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Absolutism and Revolution Timeline

  • Isabella and Ferdinand unify Spain
    1469

    Isabella and Ferdinand unify Spain

    The marriage of Ferdinand and Isabella led to the union of Castile and Aragon and the creation of the modern state of Spain.
  • Sep 14, 1483

    Defenestration of Prague

    The Defenestration of Prague was the catalyst that activated the worst war in European history, the Thirty Years' War.
  • Period: 1509 to 1547

    Henry VIII reigns in England

    Henry VIII, king of England presided over the beginnings of the English Renaissance and the English Reformation.
  • Period: 1516 to 1556

    Charles I reigns as king of Spain

    Charles I was the grandson of Ferdinand II and Isabella I as well as the Emporer Maximilian I, Charles inherited an empire that stretched from Germany to the Americas.
  • Period: 1519 to 1556

    Charles V reigns as Holy Roman Emperor

    Charles V was Holy Roman Emperor and Archduke of Austria from 1519 to 1556, king of Spain, and Lord of the Netherlands as titular Duke of Burgundy.
  • Nov 3, 1534

    Act of Supremacy

    English act of parliament that recognized Henry VIII as the "Supreme Head of the Church of England"
  • Period: Oct 1, 1541 to

    El Greco (birth-death)

    El Greco was a Greek painter, sculptor, and architect of the Spanish Renaissance and he normally signed his paintings with his full birth name in Greek letters.
  • Habsburg Empire divided
    1556

    Habsburg Empire divided

    After the abdication of Charles V in 1556, the Habsburg dynasty split into the branch of the Austrian Habsburgs, led by Ferdinand, and the branch of the Spanish Habsburgs, initially led by Charles's son Philip.
  • Period: Nov 17, 1558 to

    Elizabeth I reigns England

    Elizabeth I was sometimes referred to as the Virgin Queen and was the last of the five monarchs of the House of Tudor
  • 1566

    Netherlands Revolution

    The Netherlands Revolution was also termed the "Dutch Revolt" and was against the rule of the Habsburg King Phillip II of Spain.
  • Oct 7, 1571

    Battle of Lepanto

    The Battle of Lepanto was a 5-hour naval engagement in the waters off of southwestern Greece between the allied Christian forces of the Holy League and the Ottoman Turks during an Ottoman campaign to acquire the Venetian island of Cyprus
  • Period: Aug 24, 1572 to Aug 25, 1572

    St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre

    The Massacre of St. Bartholomew's Day was a massacre of French Huguenots in Paris.
  • Period: Sep 12, 1580 to

    Philip II reigns as king of Spain

    Philip II was a member of the Habsburg dynasty and served the Spaniards as king of the Portuguese.
  • Spanish Armada defeated in the English Channel

    English guns damaged the Armada, and a Spanish ship was captured by Sir Francis Drake in the English Channel.
  • Period: to

    Henry IV reigns as king of France

    Henry IV, also known by the epithet Good King Henry of Henry the Great, was King of Navarre from 1572 and King of France from 1589 to 1610.
  • Edict of Nantes

    The Edict of Nantes was signed by King Henry IV and granted the Calvinist Protestants of France, also known as Huguenots, substantial rights in the nation, which was in essence completely Catholic.
  • Period: to

    Huguenots flee France

    Persecuted by the French Catholic government during a violent period, Huguenots fled the country in the 17th century, creating Huguenot settlements all over Europe, in the United States and Africa.
  • Period: to

    James I reigns England

    James I took the English throne in 1603 after his rule in Scotland ended. He reigned in England until his death in 1625.
  • Don Quixote is published

    Don Quixote is published

    Don Quixote is a Spanish novel by Miguel de Cervantes and it is often labeled as the first modern novel and one of the greatest ever written.
  • Period: to

    Thirty Years' War

    The Thirty Years' War was a war that lasted thirty years ending with the Treaty of Westphalia.
  • Petition of Right signed

    The Petition of Right is an English constitutional document setting out specific individual protections against the state.
  • Period: to

    Palace at Versailles Built

    The Palace at Versailles was built as a monument towards Louis XIII.
  • Period: to

    The Long Parliament

    The Long Parliament was an English Parliament following the Short Parliament.
  • Period: to

    English Civil War

    The English Civil Wars comprised three wars, which were fought between Charles I and Parliament between 1642 and 1651.
  • Period: to

    Louis XIV reigns as king of France

    Louis XIV's reign of 72 years and 110 days is the longest recorded of any monarch of a sovereign country in history.
  • Peace of Westphalia

    The Peace of Westphalia is a name for the two peace treaties signed in Osnabruck and Munster.
  • Charles I executed

    Charles I executed

    Charles was convicted of treason and executed on 30 January 1649 outside the Banqueting House in Whitehall.
  • Navigation Acts Passed

    The Navigation Acts were acts of Parliament intended to promote the self-sufficiency of the British Empire.
  • Thomas Hobbes publishes "Leviathan"

    Thomas Hobbes publishes "Leviathan"

    The Leviathan has another name: The Matter, Forme, and Power of a Commonwealth Ecclesiasticall and Civil.
  • Period: to

    Charles II reigns England

    Charles II, byname The Merry Monarch, king of Great Britain and Ireland, was restored to the throne after years of exile during the Puritan Commonwealth and the years of his reign are known in English history as the restoration period.
  • Peter the Great become czar of Russia

    Peter the Great become czar of Russia

    Peter the Great was czar of Russia until February 8, 1725.
  • Period: to

    Glorious Revolution

    The Glorious Revolution, also called "the Revolution of 1688" and "The Bloodless Revolution," took place from 1688 to 1689 in England and it involved the overthrow of the Catholic King James II.
  • John Locke publishes "Two Treaties of Government"

    John Locke publishes "Two Treaties of Government"

    The Two Treaties of Government was originally published unanimously and is a work of political philosophy.
  • English Bill of Rights signed

    English Bill of Rights signed

    Parliament in London allowed two new monarchs to take the throne if they honor the rights of English citizens and became known as the English Bill of Rights was an important influence on the later American Constitution.
  • Peter the Great Captures Azov

    Peter the Great launched about thirty ships against the Ottomans in order to capture Azov.
  • Period: to

    Philip V reigns as king of Spain

    During Philip V's reign, Spain began to recover from the stagnation suffered during the twilight of the Spanish Habsburg dynasty.
  • Period: to

    The War of Spanish Succession

    The War of the Spanish Succession was a conflict between many of the leading European powers triggered by the death of Charles II of Spain.
  • St. Petersburg

    Peter the Great founded St. Petersburg in 1793.
  • Treaty of Utrecht

    Treaty of Utrecht

    The Treaty of Utrecht is a peace agreement between England and France to end a war in Europe.
  • King Louis XIV executed

    King Louis XIV executed

    King Louis XIV was executed because he was convicted of conspiracy with foreign powers.
  • Daniel Dafoe publishes "Robinson Crusoe"

    Daniel Dafoe publishes "Robinson Crusoe"

    The first edition credited the work's protagonist Robinson Crusoe as its author, leading many readers to believe he was a real person and the book a travelogue of true incidents.
  • Period: to

    Sebastian Bach height of his career

    In tribute to the Duke of Brandenburg, Bach created a series of orchestra concertos, which became known as the "Brandenburg Concertos," but this orchestra was later dissolved.
  • Robert Walpole becomes Prime Minister of England

    Robert Walpole served as Prime Minister of England until February 11, 1742.
  • Jonathan Swift publishes "Gulliver's Travels"

    Jonathan Swift publishes "Gulliver's Travels"

    Gulliver's Travels was originally titled Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World. It is a book literally about traveling into remote nations of the world.
  • Period: to

    Frederick II reigns Prussia

    Frederick II ruled Prussia from 1740 until his death, leading his nation through multiple wars with Austria and its allies.
  • Period: to

    Maria Theresa rules the Hapsburg Empire

    Maria Theresa was the most important ruler of the age of Enlightened Absolutism and one of the most famous Habsburgs.
  • Period: to

    War of Austrian Succession

    The War of Austrian Succession was the last great power conflict with the Bourbon-Habsburg dynastic conflict at its heart.
  • Handel publishes "Messiah"

    Handel publishes "Messiah"

    Messiah is an English-language oratorio composed in 1741 by George Frideric Handel, with a scriptural text compiled by Charles Jennens from the King James Bible.
  • Baron de Montesquieu publishes "The Spirit of Laws"

    Baron de Montesquieu publishes "The Spirit of Laws"

    The "Spirit of Laws" is a treatise on political theory, as well as pioneering work in comparative law.
  • Denis Diderot publishes his "Encyclopedia"

    Denis Diderot publishes his "Encyclopedia"

    Encyclopédie or Diderot's Encyclopedia is a twenty-eight-volume reference book published by André Le Breton and edited by translator and philosopher Denis Diderot.
  • Period: to

    Seven Years' War

    The Seven Years' War was a conflict between European powers that lasted 7 years.
  • Voltaire publishes "Candide"

    Candide, or Candide, ou l'Optimismem, is a French satire.
  • Period: to

    George III reigns England

    George III was King of Great Britain and of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of the two kingdoms on 1 January 1801, after which he was the King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland until his death in 1820
  • Jean Jacque Rousseau publishes "Social Contract"

    Jean Jacque Rousseau publishes "Social Contract"

    The social contract was a book that Rousseau theorized about the best way to establish a political community in the face of the problems of commercial society.
  • Period: to

    Catherine Great reigns Russia

    Catherine westernized Russia and led her country into full participation in the political and cultural life of Europe.
  • Stamp Act passed

    Stamp Act passed

    The Stamp Act was an act of the British Parliament that exacted revenue from the American colonies by imposing a stamp duty on newspapers and legal and commercial documents.
  • Period: to

    Joseph II reigns Austria

    Joseph II took the Austrian throne in 1765 at the age of 24 and reigned until 1790 in which he was 41.
  • Boston Massacre

    Boston Massacre

    On March 5, 1770, an unruly group of colonists taunted British soldiers by throwing snowballs and rocks, and the British killed five colonists including Crispus Attucks.
  • Partition of Poland

    The Partitions of Poland were the three partitions that resulted in the elimination of sovereign Poland and Lithuania for 123 years.
  • Boston Tea Party

    Boston Tea Party

    During the Boston Tea Party, 342 chests of tea belonging to the British East India Company were thrown from ships into the Boston Harbor by American patriots disguised as Mohawk Indians.
  • First Continental Congress Meets

    First Continental Congress Meets

    The First Continental Congress met at Carpenters' Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the fall of 1774, and when the Delegates reconvened in May 1775, they met in Pennsylvania's state house.
  • Intolerable Acts

    The Intolerable Acts were punitive laws passed by the British Parliament in 1774 after the Boston Tea Party.
  • Declaration of Independence signed

    Declaration of Independence signed

    The signing of the United States Declaration of Independence occurred primarily on August 2, 1776, at the Pennsylvania State House in Philadelphia, later to become known as Independence Hall.
  • The Battle of Concord

    The Battle of Concord was one of the first military engagements of the American Revolutionary War.
  • Battle of Lexington

    The Battle of Lexington was one of the first military engagements of the American Revolutionary War.
  • Adam Smith publishes "Wealth of Nations"

    Adam Smith publishes "Wealth of Nations"

    Adam Smith, a Scottish moral philosopher wrote the book to describe the industrialized capitalist system that was upending the mercantilist system.
  • Period: to

    Battle of Saratoga

    The Battle of Saratoga marked the climax of the Saratoga campaign, giving a decisive victory to the Americas over the British in the American Revolutionary War
  • Articles of Confederation signed

    The articles were signed by Congress and sent to the individual states for ratification on November 15, 1777, after 16 months of debate.
  • Period: to

    Battle of Yorktown

    At the Battle of Yorktown, joint Franco-American land and sea campaign entrapped a major British army on a peninsula at Yorktown, Virginia, and forced it to surrender and this virtually ended military operations in the American Revolution.
  • Treaty Paris

    Treaty Paris

    The Treaty of Paris was between the American colonies and Great Britain and it ended the American Revolution.
  • Period: to

    Amadeus Mozart height of his career

    The height of his career was with the string quartets dedicated to Haydn, the three great operas on Lorenzo Da Ponte's librettos.
  • US Constitution ratified

    The journey to get the US Constitution ratified was a very long and arduous process.
  • Declaration of the Rights of Man

    The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, set by France's National Constituent Assembly in 1789, is a human civil rights document from the French Revolution.
  • Tennis Court Oath

    The Tennis Court Oath was taken by the French Third Estate in the tennis court built-in 1686.
  • Storming of the Bastille

    The Storming of the Bastille was the attack of the state prison Bastille.
  • Period: to

    Great Fear

    The Great Fear was a general panic that took place between 22 July to 6 August 1789, at the start of the French Revolution.
  • Women's march on Versailles

    The Women's March on Versailles, also known as the October March, The October Days, or simply The March on Versailles, was one of the earliest and most significant events of the French Revolution.
  • Declaration of Pilnitz

    It was a statement of five sentences issued on 27 August 1791 at Pillnitz Castle near Dresden by Frederick William II of Prussia and the Habsburg Holy Roman Emperor Leopold II who was Marie Antoinette's brother.
  • Declaration of the Rights of Woman

    The Declaration of the Rights of Woman and of the Female Citizen, also known as the Declaration of the Rights of Woman, was written on 14 September 1791 by French activist, feminist, and playwright Olympe de Gouges.
  • Mary Wollstonecraft publishes "A Vindication of the Rights of Woman"

    Mary Wollstonecraft publishes "A Vindication of the Rights of Woman"

    "A Vindication of the Rights of Women" is one of the earliest works of feminist philosophy.
  • Period: to

    Radical Phase (French Revolution)

    The Radical Phase was when most atrocities took place.
  • National Convention Formed

    The National Convention was formed in September of 1792 and lasted until November 1795.
  • Partition of Poland

    The Partitions of Poland were the three partitions that resulted in the elimination of sovereign Poland and Lithuania for 123 years.
  • Committee of Public Safety created

    The committee of Public Safety was set up on April 6, 1793, during one of the crises of the revolution, when France was beset by foreign and civil war.
  • Period: to

    Reign of Terror (French Revolution)

    The Reign of Terror was also known as the Terror and French La Terrur.
  • Marie Antoinette excecuted

    Marie Antoinette was executed because the Revolutionary Tribunal found her guilty of crimes against the state.
  • Five Man Directory Created

    Between 1795 and 1799, France was ruled by a five-man executive committee called the Directory and a legislature of two chambers: the council of Five Hundred and the Council of Ancients.
  • Partition of Poland

    The Partitions of Poland were the three partitions that resulted in the elimination of sovereign Poland and Lithuania for 123 years.
  • Napoleon Bonaparte becomes 1st Consulate

    Napoleon Bonaparte becomes 1st Consulate

    Napoleon Bonaparte made himself First Consulate so that he could make government in France more efficient and abolish most of the remnants of class and privilege.
  • Period: to

    Napoleonic Wars

    The Napoleonic Wars were a continuation of the French Revolution between Great Britain and France for European supremacy.
  • Period: to

    Napolean Bonaparte becomes emporer

    Napoleon made himself emperor and his coronation ceremony was held on December 2, 1804 in the Cathedral of Notre-Dame in Paris.
  • Battle of Trafalgar

    The Battle of Trafalgar is one of the most famous battles in British naval history, and in five hours of fighting, the British devastated the enemy fleet, destroying 19 enemy ships.
  • Battle of Austerlitz

    The Battle of Austerlitz, also called the Battle of the Three Emperors, was one of the most important and decisive engagements of the Napoleonic wars and only lasted 9 hours.
  • Period: to

    Napoleon invades Russia

    Napoleon's goal invading Russia was to cease trading with British merchants so that the UK would feel pressured to sue for peace.
  • Period: to

    Battle of Leipzig

    The Battle of Leipzig, also known as the Battle of Nations, was in terms of numbers of troops engaged and amount of artillery, the biggest battle of the Napoleonic Wars.
  • Period: to

    Congress of Vienna

    The Congress of Vienna of 1814-1815 was an international diplomatic conference to reconstitute the European political order after the downfall of the French Emperor Napolean I.
  • Napoleon exiled to Elba

    Napoleon was exiled to Elba because his offer to step down in favor of his son was rejected.
  • Period: to

    Concert of Europe

    The Concert of Europe established a set of principles, rules, and practices that helped to maintain a balance between the major powers after the Napoleonic Wars and to spare Europe from another broad conflict.
  • Napoleon returns to Paris

    Napoleon escaped Elba after less than a year and returned back to Paris, France.
  • Napoleon exiled to St. Helena

    After the Battle of Waterloo, the Europeans didn't want to take any more chances on Napoleon returning.
  • Period: to

    Hohenzollern

    The House of Hohenzollern is a German royal and from 1871 to 1918, an imperial dynasty whose members were various princes, electors, kings, and emperors of Hohenzollern, Brandenburg, Prussia, the German Empire, and Romania.
  • Nationsl Assembly Completes a Constitution

    After almost two years of working on a constitution, the National Assembly finally completed it in 1791.