History Timeline

  • Period: 1337 to 1453

    Hundred Years War

  • Period: 1378 to 1417

    Great Schism of the Catholic Church

    Where two, and eventually three men claimed to be the true pope and subsequently excommunicated each other.
  • Period: 1414 to 1418

    Council of Constance

    A council of the Catholic Church that ended the Western Schism by deposing the papal claimants and electing Pope Martin V.
  • 1420

    Treaty of Troyes

    An agreement that king Henry V of England and his heirs would inherit the French Crown upon the death of King Charles VI of France.
  • 1453

    Ottoman Conquest of Constantinople

    Ended the Byzantine Empire
  • 1453

    Fall of Constantinople

  • 1480

    Spanish Inquisition

    Established by Ferdinand and Isabella, it was intended to maintain Catholic orthodoxy.
  • 1492

    Columbus Lands in the New World

  • 1492

    Jews and Muslims Expelled from Spain - Spanish Inquisition

  • 1492

    Vasco de Gama lands in Goa

  • Period: 1494 to 1559

    Italian Wars

    A series of Renaissance conflicts that involved most of the Italian states as well as France, the Holy Roman Empire, Spain, England and the Ottoman Empire
  • 1498

    Sea Route to India

    Vasco de Game established a sea route to India via the Cape of Good Hope.
  • Period: 1513 to 1517

    Fifth Lateran Council

    A Catholic summons to spiritual reform; among things established: secrecy of the confessional, Real Presence, fixing the number of the sacraments, and enforcement of clerical celibacy. It also required Jews to advertise their religion by an outward sign.
  • 1516

    Jewish Ghetto in Venice

  • 1517

    Martin Luther's 95 Theses

    Beginning of the Protestant Reformation
  • 1519

    Emperor Charles V

    Revitalised the medieval concept of the universal monarchy of Charlemagne, travelling between city without a fixed capital.
  • 1520

    Cortez Takes Mexico

  • 1521

    Edict of Worms

    A decree by Charles V that outlawed Martin Luther both religiously and within the Holy Roman Empire.
  • Period: 1524 to 1526

    German Peasant War

    A widespread revolt in German-speaking areas of Central Europe, but failed because of the aristocracy's intense opposition.
  • 1528

    The of the Courtier

    Publication of Baldassare Castiglione's the Book of the Courtier, which dealt with issues of etiquette, behaviour and morals, particularly at princely or royal courts.
  • 1529

    Protestation of Speyer

    A group of princes and representatives of Imperial Free Cities petitioned against the ban on Martin Luther, and called for the unhindered spread of the evangelical faith.
  • 1531

    Ferdinand I

    Ferdinand I was elected King of the Romans. During his reign, the contest with the Ottoman Empire which began a great advance into Central Europe, and the Protestant Reformation
  • 1534

    Act of Supremacy

    English act of Parliament that recognised Henry VIII as the head of the Church of England
  • 1534

    Luther's German Bible

  • 1540

    Foundation of Jesuits

    The pope confirmed the Society of Jesus, whose members work in education, intellectual research and cultural pursuits.
  • 1545

    Beginning of the Council of Trent (1545 - 1547)

    Last church council until Vatican Council of 1870
  • Period: 1545 to 1563

    Council of Trent

    Prompted by the Protestant Reformation, it has been described as the embodiment of the Counter Reformation
  • 1547

    Battle of Muhlberg

    The Catholic princes of the Holy Roman Empire, led by Charles V, defeated the Lutheran Schmalkaldic League of Protestant princes under John Frederick of Saxony and Philip of Hesse.
  • Period: 1558 to 1559

    Reign of Elizabeth I

  • 1559

    Peace of Cateau-Cambrésis

    An agreement that marked the end of the 65 year struggle between France and Spain for control of Italy, leaving Habsburg Spain the dominant power there.
  • 1559

    Portuguese Crown Authorises Slave Trade

  • Period: 1562 to

    Religious Wars in France

    A prolonged period of unrest between Roman Catholics and Huguenots. Estimated 3 million people died, making it the 2nd deadliest European religious war.
  • 1566

    Beeldenstorm

    Calvinist iconoclastic fury where in Catholic art and church decorations were destroyed as part of the Protestant Reformation
  • 1572

    English Poor Laws

    A system of poor relief that existed until after the Second World War, dated to 1572/1597/1601
  • 1579

    Union of Utrecht

    A treaty that unified the northern provinces of the Netherlands which until then had been under the control of Habsburg Spain in reaction to the Union of Arras where the southern provinces supported Catholic Spain.
  • Edict of Nantes

    Signed King Henry IV of France, the edict gave the Calvinist Protestants of France rights in the "Catholic" nation to try and promote civil unity.
  • Royal Charter for the East India Company

  • Formation fo the Dutch East India Company (VOC)

  • Founding of Jamestown, Virginia

  • Twelve Years' Truce

    A truce between Spain and the Netherlands, which humiliated the Spanish as they were forced to make many concessions for little benefit.
  • Foundation of Amsterdam Bank

  • Spanish Expulsion of Moriscos

    Decreed by King Phillip II, expelled the Moriscos, who were the descendants of Spain's Muslim population who had converted to Christianity.
  • First Romanov Tsar

    Michael I became the first Russian Tsar of the House Romanov after the zemskiy sobor of 1613 elected him to rule the Tsardom of Russia.
  • Period: to

    Thirty Years' War

    One of the most destructive conflicts ever that spanned most of central Europe, it was initially a conflict between Protestant/Catholic states in the Holy Roman Empire, but became more about which group would govern Europe, eventually changing the geopolitical face of Europe.
  • Peace of Prague

    A peace treaty between Habsburg Emperor Ferdinand II and John George of Saxony (Protestant) which effectively ended the civil war aspects of the Thirty Years' War.
  • Period: to

    First and Second English Civil War

    A series of conflicts between Parliamentarians and Royalists over England's governance. First (1642-1646) and the Second (1648-1649) wars pitted the supporters of King Charles I against supporters of the Long Parliament, the Third (1649-1651) was fighting between supporters of King Charles II and supporters of the Rump Parliament, ending with Parliamentarian Victory at the Battle of Worcester.
  • Peace of Westphalia

    A series of peace treaties that largely ended the European religious wars, including the Thirty Years' War. It has been identified as the beginning of the modern international system (arguable).
  • Great Fire of London

  • Period: to

    Franco-Dutch War

    Conflict between the Dutch Republic (Spain/Holy Roman Empire/Denmark) and France (England/Sweden), which begun when France invaded the Netherlands,
  • Edict of Fontainebleau

    An edict issued by Louis XIV of France, which revoked the Edict of Nantes, taking away the religious freedom of Protestants in Catholic France.
  • Act of Toleration

    The Act of Toleration was passed by the English Parliament, which granted freedom of worship to Nonconformists. One of the measures that established the Glorious Revolution.
  • Peace of Utrecht

    A series of peace treaties signed by the belligerents in the War of the Spanish Succession.
  • Last Documented Plague in Europe

  • Catholicism in China

    The Chinese Emperor proscribes Catholicism in China
  • Start of English Agricultural Revolution

  • The Wealth of Nations

    The masterpiece of Adam Smith which offers one of the world's first collected description of what builds nations' wealth and is considered a fundamental work in classical economics.
  • Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen

  • Napoleon Furthers Jewish Emancipation