Early Modern
French Wars of Religion (1562–1598): Catholics vs Huguenots
Henry IV converted to Catholicism, reunited France and granted the Huguenots limited toleration in the Edict of Nantes of 1598.
All Articles
Every Chronicle article on world history, newest first: battles, empires, disasters, discoveries and revolutions.
Early Modern
Sebastian Cabot's Río de la Plata Expedition (1526-1530)
The expedition never reached the Moluccas; it explored the Paraná and Paraguay rivers and founded a short-lived fort, but Cabot returned in disgrace.
Contemporary
Kyoto Protocol (1997): The First Binding Climate Change Treaty
Industrialised countries agreed binding targets to cut greenhouse gas emissions by about 5 percent below 1990 levels in 2008-2012, backed by new international carbon markets; the United States never ratified it.
Contemporary
Breakup of Yugoslavia (1991–2008): Collapse of a Federation
The federation dissolved into Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia, Serbia and Montenegro, with Kosovo declaring independence in 2008; wars killed an estimated 130,000–140,000 people.
Contemporary
1968 Olympics Black Power Salute: Tommie Smith and John Carlos
Smith and Carlos were suspended by the US team and sent home, but their silent protest became one of the most famous images of the twentieth century.
Contemporary
First Handheld Mobile Phone Call (1973): Martin Cooper
Motorola showed that a cellular telephone could be carried in the hand, beginning a ten-year path to the first commercial handheld mobile phone in 1983.
Contemporary
Rhodesia's Unilateral Declaration of Independence 1965 Explained
Rhodesia's unrecognised white-minority state survived 14 years of sanctions and war before the 1979 Lancaster House Agreement led to Zimbabwe's independence in 1980.
Contemporary
Sino-Soviet Split: How China and the USSR Became Rivals
The alliance between the two largest communist states collapsed into rivalry, splitting the communist world and later opening the way to US-China rapprochement.
Ancient World
Tollund Man: The Iron Age Bog Body Found in Denmark
One of the best-preserved prehistoric bodies ever found; his head is displayed at the Silkeborg Museum.
Ancient World
Maya Long Count Calendar: Origins of Mesoamerican Timekeeping
Mesoamerican peoples developed a precise count of days from a fixed starting point, later used by the Classic Maya to date thousands of monuments.
Ancient World
Founding of the Han Dynasty (206 BC): Liu Bang's Rise to Power
Liu Bang defeated Xiang Yu in the Chu-Han Contention and proclaimed himself emperor in 202 BC, founding the Han dynasty.
Ancient World
Great Stupa of Sanchi: Ashoka's Monument and Its Carved Gateways
A brick Maurya stupa grew into one of the finest surviving early Buddhist monuments, whose gateways are masterpieces of ancient Indian narrative sculpture.