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Period: Jan 1, 1400 to
AP Euro Timeline
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Jan 1, 1439
New Technology: Printing Press
Created by Johannes Guttenberg in the Holy Roman Empire. The printing press made communication much easier then before. In one work day the printing press could push out over 3000 pages while handwriting would take a lot longer. This device made european lives much easier in the sense that communication to one another was sped up drastically -
Jan 1, 1455
England: War of Roses
The War of Roses was a series of wars for the crown of England between 1455 -1487. Fought between three major houses (York, Lancaster, Plantagenet) England was divided in 3 ways. The conflict spawned from troubles regarding the Hundred Years' War and the weak rule of Henry VI. The final victor came from the House of Lancaster, Henry Tudor -
Oct 18, 1469
Spain: Marriage of Ferdinand and Isabella
The Marriage of Ferdinand and Isabella marked the beginning of the unification of Spain. At the time, the kingdom of Aragon and Castille were the two largest kingdoms in the fragmented spain. When Ferdinand and Isabella married it unified the two creating a mini superpower in Spain.This unification made it easy for the two to take over other smaller kingdoms. So they did. By the end of it, Ferdinand and Isabella had conquered much of spain were close to full unification. -
Jan 1, 1485
England: Seize of Crown by Henry Tudor (Henry VII)
This seize of the throne from Henry Tudor signified the end of the War of Roses, and after a couple years the final unification of England under the throne. -
Mar 31, 1492
Alhambra Decree
Issued by Catholic Monarchs Ferdinand and Isabella, the decree ordered the expulsion of Jewish people from its territories by the end of July. By doing this, Ferdinand and Isabella removed jewish influence within their kingdom making it easier to unify spain through religion and plucking out the other religions.. This decree also removed all of the monarchs' debt since most of the jews owned the banks and dealt with money. -
Sep 9, 1492
Spain: Sponsorship of Christopher Columbus
In 1492, Ferdinand and Isabella sponsored the adventurer Christopher Columbus on his expedition for a shorter route to reach the spice markets in the far east. When he made it to the Bahamas on October 12th, 1492 he mistaked it for outer islands of Japan. This expedition marked the beginning of the huge Spanish Empire. Ferdinand and Isabella sponsored Columbus because they had a ton of free money. With no debt, and new money from taking over territories the monarchs had money to spend. -
May 1, 1497
England: Sponsorship of John Cabot
In 1497, Henry VII sponsored John Cabot to make an expedition to the newly discovered Americas. He left in May 1497 from Bristol and made landfall in late June. This expedition was 5 years after Christopher Columbus' expedition which was sponsored by unified Spain. This shows that Soain was ahead of England in exploration and had unified in the time before England. -
Jan 1, 1502
Spain: Expulsion of the Moors
In 1502 Ferdinand and Isabella gave the muslims an ultimatum, convert to christianity or leave. This ultimatum asserted the power of the monarchs and made it easier to unify under religion. -
Jan 1, 1517
German Ref: Martin Luther's 95 Theses
In 1517, Martin Luther pinned a document on the church doors attacking the practice of selling "indulgences" . This document amassed a ton of popularity and sparked the Protestant Reformation in Germany. This document raised heavy criticism at the church and chipped away at its influence -
Jan 1, 1520
German Ref: Address to the Christian Nobility of the German Nation
A pamphlet published by Martin Luther in 1520. He talked about taking away the influence of the church and asked secular rulers to reform the church. -
Jan 3, 1521
German Ref: Martin Luther's excommunication
Issued by Pope Leo X on January 3rd 1521, Martin Luther was excommunicated as a priest from the catholic church and was condemned for heresy. This excommunication just fueled his popularity and made the church less popular since he was so well liked among people. -
Jan 28, 1521
German Ref: Diet of Worms
Began on January 28th 1521 until May 25th, 1521 in the Holy Roman Empire. This is one of the more memorable diets because it produced the Edict of Worms which addressed the Protestant Reformation. However, the german nobility also addressed the emperor with a list of 102 oppressive church burdens and abuses. This shows how the reputation of the church was beginning to go down in the 16th century. -
Feb 11, 1531
English Ref:The Convocation
On February 11 1531. the Convocation granted Henry VIII the title of being the head of the english church and clergy. This declaration was a strong punch at the church and pope and seperated themselves from the church. This influenced the medieval's church influence decline in England dramatically -
Jan 1, 1558
English Ref: Act of Supremacy
The Act of Supremacy was issued by Elizabeth I and resatblushed the Church of England's independence from Rome and made her the head of it (Supreme Governor of the Church of England). It explicitly rejected pope authority and weakened the influence of medieval church almost completely from England -
New Technology: the Seed Drill
Invented by Jethro Tull in 1701, the seed drill is a sowing device that plants seeds and covers them in soil. Before this new invention, this process had to be done by hand which was not only tedious but backbreaking. Thid new technology made the life of serfs/ sharecroppers much easier to do work and get it done faster. -
New Technology: Spinning Jenny
Created by James Hargreaves in 1764 in England, the Spinning Jenny made producing yarn alot easier and take less work. This invention increased productivity and helped Europeans in the early Industrial Revolution -
Criminal Law: On Crimes and Punishments
A treatise written by Cesare Becarria in 1764. In enlightment mind, it condemned the death penatly and torture. Beccaria's books analyzed the problem of making punishments both effective and just. -
New Technology: Improved Steam Engine
Patented and invented by James Watt in 1765, the improved steam engine utilized a seperate condenser. The improved steam engine was really popular during the Industrial Revolution and this engine was used by Watt to form a booming business. -
EA Catherine: Legislative Commision
In 1767, Catherine created the Legislative Commission in order to code Russia's laws. It served as a basis for her later legal codes. This Commission showed enlightenment ideals as it'smajor purpose was to codify laws, something common in the Enlightenment -
EA Catherine: Instruction to the Commission
Printed in Moscow on August 10 1767 the Instruction was a statement of legal principles written by Catherine the Great. It was printed to serve as a guide to replace the previous code of laws to modern ones. It had a ton of enlightment ideals in it, -
EA Catherine: Statue of Administration of the Provinces
An Imperial Proclamation issued by Catherine the Great in 1775, it reorganized local governments, provinces and districts, and also tried to increase population size in Russia. All of which were enlightment driven. -
EA Joseph: Serfdom Patent
Issued by Emperor Joseph II in 1781, the patent abolished parts of the traditional serfdom system of Habsburg territoried. It allowed the serf to be more free and basically have a social life not governed by landlords -
EA Catherine: The Salt Trade Code and the Code of Commercial Navigation 1781
Issued by Catherine II in 1781 in Russia, the Code regulated salt trade and managed product monopolies throughout Russia, -
EA Catherine: The Police Ordnance
Issued by Catherine the Great in 1782, the ordnance created the Russian police, and made its' guidelines and organization. -
New Technology: Steam Boat
Created by Marquis Claude de Jouffroy in 1783, the steam boat was powered by a steam engine. Although it only lasted 15 minutes, the steam boat started a path which would greatly help travelling among europeans later on. -
EA Catherine: The Statue of Education
An imperial Decree issued by Catherine in 1786, the decree made education of middle and lower class children compulsory. This decree advocated for nationwide education, an enlightment idea. -
EA Joseph: Tax Decree
Joseph II Tax decree of 1789 was very controversial and enlightened. It subjected everyone to land tax and eliminated the robot, the service peasants owed to nobility. This decree was revolutionary and paved the way for equilization in the Habsburg Empire -
New Technology: Modern Semaphore Telegraph
Created in 1792 by Claude Chappe, the telegraph was a device used to send messages over long distancse. The modern semaphore telegraph would pave the way to later on telegraphs and made communication easier among people. -
Women's Life: A Vindication of thw Rights of Woman
Written by Mary Wollenstonecraft in 1792, the book was one of the earlier works of feministic values and enlightenment ideas for women. It attacked Rosseau on holding women back and was a liberal idea of the time -
EA Fred: The General Legal Code for the Prussian States
Known as Allgemeines Landrecht für die preußischen Staaten in German the General Legal Code was promulgated in 1794 under command of Frederick II. It coded Prussian laws and had over 19000 articles. -
New Technology: Modern Cotton Gin
Invented by Eli Whitney in 1793, the modern cotton gin made extracting cotton much easier. It could clean 50 pounds of lint per day, something previous models could not. Although this was invented in america the invention helped Euro peasants and serfs who worked with cotton. It increased their productivity and made life easier -
New Technology: First Successful Vaccine
Developed in 1798 by Edward Jenner, the vaccine was the first successful one and stopped the epidemic of smallpox among europeans. -
New Technology: Arc Lamp
Created by Sir Humphry Davy, the Arc Lamp was the first practical electric light before Thomas Edison's. This lamp was not easy to acquire but still improved european life as it was the starting point to creating better light bulbs. Although the exact day is unexact, it is most commonly said in 1802 -
New Technology: Workable Steamboat
Robert Fulton created the first commerical steamboat called Clermont in 1807.This invention made travelling faster and easier in European life and also expanded water travel in Europe. Although it was created in America it still helped European life. -
2nd Serbian Uprising
The second revolution against the Ottoman Empire by Serbian Rebels, the Uprising began on April 24th, 1815 and lastes until July 26th 1817. It was successful and the Principality of Serbia was established seperating itself from the Ottoman Empire -
Greek War of Independence
A successful rebellion, the Greek War of Independence was waged by Greek revolutionaries against the weakening Ottoman Empire. It lasted until September 12 1829 and the revolutionaries were supposrted by England, France, etc. All who which wanted to see the Ottoman Empire fall -
Vienna Uprising
This Uprising took place in Vienna, Austria right as Austrian troops were leaving to go supress Hungarian nationalist revolutions. Sympathetic people to the Hungarian cause jumped in to stop the troops from leaving. The uprising soon became bloody and scared the government. -
Hapsburg Empire: Francis Joseph becomes Emperor
On December 2nd, 1848 Francis Joseph became emperor of Habsburg lands. This assent to the throne by Francis would mark a period of the government losing power in order to maintain a government and supress rebellion -
Russia: Alexander II becomes Tsar
When Alexander II became tsar on March 2, 1855 ir marked the beginning of a conservative government losing it's power in order too supress uprisings and passing laws that do so. -
Women's Roles: Matrimonial Causes Act
Created in England in 1857 by the Parliament, The Matrimonial Causes Act widened the ability of divorce among women, removed judging of divorce out of church courts and into established ones. -
Hapsburg Empire: February Patent
A letter patent issued by Francis Joseph was a revision of the constitution of Austria and created a bicameral imperialparliament. -
Russia: Polish Rebellion
Beginning on January 22 and lasting until 1864, the Uprising was against the Russian Empire in efforts to become independent from Russia, many were deported to Siberia when captured. This rise of nationalism was creating problems with it's political borders. -
Russia: Reorganization of Local Government
In 1864, Alexander II reformed local government by establishing local councils known as zemstvas. These councils took power away from the tsar and had administrative responsibilities. -
Russia: Abooliton of Serfdom
Published on March 1861 in Russia by Alexander II, the Emancipation Manifesto emancipated the serfs, allowing them to own land and marry who they want, etc. This manifesto was a liberal idea passed from a conservative goverment in order to make it's people happier and less likely to rebel. Although the serfs in the end were still in a bad position it made them more content. -
Otto von Bismarck unifies Germany
From 1866-1871. Otto von Bismarck waged wars wit France, Austria, and Demark to remove their influence from German states. By doing this it was easier to unify Germany using the idea of National Unity. -
Hapsburg Empire: Compromise of 1867
The compromise of 1867 by Francis Joseph created a dual monarchy with Hungary in order to stop rebellion from Magyar nationalists. This formation made the Austrian government lose almost half of it's power. -
Fenian Rising
The Fenian Rising was a rebellion towards British Rule in Ireland created by the Irish Republican Brotherhood. Although unsuccessful, the rising was a precursor to what would be a seperation from England as the Irish Republic. 60 years later in 1916 -
Religion: Letter Concering Toleration
Written by John Locke in 1869 arguing that the government shoulc accept religious toleration in England. The letter also addresses conformity of people should not be of violence -
Woman's Roles: The Subjection of Women
An essay written by John Stuart Mill in 1869, the essay favored equality for women and their right to vote. Written by a man, this essay helped gain footing for the problem. The essay advocated for women's shifting roles. -
Women's Roles: University of London Admitted Women to Obtain College Degrees
In 1878, The University of London allowed women to gain degrees in its school. This event gave many women the right to extend their knowledge tremendously and shifted to the woman's role to one of intellectuality. -
New Technology:First Practical Lightbuld
Created by Thomas Edison in 1879, the first practical lightbulb used electricity to create light. It was one that was practical and could be used by many and soon was. It increased the lives of many Europeans as it brought light to places that didn't have it. -
Women's Roles: Married Woman's Property Act
This Act was commenced by Parliament and helped the women's rights movement dramatically. It allowed married women the right to own and control property by themselves. -
Women's Roles: Union of German Women's Organization Founded
Created as an umbrella orginization for women civil rights in 1894, the orginization existed until Nazi seizure but played a big role in german women's rights.
