20th Century (Early Colonization)

The 20th Century began on January 1, 1901 and ended on December 31, 2000.

1900s
The 1900s lasted from January 1, 1901 to December 31, 1910. In Great Britain in 1901, Queen Victoria's long-lasting reign would finally come to an end. The Queen, nicknamed "the Grandmother of Europe" because of her relationion to the royal families across Europe, ruled Britain when it was marked by great expansion and industrial, cultural, political, scientific, and military progress. Her death marked an end to Britain's greatest era.

In 1903, Virginian brothers Wilbur and Orville Wright shocked the world by building the first successful airplane. The airplane, the Flyer, was flown at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. Virginia immidiantly became interested in the airplane, and established the Virginian Air Force. The force consisted of planes and balloons. Europe soon gained an interest in the airplane as well. Several air forces were established across the continent, including the German Luftstreitkrafte.

For the first half of the 1900s the Chinese city of New Beijing on the western coast of North Brendania was an exciting place to be. The port city, originally a small settlement, grew after gold was discovered all across the coast. The city became home to many gold seekers, as well as many immigrants. Ships from all across the world came to the port, and goods were exported and imported. Then, in 1906, disaster struck. An earthquake struck the city, and the shaking was felt as far north as the colonial border with Russia. The earthquake caused a fire, burning much of the city. An estimated 3,000 people died and 80% of the city was destroyed. The local population, however, rebuilt quickly. The disaster resulted in trade, industry, and population leaving New Beijing for other cities along the coast.

Throughout the decade a naval and arms race existed between the World Powers and the World Entente. In 1906, Great Britain launched the HMS Dreadnought, which gave it a small advantage over the competing Germany navy. Great Britain had the best navy in the world, followed by Scandinavia, Virginia, and Polynesia. Japan and China, both competing for dominance in Manchuria and Korea, tried to outdo each other with better weapons and ships. By the end of the decade neither side could gain and advantage over the other.

In 1904, the Serbia War occured. In May 1903, Serbian King Alexander and his wife were nearly assassinated by a group of army officers led by Captain Dragutin Dimitrijevic Apis. After the coup d'etat failed, a civil war began those supporting Alexander and those supporting Apis. This brought great tension to Europe as Alexander was allied with the Austria-Hungary Empire and Apis was allied with Russia and France. In August 1904, the war still continuing, Austria-Hungary invaded Serbia. Apis and his supporters were defeated, but the empire decided to annex Serbia. Tensions in the Balkans were as high as ever. Russia, however, backed down and allowed Serbia to be annexed.