PolledHistory: Modern History #3

 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 Europe, the Americas, South Asia, and beyond. The main combatants were Great Britain (which had united from England and Scotland) and Prussia (a growinf state that started as a product of the Crusades that would eventually become modern day Germany) on one side against France, Austria, and Spain. Britain and Prussia won, but Britain was especially exhausted after the war, so the French took the oppurtunity to support the American revolution.

This tension between Britain and France and the rest of Europe escalated when a Corsican man called Napoleon Bonaparte took power of France after the chaotic French Revolution where the French monarchy was overthrown.

Napoleon Bonaparte was an excellent commander, which allowed him to have lots of success in the many Napoleonic Wars. However, he made a blunder: he invaded Russia and his army was decimated after a harsh winter. Napoleon was defeated in France and was exiled to an island called Elba near Italy. However, he escaped and tried to make a comback, but was defeated in Waterloo in 1815 and exiled to St Helena, a far away island.

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