European History
Explore the wars, battles, leaders, civilizations, regimes, prominent figures and major events from the continent that encompasses 2 percent of the Earth’s surface. From Stonehenge to the Great Awakening to the French Revolution to the rise and fall of Communism in Russia, discover how Europe’s often tumultuous history unfolded.
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The monarch’s chaotic love life led to an unstable succession, foreign policy changes and a break with Rome.
Over 35,000 volunteers from 52 countries poured into Spain to help fight the rise of fascist-backed Nationalists led by Francisco Franco.
These people played integral roles in the uprising that swept through France from 1789-1799.
The Soviet Union, founded in 1922 on Marxist-socialist principles, became one of the biggest and most powerful nations in the world—before its fall and dissolution in 1991.
Brutal Execution of the Romanovs
Brutal Execution of the Romanovs
The brutal violence of the Russian Revolution culminated in the execution of Tsar Nicholas II and his entire family, ending 300 years of Romanov rule over the Russian Empire.
3 Facts About British Royal History
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Discover six illuminating facts about the ostentatious French emperor.
The French emperor escaped his island prison in plain sight.
After his defeat at the Battle of Waterloo, the former emperor was placed in a 'wretched' home on a remote island.
Napoleon Bonaparte was a French military leader and emperor who conquered much of Europe in the early 19th century.
The English philosopher and political theorist John Locke (1632-1704) laid much of the groundwork for the Enlightenment and made central contributions to the development of liberalism. Trained in medicine, he was a key advocate of the empirical approaches of the Scientific Revolution.
Matthew Hopkins terrorized 17th-century England and left a legacy that would reach Salem decades later.
She did burn hundreds of Protestants at the stake, but also history, as they say, is written by the victors.
The Aberfan disaster wiped out a generation of Welsh schoolchildren and devastated the nation.
The popular nursery rhyme has long been linked to the plague. But folklorists say its history tells a different story.
The ancient Celts were a widespread group of tribes whose rich culture has been identified through burials, artifacts and language.
The Celts were a collection of tribes that may have evolved as early as 1200 B.C. before spreading their culture across western Europe.
The Russian Revolution was a series of uprisings from 1905 to 1917 led by peasants, laborers and Bolsheviks against the czarist Romanovs.
Over 35,000 volunteers from 52 countries poured into Spain to help fight the rise of fascist-backed Nationalists led by Francisco Franco.
Fascinating facts about the Spanish Civil War, which led to the dictatorship of Francisco Franco and was a bloody prelude to World War II.
The Battle of Dien Bien Phu, fought from March 13 to May 7, 1954, was a decisive Vietnamese military victory that brought an end to French colonial rule in Vietnam.
