Weave together the many narratives of world history with our highly curated and expanding selection of diverse, fascinating resources designed to showcase the breadth and richness of Earth's story, from the earliest traces of human civilization to the dramatic developments of contemporary cultures.
Hours of research by our editors, distilled into minutes of clarity.
Launched in 1948, the Marshall Plan provided over $12B (roughly $150B today) in US aid to help rebuild Western Europe. While framed as economic recovery, it also served as a Cold War tool—tying countries to the US and excluding the Soviet bloc.
This academic explainer shows how Britain’s rule in India evolved from unplanned trading footholds to complete imperial control. It examines the decline of the Mughal Empire, economic expansion, racism, rebellion, and the mixed legacy of institutions and exploitation that still shape India today.
This Investopedia article explains how command economies work, which countries have used them, and why even market-based nations like the US sometimes adopt tools such as rationing or price controls during wartime or national emergencies.
Across eight years (1980–1988), Iran and Iraq each lost about $500 B in GDP, infrastructure destruction, military expenses, disrupted oil exports, and mounting debt—totaling over $1 T in economic damage.
One of the most recognizable symbols in Chinese culture, the dragon is known as a mighty yet often benevolent creature. The dragon is capable of interacting with gods in the heavens; it can turn invisible, shape-shift, and control the weather. These features made the mythological creature hugely significant to the Chinese people because if they could summon dragons, other aspects of their life could improve.
By providing cheap, reliable transport to the interior, the canal made western lands more accessible. Farmers, traders, and immigrants moved into the Great Lakes region, accelerating population growth.
Long before the revolution and missile crisis, US involvement in Cuba stretched back over 150 years—rooted in slavery, sugar, and shifting imperial ambitions. This short video traces how cycles of intervention and neglect shaped the island’s modern history.
At its current erosion rate of roughly one foot per year, Niagara Falls is expected to retreat all the way to Lake Erie in about 50,000 years.
From architectural feats to the Western alphabet, ancient Greece has helped shape modern life. Over centuries, the eastern Mediterranean culture grew as far as India, Egypt, and Spain. Its cultural influence has long since spread beyond any physical boundaries.
Mexico’s post-independence instability—marked by coups, power struggles, and weak central control—left its northern frontier vulnerable. That political fragmentation shaped Mexico’s unpreparedness during the Mexican-American War and helped enable US conquest.
