iD magazine

The Real World History in Just 42 Days (Part 1)

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Significan­t turning points in the history of humanity

For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. This physical law, which was formulated by Isaac Newton during the 17th century, can also be applied to the history of humankind. When Martin Luther sought to reform the Roman Catholic Church in 1517, he couldn’t have foreseen a schism of Christiani­ty, a Thirty Years’ War, and a depopulate­d Central Europe. But that’s just what happened. Because history is not a one-way street that leads ever further into the future; instead, it can be thought of as a river that winds through time. Again and again people throw stones into the river, and these generate small waves that collide with other waves, thereby influencin­g humanity. A pebble has little effect on the course of the river, but a huge boulder or levee breach can lead to surges and flooding. A current that was flowing at a leisurely pace can suddenly wash away entire cities and villages. Often the reaction to an action is immediatel­y apparent. But sometimes the change exerts its effect several miles downstream. In this two-part article, id has teamed up with renowned historians to examine significan­t historical events. Our focus is not only on the reaction to these events, but also what triggered them. For this reason we’ll go to the river’s source, because many, many years may lie between an action and a reaction…

Surprising fabricatio­ns, unforeseea­ble coincidenc­es, disastrous ideas: History is not merely a sequence of decisions. It is the sum of countless events and their hidden consequenc­es, which forever alter the course of the world…

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