1. In the 1st century AD, Christianity was not widely accepted or even legal. Christians were persecuted in many areas. In the 4th century, Roman emperor Constantine converted to Christianity and made it legal.
2. In the 3rd century, Rome lost up to 1/3 of its population due to natural disasters like famine and disease. In 1346-52, the Black Death claimed 1/3 of the population of Europe, Asia, and Africa.
3. In 1st-2nd century Rome, the basic principles of law were established that would be used by nearly every western system of law after: innocent until proven guilty, right to defend yourself in front of a judge, and the judge had to research all evidence carefully before making a verdict.
4. In Classical Greece (480-330 BC), homosexuality was widely practiced and accepted. …show more content…
1815-Napoleon’s empire ended, and nationalism began its rise. Rising nationalism would eventually be a leading cause of World War I.
11. In the 17th century, witchcraft hysteria took hold in England, Scotland, Switzerland, Germany, New England, and various other countries. Many people, mainly old women, were accused of witchcraft with no evidence. In the 1950s, many American people were accused of being communist sympathizers with no evidence. These events mirrored the witchcraft hysteria.
12. In 1648, the Thirty Year’s War ended. The Peace of Westphalia was created, allowing all German states to determine their own religion.
13. In 1699, the Treaty of Karlowitz was created. Austria took control of Hungary, Transylvania, Croatia, and Slovenia. The empire never became centralized due to all of the national groups. Austrian nationalism was a driving force behind World War I.
14. 1697-1698-Peter the Great of Russia visits the west, and decides to ‘westernize’ Russia. Although he brought many great things to Russia, the forceful way with which he introduced these western ideas made many people distrustful of Western civilization. This distrust would never go away, and would fuel the Cold