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1297
The Magna Carta was signed establishing the foundations of English rights
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1543
Nicolaus Copernicus developed the heliocentric theory
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The Baroque Period began in art, music, and architecture (Bach and Handel were composers)
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The novel became a new form of literature (Miguel Cervantes wrote Don Quixote)
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Johannes Kepler discovered planetary motion
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Galileo used the telescope to support the proof of the heliocentric theory
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All weather roads were created to improve year round transport and trade
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The English Civil War began between the Roundheads (supporters of Parliament) and the Cavaliers (supporters of the King)
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Louis XIV became the king of France
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William Harvey showed that the heart acted as a pump to circulate blood throughout the body
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Oliver Cromwell began his rule of England as the Lord Protector
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Charles I of England was beheaded
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The Restoration of Charles II – the monarchy was put back in control in England
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The Palace of Versailles was built under the reign of Louis XIV
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Peter I became the czar of Russia
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The Westernization of Russia was started by Peter the Great
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Thomas Hobbes published Leviathan – social contract (people give up rights to a strong ruler who maintains order)
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James II became the King of England
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The Age of Reason (the Enlightenment) began
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Isaac Newton published his law of gravity
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William and Mary became the leaders of England (this is referred to as the Glorious Revolution)
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John Locke published Two Treatises on Government - it was his theory of “natural rights” (life, liberty, and property)
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The English Bill of Rights was passed laying out specific rights on Parliament and putting limits on royal power
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Francois-Marie Arouet changed his name to Voltaire and goes on to champion individual freedoms
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St. Petersburg became the capital of Russia under Peter the Great
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Montesquieu published On the Spirit of Laws – detailing separation of powers in government
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The Classical Period began in art, music, and architecture (Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven were composers)
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Jean Jacques Rousseau wrote The Social Contract – free individuals create a society and government
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Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence
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The Constitution was ratified on the United States
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The American Revolution began which was heavily influenced by the Age of Enlightenment
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The Storming of the Bastille was the symbolic start of the French Revolution
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The Bill of Rights (first 10 amendments) was added to the Constitution of the United States
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The French Revolution began having been influenced by the Enlightenment and the American Revolution
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Marie Antoinette was executed at the guillotine
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The Reign of Terror marked a period of mass executions during the French Revolution
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Louis XVI was executed at the guillotine
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Edward Jenner introduced a vaccine to prevent small pox
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Napoleon Bonaparte seized power in France in a coup d’etat
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Eugene Delacroix began the transition of art to the Romantic School