The 1910s: A Decade of Global Collapse, Revolution, and the End of Empires

History · Published 3 October 2026 · Updated 25 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: The 1910s were defined by the violent disintegration of centuries-old monarchies and the birth of a new world order. From the assassination of an archduke to the rise of the first socialist state, the decade shattered conservative lifestyles and permanently altered the map of Europe and Asia through total war.

The decade began with the climax of European militarism, which reached a breaking point on June 28, 1914, when the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand triggered the outbreak of World War I. This conflict, lasting until November 1918, led to the collapse of four major empires: the Russian, German, Ottoman, and Austro-Hungarian. The subsequent Treaty of Versailles in 1919 redrew borders, creating new nations like Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, and Poland, though these states often struggled with internal ethnic tensions.

Beyond the battlefield, the 1910s were a period of profound political upheaval. The Xinhai Revolution ended 2,000 years of imperial rule in China, while the Mexican Revolution ousted dictator Porfirio Díaz, initiating a decade-long civil war. In Russia, the 1917 October Revolution overthrew the Tsarist autocracy, resulting in the execution of the Romanov family and the establishment of the Soviet Union. Meanwhile, the Armenian genocide saw between one and one-and-a-half million deaths, and the Jallianwala Bagh massacre in 1919 became a catalyst for the Indian independence movement.

The era also witnessed significant societal and institutional shifts. In the United States, the Federal Reserve Act of 1913 established a central bank, and the Eighteenth Amendment introduced Prohibition in 1919. Global population grew from 1.75 to 1.87 billion, despite the devastation of war and events like the 1912 sinking of the Titanic, which claimed 1,517 lives. By the end of the decade, the world had moved from the ballroom-themed conservatism of 1910 to a fractured, revolutionary landscape that would dictate the course of the 20th century.

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