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.

As potato crops failed in 1845 due to a fungal-like microorganism known as Phytophthora infestans, the Irish Potato Famine would result in millions of Irish poor fleeing the country or dying from starvation and diseases caused by malnutrition.

On March 23rd, 1989, the Exxon Valdez supertanker left Alaska with 53 million gallons of crude oil, soon colliding into a well-known reef before excreting 11 million gallons of crude oil into Prince William Sound. The ecological and economic devastation that followed was unprecedented at the time in maritime history.