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Absolutism & Revolution

  • 1469

    Isabella & Ferdinand unify Spain

    The marriage of Isabella and Ferdinand unified Spain and allowed for things like the funding of Christopher Columbus
  • Period: Apr 22, 1509 to Jan 28, 1547

    Henry VIII resigns in England

    A king of England that ruled for thirty-eight years and developed his own religion to divorce his wife.
  • Period: 1516 to 1556

    Charles I reigns as king of Spain

    Charles I was the grandson of Ferdinand and Isabella and ruled over Spain for 40 years
  • Period: 1519 to 1556

    Charles V reigns as Holy Roman Emperor

    The king of Spain for 37 years.
  • Nov 3, 1534

    Act of Supremacy

    Two acts passed by the English Parliament made the King of England the head of the church.
  • Period: 1541 to

    El Greco (birth-death)

    A Greek painter, sculptor, and architect.
  • Period: 1556 to

    Philip II reigns as king of Spain

    A king of Spain that ruled for forty-two years and allowed Spain to reach its greatest power and extent.
  • Netherlands Revolution
    1566

    Netherlands Revolution

    A time when the Dutch people rose up against King Phillip II.
  • Period: 1567 to

    James I reigns England

    A king of England that reigned for fifty-eight years and was the first Stuart king.
  • Oct 7, 1571

    Battle of Lepanto

    A naval battle between the Catholic coalition and the Ottoman Empire.
  • Sep 24, 1572

    St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre

    A day of assasinations that led to Catholic violence against Hugenots.
  • Spanish Armada defeated in the English Channel

    Spain's armada is defeated by the English navy under Lord Charles Howard.
  • Period: to

    Henry IV reigns as king of France

    A French king that ruled for twenty-one years and was the first monarch from the House of Bourbon.
  • Edict of Nantes

    An edict made by King Henry IV to promote civilian unity.
  • Elizabeth I reigns England

    Elizabeth I reigns England

    A queen of England that reigned for forty-five years that were considered one of the most glorious in history.
  • Don Quixote is published

    Don Quixote is considered by many to be the first modern novel and influenced Western literature.
  • Hohenzollern rulers create Prussia

    Hohenzollern rulers create Prussia

    The Hohenzollerns gained territory by helping the Holy Roman Emperor defeat the Turks.
  • Defenestration of Prague

    The start of the Thirty Years' War.
  • Thirty Years War

    Thirty Years War

    Thirty Years War
  • Petition of Right signed

    A petition that described a couple of laws that King Charles I had made.
  • Palace at Versailles built

    King Louis XIII built up Versailles into the castle it is now.
  • Period: to

    The Long Parliament

    An English Parliament that lasted for twenty years and formed after the Short Parliament.
  • English Civil War

    English Civil War

    A civil war in England between the Parliamentarians and the Royalists.
  • Period: to

    Louis XIV reigns as king of France

    A king of France that ruled for seventy-two years and was executed for treason.
  • Peace of Westphalia

    Two peace treaties signed in the Westphalian cities of Osnabrück and Münster.
  • Charles I executed

    Charles I was convicted of treason and executed after seven years of fighting
  • Thomas Hobbes publishes “Leviathan”

    A book in which Thomas Hobbes states his beliefs and ideas about absolute power and social contracts by the people.
  • Navigation Acts passed

    Acts passed by parliament with the goal of lessening dependence on trade with colonies.
  • Period: to

    Charles II regions England

    The king of Scotland and England for 25 years.
  • Huguenots flee France

    Hugenotts fled Catholic persecution in France.
  • Period: to

    Glorious Revolution

    A revolution that involved the overthrow of King James I.
  • John Locke publishes “Two Treaties of Government”

    A treatise of what John Locke believed about the political philosophy of England.
  • English Bill of Rights signed

    English Bill of Rights signed

    A document signed by William III and Mary II that outlined the civil rights of the English people.
  • Peter the Great captures Azov

    A Turkish city captured by Peter the Great of Russia.
  • Peter the Great becomes czar of Russia

    Peter the Great ruled with Ivan V until Ivan died and Peter became the sovereign of all of Russia.
  • Period: to

    Philip V reigns as king of Spain

    A king of Spain that ruled for twenty-four years and the founder of the Bourbon dynasty.
  • St. Petersburg is built

    A city founded by Peter the Great and designed by Domenico Trezzini.
  • Treaty of Utrecht

    A series of treaties that ended the War of Spanish Succession
  • The War of Spanish Succession

    The War of Spanish Succession

    The War of Spanish Succession
  • Daniel Dafoe publishes “Robinson Crusoe”

    Robinson Crusoe is a story about a young Englishman that takes to the seas and is shipwrecked on a tropical island for 28 years.
  • Robert Walpole becomes Prime Minister of England

    The first Lord of the Treasury and the first Prime Minister of Britain.
  • Sabastian Bach height of his career

    Sabastian Bach height of his career

    A German composer of the late Baroque period.
  • Jonathan Swift publishes “Gulliver’s Travels”

    Gulliver's Travels was actually meant to vex the people not entertain them.
  • Period: to

    Frederick II reigns Prussia

    Frederick II grew the Prussian territory and made Prussia into a European power.
  • Period: to

    Maria Theresa Rules the Hapsburg Empire

    A ruler of Austria that ruled for forty years and grew the Austrian Empire.
  • War of Austrian Succession

    War of Austrian Succession

    Multiple wars that happened at the same time over the right of Maria Theresa to inherit the Habsburg lands
  • Period: to

    Handel publishes “Messiah”

    A musical piece about Jesus Christ.
  • Baron de Montesquieu publishes “The Spirit of Laws”

    A treatise on political theory that covered topics of politics, science, and social life.
  • Denis Diderot publishes his “Encyclopedia”

    Denis Diderot publishes his “Encyclopedia”

    Diderot published "Encyclopedia" to change the way people think.
  • Seven Years War

    Seven Years War

    The first global conflict in history.
  • Voltaire publishes “Candid”

    A satire abut government that was banned in France.
  • Period: to

    George III reigns England

    A king of England that ruled for fifty-one years and lost the American colonies.
  • Period: to

    Catherine Great reigns Russia

    A ruler who expanded Russian territory and the first woman to rule Russia.
  • Period: to

    Amadeus Mozart height of his career

    He was one of the most famous composers of his time. He wrote over 800 works.
  • Stamp Act passed

    A tax on stamps by England.
  • Period: to

    Joseph II reigns Austria

    A king of Austria that reigned for twenty-five years and was the son of Maria Theresa.
  • Boston Massacre

    The killing of three Americans by British soldiers in Boston.
  • Partition of Poland

    Partition of Poland

    A treaty signed by Russia, Prussia, and Austria to divide Poland.
  • Boston Tea Party

    A protest by Americans against the British tax on tea in Boston.
  • Period: to

    Intolerable Acts

    Laws passed by the British in retaliation for the Boston Tea Party.
  • First Continental Congress meets

    A group of delegates that met in Philadelphia after the Boston Tea Party.
  • Battle of Concord

    The first battle of the Revolutionary War.
  • Battle of Lexington

    One of the first battles of the Revolutionary War.
  • Adam Smith publishes “Wealth of Nations”

    It is a compilation of the thoughts of Adam Smith.
  • Declaration of Independence signed

    Declaration of Independence signed

    The Declaration of Independence was signed at the Pennsylvania State House in Philadelphia.
  • Articles of Confederation signed

    This was the first document that dictated how the new nation would operate.
  • Battle of Yorktown

    Battle of Yorktown

    A battle of the Revolutionary War where the Americans and French troops trapped and forced British troops to surrender.
  • Treaty of Paris

    Treaty of Paris

    The Treaty signed by King George III of Great Britain and representatives of the United States of America that ended the Revolutionary War
  • US Constitution ratified

    A set of laws and rights that were the framework for the United States government.
  • Tennis Court Oath

    An acto of defiance by people of the unpriviledged group in France.
  • Storming of the Bastille

    The day revolutionaries in France stormed and seized the Bastille.
  • Great Fear

    A time during the French Revolution in which peasants protested and rioted.
  • Declaration of the Rights of Man

    Declaration of the Rights of Man

    A human civil rights document from the French Revolution.
  • Women’s march on Versailles

    A protest that was one of the first to start off the revolution.
  • National Assembly Completes a Constitution

    The National Assembly completed a constitution that King Louis XIV accepted.
  • Declaration of Pillnitz

    Declaration of Pillnitz

    A document of five sentences by Frederick William II of Prussia and Leopold II.
  • Declaration of the Rights of Woman

    Olympe de Gouges wrote the declaration in response to the 1789 Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen.
  • Mary Wollstonecraft publishes “A Vindication of the Rights of Woman”

    A book that is still used in feminism and human rights.
  • Radical Phase (French Revolution)

    A time when radicals gained contol over France.
  • National Convention Formed

    The National Convention was a parliament that formed after the French Revolution.
  • King Louis XIV Executed

    King Louis XIV Executed

    A king of France that was executed on accounts of treason.
  • Committee of Public Safety created

    The Committee of Public Safety was created to protect the nation from foreign attacks.
  • Reign of Terror (French Revolution)

    Reign of Terror (French Revolution)

    A time when many people were executed by guillotine in France.
  • Marie Antoinette Executed

    Marie Antoinette Executed

    The wife of King Louis XIV that was excuted by guillotine during the French Revolution.
  • Five Man Directory created

    A group of five men that held the executive power in France after the 1795 French Revolution.
  • Napoleon Bonaparte becomes 1st Consulate

    Napolean proclaimed himself as the 1st Consulate.
  • Napoleonic Wars

    Napoleonic Wars

    A series of wars led by the French Emperor Napolean.
  • Napoleon Bonaparte becomes Emperor

    Napoleon Bonaparte becomes Emperor

    Napolean rose through military ranks and became a powerful general that rose to become an emperor.
  • Battle of Saratoga

    A battle of the Revolutionary War in which the Americans won.
  • Battle of Trafalgar

    A naval battle between the British the French and Spanish Navies during the Napoleonic Wars.
  • Battle Austerlitz

    A battle of the Napoleonic Wars between three emperors.
  • Napoleon invades Russia

    Napoleon invades Russia

    Napolean invaded Russia with 600,000 troops and returned to France with 100,000 troops.
  • Battle of Leipzig

    A battle of the Napoleonic Wars also known as the Battle of the Nations.
  • Period: to

    Congress of Vienna

    An international diplomatic conference to reconstitute the European political order after the downfall of Napoleon.
  • Napoleon exiled to Elba

    Napolean was forced to abdicate his throne and was exiled to the Mediteranean island of Elba.
  • Period: to

    Concert of Europe

    A time when the monarchs of Europe tried to maintain the balance of power, political boundaries, and spheres of influence
  • Napoleon returns to Paris

    Napoleon returns to Paris

    Napolean left the island of Elba and returned to Paris during the Seventh Coalition.
  • Napoleon exiled to St. Helena

    Napoleon exiled to St. Helena

    After Napolean escaped Elba he was exiled again to the Atlantic Ocean island of St. Helena.
  • Jean Jacque Rousseau publishes “Social Contract”

    A book that explained the best way to establish a political community.
  • Habsburg Empire divided

    Habsburg Empire divided

    After Ferdinand died the Habsburg Empire was split between Ferdinand's three sons.