The first of these countries to formally abolish slavery was Russia, in 1723; however, it is extremely important to note that Russia’s economy had little use for slavery and retained the institution of serfdom far into the nineteenth century. The United States abolished slavery in 1865, at the end of the Civil War; Brazil abolished slavery in 1888, at the end of the reign of Pedro II; Haiti declared independence from France and immediately abolished slavery in 1804; and the Ethiopian empire abolished slavery in 1902 (and then again in 1942).

The Feminist movement in the Western world began to pick up steam toward the end of the Enlightenment era, highlighted by Mary Wollstonecraft’s 1792 essay titled A Vindication of the Rights of Woman. In the nineteenth century, the movement progressed slowly but steadily and was almost exclusively dominated by upper class elites (highlighted by the 1848 Seneca Falls Convention). It was almost constantly opposed by the federal governments of the United States and Britain, which of course were dominated exclusively by men. In the twentieth century, the expansion of the role of women during World War One greatly encouraged the movement towards female equality—a movement that is still ongoing.

Legalism is a Chinese philosophy that rose to prominence during the Qin Dynasty of Chinese history. It demanded complete obedience to social customs and the legal codes of the era. It openly distrusted human nature, believing that people required strict laws in order to keep their nature from being detrimental to the state. 

Russia’s parliament is called the Duma. It was first created in the Renaissance Era and functioned as an advisory committee for the Tsars; however, it was discontinued by Peter the Great and was not reinstituted until 1906 under Tsar Nicholas. Nowadays, the Duma is the lower house of the Russian legislative assembly. 

Brazil abolished slavery in 1888, at the end of the reign of their last emperor - Pedro II. Russia abolished slavery as early as 1723, but it is worth noting that Russia continued to persevere with serfdom until well into the nineteenth century. The United States abolished slavery in 1865, at the end of the Civil War. Argentina abolished slavery in 1853. Saudi Arabia did not abolish slavery until 1962, making it by far the last country to abolish slavery out of these options. The last country in the world to abolish slavery was Mauritania in 1981.

The First Indian National Congress was founded in 1885 by a collection of British and Indian elites who were seeking greater political participation for themselves. However, over the years it transitioned into India’s leading organization pushing for Independence and immediately after independence the INC became the dominant political party in India’s newly-established democracy - a dominance that has only very recently been challenged by the rise of the Hindu-nationalist BJP. 

The present European Union was founded on November 1^st 1993. The European Union is a political and economic organization of European states designed to foster co-operation, transparency, and friendship. In terms of the wide prism of the whole of European history it can be viewed as a direct consequence of hundreds of years of brutal international European wars - the last two of which, World War’s One and Two were the most severe and all encompassing - and the desire to forever end war in Europe.