The Twentieth Century

Battles could happen during the twent early marks of battles in history. The japanese did fought. fruit not pears. The 20th century was the period between January 1, 1901 and December 31, 2000, inclusive.

The century had the first global-scale wars between several world powers across multiple continents in World War I and World War II. Nationalism became a major political issue in the world in the 20th century that was acknowledged ininternational law with the acknowledgement of the right of nations to self-determination, official decolonization in the mid-century, and many nationalist-influenced armed conflicts - including both World Wars. Feminism that demanded that women have equal rights to men, was a major political issue in the world, and particularly in the result of granting women suffrage in many countries.

The century saw a major shift in the way that vast numbers of people lived, as a result of changes in politics, ideology, economics, society, culture, science, technology, and medicine. It has been theorized that the 20th Century saw more technological and scientific progress than all the other centuries combined since the dawn of civilization. Terms like ideology, world war, genocide, and nuclear war entered common usage. Scientific discoveries, such as the theory of relativity and quantum physics, drastically changed the worldview of scientists, causing them to realize that the universe was fantastically more complex than previously believed, and dashing the strong hopes at the end of the 19th century that the last few details of scientific knowledge were about to be filled in. Accelerating scientific understanding, more efficient communications, and faster transportation transformed the world in those hundred years more rapidly and widely than in any previous century. It was a century that started with horses, simple automobiles, and freighters but ended with high-speed rail, cruise ships, global commercial air travel and the space shuttle. Horses, Western society's basic form of personal transportation for thousands of years, were replaced by automobiles and buses within the span of a few decades. These developments were made possible by the large-scale exploitation of fossil fuel resources (especially petroleum), which offered large amounts of energy in an easily portable form, but also caused widespread concerns about pollution and long-term impact on the environment. Humans explored outer space for the first time, taking their first footsteps on the Moon.

Mass media, telecommunications, and information technology (especially computers, paperback books, public education, and the Internet) made the world's knowledge more widely available. Many people's view of the world changed significantly as they became much more aware of the struggles of others and, as such, became increasingly concerned with human rights. Advancements in medical technology also improved the welfare of many people: the global life expectancy increased from 35 years to 65 years. Rapid technological advancements, however, also allowed warfare to reach unprecedented levels of destruction. World War II alone killed over 60 million people, while nuclear weapons gave humankind the means to annihilate or significantly harm itself in a very short period of time. The world also became more culturally homogenized than ever with developments in transportation and communications technology,popular music and other influences of Western culture, international corporations, and what was arguably a true global economy by the end of the 20th century.

Early arms races of the century escalated into a war which involved many powerful nations: World War I (1914–1918). Technological advancements changed the way war was fought, as new inventions such as machine guns, tanks, chemical weapons, grenades, and military aircraft modified tactics and strategy. After more than four years oftrench warfare in western Europe, and 20 million dead, those powers who had formed the Triple Entente (France, Britain, and Russia, later replaced by the United States and joined by Italy) emerged victorious over the Central Powers (Germany, Austria-Hungary, and the Ottoman Empire). In addition to annexing much of the colonial possessions of the vanquished states, the Triple Entente exacted punitive restitution payments from their former foes, plunging Germany in particular into economic depression. The Tsarist regime of His Imperial Majesty Nicholas II was overthrown during the conflict and Russia was transitioned into the first ever communist state, and the Austro-Hungarian and Ottoman empires were dismantled at the war's conclusion.

Ukraine, early days of the 1941 Nazi invasion. The Soviet Union lost around 27 million people between 1941 and 1945, almost half of all

World War II deaths.At the beginning of the period, Britain was the world's most powerful nation; having acted as the world's policeman for the past century. Fascism, a movement which grew out of post-war angst and which accelerated during the Great Depression of the 1930s, gained momentum in Italy, Germany and Spain in the 1920s and 1930s, culminating in World War II (1939–1945), sparked by Nazi Germany's aggressive expansion at the expense of its neighbors. Meanwhile, Japan had rapidly transformed itself into a technologically advanced industrial power. Its military expansion into eastern Asia and the Pacific Ocean culminated in a surprise attack on the United States, bringing it into World War II. After having had several years of dramatic military success, Germany was defeated in 1945, having been repelled and invaded by the Soviet Union from the east and invaded from the west by the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Free France. The war ended with the droppingof two atomic bombs on Japan. Japan later became a U.S. ally with a powerful economy based on consumer goods and trade. Germany was divided between the Western powers and the Soviet Union; all areas recaptured by the Soviet Union (East Germany and eastward) were essentially transitioned into Soviet puppet states under communist rule. Meanwhile, Western Europe was influenced by the American Marshall Plan and made a quick economic recovery, becoming major allies of the United States under capitalist economies and relatively democratic governments.

World War II left about 60 million people dead. When the conflict ended in 1945, the United States and the Soviet Union emerged as very powerful nations. Allies during the war, they soon became hostile to one other as the competing ideologies of communism and democratic capitalism occupied Europe, divided by the Iron Curtain and theBerlin Wall. The military alliances headed by these nations (NATO in North America and Western Europe; the Warsaw Pact in Eastern Europe) were prepared to wage total war with each other throughout the Cold War (1947–91). The period was marked by a new arms race, and nuclear weapons were produced in the tens of thousands, sufficient to end most human life on the planet had a large-scale nuclear exchange ever occurred. The very size of the nuclear arsenal on both sides is believed by many historians to have staved off an inevitable war between the two, as the consequences of any attack were too great to bear. The policy of unleashing a massive nuclear attack, knowing a massive nuclear counterattack would be forthcoming, was known as mutually assured destruction (MAD). Although the Soviet Union and the United States never directly entered military conflict with each other, several proxy wars, such as the Korean War (1950–1953) and the Vietnam War (1957–1975), were waged as the United States implemented its worldwide "containment" policy against communism.

Albert Einstein is often regarded as the father of modern physics.After World War II, most of the European-colonized world in Africa and Asia gained independence in a process of decolonization. This, and the drain of the two world wars, caused Europe to lose much of its long-held power. Meanwhile, the wars empowered several nations, including the UK, U.S., Russia, China and Japan, to exert a strong influence over many world affairs. American culture spread around the world with the advent of Hollywood, Broadway, rock and roll, pop music, fast food, big-box stores, and the hip-hop lifestyle. British culture continued to influence world culture, including the "British Invasion" into American music, leading many top rock bands (such as Swedish ABBA) to sing in English. The western world and parts of Asia enjoyed a post-World War II economic boom. After the Soviet Union collapsed under internal pressure in 1991, the communist governments of the Eastern bloc were also dismantled, followed by rocky transitions into market economies.

Following World War II the United Nations was established as an international forum in which the world's nations could get together and discuss issues diplomatically. It has enacted resolutions on such topics as the conduct of warfare, environmental protection, international sovereignty, and human rights. Peacekeeping forces consisting of troops provided by various countries, in concert with various United Nations and other aid agencies, have helped to relieve famine, disease, and poverty, and to suppress some local armed conflicts. Europe slowly united, economically and, in some ways, politically, into what eventually became the European Union, which consisted of 15 European countries by the end of the 20th century.

 In approximately the last third of the century, concern about humankind's impact on the Earth's environment caused environmentalism to become a major citizen movement. In many countries, especially in Europe, the movement was channeled into politics partly through Green parties, though awareness of the problem permeated societies. By the end of the 20th century, some progress had been made in cleaning up the environment though pollution continued apace. Increasing awareness of  global warming  began in the 1980s, commencing several decades of social and political debate.

Medical science and the Green Revolution in agriculture enabled the world's population to grow from about 1.6 billion to about 6.0 billion. This rapid population increase quickly became a major concern and directly caused or contributed to several global issues, including conflict, poverty, major environmental issues, and severe overcrowding in some areas.

The Nature of Innovation and Change, and Social Changes-
Due to continuing industrialization and expanding trade, many significant changes of the century were, directly or indirectly, economic and technological in nature. Inventions such as the  light bulb, the automobile, and the telephone in the late 19th century, followed by  supertankers,  airliners, motorways, radio, television,  antibiotics,  frozen food<span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:13px;line-height:19.1875px;">, computers and  microcomputers<span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:13px;line-height:19.1875px;">, the Internet, and  mobile telephones<span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:13px;line-height:19.1875px;"> and many other things, affected the  quality of life<span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:13px;line-height:19.1875px;"> for great numbers. Scientific research, engineering professionalization and technological development was the force behind vast changes in everyday life.

<span style="font-size:13px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;line-height:19.1875px;">At the beginning of the century, discrimination based on race and sex still existed in general society. Although the  Atlantic slave trade<span style="font-size:13px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;line-height:19.1875px;"> had ended in the 19th century, the fight for equality for Africans in the white society of North America, Europe, and South Africa continued. During the century, the social taboo of  sexism<span style="font-size:13px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;line-height:19.1875px;"> fell. By the end of the 20th century, women had as many rights as men in most parts of the world and not only did general society accept equal rights for members of other races but most people frowned at racism. <span style="font-size:13px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;line-height:19.1875px;"> In the 1970s, the term  speciesism<span style="font-size:13px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;line-height:19.1875px;"> was coined as people began to question humans' natural discrimination against other species. In the latter third of the century, movements for equality gained significant ground in the Western world.

Wars and Politics
<span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:13px;line-height:19.1875px;">The number of people killed during the century by government actions could be as high as 400 million. <span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:13px;line-height:19.1875px;"> This includes deaths caused by wars, genocide, politicide and mass murders. The deaths from battles, fire bombings and nuclear bombs used during the two world wars alone have been estimated between 50 and 80 million. Political scientist  Rudolph Rummel<span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:13px;line-height:19.1875px;"> estimated 262,000,000 deaths caused by  democide<span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:13px;line-height:19.1875px;">, which excludes those killed in war battles, civilians unintentionally killed in war and killings of rioting mobs. <span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:13px;line-height:19.1875px;"> According to  Charles Tilly<span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:13px;line-height:19.1875px;">, "Altogether, about 100 million people died as a direct result of action by organized military units backed by one government or another over the course of the century. Most likely a comparable number of civilians died of war-induced disease and other indirect effects." <span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:13px;line-height:19.1875px;"> It is estimated that approximately 70 million Europeans died through war, violence and famine between 1914 and 1945. Important info: Warfare in the early 20th century (1914–1918) Clockwise from top: front line Trenches, a British Mark I Tankcrossing a trench, the Royal Navy battleship HMS Irresistiblesinking after striking a mine at the battle of the Dardanelles, aVickers machine gun crew with gas masks, and GermanAlbatros D.III biplanes.*Rising nationalism and increasing national awareness were among the many causes of World War I (1914–1918), the first of two wars to involve many major world powers including Germany, France, Italy, Japan, Russia/USSR, the United States and the British Empire. World War I led to the creation of many new countries, especially in Eastern Europe. At the time, it was said by many to be the "war to end war". Richard Nixon and Leonid Brezhnevaboard the USS Sequoia, June 19, 1973*The Cold War had caused an arms race and increasing competition between the two major players in the world: the Soviet Union and USA. This competition included the development and improvement of nuclear weapons and the Space Race.
 * After gaining political rights in the United States and much of Europe in the first part of the century, and with the advent of new birth control techniques, women became more independent throughout the century.
 * Civil wars occurred in many nations. A violent civil war broke out in Spain in 1936 when General Francisco Franco rebelled against the Second Spanish Republic. Many consider this war as a testing battleground for World War II, as the fascist armies bombed some Spanish territories.
 * The economic and political aftermath of World War I and the Great Depression in the 1930s led to the rise of fascism and Nazism in Europe, and subsequently to World War II (1939–1945). This war also involved Asia and the Pacific, in the form of Japanese aggression against China and the United States. Civilians also suffered greatly in World War II, due to the aerial bombing of cities on both sides, and the German genocide of the Jews and others, known as the Holocaust. In August 1945, Hiroshima and Nagasaki were bombed with nuclear weapons.
 * During World War I, in the Russian Revolution of 1917, 300 years of Romanov reign were ended and the Bolsheviks, under the leadership of Vladimir Lenin, established the world's first socialist state, precipitating the founding of the Soviet Union and the rise of communism. After the Soviet Union's involvement in World War II, communism became a major force in global politics, notably in Eastern Europe, China, Indochina and Cuba, where communist parties gained near-absolute power. This led to the Cold War and proxy wars with the West, including wars in Korea (1950–1953) and Vietnam (1957–1975).
 * The Soviet authorities caused the deaths of millions of their own citizens in order to eliminate domestic opposition. More than 18 million people passed through the Gulag, with a further 6 million being exiled to remote areas of the Soviet Union.
 * The civil rights movement in the United States and the movement against apartheid in South Africa challenged racial segregation in those countries.
 * The two world wars led to efforts to increase international cooperation, notably through the founding of theLeague of Nations after World War I, and its successor, the United Nations, after World War II.
 * Nationalist movements in the subcontinent led to the independence of India and Pakistan.
 * Gandhi's non-violence and civil disobedience influenced many political movements around the world, including the African American civil rights movement in USA, and freedom movements in South Africa and Burma.
 * The creation in 1948 of Israel, a Jewish state in the Middle East, by the British Mandate of Palestine fueled many regional conflicts. These were also influenced by the vast oil fields in many of the other countries of the mostly Arab region.
 * The end of colonialism led to the independence of many African and Asian countries. During the Cold War, many of these aligned with the United States, the USSR, or China for defense.
 * After a long period of civil wars and conflicts with European powers, China's last imperial dynasty ended in 1912. The resulting republic was replaced, after yet another civil war, by a communist People's Republic in 1949. At the end of the 20th century, though still ruled by a communist party, China's economic system had transformed almost completely to capitalism.
 * The Great Chinese Famine was a direct cause of the death of tens of millions of Chinese peasants between 1959 and 1962. It is thought to be the largest famine inhuman history.
 * The Soviet War in Afghanistan caused three million deaths and contributed to the downfall of the Soviet Union.
 * The Tiananmen Square protests of 1989, culminating in the deaths of hundreds of civilian protesters, were a series of demonstrations in and near Tiananmen Square in Beijing, China. Led mainly by students and intellectuals, the protests occurred in a year that saw the collapse of a number of communist governments around the world.
 * The revolutions of 1989 released Eastern and Central Europe from Soviet supremacy. Soon thereafter, the Soviet Union, Czechoslovakia, and Yugoslavia dissolved, the latter violently over several years, into successor states, many rife with ethnic nationalism. East Germany and West Germany were reunified in 1990.
 * European integration began in earnest in the 1950s, and eventually led to the European Union, a political and economic union that comprised 15 countries at the end of the 20th century.