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1403
The Castilians seized the Canary Islands
The conquest of the Canary Islands was the process by which this archipelago, inhabited by aboriginal peoples, was incorporated by military occupation to the Crown of Castile throughout the 15th century. -
1415
The Portuguese seized Ceuta.
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1440
Invent the printing press
The printing press is a device that allows for the mass production of uniform printed matter, mainly text in the form of books, pamphlets and newspapers. Created in China, the printing press revolutionized society there before being further developed in Europe in the 15th Century by Johannes Gutenberg and his invention of the Gutenberg press. -
1453
The taking of Constantinople
Fall of Constantinople, (May 29, 1453), conquest of Constantinople by Sultan Mehmed II of the Ottoman Empire. The dwindling Byzantine Empire came to an end when the Ottomans breached Constantinople’s ancient land wall after besieging the city for 55 days. -
1453
The Eastern Roman Empire falls
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Period: 1455 to 1485
The War of the Two Roses
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1469
The marriage, between Isabel de Castilla and Fernando de Aragón
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1492
The end of the Spanish Reconquest, as a consequence of the taking of the Moorish city of Granada by the Catholic kings.
The end of the Spanish Reconquest, as a consequence of the taking of the Moorish city of Granada by the Catholic kings. In this way, more than 7 centuries of Muslim rule of the Iberian Peninsula came to an end. That same year, and in pursuit of religious unity, the Catholic kings expelled the Jews from their territories. -
1494
The signing of the Treaty of Tordesillas
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1517
The Protestant Reformation began in Germany.
The Christian religious movement started in Germany in the 16th century by Martin Luther is known as the Protestant Reformation, which led to a schism of the Catholic Church to give rise to numerous churches and religious currents grouped under the name of Protestantism. -
1545
The Catholic Church started the Counter Reformation from the convocation of the Council of Trent
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1555
Carlos V signed the Peace of Augsburg with the forces of the League of Schmalkalden.
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1568
The 80 Years War between the Netherlands and the Spanish Empire began.
The Eighty Years' War was a war that pitted the Seventeen Provinces of the Countries against their sovereign Felipe II of Spain. -
1572
The mass murder of Protestants in Paris, remembered as the Massacre of St. Bartholomew
The mass murder of Huguenots (it is the old name given to the French Protestants of Calvinist doctrine during the wars of religion) that took place in Paris on the night of August 23-24, 1572, is known as the Massacre of the Night of San Bartolomé. -
1582
The old Julian calendar was replaced by the Gregorian calendar.
The Julian calendar was replaced by the Gregorian calendar around 1582. Religious dates were very important throughout this period, but even more so during the Middle Ages when the Catholic Church gained more power.