Oliver Cromwell was Lord Protector of the Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland. He rose to prominence as a military commander during the English Civil War, winning a series of impressive victories with his New Model Army. Cromwell was a political pragmatist and a skilled communicator, which facilitated his rise to power during the Commonwealth and the Protectorate. He eventually became...
Read more
-
-
Joseph Stalin was the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1922 and the leader of the USSR from 1924 to 1953. Known in particular for his rule of terror over the USSR, Stalin governed Russia with an iron fist, propelling the country into rapid industrialization through his infamous five-year plans, introducing forced labor camps known as...
Read more -
The European Union is both one of the most influential and one of the most polarizing supranational bodies in the world. With its own monetary union, the Eurozone, and key rights including free movement throughout the 28 member states for EU citizens, its supporters see it as the most effective means of fostering international cooperation on the continent, while its...
Read more -
The Crusades were a religious, political and miltary conflict between the three great powers of the 11th, 12th and 13th centuries: Catholic Europe, the Muslim world and the Orthodox Byzantine Empire. The birth of Islam had a profound effect on the beginning of the Crusades, as the Muslim faith began to spread to the West and Muslim troops began to invade...
Read more -
The fall of the Berlin Wall put an end to almost 30 years of physical and ideological separation between the two halves of the German capital. Constructed at the height of the Cold War, the Berlin Wall symbolized the hostility between the capitalist powers in the West and the Communist powers in the East. Its fall saw people flood across...
Read more -
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, passed on 10 December 1948, was one of the most significant milestones of the 20th century. It was the first text to recognize that each individual is entitled to fundamental rights and freedoms which make us all equal to one another, regardless of nationality, religion, profession or ethnicity. In just 50 minutes, you will find out...
Read more -
Theodore Roosevelt was the 26th President of the United States. Known in particular for being the youngest president in the history of the USA, Roosevelt was a very important historical figure, to such an extent that his image is immortalized on Mount Rushmore. Roosevelt was not only a Republican who contributed a great deal to the assertion of American imperialism, but also...
Read more -
Vladimir Lenin was a Russian communist revolutionary and politician whose actions shaped the fate of Russia. He toppled the centuries-old tsarist regime to lead the proletariat to victory during the Russian Revolution, becoming a legendary figure for the people of Russia in the process. However, it is difficult to separate fact from fiction, as Lenin became surrounded by a cult of personality...
Read more -
Winston Churchill was the British Prime Minster during the Second World War. Known in particular for his role in the Allied victory over Nazi Germany, Churchill was a respected politician who is considered to be one of the greatest British leaders of the 20th century. However, a lesser-known fact is that Churchill was also a historian and a writer, and...
Read more