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1500
Portuguese navigator Pedro Álvares Cabral officially discovers Brazil and claims the land for Portugal.
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1501
Safavid dynasty rules Iran until 1736.
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1503
Leonardo da Vinci begins painting the Mona Lisa and completes it three or four years later.
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1509
Henry The VIII Ascends The Throne
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1509
The Battle of Diu marks the beginning of Portuguese dominance of the Spice trade.
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1514
The Battle of Orsha halts Muscovy's expansion into Eastern Europe.
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1515
The Ottoman Empire wrests Eastern Anatolia from the Safavids after the Battle of Chaldiran.
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1516
The Ottomans defeat the Mamluks and gain control of Egypt, Arabia, and the Levant.
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1517
The Protestant Reformation begins when Martin Luther posts his 95 Theses in Saxony.
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1519
Hernán Cortés leads the Spanish conquest of Mexico.
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Jun 30, 1519
Magellan Circumnavigates The World
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1543
The Nanban trade period begins after Portuguese traders make contact with Japan.
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1556
The Shaanxi Earthquake in China is history's deadliest known earthquake.
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1569
The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth is created with the Union of Lublin which lasts until 1795.
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1580
After the struggle for the throne of Portugal, the Portuguese Empire comes to an end and the Spanish and Portuguese crowns are united for 60 years.
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Battle of Kinsale, one of the most important battles in Irish history, fought.
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Dutch East India Company founded. Its success contributes to the Dutch Golden Age.
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The Mughal Empire grants extensive trading rights to the British East India Company.
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The Thirty Years' War devastates Central Europe.
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Wars of the Three Kingdoms, civil wars throughout Scotland, Ireland, and England.
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Torture is outlawed in England.
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Cape Town founded by the Dutch East India Company in South Africa.
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British troops capture New Amsterdam and rename it New York.
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The Great Fire of London.
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Salem witch trials in Massachusetts.
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Act of Union passed merging the Scottish and the English Parliaments, thus establishing The Kingdom of Great Britain.
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Louis XIV died leaving France deep in debt.
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Kangxi Emperor of China died.
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The Qianlong Emperor of China oversaw a huge expansion in territory.
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Frederick the Great crowned King of Prussia.
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Battle of Plassey signaled the beginning of British rule in India.
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The Bengal famine of 1770 killed one third of the Indian population.
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American Revolution
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French Revolution
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The Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Ireland merge to form the United Kingdom.
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War Of 1812
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Greece becomes the first country to break away from the Ottoman Empire after the Greek War of Independence.
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Spanish Inquisition officially ends.
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The Origin of Species published.
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Russia abolishes serfdom.
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The British East India Company is dissolved.
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First electrical power plant and grid in Godalming, Britain.
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Krakatoa Eruption
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The United States gains control of Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines after the Spanish-American War.
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World War I Starts
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World War II Starts
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California Gold Rush
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Chile Magnitude 9.5 Earthquake
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End Of The Vietnam War
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Fall Of The Berlin Wall
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Rwandan Genocide
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The Attacks On The World Trade Centre and Pentagon Occur
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Mars Exploration Rovers land on Mars; Opportunity discovers proof that that area of Mars was once covered in water.
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Japan Magnitude 9.0 Earthquake