Revolutions & Independence Movements
The uprisings that toppled old orders and built new nations.
The Industrial Revolution
A single improved machine, patented in 1769, is widely credited with helping trigger one of the most transformative economic shifts in human history.
The Chinese Revolution
China went from a 2,000-year-old empire to a communist state in less than four decades.
The American Revolution
Thirteen colonies took on Britain and won, with a big assist from France, Britain's own longtime rival.
The French Revolution
A revolution that began by demanding liberty and equality, and ended less than a decade later with a self-crowned emperor.
Decolonization
A wave of independence movements so large that dozens of new nations joined the world map within just a few decades of the mid-20th century.
The Haitian Revolution
Napoleon sent a large expedition to restore slavery in Haiti and failed, leaving the first nation founded by an enslaved people's uprising.
The Russian Revolution
Russia managed two revolutions in 1917: the first toppled the tsar, the second handed power to the Bolsheviks.
The Glorious Revolution
England swapped kings in 1688 with barely a shot fired, and Parliament has held the upper hand ever since.
The Scientific Revolution
For roughly 1,500 years, Europeans trusted Aristotle and Ptolemy on how the universe worked, then a few stubborn people started checking.