The Last Monarchs of Europe (World War I Series)

In our ongoing research and development on World War I, it was fascinating to learn about the monarchs and emperors who called the shots in Europe. In building our section on World War I, we covered life and facts on some prominent players in the war and the role they played. Find below resources on the archduke of Austria-Este , Prince of Hungary and Bohemia and the last emperor of Germany.

• Archduke Franz Ferdinand: The Archduke of Austria-Este and the Prince of Hungary and Bohemia Education and Military Career, Marriage, Assassination.
  
  
• Kaiser Wilhelm II: The last emperor of Germany, Emperor Wilhelm’s Reign, Emperor Wilhelm and World War I, Abdication and Exile

Your Comments: We will be adding more resources and interesting facts from World War I in coming weeks. Let us know how we’re doing in your tweets, facebook wall updates or comments.

Ash Chopra
MapsofWorld.com

World War I Series: Tanks, Treaties and Turning Points; Fascinating!

Tanks, Treaties and Turning Points: 1914 - 1918

Taking our World War I series forward, we have added resources on the Treaties, Technologies and Turning Points of the war. Its fascinating to learn about the War Strategies, New Inventions and Politics at play during the first world war.

Topics we have added resources on:

Major Treaties of World War I: A number of treaties signified the road to World War I. Peace treaties, particularly the Treaty of Versailles, are immensely significant in terms of their historic impact.

Technology used in World War I: Trench Warfare, Weapons, Tanks, Guns, Rifles, and Grenades, Air & Naval Warfare.

Major Turning Points of World War I: Why Did Italy Join The Allies? Why was the Race to the Sea significant? Why Did USA Join World War I? How did the Russian Revolution impact World War I?

A Quote which resonates with the ground realities of the war:

“The statesman who yields to war fever must realize that once the signal is given, he is no longer the master of policy but the slave of unforeseeable and uncontrollable events.” – Sir Winston Churchill (1930)

Your Comments: We will be adding more resources and interesting facts from World War I in coming weeks. Let us know how we’re doing in your tweets, facebook wall updates or comments.

Ash Chopra
MapsofWorld.com

How well do you know about the First World War? (WWI Series)

World War I: 1914 - 1918

We started building resources on history with our section on American Revolution, we like the way it is evolving. Our team has started one more parallel project, to help those who seek facts and details on major historic events/periods. Our focus in this new section is to build an online resource library on ‘World War I’. WWI was the first world war, which lasted from 1914 to 1918. This was the first time most of the world’s major countries were involved in warfare with over 70 million military personnel and catastrophic 9 million casualties.

We’ve added the following resources under this section:

• World War I – The Great War: Troops deployment numbers, Death and damages numbers, Financial Impact of the war.
  
  
• World War I – Background Information: Europe before World War I, World Leaders in 1914.
  
  
• Causes of World War I: Militarism in pre World War I Europe, Major alliances that set the scene for World War I, The rise of nationalism, Imperial conquests in leading up to World War I, What was the July Crisis of 1914?
  
  
• Course of World War I: Major Treaties Signed, Principal Theaters Of Battle, Major Battles, Technology used in World War I, Major Turning Points, End Of The War, Woodrow Wilson’s Fourteen Points.

I love this quote by Bertrand Russell from the WWI era

“War does not determine who is right – only who is left.”

Your Comments: We will be adding more resources and interesting facts from World War I in coming weeks. Let us know how we’re doing in your tweets, facebook wall updates or comments.

Ash Chopra
MapsofWorld.com

River Valley Civilizations

The world we live in has truly evolved. But how exactly it has evolved, remains a puzzle. The quest to know more and more of what happened before us; who lived and how, their lives and logic, their languages and trade, their places and systems, is unending. The study of River Valley Civilizations is paramount for those in search of this knowledge. History has a lot to do with perceptions and interpretations, arguably.

Following were the main river valley civilizations which existed in the Neolithic Age (beginning 9500 BC):

1. Nile River (Egypt)
2. Tigris and Euphrates River (Mesopotamia)
3. Indus & Ganges (Pakistan/India)
4. Yellow and Yangtze (China)

The rivers served three distinct purposes:

1. Provided water for crops
2. Boats helped in carrying men and material
3. Formed a natural defense against invasions

These civilizations had a lot in common:

1. Their mainstay was agriculture.
2. They domesticated animals.
3. They were interested in measurement of time, and duration of day and night.
4. They experimented successfully with “manufacturing” pottery.
5. They lived in closed communities.
6. They designed seaworthy rafts and boats.
7. They had some form of government.
8. They developed basic financial systems, including some form of currency.
9. They had water conservation methods for farming and self-consumption.
10. They had well-defined families.
11. They made use of metal, copper/bronze/and perhaps iron.
12. They evolved community/pan-civilization languages.
13. They had walled towns and permanent structures to live in.
14. They practiced intra- and inter-civilization trade.
15. They experienced conflicts, wars and migration.
16. They had belief in higher entities and forces, for example, God.
17. They copied and improvised skills.
18. They developed and erected storage facilities.
19. They created fiber and developed the art of weaving.
20. The cultivated and harvested regular crop.
21. They had special rites for the dead.
22. They developed symbols for religious depiction.
23. They understood the need of protection from the forces of nature.

Ref Map: Ancient River Valley Civilizations of our World

This post is a work in progress, do contribute . . .