PolledHistory

 Hello! This is the fourth episode which is about the Latter Medieval Era (precisely 1066-1453), which is our shortest timeframe yet.  Following the Norman conquest into Britain, William the Conqueror consolidated his power there and England became a more established nation under William's descendants. A bit to the south, France remained a regional power that often waged war against England. However, the Normans did not completely take over the island of Britain - in the north was Scotland, which also had lots of conflicts with England especially later on. In Iberia, the Iberians began to push back the Arabs and Muslims which was in control of the peninsula for centuries. This was known as the Reconquista, but it would not be finished until the end of this episode's timeframe.  Meanwhile, the Eastern Roman Empire was facing a threat from the east: the Seljuk Turks that had invaded most of the Middle East quickly, defeating the empire at the crucial battle of Manzikert in ...

 Hello! Today's episode will cover 1683 to 1815 - 132 years of history and I believe is our second last Modern History episode.  Following the failed Ottoman attack on Vienna, the Ottoman Empire began to slowly but very surely decline, with the Austrian Empire even taking back some of their territories until modern day Bosnia and Herzegovina. Towards the north, Sweden, a strong but underpopulated nation, Poland Lithuania, which was centered in modern day Poland, and the growing power of Russia went to war - the Great Northern War. In the end, Sweden lost, and Russia grew greatly in power. Russia modernized under the reigns of Peter the Great, though the Russian Tsars would be less effective after the 18th century. The 1700s also marked even more colonization in the Americas and beyond, further exploration, and the beginning of the United States after a war of independence. But possibly the most important conflict in the 18th century is the 7 Years War. This was a war waged in ...

 Hello! We left off last week in 1588, and we will cover 1588 until 1683. Following the defeat of the Spanish Armada, Spain as a military power would wane, making way for English rise in power and begin to settle smaller colonies in North America. However, for a brief whle  after the reign of Charles I in England, Oliver Cromwell, an important English statesman and soldier was ruler as a "Lord Protector", which lasted a short time before the English monarchy got back into power. Further north Sweden was rapidly expanding in the early 1600s, and this domination of the Baltic Sea and the surroundings would last until the 1700s, but we are getting too far. The 1600s was also the century of scientific and cultural growth known for scientists, artists, philosophers, and others. The century was also the beginning of the Dutch East Indian Company which began the Dutch Golden Age, furhter colonization into the Americas for England (not yet Great Britain) and France, and the establish...

 Hello! The third episode of World History's timeframe is 500 AD to 1000 AD, but really 476 AD to 1066 AD to be precise. We have the Early Medieval era to cover.  In 476 AD, a Germanic chieftain, Odoacer, or Odovacar, invaded what was left of the Western Roman Empire, the western half of the Roman Empire, replacing the Romans there with the Ostrogoths. The Eastern Roman Empire survived and so did the Papacy (the Pope) and many Roman institutions were continued. However, it was a huge loss of technology and advancement. In 527 until 565 AD, however, it seemed like Rome was about to witness a revival. The effective Eastern Roman emperor Justin died and his nephew, Justinian, took the throne. Justinian survived and overcame a riot that almost overthrew him - namely the Nika riots - and began a series of conquests aiming to take back North Africa and Italy into Roman control. Under the intelligent commander Belisarius, the Romans took back the areas lost because of the decline and...

 Hello! This is the first episode of a Modern history series: Episode #1: 1453 until 1588 There is a lot of debate with the start of Modern History. Nevertheless, we will start in May 29, 1453 AD, one of the definitions of the beginning of Modern History. Thus, if we use this 1453 definition, the Modern Era is about 571 years long. The end is present day. This "modern era" series will mostly cover just Europe and the Americas and the places it interacted with. In May 29, 1453, a large Ottoman army descended on the Byzantine (Eastern Roman) city of Constantinople, a city that had declined and an empire that had certainly declined. And then they took it, the beginning of Ottoman dominance in the Eastern Mediterranean and the end of Roman continuity as a whole. In the same time, in Italy, the Renaissance was happening. Cultural and scientific growth was undergone, and it was Italy's height. Only a few decades after the Fall of Constantinople, a Genoese explorer, Christopher ...

 Hello! If you didn't know, last week we began a World History where we cover a broader view of all of world history in a 6 part series that begins on 2 November and ends more than a month later on 9 December.  This second episode covers history from 750 BC to 500 AD,but  really it is 753 BC to 476 AD - the Classical Era. Last time we did 4000-750 BC - the Preclassical Ancient World - that includes the beginnings and growth of early civilizations until the Iron Age. The Classical Era has multiple starting definitions, but most people say it is around 800-700 BC with the growth of Ancient Rome and Greece. In 753 BC, about four hundred years after the chaotic Bronze Age Collapse, an insignificant city was founded. According to legend, two twin brothers, named Romulus and Remus,  settled a city in the Italian peninsula along the Tiber river. However, they fought and Romulus commited fratricide, murdering his twin brother. Nevertheless, he would grow to become the first ...

 Hello! After 7 days of polling the results are a tie. I chose the renaissance as the topic. The word Renaissance typically refers to a cultural period of prosperity and innovation in Europe between 1400-1600, with several definitions, especially about its start and end times. It ended the Middle Ages that began with the end of the Western Roman Empire in 476 AD. It laid the foundations for the early modern and modern eras. Many things changed, especially academic or artistic things. It began with the city of Florence in the top of the Italian peninsula. Florence is still a well known city today and the renaissance's morning star was found with the works of Dante and others in the 1200s and 1300s. But it really took off in Florence in the 1400s. Artists and polymaths began to compete with each other.  The Florentines (people of Florence) began to study Latin and Greek texts about science, philosophy, and history. A  prominent cause was the escape of Greek scholars to Ital...

 Hello! Today marks the beginning of a 6-week series that covers all of world history. #1 Today: Ancient Part 1 (4000-750 BC) #2 8 Nov: Ancient Part 2 (750BC-500 AD) #3 15 Nov: Medieval Part 1 (500-1000 AD) #4 23 Nov: Medieval Part 2 (1000-1500 AD) #5 2 Dec: Modern Part 1 (1500-1800 AD) #6 9 Dec: Modern Part 2 (1800AD-Present) So today is Ancient Part 1 or very early history. The beginnings of society is very sketchy and unknown. However, some societies and permenant settlements (places where people whould live for an extended amount of time) began to form by around 9500 BC. Geobekli Tepe was a  one of the first settlements that lasted about 1500 years. Cities formed but no large or particularly impressive state would form. However, technology was advancing, especially with the materials people used. Bronze would begin to be used. And the first true sophisticated empire which had a good amount of territory was along the banks of the Nile river. The Egyptians in the Middle East...