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1450
Johannes Gutenberg perfects the printing press
The printing press was created to allow mass production of printed matter. The Gutenberg Bible was the first thing to ever be printed on the printing press. The printing press allowed for texts shaping the renaissance to be available to the public much faster than before. For example, the reason the 95 theses was became so popular was because of the printing press. -
Dec 2, 1469
Lorenzo de Medici becomes head of the city-state of Florence
Lorenzo de Medici was part of a super-rich family of merchants and bankers. When Lorenzo became head of Florence, he created an environment that flourished with renaissance humanism. He also saved the city from an imminent famine when he came to power. -
Aug 19, 1487
Astrolabe is used by Bartolomeu Dias at the start of his trip around the Cape of Good Hope
An astrolabe is a navigation tool that could take the altitude of the sun or stars. It was used to navigate through the seas during explorations. It helped Bartolomeu massively during his trip around the Cape of Good Hope. Before the astrolabe, explorers could only use a compass and hope for the best. -
Feb 3, 1488
Bartolomeu Dias find Cape of Good Hope
The cape of Good Hope was the Southern tip of Africa. The point of Bartolomeu Dias’ exploration was to reach the Indian Ocean and open a maritime route to Asia. The exploration was successful and the different route made getting to India much easier. -
Oct 12, 1492
Christopher Colombus arrived at the Americas
Christopher accidentally finds the Americas when he was trying to find an all-water route to Asia. During his four trips, he discovered the Caribbean islands, the Gulf of Mexico, and the South and Central American mainland. He also took lots of land and precious resources from the Indigenous People because he was greedy and wanted money. -
Feb 9, 1498
Leonardo da Vinci finishes Last Supper
This painting was made to represent Jesus’ last meal before he was captured and crucified. The painting captures the reactions of the apostles after they find out one of his friends will betray him. The painting is currently located on the wall of the dining room of the former Dominican convent of Santa Maria Delle Grazie -
May 20, 1498
Vasco da Gama arrives in India after sailing around the southern tip of Africa from Portugal
He was the first explorer to find an ocean trading route to India. He made lots of money himself and Portugal. Portugal was one of the richest countries after the route was discovered. Portugal established a long-lasting colonial empire in Asia and Africa. -
Jun 8, 1504
Michelangelo finishes david
David was a sculpture made out of marble that was created to represent David for slaying Goliath. Similar statues were created by Donatello and Verrocchio. The statue is currently located in Accademia Gallery -
Oct 31, 1512
Michelangelo finished Sistine Chapel
Michelangelo worked on the Sistine Chapel in Vatican City for 4 years. He painted the chapel for Pope Julius II. After he finished painting he had to read laying down along with lots of other bad side effects. -
Nov 8, 1513
Herman Cortes goes into Aztec territory
Hernan entered the Aztec territory looking for land for the Spanish. He also wanted to spread Christianity and find riches. Herman and his army attacked the Aztecs and conquered them very quickly. Herman takes all the riches and kills the leader, Montezuma. -
Period: Jan 13, 1516 to
Slave trade
The main reason for the slave trade was plantations in the Americas. At first, the slaves that were taken to the Americas were prisoners of war in Africa. West Africans would sell other West Africans the Western Europeans who would take the slaves to the Americas. Over 12 million Africans were sold as slaves during the slave trade. -
1517
Leonardo da Vinci finishes the Mona Lisa
The Mona Lisa was a portrait of Lisa del Giocondo who was the wife of a rich merchant, Francesco del Giocondo. The painting was made to celebrate the birth of Lisa’s second child. This painting was one of the few secular paintings in the renaissance. -
Oct 31, 1517
95 theses is posted on a church wall
Martin Luther posted the 95 theses on the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg. The 95 theses listed all the problems of the church and it started the protestant reformation. The 95 theses was spread quickly by the printing press and the church was very angry. The Church labeled him as a heretic and excommunicated him. -
Apr 17, 1521
Diet of Worms
The Edict of Nantes was the trial by the Holy Roman Empire for Martin Luther after he posted the 95 theses on a church door. Luther had been charged for heresy after he posted the 95 theses. During the Edict of Nantes Luther did not take back anything he said about the problems of the Church. Luther was declared a heretic and all of his books were banned. -
Nov 8, 1521
Ferdinand Magellan lands in spice island while going west
Ferdinand went west around the world looking for fortune and fame. During his exploration, he discovered the Pacific Ocean and the Strait of Magellan. He did not survive the whole trip and his crew finished it but he was given credit for the discovery. -
Nov 16, 1532
Francisco Pizarra finds Incas
Francisco Pizarra invaded Inca territory in order to steal all of their tressures. He led his army with only 200 soldiers to kill thousands of Inca people. Francisco later killed the Incas leader, Atahualpa. -
Jun 9, 1534
Jacques Cartier lands in Canada
He found Canada while on an exploration to explore northern lands for gold, spices, and a northern passage to Asia. He took more trips to Canada to explore for gold and diamonds. He also tried to establish a French colony near modern-day Quebec City but it was a failure. -
1545
Counter Reformation Starts
Council of Trent figures out that there really are problems with the church and they need to be fixed. In hope of returning to catholicism, Pope Paul III makes changes to the church including removing indulgences. The Inquisition was made to scare protestants back into catholicism. -
Jul 3, 1553
Mary I comes to power
When Mary came to power, she brought England back to being Catholic. During her time she burned 300 protestants for heresy. She got her nickname Bloody Mary from this. -
Sep 25, 1555
Peace of Augsburg is created
Charles V is done fighting with protestants and allows them to practice the religion in their region. There are thousands of regions that can be as small as a neighborhood and the ruler of each region decides the religion. -
Aug 24, 1572
St Bartholomew's Day massacre
Barlolowew’s day massacre was a day where catholic nobles and normal catholic people went out and murdered lots of Huegunuts so that there would not be a protestant takeover. 10,000 Huguenots died and it was a major turning point for the French Civil Wars. -
The Spanish Armada starts its trip
The Spanish Armada was sent by Phillip the second to bring troops to England. There were around 150 ships and 18,000 men. England could not win by just fighting so they had to attach in a different way. They lit ships on fire and sent them into anchored Spanish boats causing them to cut anchor. The ships could not stop and many of them were destroyed and also many people died. This led to people thinking religious tolerance was favored by God. -
Edict of nantes is signed
The Edict of Nantes was a law that gave Huguenots more rights than they had before. It lasted from 1598 to 1685 which was the longest one of these laws has ever lasted. The French Catholics were not happy at all about the law. -
Period: to
Dutch East India Company
The Dutch East India Company also known as the VOC was one of the first companies to use shares. Lots of people could put little amounts of money into an expedition to fund it so they could still make a lot of money but they did not have to risk losing as much. The VOC ended up being the richest company ever by far being worth over 7.9 Trillion dollars in today's money. -
James I comes to Power in England
He is the first king of the Stuarts and he creates a bad relationship with parliament. He never called parliament because he believed in Divine right which means he is always correct. This carried on with Charles which lead to the war with King and Parliament. -
Period: to
30 years war
The 30 years war started between Roman Catholics and Protestants in Germany but it developed to be between Catholic Habsburgs of the Holy Roman Empire. They were fighting over religion, dynasty, and territory. At the end of the war, the Treaty of Westphalia was created -
Period: to
The english Civil War
The English Civil War was between people that supported the Kings and people that supported Parliament. Cavaliers supported the King and Roundheads supported the Parliament. The Roundheads ended up winning the war. This led to the execution of Charles I and Commonwealth. -
Beheading of Charles 1
Charles I was an English King that believed in divine right and he was fighting against Oliver Cromwell who was on parliament's side. Oliver's Army beat Charles’ in the English Civil War. Charles was convicted of treason and was beheaded. It lead to Commonwealth in England. -
Period: to
Commonwealth
Oliver Cromwell started commonwealth after he won the civil war. England was governed as a republic under Oliver. Commonwealth failed after only 11 years. -
William and Mary come to power in England
Willian and Mary came to power in England but they were from the Netherlands. This is because they were Calvinists. William and Mary sign the English Bill of Rights.
