The American war against British imperial rule (1775-1783) was the world's first great popular revolution. Ideologically defined by the colonists' Declaration of Independence in 1776, the struggle has taken on a mythic character and become emblematic of American national identity.
Martin Luther pinned his Ninety-Five Theses to the door of All Saints' Church in Wittenberg he shattered foundations of western Christendom. The Reformation of doctrine and practice that followed Luther's seismic action, and protest against sale of indulgences, fragmented the Church and overturned previously accepted certainties and priorities.