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The Modern Nation-State Concept
By the 1700s, the idea that people should live in nation-states had caught hold in some areas, beginning in France and England -
Imperialism and Colonialism
In the Seven Years' War (1756-1763), known in North America as the French and Indian War, the British won control of Canada from France -
Imperialism and Colonialism
U.S. independence then inspired similar movements in other colonies. By 1833, most of Latin America was free from European rule, and nationalism was spreading through the region. -
Later Colonialism
In 1884 and 1885, representatives from the major empires of Europe met in the German capital of Berlin to lay out claims made on the continent of Africa. The Berlin Conference used these claims to form state boundaries in Africa. -
Modern Colonial Independence Movements
The United Nation, created in 1945, supported the demands of subject people in colonies for self-determination. Within a century of the Berlin Conference, almost all European colonial territories had won independence. -
The Cold War
In 1945, Germany was divided into four zones of occupation among the victorious powers: the United States, United Kingdom, France, and Soviet Union. The first three of these zones united to form West Germany, which allied with the United States. The Soviet zone became the German Democratic Republic and allied itself with the Soviet Union. -
Civil Wars in the Developing World
From 1960 through 1970, 32 colonial territories in Africa gained independence. However, since independence was won by colonies rather than by cultural groups, the boundaries imposed by Europe remained in the newly independent states. -
The Collapse of Communism
In the late 1980s, new leadership in the Soviet Union began to relax its grip over its satellite states in Eastern Europe. In November 1989, citizens of both Germanys brought down the wall that had divided the city of Berlin since 1961. -
Newly Independent States
After 1990, the political boundaries were once again altered. The collapse of communism and the Soviet Union created an enormous power vacuum not only in Europe but also throughout the world -
Civil Wars in the Developing World
In April 1994 in Rwanda, Hutus exacted revenge by killing Tutsis and moderate Hutus on a vast scale. Within just a few months, close to one million Rwandans were killed with many more migrating as refugees to neighboring countries.