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Period: 1550 to
Scientific Revolution
The Scientific Revolution was a period of time after the Middle Ages that promoted a new way of thinking about the natural world based on observations and a willingness to question beliefs, therefore, challenging the authority of church and government. -
Galileo Galilei supports the heliocentric theory
After reading Copernicus’s observations of the universe, Galileo used solid reasoning to argue that the sun was in the center of the solar system which went against the church’s belief that the earth was in the middle of the universe. And although stating any theory opposing the church was a death sentence, making open support very dangerous, Galileo survived since he was protected by the influence and respect he had, allowing his ideas to live as well paving the way for other scientists. -
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English Civil War
The English Civil War was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists, mainly over the manner of England's governance and issues of religious freedom. It ended the notion of the divine right of kings and laid the groundwork for the modern UK parliament and monarchy, which served as an example to the French government during their revolution. -
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Englightment
Due to the Scientific Revolution thinking, more people doubted prior knowledge and instead wanted to find the reasoning for phenomenons with solid facts without religion causing more scientists to emerge in areas such as politics and society. In this time period, the government was also being scrutinized at by social scientists. This led to many ideals that are still active today: popular sovereignty, natural rights, self-determination, equality, and social contract. -
Hobbes’s Leviathan is published
The work concerns the structure of society and legitimate government and is regarded as one of the earliest and most influential examples of social contract theory. Written during the English Civil War (1642–1651), it argues for a social contract and rule by an absolute sovereign. -
Glorious Revolution
The Glorious Revolution permanently established Parliament as the ruling power of England—and, later, the United Kingdom—representing a shift from an absolute monarchy to a constitutional monarchy. -
English Bill of Rights signed
The English Bill of Rights was an act signed into law by William III and Mary II, who became co-rulers in England after the overthrow of King James II. The bill outlined specific constitutional and civil rights and ultimately gave Parliament power over the monarchy. -
Locke’s Two Treatises on Government is published
John Locke is among the most influential political philosophers of the modern period. In the Two Treatises of Government, he defended the claim that men are by nature free and equal against claims that God had made all people naturally subject to a monarch. -
Diderot Publishes First Volumes of Encyclopedia
This encyclopedia, written by a collaborative group of “men of letters,” is commonly viewed as a principle work of the Enlightenment and was highly influential in shaping and spreading the kind of progressive thinking that eventually led to the French Revolution. -
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Louis XVI’s reign
Louis XVI was the last Bourbon king of France who was executed in 1793 for treason. In 1770 he married Austrian archduchess Marie Antoinette, the daughter of Maria Theresa and Holy Roman Emperor Francis I. After a slew of governing missteps, Louis XVI brought the French Revolution crashing down upon himself. This was mainly because he allowed starvation and economic disaster to plague the population which was mostly lower-class members. -
Lexington and Concord
The Battles of Lexington and Concord signaled the start of the American Revolutionary war. The British Army set out from Boston to capture rebel leaders Samuel Adams and John Hancock in Lexington as well as to destroy the Americans store of weapons and ammunition in Concord. The first bullet shot is said to be “the shot that was heard around the world”. -
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American Revolution
In the end, the Revolution opened new markets and new trade relationships. The Americans' victory also opened the western territories for invasion and settlement, which created new domestic markets. Americans began to create their own manufacturers, no longer content to reply to those in Britain. -
Declaration of Independence
The Declaration of Independence is an important part of American democracy because first, it contains the ideals or goals of our nation. Second, it contains the complaints of the colonists against the British king. Third, it contains the arguments the colonists used to explain why they wanted to be free of British rule. -
United States Bill of Rights signed
The Bill of Rights is the first 10 Amendments to the Constitution. It spells out Americans' rights in relation to their government. It guarantees civil rights and liberties to the individual—like freedom of speech, press, and religion. -
National Assembly is formed in France
The National Assembly played a major role in the French Revolution. It represented the common people of France (also called the Third Estate) and demanded that the king make economic reforms to ensure that the people had food to eat. -
Tennis Court Oath
The Tennis Court Oath was significant because it showed the growing unrest against Louis XVI and laid the foundation for later events, including the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen and the storming of the Bastille. -
Declaration of Rights of Man
The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, passed by France's National Constituent Assembly in August 1789, is a fundamental document of the French Revolution that granted civil rights to some commoners, although it excluded a significant segment of the French population. -
Legislative Assembly is formed in France
The Legislative Assembly was the governing body of France between October 1791 and September 1792. It replaced the National Constituent Assembly. 2. The Legislative Assembly was formed under the Constitution of 1791, which created a constitutional monarchy with Louis XVI as the head of state. -
Wollstonecraft’s A Vindication of the Rights of Women is published
Mary Wollstonecraft's A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, the seminal English-language feminist work, was published in England. Challenging the notion that women exist only to please men, she proposed that women and men be given equal opportunities in education, work, and politics. -
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Reign of Terror
Reign of Terror lasted from September 1793 until the fall of Robespierre in 1794. Its purpose was to purge France of enemies of the Revolution and protect the country from foreign invaders. -
Execution of Louis XVI
A major result of the French Revolution was the execution of Louis XVI, the monarch of France during the revolution. ... Louis XVI famously mismanaged the country with his indecisiveness as it slipped into crisis and by 1789 he had lost the respect of his people. -
Execution of Marie Antoinette
On January 21, 1793, he was dragged to the guillotine and executed. By October, a month into the infamous and bloody Reign of Terror that claimed tens of thousands of French lives, Marie Antoinette was put on trial for treason and theft, as well as a false and disturbing charge of sexual abuse against her own son. -
Napoleon’s coup
Coup of 18–19 Brumaire, (November 9–10, 1799), coup d'état that overthrew the system of government under the Directory in France and substituted the Consulate, making way for the despotism of Napoleon Bonaparte. The event is often viewed as the effective end of the French Revolution