-
1469
Isabella & Ferdinand unify Spain
Isabella and Ferdinand's union, and their rule, triggered a war that forged the modern world. -
Period: 1509 to 1547
Henry VIII resigns in England
Henry VIII's reign is usually remembered for the King's six wives and his legendary appetite. -
Period: 1558 to
Elizabeth I reigns England
Elizabeth's 45-year reign is generally considered one of the most glorious in English history. -
1559
Voltaire publishes “Candid”
The Seven Years War led Voltaire to publish this. -
Edict of Natnes
The Edict of Nantes granted religious tolerance and equality to the French Protestants and ended the French Wars of Religion. -
Don Quixote is published
Don Quixote is a Spanish epic novel and is considered a founding work of Western literature and it is often labeled as the first modern novel and one of the greatest works ever written. -
Period: to
Thirty Years War
The Thirty Years War was a series of wars fought by various nations for various reasons, including religious, dynastic, territorial, and commercial rivalries. -
Petition of Right signed
Petition of Right was an English constitutional document setting out specific individual protections against the state. -
Period: to
The Long Parliament
During its first nine months, The Long Parliament brought down the king's advisers, and swept away the machinery of government developed by the Tudors and early Stuarts. -
Period: to
Louis XIV reigns as king of France
Louis XIV reign is associated with the image of an absolute monarch and a strong, centralized state. -
Peace of Westphalia is signed
The Peace of Westphalia formally ended the Thirty Years' War in Europe -
Thomas Hobbes publishes “Leviathan”
Hobbes published this as a response to the fear Hobbes experienced during the political turmoil of the English Civil Wars. -
Period: to
Charles II reigns England
Charles II restored the monarchy and reestablished the balance of powers between Parliament and the throne during his reign. -
Period: to
Peter the Great reigns as czar of Russia
Peter was determined that Russia become and remain a great European power and carry forward the Westernizing policies. -
Glorious Revolution
The Glorious Revolution is the sequence of events that led to the deposition of James II and VII in November 1688. -
English Bill of Rights signed
The English Bill of Rights was an Act declaring the Rights and Liberties of the Subject, and settling the Succession of the Crown. -
John Locke publishes “Two Treaties of Government”
In this, Locke proposed that government emerges from the consent of the government to protect their natural rights. -
Daniel Dafoe publishes “Robinson Crusoe”
Robinson Crusoe is an English adventure novel by Daniel Defoe, first published in April 1719. -
Jonathan Swift publishes “Gulliver’s Travels”
Johnathan Swift wrote this to illustrate how the English government and society needed a reformation. -
Period: to
Frederick II reigns Prussia
Frederick II became the first king in Prussia, freed his domains from imperial suzerainty, and continued the policies begun by his father. -
Baron de Montesquieu publishes “The Spirit of Laws”
Baron de Montesquieu published a treatise on political theory, as well as a pioneering work in comparative law. -
Denis Diderot publishes his “Encyclopedia”
Denis's encyclopedia was the first encyclopedia to include contributions from many named contributors and the first to describe the mechanical arts. -
Period: to
Seven Years War
The Seven Years' War was a global conflict involving most of the European great powers, fought primarily in Europe and the Americas. -
Period: to
George III reigns England
George III was the first truly British monarch of the Hanoverian kings. -
Jean Jacque Rousseau publishes “Social Contract”
Rousseau's book outlined a theory of society and government in which a social contract among a people would preserve their freedom. -
Period: to
Catherine Great reigns Russia
Catherine the Great led her country into full participation in the political and cultural life of Europe. -
Boston Massacre
The Boston Massacre was a confrontation in Boston, in which nine British soldiers shot several of a crowd of three to four hundred who were harassing them verbally and throwing projectiles. -
Boston Tea Party
It was an act of protest in which a group of American colonists threw chests of tea into Boston Harbor to act out against a tax on tea. -
Intolerable Acts
The Intolerable Acts were 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 and Concord
The Battle of Lexington and Concord was the first major military campaign, resulting in an American victory. -
Adam Smith publishes “Wealth of Nations”
Adam Smith published an inquiry on the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations. -
Declaration of Independence signed
The Declaration of Independence shows that the 13 American colonies severed their political connections to Great Britain. -
Period: to
Joseph II reigns Austria
During his reign, Joseph created scholarships for talented poor students and allowed the establishment of schools for Jews and other religious minorities. -
Battle of Yorktown
At the Battle of Yorktown, American and French forces besieged the British army. -
Treaty of Paris
The Treaty of Paris was signed by U.S. and British Representatives which ended the War of the American Revolution. -
US Constitution ratified
The need for the Constitution grew out of problems with the Articles of Confederation so the Constitution became ratified. -
Declaration of the Rights of Man
The Declaration of the Rights of Man set by France is a human civil rights document from the French Revolution. -
Storming of the Bastille
The Storming of the Bastille occurred in France when revolutionary insurgents attempted to storm and seize control. -
Tennis Court Oath
The Tennis Court Oath was a vital moment that set off the French Revolution. The Tennis Court Oath was taken and there, the men of the National Assembly swore an oath never to stop meeting until a constitution had been established. -
Women’s march on Versailles
The Women's March on Versailles was a riot that took place during this first stage of the French Revolution. -
Declaration of the Rights of Woman
The Declaration of the Rights of Woman was written in September 1791 by French activist, feminist, and playwright Olympe de Gouges in response to the 1789 Declaration of the Rights of Man, -
Mary Wollstonecraft publishes “A Vindication of the Rights of Woman”
Mary Wollstonecraft's "A Vindication of the Rights of Woman" made an influential argument for women's equality. -
National Convention Formed
The National Convention was established in 1792 during the French Revolution to replace the previous legislative bodies after the end of the monarchy. -
Period: to
Radical Phase
The overthrow of the Legislative Assembly and suspension of King Louis XVI, turning France into a republic, began this radical phase. -
Committee of Public Safety created
The Committee of Public Safety was a committee of the National Convention that formed the provisional government and war cabinet during the Reign of Terror. -
Period: to
Reign of Terror
The Reign of Terror was a period of the French Revolution when a series of massacres and numerous public executions took place. -
Five Man Directory created
The Directory was the governing five-member committee in the French First Republic. -
Napoleon Bonaparte becomes Emperor
Napoleon Bonaparte was the architect of France's recovery following the Revolution before setting out to conquer Europe, which led to his downfall. -
Battle Austerlitz
Battle Austerlitz was one of the most important and decisive military engagements of the Napoleonic Wars. -
Battle of Trafalgar
The Battle of Trafalgar was a battle that took place between the British, the French, and Spanish Navies. -
Battle of Leipzig
The Coalition armies of Austria, Prussia, Sweden, and Russia decisively defeated the French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte at the Battle of Leipzig. -
Napoleon exiled to Elba
Napoleon was forced to abdicate from France and was exiled to the island of Elba. -
Period: to
Congress of Vienna
The Congress of Vienna was a series of international diplomatic meetings to discuss and agree upon a possible new layout of the European political and constitutional order. -
Napoleon exiled to St. Helena
Napoleon had been exiled to St. Helena after he was defeated by the British at the Battle of Waterloo. -
Sabastian Bach height of his career
Sebastian Bach is regarded as one of the greatest composers of all time. He is celebrated as the creator of many masterpieces of church and instrumental music.