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Period: 1095 to 1291
Crusades are Fought
In wars called the Crusades, Christians from Europe fought Muslims for control of Jerusalem and other holy places. The word crusade comes from the Latin word crux, meaning "cross." The Christian soldiers, called Crusaders, wore the cross as a symbol of their religion. The Crusades took place between 1095 and 1291. -
1231
Spanish Inquisition
Roughly 700 years. The official start is usually given as 1231 A.D., when the pope appoints the first “inquisitors of heretical depravity.” The Spanish Inquisition, which begins under Ferdinand and Isabella, doesn't end until the 19th century — the last execution was in 1826. -
Period: May 24, 1337 to Oct 19, 1453
The Hundred Year War
The Hundred Years' War was a series of conflicts waged from 1337 to 1453 by the House of Plantagenet, rulers of the Kingdom of England, against the House of Valois, rulers of the Kingdom of France, over the succession to the French throne. -
1347
Black Death Begins in Europe
The Black Death arrived in Europe by sea in 1347 when trading ships docked at the Sicilian port of Messina after a long journey through the Black Sea. The Black Death was one of the most devastating pandemics in human history, resulting in the deaths of about 75 to 200 million people in Eurasia and peaking in the years 1346–1353. competing theories as to the cause of the Black Death, analyses of DNA from people in Europe indicate that the pathogen responsible was the Yersinia pestis bacterium. -
1350
Renaissance Begins
One of the most creative periods in history occurred in Europe around 1350–1550. This cultural revival is known as the Renaissance, was inspired by the Ancient Greece and Roman cultures.The intellectual basis of the Renaissance was its own invented version of humanism, derived from the rediscovery of classical Greek philosophy, such as that of Protagoras, who said that "Man is the measure of all things." This new thinking became manifest in art, architecture, science and literature. -
Period: 1400 to 1500
Columbian Exchange
The Columbian Exchange was the widespread transfer of plants, animals, culture, human populations, technology, and ideas between the Americas and the Old World. Invasive species, including communicable diseases, were a byproduct of the Exchange. The changes in agriculture significantly altered and changed global populations. A byproduct of the Columbian Exchange was the Atlantic slave trade, where as many as 27.5 million African people were sent to other countries as slaves. -
May 30, 1431
Joan of Arc burned at the steak
Joan of Arc, nicknamed "The Maid of Orléans," was born in 1412 in Domrémy, Bar, France. A national heroine of France, at age 18 she led the French army to victory over the English at Orléans. Captured a year later, Joan was burned at the stake as a heretic by the English and their French collaborators. Joan said she received visions of the Archangel Michael, Saint Margaret, and Saint Catherine of Alexandria instructing her to support Charles VII. -
1440
Johannas Gutenburg invents the printing press
The printing press was invented in the Holy Roman Empire by the German Johannes Gutenberg around 1440. Gutenberg, a goldsmith by profession, developed a printing system, by adapting existing technologies to printing purposes, as well as making inventions of his own. His newly devised hand mould made possible the precise and rapid creation of metal movable type in large quantities. The printing press spread within several decades to over two hundred cities in a dozen European countries. -
Apr 6, 1453
fall of Constantinople
The capture of Constantinople marked the end of the Byzantine Empire, a continuation of the Roman Empire dating to 27 BC, an imperial state lasting for nearly 1,500 years. The Ottoman conquest of Constantinople also dealt a massive blow to Christendom, as the Muslim Ottoman armies thereafter were left unchecked to advance into Europe without an adversary to their rear. After the conquest, Sultan Mehmed II transferred the capital of the Ottoman Empire from Edirne to Constantinople. -
1492
christopher columbus lands in the americas
During four separate trips that started with the one in 1492, Columbus landed on various Caribbean islands that are now the Bahamas as well as the island later called Hispaniola. He also explored the Central and South American coasts. -
Period: 1500 to
Slave trade
The Atlantic slave trade or transatlantic slave trade involved the transportation by slave traders of enslaved African people, mainly from Africa to the Americas, and then their sale there. -
1507
Mona Lisa Completed
Historians agree that Leonardo began painting Mona Lisa in 1503, working on it for approximately four years and keeping it himself for some years after. In August 1911, the Mona Lisa was stolen off the walls of the Louvre in Paris. The famous painting wasn't recovered until two years later, in Dec 1913. The Mona Lisa is also one of the most valuable paintings in the world. It holds the guinness world record for the highest known insurance value in history at one hundred million dollars in 1962. -
1508
Michaelangelo begins painting the sistine Chapel
The Sistine Chapel ceiling, painted by Michelangelo between 1508 and 1512, is a cornerstone work of High Renaissance art. The ceiling is that of the Sistine Chapel, the large papal chapel built within the Vatican between 1477 and 1480 by Pope Sixtus IV, for whom the chapel is named. -
Period: Apr 21, 1509 to Jan 28, 1547
King Henry VIII Reign
Henry VIII (5-28-1491 – 1-28-1547) was King of England from 1509 until his death. Henry was the second Tudor monarch, succeeding his father, Henry VII. Besides asserting the sovereign's supremacy over the Church of England, he greatly expanded royal power during his reign. Henry is best known for his 6 marriages and his efforts to have his first marriage to Catherine of Aragon annulled. His argument with the Pope on the question of such an annulment led Henry to initiate the English Reformation. -
1513
The Prince
The Prince is a 16th-century political treatise by the Italian diplomat and political theorist Niccolò Machiavelli. From correspondence a version appears to have been distributed in 1513, using a Latin title, De Principatibus (About Principalities). However, the printed version was not published until 1532. This was done with the permission of the Medici pope Clement VII, but since the first appearance of The Prince, controversy had swirled about his writings. -
Oct 31, 1517
Martin Luther posts the "95 Theses"
Acting on this belief, he wrote the “Disputation on the Power and Efficacy of Indulgences,” also known as “The 95 Theses,” a list of questions and propositions for debate. Popular legend has it that on October 31, 1517 Luther defiantly nailed a copy of his 95 Theses to the door of the Wittenberg Castle church. -
1521
Cortez conquers the Aztecs
The Spanish conquest of the Aztecs in 1521, led by Hernando Cortes, was a landmark victory for the European settlers. Following the Spanish arrival in Mexico, a huge battle erupted between the army of Cortes and the Aztec people under the rule of Montezuma. -
Period: 1540 to 1560
Counter Reformation
The Counter-Reformation, also called the Catholic Reformation or the Catholic Revival, was the period of Catholic resurgence initiated in response to the Protestant Reformation, beginning with the Council of Trent (1545–1563) and ending at the close of the Thirty Years War (1648). The Counter Reformation was a effort composed of five major elements:
Reactionary defense of Catholic sacramental practice
Structural reconfiguration
Religious orders
Spiritual movements
Political dimensions -
1555
Peace of Augsburg
Peace of Augsburg, 1555, temporary settlement within the Holy Roman Empire of the religious conflict arising from the Reformation. Each prince was to determine whether Lutheranism or Roman Catholicism was to prevail in his lands. -
Period: Nov 17, 1558 to
Queen Elizabeths reign
Elizabeth I (7 September 1533 – 24 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death. Sometimes called The Virgin Queen, Gloriana or Good Queen Bess, Elizabeth was the last monarch of the House of Tudor. -
Period: to
Era of the Samurai
Samurai. The samurai (or bushi) were the warriors of premodern Japan. They later made up the ruling military class that eventually became the highest ranking social caste of the Edo Period (1603-1867). -
Shakespeare death
On 23 April 1616, his 52nd birthday, William Shakespeare died. He was buried in Holy Trinity Church in Stratford, the same place he was baptized. -
Period: to
Opium Wars
The Opium Wars were two wars in the mid-19th century involving Anglo-Chinese disputes over British trade in China. The disputes included the First Opium War and the Second Opium War. The First Opium War, during 1839–1842, was concluded by the Treaty of Nanking in 1842. The treaty ceded the Hong Kong island to the British in perpetuity. During 1856–1860, British forces fought towards legalization of the opium trade, to expand coolie trade, to open all of China to the British.
