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476
Fall of The Roman Empire
Rome had tangled with Germanic tribes for centuries, but by the 300s “barbarian" had encroached beyond the Empire’s borders. The Romans weathered a Germanic uprising in the late fourth century. The Empire spent the next several decades under constant threat before “the Eternal City” was raided again in 455, this time by the Vandals. Andrews, Evan. “8 Reasons Why Rome Fell.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 14 Jan. 2014 -
476
The Middle Ages
The start of the Crusades and the knights of the Middle Ages. The Domesday Book and the Magna Carta. The Kings and Queens of the Middle Ages including Richard the Lion heart and great Plantagenet Kings from Henry II (1154-1189) to Edward III (1327-1377). The Hundred Years War between England and France. The Medieval Kings and Queens of the Royal Houses of Lancaster and York and the Wars of the Roses and the role of the church in the Middle Ages.
“Middle Ages for Kids.” Middle Ages, -
Period: 1095 to 1291
Crusades
The Crusades were a series of religious wars between Christians and Muslims started primarily to secure control of holy sites considered sacred by both groups. In all, eight major Crusade expeditions occurred between 1096 and 1291. The bloody, violent and often ruthless conflicts propelled the status of European Christians, making them major players in the fight for land in the Middle East. History.com Staff. “The Crusades.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 2010, -
Period: 1300 to
The Renaissance
was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Florence in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. CosmoLearning. “Topics: EUROPE - Europe 1300-1699: Renaissance.” CosmoLearning, -
Period: 1517 to
Protestant Reformation
In northern and central Europe, reformers like Martin Luther, challenged authority and questioned the Catholic Church’s ability to define Christian practice. They argued for a religious and political redistribution of power into the hands of Bible and pamphlet reading pastors and princes. The disruption triggered wars, persecutions and the so-called Counter-Reformation, the Catholic Church’s delayed but forceful response to the Protestants.
http://www.history.com/topics/reformation# -
The Age of Enlightenment
European politics, philosophy, science and communications were reoriented during the course of the “long 18th century” (1685-1815) as part of a movement referred to by its participants as the Age of Reason, or simply the Enlightenment. Enlightenment thinkers in Britain, in France and throughout Europe questioned traditional authority and embraced the notion that humanity could be improved through rational change.
History.com Staff. “Enlightenment.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 2009, -
Period: to
The Industrial Revolution
a period during which predominantly agrarian, rural societies in Europe and America became industrial and urban. Prior to the Industrial Revolution, which began in Britain in the late 1700s, manufacturing was often done in people’s homes, using hand tools or basic machines. Industrialization marked a shift to powered, special-purpose machinery, factories and mass production. http://www.history.com/topics/industrial-revolution -
Period: to
The French Revolution
began in 1789 and ended in the late 1790s with the ascent of Napoleon Bonaparte. During this period, French citizens razed and redesigned their country’s political landscape, uprooting centuries-old institutions such as absolute monarchy and the feudal system. Like the American Revolution before it, the French Revolution was influenced by Enlightenment ideals, particularly the concepts of popular sovereignty and inalienable rights. http://www.history.com/topics/french-revolution -
Period: to
WWI
Started because of the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, and lasted until 1918. During the conflict, Germany, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria and the Ottoman Empire (the Central Powers) fought against Great Britain, France, Russia, Italy, Romania, Japan and the United States (the Allied Powers). Thanks to new military technologies and the horrors of trench warfare, World War I saw unprecedented levels of carnage and destruction. http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-i/world-war-i-history -
Period: to
WWII
the most widespread and deadliest war in history, involving more than 30 countries and resulting in more than 50 million military and civilian deaths (with some estimates as high as 85 million dead). Sparked by Adolf Hitler’s invasion of Poland in 1939, the war would drag on for six deadly years until the final Allied defeat of both Nazi Germany and Japan in 1945. http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii -
Period: to
The Cold War
The relationship between the U.S. and The USSR was a tense one. For their part, the Soviets resented the Americans’ decades-long refusal to treat the USSR as a legitimate part of the international community as well as their delayed entry into World War II, which resulted in the deaths of tens of millions of Russians. http://www.history.com/topics/cold-war/cold-war-history -
NATO/ Warsaw Pact
In 1949, the prospect of further Communist expansion prompted the United States and 11 other Western nations to form the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). The Soviet Union and its affiliated Communist nations in Eastern Europe founded a rival alliance, the Warsaw Pact, in 1955.
History.com Staff. “Formation of NATO.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 2010 -
The Fall of The Berlin Wall
On August 13, 1961, the Communist government of the German Democratic Republic (GDR, or East Germany) began to build a barbed wire and concrete “Antifascistischer Schutzwall,” or “antifascist bulwark,” between East and West Berlin. The official purpose of this Berlin Wall was to keep Western “fascists” from entering East Germany and undermining the socialist state. The Berlin Wall stood until November 9, 1989 History.com Staff. “Berlin Wall.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 200 -
The Collapse of The Soviet Union
On December 25, 1991, the Soviet hammer and sickle flag lowered for the last time over the Kremlin, thereafter replaced by the Russian tricolor. Earlier in the day, Mikhail Gorbachev resigned his post as president of the Soviet Union, leaving Boris Yeltsin as president of the newly independent Russian state. U.S. Department of State, U.S. Department of State, history.state.gov/milestones/1989-1992/collapse-soviet-union. -
Creation of the European Union
The European Union. The European Union (EU) was created by the Maastricht Treaty on November 1st 1993. It is a political and economic union between European countries which makes its own policies concerning the members' economies, societies, laws and to some extent security. Wilde, Robert. “The History of the European Union (EU).” ThoughtCo, www.thoughtco.com/the-history-of-the-european-union-1221595.
