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1300
Proto-Renaissance
"Proto Renaissance" refers to the pre-Renaissance period in Italy. progressive painters such as Giotto who pioneered the new form of figurative "realism", which was fully developed by artists during the era of Renaissance art proper. -
Period: 1300 to
Renaissance
"Rebirth" 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. The intellectual basis of the Renaissance was its own invented version of humanism, -
1434
The Medici family becomes the head of the city-state of Florence
The Medici family, also known as the House of Medici, first attained wealth and political power in Florence in the 13th century through its success in commerce and banking. in 1434 with the rise to power of Cosimo de’ Medici (or Cosimo the Elder), the family’s support of the arts and humanities made Florence into the cradle of the Renaissance, a cultural flowering rivaled only by that of ancient Greece. -
1450
Johannes Gutenberg invents the printing press
Johannes Gutenberg, a goldsmith, and businessman from the mining town of Mainz in southern Germany, borrowed money to invent a technology that changed the world of printing. He invented the printing press with replaceable/movable wooden or metal letters in 1436 (completed by 1440). This method of printing can be credited not only for a revolution in the production of books but also for fostering rapid development in the sciences, arts, and religion through the transmission of texts. -
1495
Leonardo da Vinci paints the Last Supper.
It is one of the world's most recognizable paintings. was commissioned as part of a plan of renovations to the church and its convent buildings by Leonardo's patron Ludovico Sforza, Duke of Milan. The painting represents the scene of the Last Supper of Jesus with his apostles, as it is told in the Gospel of John, 13:21. -
Period: 1550 to
Age of Absolutism
a period of European history in which monarchs successfully gathered the wealth and power of the state to themselves. Louis XIV is the poster image of the absolute monarch. When he said "L'etat c'est moi" (I am the state) he was to a great extent correct. France was powerful and prosperous and represented that which all European monarchs aspired to. -
1556
Akbar the Great becomes emperor of Mughal India
Akbar succeeded his father, Humayun, under a regent, Bairam Khan, who helped the young emperor expand and consolidate Mughal domains in India. A strong personality and a successful general, Akbar gradually enlarged the Mughal Empire to include nearly all of the Indian Subcontinent north of the Godavari river. -
1556
Philip II becomes king of Spain
Known in Spain as "Felipe el Prudente" ('"Philip the Prudent'"), his empire included territories on every continent then known to Europeans, including his namesake the Philippines. During his reign, Spain reached the height of its influence and power. This is sometimes called the Golden Age. The expression, "the empire on which the sun never sets," was coined during Philip's time to reflect the extent of his dominion. -
The Thirty Years War begins
Began when Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand II of Bohemia attempted to curtail the religious activities of his subjects, sparking rebellion among Protestants. The war came to involve the major powers of Europe, with Sweden, France, Spain and Austria all waging campaigns primarily on German soil. Known in part for the atrocities committed by mercenary soldiers, the war ended with a series of treaties that made up the Peace of Westphalia. -
The English War begins
also called Great Rebellion, fighting that took place in the British Isles between supporters of the monarchy of Charles I and opposing groups in each of Charles’s kingdoms, including Parliamentarians in England, Covenanters in Scotland, and Confederates in Ireland. The civil wars are traditionally considered to have begun in England in August 1642, when Charles I raised an army against the wishes of Parliament, ostensibly to deal with a rebellion in Ireland. -
Hobbes publishes Leviathan
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. Leviathan ranks as a classic western work on statecraft .Leviathan argues for a social contract and rule by an absolute sovereign. Hobbes wrote that civil war and the brute situation of a state of nature could only be avoided by strong, undivided government. -
Period: to
Enlightenment
Also known as the Age of Enlightenment or the Age of Reason.was an intellectual and philosophical movement that dominated the world of ideas in Europe during the 18th century, "The Century of Philosophy".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.[ -
Locke publishes Two Treatises on Government
a work of political philosophy published anonymously in 1689 by John Locke. The First Treatise attacks patriarchalism in the form of sentence-by-sentence refutation of Robert Filmer's Patriarcha, while the Second Treatise outlines Locke's ideas for a more civilized society based on natural rights and contract theory. -
Qianlong begins reign as emperor of China
was the sixth emperor of the Manchu-led Qing dynasty, and the fourth Qing emperor to rule over China proper. Born Aisin Gioro Hongli, sometimes referred to simply as Hongli, the fourth son of the Yongzheng Emperor, he reigned officially from 11 October 1735 to 8 February 1796.1 On 8 February, he abdicated in favor of his son, the Jiaqing Emperor – a filial act in order not to reign longer than his grandfather. -
Period: to
Industrial Revolution
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.
Textiles were the dominant industry of the Industrial Revolution in terms of employment, value of output and capital invested; the textile industry was also the first to use modern production methods. -
The spinning jenny is invented
a multi-spindle spinning frame, and was one of the key developments in the industrialization of weaving during the early Industrial Revolution. It was invented in 1764 by James Hargreaves in Stanhill, Oswaldtwistle, Lancashire in England. The device reduced the amount of work needed to produce cloth, with a worker able to work eight or more spools at once. -
Period: to
American Revolution
a colonial revolt. 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. They rejected the authority of the British Parliament to tax them because they lacked representation in Parliament. -
James Watt improves the steam engine
The Watt steam engine, developed sporadically from 1763 to 1775, was an improvement on the design of the 1712 Newcomen steam engine and was a key point in the Industrial Revolution. Watt's two most important improvements were the separate condenser and rotary motion. -
Boston Massacre
British Army soldiers shot and killed people while under attack by a mob. The incident was heavily publicized by leading Patriots, such as Paul Revere and Samuel Adams, to encourage rebellion against the British authorities. British troops had been stationed in Boston, capital of the Province of Massachusetts Bay, since 1768 in order to protect and support crown-appointed colonial officials attempting to enforce unpopular Parliamentary legislation. -
Boston Tea Party
A political protest by the Sons of Liberty in Boston, Massachusetts, on December 16, 1773. The demonstrators, some disguised as Native Americans, in defiance of the Tea Act of May 10, 1773, destroyed an entire shipment of tea sent by the East India Company. They boarded the ships and threw the chests of tea into Boston Harbor. The British government responded harshly and the episode escalated into the American Revolution. -
Battles of Lexington and Concord
The battles were fought in Middlesex County, Province of Massachusetts Bay, within the towns of Lexington, Concord, Lincoln, Menotomy and Cambridge. They marked the outbreak of armed conflict between the Kingdom of Great Britain and its thirteen colonies in America. Colonial leaders adopted the Suffolk Resolves in resistance to the alterations made to the Massachusetts colonial government by the British parliament following the Boston Tea Party. -
The Battle of Bunker Hill
It was the original objective of both the colonial and British troops, though the majority of combat took place on the adjacent hill which later became known as Breed's Hill. The leaders of the colonial forces besieging Boston learned that the British were planning to send troops out from the city to fortify the unoccupied hills surrounding the city, which would give them control of Boston Harbor. -
Smith published The Wealth of Nations
is the magnum opus of the Scottish economist and moral philosopher Adam Smith. First published in 1776, the book offers one of the world's first collected descriptions of what builds nations' wealth, and is today a fundamental work in classical economics. By reflecting upon the economics at the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, the book touches upon such broad topics as the division of labor, productivity, and free markets. -
Declaration of Independence
The statement adopted by the Second Continental Congress meeting at the Pennsylvania State House in Philadelphia on July 4, 1776, which announced that the thirteen American colonies,then at war with the Kingdom of Great Britain, regarded themselves as thirteen independent sovereign states, no longer under British rule. These states would found a new nation – the United States of America. John Adams was a leader in pushing for independence, which was passed on July 2 with no opposing vote cast. -
The French Revoltution begins
was a period of far-reaching social and political upheaval in France. 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. -
Period: to
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. It unleashed a wave of global conflicts that extended from the Caribbean to the Middle East. Historians widely regard the Revolution as one of the most important events in human history. -
Meeting of the Estates General
The Estates General were reluctantly summoned by King Louis XVI in May of 1789 with an aim to solve the monarchy’s financial crisis. There were three classes represented by the Estates General: the nobles, clergy and the rest of the population or the so-called Third Estate.Each estate had only one vote. As a result, the nobility and clergy could always overrule the Third Estate. -
Fall of the Bastille
On July 14, 1789, an angry crowd marched on the Bastille, a medieval fortress in east Paris that was mostly housing political prisoners. To many people in France, it was considered as a symbol of the much hated Louis’ regime. Angry, unemployed and hungry Parisians saw it as a place to vent their frustrations. The commander of the Bastille, Marquis de Launay and his troops resisted for a few hours before they surrendered to the mob. -
March on Versailles
Many people in Paris and the rest of France were hungry, unemployed and restless. In October, a large crowd of protesters, mostly women, marched from Paris to the Palace of Versailles, convinced that the royal family and nobility there lived in luxury, oblivious to the hardships of the French people. They broke into the quarters of Queen Marie Antoinette who as an Austrian was particularly despised. -
Thomas Paine's Rights of man was written
In it he defended the values of the Revolution those of ‘Liberté, égalité, fraternité’ (the French for 'liberty, equality and brotherhood'). Paine explored the idea that government based on true justice should support not only mankind's natural rights (life, liberty, free speech, freedom of conscience) but also its civil rights (relating to security and protection). -
Reign of Terror
Maximilien Robespierre came to dominate the Committee and established himself as the leader of the so-called Reign of Terror. Robespierre wanted to rid France of all enemies of the Revolution and to protect the “virtue” of the nation. From September 1793 to July 1794, an estimated 16,000 people were guillotined. Many radicals were executed along with moderates. -
Eli Whitney patents the cotton gin
a machine that quickly and easily separates cotton fibers from their seeds, allowing for much greater productivity than manual cotton separation. The fibers are then processed into various cotton goods such as linens, while any undamaged cotton is used largely for textiles like clothing. Seeds may be used to grow more cotton or to produce cottonseed oil.
A modern mechanical cotton gin was created by American inventor Eli Whitney in 1793 and patented in 1794. -
Russia, Prussia, and Austria divided up Poland
Divided up the Commonwealth lands among themselves progressively in the process of territorial seizures.
The First Partition of Poland was decided on August 5, 1772. Two decades later, Russian and Prussian troops entered the Commonwealth again and the Second Partition was signed on January 23, 1793. Austria did not participate in the Second Partition. The Third Partition of Poland took place on October 24, 1795, in reaction to the unsuccessful Polish Kosciuszko . -
Directory and the Rise of Napoleon
In 1799, a successful military commander named Napoleon Bonaparte returned from a military expedition in Egypt and ousted the Directory. Napoleon established what he called the Consulate and himself as the First Consul. -
Period: to
Napoleonic Era
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 coup d'état, overthrowing the Directory, establishing the French Consulate -
Battle of Marengo
Was fought on 14 June 1800 between French forces under Napoleon Bonaparte and Austrian forces near the city of Alessandria, in Piedmont, Italy. The French overcame General Michael von Melas's surprise attack, driving the Austrians out of Italy, and enhancing Napoleon's political position in Paris as First Consul of France in the wake of his coup d’état the previous November -
Britain declares war on France
Britain remained at war throughout the period of the Napoleonic Wars. Protected by naval supremacy, the United Kingdom maintained low-intensity land warfare on a global scale for over a decade. The British government paid out large sums of money to other European states, so that they would remain at war with France. These bribes are colloquially known as the Golden Cavalry of St George. -
Battle of Bussaco
The battle of Bussaco was the one major battle during Marshal Masséna’s invasion of Portugal of 1810, and was a costly French defeat suffered in an attempt to attack a very strong Allied position on the ridge at Bussaco. Masséna had begun his invasion of Portugal at the start of September, forcing Wellington to abandon his forward position at Guarda, and retreat down the Mondego Valley. -
Napoleon invades Russia
In 1812 the French emperor raised a massive army of troops from all over Europe, the first of which entered Russia on June 24. “It was the most diverse European army since the Crusades,” Sutherland said. Estimates vary, but experts believe that at least 450,000 Grande Armée soldiers and perhaps as many as 650,000 ended up crossing the Niemen River to fight approximately 200,000 soldiers on the Russian side. -
Battle of Waterloo
Was fought on Sunday, 18 June 1815, near Waterloo in present-day Belgium, then part of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands. A French army under the command of Napoleon Bonaparte was defeated by two of the armies of the Seventh Coalition: a British-led Allied army under the command of the Duke of Wellington, and a Prussian army under the command of Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher, Prince of Wahlstatt. -
Samuel Morse invents the telegraph.
was an American painter and inventor. After having established his reputation as a portrait painter, in his middle age Morse contributed to the invention of a single-wire telegraph system based on European telegraphs. He was a co-developer of the Morse code and helped to develop the commercial use of telegraphy. -
Elias Howe invents the sewing machine
American inventor whose sewing machine helped revolutionize garment manufacture in the factory and in the home. Howe learned the machinist trade and worked in a cotton machinery factory in Lowell, Mass., and later in Cambridge. During this time it was suggested to him that the man who invented a machine that could sew would earn a fortune.
