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WWI
Global conflict sparked by the assassination of the Archduke of Austria-Hungary in 1914. This affected economies massively, forcing many manufacturing industries to switch to military construction. -
Rise of Communism
Communism begins to take root in Europe, specifically Russia. This system was put into place as a result of the Russian Revolution, replacing the ineffectual autocracy from before. It eradicated any private industry, with everything down to the bread in people's houses being owned by the state. In theory, it is an effective economic system, however it relies too much on human goodness (nonexistant) to actually work. Not everyone will just want to be equal, someone always wants to be better. -
Treaty of Versailles
This was a peace treaty signed by the Allies that basically blamed Germany for WWI. It crippled the country both physically and economically, flattening them with reparation payments to the tune of 33 billion US dollars. Their solution was to print money, which brought about hyperinflation and made the Deutsche Mark worthless. -
Stalin comes to power
History's second most famous mustache takes the top chair in Communist Russia. Since the country was around 100 years behind the rest of Europe industry-wise, he instituted a series of 5-year plans to rapidly industrialize it. His aim was to have Russia's industrialization grow by 25% each year, which is insane. He also collectivized agriculture, forcing farmers to work with others on massive co-op farms. -
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Great Depression
This was a period of massive economic downturn that started with an American stock market crash in 1929. This then led to banks calling back credit card loans, which put people in massive debt. To try and combat the widespread crash, America decided to call back loans it had made to other countries during WWI. This had the opposite effect, dragging most of Europe into economic depression along with them. People got so desperate that they would even sell their children. -
Hitler proclaims himself Fuhrer of Germany
Just a year after becoming Chancellor, history's most famous mustache completely abolished the old Weimar Republic and established a dictatorship with himself as its center. He promised to basically ignore the Treaty of Versailles and restore Germany to its former glory. This actually worked, kind of? He managed to reboot the German economy, and the country was able to get back on its feet now that reparation payments were completely ignored. -
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WWII
An angry German man with a funny moustache went on a holiday in Poland, sparking a global conflict that would bring the deaths of 70-85 million people. On one side were Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy, and Imperial Japan, while the other side was made up of Britain and her colonies, America, the Soviet Union, and China. The war would crush the economies of both sides, except for America for some reason. -
World Bank
The world bank is an international organization dedicated to giving out grants and loans to countries. Every country owes some sum of money to the World Bank, and this helps to keep their economies entwined with the threat of being sent into even more debt or losing access to loans. -
International Monetary Fund
The IMF is a global organization dedicated to helping countries in need. Member states pay a quota based on their general economic position, as a sort of subscription. If a country is in need of financial aid, they can pull from this fund. -
Bretton Woods Conference
44 nations sent delegates to Bretton Woods, NH for a conference. This conference led to the birth of both the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank (WB), permanently intertwining the world's economies and currency. -
GATT signed into existence
The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, shortened to GATT, was an agreement signed governing international trading relations. This helped smooth the flow of trade between countries, allowing for increased economic growth. -
WTO is established
In 1995, the GATT was updated and transformed into the World Trade Organization, or WTO. Whereas the GATT only covered the trade of goods, the WTO was expanded to cover trade in services and intellectual property as well. This again allowed for more streamlining of trade, allowing new markets to flourish and provide nations with new sources of income.