1490s: Austria is a duchy within the Roman Empire, ruled by the hereditary Habsburg dynasty. Frederik III is archduke of Austria until his death in 1493, when his son, Maximilian I, succeeds him.

1900s: Austria is a part of the Austria-Hungary Dual Monarchy, ruled by Franz Joseph, a descendent of the Habsburg dynasty.

Today: Austria is an independent democratic nation with a parliamentary system of government, based on the constitution of 1920 (revised in 1929).

1490s: The continents now known as the Americas have been inhabited for centuries by many different peoples with many different languages. After Christopher Columbus's venture to the "New World" is completed in 1492, western European cultures begin to establish settlements in the Americas.

1900s: The United States of America is a democratic nation, based on the Constitution of 1776. All adult males have the right to vote. Due to the aggressive policies of the...