By Shalina
The Triangular Trade was a system that traded slaves, crops and manufactured goods between Africa, the Americas and Europe. The trade took place across the Atlantic Ocean, most of the slaves being African. Many African tribes played a crucial role in the slave trade by selling their captives or prisoners to European buyers. The slaves, however, had no rights and were often treated harshly.
James Cook was a captain in the Royal Navy, who led the First Fleet to claim Australia for Britain. He is a British explorer, navigator, and captain, known for his detailed mapping on his voyages. In 1779, James Cook was attacked and killed in a confrontation with Hawaiians on his third voyage. He left a legacy of scientific and geographical knowledge which influenced his successors.
The Industrial Revolution transformed the way people lived with rapid technological development. The birthplace of the Industrial Revolution was in Britain; due to its politically stable society. Different industries such as the textiles and iron industries were transformed, mechanising the process of weaving cloth and cast iron production. The steam engine also played a crucial role in the industrial revolution alongside factory-produced goods.
Bennelong was a senior man of the Eora, an Aboriginal man who was alive at the time of the British settlement of Australia at Port Jackson. He played a crucial role as a communicator between the Aboriginal clans and the colonists.
The American Revolution, also called the United States War of Independence, was a political upheaval in which colonists rejected the British monarchy and aristocracy. The authority of Great Britain was overthrown and the United States of America was founded. The revolt against Great Britain’s authority marked the first time in history that people fought for their independence as the British made efforts to suppress the revolt.
During the French Revolution, French citizens demolished and redesigned their political landscape, upgrading their feudal system and absolute monarchy. The French Revolution, however, led an end to the monarchy. The people overthrew the monarchy and took control of the government. The French Government was in a great state of disturbance throughout the French Revolution, the government unstable. The revolution reshaped Europe entirely, being one of the most dramatic upheavals in history.
Truganini was a woman considered to be the last full-blood Aboriginal Tasmanian, hence, she was a significant person. She was the sole survivor of the Oyster Cove group, whilst the other Indigenous Australians died of disease or the flu. Her life was a long series of horrors as she witnessed the tragedies of her people during her lifetime. Her mother was stabbed to death, her sisters abducted and killed by sailors and her first fiance was murdered while saving her from being kidnapped. Her legacy goes on as the last Aboriginal Tasmanian.
On the 10th of June 1838, 28 Aboriginal men, women and children were peacefully camping next to station huts at the Myall Creek cattle station. A gang of 11 convicts and ex-convicts brutally slaughtered the group of Aboriginal men, women, and children. This was one of the countless massacres but the Myall Massacre alone had its significance. The Myall Massacre was the only time in Australia's history that white men were arrested, charged and hanged for the massacre of Indigenous Australians.
Sir Edmund Barton, born on 18 January 1848, served as the first Prime Minister of Australia from 1 January 1901 until 24 September 1903. He became a founding justice of the High Court of Australia. In 1903, he resigned to become a judge of the High Court of Australia. Sir Edmund Barton contributed to the federation movement through the 1890s, being an early supporter of federation.
The first gold rush was discovered by Prospector Edward Hargraves in Bathurst after he had returned from the California goldfields. He recognised similarities in the geographical features between Australia and California goldfields. He was convinced that there was a 'grain of gold' and was proven correct. Hargraves was appointed 'Commissioner of Land' and named the place 'Ophir' after reporting his discovery to the authorities. The gold fever sparked, leading to a great boost in business investment as Ophir became home to over a thousand prospectors. The first Australian gold rush changed Australia's economy and development as a nation, resulting in the construction of the first railway and operation of the first telegraphs.
Ned Kelly was one of the most notorious bushrangers known for his outrageous crimes but also heroism as he rose against the colonisers of Australia. He was titled a hero at the age of 10, after saving a seven-year-old boy from drowning. However, Kelly committed crimes at a young age, his growing sense of discontent towards social injustice caused him to lash out at others and revolt but he was overpowered by the English. Kelly and his gang became symbols of Irish Australian resistance against oppression by the British.
The Eureka Stockade was crucial in the development of Australian democracy and Australia's identity. The crisis arose when goldfield miners opposed the government miners' licenses which led to rebellion. License fees had to be paid regardless of the amount of gold you find, resulting in difficulties for the less successful miners. Injustice ignited as a drunk Scottish digger was beaten to death by a group of men. These men, however, escaped prosecution with their connections to the local magistrate. The Eureka Stockade has been marked a significant event in Australia's history, the legacy of an armed rebellion to improve unfair laws is imprinted into today.
The Franco-Prussian War began with the conflict between France and Prussia that signaled the rise of German military power. The war was provoked by Otto von Bismarck as a part of his plan to create a unified German Empire. War struck after the French rejected the unification of North German Confederation and South German states. France lost the battle and its influence over Germany after Prussia was able to bring together a bigger army than the French. After Prussia's victory, the independent German states were united into one country to form the German Empire.
Alexander Graham Bell was born into a family fascinated by sound, resulting in his trials for the invention of the first telephone. His invention began with an error, but he read a thesis on sound and discovered that sound could be transmitted through wires. Bell met a skillful mechanic named Watson and together they created the first telephone. Others had been working on similar inventions during the time so the invention was challenged. Bell and Watson demonstrated that their device worked, and promoted the invention at the Philadelphia Centennial Exhibition where Emperor Dom Pedro of Brazil was fascinated.
The Statue of Liberty arrived at Bedloe's Island from the French to the people of the United States as a gift of friendship, freedom, and democracy. Lady Liberty was gifted as a 'thank you' for helping France obtain their independence and in celebration of America's 100th anniversary of independence. The copper and iron statue was shipped across the Atlantic Ocean in 350 individual pieces packed in more than 200 cases. After being reassembled, the 450,000-pound statue was officially dedicated on 28 October 1886.
In 1886, pharmacist John Pemberton decided to invent something that would bring him commercial success after his battle in the Civil War. On usual occasions, everything he made in the pharmacy would fail. He invented many drugs, but none of them brought him much success. Pemberton decided to test out the beverage market, in which his time, the soda fountain was rising in popularity. His idea sparked after seeing the soda fountain and thus, Coca-Cola was born. However, with his poor advertising skills, Coca-Cola did not have much success until Frank Robinson helped in the advertisement process. Robinson designed the logo and wrote the slogan. Coca-Cola was not successful in the first year, and Pemberton had died in August 1888, which meant he would not see his success. After Pemberton's death, his business was rescued by a new owner named Asa Griggs Candler, who became the sole owner of Coca-Cola. The beverage was sold as a drug, but after court battles, it became a sold as a beverage. Using one of the most innovative marketing techniques, Candler upgraded the success of the beverage, resulting in the popularity of Coca-Cola today.
The Eiffel Tower, a symbol of celebration for the centenary of the French Revolution, was unveiled on 31 March 1889. In the construction of the Eiffel Tower, more than 100 artists submitted competing design plans for a monument to be built in central Paris. Gustave Eiffel's company built Paris' most recognisable monument for the 1889 World Fair. While Eiffel received full credit for the construction of the monument, it was one of his engineers named Maurice Koechlin that came up with and fine-tuned the concept. Originally intended as a temporary display, the monument became a permanent feature of the Paris skyline.
The Olympics were of fundamental religious importance as the events were held in rituals to honour Zeus and Pelops, mythical kings of Olympia. Winning and event displayed honour and recognition, as the winners were idolised. The Olympics were popular for a while until the rise in power of the Romans and their influence ended the event around 400 AD. Many attempts to revive the Olympics were made in the early 1700s and 1800s in France and England but were of small scales. The first Olympic games were held in Athens in 1896 as a tribute to the origin. The games brought together nations and showed the difference between different countries of which they were unfamiliar. While the Olympics underwent another revival and became what we recognise as Modern Olympics, the learning of cultural differences and similarities and the togetherness of countries and nations are what make the Olympics significant.
The Boer Wars were the first of wars to use modern weapons in actual combat such as high caliber artillery and machine guns. The Boer Wars were during a time where German military had an influence over the weapons used, thus, the supply of weapons mainly from the Germans. Tactics often used by armies during the time had no effect on the modern technology in war. The number of British soldiers injured or killed display the devastation modern technology has when used in war. The Boer Wars were a hint of what modern warfare could be like.
Women's suffrage was a movement for the right of women to vote in elections. The majority of the suffrage movements began in the 19th century and women protested for voting rights using different methods such as going on hunger strikes. In the past, men were only allowed to vote and women were excluded. The suffrage movement happened globally and is still relevant to today.
Australia became an independent nation on January 1, 1901, when the British Parliament passed legislation and allowed six Australian colonies to unite and govern in their own right as the Commonwealth of Australia. Australia's federation came about through a process of deliberation, consultation, and debate, unlike other nations that united as a result of war or conflict. Federation was decided with the approval of people in a vote.
The sinking of the RMS Titanic occurred on the night of 14 April through to the morning of 15 April 1912. The Titanic was not just a regular ship but however provided several important lessons. The Titanic demonstrated the extraordinary capabilities of human watercraft engineering alongside the discovery of what makes fatal flaws in ship designing. The ship uncovered several safety flaws with the addition of poor mechanical and engineering designs. On April the 14th, the Titanic had crashed into an iceberg and fatally sunk the next morning. There have been claims that Titanic did not necessarily sink because of the iceberg collision but instead because of an internal fire which weakened the mechanism and steel in the ship. The fire presumably burned for 3 weeks unchecked, right where the iceberg hit. A major blaze began in the hull of the Titanic just as it was completed and ready to leave the Northern Ireland capital. The sinking expressed the important lessons in safety techniques and ship design for prevention of future catastrophes and the vulnerability of people despite technology.
The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand motioned a series of international events that caused World War I. Archduke Franz Ferdinand was the heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary after his cousin and father died. On June 28, 1914, Franz Ferdinand and his wife were in the third of a motorcade traveling to the Town Hall. The Black Hand had several assassins positioned through that route, ready to attack Ferdinand and his wife. On the first assassination attempt, a bomb was thrown but bounced off the car and landed under the next car in the motorcade. The assassins, however, did not give up and fired at the car after it took a wrong turn. An assassin named Gavrilo Princip shot twice at the archduke and his wife. Both of them died shortly after arriving at the Governer's residence. The Austria-Hungary government took the assassination as a sign of direct attack on the country and World War I began.
The assassination of the heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary was the trigger to the first World War, one of the largest wars in history. Over nine million combatants and seven million civilians died as a result of the war. The war drew in all the world's great economic powers. Within weeks of Archduke Franz Ferdinand's assassination, the major powers were at war and conflict soon spread globally. World War I was simultaneously the end and beginning of different tactics, technologies, and attitudes towards war. National identity was also crucial to World War I; minorities influenced in the large scale war. Conflicts tore the nations apart, dividing into two forces as peace between the countries were disturbed. The vast wealth of America played a major role in the war. Before the war broke out, Great Britain would have been considered the wealthiest nation on the planet until the US pulled all of the wealth over through the buying of raw materials and goods. Presumably, the US only entered the war that the British could win so they could collect their debt. Without World War I, there would not have been World War II due to the collapse of established monarchies, the division of land and civil disharmony after the end of World War I. The conflict left an imprint for those who could become influential in the next war.
The Russian Revolution was one of the greatest events in history. For the first time, millions of oppressed workers and peasants took political power into their own hands. The revolution included the collapse of an empire under Tsar Nicholas II. Peasants and industrial workers were suffering from low wages and poor housing. While the government tried to help, their efforts were too small to have any actual effect. Tsar Nichola II was also the cause of much disapproval. He was much more interested in his family life than matters outside. He had an obsession with keeping all his privileges but never understood the power of industrialisation that was growing throughout Russia. His disregard led people to lose hope in him and they were ready to revolt with their dissatisfaction. Russia lacked leadership and artillery supplies until Tsarina Alexander took over the government. Throughout the Russian Revolution, the events generated a new way of thinking about the economy, society, and governmental issues.
