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9000 BCE
Beginning of Agriculture
The transition from mostly hunting and gathering to farming plants for food. People began deliberately cultivating wheat and barley in the Fertile Crescent. This was possibly due to climate changes, extinction of hunted species, or a bigger demand for food. Once farming took hold and an increased amount of food was produced, it was very hard to go back to only hunting and gathering. -
8000 BCE
Creation of a Token System
To make sure all of the villagers did their share of work, villages started to use clay tokens that were given to the donators of food to the storehouse. The food was used for religious purposes, and the extra food was given to the priests who in turn directed construction of buildings and public works, as well as provided the food for the workers. -
6000 BCE
Pottery Invented
Pottery was invented. Pottery allowed people to store food and drinks for a longer time than before. Pots, dishes and jugs allowed the people to eat more conveniently as well. Much later, countries like Korea started to specialize and sell specific types of pottery such as porcelain. -
4300 BCE
Cities are built
villages started to band together forming towns and cities. People in places like Mesopotamia chose cities over small villages possibly for security. Being in cities also allowed people to be closer to important places and trading centers. Most cities formed near lakes for the reason that a large food supply was needed to keep a city alive. -
3400 BCE
Sumerians invent a writing system
Sumerians started to use a writing system to keep track of the amount payed for a job or the people who payed their tax. Since the temple kept track of the records, the priests controlled a good portion of the economy. This also gave them a good deal of influence and power in villages and cities. -
539 BCE
The Persians conquer the Babylonians
The Babylonian empire fell to the Persians. The city of Babylon was taken by Cyrus, who became the new ruler of the new Achaemenid (Persian) Empire, which extended from Eastern Europe to the Indus Valley at its largest. This empire ended up lasting for more than two centuries until it was conquered by Alexander the Great of Macedonia. -
424 BCE
Acanthus defects to the Spartans
During the Peloponnesian war, as Sparta was advancing against Athens, there was a city called Acanthus, a wine-making city of Macedonia that allied with Athens. Not wanting their crops to get destroyed, the city held a vote and switched alliances, saving their crops. -
212 BCE
The Greeks "Conquer" the Romans through culture
A statement was made by Cato the Elder about how the Romans thought they conquered the Greeks, but in fact, the Greeks have conquered the Romans. In truth when the Romans conquered the Greeks, the Romans decided to adapt the Greek architecture, alphabet and even gods to their own culture, thus becoming much like the Greeks themselves. -
570
Muhammad is born
At around age 40, he became a prophet and founded the religion of Islam. However, his teaching became unpopular in the city of Mecca, so he was forced to leave to the city of Medina where his teachings prospered. By the time of his death, Islam had become the dominant religion in Arabia. -
Sep 7, 732
The Battle of Tours
At the Battle of Tours in France, Charles Martel stopped Muslim advance into Europe. This was very significant because no one else had been able to halt the conquest of the Muslims since they had entered Europe. If the advance was not halted, Islam could have become the dominant religion of Europe. -
Sep 7, 1157
The Chinese begin trade with Europe
The Chinese allowed the Portuguese to establish a trading post on the peninsula of Macao through which gold and silver were exchanged for Chinese trade goods, which included silk and porcelain. This allowed for the people of Europe to interact with the Chinese culture, which has been secluded for many years before. Within some years, due to the profit gained from trading with China, many other countries and merchants sought to trade with China. -
Sep 7, 1430
The Printing Press is invented
The printing press was invented in Europe by Johannes Gutenberg of Germany. This allowed for book publishing to become much easier than before. With the increase of books, knowledge was able to spread much more than it had been able before. This was one of the many inventions and ideas brought over from Cordoba. -
Sep 7, 1440
The enslavement of Africans begins
The Portuguese began to ship black slaves to America for work. They were shipped through what was called The Middle Passage. At first, the Portuguese captured these slaves but later began to buy them from other Africans who did the work for them in return for European goods. The mass enslavement of black Africans was not seen before due to Christian beliefs, but arguments soon emerged that gave access to the business. -
Sep 7, 1492
Discovery of America
Christopher Columbus discovered the New World, which is now modern America. He claimed the area he found for Spain on the notion that the climate was ideal for growing sugar, which was a cash crop. He later came back to enslave the natives but most if not all died due to the diseases brought with him on his earlier voyage. -
Pope Clement VIII gives permision to drink coffee
Not long before his death, Pope Clement VIII declared that coffee was not banned by the Roman Catholic church. This ended disputes all over Europe and allowed for trade and business to increase. Before this declaration, coffee was only used for medical purposes, but now it was publicly allowed to be consumed. -
Charless II restored monarchy to Britian
Charles the second ascended to the English throne with the restoration of monarchy for Great Britain. Before the restoration, Charles was an exiled prince, due to the fact that his father, was tried in the court by the people and deemed guilty, after which, he was killed. However, after Cromwell died, the people asked for the return of monarchy. -
Charles II marries Catherine of Braganza
Charles II of England married Catherine of Braganza, daughter of King John IV of Portugal. This increased the wealth of Britain by a huge amount since the rights to trade with Portuguese possessions in the seas were part of the dowery, as well as a huge amount of gold, tea and two trading posts. This allowed for the British to increase trade with Asia, as well as increase the cultural interaction between Europe and Asia, since there were now more trading partners. -
First Coffee House set up in England
The first coffee house in England was opened by Pasqua Rosee who was a servant of an English merchant. His business soon became a success, which put up angered nearby taverns, who were able, by protesting to the officials to close down the business, and leave the country. However, the idea remained and other people and opened up their own coffee houses. -
Charles II tries to ban coffee houses
Charles the second of England made a decree that coffee houses would be banned. This decree was made due to the fact that the freedom of speech in the coffee houses existed. This allowed for plots, rumors and gossip to start in coffee houses. However, the decree was mostly ignored, until the law had to be canceled to preserve public order. -
Molasses Act created
The Molasses Act was decreed. It put an extra tax on the rum that was produced in the British Colonies, as well as banning the buying of molasses from the French, as it was damaging the sugar business. This law was, however, almost completely ignored, and the trade continued. Although the law was not enforced, many people hated it. This added on to the resentment that eventually started the American Revolution. -
Industrial Revolution begins
Richard Arkright built a spinning machine that made string ready for weaving. This machine did not require a skilled worker and so, was able to be used by the less skilled. This became a pathway for industrialization. Later on, machines replaced the required skilled workers, and allowed for less skilled to be hired for a lower price, with less effort. -
Boston Tea Party
the Boston Tea Party happened when three ships worth of tea cargo was thrown into Boston harbor to rebel against the tea act put in place by the British government. This was one of the first active rebellions against the British. The Boston Tea Party is credited to have been one of the major reasons for the start of the American Revolution. -
American Revolution
After series of laws put in place by the British, the American colonists. decided to rebel. This began the American Revolutionary War between the Americans and the British. During the war, the French formally joined the Americans against the British. Although the British had a major advantage with trained troops and a strong navy, they lost the war in 1781, through surrender -
The French Revolution
The French Revolution was started in a coffee house called "Cafe de Foy" by a young lawyer named Camille Desmoulins. That day many people gathered around the coffee house, to listen to Camille. Some were worried that the army would be sent, but it turned out that the Revolutionaries went and attacked first. -
Opium War
The Opium War was a war that was fought between the British and the Chinese. The British, traded opium for gold and silver close to or inside China, then traded the silver and gold for Chinese goods, thus, basically trading opium for Chinese goods. This caused anger within the Chinese Government And when they sent an officer to stop the trade, it caused anger in the British government, so a war was declared. The British won the war swiftly and resumed trade -
The American Civil War ends
The American Civil war ended with the Confederate loss. With the Union victory, the slaves were freed but were still looked down upon and discriminated. However, the US was reunified into one country again. To decrease the chances of the war happening again, the southern were placed under military rule and were separated into different military regions -
The Great Depression begins
The great depression happened with the stock market crash of wall street. The great depression destroyed international trade and raised the unemployment rate. It halted many industrial and farming businesses. The great depression hit many countries. This caused a great economic issue and the world economy declined. -
Japan attacks Pearl Harbor
The attack on Pearl Harbor happened in which the Japanese attacked the US forces at pearl harbor in Hawaii, before declaring war. The US lost many soldiers and ships due to the surprise attack. This gave a reason for the United States to enter World War II. With this, the victory of the Allies was assured. -
NATO is formed
After WWII, tensions between the US and the Soviet Union escalated. Thus, two alliances were formed. The North Atlantic Treaty Alliance between the US and its European allies and the Warsaw Treaty Organization between the Soviet Union and its allies. With these two alliances formed, the Cold War began. -
The Soviet Union falls
Soviet Union fell, after the loss of the cold war to the United States of America. The Soviet Union split into many different countries, Russia being the largest. Due to the major changes, some former republics of the Soviet Union had trouble surviving by themselves.
