National Geographic Russia: Battle of the Empires

National Geographic Russia released the fifth issue of the “1,000 Events that Changed the World” series on Feb. 21. “The Battle of the Empires” is devoted to the period from 1850 to 1913.

Readers will learn how progress influenced the emergence of a new form of imperialism, how new research and inventions of the period enabled industrialized countries to lead the world. Those advances include the discovery of the law of thermodynamics as well as the invention of dynamite, plastic, the telephone, the four-wheeled automobile, the first box camera and so on.

A characteristic of this period was the never-ending struggle for supremacy between various countries. This period was witness to the United States Civil War of 1861-1865, the Meiji Revolution in Japan, the war between Chile, Bolivia and Peru, the British seizure of Egypt, the “Fight for Africa,” the Spanish-American War, African-Americans’ struggle for their rights and the Mexican Revolution.

Read about these and much more in “Battle of the Empires.”