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Jan 1, 1348
Black Death
The Black Death was one of the most destructive pandemics ever to occur, resulting in the deaths of an estimated 1/3 of the entire European population. The plague was caused by Yersinia pestis; bacterium carried by fleas which were carried by rodents -
Period: Jan 1, 1350 to Jan 1, 1550
Renaissance
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Jan 1, 1415
Council of Constance burns Hus and ends Great Schism
The Great Schism was a split within the Roman Catholic Church between the Eastern and Western churches. The break within the church is why, in present day, we have the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church -
Period: Jan 1, 1450 to
Exploration
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Jan 1, 1453
Fall of Constantinople; end of Hundred Years' War
The fall of Constantinople or Istanbul, was the capture of the capital of the Byzantine Empire by an invading army of the Ottoman Empire -
Jan 1, 1455
Invention of printing press
Johannes Gutenberg was the inventor of the first movable type printing press. This invention revolutionized the availability of text and had positive impacts on literacy. -
Jan 1, 1492
Columbus encounters America; completion of reconquista in Spain
Chrsitopher Columbus sailed the ocean blue in 1492, finding the new world as he set foot in th Bahamas on an island he named San salvador -
Period: Jan 1, 1500 to
Protestant and Catholic Reformations
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Period: Jan 1, 1500 to
Early Modern Society
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Period: Jan 1, 1500 to
Price Revolution
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Jan 1, 1517
Luther posts 95 Theses
Martin Luther is credited with starting the Protestant Reformation. At the time Protestant churches split from the Roman Catholic church. He started the Lutheran Church, the first church of Protestantism. In his 95 theses Luther mainly argued that the Church should not sell indulgences. -
Jan 1, 1519
Cortez conquers Aztecs
Hernán Cortez and his companions led an expidition to find the indigenous people of what is now present day Mexico. At first the Aztecs welcome them as gods but soon enough the two cultures break out into attack. With Cortez having access to advanced weaponry as well as foreign diseases, he conquered the Aztecs with ease -
Period: Jan 1, 1520 to
Religious Wars
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Jan 1, 1534
Act of Supremacy in England creates Anglican Church
King Henry VIII basically creates the Anglican church to divorce two of his six wives. The order they fall in: divorced, beheaded, died (natural causes), divorced, beheaded, survived. -
Jan 1, 1536
Calvin establishes reformed faith in Geneva
Calvin established Calvinism. In Geneva, he rejected Papal authority, and established a new form of civic governance. He is famous for his teachings and writings as well as his infamous role in the execution of Michael Servetus. -
Jan 1, 1543
Copernicus publishes heliocentric theory
Copernicus is known for his ideas on the sun and earth. His main idea was that our world is heliocentric. His theory was that the sun is in the middle of the solar system, and the planets go around it. This was not the accepted norm, many people accepted the geocentric model as the "real" way things worked -
Period: Jan 1, 1543 to
Scientific Revolution
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Jan 1, 1545
Council of Trent opens
The council of Trent was established to answer all Protestant disputes and state current doctrines on salvation -
Period: Jan 1, 1550 to
Dutch Commercial Dominance
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Period: Jan 1, 1550 to
Age of Crisis
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Jan 1, 1555
Peace of Augsburg ends religious war in Germany; Charles V abdicates
The Peace of Augsburg had a few main points: the religion of the prince became the religion of the state and all its inhabitants,If the leader of the state changed his religion, the men and women living in that state did not have to do so as well, -
Period: Jan 1, 1580 to
Witchcraft Scare
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Defeat of Spanish Armada
A Spanish fleet of 130 ships set on invading England and overthrowing Queen Elizabeth. Over 1/3 failed to return -
Edict of Nantes ends French religious wars
The Edict of Nantes allowed Protestants the freedom of religion in France. King Louis XIV revoked the Edict of Nantes and made Catholicism the religion of France in 1629. This made many Huguenots leave -
Dutch East India Company founded
The Dutch East India Company started when the Netherlands gave it a 21-year monopoly to trade in Asia. It was the first multinational corporation in the world and the first company to issue stock. The company had the power to start wars, make treaties, make its own money, and start new colonies. -
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Baroque Art
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Commercial Revolution
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Stuart monarchy begins in England
The beginning of the Stuart dynasty saw rise when the Tudor dynasty ended, Queen Elizabeth I died, and James I of England took power -
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Conflict between Parliament and King in England
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Age of Louis XIV
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Peace of Westphalia ends Thirty Years' War
The peace of Westphalia ended the Thirty Years' War and involved the Holy Roman Emperor, Ferdinand III Habsburg, the other German princes, Spain, France, Sweden as well as representatives of the Dutch Republic -
Charles I executed in England
King Charles I is beheaded for treason. Charles offended his Protestant subjects by marrying Henrietta Maria, a Catholic French princess -
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Absolutism
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Commercial Wars
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Rise of Prussia
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Newton publishes Principia Mathematica
Isaac Newton was an English physicist and mathematician. He is famous for his work on the laws of motion, optics, gravity, and calculus. His revolutionary work was almost not published -
Glorious Revolution; Peter the Great's reign begins in Russia
Peter the Great was a leader of Russia. He transformed Russia from an isolated kingdom into a transcontinental superpower. He also built the city of St. Petersburg -
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Rise of Russia
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Bank of England founded
The bank of England was actually founded by a banker from Scotland -
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Rise of the Middle Class
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Enlightenment
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Agricultural Revolution
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Peace of Utrecht; death of Louis XIV
Known as the great sun king, he appreciated the practice of science so much he founded the royal academy of science -
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Rococo Art
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War of Austrian Succession begins
The War of Austrian Succession began due to the fact that Maria Theresa was ineligible to succeed to the Habsburg thrones of her father -
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Industrial Revolution
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Treaty of Paris ends Seven Years' War
Conflict between Great Britain and France broke out in 1754-55 when the British attacked disputed French positions in North America and seized hundreds of French merchant ships. The war ended with the Treaty of Paris -
American Revolution; Smith publishes Wealth of Nations
The Wealth of Nations was the beginning of classical economics, it looks at division of work, following self-interest, and freedom of trade. -
French Revolution begins
The Revolution led to the end of the monarchy and a halt to the elite that ruled -
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Age of Revolutions
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Feminism
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Rise of Nationalism
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Wollstonecraft begins feminist movement with Vindictation of Rights of Women
Credited as the first feminist, wrote the Vindictation of Rights of Women -
Napoleon comes to power in France
Took power and began his dictatorship in France as well as shape European politics up to the early 19th century -
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Romanticism
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Abdictation of Napoleon; Congress of Vienna
The Congress of Vienna was a conference of ambassadors of European states chaired by Austrian statesman Klemens Wenzel von Metternich -
Revolution in France; Belgian and Greek independence
Belgian and greeks had a war on indepence as they were not free -
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Rise of Liberalism
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Revolutions of 1848; Marx and Engels publish Communist Manifesto
These were a series of political upheavals throughout Europe in 1848. It remains the most widespread revolutionary wave in European history, but within a year, reactionary forces had regained control, and the revolutions collapsed -
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Unification and Nation-Building
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Realism and Materialism
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Second Industrial Revolution
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Imperialism
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Modern Ideas and Science
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Rise of Modern Society
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Crystal Palace Exhibition in Britain
The Great Exhibition was opened by Queen Victoria. It was the first of the World's Fair exhibitions of culture and industry. There were around 100,000 objects, displayed by over 15,000 contributors. France was the largest foreign contributor. The exhibits were grouped into four main categories: Raw Materials, Machinery, Manufacturers and Fine Arts -
Britain establishes direct rule of India
The British Crown rule was established in India, ending a century of control by the East India Company. Britain had a grasp around India at the time -
Darwin publishes Origin of Species
Charles Darwin performs research on evolution in his book the Origin of Species -
Italy unified; Russian serfs emancipated
In 1861, Italy was declared a united nation-state under the Sardinian king Victor Immanuel II. After being fragmented into different city states unification is found -
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Modern Art
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Unification of Germany; Paris Commune and Third Republic in France
The Franco-Prussian War ended with Prussian troops capturing Paris, the Treaty of Frankfurt was then introduced and Germany became unified -
Berlin Conference over imperialism in Africa
The Berlin Conference made rules for European colonization and trade in Africa. The conference met during the Scramble for Africa, a time with more colonial activity by European powers, where Africans were not invited. -
Freud publishes Interpretation of Dreams
Sigmund Freud was an Austrian neurologist. He invented the treatment of mental illness and neurosis by means of psychoanalysis -
Einstein publishes relativity theory; Revolution of 1905 in Russia
Albert Einstein was a German theoretical physicist who developed the general theory of relativity. Near the beginning of WWII he warned the United States to start the development of nuclear weapons -
World War I begins
WWI was a global war centered in Europe with 135 countries taking part in the war -
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World Wars
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Bolshevik Revolution in Russia
In 1903 at the Party Congress members disagreed with each other. The Party ended up dividing into two groups, the Bolsheviks and the Mensheviks. They were called Bolsheviks because it means "those who are more." -
Treaty of Versailles ends World War I
The end of WWI was settled by the treaty of versailles After the war, the Germans had to agree to the Treaty of Versailles. Germany had to pay $66.7 billion -
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Totalitarianism
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Fascists and Mussolini come to power in Italy
Mussolini's form of Fascism, Italian Fascism, unlike Nazism, the racist ideology that Adolf Hitler followed, was different and less destructive than Hitler's. -
Great Depression begins
The stock market crashes and America's economy plumets into the worst depression it has ever seen -
Hitler comes to power in Germany
Adolf Hitler was the leader of Nazi Germany. Hitler ordered the invasion of Poland in 1939, and this started World War II -
Munich Conference - height of appeasement
Conference held in Munich during which the leaders of Great Britain, France, and Italy agreed to allow Germany to annex certain areas of Czechoslovakia. -
World War II begins
The bombing of Pearl Harbor, a day that will live in infamy throws united states into the second world war -
World War II ends; United Nations founded
The United States ends the war by dropping an atomic bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. United Nations is formed and eventually discusses nuclear deterrence -
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Cold War
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European Unity
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NATO formed
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization, also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance based on the North Atlantic Treaty -
European Coal and Steel Company (ECSC) formed
The European Coal and Steel Company was created to unify European countries after World War II -
Stalin dies
Joseph Stalin was the leader of the Soviet Union from 1922 until his death. He was a totalitarian ruler, and stayed in power by removing anyone he thought might be a threat to him. His ideas and policies turned the Soviet Union into a powerful, modern nation -
Khrushchev's de-Stalinization speech; Hungary revolt
De-Stalinization meant an end to the role of large-scale forced labour in the economy -
Treaty of Rome creates European Economic Community (EEC); Sputnik launched
The Treaty of Rome, officially the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community, is an international agreement that led to the founding of the European Economic Community -
Fifth Republic in France under DeGaulle
The Fifth Republic is the fifth and current republican constitution of France -
Berlin Wall erected
The berlin wall was created by East Germany to seperate West Germany to prevent fascist elements from spreading -
Cuban Missile Crisis
The Cuban missile crisis was a tension between the Soviet Union, the United States and Cuba during the Cold War. This crisis is seen as one of the most important confrontations of the Cold War. It may have been the moment when the Cold War came closest to a nuclear war. -
Second Vatican Council begins
The Second Vatican Council addressed relations between the Roman Catholic Church and the modern world and discussed religion's value -
Student revolts; Czech "Prague Spring" revolt
The Prague Spring Revolt was a period of political liberalization in Czechoslovakia during the era of its domination by the Soviet Union after World War II.It attempted to grant additional rights in an act of partial decentralization -
Helsinki Accords - height of détente
This declaration attempted to improve relations between the communist bloc and the West -
John Paul II elected pope
Pope John Paul II was the second longest serving Pope and was the first non Italian pope since Pope Adrian VI who died in 1523 -
Soviet Union invades Afghanistan; Thatcher elected prime minister in Britain
This war was between the Afghanistan government and foreign mercenaries. The amount of foreign mercenaries fighting for anti government led to massive death tolls -
Solidarity founded in Poland
Poland's government raised food prices while wages were at an all time low, which in turn led the economy to be left in shambles, this resulted in protest and eventually solidarity being founded -
Gorbachev comes to power in Soviet Union
Gorbachev was the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1985 until 1991, and the first and last president of the Soviet Union from 1990 until it was dissolved in 1991 -
Berlin Wall falls and collapse of communism
After peaceful protest and the fall of communism East Germany announced its' borders open to everyone and the wall fell -
Break-up of Soviet Union; Balkan conflicts begin in former Yugoslavia
After the fall of the Soviet Union balkanization occured leaving former Yugoslavia in pieces. Present day, it is now split into eight countries -
Maastricht Treaty creates European Union (EU)
The European Union was created as a common economic area with Europe-wide laws allowing people to move and trade in other EU countries almost the same as they do in their own. -
Euro currency introduced
Originally created for electronic payments only, the euro has become a "universalized" form of legal tender for 24 countries -
Terrorist attacks on United States
On september 11th a series of terrorist attacks were set by the al-Queda which targetted the twin towers and the Pentagon
