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The Thirty Years War (1618-1648) and the Treaty of Westphalia
Jacques Callot's "Les Grandes Miseres de la Terre" series of 18 etchings, released in 1633. Series of etchings used to commemorate the Thirty Years War, a "religious" conflict that led to much bloodshed and would eventually lead to the beginnings of state independece; as stipulated in the Treaty of Westphalia. -
Napoleonic Wars ( 1803-1815)
Jacques Louis David's "Napoleon crossing the Alps" , released between 1801 to 1805. Napoleon's military campaigns in Europe would change the continent forever; his regime would instill codes of law and democracy that preserved even after the Vienna Conference, leading to the liberlization of Europe. Napoleon also layed the seeds for future nationalistic movements in Germany and Italy, he is credited with giving Europe the "gift of the French Revolution" -
The Crimean War ( 1853-1856)
"The Charge of the Light Brigade" by Alfred Lord Tennyson ( painting by Richard Caton Woodville Jr), depicts the Crimean conflict in a nutshell. Russian attempts at gaining Black seas ports threatened the British and French's idea of a stable Europe. Therefore they came into an alliance to stop the Russians from progressing further, eventually culminating in an agreement by both sides to neutralize the Black Sea region. Russians gave up on their dream of expansion into Europe. -
Franco-Prussian War (1870-1871
Napoleon III and Bismarck talk after Napoleon's capture at the Battle of Sedan by Wilhelm Camphausen; Bismarck realized that to unify the German states, a national war needed to take place. He thus strained diplomatic relations with France to enact a war with them; The German allies annihalted and embarassed the French, ending the conflict in 1871 with the formation of a unified Germany and the emergence of a new threat on continental Europe to France -
World War I (1914-1918) and Treaty of Versailles
French Political Cartoon (1904); The War revolved around the alliance system set up by the nations of Europe to protect their interests; what happened however was that the assassination of Duke Fernindad pulled all the nations into one huge conflict. Trench warfare resulted in a slown drawn out war that was only resolved by the intrusion of the Americans in 1917. At the subsequent peace negoatiations at Versailles, Germany were blamed for the war and had to pay huge reparations -
Second World War (1939-1945)
British Political cartoon, 1945. The Nazi party in 1933 sought to reinvent Germany as the dominant power in Europe, resulting in the annexation of territories in Austria and Czechoslovakia. After invading Poland on September 1st, the other alllies jumped into the foray, plunging Europe into the Second World War which would result in Allied victory. The aftermath saw the Soviet Union gain significant influence in Eastern Europe, becoming a major player in European politics for years to come.
