a brief
scroll down 
history of
9.000 bc
Power Strictly Paternal
Authority rarely makes it beyond the family or tribe, no human was able to exercise long-term control over others.
Parental power, or paternalism, limits liberty of a person or group of people often for their own good.
3.500 bc
First Sumerian Civilizations
Some the earliest civilizations begin to appear in Mesopatamia loacated in modern day Iraq.
Sumerian civilizations had no known code of law, as a result authority remained largely within small tribes.
3.100 bc
Egypt
Emerges
The first pharoah of Egypt unifies a large portion of Northern Africa, Egypt lasts nearly 3,000 years.
Egypt is an example of an early dynastic rule, as well as the first instance where power was concentrated enough to contol slaves.
2.100 bc
Code of
Ur-Nammu
The oldest known code of law from Mesopotamia, written in the Sumerian language.
The code was also the first instance of monetary fines for bodily damage, along with capital punishment for murder, robbery and adultery.
1.500 bc
Ten
Commandments
After being expelled from Egypt, Moses divinely creates the Ten Commandments
The Commandments where similiar to past codes such as Ur-Nammu, although incurring the idea of “an eye for an eye.”
for an
8.000 bc
Neolithic
Revolution
The development of agriculture allowed for denser populations, creating the first civilizations.
4.000 bc
Wheel Invented
3.200 bc
Writing Invented
735 bc
Roman
Kingdom
The Roman Kingdom was the first of three Roman civilizations, initially controlling portions of Italy and later controlling most of Europe.
The Roman Kingdom initially operated as a monarchy with an appointed senate by the first ruler, Romulus.
700 bc
Greek
City-State
Several hundred independent Greek City-States created a unique governmental structure, with distinct and decentralized governments as well as unifications of Greek cultural identity.
Athens also provided the first example of democracy, which many other city-states implemented.
500 bc
Roman
Republic
The Republic replaced the Monarchy with citizen-elected consuls, and a complex constitution that dealt with the seperation of powers as well as checks and balances.
Public offices where also limited to one year, so that no single individual wielded absolute power.
27 bc
Roman
Empire
An autocratic government replaced the Roman Republic with power centralized under one monarch who could declare war and held religious authority.
Using Military strength and harsh violence the Empire extended it’s size expanding to Northern Africa, Spain, and parts of the Middle East.
“In a democracy the poor will have more power than the rich, because there are more of them, and the will of the majority is supreme”
Aristotle
330 ad
Byzantine
Empire
The Byzantine Empire succeeded the Roman Empire taking much of Eastern Europe and lasting nearly 1,000 years.
As a monarchy the Byzantine Empire had a sole emperor who was believed to have divine power, with a senate that served as an advisory.
800 ad
the
Church
Christianity begins to accumulate power with the formation of an early papacy.
Power being split between monarchs and popes often lead to a power struggle between the state and the church.
1215 ad
Magna
Carta
As a response to royalty ruled states, subjects of England forced the king to sign the first document of its kind that limited his powers.
The Magna Carta eventually led England to constitutional law or the separation of powers into executive, legislative and judicial.
1470 ad
the Spanish
Inquisition
The church as well as the Monarchy of Spain forced Musllim and Jewish people in mass to convert to Christianity or leave.
Officials confiscated a great deal of wealth from converted Jews and others tried by the Inquisition, which could be seen as being devised simply to rob people.
1648 ad
Peace of
Westaphalia
The Peace of Westaphalia was a series of treaties that ended the thirty years wars, which included most of the countries in Europe.
The Peace of Westaphalia Lead to the rise of the Nation-State in Europe as well as notions of citizenship and nationalism.
1000 ad
Feudalism
A structure of society that flourished for 600 years, seperating society into three classes, lords, vassels and fiefs.
1350 ad
Black Death
One of the most devastating pandemics in human history, killing 75-200 million as a result of increased trade and poor sanitation.
1400 ad
Renaissance
A cultural movement that profoundly affected European intellectual life influencing literature, philosophy, art, music, politics, science and religion.
1440 ad
Invention of the
Printing Press
Gutenburgs invention of the
printing press, allowing for the wider distribution of knowledge.
“Laws are always useful to those who possess and injurious to those that have nothing”
Jean-Jacques Rousseau
1790 ad
French
Revolution
As a result of enlightenment thinking and the success of the revolution in the Americas. The French Revolution peaked in the storming of the Bastille and resulted in a new constitution.
Old ideas about tradition and hierarchy regarding monarchs, aristocrats, and the Catholic Church were abruptly overthrown under the mantra of "Liberté, égalité, fraternité," meaning liberty, equality and fraternity.
1804 ad
Napoleon
Following ten years of revolutionary war Napoleon staged a coup taking power and appointing himself emperor. Napoleon exteneded the French Empire as far as Moscow before being defeated.
As is common in history, revolutions often lead to the rule of an even stronger power.
1865 ad
American Civil War
Besides resulting in the Emancipation Proclamation and freeing of slaves, the Civil War strengthened federal and centralized government in the U.S
The Civil War was also one of the first industrial wars with the extensive use of railroads, the telegraph, steamships, and mass produced weapons.
1890 ad
Battle of
Wounded Knee
The Massacre marked the end of the American Indian Wars, in which Native Americans where removed from their lands in order for the federal government to claim territories from coast-to-coast.
Reservations created for Native Americans today often have high rates of alcoholism, suicide, and poverty, and the lowest life expectancies in the U.S
1804 ad
Industrial Revolution
Transition from hand-made means of production to industrial. The Industrial Revolution affected nearly every aspect of daily life in some way, creating new social classes such as the worker as well.
1804 ad
Haitian Revolution
The only example of a slave revolt leading to the formation of a state. However following the revolt a vast difference in wealth and two distinct classes remained.
“Is a democracy, such as we know it, the last improvement possible in government?”
Henry David Thoreau
1922 ad
Mussolini
takes power
The first instance of Fascism, which was based on totalitarian government, nationalism, and an organized minority ruling a disorganized majority.
Fascism firmly implemented methods of hierarchal organization with placement of some above others.
1933 ad
Nazi
Germany
Following political and economic unrest Adolf Hitler instituted a fascist-totalitarian state that implemented harsh racial laws against minorities.
Nazi Germany was considered more succesful in implementing a totalitarian police state then Mussolini and Italy.
1936 ad
Spanish
Civil War
Republicans in Spain fought military based Fascists in defense of the established Spanish Republic. The Fascists were victorious installing Franco as a dictator until 1975.
The civil war saw a clash in political ideologies such as communism, fascism and anarchism.
1960 ad
European
Free Trade
The formation of the European Union sought to bring together Europe economically and politically.
1980 ad
Global
Capital
By relocating to low-wage states, and perpetuating global income in-equality capitalism has spread it’s sphere of influence well beyond the confines of western and developed nations.
The formation of the Eurozone has both unified and split Europe, with severe economic crisis' in Spain and Greece
1914 ad
World
War One
Fervent nationalism in Europe mounted into the First World War, which resulted in the elimination of Ottomon and Austria-Hungarian Empires as well as vast territorial and economic losses in both Germany and Russia.
1930 ad
the Great
Depression
A worldwide economic succession that resulted in the emergence of new political ideologies such as communism and fascism.
1939 ad
World
War Two
The Second World War greatly altered political alignment and social structure of the World. It resulted in the creation of the United Nations and the beginning of the Cold War with the emergence of the Soviet Union and the U.S as super powers
1955 ad
Civil Rights
Movement
A worldwide movement ensuring that the rights of all people where equally protected by the law.
“The greatest purveyor of violence
in the world – My own Government,
I can not be Silent.”
Martin Luther King Jr.
1969 ad
Moon
Landing
1989 ad
Fall of the
Berlin Wall
Over
Imprisonment
The U.S imprisonment rate has quardupled since 1980 reaching the highest rate of imprisonment of their own citizens in the world. Incarcerating 754 per 100,000 people.
Among many other issues with the prison system: Crime-rate is similiar regardless of race, however the rate of imprisonment of African-Americans and Latinos being much higher then that of White Americans, resulting in societal repression or a form of new-age discrimination.
Big
Data
The internet is changing how we think about privacy everyday. Internet giants cash in on massive amounts of it's users information, which can be shared with big businesses and government agencies.
By violating privacy, Big Data is emerging as a new form of power that is frighteningly reminiscent of George Orwell's 1984.
the Internet
the Internet has had a tremendous impact on modern society, completely restructuring how we communicate and interact. It also acts as a valuable political tool, giving an outlet for the people to voice opinions.
“To be ruled is to be kept an eye on.”
Joseph Proudhon
the more you know.
Amore comprehensive understanding of authority and autonomy on small and large scales influences our ability to move forward as individuals and as a community; taking steps away from power-over and moving towards power-to.
Admittedly, the depiction of human history in this project is euro-centric and western in it's approach. There is a great deal that has been left out, although many of the same themes are persistent across cultures and history.
This site was built as part of a thesis project in design and digital media at Champlain College in 2013.
Typefaces include Spezia & Spezia Serif by Luzitype.
