Historical Context: Understanding the Time and Place

The Battle of Hastings was fought on October 14, 1066, between the Norman army of William the Conqueror and the English army of Harold Godwinson.

George Washington was the first President of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797.

The Mayflower was the ship that brought the Pilgrims to America in 1620.

Abolitionism was the movement that led to the abolition of slavery in the United States in 1865.

The American Civil War was fought between the Union and the Confederacy during the 1860s.

The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand on June 28, 1914, was the event that led to the start of World War I.

The invasion of Poland on September 1, 1939, was the event that led to the start of World War II.

The atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki on August 6 and 9, 1945, were the events that led to the end of World War II.

The Anti-Apartheid Movement was the movement that led to the end of apartheid in South Africa in 1994.

The Iron Curtain Speech, delivered by Winston Churchill on March 5, 1946, was the event that led to the start of the Cold War.

The fall of the Berlin Wall on November 9, 1989, was the event that led to the end of the Cold War.

The Solidarity Movement in Poland was the movement that led to the end of communism in Eastern Europe in 1989.

The self-immolation of Mohamed Bouazizi on December 17, 2010, was the event that led to the start of the Arab Spring.

The Syrian Revolution, which began in 2011, was the event that led to the start of the Syrian Civil War.

The outbreak of a novel coronavirus at a seafood market in Wuhan, China, in December 2019, was the event that led to the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.