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1453 BCE
Silk Route Trade
The Silk Road was a network of trade routes connecting China and the Far East with the M.E. and Europe. Established when the Han Dynasty in China officially opened trade with the West in 130 B.C., the routes remained in use until 1453 A.D., when the Ottoman Empire boycotted trade with China and closed them. Although it's been nearly 600 years since the Silk Route has been used for international trade, the routes had a lasting impact on commerce, culture and history that resonates even today. -
1275
Marco Polo
Marco Polo returned to Venice again via the Silk Road routes, in 1295, just as the Mongolian Empire was in decline. His journeys across the Silk Road became the basis for his book. The Travels of Marco Polo, which gave Europeans a better understanding of Asian commence and culture. -
1453
Fall of Constantinople
After ten centuries of wars, defeats, and victories, the Byzantine Empire came to an end when Constantinople fell to the Ottoman Turks in May 1453. The city’s fall sent shock waves throughout Christendom. It is widely quoted as the event that marked the end of the European Middle Ages. -
The British Raj
The Raj was the era of British rule in Indian. The Hindi word Raj means “rule”. The administration of India was carried out by a government agency called the ICS (Indian Civil Service). The British East India Company became responsible for governing and maintaining order in the territories it controlled. Such stability was essential for the conduct of trade, which remained the Company's primary objective. -
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Seven Years War
The Seven Years War, a global conflict known in America as the French and Indian War, officially begins when England declares war on France. However, fighting and skirmishes between England and France had been going on in North America for years. -
Anglicists
English became the official language of higher education. Anglicists wanted reform in Indian government and society. Opposite of Orientalists. -
Siege of Cawnpore
Cawnpore was an important town for the East India Company forces. There were 900 British in Cawnpore (including military and civilians). The sepoys joined the war against the East India Company on June 5th. Women and children were captured and killed -
End of British Rule
In result of the Sepoy Mutiny, the British ended their rule of the East India Company in 1858. They decided that the British government would rule India directly. The British moved away from policies which angered the Indians, but distrust still continued. -
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Indian Civil Service
The Indian Civil Service (ICS) was the higher civil service of the British Empire in British India. They were responsible for overseeing every piece of government activity that happened in their area of rule. Almost all of the members were from Britain but by 1905 five percent were from Bengal. -
French Indochina
France declared a protectorate over Cambodia. In the 1890s the French created another new protectorate, Laos, out of small principalities between Vietnam and Cambodia. These three protectorates--Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos--became known as French Indochina. -
Gandhi's Father's Death
At the age of 16, Gandhi was sitting by his sick father at night. Eventually, he decided that he was going to go sleep with his wife instead of staying with his ill father. When he went up to be with his wife who was pregnant, his father sadly passed away. Gandhi felt terrible and like a failure and this led him to feel more of a duty and obligation. -
Gandhi gets kicked off train
In England, Gandhi bought a first class train ticket and proceeded to go on the train. He was rudely asked to move back to 3rd class because of his skin color. When he refused, he was beaten and thrown off the train. He ended up staying on the train platform for the remainder of the night and stated that it was one of the most creative experiences of his life. He eventually boarded another train and realized how terrible the treatment of the Indians was and that he needed to stay and help. -
Zulu Rebellion
The Zulu Rebellion, also know known as the Bambatha Rebellion, was the revolt against British rule and taxation in Natal, South Africa.
Gandhi encouraged Indians to serve for the British army and pushed for the British army to accept them. He stated that Indians should get involved in the war efforts in order to prove their claims to full citizenship. The British, in the end, refused to accept the Indian soldiers. Gandhi stated that this showed him oppression in a new light -
Muslim League Formation
The goals were to protect the interests, liberties, and rights of Muslims and promote an understanding between the Muslim community and other Indians--discourage violence. Muslims mistrusted Hindu domination of the INC.. The Lucknow Pact of 1916 was an agreement reached between the INC and the Muslim League. -
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World War 1
World War I began in 1914, after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, and lasted until 1918. During the conflict, Germany, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria and the Ottoman Empire (the Central Powers) fought against Great Britain, France, Russia, Italy, Romania, Japan and the United States (the Allied Powers). India contributed 1.5 million volunteer soldiers to fight for the Allies. -
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Spanish Flu
Between 1918 and 1920, an estimated 18 million Indians lost their lives to influenza or its complications, making India the focal point of the disaster in terms of mortality. -
Amritsar Massacre
In Amritsar, India’s holy city of the Sikh religion, British and Gurkha troops massacre at least 379 unarmed demonstrators meeting at the Jallianwala Bagh, a city park. Mostly Indian nationalists and also children were killed. A few days earlier, in reaction to a recent escalation in protests, Amritsar was placed under martial law and handed over to British General Dyer, who banned all assembly in the city. They only stopped firing when they ran out of bullets. -
The Salt March
A British law claimed that the British had the sole right to produce and sell salt in India. Gandhi wrote to Viceroy stating his intent to break the law. With 78 followers he marched 240 miles to the sea. By the time he reached the sea, thousands of people had joined the march. The protesters boil up salt water to make illegal salt – a symbolic act of defiance against British rule. -
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World War 2
The biggest and deadliest war in history, involving more than 30 countries. Sparked by the 1939 Nazi invasion of Poland, the war dragged on for six bloody years until the Allies defeated Nazi Germany and Japan in 1945. India contributed 2.5 million volunteer soldiers to fight for the Allies. -
Quit India Speech
Gandhi plans a non-violent protest demanding that the British “Quit India” for good. The entire congress and Gandhi were arrested. Gandhi was 73 and in failing health. He spent the next two years in prison and his wife dies before his release. Violent protests calling for Gandhi’s release erupt across the country. A year later, Britain admits to not having the resources to rule India. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wTNARKHIK8Y -
Bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
American B-29 bomber dropped the world’s first deployed atomic bomb over the Japanese city of Hiroshima; Explosion wiped out 90% of the city and immediately killed 80k people; tens of thousands more died of radiation exposure. 3 days later, a second B-29 dropped another A-bomb on Nagasaki, killing about 40k people. Japan’s Emperor Hirohito announced unconditional surrender in World War II in a radio address on August 15, citing the devastating power of “a new and most cruel bomb.” -
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The Cold War
From 1945 to 1991, the Cold War dominated international affairs. The global competition between the United States and the Soviet Union took many forms: political, economic, ideological, cultural. At times the constant arms race burst into armed conflict. But overshadowing all was the threat of nuclear war. -
Formation of Pakistan
As British rule there drew to an end, many Muslims demanded, in the name of Islam, the creation of a separate Pakistan state. The partition was set forth in the Indian Independence Act 1947 and resulted in the dissolution of the British Raj, as the British government there was called. The two self-governing countries of Pakistan and India legally came into existence at midnight on 14–15 August 1947. -
The Partition Of India
The Partition of India was when India finally gained independence after 350 years from the British due to the rising tensions between the Hindus and Muslim. The partition of India eventually led to the creation of Pakistan and India. 12.5 million people were displaced due to this. 500,000 killed or injured in riots and religious attacks; however, Gandhi ended this by refusing to eat until the violence ended. -
Independence of New Delhi
India celebrates independence in New Delhi and the partition takes place two days later. Gandhi says he only sees "rivers of blood". -
Death of Gandhi
78-year-old Gandhi walked to daily prayer meeting. A young Hindu man in the crowd bowed to Gandhi and shot him three times. Gandhi’s last word was “Rama” which is the Indian word for God -
Formation of Bangladesh
Before Independent India, 1947 both Pakistan and East Bengal (now Bangladesh) were the part of Indian Princely States. Bangladesh emerged as an independent nation in 1971 after achieving independence from Pakistan in the Bangladesh Liberation War.
