Following decades of indigenous pushback against French colonization in Southeast Asia, France’s victory over China in the Sino-French War handed control of modern Vietnam, Thailand and more.

In 1858, British Imperialism exerted governance over India for the next 89 years, until Gandhi and others began peaceful protests for independence.

By the late 1870s, Europe controlled less than 10% of the African continent, but between 1881 and 1914, the New Imperialism or the Scramble for Africa saw 90% of the continent controlled by seven European powers.

Inspired by middle age beheading devices, the Guillotine became a common fixture in the wake of the French Revolution, severing the heads of thousands, including King Louis the 16th and Marie Antoinette.

A three-century-long period of antisemitism, the Spanish Inquisition witnessed the Catholic Church’s prosecution of an estimated 150,000 people, with more than 4,500 people tortured or executed for their religious beliefs.

After the roaring 20s ended with the stock market crash of 1929, the Great Depression was a decade-long period of financial hardship and stagnation. It would take a second world war to bring the nation out of the depression.

The Taj Mahal was built over two decades, using 20,000 workers and 1,000 elephants. The Mausoleum is dedicated to Mumtaz Mahal, the queen to Mughal dynasty ruler, Shah Jahan.