EduNETConnect.com - Time Machine

Please select a historical period:

25 years ago / 50 years ago / 80 years ago / 125 years ago / 150 years ago
250 years ago / 400 years ago / 700 years ago / 1,200 years ago
1,500 years ago / 2,000 years ago / 3,000 years ago / 4,000 years ago / 5,000 years ago / 10,000 years ago

50 Years Ago in Mediterranean

Federico Garcia Lorca, (1898-1936), is probably the best known 20th century Spanish poet and dramatist outside of Spain. His work rich in images, powerfully musical and passionate, and his own tragic death by Franco's Civil Guard at the outset of the Spanish Civil War brought him international recognition. Lorca mixed the folklore of his native Andalusia with his original poetic vision, creating a body of work which seems to appeal to all kinds of readers.

The Spanish Civil War breaks out in 1936 and lasts to 1939. The Spanish fascists began an army revolt led by General Franco. Franco received help from Hitler's Germany and Mussolini's Italy, while the Spanish government forces (called the Republicans) were helped by France and the Soviet Union. There were many foreign volunteers who fought against the fascists, including the Canadian Mackenzie-Papineau Battalion. Franco won the war, and stayed in power until his death in 1975.

Some of the most famous generals of the Second World War made their reputation in the desert campaign in North Africa, 1941-42. The German Erwin Rommel, called the "desert fox", attempted to capture the Suez Canal in Egypt (Egypt was still under effective British control). He was eventually defeated by a British army (including many soldiers from India, Australia, South Africa and New Zealand), under General Bernard Montgomery, nicknamed "Monty".

The Algerian war of liberation begins in 1954 and lasts to 1962, with Algeria winning its freedom from France after much bitter fighting. The war caused a serious political crisis in France.

1952 sees a military revolt against the corrupt King Farouk of Egypt. In 1954, Gamal Nasser becomes leader of Egypt and introduces policies to restore Egypt's prestige.

In July 1956, Nasser attempted to nationalize the Suez Canal--that is he wanted to buy out the French and British owners of the canal and have it owned by the Egyptian government. Nasser guaranteed the freedom of shipping along the canal, but the attempt at nationalization led to a combined invasion by Britain, France and Israel. The Americans condemned the attack, the Soviet Union threatened war, and Britain and France were forced into a humiliating retreat, while UN troops occupied the canal zone.

Erwin Rommel

back to map