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Period: 1091 to 1296
The Crusades
The Crusades were a series of religious wars between Christians and Muslims. They started primarily to secure control of holy sites considered sacred by both groups. -
Aug 15, 1096
First Crusades
The first of a series of religious wars, or Crusades, initiated, supported. At times it was directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. -
1147
Second Crusade
An extraordinarily bold attempt to overcome unbelievers on no less than three fronts. Crusader armies set out to defeat Muslims in the Holy Land and in Iberia as well as pagans in northeastern Europe. -
1187
Third Crusades
An attempt by three European monarchs of Western Christianity (Philip II of France, Richard I of England and Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor).In 1187, Saladin began a major campaign against the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem. His troops virtually destroyed the Christian army at the battle of Hattin, taking back the important city along with a large amount of territory. -
Period: 1347 to 1352
The Black Death
The Black Death was a devastating global epidemic of bubonic plague that struck Europe and Asia. The plague arrived in Europe in October 1347, when 12 ships from the Black Sea docked. -
1348
Bubonic
The Black Death was a bubonic plague pandemic occurring in Western Eurasia and North Africa from 1346 to 1353. It is the most fatal pandemic recorded in human history, causing the deaths of 75–200 million people, peaking in Europe. -
1349
Pneumonic
Is an airborne plague that attacks the lungs before the rest of the body. Pneumonic plague was the second most commonly seen form during the Black Death with a mortality rate of ninety to ninety-five percent. -
Feb 14, 1349
3000 Jews killed in Germany
There were a series of violent attacks, mass persecutions and massacres of Jews during the Black Death. 2,000 Jews were burnt alive on 14 February 1349 in the "Valentine's Day". Within the 510 Jewish communities destroyed in this period, some members killed themselves to avoid the persecutions. -
Period: 1400 to 1495
Early Renaissance
The Renaissance promoted the rediscovery of classical philosophy, literature and art. Renaissance was a fervent period of European cultural, artistic, political and economic “rebirth” following the Middle Ages. -
Period: 1434 to
Age of Exploration
The Age of Exploration began in the 1400s and continued through the 1600s. It was a period of time when the European nations began exploring the world. -
1436
Printing press
A device that allows for the mass production of uniform printed matter, mainly text in the form of books, pamphlets and newspapers. German goldsmith Johannes Gutenberg is credited with inventing the printing press around 1436. -
1446
The Portuguese colonization of the Cape Verde
West African trade, the Central Atlantic islands soon became a major hub of the Atlantic slave trade. Slaves were used on the sugar plantations of the islands and sold on to ships sailing to the Americas. -
Period: 1478 to 1527
High Renaissance
The Renaissance, refers to a thirty-year period exemplified by the groundbreaking, iconic works of art being made in Italy. During what was considered a thriving societal prime -
Jan 1, 1497
The Spainish Inquistion begins
When the Spanish Inquisition was created it was not entirely unexpected. The institution of the Spanish Inquisition was ostensibly established to combat heresy. -
Jul 1, 1497
Vasco da Gama reaches India
Over the course of two voyages, beginning in 1497 and 1502, da Gama landed and traded in locales along the coast of southern Africa before reaching India on May 20, 1498. Portuguese explorer Vasco de Gama becomes the first European to reach India via the Atlantic Ocean when he arrives at Calicut on the Malabar Coast. -
Period: 1517 to 1555
Protest Reformation
The Protestant Reformation was a religious reform movement that swept through Europe in the 1500s. It resulted in the creation of a branch of Christianity called Protestantism, a name used collectively to refer to the many religious groups