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Jan 1, 1400
The Stone Age
(Before the birth of Christ) The earliest Europeans were hunters and gatherers. On the walls of some caves they made wonderful paintings of hunting scenes. Eventually, the learnt farming and began breeding animals, growing crops and living in villages.
People made their weapons and tools from stone. In this picture is a flint tool from the Stone Age. -
Feb 10, 1425
The Bronze and Iron Ages
(3000-600BC) Before the birth of Christ, people discovered how to get different metals by heating different kinds of rock in very hot fire. Bronze- a mixture of copper and tin, was hard enough for making tools and weapons. Gold and silver were soft but very beautiful and could be shaped into ornaments.
Later, an even harder metal was discovered; iron. The best kind of metal was steel, which was strong and didn't easily break, so it made good swords.
This is a bronze axe head. -
Mar 20, 1450
Ancient Greece
(2000-200BC) In Greece about four thousand years ago, people began to build cities. At first they were ruled by kings. Later, around 500 years before the birth of Christ, the city of Athens introduced 'democracy' which means 'goverment by the people'. (Instead of having a king, the men of Athens took decisions by voting.) Democracy is an important European invention that has spread around the world.
This is an ancient coin of Greece. 6 obols = 1 drachm. -
May 15, 1580
The Roman Empire
(500 BC-500 AD) Rome started out as just a village in Italy. But the Romans were very well organised, their army was very good at fighting and they gradually conquered all the lands around the Mediterranean. Eventually the Roman empire stretched all the way from northern England to the Sahara Desert and from the Atlantic to Asia.
2000years ago,the world was ruled by Rome,and Rome was in turmoil.From the chaos of civil war,the Roman Empire would rise even stronger to embrace hundreds of cultures. -
The Middle Ages
(500-1500AD)When the Roman empire collapsed,different parts of Europe were taken over by different peoples.For example the Celts.Before Roman times,Celtic peoples lived in many parts of Europe.Their descendants today live mainly in France,England,Spain,Ireland,Scotland and Wales.Christianity became the main religion in Europe during the Middle Ages,and churches were built almost everywhere.Medieval castles were built to keep out enemies.
Some castles were so strong they have lasted until today! -
The Renaissance
(1300-1600AD) During the Middle Ages, most people could not read or write and they knew only what they learnt in church. Only monasteries and universities had copies of the books and ancient Greece and Romans had written. But in the 1300s and 1400s, students began rediscovering the ancient books. They were amazed at the great ideas and knowledge they found there and the news began to spread.
This is the Creation of Adam, by Michelangelo in 1511. Michelangelo Architecture was born 1475. -
The Industrial Revolution
(1750-1880AD) A differnet kind of 'revolution' started in Europe about 250 years ago, in the world of 'industry'. It all began with an energy crisis. For thousands of year, people had been burning wood and charcoal. But now, parts of Europe were running out of forests! What else could we use as fuel? The answer is coal. There was plenty of it in Europe, and miners began digging for it.
Henry Bessemer is the inventor of modern steelmaking. He was born 1813 and died 1898.
