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8000 BCE
The Neolithic Revolution
The hunter-gatherers settled down into villages and began farming and domesticating animals. Very important turn in history but did not happen all at one. Native American tribe would hunt and gather until the 1800s. -
7000 BCE
Catalhoyuk
One of the places hunter-gatherers built when they decided to settle down. Buildings were packed together tightly like honeycombs -
6500 BCE
Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro
Two cities in the Indus River Valley. Built with a grid pattern of wide, straight streets. Sturdy houses with as many as 3 levels. Canal system for a reliable source of water. -
6000 BCE
Faiyum
Prehistoric agricultural center in Southern Egypt. One of the earliest areas along the Nile Valley with domesticated barley, wheat, sheep, and goats. -
Period: 3500 BCE to 479 BCE
The bronze and Iron Ages
Humans began to see the need for tools that were lighter but still durable. They also needed to be easier to shape and produce. Bronze was the solution. Ancient Civilizations emerged in the Mediterranean Region and Asia. -
2686 BCE
Egypt Old Kingdom
A true Monarchy was introduced. The king of Egypt became a living god who ruled absolutely and could demand services and wealth from his people. -
2330 BCE
The Sumerian Empire (Akkadian Empire)
First empire in human history that introduced imperialism. The rulers of this empire became the first dynasty. -
2220 BCE
The Babylonian Empire
A city-state of the Sumerian Empire on the Euphrates River. Hammurabi was crowned king in 1792 and began to defeat and control all the other Sumerican city states. Created his famous laws, The Code of Hammurabi. First time there were written laws to protect and punish. -
2000 BCE
Egypt Middle Kingdom
Entered a period of weak Kings and a loss of unification that King Narmer started. Two rival dynasties fought for power over the country. Mentuhotep II won and began consolidating his power all over Egypt. Regarded as the founder. -
1600 BCE
The Shang Dynasty:
The first recorded Chinese Dynasty with documentary and archaeological evidence. Ruled parts of northern and central China. Based on agriculture. Millet, wheat and barley were the main crops grown. This was an aristocratic society, with a king ruling over the military nobility. -
1550 BCE
Egypt New Kingdom
Contained some of Egypts most famous pharaohs like Hatshepsut, Thutmose III, Amenhotep III, Akhenaten, Tutankhamun, Ramses II, and Cleopatra VII -
1500 BCE
The Phoenicians
Occupied the easter coast of the Medditerranean. The Late Bronze age was a thriving time for them since they were more a group of maritime traders than a defined country. Contributed an alphabetic writing system that became the root of Western alphabets, and the English alphabet -
1325 BCE
The Aztec Empire
Founded their capital at Tenochtitlan and built a temple there. -
1254 BCE
Marco Polo
From his adventures he brought paper, paper currency, mechanical devices, coal, spices, the compass, porcelain, and pasta. Trade would open up on the Silk Road due to his travels. -
1095 BCE
The Crusades
Pope Urban II in Rome called for a war to take back the Holy Land from the Empire of Islam in the Middle East. -
Period: 1000 BCE to 3500 BCE
Stone Age
Split into the Paleolithic, Mesolithic, and Neolithic periods. The people of these times were in clans and were hunter-gatherers. -
793 BCE
The Vikings
Invaded Britain, and kept attacking for 300 years. Conquered England in 1066. Settled in and area of Britain that became known as Danelaw, and an area known as Normandy in France. -
750 BCE
The Archaic Period
Development of art forms such as pottery and sculpture. Advancements in political theory like beginnings of democracy. Advancements is culture and art. -
732 BCE
Battle of Tours
Charles reunified the Kingdom in France. Then defeated the Muslims in the city of Tours, France. Preserved Christianity as the controlling faith in Europe. -
525 BCE
The Persian Empire
Largest empire in human history to that time. Mediterranean region was the most civilized are on Earth. -
500 BCE
The classical Period
Greeks began to come into conflict with the kingdom of Persia. Athens reached its greatest political and cultural heights. Parthenon was built, creation of Greek tragedies and founding of philosophy by Socrates and Plato. -
Period: 455 BCE to 1492 BCE
The Dark Ages
The Roman Empire was the target of German invaders. Anglo-Saxons came to Britain across the North Sea. In Persia, Muhammad started the faith called Islam. -
340 BCE
Alexander the Great
Became King at 20 years old. Had about 40,000 loyal Greeks in his army and captured the Persian ports making it impossible to attack his army via sea. Defeated Darius again in 331 BCE. Invaded and defeated India and Afghanistan. Conquered Egypt. -
49 BCE
The Roman Civil War
A war began by an illegal military act done by General Julius Caesar. Caesar wanted peace with Pompey, but he was denied so Pompey fled and left his army leaderless. This allowed Caesar to defeat them and be named dictator. Caesar went on to defeat Ptolemy XIII. He was murdered in 44 BCE because he was a dictator in a Republic which left the throne to Caesar Augustus. -
950
Erik the Red
Founded the first settlement in Greenland -
1066
Battle of Hastings
William the Norman was promised the throne from King Edward when he was going to die. King Edward gave it to an Anglo-Saxon instead. William invaded England in the South and destroyed King Harold and his forces. He marched to London and was crowned first Norman King. French mixed with Anglo-Saxon to create modern English. -
1100
The Greek Dark Ages
A period of civil war in which the country was weak and a tribe called the Dorians took over. Art, architecture, writing and other forms of progress were lost and forgotten. -
1397
The Black Plague
12 Italian trading ships docked on the island of Sicily after traveling the Black Sea. Most of the sailors on the ship were dead, and the ones that were alive were very sick. Black boils that oozed blood and pus named this the Black Death. Rats from these ships carried this illness and it spread and killed more than 20 million people in Europe. -
1478
Spanish Inquisition:
This was established by monarchs. King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella began this. They wanted to create religious unity and weaken local political authorities. The government also made a profit from confiscating the property of those found guilty of heresy. -
1492
Colombian Exchange:
Spain, Portugal, France, and England sent explorers to the New World. Potatoes, sweet potatoes, game birds, tobacco, chocolate and lots of other stuff was brought back from the New World. Illness was brought to the Native Americans. -
1517
95 Theses
Martin Luther used the new invention called the printing press to write 95 complaints about the Catholic church. He nailed these on the door of the Wittenburg Chapel. -
Jamestown, Virginia
America’s first permanent English colony. Located in the middle of about 14,000 Algonquian speaking Indians ruled by Powhatan. Captain John Smith was the leader of the colony who established the “no work, no food” policy -
Tobacco Introduced
John Rolfe brought tobacco to Virginia. The cultivation required a lot of land and labor which grew the Virginia colony. Settlers moved onto the land and increased the numbers of indentured servants that came from England to Virginia. -
English Bill of Right of 1688
Passed by Parliament of Great Britain. Set out certain civil rights and clarified who would be next to inherit the crown. -
African Slaves
The first documented African slaves arrived from West Central Africa. Treated more as indentured servants. The act of owning slaves for life appeared in the 1650s, and it became the primary source of labor. -
House of Burgesses:
The first representative government in America which was an assembly in Jamestown. The first business was to set a minimum price for tobacco. The 22 members were elected by all men over 17 who also owned land. -
Mayflower Compact
The first document of Democracy in the New World. Was written and signed to make peace between the Pilgrims and colonists who wanted to go to Jamestown. -
The Molasses Act
Tax was added to each gallon of molasses in an effort to interfere with the French in the Caribbean and to raise revenue. The Tea Act: Act of Parliament whose purpose was to reduce the massive surplus of tea held by the British East India Company in its London warehouse. Boston Tea Party: All 13 colonies objected to the Tea Act. In Boston, the Sons of Liberty boarded tea ships anchored in the harbor and dumped the tea overboard. Samuel Adams was among them. -
French and Indian War
Ended in 1763. French and English battled for colonial domination in North America, Carribean and in India. The English finally won, but was left with a lot of debt. -
The Townshend Acts:
A series of acts passed by Parliament. The purpose was to raise revenue in the colonies so they could play the salaries of governors and judges, to make a means of enforcing compliance with trade rules, to punish New York for not complying with the Quartering Act and to show the colonies that Parliament had the right to tax them. -
First Continental Congress
The Patriots saw the Intolerable Acts as a violation of rights so they organized this to plan a protest. -
Lexington and Concord
British General Gage sent out British Soldiers to Lexington, Massachusetts and Concord The Battle of Bunker Hill: George Washington was just selected as Commander of the Colonial Army. Took place on Breed’s Hill. The Americans were defeated but it was a great loss for the British who lost 40% of their army. -
Battle of Saratoga
Important victory for Washington. France and Holland came through with aid and support after this win. -
Yorktown
British were surrounded by Americans on land and French on the coast. General Cornwallis surrendered, and King George approved. -
Articles of Confederation
Similar to the Constitution but gave far less power to the central government and more to the individual states. Each state had their own laws and their own currency which created chaos -
US Constitution
Debate and addition of 10 amendments to protect civil rights and it was signed. It was made law in 1788 when the last state was ratified. This described the way government would run including the three branches with checks and balances. -
Louisiana Purchase
The US bought the Louisiana territory from France. -
The Corps of Discovery
They departed from Camp Dubois to voyage to the Pacific Coast. Only one member of the mission died. They made relations with over 20 indigenous nations -
Indian Tribal Removal
President Jefferson relocated Indian tribes to the Louisiana Territory west of the Mississippi so there would be more open land for American settlers. Jefferson also drafted and signed a bill into law that banned the importation of slaves into the US -
The war of 1812
The causes were a series of economic sanctions by the British and French against the US and Americans were mad at the British practice impressment -
Treaty of Ghent
This ended the War of 1812. Both sides were not expecting this to be such a tough fight. The US-British relations returned to that of before the war. -
Battle of New Orleans
The word of the treaty was traveling very slowly so this battle was fought after the treaty and the American victory didn’t mean anything. The Americans still celebrated and were very excited about this win. Patriotism! -
Indian Removal Act
Signed by Andrew Jackson. Created an “Indian Territory” so Americans would have to good land on the East of the Mississippi. This law didn’t allow anyone to coerce the Native Americans to give up their land, but Jackson ignored that. -
Trail of Tears
The first Native American nation was forced off their land and had to make the journey to the Indian territory on foot without supplies, food, or help from government. Thousands died on the way. Tens of thousands would be torn off their land. -
Treaty of Traverse de Sioux in 1851
States that the Dakota would cede their MN and Dakota land to the US Government and would be paid annuities. -
Slavery
The first slaves were brought to Jamestown in 1619. By 1860 the South was reliant on cotton and completely depended on slave labor. -
The Civil War
This war would decide whether or not the US was to be an indivisible nation with a sovereign national government and if they would continue to be the largest slave holding country in the world. The North won which kept the US as one nation and ended the institution of slavery. Fort Sumter: Event that triggered war. Confederate Army opened fire on the federal garrison and forced it to lower the American flag in surrender. Lincoln called out the militia -
Battle of Wood Lake
The last battle of the Dakota War. This war was caused because the Native Americans were put into unlivable situations by Americans and they wanted their land back. Many Dakota but some surrendered to the US Military. Ultimately led to 38 men being hanged in Mankato after being sentenced to death for killing Americans during the war. -
Battles
The real fighting began in with the huge battles of Shiloh, Bull Run, Fredericksburg, Antietam, Vicksburg, Chickamaua and Atlanta. -
Civil War End
All principal Confederate armies had surrendered and the Union captured Jefferson Davis in Georgia. All resistance collapses and the long process of rebuilding could begin. -
"Black Codes"
Presidents Andrew Jackson allowed new Southern legislature that passed restrictive laws to control the labor and behavior of former slaves and other African Americans. -
Radical Reconstruction
Caused by the outrage formed after the black codes were put into place. This allowed former slaves to have full voting rights, a voice in government for the first time in American History. Violent backlash from groups like the KKK would restore white supremacy in the South. -
Sitting Bull
Sioux and Cheyenne Indians left their reservations furious about the whites intrusion into their sacred land. -
Battle of Little Bighorn
Indians defeated Custer brutally. This was the high point of Indian Resistance as they achieved their greatest victory. -
Wounded Knee
US Army surrounded a band of Ghost Dancers and demanded that they surrender their weapons. A fight broke out between an Indian and a US soldier and a shot was fired. Brutal massacre followed which killed about 150 Indians and 25 US soldiers. Not really a battle as much as an avoidable massacre.