Table Of ContentTTHHEE
HHAANNDDYY
HHIISSTTOORRYY
AANNSSWWEERR
BBOOOOKK
SS EE CC OO NN DD EE DD II TT II OO NN
RReebbeccaa FFeerrgguussoonn
About the Author
Author of the bestselling first edition of the Handy History Answer Book, Rebecca
Ferguson helped develop the Handy Answer Book® series and a number of books for
Visible Ink Press during the last 15 years, including titles on noteworthy legal trials,
Hispanic/Latino culture, and the Olympics. She recently contributed to the Britannica
Student Encyclopedia, a part of Britannica Online, as well as The Lincoln Library of
American History. Her love of history runs deep. “History,” Rebecca says, “teaches us to
appreciate the scope of human endeavor and experience.”
She lives with her husband and young son near Chicago.
Also from Visible Ink Press
The Handy Anatomy Answer Book, ISBN 978-1-57859-190-9
The Handy Answer Book for Kids (and Parents), ISBN 978-1-57859-110-7
The Handy Biology Answer Book, ISBN 978-1-57859-150-3
The Handy Geography Answer Book, ISBN 978-1-57859-062-9
The Handy Geology Answer Book, ISBN 978-1-57859-156-5
The Handy History Answer Book, ISBN 978-1-57859-170-1
The Handy Math Answer Book, ISBN 978-1-57859-171-8
The Handy Ocean Answer Book, ISBN 978-1-57859-063-6
The Handy Physics Answer Book, ISBN 978-1-57859-058-2
The Handy Politics Answer Book, ISBN 978-1-57859-139-8
The Handy Presidents Answer Book, ISBN 978-1-57859-167-1
The Handy Religion Answer Book, ISBN 978-1-57859-125-1
The Handy Science Answer Book®, ISBN 978-1-57859-140-4
The Handy Sports Answer Book, ISBN 978-1-57859-075-9
The Handy Supreme Court Answer Book, ISBN 978-1-57859-196-1
The Handy Weather Answer Book®, ISBN 978-0-7876-1034-0
Please visit us at visibleink.com.
THE
HANDY
HISTORY
ANSWER
BOOK
THE
HANDY
HISTORY
ANSWER
BOOK
S E C O N D E D I T I O N
Rebecca Ferguson
Detroit
THE Copyright © 2006 by Visible Ink Press®
Photo Credits
HANDY AP/Wide World: pages 9, 28, 33, 40, 50, 63, 65, 93, 99, 100, 102, 152, 155, 158, 165,
168, 170, 184, 187, 197, 202, 204, 208, 212, 216, 270, 272, 274, 289, 310, 312, 349,
350, 352, 367, 384, 394, 400, 406, 408, 413, 418, 423, 427, 434, 447, 487, 489, 494,
HISTORY 500, 502, 547, 559, 562, 570.
Getty Images: pages 18, 42, 108, 122, 176, 242, 333, 342, 441, 464, 534, 545.
ANSWER
The Library of Congress: pages 5, 14, 27, 29, 31, 71, 74, 83, 88, 115, 125, 135, 137,
141, 148, 151, 163, 230, 234, 238, 246, 263, 265, 268, 276, 281, 285, 292, 298, 306,
335, 345, 370, 378, 398, 420, 448, 451, 459, 471, 474, 478, 483, 507, 513, 524, 526, 543,
BOOK 552, 553, 555, 557, 566, 572, 576, 580, 583, 592.
Cover images reproduced by permission of AP and Library of Congress.
This publication is a creative work fully protected by all applicable copyright
laws, as well as by misappropriation, trade secrets, unfair competition, and
other applicable laws.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without permission in
writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer who wishes to quote brief
passages in connection with a review written for inclusion in a magazine or
newspaper.
All rights to this publication will be vigorously defended.
Visible Ink Press®
43311 Joy Rd. #414
Canton, MI 48187-2075
Visible Ink Press is a trademark of Visible Ink Press LLC.
Most Visible Ink Press books are available at special quantity discounts when
purchased in bulk by corporations, organizations, or groups. Customized print-
ings, special imprints, messages, and excerpts can be produced to meet your
needs. For more information, contact Special Markets Director, Visible Ink Press,
at www.visibleink.com.
Art Director: Mary Claire Krzewinski
Typesetting: The Graphix Group
ISBN: 1-57859-170-8
Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file with the Library of Congress.
Printed in the United States of America
All right reserved
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Contents
INTRODUCTION xi
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS xiii
CHRONOLOGY OF SELECTED EVENTS xv
ERAS AND THEIR HIGHLIGHTS…1
Prehistoric Era…Stone Age…Copper Age…Bronze Age…Iron
Age…Classical Age…Greek Civilization…Mycenaean Age…
The Roman Republic…Holy Roman Empire…The Middle Ages…
The Renaissance…European Colonialism…The Enlightenment…
The Scientific Revolution…The Industrial Revolution…Era of the
World Wars…The Cold War…Early Twenty-first Century
RELIGION…37
Roman Mythology…Greek Mythology…Buddhism…Hinduism…
Shinto…The Bible…The Hebrew Bible…Christianity…The Old
Testament…Dead Sea Scrolls…The Ten Commandments…
Golgotha…Islam…The Koran…Five Pillars of Faith…Mecca…
The Crusades…The Catholic Church…Popes…The Reformation…
Counter Reformation…Martin Luther…Jesuits…The Puritans…The
Protestant Ethic…Mother Teresa…Pope John Paul II
EXPLORATION AND SETTLEMENT…67
Marco Polo…The Vikings…Christopher Columbus…Cabeza de
Vaca…Hernando de Soto…Ferdinand Magellan…Sir Francis
Drake…Captain Cook…Lost Colony…Pilgrims…Lewis and
Clark…Manifest Destiny…American Immigration…Northwest
Passage…Robert Peary…Roald Amundsen…Sir Edmund
Hillary…Charles Lindbergh…Amelia Earhart…Space Exploration
vii
WAR AND CONFLICT…105
Trojan War…Peloponnesian War…Alexander the Great…Attila the
Hun…Genghis Khan…Hundred Years’ War…Joan of Arc…French
and Indian War…American Revolution…French
Revolution…Napoleon…War of 1812…American Civil
War…Spanish-American War…Russian Revolution…World War
I…Sino-Japanese War…World War II… Korean War…Vietnam
War…Persian Gulf War…War in the Baltics
GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS…219
King Tut…Mayan Empire…Aztec Empire…Roman Empire… Tang
Dynasty…Ming Dynasty…Ottoman Empire…Holy Roman
Empire…The Romanov Dynasty…Marie Antoinette… Napolean…
Boston Tea Party… Declaration of Independence…U.S.
Constitution…Bill of Rights…The American Presidency…
Watergate…The Holocaust…United Nations…G-8…Mahatma
Gandhi…Palestine Liberation Organization…Iron Curtain…
Office of Homeland Security
LAW AND FAMOUS TRIALS…291
Roman Law…Code Napolean…International Law…Geneva
Conventions…U.S. Supreme Court…Racial Segregation…Salem
Witch Trials…John Peter Zenger…Dred Scott Decision…Susan B.
Anthony…Mata Hari…Scopes Monkey Trial…Billy Mitchell…Al
Capone…Nuremberg Trials…Alger Hiss…Rosenbergs…Roev.
Wade… ABSCAM…Gang of Four…Nicolae Ceausescu…Beltway
Sniper… 9/11 Conspirators
ECONOMICS AND BUSINESS… 319
Capitalism…Adam Smith…Monetary Systems…Federal Reserve…
ATMs…The Euro…American Tobacco Industry…Navigation
Acts…Gold Rush…Oil Industry…Textile Industry…Bonanza
Farms…Bessemer Steel…Department Stores… Black
Friday…Robber Barons…New York Stock Exchange… Assembly
Line…New Deal…Auto Industry…Computer Industry… Income
Tax…NAFTA…Y2K…Enron
viii
