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May 29, 1453
Ottomans conquer Constantinople
Constantinople was conquered by the Ottoman empire under the command of Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II. Ottomans then became one of the most powerful empires. Constantinople fell because the capture of the empire was successful. -
Nov 17, 1558
Elizabeth I becomes Queen of England
Elizabeth I was Queen of England and Ireland from November 17th to her death. Queen Elizabeth was the last monarch of the Tudor Dynasty. Elizabeth became queen because of her half sister 'bloody' Mary. -
England defeats the Spanish Armada
The defeat of the Spanish Armada is one of the most famous events in English history. England's victory over Spanish forces established England as an emerging sea power. Helped bring decline of Spanish empire. -
Tokugawa Shogunate
Tokugawa Shogunate was the last feudal Japanese military government which existed between 1603 and 1867. Tukugawa Shogunate ended its isolationist foreign policy called sakou and modernized from a feudal Shogunate to the Meiji government. It is at the end of the Edo period and preceded the Meiji era.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tokugawa_shogunate -
The Thirty Years War
Thirty years war began when Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand II attempted to curtail the religious activities, sparking rebellions among protestants. The war ended with a series of treaties that made up the peace of Westphalia. -
The English Civil War
The English civil wars stemmed from conflict between Charles I and Parliament over an irish insurrection. The first war was settled with Oliver Cromwell's victory for parliamentary forces at the 1645 battle of Naseby. -
Manchus found the Qing Dynasty in China
The Qing dynasty was the last of the imperial Dyansties. Initiated in 1644 by the Manchu people, an ethnic group that invaded Beijing and ousted the incumbent Ming dynasty. The 1700's were the high point in Qing rule, marked by political stability and prosperity. -
Peter the Great becomes Czar of Russia
Peter the Great was a Russian czar in the 17th century who is best known for extensive reforms. Created a strong navy and introduced administrative divisions of the country. He failed to name his heir, leaving his direct descendant, Elizabeth, to seize the throne in his absence. -
The Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution was the transition to manufacturing processes in the period between 1700's and 1800's. The major impact of the revolution was that the standard living for the general population began to increase consistently for the first time in history. -
Catherine the Great becomes Czarina of Russia
Catherine the Great was one of the most prominent rulers of Russia and a figure deserving of admiration. Under her reign, Russia expanded its territories and modernized, following the lead of western Europe. -
The British colonies of North America declare their Independence
The Declaration of Independence was the break required to get French assistance. This was effect the creation of a neutral zone from European imperial conflicts. -
The Napoleonic Age
The Napoleonic era begins roughly with Napoleon Bonaparte's coup d'etat, overthrowing the Directory, establishing the French Consulate, and his defeat at the Battle of Waterloo. Napoleon brought political stability to a land torn by revolution and war. -
The French Revolution
The French Revolution is the revolutionary movement that shook France and reached its first climax in 1789. The French Revolution had general causes common to all the revolutions of the west at the end of the 18th century. -
Mexico declares its independence from Spain
The movement for Independence was inspired by the Age of Enlightenment and was sparked by Father Miguel Hidalgo. He and a small group of conspirators started the rebellion by ringing church bells - "Cry of Dolores". Spain formally recognized Mexico's Independence on August 24, 1821. -
The Unification of Italy
The unification of Italy was the political and social movement that consolidated different states of the Italian peninsula into a single state. The process began in 1815 with the congress of Vienna and as completed in 1871 when Rome became the capital of the kingdom. -
The Great Reform Bill of 1832
The Great Reform Bill of 1832 led people to voting privileges from the small boroughs controlled by the nobility and gentry to the heavily populated industrial towns. This expanded voting privileges from the upper levels of property holders to less wealthy and broader parts of the population. -
The Opium Wars
The Opium Wars were two wars involving Anglo-Chinese disputes over British trade in China. The first war was concluded by the Treaty of Nanking in 1842. During the second war, British forces fought towards legalization of trade to expand coolie trade, to open all of China to British merchants and to exempt foreign imports. -
The Great Potato Famine
This was the period of mass starvation, disease, and emigration in Ireland. Its called the potato famine because about two-fifths of the population was solely reliant on this cheap crop for a number of historical reasons. The famine and its effects permanently changed the islands demographic, political, and cultural landscape. -
Karl Marx and Frederic Engels publish ' The Communist Manifesto'
This book served as a political rally cry for the communist movement throughout Europe. "Communist Manifesto" is the product of the joint development of ideas between Marx and Engels, and rooted debates held by league leaders in London. It was published in English in 1850. -
The Taiping Rebellion
The Taiping Rebellion was a large scale revolt, conducted by an army and civil administration inspired by Hakka, self-proclaimed mystics named Xiuquan and Xiuqing. The Taiping Rebellion began in the southwestern province of Guangxi when local officials launched a campaign of persecution against a millenarian. -
The British Colonization of India
Colonial India was one of the main types of trade in the world economy and was the main catalyst for the period of European exploration. By the middle of the century the British had already gained direct/indirect control over almost all India. -
Charles Darwin publishes "The Origin of Species"
Charles Darwin's theory argued that organisms gradually evolved through a process he called "natural selection". Darwin was influenced by the French naturalist Lamark, acquiring most of the evidence during a five year surveying expedition. By Darwin's death in 1882, his theory of evolution was generally accepted. -
The Civil War begins in the US
The cause of the civil war are the differences between northern and southern states on the idea of slavery, as well as trade, tariffs, and states rights. The event that started the civil war was the election of Abraham Lincoln in 1860, leading to many southern states to secede from the union. -
The Emancipation Proclamation
The Emancipation Proclamation was a presidential proclamation and executive ordered by Lincoln to free all the enslaved people in the south. It was issued as a war measure during the civil war, directed to all areas in rebellion and segments of the executive branch of the United States. -
The Meiji Restoration
The Meiji Restoration was a chain of events that restored practical imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Restoration led to enormous changes in Japan's political and social structure. The Meiji Restoration accelerated industrialization in Japan, which led to its rise as a military power by the the year 1905. -
The Suez Canal
The Suez Canal is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the Med. Sea to the Red Sea through Isthmus of Suez. The canal offers a shorter journey between the north Atlantic and northern Indian Oceans. After 10 years of construction, its was officially opened on November 17, 1869. -
The Unification of Germany
The Unification occurred at two different times; the first led by Prussians who utilized nationalism to motivate German-speaking principalities. The second was the absorption of bankrupt Communist East Germany by West Germany. Otto Von Bismark unified the German states under the Prussian king. -
Berlin Conference
This conference set the stage to divide up Africa. This conference marked the climax of the European competition for territory in Africa, a process known as the "Scramble for Africa". The Berlin Conference didn't initiate European colonization of Africa, but it did legitimate and formalize the process. -
The Russo-Japanese War
The Russo-Japanese War developed out of the rivalry between Russia and Japan for dominance in Korea and Manchuria. The war began when the main Japanese fleet launched a surprise attack and siege on the Russian naval squadron at Port Arthur. -
The Mexican Revolution
The Mexican Revolution was a major armed struggle that radically transformed Mexican culture and government. The Mexican Revolution broke out in 1910 Porfirio Diaz was challenged by Francisco I. Madero but Diaz refused to allow clean elections so Madero called for revolution. -
The Chinese Revolution
This Revolution overthrew China's last imperial dynasty and established the Republic of China. The revolution arose mainly in response to the decline of the Qing state, which had proven ineffective in its efforts to modernize China and confront foreign aggression. -
World War I Begins
WWI began after the Archduke (Franz Ferdinand) of the decaying Austro-Hungarian empire was assassinated in Sarajevo in the summer of 1914 by a group of Serbian nationalists. This event began the struggle between Serbia and the Austro-Hungarian government. -
The Russian Revolution
There were two revolutions- the Feb. and October revolutions. The Feb revolution forced the Tsar to abdicate and set up a provisional government made mostly of democrats. The October revolution was when the Bolshevik's deposed government then later took over the country and created the USSR.
