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Oct 14, 1066
Battle of Hastings
The Battle of Hastings occurred on 14 October 1066 during the Norman conquest of England, between the French army of Duke William II and the English army under King Harold II. It took place at Senlac Hill, approximately 10 km northwest of Hastings, and was a decisive Norman victory.
Harold II was killed in the battle, although there was further English resistance, this battle is seen as the point at which William gained control of England, becoming its first Norman ruler as King William I. -
Feb 16, 1085
Domesday Book
The Domesday Book (now held at The National Archives), is the record of a supposedly great survey of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086. The survey was executed for William I of England. While spending Christmas during 1085 in Gloucester, William and his counsellors sent men all over England to each county to find out what or how much each landholder had in land and livestock, and what it was worth. The survey would also find out how much tax-money he could get from his people. -
Feb 1, 1095
The First Crusade
The First Crusade (1096–1099) was a military expedition by Roman Catholic Europe to regain the Holy Lands taken in the Muslim conquests of the Levant. An additional goal soon became the principal objective. It was launched on 27 November 1095 by Pope Urban II with the primary goal of helping another Emperor repel invaders but quickly changed into the reconquest of Jerusalem. It ultimately resulted in the recapture of Jerusalem in 1099. -
Jan 1, 1192
The First Shogun (and events leading up to it)
Two of the most influential families, the Taira and the Minamoto, fought for control over the deteriorating imperial court. The war between the two families finally reached its end at the battle of Dan-no-Ura in 1185 with the Minamotos the eventual winners.
This was one of the most important naval battles in Shogunate Japan history. Minamoto Yoritomo was granted a lot of authority for his courageous efforts. In 1192, he was appointed Shogun, thus making him the first Shogun. -
Jan 1, 1206
The Mongol Empire
The Mongol Empire began in the area around present-day Mongolia in 1206, when the feuding nomadic tribes of the steppes of Central Asia were united and ruled by Genghis Khan. A large army was established. Strict laws of behaviour were put into effect. Economic conditions improved and trade was encouraged. The Mongols depended on purchasing goods that they, as nomads, could not produce. Every effort was made to enable the easy movement of goods along trade routes. -
Jan 1, 1300
The Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire began with a Turkish tribe in the north-west corner of Asia and, at its height, extended into three continents; Europe, Asia and Africa. Its strength lay in its control of both land and sea trade routes and its modern navy, which during the fifteenth century, was one of the largest in the world. -
Jan 1, 1347
The Hundred Years' War
The 100 year war between the English and French begins in 1347. After 4 major confrontations (Plessy, Crecy, Agincourt and Sluys) the French forces are defeated. However, Joan of Arc, a young girl aged 15, leads the last of the French resistance to numerous key victories in an attempt to regain their land, power and wealth, eventually removing multiple English provinces from mainland Europe. -
Oct 1, 1347
Black Death reaches Europe
In October 1347, Genose trading ships docked in the harbour in Messina, Sicily, with dead and dying men aboard. The diseased men had large and painful swellings on their armpits and groins. They were victims of the Black Death which was spreading through The Middle East. -
Jan 1, 1348
The Black Death Reaches England
The summer of 1348 was abnormally wet. With the harvest so adversely affected it seemed almost certain that there would be food shortages. It isn't clear exactly when The Black Death reached England. We do know that in mid-summer the Channel Islands were reeling under an outbreak of the plague. From this the disease spread throughout England at dangerous speeds. The effect was at its worst in cities, where overcrowding and primitive sanitation aided its spread. -
Jun 14, 1381
The Peasant Revolt Beginning
An army of peasants from Kent and Essex marched on London. They did something no-one had done before - they captured the Tower of London. The Archbishop of Canterbury and the King’s Treasurer were killed. The king, Richard II, agreed to meet the peasants at a place called Mile End. On June 14th, the king met the rebels at Mile End. At this meeting, Richard II gave the peasants all that they asked for and asked that they go home in peace. Some did. Others didn't. The one who didn't caused carnage -
Jan 1, 1428
Aztec Empire
Central Mexico was the homeland of the Aztecs. Their civilisation was the result of an alliance of many ethnic groups. They flourished in the fourteenth, fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. The civilisation was destroyed when Spaniard Hernan Cortes invaded in 1521. Spanish invasion techniques were vicious, but even more destructive to indigenous popultions were the European diseases the Spaniards carried with them. (I'm going to use the date of their decline) -
Jan 1, 1492
Spanish Discovery of America
The European discovery of America by Christopher Columbus in 1492 led to the development of a vast Spanish empire that lasted the next 400 years. The clash between th Old World of Europe and the New World of the Americas had implications across the globe as the spanis , and other European nations, proceeded to plunder the riches of these new lands, ignoring the rights of the indigenous population. -
Jan 1, 1543
Catholics Arrive in Japan
Catholic priests from Portugal and Spain had arrived in Japan shortly after Portuguese merchants. Their aim was to convert the Japanese to Christianity. -
Christians are kicked out of Japan by the Shogun
The Japanese Shogunate, seeing the Christians as a threat to their way of life, successfully kick the European priests out of Japan after their many attempts to convert Japan to Christianity. -
The Great Plague of London
The Great Plague was a massive outbreak of disease in the Kingdom of England that killed an estimated 100,000 people. The 1665 epidemic was on a far smaller scale than the earlier Black Death. The plague of 1665 was only remembered afterwards as the "great" plague because it was one of the last widespread outbreaks in England. -
The Great Fire of London
The Great Fire of London began on the night of September 2, 1666, as a small fire in a bakeshop. At one o'clock in the morning, a servant woke to find the house aflame, most of the buildings at the time were made of wood making this city a big fire hazard. Although the loss of life was minimal, the magnitude of the property loss was staggering. As much as 80% of the city was destroyed, including 13,000 houses, 89 churches, and 52 Guild Halls. -
Fall of The Shogun
Though the Shogunate were powerful rulers, their powers steadily declined over time. This was due to the worsening financial conditions which led the Government to impose higher tax. This brought unrest in the farming community. The natural disasters and the survival problems caused many riots. The merchant class began to gain power and the social hierarchy crumbled gradually. An alliance of samurai started a chain of events with the aim of restoring Imperial rule to the country. -
The Meiji Restoration
This led to The Meiji Restoration, which lead to Tokugawa Yoshinobu resigning his power and authority as Shogun to Emperor Meiji thus ending the Shoguns great and brilliant reign.This took place over the course of 1868 to 1912. It's purpose was to modernize Japan and open Japan to the rest of the world as well as remove the Tokugawa Bakufu. -
Viking Invasions
The vikings were from Scandinavia, Norway, Sweden and Denmark, where the climate and weather conditions were harsh and they couldn't grow healthy crops. They came in small groups on Longboats which could be used for surprise attacks. The Vikings would terrorize and defeat local armies in Ireland, Scotland and half of England, later they would then moved on to terrorize other European countries. -
The Khmer Empire
The Khmer Empire ruled a large of South-East Asia from 802 until the fiveteenth century. The heart of this large empire was the area that today is known as Cambodia. One reason we know about this remarkable civillisation is its legacy of temples and other buildings in Cambodia.
