AP European History Timeline

By samuelk24
  • Period: Apr 27, 1309 to Apr 28, 1377

    Avignon Papacy

  • Period: Apr 27, 1337 to Apr 28, 1453

    Hundred Years' War

  • Period: Apr 27, 1378 to Apr 28, 1417

    The Great Schism

  • Oct 25, 1415

    Battle of Agincourt

  • Apr 27, 1450

    Gutenberg invents his printing press

  • Period: Apr 27, 1450 to Apr 28, 1555

    Renaissance and Reformation

  • May 29, 1453

    The Fall of Constantinople

    The Fall of Constantinople was the capture of the capital of the Byzantine Empire by an invading army of the Ottoman Empire.
  • Apr 27, 1454

    Peace of Lodi

    Establishes a balance of power in Renaissance Italy
  • Period: Apr 27, 1455 to Apr 28, 1487

    War of the Roses

    Series of wars for control of the throne of England fought between supporters of two rival branches of the royal House of Plantagenet: the House of Lancaster, and the House of York.
  • Apr 27, 1492

    Christopher Columbus rediscovers the Americas (the Modern Age begins).

  • Apr 27, 1494

    Treaty of Tordesillas

    Spain and Portugal divide the world between them for colonization
  • Period: Apr 27, 1494 to Apr 28, 1559

    Habsburg-Valois Wars

    • Big reason why Italian unification doesn't happen until the 19th century
    • First in a series of conflicts w/ the French on one side, and the Habsburgs on the other side until Maria Theresa
  • Apr 27, 1511

    The Praise of Folly, by Desiderius Erasmus

  • Apr 27, 1516

    Utopia, by Thomas More

  • Apr 27, 1517

    Martin Luther publishes his ninety-five theses (the Protestant Reformation begins)

  • Period: Apr 27, 1524 to Apr 28, 1525

    German Peasants' Revolt

  • May 6, 1527

    The Sack of Rome

    A military event carried out by the mutinous troops of Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, in Rome, then part of the Papal States. It marked a crucial imperial victory in the conflict between Charles and the League of Cognac (1526–1529)—the alliance of France, Milan, Venice, Florence and the Papacy.
  • Apr 27, 1532

    The Prince by Niccolo Machiavelli

  • Apr 27, 1543

    On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres, by Copernicus

  • Period: Apr 27, 1545 to Apr 28, 1563

    Council of Trent

  • Apr 27, 1555

    Peace of Augsburg

    Holy Roman Emperor recognizes Lutheranism. Principle of “cuius region, relgio” (whoever’s region (ie, the ruler) his religion)
  • Period: Apr 27, 1562 to

    French Wars of Religion

  • Apr 27, 1579

    Union of Arras and Union of Utrecht

    Union of Arras and Union of Utrecht – Netherlands splits between Catholic south (later becomes Belgium) and Protestant north (later becomes Netherlands)

  • King Philip II assembles his “Invincible Armada,” and fails in conquering England

  • Edict of Nantes

    Henry IV recognizes Calvinism in France

  • The Starry Messenger, by Galileo

  • Period: to

    Thirty Years' War

  • The Great Instauration, by Francis Bacon

  • Discourse on Method, by René Descartes

  • Period: to

    Reign of Frederick William the Great Elector of Brandenburg-Prussia

  • Period: to

    English Civil War

  • Period: to

    Reign of Louis XIV of France (the Sun King)

  • Peace of Westphalia

    Ends Thirty Years’ War
  • Period: to

    Age of Absolutism

  • Thomas Hobbes

  • English Royal Society

  • French Royal Academy of Sciences

  • Period: to

    Reign of Peter the Great of Russia

  • Edict of Fontainebleu

    An edict issued by Louis XIV of France, also known as the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes

  • Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica, by Issac Newton

    Newton's universal law of gravitation

  • The Nine Years’ War and the Glorious Revolution begin

  • Period: to

    The Glorious Revolution (England)

    The overthrow of King James II of England (James VII of Scotland) by a union of English Parliamentarians with the Dutch stadtholder William III, Prince of Orange.

  • John Locke

  • Pragmatic Sanction of 1713

    An edict issued by Charles VI to ensure that the Habsburg hereditary possessions could be inherited by a daughter.

  • Peace of Utrecht

    Ends war of Spanish Succession. Ambitions of Louis XIV curbed once and for all. England takes big step to becoming a world power. Austria becomes dominant power in Italy. Prussia takes first step to becoming a world power.
  • Period: to

    Reign of Louis XV of France

  • Period: to

    Prime Ministry of Robert Walpole

    4 April 1721 – 11 February 1742
  • Period: to

    Age of Idealism

  • Period: to

    War of Austrian Succession

  • Period: to

    Reign of Frederick the Great of Prussia

  • Period: to

    Reign of Empress Maria Theresa

    Holy Roman Empress and German Queen

  • Peace of Aix-la-Chapelle

    Ends War of Austrian Succession. Prussia keeps Silesia

  • The Spirit of the Laws, by Montesquieu

  • Encyclopédie, by Denis Diderot

  • Period: to

    Seven Years' War

  • Candide, by Voltaire

  • The Social Contract, by Jean-Jacques Rousseau

  • Period: to

    Reign of Catherine the Great of Russia

  • Peace of Paris

    Ends Seven Years’ War. England greatly enriched in overseas colonies.
  • Period: to

    Reign of Joseph II of Austria

  • First Partition of Poland

  • Period: to

    American Revolutionary War

  • The Wealth of Nations, by Adam Smith

  • American Declaration of Independence

  • Watt Steam Engine

  • Period: to

    Prime Ministry of William Pitt the Younger

  • French National Assembly Formed

    Third Estate breaks away from Estates General and forms National Assembly with the goal of writing a constitution for France

  • Declaration of Pilnitz

    Austria and Prussia resolve to restore traditional monarchy in France (not much comes of it)

  • French Constitution of 1791

    •Constitutional monarchy
    •Equality of all citizens under the law – only active citizens can vote
    - Active citizens= men over 25 paying taxes equal to at least three days’ wage
    - Electors= men over 25 who pay taxes equal to at least ten days’ wage
    - Electors vote for deputies who serve in the Legislative Assembly.
    - Deputy= a man at least 25 years old and pay taxes equal to at least 25 days’ wage
    •Louis XVI trying to flee France gives the Jacobins the excuse needed to demand a republic

  • French National Convention

    Formed to write a constitution for a French Republic (this is the time when the Reign of Terror happens)

  • Vindication on the Rights of Woman, by Mary Wollstonecraft

  • First Republic (France)

    How it works:
    o Bicameral (two-house) assembly with a 5-man executive committee on top
    o Citizens (all male, over 25) vote for electors
    o Electors must own property worth 100 days’ wages for an unskilled laborer. That is about 30,000 men.
    o Those electors vote for a Council of 500. The Council of 500 in turn selects a Council of Elders (numbering 250). The Council of Elders then selects 5 men for the Directorate.

  • Napoleon stages a coup and establishes the Consulate (approved by a plebiscite)

  • Period: to

    Napoleonic Era

  • Peace of Amiens

    Official end to French Revolutionary Wars – short truce in larger Napoleonic Wars

  • First Empire (France)

    Napoleon creates the First Empire (approved by a plebiscite)

  • Congress of Vienna

    Victorious allies attempt to restore Europe to its pre-Napoleonic status as much as they can

  • Napoleon defeated, new Bourbon constitutional monarchy put into place

    Napoleon is defeated and exiled. A new constitutional monarchy is put into place, with the Bourbons returned to power.
    • There is a two-house legislature
    o Lower house elected by voters. Vote is limited to 100,000 wealthiest male citizens
    o Upper house is appointed by the king
  • Period: to

    Unification of Italy - Risorgimento

    The political and social movement that consolidated different states of the Italian peninsula into the single state of the Kingdom of Italy in the 19th century.

  • Stephenson's Rocket

  • July Ordinances, constitutional monarchy of Louis-Philippe

    July Ordinances of Charles X seek to limit the authority of liberal elected officials – this sparks a revolution
    • New constitutional monarchy installed with Louis-Philippe as king
    • Vote is expanded, but still only 200,000 men can vote

  • Factory Act of 1832

  • The Poor Law Act of 1834

    Designed to reduce the cost of looking after the poor as it stopped money going to poor people except in exceptional circumstances. Now if people wanted help they had to go into a workhouse to get it.

  • Factory Act of 1837, the "Ten Hours Act"

    A United Kingdom Act of Parliament which restricted the working hours of women and young persons (13-18) in textile mills to 10 hours per day.
  • Period: to

    The Irish Potato Famine

    September 1845 – 1852

  • Second Republic (France)

    • Revolution overthrows Louis-Philippe and installs Second Republic
    • Universal male suffrage put in place to elect a legislative assembly and president

  • Karl Marx writes and publishes The Communist Manifesto

  • Second Empire (France)

    • Louis Napoleon stages a coup and later becomes Napoleon III
    • His rule is ratified by a plebiscite

  • Treaty of Paris

    Ends Crimean War

  • On the Origin of Species, by Charles Darwin

    Published on 24 November 1859, is a work of scientific literature by Charles Darwin which is considered to be the foundation of evolutionary biology.
  • Period: to

    American Civil War

  • Emancipation Reform of 1861 in Russia

    Was the first and most important of liberal reforms passed during the reign (1855-1881) of Emperor Alexander II of Russia. The reform effectively abolished serfdom throughout the Russian Empire.

  • Louis Pasteur and Pasteurization

  • Reform Act of 1867

    A piece of British legislation that enfranchised part of the urban male working class in England and Wales for the first time.
    Before=one million of the seven million adult males could vote; Act immediately doubled that number. End of 1868, all male heads of household were enfranchised as a result of the end of compounding of rents. Introduced only a negligible redistribution of seats. Overall intent = help the Conservative Party, yet it resulted in their loss of the 1868 general election.

  • The Austro-Hungarian Compromise

    The Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867 (German: Ausgleich, Hungarian: Kiegyezés), or Composition of 1867, established the dual monarchy of Austria-Hungary. The Compromise partially re-established the sovereignty of the Kingdom of Hungary, separate from, and no longer subject to, the Austrian Empire.

  • Third Republic

    • France defeated in Franco-Prussian War, ending Second Empire
    • How it works
    o Bicameral legislature
    o Universal male suffrage to elect lower house (Chamber of Deputies)
    o Indirect elections (voters choose electors) for upper house (Senate)
  • Period: to

    Bismarck as Chancellor

  • Treaty of San Stefano

    Russia makes a very advantageous peace with defeated Ottomans. Bismarck calls the Congress of Berlin to redo the treaty to reduce Russia’s power.

  • Three Emperors’ League formed (Germany, Austria, and Russia)

  • Triple Alliance (Germany, Austria, Italy)

  • Period: to

    Social Wellfare Legislation in Germany

  • Reform Act of 1884 in England

  • Reassurance Treaty (Germany and Russia)

    Bismarck seeks to reassure Russia that Germany will ensure Russian interests are not ignored in disputes with Austria over the Balkans.

  • Dual Alliance

    After William II of Germany lets Reassurance Treaty lapse, Russia and France become allies.
  • Period: to

    The Dreyfus Affair

    A scandal that rocked France in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the Dreyfus affair involved a Jewish artillery captain in the French army, Alfred Dreyfus (1859-1935), who was falsely convicted of passing military secrets to the Germans.

  • Open Door Policy

    A term in foreign affairs initially used to refer to the United States policy established in the late 19th century and the early 20th century, as enunciated in Secretary of State John Hay's Open Door Note, dated September 6, 1899 and dispatched to the major European powers.

  • The Interpretation of Dreams, by Sigmund Freud

  • Period: to

    Russo-Japanese War

    Feb 8, 1904 – Sep 5, 1905

  • Einstein's Theory of Relativity

  • Triple Entente

    Great Britain tacitly agrees to support France and Russia if conflict arises in which Germany is the aggressor.
  • Period: to

    First Balkan War

    Oct 8, 1912 – May 30, 1913

  • The Assassination of Archduke Ferdinand

  • Period: to

    World War I

  • Period: to

    First Battle of the Marne

    Sep 5, 1914 – Sep 12, 1914
  • Period: to

    Battle of Verdun

    Feb 21, 1916 – Dec 18, 1916

  • Easter Rebellion in Ireland

  • Period: to

    Bolshevik Revolution

    Mar 8, 1917 – Nov 7, 1917

  • Treaty of Brest-Litovsk

    Ends Russian involvement in WWI.

  • Treaty of Versailles

    Ends World War I. Germany must accept war guilt clause and massive reparations
  • Period: to

    Joseph Stalin in power in Russia

  • Treaty of Locarno

    France and Germany agree to finalize the border between Belgium, France, and Germany.

  • Kellogg-Briand Treaty

    Great Powers agree to foreswear the use of war as a tool in conflict resolution
  • Period: to

    The Great Depression

    October 29, 1929 – 1939
  • Period: to

    Hitler as Führer in Germany

  • Rome-Berlin Axis

    Formed between Mussolini’s Fascist Italy and Hitler’s Nazi Germany
  • Period: to

    The Spanish Civil War

  • Munich Conference

  • Kristallnacht

  • Nazi Germany and Soviet Union sign nonaggression pact

  • Period: to

    World War II

  • Vichy France

    • France defeated by Nazi Germany, ending Third Republic
    • Northern France directly occupied by Nazis
    • Southern France becomes an authoritarian puppet state under rule of Marshal Petain
  • Period: to

    Battle of Stalingrad

  • Tehran Conference

    First meeting of USA, Britain, and Soviet Union to discuss post-war settlement

  • Yalta Conference

    USA/Britain/USSR agree to establish UN after the war, Soviets agree to help in war against Japan

  • Fourth Republic (France)

    • Universal Suffrage (male and female)
    • Strong Parliamentary government with a relatively weak executive (President)

  • German Instrument of Surrender

  • Potsdam Conference

    USA/Britain/USSR – less cooperative – first signs fo what will grow into the Cold War

  • The atomic bombing of Hiroshima

  • The atomic bombing of Nagasaki

  • Japan Surrenders (WWII)

  • Marshall Plan Enacted

  • Period: to

    Berlin Blockade/Airlift

  • USA and Western powers for NATO

  • Creation of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)

  • Period: to

    Korean War

  • Period: to

    Nikita Khrushchev in power in Russia

  • Warsaw Pact

    Soviet Union and eastern powers form Warsaw Pact (Yugoslavia is only communist country in Europe to not join Warsaw Pact)

  • Founding of the European Economic Community

  • Fifth Republic (France)

    • Government unable to deal with Algerian Crisis
    • Charles de Gaulle offers to come out of retirement, but does not wish to take part in weak Fourth Republic government. He and his supporters suggest a new constitution with a stronger executive (a President with a 7-year term of office).

    • The people agree, and France has been run under this constitution every since
  • Period: to

    Presidency of Charles de Gaulle in France

  • Period: to

    Berlin Wall

  • Period: to

    Cuban Missile Crisis

  • Period: to

    Leonid Brezhnev in power in Russia

  • Student Revolts

  • Beginning of the Watergate Scandal

  • Period: to

    Papacy of John Paul II

  • Period: to

    Prime Ministry of Margaret Thatcher in Great Britain

    4 May 1979 – 28 November 1990
  • Period: to

    Mikhail Gorbachev in power in Russia

  • Russia’s communist system falls apart, resulting in the end of the Soviet Union

  • German Reunification

  • Maastricht Treaty

    Members of European Union agree on closer ties, including a common currency (the Euro)

  • European Union founded

  • Dayton Accords

    Ends conflict in Bosnia
  • Period: to

    Vladimir Putin in power in Russia

    May 7, 2000

  • 9/11

  • Period: to

    Iraq War

  • Period: to

    Chancellorship of Angela Merkel

  • Period: to

    Presidency of Barack Obama

  • Period: to

    Papacy of Francis I