The Modern World

Industrial
Revolution, term usually applied to the social and economicchanges that mark the transition
from a stable agricultural and commercial societyto a modern industrial society relying on co
mplex machinery rather than tools. It isused historically to refer primarily to the period in Briti
sh history from the middle ofthe 18th cent. to the middle of the 19th century
Voyages of Discovery
As far back as the first centuries of the modern age. the early Greeks and
Romans theorised about a vast landmass that existed beyond the Indian Ocean.
They called it Terra Australis Incognita - the unknown southern land. It took more
than 1000 years before this mysterious continent was finally located, charted
and named Australia.
Through the State Library's incredible collections of maps, journals, log books,
letters, paintings, prints, drawings and books, explore the stories of these
exciting voyages of discovery. Find out about adventures of famous explorers
like Abel Tasman and James Cook, shipboard life, encounters with indigenous
peoples, cultural insights, and descriptions of the strange new flora, fauna and
topography of the Great South Land.

The Nationalist Movements in Europe
Rise of nationalism in Europe
Nationalism was an important factor in the development of Europe. In the 19th century, a
wave of romantic nationalism swept the European continent, transforming its countries.
Some newly formed countries, such as Germany, Italy and Romania were formed by uniting
various regional states with a common "national identity". Others, such as Greece, Poland
and Bulgaria, were formed by winning their independence.
Unification of Germany
The formal unification of Germany into a politically and administratively integrated nation
state officially occurred on 18 January 1871 at theVersailles Palace's Hall of
Mirrors in France. Princes of the German states gathered there to
proclaim Wilhelm of Prussia as Emperor Wilhelm of the German Empire after the French
capitulation in the Franco-Prussian War. A century of aristocratic experimentation from the
dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire (1806) and the consequent rise of nationalism over
the span of the Napoleonic Wars era.
Italian unification
Italian unification (Italian: Risorgimento [risordimento], meaning the Resurgence) also
known as Italian Revolution
[1]
was the political and social movement that agglomerated
different states of the Italian peninsula into the single state of the Kingdom of Italy in the 19th
century. Despite a lack of consensus on the exact dates for the beginning and end of this
period, many scholars agree that the process began in 1815 with the Congress of
Viennaand the end of Napoleonic rule, and ended in 1871 when Rome became the capital of
the Kingdom of Italy.