Modern Era
Cuban War of Independence (1895-1898) and José Martí
Cuban insurgents fought Spain to a costly stalemate until US intervention in 1898 ended Spanish rule; Cuba then passed under US military occupation until 1902.
All Articles
Every Chronicle article on world history, newest first: battles, empires, disasters, discoveries and revolutions.
Modern Era
Marconi's Transatlantic Radio (1901): Signals Across the Ocean
Marconi reported receiving a wireless signal across the Atlantic, a claim confirmed in principle by shipboard tests in 1902; regular transatlantic wireless service began in 1907.
Modern Era
Emancipation of the Serfs (1861): Alexander II's Great Reform
About 23 million privately owned serfs gained personal freedom and land allotments, but on terms that left many peasants with less land and decades of redemption debt.
Middle Ages
Golden Horde: Batu Khan's Mongol State on the Volga (1242)
Batu's ulus became an independent khanate that controlled the western steppe and collected tribute from the Rus principalities for more than two centuries.
Middle Ages
Al-Idrisi's Tabula Rogeriana (1154): A World Map for Sicily
Al-Idrisi produced one of the most detailed geographies and world maps of the Middle Ages, combining Greek, Arabic and contemporary travellers' knowledge.
Middle Ages
Hundred Years' War (1337–1453): England and France at War
French victory; England lost all its lands in France except Calais, which it held until 1558.
Middle Ages
Gokstad Ship (c. 900): Viking Longship from a Norwegian Mound
The best-preserved seagoing Viking ship yet found, excavated in 1880 and displayed in Oslo; a replica sailed across the Atlantic to Chicago in 1893.
Middle Ages
Prague Astronomical Clock (1410): The Medieval Orloj
A working medieval astronomical clock that has survived more than six centuries and become one of Prague's best-known landmarks.
Early Modern
Champ de Mars Massacre (1791): National Guard Fires on Crowd
Between about a dozen and fifty people were killed, radicals were driven underground for a time and the reputations of Lafayette and Bailly were ruined.
Early Modern
Battle of Cowpens (1781): Morgan's Victory over Tarleton
Decisive American victory; Tarleton's force was destroyed, weakening Cornwallis's army before the campaign in North Carolina.
Early Modern
Hwaseong Fortress (1794): King Jeongjo's Fortress at Suwon
A fortified new city was completed at Suwon in about two and a half years; its detailed building record later allowed faithful restoration, and it became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997.
Early Modern
Selim III and the Nizam-i Cedid: Ottoman Military Reform
Selim built a modern army of over 20,000 men but was deposed in 1807 by a Janissary-backed revolt and killed in 1808; his reforms were revived by Mahmud II.