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The Suez Canal was opened in November of 1867 which meant that ships could sail from the Mediterranean straight into the Red Sea. This cut the trip between Europe and Asia by over 4,000 miles and meant that Britain and France raced to control Egypt and protect this new shortcut. -
At the end of 1880, Britain tried to rule the Boer republics in South Africa themselves. The Boers fought back and won several battles as they did not want to take part in British rule. In March 1881 Britain agreed to let the Boers govern themselves again, but the war showed how hard it was to run an overseas army with a vast empire
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Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy agree mutual defense marking the first major alliance in Europe. -
European powers met in 1885 to set rules for taking over Africa. They agreed you had to occupy land to claim it, and European powers like Britain and France made decisions of what areas they wanted to take. This was supposed to mediate what parts of Africa would go to what countries. -
Britain sent a larger army to South Africa to crush the Boer resistance. The Boers used guerrilla tactics and caused heavy British losses. Britain won but faced criticism over scorched-earth tactics and concentration camps, so it looked to new allies to protect its empire and public opinion.
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France and Russia team up between themselves due to the worry of German power. -
After mounting pressure over influence in Korea, Japan and Qing China went to war in July 1894. Japan’s modernized army and navy won a series of quick victories which showed that Japan was the stronger nation, forcing China to make peace. The conflict signaled Japan’s arrival as a major military power in East Asia and exposed the Qing dynasty’s military weaknesses.
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After beating China in the First Sino-Japanese War, Japan forced China to give up Korea and Taiwan. Japan also got access to warm water ports like Port Arthur. This treaty showed that Japan was now a modern military power in East Asia. -
A British force under Leander Starr Jameson tried and failed to start an uprising against the government in South Africa. The raid was a disaster for Britain made the Boers more confident and annoyed Britain when the German Kaiser praised the Boers.
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Germany’s Kaiser sent a congratulatory message to the Boer president Paul Kruger after the failed raid. Britain saw this as Germany poking into its business in South Africa. The message made tensions between Britain and Germany worse. -
British and French forces met at Fashoda (Sudan) and both claimed it. They came close to war but worked it out by diplomacy. Britain got control of Egypt and Sudan, and France kept its hold on Morocco. -
The United States went to war with Spain to help Cuba gain independence. American naval victories in Cuba forced Spain to give up Cuba, the Philippines, Puerto Rico, and Guam. This was the U.S.’s first big move into overseas empire and marked the US as a rising powerful nation.
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Britain sent a larger army to South Africa to crush Boer resistance. The Boers used guerrilla tactics and caused heavy British losses. Britain won but faced criticism over scorched-earth tactics, so it looked to new allies to protect its empire and public opinion.
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Britain and Japan signed an agreement promising neutrality if either was attacked by one power, and support if attacked by more. Britain recognized Japan’s interests in Korea; Japan agreed to defend British interests in China. This marked a big stepping stone for Japan being recognized as a major power. -
Japan and Russia went to war over Korea and Manchuria. Japan’s modern army and navy won key battles which showed how strong Japan was and Russias weakness, furthering Japan's place as a world power.
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European powers met in Spain to settle disputes over Morocco after the German Kaiser's speech. They backed France’s control of Morocco but guaranteed free trade. This strengthened the Entente between Britain and France and left Germany more isolated.
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Russia joins Britain and France, turning the Entente Cordiale into a full three power team that would face down the Triple Alliance in 1914. -
Soldiers in Wuchang ( a province in China) revolted, sparking the end of over 2,000 years of imperial rule and the fall of the Qing dynasty, which caused the formation of new governments. -
Three-year-old Pu Yi formally stepped down being seen as the last fit emperor, this caused Sun Yat-sen to set up the Republic of China in Nanking. -
Sun Yat-sen’s Revolutionary Alliance merged with other groups to form the Kuomintang (KMT), aiming to unite China under one republic. -
After Archduke Franz Ferdinand was killed, alliances kicked in and Europe went to war. Austria-Hungary attacked Serbia; Russia, Germany, France, and Britain joined in, turning a Balkan crisis into a World War. -
The Panama canal officially opened, linking the Atlantic and Pacific. During WWI it let Allied ships redeploy more quickly and sail between oceans. -
The Zimmerman telegram was a message to the Mexican government from the Germany government, which urged them to attack the U.S if they were to enter the war from the side of the Allies. This was caught by the British government and shed light on Germany's plans. -
President Wilson led the U.S. into the war after Germany’s U boat attacks and the Zimmermann Telegram. American troops and supplies tipped the balance in favor of the Allies. -
The Bolsheviks overthrew Russia’s Provisional Government, bringing Lenin to power and setting the Russia to be the world’s first communist state. -
Wilson’s speech placed out ideas for diplomacy instead of war, free trade, self determination, and a League of Nations to guide the postwar settlement when the war ends. -
Russia quit WW I by signing with Germany and Austria-Hungary, ceding vast territories (Poland, Ukraine, the Baltic states) in return for peace. -
Germany and its allies agreed to an armistice , which ended active combat and forced the Central Powers to give up occupied territory. -
Delegates from over 30 nations met at Versailles to negotiate terms for ending WW I and rebuild
post-war Europe. -
Chinese students in Beijing protested at Versailles giving Shandong to Japan. Protests spread nationwide, sparking modern Chinese nationalism and calls for reform which inspired a lot of key parties. -
The Big three ( Britain, France, and the U.S) imposed harsh terms on Germany: loss of territory, military limits, reparations, and the League of Nations covenant. Many Germans saw it as a cruel and it was a big cause for future war. -
Austria’s 1919 peace treaty dismantled the Habsburg Empire, recognized new states (Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia) and limited Austria’s army. -
Bulgaria lost territory to Greece and Yugoslavia, paid reparations, and had its army sharply reduced. -
Hungary was forced to cede two-thirds of its land and population to its neighbours. -
A small group of intellectuals launched the CCP in Shanghai with help from the Soviet-led Comintern. -
World powers led by the US, Britain, Japan, France and Italy met in Washington to agree limits on battleships and cruisers. By setting tonnage ratios , they aimed to prevent another naval arms race. -
Germany and Soviet Russia quietly renounced all territorial and financial claims against each other and opened the door to military and economic cooperation worrying France and Britain, which also helped stop Soviet isolation. -
Benito Mussolini’s Blackshirts marched into Rome and forced King Victor Emmanuel III to invite him to form a government, marking the birth of Fascist rule in Italy. -
An international committee, backed by US loans, restructured Germany’s reparations payments and stabilized their currency easing a major cause of European tension and economic pressure. -
In Shanghai, British police shot Chinese protesters. News of the killings sparked nationwide strikes and boycotts and accelerated the rise of Chinese nationalism. -
Germany, France, Belgium, Britain and Italy guaranteed Germany’s western borders (with France and Belgium) and pledged to settle future disputes peacefully and diplomatically giving a brief hope that post war tensions would end. -
Chiang Kai-shek led KMT forces north from Canton to defeat warlords and reunify China under one Nationalist rule. -
Germany was admitted as a full member, a sign that the Allies were finally willing to treat its government as a partner in keeping the peace. -
Chiang purged communists from the KMT, killing thousands and ending the first KMT–CCP alliance, which also ended some support from peasants and workers for the KMT. -
Almost 60 nations (including Germany, France, the US, Japan) renounced war as national policy though without enforcement, and promised to engage in diplomacy. -
Chiang’s Northern Expedition reached Peking (Beijing), giving his Nationalist government in Nanking a big control of China. -
Further reduced and stretched out Germany’s reparations, replacing the Dawes Plan with lower annual payments. -
On “Black Friday” (29 October) the U.S. stock market collapsed. American loans and exports dried up, plunging many countries into depression and mass unemployment across Europe and the US. -
Japan’s Kwantung Army seized Manchuria and set up the puppet state of Manchukuo, showing the League of Nations’ weakness over handling disputes. -
Mao Zedong and Zhu De declared a communist “Soviet” government in Jiangxi Province, laying the base for future CCP survival from the KMT's persecution. -
Over sixty nations met in Geneva to try to limit arms. Talks stalled because of the Depression, Japan’s actions in Manchuria, and Hitler’s demands. Germany dropped out of the conference later on. -
On 30 January, Hitler joined Germany’s government. He quickly banned rival parties, turned Germany into a one-party state, and set expansionism as the official policy. -
In protest at criticism over Manchuria, Japan quit the League, moving closer to fascist Germany and Italy. -
Hitler pulled Germany out of the Disarmament Conference and the League, making clear he would ignore international rules and the League. -
Surrounded by KMT forces, about 90,000 communists trekked nearly 6,000 miles to Yenan. Only 10,000–20,000 survived, but Mao’s leadership was secured.
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On 13 January, voters in the Saar region chose to rejoin and be part if Germany. This legal revision of Versailles boosted Hitler’s domestic standing. -
Hitler announced a draft army and a new air force on 16 March, breaking Versailles limits and showing the Allies wouldn’t stop him. -
After the Marco Polo Bridge Incident, Japan launched a full-scale invasion of China, drawing both KMT and CCP armies into conflict.
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Mussolini attacked Ethiopia to boost Italy’s standing and distract from economic troubles. League sanctions were weak, pushing Italy closer to Hitler. -
On 7 March, German troops marched into the demilitarised Rhineland. Britain and France protested but did nothing, and Hitler’s gamble paid off. -
Franco’s generals rebelled, plunging Spain into civil war. Germany and Italy backed Franco; the USSR and foreign volunteers backed the republican side. -
Hitler and Mussolini formalized their partnership, ending Italy’s ties with Britain and France and setting the stage for joint expansion and Friendliness. -
Germany and Japan signed an anti-communist agreement later joined by Italy uniting the three main fascist powers together. -
Germany and Austria united into one, where Germany basically absorbed Austria and met no opposition by Austria or Britain, although this was due to appeasement.
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On 30 September, Britain and France let Hitler take the Sudetenland in hopes of peace, mostly backed by Britain. This act of appeasement failed to stop further aggression. -
On the 15th of March Germany took the rest of Czech lands, shattering Munich promises and ending appeasement of Germany. -
Germany and Italy formalized their military alliance, pledging mutual support in any future conflict. -
On 23 August, Hitler and Stalin agreed not to attack each other and secretly divided Eastern Europe (Poland) This cleared the way for Germany to invade Poland with support from the USSR. -
On the 1st of September, Germany attacked Poland. Two days later Britain and France declared war on Germany, officially starting World War II. -
Chiang Kai-shek’s Nationalist forces ambushed and destroyed a Communist New Fourth Army unit in southern China, killing thousands and effectively ending real cooperation between the KMT and CCP. -
Diplomatic talks broke down amid U.S. oil embargoes, pushing Japan toward war. -
On 7 December, Japan’s surprise attack on Pearl Harbor brought the United States and Britain into the Pacific War ending U.S. isolationism and making WWII truly global, as Japan had just attacked the most powerful nation in the World.