Europe.

The Holocaust was a tragic event during World War II. For exams connect it with crimes of Nazism.

NATO was founded in the early Cold War period. For exams connect it with the western military alliance.

The Warsaw Pact was a military alliance of the Soviet bloc. For exams remember it as a response to NATO.

The Meiji Restoration occurred in Japan in 1868. Under Emperor Meiji, Japan moved away from a feudal political order and began developing modern administration, industry, and armed forces. China and Korea were important East Asian countries, but the Meiji Restoration did not occur there. Exam tip: Remember the Meiji Restoration with Japan’s modernization and the year 1868.

The Civil Rights Movement was linked with racial equality. For exams connect it with Martin Luther King Jr.

Apartheid was South Africa’s legal system of racial segregation and discrimination. It restricted the rights, residence, education, and political participation of non-white people. Therefore, racial segregation is the correct answer. Feudalism refers to a land- and lord-based social system, not apartheid. Exam tip: Remember the end of apartheid with Nelson Mandela and South Africa’s democratic elections in 1994.

The Korean War was fought on the Korean Peninsula from 1950 to 1953, and the peninsula is in Asia. Therefore, Asia is the correct answer. Europe was an important Cold War region, but the Korean War was not fought there. Exam tip: Remember the Korean War as a major Cold War conflict in Asia.

The Vietnam War was related to Southeast Asia. For exams connect it with the Cold War and anti colonialism.