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May 23, 1440
Invention of the Printing Press
The printing press was invented by Johannes Gutenberg, and was used to produce thousands of copies of the bible, spreading it to more people and advancing the reformatin -
Period: 1478 to
The Spanish Inquisition
The Spanish Inquisition was used to root out heretics and punish people who didn't practice Catholicism correctly. It used several torture methods, and terrified citizens in order for Spain to remain completely Catholic -
Oct 12, 1492
Christopher Columbus's Voyage
Christopher Columbus sailed for the Spanish to the New World in the Age of Exploration. He "discovered" the continent of North America and prompted further exploration and colonization -
Sep 6, 1493
The Line of Demarcation
When Spain and Portugal were feuding, the Pope decided to divide the land equally between them so that they wouldn't fight each other. He picked a line, and this line became the Line of Demarcation. Later on, Ferdinand Magellan sailed around the world to prove that all of the world was for Spain -
1498
Voyage to the Spice Islands
In 1498, Vasco da Gama sailed around the coast of Africa to the Indian Spice islands. He was the first to do so and opened up trade routes to Asia, allowing for more wealth to get to Europe -
Jul 16, 1503
Painting of the Mona Lisa
The Mona Lisa was painted by Leonardo DaVinci, who was one of the revolutionary artists during the Renaissance. His work influenced the future of art and engineering during his life and long after his death -
Oct 31, 1517
Posting of the 95 Theses
After Lutheranism had began, Martin Luther, to protest againts corruption, posted 95 theses against indulgences, transubstation, and papal supremacy, to the door of the church in Wittenburg. This was a major eye opener for a lot of people and helped spread the beginning of Lutheranism. -
1519
Contact with Aztecs
A group of Spanish Conquistadors, led by Hernan Cortes, made contact with the Aztec empire at the capital city Tenochtitlán. They met Montezuma and ended up taking advantage of him -
Jul 18, 1519
Beginning of Calvinism
Calvinism was started by a man named John Calvin, in Geneva Switzerland. People who followed this religion believed in predestination. Calvinism was another protestant religion that came to be during the reformation, and helped differ power from the Catholic church -
1521
Fall of Aztecs
When the Spanish Conquistadors came to the New World, they had no regard for the people that lived there before. When Hernan Cortes exploited Montezuma, his people turned angry and stoned him. Without a leader then ended up surrendering. -
Period: Jan 28, 1521 to May 25, 1521
The Diet of Worms
The Diet of Worms was a meeting in the city of Worms, where Charles V excommunicated and outlawed Martin Luther after having a hearing. The structure of Germany allowed Luther to evade capture, and he then translated the bible and became independent -
1528
Contact with Incas
Francisco Pizarro sailed to Biru (Peru) and made contact with the Incan Empire. He and the conquistadors exploited the native and executed the emperor Atahualpa for ransom, causing civil wars and the downfall of the Incan Civilization -
1531
Fall of the Incas
After Francisco Pizarro and his crew had forced Atahualpa into giving them gold in exchange for his life, Pizarro ended up executing him anyway. The Incan civil war was also going on, and without their emperor, the empire fell -
1534
Jacques Cartier voyage
Jacques Cartier was a french explorer and the first person to navigate the Saint Lawrence river. He landed in eastern Canada, and the french presence influenced the Quebec province even til today -
Sep 25, 1534
Beginning of Anglicanism
When the Pope declined Henry VIII's request for a divorce, he decided to break England away from Catholicism entirely in order to remarry, and started the Anglican religion. This was problematic for the Catholic church, as they had lost one of the most important Catholic countries. -
Period: 1536 to
Francis Drake
Francis Drake was a famous privateer of the 16th century who aided Queen Elizabeth in numerous conflicts. He helped England defeat the Spanish Armada and stole Spanish gold from their ships. He also ended up sailing around the entire world while chasing Spanish ships. -
Jun 29, 1545
Beginning of the Counter-Reformation
During the Reformation period, the Catholic church was loosing many followers and power to protestant religions. They then proposed the Counter-Reformation, to solidify doctrines that many protestants were opposed to -
Sep 25, 1555
Peace of Augsburg
The Peace of Augsburg was an agreement with Charles V to allow the lords to choose the religion inside of the area that they own. This furthered the religious tolerance for protestants and divided the power of the Catholics. -
1556
The Abdication of Charles V
When Charles V of Spain became king, he ruled over most of the discovered land on earth. All of that power ended up being too much for one person, so he divvied up the land to his son and brother, leading to less centralized nations. -
Period: May 24, 1559 to Aug 7, 1571
The Elizabethan Comprimise
After Mary Tudor died, Elizabeth I took the throne and converted England back to Anglicanism. She has a more religiously tolerant approach, and starts the Elizabethan comprimise, which allows conversion to Anglicanism but prohibits conversion to Catholicism. Over time, this leads to more members of the Anglican religion. -
Aug 23, 1572
Bartholomew's Day Massacre
The Saint Bartholomew's Day Massacre was a mass murder of French Calvinists (Huguenots) on the day of the wedding of Henry of Navarre and Margaret de Medici. This greatly diminished the hopes of many French Protestants in having a protestant led country. -
The Spanish Armada
The Spanish Armada was a fleet of ships sent by King Phillip II to escort the Spanish soldiers from the Netherlands to England in order to invade. The armada was ultimately defeated by Francis Drake and disrupted the balance of power by bankrupting Spain -
Period: to
The Edict of Nantes
The Edict of Nantes was passed by Henry IV, formerly Henry of Navarre, who converted to catholicism, and granted religious freedom to the Huguenots. This was a very successful edict; it prevented civil wars and lasted 87 years. -
Period: to
The 30 Years War
The 30 Years War was a religious war between the Habsburgs and the Holy Roman Empire. It was one of the most destructive wars with over 5 million casualties. It ended with the Peace of Westphalia and forced protestants into Catholicism -
Dutch East India Company
The Dutch East India Company was set up as a monopoly, and controlled many of the Asian spice islands. It gained so much money and power that it was able to make independent militant decisions from the country it belonged to. -
Period: to
The Reign of Louis XIV
Louis XIV was the longest reigning monarch of France, with a reign of 72 years. During his time as king, he made many efforts to decentralize France, built the Palace of Versailles, and had several other influential accomplishments. -
The Execution of Charles I
In an attempt to get rid of parliament, Charles I took his army to their doorsteps and started a civil war, with characters such as cavaliers (divine right) and roundheads (parliament army). He ended up losing this battle and was sentenced to death, leading to the rule of the Commonwealth. Later, when Charles II became king, he sentenced all the members of parliament that chose to execute his father to death. -
Period: to
The Commonwealth
When Charles I lost against parliament and was executed, the Commonwealth started, led by Oliver Cromwell and the Calvinist movement. It got rid of the House of Lords and stated that parliament was their only government. Over time they felt that this was not the best way to govern and eventually called a monarch back to rule alongside parliament. -
The Glorious Revolution
When English parliament no longer wanted a Catholic monarch after the commonwealth period, they called on William and Mary of the Netherlands to invade and get rid of James II. William and Mary's armies arrived, and James fled the country, allowing them to become the new rulers. Not a single shot was fired during this uprising -
Bill of Rights
After the Glorious Revolution, William and Mary passed the Bill of Rights, which made parliament more on level with the monarchs and allowed any religion but Catholicism. This led to England having a constitutional monarchy, which they still have today.