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Period: 1340 to 1550
Renaissance Era
The start of technological evolution for humanity, including the evolution of how ideas came about. -
1347
Black Death
The Black Death ravages Europe for the first time. By changing the economic situation, the devastating disease helps lay the preconditions for Renaissance: spare money to invest in display -
1429
Cosimo de Medici
Cosimo de Medici inherits the family bank & rises to great power in Florence -
1453
Ottoman Conquest of Constantinople
Many Greek thinkers and works travel westward, seen as a moment of massive cultural transfer between east and west; End of Hundred Years War: stability returns to NW Europe -
Period: 1467 to
Age of Absolutism
The period of time when Europe was ruled mostly by very powerful monarchs, monarchs with absolute control. Thus, the Age of Absolutism. -
1469
Lorenzo de Medici
Lorenzo de Medici, "The Magnificent", takes power in Florence. His rule is considered the high point of Florentine Renaissance -
1469
The Glorious Revolution
The Glorious Revolution was the overthrow of King James the II by Parliament and William of Orange. The Dutch fleet showed up in English waters, forcing King James to flee, demonstrating Parliament's power to govern the kingship. -
1509
King Henry VIII
Henry VIII is arguably one of England's most famous rulers. He is famous for his six wives, two of which he had beheaded, and his creation of the Anglican Church. Henry couldn't have a son with his first wife, Catherine of Aragon, and was not allowed to annul the marriage. To secure a divorce, the king had to make his own religion, the Anglican Church. This religious institution remains today, and has many attendants -
1517
Start of the Reformation
This religious schism divides Europe spiritually permanently and is heavily influenced by Humanist thinking, a mark of the Renaissance. -
The Thirty Years War
The Holy Roman Empire was loosely aligned by its allegiance to a ruler in Vienna, selected by seven princes called Electors. This system made the "Emperor" have little real power over his dominion. This internal power struggle, along with religious conflict brought about by the Reformation, sparked the longest and bloodiest war in European history. -
English Civil War
Starting from the attempted arrest of Parliamentary leaders by Charles I, the English Civil War raged for seven years and ended in the execution of Charles I. The war ended with the execution of Charles I, the first time a monarch had been tried and executed by his people. -
Period: to
Age of Enlightenment
This is the Era where large amounts of ideas and “updates” to society. -
Steam Ingine
Thomas Newcomen invents the first Steam Engine. IT's not very useful yet, but the idea of using steam to power engines will be an important idea to the INdustrial Revolution -
Period: to
Industrial Revolution
Tons of ideas and inventions came about in this time period -
St Bartholomew's Day Massacre
Six days after the wedding of Margaret de Medici and Henry IV of France, many Protestant leaders were assassinated by French Catholics, which then grew into a huge bloody mob, ranging anywhere from 5,000 to 30,000 killed. The assassination attempt is often believed to have been instigated by Catherine de Medici, Margaret's sister. -
Spinning Jenny
James Hargreaves, a British carpenter and weaver, invents the Spinning Jenny. The machine spins more than one ball of yarn or thread at a time, making it easier and faster to make cloth. -
Formation of the National Assembly
The Third Estate decided to break away to form another assembly where everyone gets a vote. The king tried to stop them by closing off the Salle des États meeting room, but they met in an indoor tennis court instead. On June 20th, they took the Tennis Court Oath, where they promised to work until they had created a new constitution for France. -
Period: to
French Revolution
A time of ideas and governmental changes for France -
The National Convention
France needed a new government. On 20 September 1792, the National Convention was formed. The Convention had both Girondins and radical Jacobins. -
Execution of Louis XVI
In January 1793, the National Convention voted and found Louis XVI guilty of “conspiracy against the public liberty and the general safety.” On the twenty-first of January, the King was executed using the guillotine. Marie Antoinette, the Queen, was also executed on the sixteenth of October. -
The Reign of Terror
Maximilien de Robespierre and eight other leading Jacobins set up the Committee of Public Safety. It was the most powerful group in France and was responsible for the Reign of Terror. The Reign of Terror lasted from the spring of 1793 to the spring of 1794. -
Italian Campaign
Napoleon took over the French "Army of Italy", drove the Austrian and Sardinians out of Piedmont, defeated the Papal States, and occupied Venice. This was his first major victory. -
Period: to
Napoleonic Era
The time when Napoleon made an impact on France -
Coup of 18 Brumaire
People rioted against the Directory, but the Directory used the army to stop them. The army, under the Corsican general Napoleon Bonaparte, became much more powerful. On 9 November 1799 Bonaparte took power. Napoleon Bonaparte set up a new government called the Consulate with him in power. This led to him becoming the dictator and, in 1804, the Emperor of France. -
Battle of Austerlitz
Napoleon defeated the Third Coalition. Generally viewed as one of his most brilliant battles, the BoA was fought in what is now the Czech Republic, with Napoleon trouncing the armies of the Austrian and Russian Empires. -
Russian Campaign
Napoleon amassed a huge army and marched to Moscow, not recognizing the challenges of supplying a large army such a long way from home. As the Russian army retreated, they applies a "scorched earth" policy, destroying or carrying off anything useful. As they retreated from Moscow, they set it on fire, leaving no structures remaining. As a result, the French army suffered terribly from starvation and cold as they made the long trip back towards France. -
Napoleon's Exile Pt.1
Napoleon abdicated as emperor wand was sent into exile on the Mediterranean Island of Elba. He was given "sovereignty" over the island and actually given his own navy. -
Napoleon's Exile Pt.2
Napoleon abdicated a second time and attempted to escape to the United States. He was captured by the British and eventually transported to the island of St. Helena, where he remained for the rest of his life. -
Telegraph
Samuel Morse invents the telegraph, allowing messages to be sent quickly over a wire. By 1860, telegraph wires stretch from the east coast of the US west of the Mississippi River -
Dynamite
Alfred Nobel invents dynamite, which is a safer way to blast hole in mountains or the ground than simply lighting black power. Dynamite is important in clearing paths to build things such as roads and railroad tracks. -
First Powered Flight
Using an engine that they invented, Orville and Wilbur Wright invent the first plane that isn't powered by wind. Orville flies the plane for 12 seconds over a beach in North Carolina.
