Key global events and movements that shaped the modern world, and India's place within it.
Began in Britain, transforming economies from agrarian/handicraft-based to machine-based manufacturing. Key innovations included the steam engine (James Watt) and mechanised textile production. It reshaped global trade patterns — and directly influenced colonial economic policy in India, which became a source of raw materials and a market for British manufactured goods.
Triggered by the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, fought between the Allied Powers and the Central Powers. India contributed significant troops and resources to the British war effort, which fuelled post-war expectations of political concessions — expectations dashed by the repressive Rowlatt Act (1919).
Fought between the Allied Powers and the Axis Powers (Germany, Italy, Japan). India's forced involvement, without consultation, was a major grievance that fed into the Quit India Movement (1942). The war's end left European powers economically exhausted, accelerating decolonisation worldwide, including India's independence in 1947.
The decades following WWII saw a wave of independence movements across Asia and Africa, as colonial powers — weakened by the war — gradually relinquished their empires. India's independence in 1947 was among the earliest and most influential examples, inspiring similar movements elsewhere.
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