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Period: Jun 28, 1434 to
The Medicis ruled Italy
For this period of time, the Medicis ruled in Italy, except for two short intervals of time. The Medicis were very influential and are one of the most wealthy families to ever exist. -
1450
The caravel was invented.
The caravel was a very important type of ship in the Age of Exploration for many countries. The caravel could sail against the wind and was much faster and efficient, leading to more successful journeys to foreign places. -
May 7, 1454
Johann Gutenberg started having printing presses be manufactured.
Johann Gutenberg created the Printing Press, which allowed for books and other important documents to be printed rather than handwritten. The printing press is the reason why Martin Luther's beliefs spread so quickly. -
Period: Nov 1, 1478 to
The Spanish Inquisition
During this time period, the Spanish Inquisition takes place. The Spanish Inquisition was established to get rid of all of the Protestants in Spain. -
Feb 3, 1488
Bartholomeu Dias discovers the Cape of Good Hope.
During the February of 1488, Bartholomeu Dias discovered, for Europe, that Africa actually ended and called it the Cape of Good Hope. His discovery adds to the Portuguese being ahead of the Spanish in the race of exploration. -
Aug 3, 1492
Christopher Columbus Sets Sail From Spain.
On this date, Christopher Columbus set sail from Spain to go to India, but he ended up going to the Americas. He didn't know that there was land other than Europe and Asia, so he thought he had gone around the whole world and landed on the coast of India. -
Jun 7, 1494
The Line of Demarcation was created.
In 1494, the Line of Demarcation was created. The Line of Demarcation split the world into two parts; everything west of the line was Spain's, and everything to the east was Portuguese. The line had to be created, because the Pope decided that things were getting too competitive in the race to discover more territories. -
May 23, 1498
Vasco de Gama sails to India.
On this date, Vasco de Gama set sail for India to find spices. He was the first European to sail to India and back. He filled all of his ships with spices in India, lost half of the ships, and still had $50 million dollars worth of spices. Vasco de Gama helped Portugal to become one of the wealthiest countries. -
Nov 9, 1506
Leonardo da Vinci finishes painting the Mona Lisa.
Leonardo da Vinci was a very famous Italian artist, and he famously painted the Mona Lisa. Around the world, the Mona Lisa is recognized as an icon of the Italian Renaissance. -
Nov 9, 1509
Raphael started painting the School of Athens.
The School of Athens is a painting of the most famous Greeks and Romans throughout the course of history. This painting is one of Raphael's most famous works. -
Feb 16, 1512
Michaelangelo finished painting the Creation of Adam.
In 1508, Michaelangelo began painting the Creation of Adam in the Sistine Chapel, and he finished in 1512. The Creation of Adam is a great example of common artistic themes during the Renaissance. -
Sep 17, 1513
Vasco Nunez de Balboa discovers the Pacific Ocean for Europe.
Vasco Nunez de Balboa was the first European to see the Pacific Ocean. He claimed all of the sea to be Spanish, which helped them in the race against Portugal. -
Oct 31, 1517
Luther puts up his Ninety-Five Theses.
On the Halloween of 1517, Martin Luther put up a list of specific things that he thought were corrupt in the Catholic Church. His doing this essentially sparked the Protestant Reformation and led to many other religious leaders spreading their beliefs all around Europe. -
Feb 28, 1519
The Spanish travel to the Americas to take over the Aztecs\
During the Age of Exploration, the Spanish went to the New World, where they found many different groups of people, including the Aztecs. The Aztecs had a lot of gold within their community, and the Spanish decided they wanted to have it, along with all of the land. On this date, they conquered the Aztecs. -
Sep 3, 1519
Ferdinand Magellan sets sail around the world.
After the Line of Demarcation was established, Ferdinand Magellan attempted to prove that the whole world would be west of the line. If he were able to prove this, it would mean that Spain owned all of the world. During the expedition, he was killed, but some of his crew were the first people to circumnavigate the world. -
Jun 21, 1532
The Prince was published.
The Prince was a novel that was written by Niccolo Machiavelli about how to acquire and keep power in politics. The book was very influential and helped many people in politics. -
Jun 9, 1534
Jacques Cartier discovers Canada while trying to find a northwest passage to the Spice Islands.
At this point in time, Portugal has already gone west to India, Spain has gone east, so the French try to find a northwest route to get there. Jacques Cartier is the person who is sent on this mission; he doesn't succeed, but he is the reason why some of Canada speaks French today. -
Nov 3, 1534
The Church of England becomes Anglican.
In 1534, Henry XIII wanted a son to continue his legacy, but he had only had a daughter with his first wife; because of this, he decided that she was unable to birth sons. He wanted to divorce his wife, but that went against the beliefs of the Catholic Church. Since he was king, he decided to break away from the Catholic Church and create Anglicanism. Soon after this, on this date, Anglicanism became the state religion of England. -
Period: Dec 13, 1545 to Dec 4, 1563
The Council of Trent takes place.
For a span of 18 years, the Council of Trent took place. At this meeting, many of the influential people in the Catholic Church came together to determine if their church was actually corrupt like Martin Luther said it was. To the rest of Europe, it made the Catholic Church look good, because it showed that they actually took time to consider what God thought was best. -
Jul 19, 1553
Mary Tudor takes the throne.
Mary Tudor took the throne after Edward XI. It is a big change for England, because she is Catholic; the past two rulers have been Anglican. She gets revenge on Thomas Cranmer and kills many Anglican priests, which is how she got the nickname "Bloody Mary". -
Sep 25, 1555
The Peace of Augsburg was signed.
During the September of 1555, the Peace of Augsburg. Essentially, the Peace of Augsburg was supposed to end religious warfare in Germany, and the leaders of nations could now choose whether they wanted practice Catholicism or Lutheranism. -
Period: 1558 to
Elizabeth I's reign
Elizabeth I's reign was one of the most successful in the history of England. While she was ruling, many Anglicans and Catholics liked her, because she gave rights to both religions. -
Aug 24, 1572
The start of the Bartholomew's Day Massacres.
The Bartholomew's Day Massacres was a three-day time period where French Catholics killed the Protestant Huguenots. Many Huguenots were left dead, and the two religions were opposing each other even more than before. -
The Spanish Armada sets sail.
During July of 1588, the Spanish Armada set sail for the Netherlands. Their original plan was to transport the Spanish soldiers from the Netherlands to England. The Armada would have been accomplished, but there had been a miscommunication between the soldiers and the people leading the ships. The Spanish ended up loosing many people, and England was still Protestant afterwards. -
James I takes the throne.
James I succeeded Elizabeth I, but his beliefs and actions were very different from Elizabeth's. James I believed in the divine right of kings, and he ignored Parliament and their responsibilities. He influenced his son, Charles I, to do the same thing and eventually led to the disruption of England's society. -
The Mayflower leaves England.
The Mayflower set sail for the Americas; the ship was filled with the Puritans, who had felt that they were not being treated fairly in England. This led to many colonies in North America, whose mother country was England. -
Charles I takes the throne.
Charles I was the son of James I and shared his beliefs. Both James and Charles were Anglican, but Parliament was Puritan. Eventually, Charles invaded Parliament, and a war that he lost happened, which led to his execution. A king had never been executed before, so many people did not know how to react, leading to an 11-year period where laws were very uptight. -
Period: to
Louis XIV's reign
Louis XIV ruled for many years and had a very big impact on France. He is one of the greatest examples of absolutism in the course of history. -
Commonwealth becomes new political structure.
After Charles I was executed, commonwealth became the new political structure. Essentially, commonwealth was a structure where an elected group of people, Parliament, made decisions for everyone. Parliament was Puritan, and they had very strict laws that everyone had to follow. Once commonwealth ended, everyone was very loose with the laws from being bound up for so many years. -
James II takes the throne.
James II takes the throne after Charles II, but they are of different religions. James II is Catholic, and the last Catholic ruler England had was Mary Tudor, who killed many Anglican priests. Both the Puritans and the Anglicans don't like James II. Parliament asks the Dutch to come invade England, and when they do, the English army does nothing; James has no choice but to flee.