World War I is sometimes referred to as the first “total war” in European history. The phrase “total war” means a war in which the entirety of the population is mobilized to contribute to the war effort. Those who were not fighting were expected to sacrifice and work hard to keep the country going forward. During World War I, the population of Europe experienced extreme rationing of resources and lower socioeconomic classes suffered greatly from disease and malnutrition. Propaganda, in a modern sense of the word, was employed by the governments of Europe to ensure loyalty and industry among their lower-income labor forces.

The Great Depression began in the United States, but spread rapidly to Europe and around the world. It wrecked the economies of many European countries and caused widespread suffering and hunger among the working classes of Europe. The institutions of democracy and capitalism were heavily scrutinized across wide swaths of European society, and in many countries they were overthrown to be replaced by fascism, autocracy, or communism. Even in those countries that did not witness revolution, it was eminently possible, as working class or reactionary parties found favor in France, Britain, and elsewhere. The extreme deprivation created by the Great Depression essentially polarized a great deal of political thinking in Europe at the time. Fascism and communism, arguably the two most extreme alternatives to democracy at the opposite end of the political spectrum, both saw a massive rise in cultural and political prominence. While it can be argued that World War I directly contributed to, or at least exacerbated, many of the problems of the Great Depression, it was the financial crisis that directly gave rise to more revolutionary thought in the inter-war period.

When Berlin was captured at the end of the Second World War, it was quickly occupied by the Soviets, the Americans, the British, and the French. The country of Germany was divided into East Germany (communist and under Soviet control) and West Germany (capitalist and under American control). Berlin, which is located in East Germany, was divided into four sections, one for each of the invading powers. The French, British, and American sections were combined to form “West Berlin,” and the Soviet section became “East Berlin.” In 1961, in an attempt to prevent East Berliners from fleeing into West Germany, the Soviets erected the Berlin Wall. It came to represent a popular symbol of the fundamental divide, and underlying tension, of world relations during the Cold War. When it was torn down, almost thirty years later, it was like the physical representation of the disunity and suffering of the German people being torn down as well.

The years after World War II witnessed a remarkable growth of prosperity in Western Europe and the United States. Class distinctions became much less important, and middle-class workers found themselves elevated to previously implausible levels of wealth and influence. This led to the emergence of a “consumer culture” among the common people, where the majority of people worked hard to buy the many things that were being sold to them as “fun,” “necessary,” “fashionable,” or “entertaining.” "Consumer culture" is often attributed to the proliferation of disposable income among increasingly varied socio-economic classes.

Punch and Judy, imported from Italian comedic theater, was a popular marionette show in France, Britain, and the United States during the 18th century. It became more popular with children as the target audience in 19th century Britain.

Chaucer managed to write the Prologue, as well as 24 of 120 planned stories for The Canterbury Tales (1475). The other authors were not contemporaries of Chaucer. Geoffrey of Monmouth died in 1155, and none of the other choices were either alive or dead in the year 1400.

Duma were assembled councils created by Czar Nicholas II. While they were assembled to appease, and ostensibly give voice to, the people, the Duma were largely weakened by the fact that the Tzar retained the power to disband them, so although they attempted to represent common people's interests, they were still totally under the power of the Tzar, who would frequently dissolve them for suggesting actions with which he did not agree.

Although Britain acquired the territory of India as part of the peace deal that ended the Seven Years’ War, India was for the next hundred years ruled under the direct administration of the British East India Company. In the 1857 Sepoy Rebellion, Hindu and Muslim troops in the colonial army revolted and had to be forcibly put down at great cost to the company. Following this rebellion, the British government decided to take direct control of the administration of India, a period of time referred to as the British Raj. This form of British rule lasted for another ninety years until India gained independence in 1947.

The first successful circumnavigation of the world was completed by an expedition led by the famed Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan. Magellan died during the voyage in the South Pacific and so never personally completed the quest; however, he is still remembered in popular history as the first man to circumnavigate the world.

Whilst all of these civilizations would eventually play a significant role in European overseas exploration and expansion the first to do so was Portugal. Portuguese exploration began in the second half of the fifteenth century. They were the first to explore around the Southern tip of Africa, the first to reach India via the ocean, and one of the first to reach the New World (after the Spanish).