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Humanism and the arts flourish in Italy and Northern Europe.
Portugal begins sending explorers to Africa. -
Art and sculpture reached full maturity, embracing natural world and human emotions.
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Johann GUtenberg invents the printing press, which contributes to the spread of the Northern Renaissance.
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Christopher Columbus sets sail from Spain to the New World.
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Spain sends explorers to the New World.
Martin Luther becomes a catalyst to the Protestant Reformation.
Religious wars plague Europe with the rise of Protestant/Catholic tension.
The Tudor dynasty begins in England. -
Rousseau writes his first work as a critique of society, during the height of the Enlightenment.
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Martin Luther nails his 95 Theses to the door of Wittenburg, beginning the Protestant Reformation.
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The Peace of Augsburg is established throughout the Holy Roman Empire. A "cuius regio, eius religio" policy is established. Lutherans can reclaim lands taken before 1552, except for "ecclesiastical reservations" for bishops that converted to Lutheranism. Migrants can go to regions with their religion. Lutherans and Anabaptists were not included.
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Queen Elizabeth I defeats King Philip II's Spanish Armada.
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Civil war commences in England (Cavaliers vs. Roundheads).
A religious conflict turns into a political one, accumulating into the Thirty Years War. -
The French treaty that ends the Thirty Years' War. Re-establishes "cuius regio, eius religio" policy, except Calvinism is legally recognized. Swiss Confederacy and the Netherlands is recognized.
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France emerges from the Thiry Years' War as the dominant Continental power.
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At the invitation of Parliament, Mary and her husband William of Orange arrive in England to take the throne with little to no resistance from the English people. James II flees.
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After 70+ years of rule, Louis XIV dies. His 5-year-old son Louis XV succeeds, but the Duke of Orleans acts as his regent for two decades.
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England industrializes and emerges as the major economic power.
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When locked out of their gathering place, the National Assembly moves to a tennis court and swears to continue to gather until they create France's constitution.
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Parisians storm Bastille in order to obtain militia weapons, and thus, Bastille falls.
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The National Assembly issues this declaration, affirming that all men were born free/equal, the government protects natural rights (liberty, property, security, and resistance to oppression), and civic equality and popular sovereignty are universal.
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Napoleon escapes from Elba and returns to France, compelling the powers of the Congress of Vienna to band together and defeat him. This unexpected escape forced Britain, Russia, Prussia, and Austria to briefly resolve their tensions and work together.
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Under the commands of Wellington and von Bucher, Britain, Prussia, Russia, Austria, and France defeat Napoleon at Waterloo.
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Parisians erect barricades in the streets to demand reform and the ouster of Guizot and Louis Philippe.
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After Kossuth attacks Hungary, the Vienna Revolution occurs. To appease the revolutionaries, Ferdinand emancipates Habsburg serfs and accepts the March Revolution Laws.
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Four days after revolution occurs in Milan, Piedmont declares war against Austria. He'll be defeated in July.
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The Frankfurt Parliament, in an effort to attempt German unification, prepare a constitution for Frederick William IV to approve. Frederick will reject and disperse Parliament a year later.
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Once again, barricades rise in Paris. National troops sent by Cavaignac fight the workers' insurrection.
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Germany unifies and takes the lead in industrialization.
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The German Empire is proclaimed in Versailles during the Franco-Prussian War.
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Parisians elect the Paris Commune, which soon tries to radically break away from the National Assembly and the state of France itself. (Because France always has issues.)
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The Treaty of Frankfurt is ratified, decisively ending the Franco-Prussian War in Germany's favor.
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The two World Wars shake the European continent and their democracies.
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World War I ends as Germany signs an armistice between the Central Powers and the Allies.
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The Paris Peace Conference begins, bringing about an effort to secure Europe and prevent the disasters of World War I. This resulted in the Paris Settlement, or the Treaty of Versailles.
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The Weimar Republic is created in Germany and compelled to sign the Treaty of Versailles.
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Wall Street crashes the stock market, beginning the Great Depression not only in the U.S. but in Europe as well.
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In order to keep an eye on him, President Hindenburg appoints Hitler chancellor.
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The Reichstag is set on fire, allowing Hitler to declare a state of emergency and, in effect, become dictator.
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Nine months into Hitler's chancellorship, Germany withdraws from the League of Nations.
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After Japan surrenders and the Potsdam Agreement has been reached, World War II finally ends.
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Tensions between America and Russia accumulate into the Cold War.
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In a secret speech, Khrushchev denounces Stalin.
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After the Polish prime minister dies, the Polish Communist Party declines the Moscow nominee.
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After a student uprising, Nagy and the Hungarian ministry demands autonomy. The Soviet Union puts this down in November.
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After Israel invades Egypt, Britain and France follow suit to prevent Egypt from nationalizing the Suez Canal.
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The Soviet troops, in the form of the Warsaw Pact army, invades Czechoslovakia.
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A series of revolutions in Russia break out.
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Solidarity members reemerge and win seats in the Polish government, triggering mostly peaceful Eastern European revolutions against the Soviet Union.
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In a breach of the Iron Curtain, Hungary opens its borders to Austria.
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The East German government orders the Berlin Wall to be opened.
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The Velvet Revolution, a rather peaceful and nonviolent revolution, occurs in Czechoslovakia as a transition away from the Soviet Union.
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Violent revolution occurs after President Ceausecu shoots protesters.
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*Note: No exact date could be found online. Will update when I find it in the book.
Gorbachev renounces the Brezhnev Doctrine in favor of his Glasnost and Perestroika reforms. This is the first event to begin the downfall of the Soviet Union. -
Even more modernization!