Absolutism Enlightenment Revolution Timeline

By CommonW
  • 1491

    Isabella & Ferdinand unify Spain

    Isabella & Ferdinand unify Spain
    By their marriage in October 1469, Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella of Castile initiated a confederation of the two kingdoms that became the basis for the unification of Spain.
  • Period: 1509 to 1547

    Henry VIII reigns in England

    He was a powerful and charismatic person and possibly best known for his extensive love life and the establishment of the Church of England.
  • Period: 1558 to

    Elizabeth I reigns England

    She was very well-educated, fluent in five languages, and had inherited intelligence, and had determination and shrewdness from both parents. Her 45-year reign is generally considered one of the most glorious in English history.
  • Edict of Nantes

    Edict of Nantes
    effectively ended the French Wars of Religion by granting official tolerance to Protestantism
  • Period: to

    Sabastian Bach height of his career

    He reached the height of his career during the Baroque Era, and he is sometimes considered "the composer of the Baroque Era".
  • Don Quixote is published

    Don Quixote is published
    Don Quixote is thought to explore the balance between reality and imagination, realism and idealism, and the human's grappling with inevitable death.
  • Period: to

    Thirty Years War

    a 17th-century religious conflict fought primarily in central Europe.
  • Petition of Right signed

    Petition of Right signed
    asked for a settlement of Parliament's complaints against the King's non-parliamentary taxation and imprisonments without trial, plus the unlawfulness of martial law and forced billets
  • Period: to

    Louis XIV reigns as king of France

    succeeded his father, Louis XIII, as king at the age of five
  • Peace of Westphalia is signed

    Peace of Westphalia is signed
    this ended the thirty year war
  • Period: to

    Charles II reigns England

    His political adaptability enabled him to guide his country through the religious unrest between Anglicans, Catholics, and dissenters.
  • Period: to

    Peter the Great reigns as czar of Russia

    He was determined that Russia should become and remain a great European power.
  • Glorious Revolution

    Glorious Revolution
    Within 30 years of Charles II's restoration to the throne in 1660, England was once again on the verge of civil war
  • John Locke publishes “Two Treatises of Government”

    John Locke publishes “Two Treatises of Government”
    This was worked on quite a while before it was published by John Locke. In it, Locke proposed that the government emerges from the consent of the government to protect their natural rights.
  • English Bill of Rights signed

    English Bill of Rights signed
    established that the monarchy could not rule without consent of Parliament. this is what the English bill of rights is, and when it was signed
  • Daniel Dafoe published “Robinson Crusoe”

    Daniel Dafoe published “Robinson Crusoe”
    tells the 'true story', narrated retrospectively in the first person, of a young Englishman who, against the wishes of his parents, sets sail on a dangerous sea voyage
  • Jonathan Swift publishes “Gulliver’s Travels”

    Jonathan Swift publishes “Gulliver’s Travels”
    Travels into several Remote Nations of the World
  • Period: to

    Frederick II reigns Prussia

    this was a guy that ruled Prussia
  • Baron de Montesquieu published "The Laws of Spirit"

    Baron de Montesquieu published "The Laws of Spirit"
    "The Spirit of Laws" is about a comparative study of three types of government republic, monarchy, and despotism.
  • Denis Diderot publishes his “Encyclopedia”

    Denis Diderot publishes his “Encyclopedia”
    The Encyclopédie, Ou Dictionnaire Raisonné Des Sciences, Des Arts Et Des Métiers
  • Period: to

    Seven Years War

    a conflict between France and Great Britain that began in 1754 as a dispute over North American land claims in the region around Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
  • Voltaire publishes “Candide”

    Voltaire publishes “Candide”
    satirical novel
  • Period: to

    George III reigns England

    Under George III Britain lost America, but resisted the French under Napoleon Bonaparte. Britain also prospered, industrialization exploded at home and colonies abroad expanded.
  • Period: to

    Catherine Great reigns Russia

    Catherine the great ruled over Russia, she was the long female to ever rule Russia (34 years)
  • Period: to

    Joseph II reigns Austria

    He implemented numerous reforms in the Hapsburg Monarchy, some of them far-reaching, in the name of 'usefulness'.
  • Boston Massacre

    Boston Massacre
    a street fight that occurred on March 5, 1770, between a "patriot" mob, throwing snowballs, stones, and sticks, and a squad of British soldiers
  • Boston Tea Party

    Boston Tea Party
    American colonists were angry with the British government for "taxation without representation" and dumped tea imported from another country into the harbor.
  • Intolerable Acts

    Intolerable Acts
    a series of four laws passed by the British Parliament to punish the colony of Massachusetts Bay for the Boston Tea Party
  • The Battle of Lexington and Concord

    The Battle of Lexington and Concord
    This was the battle that marked the start of the American War of Independence
  • Adam Smith published “Wealth of Nations”

    Adam Smith published “Wealth of Nations”
    The central thesis of "The Wealth of Nations" is that our individual need to fulfill self-interest results in societal benefit.
  • Declaration of Independence signed

    Declaration of Independence signed
    The Declaration of Independence was signed by delegates at the Pennsylvania State House, later known as Independence Hall.
  • Battle of Yorktown

    Battle of Yorktown
    Cornwallis' surrender at Yorktown effectively ended the Revolutionary War. Lacking the financial resources to raise a new army, the British government allowed the Americans to have peace.
  • Treaty of Paris

    Treaty of Paris
    France gave up all its territories in mainland North America, effectively ending any foreign military threat to the British colonies there.
  • Tennis Court Oath

    Tennis Court Oath
    the National Assembly swore not to stop meeting until France had a constitution
  • Declaration of the Rights of Man

    Declaration of the Rights of Man
    Liberty, Property, Safety and Resistance to Oppression to any man
  • Declaration of the Rights of Woman

    Declaration of the Rights of Woman
    Written in response to the Declaration of the Rights of Man to show that women have rights just as much as men do.
  • Mary Wollstonecraft publishes “A Vindication of the Rights of Woman”

    Mary Wollstonecraft publishes “A Vindication of the Rights of Woman”
    This book states clearly that when society gives women more rights, it is fairer and women can equally contribute to the world alongside men.
  • National Convention Formed

    National Convention Formed
    The National Convention was the French First Republic for the the whole duration of the French Revolution.
  • Period: to

    Radical Phase (French Revolution)

    Initially, the monarchy was abolished and a republic was established. War continued throughout Europe. After the radicals gained control, those who were against the revolution were subject to arrest or execution.
  • Period: to

    Reign of Terror (French Revolution)

    The Reign of Terror (French: la Terreur) was a period of the French Revolution when, following the creation of the First Republic
  • Committee of Public Safety created

    Committee of Public Safety created
    defend the nation against foreign and domestic enemies, as well as to oversee the new functions of the executive government
  • Period: to

    Five Man Directory created

    France was ruled by a five-man executive committee called the Directory and a legislature of two chambers: the Council of Five Hundred and the Council of Ancients
  • Napoleon Bonaparte becomes Emperor

    Napoleon Bonaparte becomes Emperor
    seizing political power in France in a 1799 coup d'état
  • Battle of Austerlitz

    Battle of Austerlitz
    The Battle of Austerlitz was one of the most important and decisive engagements of the Napoleonic Wars. The battle occurred near the town of Austerlitz in the Austrian Empire.
  • Battle of Trafalgar

    Battle of Trafalgar
    The British were keen to destroy the Franco-Spanish fleet, which the believed posed a threat to the British security and
    dominance of the seas.
  • Battle of Leipzig

    Battle of Leipzig
    The Coalition armies of Austria, Prussia, Sweden, and Russia decisively defeated the Grande Armée of French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte.
  • Napoleon exiled to Elba

    Napoleon exiled to Elba
    Napoleon Bonaparte is banished to the Mediterranean island of Elba.
  • Period: to

    Congress of Vienna

    The Congress of Vienna was a series of international diplomatic meetings to discuss and agree upon a possible new layout of the European political and constitutional order after the downfall of the French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte.
  • Napoleon exiled to St. Helena

    Napoleon exiled to St. Helena
    after he was defeated by the British at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815
  • Jean Jacque Rousseau publishes “Social Contract”

    Jean Jacque Rousseau publishes “Social Contract”
    people could only experience true freedom if they lived in a civil society that ensured the rights and well-being of its citizens