Every era,
told once.
Instead of repeating the Industrial Revolution three times across three courses, we tell its story once — here — and let each course link in for the angle it needs.
Eras of world history
The seven eras, in order.
Each era is a single source-of-truth page. Course pages (APWH, APUSH, MWH) link in for their own framings.
- ~10,000 BCEThe Prehistoric WorldFrom hunter-gatherers to the agricultural revolution.
- 3000 BCEThe Ancient WorldMesopotamia, Egypt, the Indus, Shang — the first complex societies.
- 500 BCEThe Classical WorldPersia, Greece, Rome, Han China, Maurya, Gupta — ideas that outlasted empires.
- 500 CEThe Medieval WorldTang/Song China, Dar al-Islam, Byzantium, feudal Europe, the Mongols.
- 1450The Early Modern WorldAtlantic exploration, Columbian Exchange, gunpowder empires.
- 1750The World of EmpiresIndustrial Revolution, imperialism, the long 19th century.
- 1900The Modern WorldTwo world wars, decolonization, Cold War, globalization.
The world wars
The 20th century’s hinge, in two parts.
- 1914–1918World War ICauses, course, end of the European-dominated world order.
- 1939–1945World War IITotal war, the Holocaust, nuclear weapons, the postwar settlement.
