Politics/Timelines

(See also the History of political thought timeline)

The ancient world

• 431 BCE The Pelopponesian War[1] (431-404) between Athens and Sparta
• 410 CE Sack of Rome[2] the first invasion of imperial Rome - which survived further attacks until 610 CE in the form of its Eastern Empire[3]
• 529 CE Corpus Juris Civilis[4]] (Justinian's code of Roman Law)

The middle ages

• 1215 Magna Carta[5][6] - statement of civil rights and fundamental document of the English constitution.
• 1453 The fall of Constantinople

The Enlightenment

• 1643 English Civil War [7] (1643-6) Armed conflict between supporters of the parliament and the monarchy, ending in the execution of King Charles I.
• 1648 Treaty of Westphalia[8]. An agreement to respect the sovereignty of nation states, and national self-determination.
• 1688 Glorious Revolution The largely bloodless events in England which led to the deposition of King James II.
• 1689 The Bill of Rights English legislation that restricted the powers of the monarchy and established the rights of a free Parliament.
• 1774 American Revolution The armed stuggle that gave the United States independence frm Britain.
• 1776 Declaration of Independence by the United States of America
• 1789 Storming of the Bastille and start of the French Revolution
• 1791 The United States Bill of Rights. The first ten amendments to the constitution, the first of which guarantees freedom of religion, speech, press, and peaceable assembly.

The 19th and 20th centuries

• 1914 First World War (1914-1918)
• 1917 Russian Revolution[9]
• 1919 League of Nations Covenant - a collective security agreement and an endorsement of the principle of self-determination.
• 1922 The Permanent Court of International Justice (1922-1946) Provided arbitration of disputes between member countries of the League of Nations
• 1922 'March on Rome[10] The coup that brought Mussolini to power.
• 1929-33 Great Depression
• 1933 Adolf Hitler becomes Chancellor of Germany.
• 1939 Second World War (1939-45)
• 1941 Pearl Harbour an attack upon the United States by Japan, followed by a German declaration of war on the United States.
• 1945 San Francisco Conference[11] - adopted the United Nations Charter - which sought to establish "collective measures for the prevention and removal of threats to the peace", and to "develop friendly relations among nations based on respect for the principle of equal rights and self-determination".
• 1946 The Court of International Justice[12] is set up to resolve legal disputes between member country and advise on legal questions referred to it.
• 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights establishes a universal obligation to respect a specified set of human rights.
• 1950-53 Korean War
• 1962-75 Vietnam War

The 21st century

• 2001 9-11 Attack Terrorist attack on the United States, on September 11, 2001, using hijacked airliners as suicide weapons against major buildings.

Afghanistan War military operations against the Taliban and al-Qaeda by United States and NATO forces [e]

• 2003-10 Iraq War
• 2008-11 Great Recession
• 2010-11 Arab Spring