Category: History Essay Examples
See our collection of history essay examples. These example essays are to help you understanding how to write a history essay. History is a fascinating puzzle with both personal and cultural significance. The past informs our lives, ideas, and expectations. Historians study the past to figure out what happened and how specific events and cultural developments affected individuals and societies. Also, see our list of history essay topics to find the one that interests you.
Before the 1880s most African societies were independent of European rule. With particular reference to Africa south of the Sahara, colonial rule was confined to coastal patches and the Cape region, the latter being home to Anglo-Boer political rivalry. As regards the Portuguese, their colonial interest was restricted …
Before the 1880s most African societies were independent of European rule. With particular reference to Africa south of the Sahara, colonial rule was confined to coastal patches and the Cape region, the latter being home to Anglo-Boer political rivalry. As regards the Portuguese, their colonial interest was restricted …
The Russian Empire made important gains at the expense of China between 1858–60. The Qing (Ch’ing) dynasty’s easy defeat by Great Britain in the first AngloChinese Opium War had made its glaring weakness apparent to the world. Russian leaders, including Czar Nicholas I, feared British dominance in East …
Alaska was purchased by the United States from czarist Russia in 1867. It had been occupied by Russia since the 18th century and exploited by Russian fur and fishing interests. However, by the 1860s the region was viewed by the Russian government as a strategic liability and an …
Alexander I was the czar of Russia from 1801 to 1825, a rule during which he not only instituted widespread reforms but later reversed many of them. As a child, he was raised by his grandmother Catherine the Great in a liberal and intellectual environment. She died when …
France first occupied Algeria in 1830. During the Napoleonic era, France had bought Algerian wheat on credit. After the fall of Napoleon I Bonaparte, the newly reestablished French monarchy refused to pay these debts. The dey of Algiers, Husain, sought payment, and during a quarrel with the French …
In 1798 four federal laws restricting U.S. citizenship and severely curtailing the freedoms of speech, press, and assembly were adopted by a Federalist Party–dominated Congress and signed by President John Adams. Sparked by mounting tensions between the United States and its former ally, France, these laws purported to …
Aligarh College, now Aligarh Muslim University, was the first institution of higher learning for Muslims in British India. Many prominent Muslim leaders and scholars have studied at Aligarh, and it served to provide an important focus for the development of Muslim unity and political awareness, particularly during the …
The war that created and established the independence of the United States of America officially broke out between Britain and 13 of its North American colonies at Lexington and Concord, Massachusetts, and ended when the Treaty of Paris was signed. However, historians now maintain that the revolution really …
When the first European settlers began arriving in North America in the 17th century, they brought their alcoholic beverages with them and soon found local ways to quench their thirst by using new raw materials like sugarcane. Fermented drinks like cider and beer and distilled ones like rum …
In what has been called the age of Andean insurrection, there erupted in the Andean highlands of Peru and Bolivia from 1742 to 1782 a spate of revolts, uprisings, and rebellions that rocked the Spanish Empire, threatening their rule across much of the Andes and prompting a host …
The Anglo-Chinese Opium Wars were two conflicts in which the British and French (in the second war) fought against the Chinese in support of the sale of opium in China. The first of the wars, between Britain and China alone, lasted from 1839 to 1842, and the second …
The Anglo-French agreement concerning Siam (later Thailand) was the result of British and French imperialism in Southeast Asia in the 19th century. The British and French were expanding their influence into Burma and Indochina respectively and used Siam as a buffer state between the two expanding empires. Siam …
The Great Game was the name given by British poet Rudyard Kipling to the struggle between czarist Russia and the British Empire for influence in Central Asia. The contest could actually be said to have begun as early as the 18th century. That was when Catherine the Great …
During the 19th century, the British extended their economic and political presence throughout the coastal areas of the Arabian Peninsula. With the largest and most powerful navy in the world, the British needed ports to serve as refueling stations and to replenish supplies of fresh foods and water …
During the 19th century a number of Arab intellectuals led the way for reforms and cultural changes in the Arab world. Rifa’a al-Tahtawi from Egypt was one of the first and foremost reformers. A graduate of esteemed Muslim university al-Azhar, Tahtawi was sent to France to study as …
The style of architecture in Britain changed considerably between 1750 and 1900. The Georgian mews and squares that were popular in the 1750s gave way to large suburbs, the ease of railway travel allowing for significant city sprawl. The Georgian style in Britain was very much influenced by …
There has been a long history of Asian migration to Latin America, with Chinese, Japanese, and Korean populations now in most countries in Central and South America. In addition there are also significant Indian communities in some countries, especially Guyana, and small numbers of Vietnamese. The first links …
The island continent of Australia was the last to be discovered and explored by Europeans. It was called Terra Australis Incognita, the unknown southern land. The first European to sail into the Australian waters was a Dutchman, Abel Tasman, working for the Dutch East India Company, who discovered …
Beginning with the establishment of the legislative council for New South Wales in 1823, the Australian colonies had gradually received increasing measures of self-government from the British Colonial Office. In 1850 the British parliament passed the Australian Colonies Government Act that allowed the colonies to set up their …
