TheItalian colonizationof Libya began in 1911 and it lasted until 1943. The country, which was previously anOttoman possession, was occupied byItaly in 1911 after theItalo-Turkish War, which resulted in the establishment of two colonies:Italian Tripolitania andItalian Cyrenaica. In 1934, the two colonies were merged into one colony which was named the colony ofItalian Libya. In 1937, this colony was divided into four provinces, and in 1939, the coastal provinces became a part of metropolitan Italy as theFourth Shore. The colonization lasted until Libya'soccupation by Allied forces in 1943, but it was not until the1947 Paris Peace Treaty that Italy officially renounced all of its claims to Libya's territory. (Full article...)

Theancien régime (/ˌɒ̃sjæ̃reɪˈʒiːm/;French:[ɑ̃sjɛ̃ʁeʒim]^ⓘ;lit. 'former regime') was thepolitical andsocial system of theKingdom of France that theFrench Revolution overturned. This was accomplished through its abolition in 1790 of thefeudal system of theFrench nobility and in 1792 through itsexecution of King Louis XVI anddeclaration of a republic. "Ancien régime" is now a common metaphor for "a system or mode no longer prevailing".

The administrative and social structures of theancien régime in France evolved across years of state-building, legislative acts (like theOrdinance of Villers-Cotterêts), and internal conflicts. The attempts of theHouse of Valois to reform and re-establish control over the scattered political centres of the country were hindered by theWars of Religion from 1562 to 1598. During theHouse of Bourbon, much of the reigns ofHenry IV (r. 1589–1610) andLouis XIII (r. 1610–1643) and the early years ofLouis XIV (r. 1643–1715) focused on administrative centralization. Despite the notion of "absolute monarchy" (typified by the king's right to issue orders throughlettres de cachet) and efforts to create a centralized state,ancien régime France remained a country of systemic irregularities: administrative, legal, judicial, and ecclesiastic divisions and prerogatives frequently overlapped, the French nobility struggled to maintain their influence in local judiciary and state branches whilethe Fronde and other major internal conflicts violently contested additional centralization.

The drive for centralization related directly to questions of royal finances and the ability to wage war. The internal conflicts and dynastic crises of the 16th and the 17th centuries between Catholics and Protestants, theHabsburgs' internal family conflict, and the territorial expansion of France in the 17th century all demanded great sums, which needed to be raised by taxes, such as the land tax (taille) and the tax on salt (gabelle), and by contributions of men and service from the nobility. (Full article...)

Habsburg Spain was at the height of its power andcultural influence at the beginning of the17th century, but military, political, and economic difficulties were alreadybeing discussed within Spain. In the coming decades these difficulties grew and saw France gradually taking Spain's place as Europe's leading power through the later half of the century. Many different factors, including the decentralized political nature of Spain, inefficient taxation, a succession of weak kings, power struggles in the Spanish court and a tendency to focus on the American colonies instead of Spain's domestic economy, all contributed to the decline of the Habsburg rule of Spain.

The end of the century also brought the end of Habsburg rule. The 18th century began with theWar of the Spanish Succession, which concluded in the establishment of theBourbon dynasty in Spain. (Full article...)

Thehistory of modern Greece covers the history ofGreece from the recognition by the Great Powers —the United Kingdom,France andRussia — of itsindependence from theOttoman Empire in 1828 to the present day. (Full article...)

In its modern history,Tunisia is a sovereign republic, officially called the Republic of Tunisia. Tunisia has overten million citizens, almost all ofArab-Berber descent. TheMediterranean Sea is to the north and east,Libya to the southeast, andAlgeria to the west.Tunis is the capital and the largest city (over 800,000); it is located near the ancient site of the city ofCarthage.

Its first modern leader, PresidentHabib Bourguiba brought to the office hard-won political experience, after many decades of service in the leadership of the independence movement. As the major figure of theNeo-Destour Party, he was instrumental in obtaining full independence for Tunisia in 1956. He dominated the government until his removal in 1987. During his years in office, his accomplishments included: a law reform, economic policies which detoured briefly in a socialist direction, a moderate but steady improvement instandard of living, and a foreign policy which retained an independent approach while maintaining trade and economic connections to the west.

Ben Ali became President of the Republic in 1987, and kept power until he wasforced to leave in 2011. His economic policies emphasized a market orientation. His attempt at reapproachment with Islamist groups did not meet expectations. The ruling party was reorganized. Under his leadershipTunisia's economy continued to perform at a pace which yielded a moderate but overall steady rate of growth. (Full article...)

TheSecond Industrial Revolution, also known as theTechnological Revolution, was a phase of rapidscientific discovery,standardization,mass production andindustrialization from the late 19th century into the early 20th century. TheFirst Industrial Revolution, which ended in the middle of the 19th century, was punctuated by a slowdown in important inventions before the Second Industrial Revolution in 1870. Though a number of its events can be traced to earlier innovations in manufacturing, such as the establishment of amachine tool industry, the development of methods for manufacturinginterchangeable parts, as well as the invention of theBessemer process andopen hearth furnace to produce steel, later developments heralded the Second Industrial Revolution, which is generally dated between 1870 and 1914 whenWorld War I commenced.

Advancements in manufacturing and production technology enabled the widespread adoption of technological systems such astelegraph and railroad networks,gas andwater supply, andsewage systems, which had earlier been limited to a few select cities. The enormous expansion of rail and telegraph lines after 1870 allowed unprecedented movement of people and ideas, which culminated in a new wave ofcolonialism andglobalization. In the same time period, new technological systems were introduced, most significantlyelectrical power and telephones. The Second Industrial Revolution continued into the 20th century with early factoryelectrification and theproduction line; it ended at the beginning ofWorld War I.

Starting in 1947, theInformation Age is sometimes also called the Third Industrial Revolution. (Full article...)

Modernist literature originated in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and is characterised by a self-conscious separation from traditional ways of writing in both poetry and prose fiction writing.Modernism experimented with literary form and expression, as exemplified byEzra Pound's maxim to "Make it new". This literary movement was driven by a conscious desire to overturn traditional modes of representation and express the new sensibilities of the time. The immense human costs of theFirst World War saw the prevailing assumptions about society reassessed, and much modernist writing engages with the technological advances and societal changes of modernity moving into the 20th century. InModernist Literature, Mary Ann Gillies notes that these literary themes share the "centrality of a conscious break with the past", one that "emerges as a complex response across continents and disciplines to a changing world". (Full article...)

Since 1990,Germany spans the period followingGerman reunification, whenWest Germany andEast Germany were reunited afterbeing divided during theCold War. It is referred to by historians as theBerlin Republic (Berliner Republik), or as theThird German Republic. This time period is also determined by the ongoing process of the "inner reunification" of the formerly divided country. (Full article...)

The modernpolitical history of the United Kingdom (1979–present) began whenMargaret Thatchergained power in 1979, giving rise to 18 years ofConservative government. Victory in theFalklands War (1982) and the government's strong opposition totrade unions helped lead the Conservative Party to another three terms in government. Thatcher initially pursuedmonetarist policies and went on to privatise many of Britain's nationalised companies such asBritish Telecom,British Gas Corporation,British Airways andBritish Steel Corporation. She kept the National Health Service. The controversial"poll tax" to fund local government was unpopular, and the Conservatives removed Thatcher as prime minister in 1990, althoughMichael Heseltine, the minister who did much to undermine her, did not personally benefit from her being ousted.

Thatcher's successor,John Major, replaced the "poll tax" withCouncil Tax and oversaw successful British involvement in theGulf War. Despite a recession, Major led the Conservatives to a surprise victory in1992. The events ofBlack Wednesday in 1992, party disunity over theEuropean Union and several scandals involving Conservative politicians all led to theLabour Party winning alandslide election victory underTony Blair in1997. Labour had shifted its policies from the political left closer to the centre, under the slogan of 'New Labour'. The Bank of England was given independence over monetary policy andScotland andWales were given a devolvedScottish Parliament andWelsh Assembly respectively, whilst London wide local government was also re-established in the form of anAssembly andMayor. TheGood Friday Agreement was negotiated in 1997 in an effort to endThe Troubles inNorthern Ireland, with a devolved, power-sharingNorthern Ireland Assembly being established in 1998.

Blair led Britain into theAfghanistan andIraq Wars before leaving office in 2007, when he was succeeded by his chancellor,Gordon Brown. The2008 financial crisis led to Labour's defeat in the2010 election. It was replaced by a Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government, headed byDavid Cameron, that pursued a series of public spending cuts with the intention of reducing the budget deficit. In 2016, the UKvoted in an advisory referendum to leave the European Union, which led to Cameron's resignation. Cameron was succeeded by his home secretary,Theresa May. (Full article...)

The18th century lasted from 1 January1701 (represented by theRoman numerals MDCCI) to 31 December1800 (MDCCC). During the 18th century, elements ofEnlightenment thinking culminated in theAtlantic Revolutions. Revolutions began to challenge the legitimacy of monarchical and aristocratic power structures. TheIndustrial Revolution began mid-century, leading to radical changes inhuman society and theenvironment. TheEuropean colonization of the Americas and other parts of the world intensified and associated mass migrations of people grew in size as part of theAge of Sail. During the century,slave trading expanded across the shores of theAtlantic Ocean, while declining inRussia andChina.

Western historians have occasionally defined the 18th century otherwise for the purposes of their work. For example, the "short" 18th century may be defined as 1715–1789, denoting the period of time between the death ofLouis XIV of France and the start of theFrench Revolution, with an emphasis on directly interconnected events. To historians who expand the century to include larger historical movements, the "long" 18th century may run from theGlorious Revolution of 1688 to theBattle of Waterloo in 1815 or even later. France was the sole worldsuperpower from 1659, after it defeatedSpain, until 1815, when it was defeated byBritain and its coalitions following theNapoleonic Wars.

InEurope, philosophers ushered in the Age of Enlightenment. This period coincided with the French Revolution of 1789, and was later compromised by the excesses of theReign of Terror. At first, many monarchies of Europe embraced Enlightenment ideals, but in the wake of the French Revolution they feared loss of power and formed broad coalitions to oppose theFrench Republic in theFrench Revolutionary Wars. Various conflicts throughout the century, including theWar of the Spanish Succession and theSeven Years' War, sawGreat Britain triumph over its rivals to become the preeminent power in Europe. However, Britain's attempts to exert its authority over theThirteen Colonies became a catalyst for theAmerican Revolution. The 18th century also marked the end of thePolish–Lithuanian Commonwealth as an independent state. Its semi-democratic government system was not robust enough to preventpartition by the neighboring states ofAustria,Prussia, and Russia. (Full article...)

The20th century began on 1 January1901 (MCMI), and ended on 31 December2000 (MM). It was the 10th and last century in the2nd millennium and was marked by new models of scientific understanding, unprecedented scopes of warfare, new modes of communication that would operate at nearly instant speeds, and new forms of art and entertainment.Population growth was also unprecedented, as the century started with around 1.6 billion people, and ended with around 6.2 billion.

The 20th century was dominated by significant geopolitical events that reshaped the political and social structure of the globe:World War I, theSpanish flu pandemic,World War II and theCold War. Unprecedentedadvances in science and technology defined the century, including the advent ofnuclear weapons andnuclear power,space exploration, theshift from analog to digital computing and the continuing advancement of transportation, includingpowered flight and thecar. The Earth's sixth mass extinction event, theHolocene extinction, continued, and humanconservation efforts increased.

Major themes of the century includeddecolonization,nationalism,globalization and new forms ofintergovernmental organizations.Democracy spread, andwomen were given the right to vote in many countries in the world.Cultural homogenization began through developments in emerging transportation andinformation and communications technology, withpopular music and other influences ofWestern culture,international corporations, and what is arguably a trulyglobal economy by the end of the 20th century. Poverty was reduced and the century saw rising standards of living,world population growth, awareness ofenvironmental degradation andecological extinction. Cars,airplanes, andhome appliances became common, andvideo andaudio recording saw mass adoption. These developments were made possible by the exploitation offossil fuel resources, which offered energy in an easily portable form, but also caused concern about pollution and long-term impact on theenvironment. Humans started to explorespace, taking their first footsteps on theMoon. Great advances inelectricity generation andtelecommunications allowed for near-instantaneous worldwide communication, ultimately leading to theInternet. Meanwhile, advances inmedical technology resulted in the near-eradication anderadication of many infectious diseases, as well as opening the avenue of biologicalgenetic engineering. Scientific discoveries, such as thetheory of relativity andquantum physics, profoundly changed the foundational models of physical science, forcing scientists to realize that the universe is more complex than previously believed, and dashing the hopes (or fears) at the end of the 19th century that the last few details of scientific knowledge were about to be filled in. (Full article...)

TheAtomic Age, also known as theAtomic Era, is the period of history following the detonation of the firstnuclear weapon,The Gadget at theTrinity test in New Mexico on 16 July 1945 duringWorld War II. Althoughnuclear chain reactions had been hypothesized in 1933 and the first artificial self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction (Chicago Pile-1) had taken place in December 1942, the Trinity test and the ensuingbombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki that ended World War II represented the first large-scale use ofnuclear technology and ushered in profound changes insociopolitical thinking and the course of technological development.

Whileatomic power was promoted for a time as the epitome of progress and modernity, entering into the nuclear power era also entailed frightful implications ofnuclear warfare, theCold War,mutual assured destruction,nuclear proliferation, the risk ofnuclear disaster (potentially as extreme asanthropogenic globalnuclear winter), as well as beneficial civilian applications innuclear medicine. It is no easy matter to fully segregate peaceful uses of nuclear technology from military or terrorist uses (such as the fabrication ofdirty bombs fromradioactive waste), which complicated the development of a global nuclear-power export industry right from the outset.

In 1973, concerning a flourishing nuclear power industry, theUnited States Atomic Energy Commission predicted that by the turn of the 21st century, 1,000 reactors would be producing electricity for homes and businesses across the U.S. However, the "nuclear dream" fell far short of what was promised because nuclear technology produced a range of social problems, from thenuclear arms race tonuclear meltdowns, and the unresolved difficulties of bomb plant cleanup and civilian plant waste disposal and decommissioning. Since 1973, reactor orders declined sharply as electricity demand fell and construction costs rose. Many orders andpartially completed plants were cancelled. (Full article...)

Cyprus was part of theBritish Empire, under military occupation from 1914 to 1925, and aCrown colony from 1925 to 1960. Cyprus became an independent nation in 1960. Cyprus became arepublic in the Commonwealth of Nations during the1961 Commonwealth Prime Ministers' Conference in March 1961. (Full article...)

Historical reenactment(orreenactment) is aneducational orrecreational activity in which history enthusiasts and amateurhobbyists dress in period-accurate clothing and recreate aspects of past events or eras. This may be as narrow as a specific moment from a battle, such as a reenactment ofPickett's Charge presented during the1913 Gettysburg reunion, or as broad as an entire period, such asRegency reenactment.

While historical reenactors are generally amateurs, some participants are militarypersonnel or historians. The participants, calledreenactors, often research the equipment, uniform, and other gear they will carry or use. Reenactors buy the apparel or items they need from specialty stores or make items themselves. Historical reenactments cover a wide span of history, from as far back asancient warfare, themedieval warfare era, and theearly modern warfare, to as recent as theWorldWars, theCold War era, and even the early 21st-centurymodern warfare inmodern reenactment. (Full article...)

TheKingdom of Italy (Italian:Regno d'Italia) was a state that existed from 17 March 1861, whenVictor Emmanuel II ofSardinia wasproclaimed King of Italy, until 2 June 1946, when civil discontent led to aninstitutional referendum to abandon the monarchy and form the modernItalian Republic. The state resulted from a decades-long process, theRisorgimento, of consolidating the different states of theItalian Peninsula into a single state. That process was influenced by theSavoy-ledKingdom of Sardinia, which can be considered Italy's legalpredecessor state.
In 1866, Italydeclared war onAustria in alliance withPrussia and received the region ofVeneto following their victory. Italian troopsentered Rome in 1870, endingmore than one thousand years of Papal temporal power. Italy entered into aTriple Alliance with theGerman Empire and theAustro-Hungarian Empire in 1882, following strong disagreements withFrance about their respective colonial expansions. Although relations withBerlin became very friendly, the alliance withVienna remained purely formal, due in part to Italy's desire to acquireTrentino andTrieste from Austria-Hungary. As a result, Italy accepted theBritish invitation to join theAllied Powers duringWorld War I, as the western powers promised territorial compensation (at the expense ofAustria-Hungary) for participation that was more generous than Vienna's offer in exchange for Italian neutrality. Victory in the war gave Italy a permanent seat in the Council of theLeague of Nations.

In 1922,Benito Mussolini became prime minister of Italy, ushering in an era ofNational Fascist Party government known as "Fascist Italy". TheItalian Fascists imposed totalitarian rule and crushed the political and intellectual opposition while promoting economic modernization, traditional social values, and arapprochement with the Roman Catholic Church through theLateran Treaties which created theVatican City as a rump sovereign replacement for the Papal States. In the late 1930s, the Fascist government began a more aggressive foreign policy. This includedwar against Ethiopia, launched fromItalian Eritrea andItalian Somaliland, which resulted in itsannexation; confrontations with theLeague of Nations, leading to sanctions; growing economicautarky; and the signing of thePact of Steel.

Fascist Italy became a leading member of theAxis powers inWorld War II. By 1943, the German-Italian defeat on multiple fronts and the subsequentAlliedlandings in Sicily led to thefall of the Fascist regime. Mussolini was placed under arrest by order of the KingVictor Emmanuel III. The new government signed anarmistice with the Allies in September 1943. German forces occupied northern and central Italy, setting up theItalian Social Republic, a collaborationistpuppet state still led by Mussolini and his Fascist loyalists. As a consequence, the country descended intocivil war, with theItalian Co-belligerent Army and theresistance movement contending with theSocial Republic's forces and its German allies. (Full article...)

World powers and empires in 1914, just before the First World War.