-
Period: 1300 to
Renaissance
The Renaissance was a period in European history, from the 14th to the 17th century, regarded as the cultural bridge between the Middle Ages and modern history. It started as a cultural movement in Italy in the Medieval period and later spread to the rest of Europe, marking the beginning of the Modern age. This new thinking became manifest in art, architecture, politics, science and literature. Early examples were the making of perspective in oil painting and how to make concrete. -
1347
The Black Death
The Black Death ravages Europe for the first time. By changing the economic situation, the devastating disease helps lay the preconditions for Renaissance: spare money to invest in display. -
1440
Donation of Constantine
Valla uses humanists skills to expose Donation of constantine as a forgery, one of the classic moments in European intellectual history. -
1454
Gutenberg Bible
The Gutenberg Bible published; print revolutionizes European literacy. This is one of the key events in the whole western history, let alone the Renaissance. -
1492
Battle of Lapiths and Centaurs
Buonarroti: Battle of Lapiths and Centaurs; Rodrigo Borgia appointed Pope, his rule is considered a reign of corruption; Columbus sails west; Behaim's glope created. -
Period: 1550 to
Age of Absolutism
Absolute monarchy, or despotic monarchy, is a form of monarchy in which one ruler has supreme authority and where that authority is not restricted by any written laws, legislature, or customs. These are often, but not always, hereditary monarchies. In contrast, in constitutional monarchies, the head of state's authority derives from and is legally bounded or restricted by a constitution or legislature. -
1558
Elizabeth I
Elizabeth I succeeds to the throne in England: start of the English "Golden Age". -
The Spanish Armada
The Spanish Armada in 1588 against England did not go as planned. Philip II was married to Mary of England. When she died he lost power over England. As he tried to gain it back he failed to get the land back. -
Period: to
Enlightenment
The Enlightenment (also known as the Age of Enlightenment or the Age of Reason.) The Enlightenment included a range of ideas centered on reason as the primary source of authority and legitimacy, and came to advance ideals like liberty, progress, tolerance, fraternity, constitutional government and separation of church and state. The Age of Enlightenment was preceded by and closely associated with the scientific revolution. -
Hobbes publishes Leviathan
Leviathan—is a book written by Thomas Hobbes (1588–1679) and published in 1651 (revised Latin edition 1668). Its name derives from the biblical Leviathan. 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. -
Oliver Cromwell Died
In 1658 Oliver Cromwell tragically died. Leaving England Ruler less. In 1660 Parliament invited Charles back. Cromwell is thought to have suffered from malaria and from "stone", a common term for urinary/kidney infections. In 1658 he was struck by a sudden bout of malarial fever, followed directly by illness symptomatic of a urinary or kidney complaint. -
Peter the Great Went West
At around 1697, Peter the Great set out for a journey to the west. He went to the west to explore their culture. When he got back he made the noblemen shave their beards and wear Western European cloths to look more professional. -
Mary Astell Wrote a Book
Mary Astell wrote "Serious Proposal to the Ladies." This stated that women needed to become better educated. Her proposal was never adopted because critics said it seemed "too Catholic" for the English. Later her ideas about women were satirized in The Tatler by the writer Jonathan Swift. -
Period: to
Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution was the transition to new manufacturing processes in the period from about 1760 to sometime between 1820 and 1840. This transition included going from hand production methods to machines, new chemical manufacturing and iron production processes, the increasing use of steam power, the development of machine tools and the rise of the factory system. The Industrial Revolution began in Great Britain, and many of the technological innovations were British. -
Peter the Great Died
In the winter of 1723, Peter, whose overall health was never robust, began having problems with his urinary tract and bladder. In the summer of 1724 a team of doctors performed surgery releasing upwards of four pounds of blocked urine. Peter remained bedridden until late autumn. Peter died between four and five in the morning 8 February 1725. An autopsy revealed his bladder to be infected with gangrene.[7] He was fifty-two years, seven months old when he died, having reigned forty-two years. -
Montesquieu Published a Book
Montesquieu Published "The Spirit of the Laws." The condition of the country determined the political and social structure. Originally published anonymously, partly because Montesquieu's works were subject to censorship, its influence outside France was aided by its rapid translation into other languages. In 1750 Thomas Nugent published the first English translation. -
King Louis sat on his Deathbed
King Louis XIV sat on his deathbed in 1751. He said "I have loved war too well; do not copy me in this nor in the lavish expenditures i have made." Therefore, he is not happy with some of his choices and he wants France to succeed after he dies. -
The Spinning Jenny was Invented
James Hargreaves, a British carpenter and weaver, invents the spinning jenny. The machine spins more than one ball of yarn or thread at a time, making it easier and faster to make cloths. -
Period: to
American Revolution
The American Revolution was a colonial revolt that took place between 1765 and 1783. The American Patriots in the Thirteen Colonies won independence from Great Britain, becoming the United States of America. They defeated the British in the American Revolutionary War in alliance with France and others. Members of American colonial society argued the position of "no taxation without representation", starting with the Stamp Act Congress in 1765. -
Holbach published a Book
Holbach published "Systems of Nature." Stated that the universe is made up of matter and motion. It was originally published under the name of Jean-Baptiste de Mirabaud, a deceased member of the French Academy of Science. Most notoriously, the work explicitly denies the existence of God, arguing that belief in a higher being is the product of fear, lack of understanding, and anthropomorphism. -
War Breaks Out
The first shots of the Revolutionary War are fired at Lexington and Concord in Massachusetts. The news of the bloodshed rockets along the eastern seaboard, an thousands of volunteers converge on Cambridge, Mass. These are the Beginnings of the Continental Army. -
America Declares Its Independance
The Declaration of Independence is adopted by the Second Continental Congress. Following a decade of agitation over taxes and a year of war, representatives make the break with Britain. King George III isn't willing to let his subjects go without a fight, and loyalists sentiment remains strong in many areas. Americans' primary allegiance is to their states; nationalism will grow slowly. -
Kings Mountain Victory revives Patriot Hopes
Patriots militia form the Carolinas, Virginia, and present-day Tennessee surround and defeat a force of loyalists under Major Patrick Ferguson at Kings Mountain, S.C. indicating the deep divisions with America, Ferguson is the only British soldier on the field-Kings Mountain. it is truly a battle among Americans about their future. -
Loyalists Leave America
The evacuation of loyalists begins. Largely unwelcome in the new United States, about 100,000 Americans who remained loyal to the crown find new lives in Britain, Canada, and British colonies in the West Indies. Among them are about 15,00 African Americans, some of whom end up helping to found the country of Sierra Leone in Africa. The loyalists experience will have a profound effect on the development of Canada's national identity. -
U.S. Constitution replaces the Articles of Confederation
A Convention of states in Philadelphia proposes the Constitution to replace the much looser central government operating under the Articles of Confederation (adopted in 1777). With amendments, the Constitution remains the framework of governments in the U.S. -
National Assembly
During the French Revolution, the National Assembly was a revolutionary assembly formed by the representatives of the Third Estate (the common people) of the Estates-General.The Estates-General had been called 1789 to deal with France's financial crisis, but promptly fell to squabbling over its own structure. -
Period: to
French Revolution
The French Revolution was a period of far-reaching social and political upheaval in France that lasted from 1789 until 1799, and was partially carried forward by Napoleon during the later expansion of the French Empire. The Revolution overthrew the monarchy, established a republic, experienced violent periods of political turmoil, and finally culminated in a dictatorship under Napoleon that rapidly brought many of its principles to Western Europe and beyond. -
Legislative Assembly
It provided the focus of political debate and revolutionary law-making between the periods of the National Constituent Assembly and of the National Convention. The Legislative Assembly entrenched the perceived left-right political spectrum that is still commonly used today. There were 745 members. -
National Convention
Convention abolished monarchy and declares France a republic.
Revolutionary calendar introduced.
Convention condemns and executes the King.
Convention declares war on 1st Coalition of Austria, Prussia, Britain, Holland and Spain. -
Reign of Terror
Between June 1793 and the end of July 1794, there were 16,594 official death sentences in France, of which 2,639 were in Paris.
the total number of deaths in France was much higher, owing to death in imprisonment, suicide and casualties in foreign and civil war. There was a sense of emergency among leading politicians in France in the summer of 1793 between the widespread civil war and counter-revolution. -
Eli Whitney patents the Cotton Gin
Eli Whitney creates a machine that makes it easier to separate cotton seeds from cotton fiber. It greatly reduces the time it takes to clean cotton and helps the southern states make more money from cotton crops. -
Thomas Paine's Book was Published
Thomas Paine's "The Age of Reason" was written. The Age of Reason was an important treatise. It was published in America in three parts in 1794, 1795, and 1807. It promoted deism and was an attack on orthodox Christianity. -
Italian Campaign
The Italian campaigns of the French Revolutionary Wars (1792–1802) were a series of conflicts fought principally in Northern Italy between the French Revolutionary Army and a Coalition of Austria, Russia, Piedmont-Sardinia, and a number of other Italian states. The first major operation was the annexation of Nice (part of the Duchy of Savoy) by 30,000 French troops. -
Period: to
Napoleonic Era
The Napoleonic era is a period in the history of France and Europe. It is generally classified as including the fourth and final stage of the French Revolution, the first being the National Assembly, the second being the Legislative Assembly, and the third being the Directory. The Napoleonic era begins roughly with Napoleon Bonaparte's, overthrowing the Directory, establishing the French Consulate, and ends during the Hundred Days and his defeat at the Battle of Waterloo. -
Consulate
The Consulate was the government of France from the fall of the Directory in the coup of Brumaire in 1799 until the start of the Napoleonic Empire in 1804. After Habsburg-controlled Austria declared war on 12 March 1799, France returned to a war footing. Emergency measures were adopted and the pro-war Jacobin faction triumphed in the April election. -
Treaty of Tilsit
Alexander of Russia negotiated this treaty that would bring peace to Russia. They met on a raft in the middle of the Niemen River to sign the treaty, which had both a public and a private part. In the public part, Russia ceded 50% of Prussian territory to France; In the private part, Alexander agreed that if the British continued the war against France, Russia would join the Continental System of blockades whose goal it was to isolate Britain economically. -
Russian Campaign
Napoleon amassed a huge army and marched to Moscow, not recognizing the challenges of supplying a large army such a long way from home. As the Russian army retreated, they applied a "scorched earth" policy, destroying or carrying off anything that might be useful. As they retreated Moscow, they set it on fire. Napoleon had counted on the billeting his troops in the city during the long Russian winter, but no shelter was left standing. -
The Champ-de-Mai Parade
The Champ-de-Mai parade and ceremony in Paris reaffirmed Napoleon as Emperor and forced everyone to swear allegiance to him and to the Acte Additional. The Acte was a set of small reforms that disappointed his supporters, to whom he had promised a less dictatorial government. -
Napoleons Death
The cause of his death has been debated. Napoleon's physician, François Carlo Antommarchi, led the autopsy, which found the cause of death to be stomach cancer. Antommarchi did not sign the official report. His personal physician, Barry O'Meara, warned London that his declining state of health was mainly caused by the harsh treatment. -
Thomas Edison uses a Light Bulb to Light a Lamp
Not the first man to create a light bulb, Thomas Edison created a light bulb that lasted longer than other designs and showed it off by lighting a lamp. Edison's light bulbs allows people to do many things at night. such as work, that used to only happen during the day. -
The Brooklyn Bridge Opens
After 13 years if construction, the Brooklyn Bridge is finished in New York City. At the time, it was the longest suspension bridge in the world. The Brooklyn Bridge is a hybrid cable-stayed/suspension bridge and is one of the oldest roadway bridges in the United States. -
Henry Ford Creates the Model T
Henry Ford creates a type of car called the Model T. It is much cheaper than other cars because it is made on an assembly line, allowing many more people to buy cars. The Ford Model T was named the most influential car of the 20th century in the 1999 Car of the Century competition, ahead of the BMC Mini, Citroën DS, and Volkswagen Type 1.
