1. Some dates in Human History Carlos Mota, UTAD, 2010. http://www. utad

2. Note: Many dates are approximate.
About three or four million years ago the first humans appeared.
All humans alive today are descendants of the first humans emerged in Africa.

3. The Great Migration
or years ago, humans went from Africa to the Arabian Peninsula, crossing the Red Sea.
The first modern humans arrived to Europe some 30 thousand years ago, and to Central Asia about 18mil years ago.

4. Important discoveries:
9 thousand or 8 thousand years BC AGRICULTURE, begun, in the so called "fertile crescent". (It corresponds to areas of current Iraq and Iran). Agriculture was the basis of private property and State.
7 thousand years BC, agriculture begun in China.
The oldest image of the WHEEL is from 3500 BC.

5. At 3500 BC the first city-states emerged in Mesopotamia;
At 3000 BC WRITING arises also in Mesopotamia; Bronze is produced - alloy based on copper and tin.
From the invention of writing we consider that mankind enters in the “Historical Period”, because in Pre-History there was no writing systems.
The Great Pyramid of Giza, is completed about the year 2500 BC.

6. Between 2000 and 1000 BC there were the first people identified as "Greeks";
Man begins to use the horse for riding in Central Asia.
Around 1800 BC iron is produced in Anatolia (now Turkey).
In 1500 BC the oldest Chinese writing appeared.

7. About 1100 BC the Phoenicians invented the Phonetic Alphabet which has great importance because it reduces the number of symbols needed to write.
Around 1000 BC the human population is 120 million.
In 753 BC Rome is founded.
In 551 BC Confucius was born;
Between 550 and 420 BC Gautama (Buddha) was born.

8. In 100 BC the "Silk Road“ is used;
The Chinese seek Natural Gas;
Between 8-4 BC Jesus Christ is born; Between AD Jesus Christ dies.
In 100 the Chinese use paper and porcelain;
At 117 (under Trajan) the Roman Empire covers the north of modern England to the Persian Gulf, has about 88 million inhabitants and an area of 5million Km2 (territory now divided by 46 countries). *1

9. *1-The Roman Empire in 117 AD
Image from:

10. In 380 Christianity becomes official religion of the Roman Empire;
In 476 falls the Western Roman Empire (Europe enters in the Middle Ages);
Mohammed was born in 570;
In 711 the Muslims invaded the Iberian Peninsula;
In 900 the Chinese use gunpowder;
In 1000 the Chinese use paper currency.

11. In 1143 Portugal becomes an independent kingdom.
Between 1348 and 1350 the Black Death devastates Europe;
In 1415 the Portuguese conquered Ceuta, starting the European Expansion.
In 1453 the Eastern Roman Empire falls (History enters in the Modern Age);
Copernicus’ “Revolutions of the Celestial Orbs”;
In 1455 Gutenberg prints the Bible.

12. In 1492 Columbus arrives in America;
In 1498 Switzerland became a Republic;
In 1500 Cabral arrived in Brazil;
Between 1519 and 1522 the ships of Magellan stroll the planet;
In 1620 the Mayflower arrives in North America;
In 1674 the city of New Amsterdam becomes British, with the name New York.

13. Between 1750 and 1770 begins the Industrial Revolution in England;
In 1766 James Watt introduced his "steam engine";
In 1776 occurs the Declaration of Independence of the United States;
Adam Smith publishes “The Wealth of Nations.”
In 1789 occurs the French Revolution (History enters in the Contemporary Age).

14. In 1819 the steamboat Savannah crosses the Atlantic;
In 1844 Morse made a demonstration of the telegraph;
In 1848, Marx published the Communist Manifesto;
In 1853, a U.S. fleet obliges Japan to accept foreign trade;
In 1859 Darwin published “The Origin of Species.”

15. In 1863 slavery was abolished in the U.S.A.
In 1869 the Suez Canal was opened.
In 1871 Germany was unified.
In 1896 are held the first Olympics of the modern era.
In 1904 the Panama Canal opens.
In 1913 Henry Ford creates the assembly line.
The First World War takes place from 1914 to 1918.

16. In 1917 occurs the Russian Revolution.
In 1929 occurs the “crash” of Wall Street.
In 1933 Hitler came to power.
Between 1936 and 1939 the Spanish Civil War takes place;
The Second World War occurs between 1939 and 1945.
In 1945, atomic bombs devastate Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
In 1947 India became independent;
In 1948 the State of Israel is created.

17. In 1949 is founded the People's Republic of China, state ruled by the Communist Party, under the leadership of Mao Tse-Tung.
In 1953 Watson and Crick established the structure of DNA.
In 1958 starts the European Economic Community.
In 1960 appears the pill;
In 1969 the “Apollo 11” arrives to the Moon .
In 1975 occurs the independence of all the Portuguese colonies in Africa.

18. In 1989 the Berlin Wall is demolished.
In 1990 appears the “World Wide Web”.
In 1991 Russia abandons the "Communism" and returns to its former borders.
In 2001 occurs the September 11 attack on the World Trade Center in New York.
From 2003 to 2010 occurs the invasion and occupation of Iraq.

19. Current Problems Pollution, climate change, population imbalances.
The human population is consuming non-renewable resources at high speed, increasing in number and aging.
Different types of pollution are growing.
Climate is changing, and this change is a huge danger.

20. Final Notes
The facts mentioned in this presentation could be others (many others). This document is only a summary.
This document is intended for use in teaching.

21. Basic Bibliography
A Brief History of the Twentieth Century (Uma Breve História do século XX), Geoffrey Blainey. Lisboa, Dom Quixote, 2009.
Brief History of Nearly Everything (Breve História de Quase Tudo), Bill Bryson. Lisboa, Quetzal, 2004.
Several articles from the Wikipedia.
Site: The Breathing Earth simulation at:
The whole history of the World (Toda a História do Mundo), Jean-Claude Barreau and Guillaume Bigot and The Whole World Geography (Toda A Geografia do Mundo) Lisboa, Teorema, 2008 and 2009.