A List of Intriguing World History Essay Topics for High School

High school students should prepare for some bad news: history essays are an integral part of their future. Since history is generally taught through ideas and developments, teachers often assign history essays. While a world history may be a student's first experience of this type of essay, it will not be their last. To get started on the essay, students should consider some of the following topics.

  1. How did the Catholic Church lead European governance during the Middle Ages?
  2. How did the art patronage system work during the Renaissance?
  3. Were the Dark Ages actually a time of cultural regression outside of Europe?
  4. How did small pox influence the colonization of the Americas?
  5. How did the role of peasants in western Europe compare to the role of serfs in Russia?
  6. What impact did Buddhism have on the Chinese empire?
  7. How did geography shape Greek history?
  8. How did World War I directly influence the beginning of World War II?
  9. What factors led to the rise of William the Conqueror as the king of England?
  10. What caused the Panic of 1819 and the first economic downturn of the United States?
  11. What was the role of the Tokugawa shogunate in Japanese history?
  12. Why was the generation following World War I known as the “Lost Generation”?
  13. What role did the Golden Age play in developing Western Civilization?
  14. How did Medieval Canon Law influence the status of marriage?
  15. How did the Industrial Age influence Karl Marx's writing of the Communist Manifesto?
  16. What was the Christmas Truce in World War II and why did it occur?
  17. What was the role of slavery and slave rebellions in Jamaica's past?
  18. How did the Bubonic Plague influence drastic changes in European society?
  19. How did the United States play a role in the creation of Panama?
  20. What brought about the end of apartheid in South Africa?
  21. Were pirates viewed as 16th century Robin Hoods or barbarians while they were alive?
  22. How did the Spanish-American War begin the United States' rise as a colonial power?
  23. Why did the United States force Japan to adopt Article IX in their post-World War II constitution?
  24. What caused Britain to stop using the gold standard following World War I?
  25. How did concepts from the Enlightenment and writers like Rousseau influence the start of the French Revolution?
  26. What role did Pol Pot play in creating modern Cambodia? How did he have a negative impact on the country?
  27. How have Chinese and Japanese relations developed over the centuries?
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