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1200
Abbasid Caliphate
The Abbasid Caliphate was a major dynasty that ruled over the Islamic Empire during its peak and lasted from 750 to 1258.The era of the Abbasid Caliphs' construction and rule of Baghdad is known as the Golden Age of Islam. -
1492
Columus' Expeditions
He was sailing across the Atlantic to find a direct water route west from Europe to Asia but instead stumbled upon the Americas.
Columbus made his transatlantic voyages under the sponsorship of Ferdinand II and Isabella I who wanted him to make them more money and indirectly get them more power. -
Period: 1492 to
Networks of Exchange
The large empires that emerged in the classical age created massive amounts of goods and became markets for imports. Several prominent trade systems developed that linked the empires together in a complex network of exchange. -
1514
Portuguese Expedition to Indonesia
The Portuguese arrived in Indonesia looking for natural resources, specifically spices, and to promote Christianity -
1562
British Begins its Slave Trade
Britain passed various acts and granted charters to enable companies to settle, administer and exploit British interests on the West Coast of Africa and to supply slaves to the American colonies. British industry benefited by supplying the factory-made goods in exchange for slaves and that profits made in the slave trade provided money for investment in British industry. -
British Defeat Spanish Armada
An important reason why the English were able to defeat the Armada was that the wind blew the Spanish ships northwards. The defeat of the Spanish Armada in 1588 has long been held as one of England's greatest military achievements, and a sign of the strength and spirit imparted to the country by the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. -
Japan Begins Isolation Policy
Japan's isolation policy was fully implemented by Tokugawa Iemitsu, the grandson of Ievasu and shogun from 1623 to 1641. He issued edicts that essentially closed Japan to all foreigners and prevented Japanese from leaving. -
Dutch Launch Colony in Southern Africa
In 1652 a Dutch expedition of 90 Calvinist settlers under the command of Jan Van Riebeeck founded the first permanent settlement near the Cape of Good Hope.Unlike the French and Spanish, the Dutch did not emphasize religious conversion in their relationships with Native Americans. -
French-British war in India
The war began due to a conflict between England and France over control of the Ohio River Valley. It was resolved with the Treaty of Paris in 1763. The war provided Great Britain enormous territorial gains in North America, but disputes over subsequent frontier policy and paying the war's expenses led to colonial discontent, and ultimately to the American Revolution. -
Seven Years War in Europe, India and North America
Generally, France, Austria, Saxony, Sweden, and Russia were aligned on one side against Prussia, Hanover, and Great Britain on the other.In addition to vastly increasing Britain's land in North America, the Seven Years' War changed economic, political, and social relations between Britain and its colonies. It plunged Britain into debt, nearly doubling the national debt. -
East India Company Controls Bengal
It acquired control of Bengal on the Indian subcontinent and as the company was an agent of British imperialism, its shareholders were able to influence British policy there. This eventually led to government intervention. -
American Revolution
The American Patriots in the Thirteen Colonies defeated the British in the American Revolution with the assistance of France, winning independence from Great Britain and establishing the United States of America.
