-
Period: to
What is Europe? Lessons from the past: 1648-1948
-
Peace of Münster / Peace of Westphalia
Detail from a painting of the oathtaking/ratification of the Peace of Münster, by Gerard ter Borch, in Münster. Westphalia was a series of peace treaties, which included Münster, and was significant because it ended the Thirty Years' War. But most importantly, it established what we know as the modern nation-state, ushering in a new system of international order. While the Treaty of Münster was ratified earlier in May, the treaty was signed officially in October. -
The French Revolution
This image is that of a sign created during the revolutionary period in Alsace, 1792. Created by an unknown artist, the sign proclaims the phrases "Freiheit Gleichheit Brüderlichk. od. Tod" (Liberty Equality Fraternity or Death), "Tod den Tyranen" (Death to Tyrans), and "Heil den Völkern" (Long live the Peoples). These phrases were among the many mottos used during the French revolution to proclaim the revolutionary spirit of the movement. -
Age of Enlightenment
This image, Catherine II of Russia with Allegories of History and Time, depicts Catherine II, who was an enlightened despot. This portrait was painted by Johann Baptist Lampi of the Austrian Court, in St. Petersburg in 1973. This painting is significant, because enlightened despots of the time believed in the need to rationalize the state, helping to increase the sense of Europeanness, modernity, scientific progress, and civilization which characterized the Enlightenment. -
The Industrial Revolution
Oil on canvas, Coalbrookdale by Night. This painting depicts Madeley Wood (or Bedlam) Furnaces, which belonged to the Coalbrookdale Company from 1776 to 1796. It was painted by Philip James de Loutherbourg in 1801. The Industrial Revolution was the transition to new manufacturing processes in the period from about 1760 to sometime between 1820 and 1840. It marks a major turning point in history; almost every aspect of daily life was influenced in some way. -
Treaty of Versailles - End of WWI
The cover of a publication of the Treaty of Versailles in English. The original document was written by David Lloyd George, Woodrow Wilson and Georges Clemenceau in 1919, in Versailles, France. The treaty, one of several peace treaties created after WWI, laid out the settlements that were agreed upon at the Paris Peace Conference, but also helped set the stage for WWII. -
Charter of the United Nations - End of WWII
This document, the United Nations Declaration, was first signed by President Roosevelt, Prime Minister Churchill, Maxim Litvinov, of the USSR, and T. V. Soong, of China on New Year’s Day of 1942. The representatives of twenty-two other nations added their signatures the next day. This document is significant because three years later, the UN Charter would be established, following WWII, as a general call for the maintenance of peace and international security and respect for human rights.
