Turning Points and Watershed events in world history

1. Turning Points and Watershed events in world history

2. What is a turning point and Watershed? • Turning Point -a point at which a significant change occurs • Watershed – A critical points that marks a division or a change of course; a turning point. It is oftentimes an event marking a unique or important historical change of course or one on which important developments depend. • In this lesson, we will learn about major turning points or watershed events in World History

3. 2 Geopolitical Changes • Geopolitical – is where politics and geography combine. Usually it is where one takes over another territory for political or economic gain. • European nations sought to seek out portions of Africa, take the land and resources, create plantations and use cheap slave labor, force new ways of governing and religious beliefs. Referred to as the Scramble for Africa. • When they push into African began in the 1860s, Africa was basically still in the Iron Age, had multiple religions, languages, beliefs, etc.. They were not a united nation/continent, which made them venerable. • The result was a continent chopped up into multiple sections with a culture and government stuck between the old and new. Loss of massive amounts of raw and natural material

4. Photo published in the Economist Dec 23, 1999 http://www.economist.com/node/347120#print Also on the NC DPI website in unpacking standards page 45

5. 2nd Geopolitical change • Partition of Poland – Poland was divided into 3 parts by Russia, Prussia and Austria eventually leading to Poland not existing at all. • Poland tried several time, unsuccessfully, to become an independent nation. • Finally November 11, 1918 the Polish Republic was reinstated after WW I.

6. Partitions of Poland, 1772–95. Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

7. Environmental Change • 1) Enclosure Movement – In England during the early 1700s, wealthy farmers purchased land from smaller farmers and enclosed the land. This was a shift from small farming to large business farming. The smaller farmers lost their land and their jobs. This created a “landless worker.” They often searched for work in industries in the cities. • 2) Terrace Farming – Allowed farming on the side of mountains. Created a series of “steps” for planting. When it rained, nutrients flowed from one level to next, instead of washing away. Civilizations, such as the Incas, also built in aqueducts in to assist with moving water.

8. By User:Doron (Own work) [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/)], via Wikimedia Commonshttps://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/92/LongjiTerraces.jpg

9. Conflict Turning Points • Franco Prussian War – 1870-1871 – War between France and Prussia. Prussia won and worked hard to unify all Germany states and imposed harsh penalties on France. This was one of the reasons France entered WW I against Germany • Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria was one of the causes of WW I • 1929 – their was a global economy collapse that lead to the Great Depression • The Berlin Wall divided East and West Germany from 1961-1989. When it came down. Germany was 1 nation once again.

10. Other Major turning points and their consequences • The Union Victory in the US Civil War (1861-1865) – The South rejoined the United States of America • Pearl Harbor – Caused the US to enter WW II • Victory of Mao Zedong in China over Chiang Kai-shek lead to China become a total Communist Nation • The 9/11 Terrorist Attacks in NY – Lead to US involvement in Afghan satin, the death of Osama Bin Laden and the creation of US Homeland Security