13 days that shook the world

13 days that shook the world

Our travels are shaped by history. It dictates where we can and cannot go, and has done so for explorers of past centuries. Major events throughout history have changed and defined the world we inhabit and explore today. Here we take a look at some of the days that shook the world and had remarkable and lasting impacts that are still felt and visible today.

About 66 million years ago, Cretaceous-Tertiary extinction event, Mexico

Of course, this is a theoretical event. However, around 66 million years ago there was almost certainly a mass extinction of about 75% of the plant and animal species on Earth. This may or may not have been a huge asteroid that hit the Yucatán Peninsula in what is now Mexico. If so, then that day wiped out almost all dinosaurs in such a (geologically) short period of time that it ushered in the Cenozoic Era that we (humans) enjoy today. It literally shook the world and paved the way for humanity.

Around 1800 BC The Life of Abraham, Iraq

alt="13-days-that-shocked-the-world-of-Abraham-abrahamic-religions">Public domain

It is estimated that 54% of the world's population (3.8 billion people) consider themselves to be followers of one of the Abrahamic religions - primarily Judaism, Christianity and Islam, as well as various other smaller religions. Abraham was born in Ur in Babylonia and one day came to believe that the entire universe was the work of a single Creator. This is how Judaism was born. And then Christianity. And then Islam. For better or for worse, these religions have influenced so many of the world's civilized societies and have been the basis for countless conflicts throughout human history.

December 11, 1241Death of Ögedei Khan, Austria

alt="13-days-that-shocked-the-world-Emperor-Ogedei-khan-portrait">Public domain

The Mongol warrior Batu Khan was on the verge of conquering Vienna and destroying the Holy Roman Empire. 13th century Europe was on the verge of collapse. But the death of Ögedei Khan, the second Great Khan of the Mongol Empire, forced Batu Khan to return to Mongolia to decide who would be the rightful heir to the empire. Had Ögedei Khan died just a few months or weeks later, European history as we know it would have been very different.

Around 1439Invention of the printing press, Germany

alt="13-days-that-shocked-the-world-guttenburg-printing-machine">Public domain

Johannes Gutenberg was the first European to print with movable type. He is widely considered responsible for creating a practical system that enabled the mass production of printed books, that was economically viable for both printers and readers, and that opened up mass communication for centuries to come. TheThe exact date of Gutenberg's press is debated, but wWithout him and it, you might not be reading these words today.

October 12, 1492 Rodrigo de Triana sights land in America, the Bahamas

alt="13-days-that-shocked-the-world-landing_of_Columbus">Public domain

Today Christopher Columbus gets all the credit, but Señor Triana was actually the first European after the Vikings to see America. He is said to have shouted: "¡Tierra! ¡Tierra!" (Land! Land!) and informed Columbus and the rest of the crew that a new continent had been discovered. The discovery of the New World changed the Old World forever.

April 21, 1503 The Aragonese defeat the French at the Battle of Cerignola, Italy

So what? First, who the hell are the Aragonese and what's so special about the French losing another military battle? Well, you see, it was the first battle that could be won with the use of gunpowder in small arms (weapons). The Aragonese (Spanish) had about a thousand arquebusiers, which were predecessors of the musket. Thanks to this, warfare would never be the same again, paving the way for some of the most destructive and bloodthirsty battles in history. Wonderful.

January 30, 1649King Charles I of England is executed, UK

alt="13-days-that-shocked-the-world-execution-of-King-Charles-I">Public domain

The first monarch to be tried and executed for treason showed the royal world that monarchies do not have to be the only form of rule. Back then, democracies and parliaments were not as widespread as they are today. Instead, emperors, kings, sultans and khans were more the norm. Thank God things have changed, right?

July 4, 1776 Declaration of Independence officially adopted, USA

alt="13-days-that-shocked-the-world-Declaration of Independence">Public domain

An arguably dark day in British history would mark the changing of the guard, so to speak. A new nation, the United States of America, would become the most powerful and influential nation in the history of the world. The country would eventually defeat communism, put a man on the moon, dominate global sports, and give the world Coca-Cola, McDonalds, and Starbucks.

June 28, 1914 Assassination of Archduke Ferdinand, Bosnia and Herzegovina

The assassination of the Archduke in Sarajevo would be the ultimate catalyst for the Great War, causing the bloodiest period in human history to date. Four years later, there were over 16 million dead on the many battlefields. The sociopolitical impact was even greater, as the war sparked revolutions and further conflicts on an even larger scale, which would eventually lead to the greatest conflict in human history: World War II. The eventual cost of this day is practically immeasurable. Needless to say, things were never the same again.

June 22, 1941Hitler invades Russia, Russia

alt=“days-that-shocked-the-world-hitler-invades-russia – 1″>Federal Archives/Creative Commons

It looked as if dictators and militarists would soon rule virtually the entire world. But Operation Barbarossa, Hitler's decision to send three million German soldiers across the Soviet border, would ultimately lead to Hitler's defeat and the destruction of Nazism. Just a year earlier, Great Britain, Europe's last defense, was on the brink of defeat. Hitler, unaware of Britain's deeply fragile position, began changing tactics and strategy, which ultimately led to his decision to attack Russia. He mistakenly believed that he could succeed where countless others throughout history had failed.

August 6, 1945 The United States drops an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan

alt=“days-that-shocked-the-world-atomic-bomb – 1″>Takabeg/Creative Commons(Image: رفع بواسطة Takabeg, Creative Commons)

The atomic age was ushered in on the day the first atomic bomb was dropped on Japan, and the world was changed forever. On August 9, a second bomb was dropped on Nagasaki. The two bombings, which killed at least 129,000 people, remain the only use of nuclear weapons in warfare in history.

In a 1965 television broadcast about the moments after the first successful atomic test, J. Robert Oppenheimer, the scientific director of the U.S. program to develop the first atomic weapons, said: "We knew that the world would never be the same. Some laughed, some cried, most were silent. I remembered the line from the Hindu scripture, the Bhagavad-Gita... 'Now I have become Death, who.' Destroyer of worlds.’”

November 9, 1989 Fall of the Berlin Wall, Germany

alt=“days-that-shattered-the-world-berlin-wall – 1″>Lear 21/Creative Commons

If the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand in 1914 was the catalyst for nearly a century of bloodshed, perhaps the fall of the Berlin Wall marked its end. That wouldn't be the solution to all of Europe's problems, but it would usher in a new, modern era. The Cold War was over, Europe was no longer so divided and families were reunited. “Only today,” a Berliner spray-painted on a piece of the wall, “is the war really over.”

September 9, 2001 September 11 attacks, USA

alt="days-that-shocked-the-world-sept-11-1″>Robert/Creative Commons

The images of these attacks could well define the third millennium. Four hijacked passenger planes were deliberately flown to destinations in the USA. In particular, the north and south towers of the World Trade Center complex in New York City were destroyed. The attacks killed 2,996 people and would influence foreign policy around the world for years to come. The ripples of this global event are still being felt today and will continue to be felt for decades, perhaps centuries.

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