World History

World History is an important topic for SSC CGL General Awareness. Every year 1 to 3 questions come from World History covering major revolutions, world wars, important international organisations and global events. The most frequently tested topics are the French Revolution, American Independence, World Wars, Russian Revolution, United Nations and the Cold War. Students who study these topics systematically score well in this section.

1. Renaissance (14th - 17th Century CE)

1.1 Introduction

The Renaissance was a cultural and intellectual movement that began in Italy around the 14th century and spread to the rest of Europe by the 17th century. The word Renaissance means Rebirth in French - it represented a revival of art, science, literature and classical Greek and Roman thought.

Key Features:

• Revival of classical Greek and Roman learning
• Humanism - focus on human beings and their potential
• Growth of art, architecture, literature and science
• Questioning of Church authority
• Development of rational thinking

1.2 Important Figures of Renaissance

2. Reformation (16th Century CE)

2.1 Protestant Reformation

• Martin Luther (Germany) started the Reformation by nailing his 95 Theses on the door of Wittenberg Church on 31 October 1517 CE
• He challenged the sale of indulgences (certificates of forgiveness) by the Catholic Church
• Founded Lutheranism - a new branch of Christianity
• Translated the Bible into German - made it accessible to common people
• His movement spread across Europe - led to Protestant Christianity

2.2 Counter Reformation

• Catholic Church responded with the Council of Trent (1545-1563 CE)
• Established the Jesuit Order (Society of Jesus) by Ignatius of Loyola
• Reformed internal corruption of the Church

3. Age of Exploration (15th - 17th Century CE)

4. American War of Independence (1775-1783 CE)

4.1 Background

• 13 British colonies in North America wanted independence
• Britain imposed taxes: Stamp Act (1765), Townshend Acts (1767), Tea Act (1773)
• Famous protest: Boston Tea Party (1773) - colonists dumped British tea into Boston harbour
• Slogan: "No taxation without representation"

4.2 Declaration of Independence

• Declaration of Independence signed on 4 July 1776 CE
• Drafted by Thomas Jefferson
• Famous opening: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal"
• 4 July celebrated as Independence Day of USA

4.3 Key Events

• First Continental Congress (1774): Colonies coordinated against British
• Battle of Lexington and Concord (1775): First battles of the war
• George Washington: Commander-in-Chief of Continental Army
• French support: France provided military assistance to American colonies
• Treaty of Paris (1783): Britain recognised American independence
• US Constitution (1787): First written constitution in the world
• George Washington: First President of USA

5. French Revolution (1789-1799 CE)

5.1 Causes

Political Causes:

• Absolute monarchy with no political rights for common people
• King Louis XVI was weak and ineffective

Social Causes:

• Rigid class system - Three Estates: Clergy (First Estate), Nobility (Second Estate), Common people (Third Estate)
• Third Estate paid all taxes while First and Second estates were exempt
• Massive inequality

Economic Causes:

• France was bankrupt due to costly wars including American War of Independence
• Food shortages and high bread prices
• Heavy taxation of poor people

Intellectual Causes:

• Enlightenment ideas of Voltaire, Rousseau, Montesquieu
• Rousseau's Social Contract - government derives power from people
• Montesquieu's separation of powers

5.2 Timeline of French Revolution

5.3 Key Events

• Storming of Bastille: 14 July 1789 - symbolic beginning of revolution - Bastille Day celebrated as French national day
• Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen (1789): Proclaimed liberty, equality and fraternity
• Reign of Terror (1793-94): Led by Maximilien Robespierre - thousands guillotined
• Thermidorian Reaction (1794): Robespierre arrested and guillotined - Terror ended

5.4 Legacy

• Slogan: Liberty, Equality, Fraternity (Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité)
• Inspired revolutions across Europe and Latin America
• Led to rise of Napoleon Bonaparte
• Concept of popular sovereignty
• End of feudalism in France

6. Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821 CE)

• Born in Corsica (1769)
• Rose to power after French Revolution
• Became First Consul in 1799, then Emperor of France in 1804
• Conquered most of Europe
• Napoleonic Code (1804): Civil law code - basis of legal systems in many countries
• Defeated in Battle of Waterloo (1815) by British (Duke of Wellington) and Prussians
• Exiled to St. Helena island where he died in 1821
• Battle of Trafalgar (1805): British Admiral Nelson defeated French navy - ended Napoleon's plans to invade Britain

7. Industrial Revolution (18th - 19th Century)

7.1 Beginning

• Started in Britain in the mid-18th century (around 1760s)
• Shifted production from manual/cottage to machine-based factory production
• Britain had advantages: coal and iron deposits, colonies for raw materials and markets, stable government, skilled workers

7.2 Key Inventions

7.3 Effects of Industrial Revolution

• Rise of factory system and urbanisation
• Growth of middle class (bourgeoisie) and working class (proletariat)
• Exploitation of workers - led to Labour Movement and Trade Unions
• Rise of Capitalism and later Socialism/Communism (Marx)
• Colonialism intensified - need for raw materials and markets
• Environmental pollution began
• Rise of imperialism

8. Unification of Italy and Germany

8.1 Unification of Italy (1861 CE)

• Italy was divided into several small states - unified in 1861
• Key figures:
  • Count Cavour (Camillo di Cavour): Prime Minister of Sardinia - diplomatic role
  • Giuseppe Garibaldi: Military leader - led the Red Shirts (Thousand Volunteers)
  • King Victor Emmanuel II: First king of unified Italy
• Mazzini (Giuseppe Mazzini): Young Italy movement - ideological father

8.2 Unification of Germany (1871 CE)

• Germany unified under Prussian leadership
• Otto von Bismarck: Chief Minister (Chancellor) of Prussia - called Iron Chancellor
• Strategy: Blood and Iron (Blut und Eisen) - unification through war
• Three wars:
  1. War with Denmark (1864) - won Schleswig-Holstein
  2. Austro-Prussian War (1866) - Prussia dominated German states
  3. Franco-Prussian War (1870-71) - defeated France
• German Empire declared on 18 January 1871 at Versailles Palace
• Kaiser Wilhelm I: First German Emperor

9. Russian Revolution (1917 CE)

9.1 Background

• Russia was a backward autocratic empire under Tsar Nicholas II
• Massive inequality - peasants and workers exploited
• Defeat in Russo-Japanese War (1905) humiliated Russia
• Bloody Sunday (1905): Peaceful protesters shot by Tsar's troops
• Heavy casualties and suffering in World War I

9.2 February Revolution (March 1917 CE)

• Tsar Nicholas II abdicated
• Provisional Government formed under Alexander Kerensky
• Soviets (workers' councils) also formed parallel structure

9.3 October Revolution (November 1917 CE)

• Bolsheviks (Communist Party) under Vladimir Lenin overthrew the Provisional Government
• October Revolution (7 November 1917 old calendar = 25 October in Julian calendar)
• Bolsheviks took control of Petrograd (St. Petersburg)
• Lenin returned from exile in Switzerland with German support
• Called Red October or Bolshevik Revolution

9.4 Aftermath

• Treaty of Brest-Litovsk (1918): Russia left World War I - gave up large territories
• Russian Civil War (1917-1922): Bolsheviks (Reds) vs White Army
• Formation of USSR (1922): Union of Soviet Socialist Republics established
• Lenin died (1924): Joseph Stalin eventually took power after power struggle

9.5 Joseph Stalin

• Ruled USSR from 1924 to 1953
• Five Year Plans for industrialisation
• Collectivisation of agriculture
• Great Purge - eliminated rivals
• Allied with western powers against Hitler in WWII

10. World War I (1914-1918 CE)

10.1 Causes - MAIN

• M - Militarism: Arms race between European powers
• A - Alliance System: Triple Entente (Britain, France, Russia) vs Triple Alliance (Germany, Austria-Hungary, Italy)
• I - Imperialism: Competition for colonies
• N - Nationalism: Rise of nationalism - especially in Balkans

10.2 Immediate Cause

• Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand (heir to Austro-Hungarian throne) and his wife Sophie at Sarajevo, Bosnia on 28 June 1914 by Gavrilo Princip (Serbian nationalist - member of Black Hand organisation)

10.3 Major Alliances

Allied Powers (Triple Entente):

• Britain, France, Russia
• Later joined by: USA (1917), Italy (left Triple Alliance and joined Allies)

Central Powers (Triple Alliance):

• Germany, Austria-Hungary, Ottoman Empire (Turkey)
• Italy left and joined Allies

10.4 Major Events

10.5 End and Aftermath

• Armistice signed: 11 November 1918 - the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month
• Treaty of Versailles (28 June 1919): Peace treaty with Germany
  • Germany lost territory, army limited, forced to pay reparations
  • War guilt clause - Germany blamed for the war
  • League of Nations created
• Woodrow Wilson (US President): Proposed 14 Points including League of Nations

10.6 Impact

• Death toll: approximately 20 million
• Empires collapsed: Ottoman, Austro-Hungarian, Russian, German
• League of Nations established (1919)
• Seeds of World War II planted

11. Rise of Fascism and Nazism

11.1 Benito Mussolini (Italy)

• Founded Fascist Party in Italy in 1919 CE
• Became Prime Minister in 1922 CE - March on Rome
• Called Il Duce (The Leader)
• Allied with Hitler - Rome-Berlin Axis (1936)
• Executed by Italian partisans in 1945

11.2 Adolf Hitler (Germany)

• Born in Austria (1889)
• Founded Nazi Party (NSDAP) - National Socialist German Workers Party
• Wrote Mein Kampf (My Struggle) while in prison
• Became Chancellor of Germany in January 1933
• Became Führer (Leader) in 1934 after President Hindenburg died
• Key policies: Anti-Semitism, Aryan supremacy, expansion of Germany (Lebensraum)
• Holocaust: Systematic genocide of 6 million Jews and others
• Committed suicide on 30 April 1945 as Soviet troops entered Berlin

11.3 Causes of Rise of Fascism and Nazism

• Humiliation from Treaty of Versailles
• Great Economic Depression (1929) - massive unemployment
• Fear of Communism by middle and upper classes
• Weak democratic governments
• Effective propaganda and charismatic leaders

12. World War II (1939-1945 CE)

12.1 Causes

• Harsh terms of Treaty of Versailles created resentment
• Rise of Hitler and Nazi Germany
• Policy of Appeasement by Britain and France
• German expansion: Austria (Anschluss 1938), Czechoslovakia (1938-39)
• Failure of League of Nations

12.2 Immediate Cause

• German invasion of Poland on 1 September 1939
• Britain and France declared war on Germany on 3 September 1939

12.3 Major Events Timeline

12.4 Major Alliances

Allied Powers:

• USA, Britain, USSR, France, China

Axis Powers:

• Germany, Italy, Japan

12.5 Atomic Bombs on Japan

• Hiroshima: Atomic bomb dropped on 6 August 1945 - bomb named Little Boy
• Nagasaki: Atomic bomb dropped on 9 August 1945 - bomb named Fat Man
• Japan surrendered on 15 August 1945
• Formal surrender on 2 September 1945 (VJ Day)
• Manhattan Project: US programme to develop the atomic bomb - led by J. Robert Oppenheimer

12.6 End and Aftermath

• VE Day (Victory in Europe): 8 May 1945
• VJ Day (Victory over Japan): 15 August 1945
• Death toll: approximately 70-85 million
• United Nations established - 24 October 1945
• Cold War began between USA and USSR
• Decolonisation of Asia and Africa accelerated

13. United Nations (UN)

13.1 Establishment

• United Nations established on 24 October 1945
• UN Day celebrated on 24 October every year
• Replaced the League of Nations which had failed
• Original members: 51 countries
• Current members: 193 member states
• Headquarters: New York City, USA

13.2 UN Charter

• Signed on 26 June 1945 at San Francisco Conference
• Came into force on 24 October 1945
• Four main purposes: Maintain peace, develop friendly relations, cooperate in solving problems, promote human rights

13.3 Principal Organs of UN

13.4 Security Council

• 15 members: 5 Permanent + 10 Non-Permanent (elected for 2 years)
• 5 Permanent Members (P5): USA, UK, France, Russia, China
• Veto power: Any P5 member can veto a resolution
• India has been elected as non-permanent member multiple times

13.5 Important UN Agencies

13.6 UN Secretary-Generals

14. Cold War (1947-1991 CE)

14.1 Introduction

After WWII, the world was divided into two rival blocs:

• USA led Western Bloc: Capitalist democracies
• USSR led Eastern Bloc: Communist countries

This rivalry is called the Cold War because it never became a direct military conflict (hot war) between the two superpowers.

14.2 Key Events of Cold War

14.3 Important Organisations

NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organisation):

• Founded: 1949 CE
• Founded by: 12 countries led by USA
• Principle: Attack on one is attack on all (Article 5)
• Headquarters: Brussels, Belgium

Warsaw Pact:

• Founded: 1955 CE
• Soviet counter to NATO
• Dissolved in 1991

Non-Aligned Movement (NAM):

• Founded: 1961 at Belgrade Conference
• Countries that wanted to stay neutral in Cold War
• Founded by: Jawaharlal Nehru (India), Josip Tito (Yugoslavia), Gamal Abdel Nasser (Egypt), Kwame Nkrumah (Ghana), Sukarno (Indonesia)
• India was a founding member and key proponent

14.4 Cuban Missile Crisis (1962)

• USSR placed nuclear missiles in Cuba (90 miles from USA)
• US President John F. Kennedy imposed naval blockade on Cuba
• Closest the world came to nuclear war
• Resolved through secret negotiations - USSR removed missiles
• Led to establishment of Moscow-Washington Hotline (Red Phone)

14.5 End of Cold War

• Mikhail Gorbachev became Soviet leader in 1985
• Introduced: Glasnost (openness) and Perestroika (restructuring)
• Communist governments in Eastern Europe collapsed in 1989
• Berlin Wall fell: 9 November 1989
• USSR formally dissolved: 25 December 1991
• 15 new independent states formed from USSR - Russia being the largest

15. Chinese Revolution (1949 CE)

• Mao Zedong led Communist Party of China
• Civil War between Communists and Nationalists (Kuomintang) under Chiang Kai-shek
• Nationalists fled to Taiwan (1949)
• People's Republic of China proclaimed on 1 October 1949
• Mao ruled until 1976
• Great Leap Forward (1958-62): Rapid industrialisation - caused massive famine
• Cultural Revolution (1966-76): Political purge - massive disruption

16. Korean War (1950-1953 CE)

• North Korea (Communist - supported by USSR/China) invaded South Korea
• UN forces led by USA intervened to defend South Korea
• China entered the war supporting North Korea
• Armistice signed in 1953 - Korea remains divided at 38th parallel
• General Douglas MacArthur led UN forces initially

17. Vietnam War (1955-1975 CE)

• North Vietnam (Communist) vs South Vietnam (US-backed)
• USA heavily involved from 1965
• Guerrilla warfare by Viet Cong
• US withdrew after Paris Peace Accords (1973)
• South Vietnam fell in 1975 - Vietnam unified under Communism
• One of US's most controversial and costly military engagements

18. Decolonisation of Africa and Asia

18.1 Overview

After WWII, colonial powers weakened and independence movements strengthened across Asia and Africa.

Key Independence Dates:

18.2 Apartheid in South Africa

• Apartheid: System of racial segregation in South Africa (1948-1994)
• White minority government oppressed Black majority
• African National Congress (ANC) led resistance
• Nelson Mandela: Leader of ANC - imprisoned for 27 years (1964-1990)
• International sanctions forced end of apartheid
• Mandela became first Black President of South Africa in 1994

19. Arab-Israeli Conflict

• Israel declared independent on 14 May 1948
• Immediate war with Arab neighbours
• 1948 Arab-Israeli War: Israel survived and expanded
• Six-Day War (1967): Israel captured West Bank, Gaza, Sinai, Golan Heights
• Yom Kippur War (1973): Arab attack on Israel - inconclusive
• Camp David Accords (1978): Egypt recognised Israel - mediated by US President Carter
• Oslo Accords (1993): Israel and PLO recognised each other
• Conflict ongoing to present day

20. Important International Organisations

20.1 Economic Organisations

20.2 Regional Organisations

21. Space Race

Apollo 11 Moon Landing (20 July 1969):

• First humans on Moon: Neil Armstrong (first) and Buzz Aldrin
• Michael Collins orbited the Moon in Command Module
• Armstrong's famous words: "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind"

22. Important World Leaders and Their Contributions

23. Nobel Peace Prize - Important Winners

24. Important Wars and Conflicts

25. SSC CGL Important One-Liners - World History

1. Renaissance means Rebirth in French
2. Gutenberg invented the printing press around 1450 CE
3. Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses on 31 October 1517
4. Columbus discovered America in 1492 CE
5. Vasco da Gama reached India in 1498 CE
6. Magellan led the first circumnavigation of the globe (1519-1522)
7. American Declaration of Independence signed on 4 July 1776
8. Thomas Jefferson drafted the Declaration of Independence
9. Slogan of no taxation without representation was used in American Revolution
10. Storming of Bastille on 14 July 1789 began the French Revolution
11. Slogan of French Revolution: Liberty, Equality, Fraternity
12. Napoleon became Emperor of France in 1804
13. Napoleon defeated at Battle of Waterloo (1815)
14. Industrial Revolution started in Britain in the 1760s
15. James Watt improved the steam engine in 1769
16. George Stephenson built the first steam locomotive in 1814
17. Germany unified under Bismarck in 1871
18. Italy unified in 1861 under King Victor Emmanuel II
19. Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo started WWI (1914)
20. WWI ended with Armistice on 11 November 1918
21. Treaty of Versailles signed on 28 June 1919
22. League of Nations established after WWI
23. Russian Revolution - Bolsheviks took power on 7 November 1917
24. Lenin led the Bolshevik Revolution
25. USSR formed in 1922
26. Stalin introduced Five Year Plans
27. Hitler became Chancellor of Germany in January 1933
28. Hitler wrote Mein Kampf (My Struggle)
29. Holocaust: 6 million Jews killed by Nazis
30. WWII started on 1 September 1939 with German invasion of Poland
31. Pearl Harbor attacked by Japan on 7 December 1941
32. D-Day (Allied invasion of Normandy) on 6 June 1944
33. Hiroshima bombed on 6 August 1945 - bomb name Little Boy
34. Nagasaki bombed on 9 August 1945 - bomb name Fat Man
35. Germany surrendered on 8 May 1945 (VE Day)
36. Japan surrendered on 15 August 1945 (VJ Day)
37. United Nations established on 24 October 1945
38. UN headquarters in New York City, USA
39. UN has 193 member states
40. 5 Permanent members of UN Security Council: USA, UK, France, Russia, China
41. NATO founded in 1949 - headquarters in Brussels
42. Cold War lasted from 1947 to 1991
43. Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962 - closest to nuclear war
44. Berlin Wall built in 1961 and fell on 9 November 1989
45. USSR dissolved on 25 December 1991
46. Sputnik - first artificial satellite - launched by USSR in 1957
47. Yuri Gagarin - first human in space - 1961 - USSR
48. Neil Armstrong - first human on Moon - 20 July 1969
49. Nelson Mandela imprisoned for 27 years - first Black President of South Africa
50. Apartheid ended in South Africa - Mandela elected President in 1994

26. Chapter Summary

World History is a scoring section for SSC CGL. The most important topics to master:

Top Priority:

• French Revolution - causes, events, slogan, outcome
• American Independence - 1776, Jefferson, 4 July
• World War I - causes, 1914-1918, Treaty of Versailles
• World War II - 1939-1945, Pearl Harbor, Hiroshima, atomic bombs
• Russian Revolution - Lenin, Bolsheviks, 1917
• United Nations - 1945, Security Council, P5, agencies
• Cold War - USA vs USSR, Cuban crisis, Berlin Wall, 1991
• Space Race - Sputnik, Gagarin, Moon landing