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Oct 19, 1469
Isabella & Ferdinand unify Spain
Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella of Castile initiated a confederation of the two kingdoms that became the basis for the unification of Spain -
Period: Apr 25, 1509 to Jan 28, 1547
Henry VIII reigns in England
Usually remembered for the King's six wives and his legendary appetite -
Period: Nov 17, 1558 to
Elizabeth I reigns England
A secure Church of England was established. Its doctrines were laid down in the 39 Articles of 1563, a compromise between Roman Catholicism and Protestantism -
Period: to
Edict of Nantes
Granted religious tolerance and equality to the Huguenots (French Protestants) and ended the French Wars of Religion -
Period: to
Thirty Years War
A European Protestant vs. Catholic war -
Petition of Right signed
Protect citizens of England against the monarchy and to establish the rights of the citizens -
The Long Parliament
An English Parliament which lasted from 1640 until 1660 -
Period: to
Louis XIV reigns as king of France
Forever associated with the image of an absolute monarch and a strong, centralised state -
Peace of Westphalia is signed
European settlements of 1648, which brought to an end the Eighty Years' War between Spain and the Dutch and the German phase of the Thirty Years' War -
Thomas Hobbes publishes “Leviathan”
Examines the relationship of society and rulers and is widely held as a classic work on the nature of statecraft -
Period: to
Charles II regions England
Political adaptability and his knowledge of men enabled him to steer his country through the convolutions of the struggle between Anglicans, Catholics, and Dissenters that marked much of his reign. -
Period: to
Peter the Great reigns as czar of Russia
He was determined that Russia become and remain a great European power and carried forward the Westernizing policies in a radical and uncompromising manner -
Period: to
Glorious Revolution
The peaceful way in which Parliament asserted its rights over the monarchy in 1688 -
John Locke publishes “Two Treaties of Government”
We can use the idea of a state of nature to justify a proper government -
English Bill of Rights signed
Firmly established the principles of frequent parliaments, free elections and freedom of speech within Parliament -
Period: to
Frederick II reigns Prussia
Greatly enlarged Prussia's territories and made Prussia the foremost military power in Europe -
Period: to
Sabastian Bach height of his career
German composer and musician of the Baroque period -
Daniel Dafoe published “Robinson Crusoe”
Young British man who sets off to become a sailor merchant but is marooned on an uninhabited island after a series of misadventures. -
Jonathan Swift publishes “Gulliver’s Travels”
Follows the voyages of Lemuel Gulliver as he ventures to unchartered regions of the world where he finds new civilizations and encounters fantastical beings -
Baron de Montesquieu publishes “The Spirit of Laws”
reflects on the influence of climate on society, the separation of political powers, and the need for checks on a powerful executive office. -
Period: to
Denis Diderot publishes his “Encyclopedia”
A book or set of books giving information on many subjects or many aspects of one subject and typically arranged alphabetically. -
Period: to
Seven Years War
A conflict between France and Great Britain that began in 1754 as a dispute over North American land claims in the region around Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania -
Voltaire publishes “Candid”
Young and naive Candide stumbles from one (mis)adventure to the next, including fighting in wars, being arrested, being nearly burned at the stake, finding El Dorado and leaving it -
Period: to
George III reigns England
The first truly British monarch of the Hanoverian kings -
Jean Jacque Rousseau publishes “Social Contract
Only the general will of the people has the right to legislate, for only under the general will can the people be said to obey only themselves and hence be free. -
Period: to
Catherine Great reigns Russia
As empress, Catherine westernized Russia. She led her country into full participation in the political and cultural life of Europe. -
Boston Massacre
Street fight that occurred on March 5, 1770, between a "patriot" mob, throwing snowballs, stones, and sticks, and a squad of British soldiers -
Boston Tea Party
American colonists, frustrated and angry at Britain for imposing “taxation without representation,” dumped 342 chests of tea, imported by the British East India Company into the harbor -
Intolerable Acts
A series of four laws passed by the British Parliament to punish the colony of Massachusetts Bay for the Boston Tea Party -
Battle of Lexington & Concord
Marked the start of the American War of Independence -
Adam Smith publishes “Wealth of Nations”
Adam Smith argues for an economic system with little unnecessary government interference that allows people to serve their self-interests. -
Declaration of Independence signed
God made all men equal and gave them the rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness -
Period: to
Joseph II reigns Austria
Ordered the abolition of serfdom; by the Edict of Toleration he established religious equality before the law, and he granted freedom of the press -
Period: to
Battle of Yorktown
Outnumbered and outfought during a three-week siege in which they sustained great losses, British troops surrendered to the Continental Army and their French allies -
Treaty of Paris
France gave up all its territories in mainland North America, effectively ending any foreign military threat to the British colonies there -
US Constitution ratified
Describes the three chief branches of the Federal Government and their jurisdictions, and lays out the basic rights of citizens of the United States -
Tennis Court Oath
The National Assembly swore not to stop meeting until France had a constitution -
Storming of the Bastille
A state prison, seizing 250 barrels of gunpowder and freeing its prisoners. -
Declaration of the Rights of Man signed
The aim of every political association is the preservation of the natural and imprescriptible rights of man. -
Women’s march on Versailles
Women’s march on Versailles: Oct 5, 1789; a riot that took place during this first stage of the French Revolution -
Declaration of the Rights of Woman Signed
Women, just as men, are guaranteed natural, inalienable, sacred rights -
National Convention Formed
A single-chamber assembly in France from September 20, 1792, to October 26, 1795, during the French Revolution -
Mary Wollstonecraft publishes “A Vindication of the Rights of Woman”
Argued that women should be treated with equal dignity and respect to men, especially regarding education -
Period: to
Radical Phase (French Revolution)
France was made a republic, abolishing the monarchy and executing the king -
Committee of Public Safety created
A committee of the National Convention which formed the provisional government and war cabinet during the Reign of Terror, a violent phase of the French Revolution. -
Period: to
Reign of Terror (French Revolution)
A climactic period of state-sanctioned violence during the French Revolution (1789-99), which saw the public executions and mass killings of thousands of counter-revolutionary suspects -
Five Man Directory created
The governing five-member committee in the French First Republic from 26 October 1795 (4 Brumaire an IV -
Napoleon Bonaparte becomes Emperor
Revolutionized military organization and training; sponsored the Napoleonic Code, the prototype of later civil-law codes; reorganized education; and established the long-lived Concordat with the papacy -
Don Quixote is published
A novel about a man and his 'squire' trying to prove that chivalry is not dead and aspiring to be heroes -
Battle of Trafalgar
One of the most famous battles in British naval history, fought between the British Royal Navy and the combined fleets of France and Spain -
Battle Austerlitz
The first engagement of the War of the Third Coalition and one of Napoleon's most significant victories. -
Period: to
Battle of Leipzig
The Coalition armies of Austria, Prussia, Sweden, and Russia, led by Tsar Alexander I and Karl von Schwarzenberg, decisively defeated the Grande Armée of French Emperor Napoleon I. -
Period: to
Congress of Vienna
A series of international diplomatic meetings to discuss and agree upon a possible new layout of the European political and constitutional order. -
Period: to
Napoleon exiled to Elba
Ordered and oversaw massive infrastructure improvements -
Napoleon exiled to St. Helena
Only allowed to walk freely within a limited area and under the supervision of several British soldiers