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1453 BCE
Silk Route Trade
The Silk Road was a network of trade routes connecting China and the Far East with the M.E. and Europe. Established when the Han Dynasty in China officially opened trade with the West in 130 B.C., the routes remained in use until 1453 A.D., when the Ottoman Empire boycotted trade with China and closed them. Although it's been nearly 600 years since the Silk Route has been used for international trade, the routes had a lasting impact on commerce, culture and history that resonates even today. -
560 BCE
Siddharta Gautama
Gautama was born in 560 BCE and lived a life of luxury until he saw what the world is truly like - filled with suffering. He then left behind his life and searched for the source of human misery. After meditating under a sacred tree, Gautama became enlightened since he finally understood what causes misery and how to cure it. He became known as 'Buddha' and for the remainder of his life, he taught others of what he learned. After, Buddhism spread throughout South Asia. -
187 BCE
The Mauryan Empire
The Mauryan Empire dominated ancient India between 322 and 187 BCE. Chandragupta Mauryan founded India's first empire. He was an Indian prince who conquered a large area in the Ganges River valley soon after Alexander invaded western India. It was the first state to unify most of the Indian subcontinent. It was founded by Chandragupta Maurya in 324 B.C.E. and survived until 184 B.C.E. From its capital at Pataliputra in the Ganges Valley it grew wealthy from taxes. -
1275
Marco Polo
Marco Polo returned to Venice again via the Silk Road routes, in 1295, just as the Mongolian Empire was in decline. His journeys across the Silk Road became the basis for his book. The Travels of Marco Polo, which gave Europeans a better understanding of Asian commence and culture. -
1453
Fall of Constantinople
The closing of the Silk Road forced merchants to take to the sea thus initiating the Age of Discovery which led to world-wide interaction and the beginnings of a global community. Its closure would propel Europeans across the ocean to explore, and eventually conquer, the so-called New World of the Americas. In this way, the Silk Road can be said to have established the groundwork for the development of the modern world. -
Dec 24, 1524
Vasco Da Gama
Vasco Da Gama was a Portuguese captain who reached India in 1498. The Portuguese were interested in India's trade. Then, the Dutch, French, and British followed after. -
East India Company of London
East India Company of London was granted a royal charter by the British monarch. In 1608, the first of the company's ships began arriving in Indian port cities to purchase goods, spices, and other items to export back to England. A few years later, in 1613, the first permanent British post had been established in India. At that point, P.J. Marshall writes, "a regular direct trade between Britain and India began." -
The British East India Company
Was one of the first joint-stock companies
Received and English Royal Chart Dec 31,1600 - Elizabeth I
Gave the Co. a 21 year monopoly on all trade in India
From a trading company to political power in India -
United Kingdom of Great Britain
England and Scotland joined, which formed the United Kingdom of Great Britain. -
Battle of Plassey
East India Company expanded both its trading routes and its political power in India. It even had its own army.In 1757,Battle of Plassey took place.The victory of the company's forces led to what is called "company rule in India." The leader of Bengal surrendered the lands he controlled to the company. Control of land increased, company established its own capital in Calcutta.Governor was more than just a company director.He was the leader of a strong collective of British post-cities and ports. -
Anglicists
Anglicists were people who spread English and western influence in the Indian education system. One major figure in this movement was Thomas Babington Macaulay. In 1835, English became the official language of the higher education. -
Indian Mutiny
Discontent among the former rulers(Indian rulers). Played on religious fears. Wanting to convert Indians Muslims and Hindus to Christianity. Started in the army and spread through the general pop. Immediate cause was the issuance of new rifle cartridges.Started in Meerut and spread with other Sepoys
Atrocities.Indian brutality to men, women and children.British counter with equal brutality;The Devil's Wind:They would strap an Indian to the end of a canon, light the canon, and obliterate the body -
The Muslim League Forms
The Muslim League wanted to protect the interests, rights, and liberties of Indian Muslims because many Muslim Leaders worried that Hindus had opposed the partition of Bengal for political reasons. Therefore, this league was created. -
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World War 1
World War I began in 1914, after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, and lasted until 1918. During the conflict,Germany, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria and the OttomanEmpire fought against Great Britain,France,Russia, Italy, Romania, Japan and the United States.Thanks to new military technologies and the horrors of trench warfare caused mass destruction. By the time the war was over and the Allied Powers claimed victory, more than 16 million people, soldiers and civilians alike, were dead. -
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Roaring 20s
The 1920s were an age of dramatic social and political change. For the first time, more Americans lived in cities than on farms. The nation's total wealth more than doubled between 1920 and 1929, and this economic growth swept many Americans into an affluent but unfamiliar “consumer society.” -
The Salt March
- British law claimed that the British had sole right to produce and sell salt in India
- Gandhi wrote to Viceroy stating his intent to break the law.
- With 78 followers he marched 240 miles to the sea. By the time he reached the sea, thousands of people had joined the march
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Period: to
World War 2
The instability created in Europe by the WW1 set the stage for another international conflict which broke out two decades later and would prove even more devastating. Rising to power in an economically and politically unstable Germany, Adolf Hitler and his National Socialist rearmed the nation and signed strategic treaties with Italy and Japan for world domination. Hitler’s invasion of Poland in September 1939 drove Great Britain and France to declare war on Germany, and World War II had begun. -
Quit India Speech
The Quit India speech is a speech made by Mahatma Gandhi on 8 August 1942, on the eve of the Quit India movement. He called for determined, but passive resistance that signified the certitude that Gandhi foresaw for the movement, best described by his call to Do or Die. -
India Independence and Partition
India gained its independence in 1947 and became the world's greatest democracy.
12.5 million people were displaced with 500,000 killed or injured in riots and religious attacks. -
Gandhi's Death
Gandhi was assassinated in 1948 by Nathuram Godse. This was the 6th attempt on his life. -
Indira Gandhi's Death
Indira Gandhi served as India's prime minister for four terms. She is the only female prime minster India has ever had. Indira Gandhi was involved in a Sikh independence movement when she ordered Indian troops to remove Sikhs from the Golden Temple they were occupying. She was assassinated by her Sikh bodyguards.
