-
2000 BCE
All weather roads
were created to improve year round transport and trade -
1215
The Magna Carta
was signed establishing the foundations of English rights -
1543
Nicolaus Copernicus
developed the heliocentric theory -
1578
William Harvey
showed that the heart acted as a pump to circulate blood throughout the body -
The Baroque Period
began in art, music, and architecture (Bach and Handel were composers) -
The novel
became a new form of literature (Miguel Cervantes wrote Don Quixote) -
Johannes Kepler
discovered planetary motion -
Galileo
used the telescope to support the proof of the heliocentric theory -
James II
became the King of England -
The Palace of Versailles
was built under the reign of Louis XIV -
The English Civil War
began between the Roundheads (supporters of Parliament) and the Cavaliers (supporters of the King) -
Louis XIV
became the king of France -
Charles I
was beheaded -
Oliver Cromwell
began his rule of England as the Lord Protector -
The Restoration of Charles II
the monarchy was put back in control in England -
Peter I
became the czar of Russia -
Thomas Hobbes published Leviathan
social contract (people give up rights to a strong ruler who maintains order) -
The Age of Reason
(the Enlightenment) began -
Isaac Newton
published his law of gravity -
William and Mary
became the leaders of England (this is referred to as the Glorious Revolution) -
John Locke published Two Treatises on Government
it was his theory of “natural rights” (life, liberty, and property) -
The English Bill of Rights
was passed laying out specific rights on Parliament and putting limits on royal power -
Francois-Marie Arouet
changed his name to Voltaire and goes on to champion individual freedoms -
The Westernization of Russia
was started by Peter the Great -
St. Petersburg
became the capital of Russia under Peter the Great -
Jean Jacques Rousseau
wrote The Social Contract – free individuals create a society and government -
The French Revolution
began having been influenced by the Enlightenment and the American Revolution -
Montesquieu
published On the Spirit of Laws – detailing separation of powers in government -
Louis XVI was executed
at the guillotine -
The Classical Period
began in art, music, and architecture (Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven were composers) -
Thomas Jefferson
wrote the Declaration of Independence -
The American Revolution
began which was heavily influenced by the Age of Enlightenment -
The Constitution
was ratified on the United States -
The Storming of the Bastille
was the symbolic start of the French Revolution -
The Bill of Rights
(first 10 amendments) was added to the Constitution of the United States -
Marie Antoinette was executed
at the guillotine -
The Reign of Terror
marked a period of mass executions during the French Revolution -
Edward Jenner
introduced a vaccine to prevent small pox -
Eugene Delacroix
began the transition of art to the Romantic School -
Napoleon Bonaparte
seized power in France in a coup d’etat