2016-08-10 - Histories of Countries

I am fascinated by the history of countries. The course of events that lead to the current situation. The critical points that drastically changed how a country worked. The impact countries have on each other. It's interesting because there is just so much that has happened in the very short span of human history.

For example did you know that Greece was once under control of the Turks? That Italy was only unified in the 1800s? That France is in it's fifth republic? That Spain was once a Muslim country and that the Netherlands were once controlled by Spain? That Austria was almost a part of Germany but didn't join because it would have meant giving up its non-Germanic territories? That Poland and Lithuania were once united as the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth?

I'd really like to spend some time researching the history of countries and maybe doing some writing on the subjects. I really like computers and programming but I would also like to learn about other things.