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521
Cortez Conquers the Aztecs
The Spanish conquest of the Aztecs in 1521, led by Hernando Cortes, was a landmark victory for the European settlers. Following the Spanish arrival in Mexico, a huge battle erupted between the army of Cortes and the Aztec people under the rule of Montezuma. -
Period: 1096 to 1291
Crusades are Fought
The Crusades were a series of religious and political wars fought between 1096 and 1291 for control of the Holy Land. -
1337
100 year war begins
The Hundred Years' War was a long struggle between England and France over succession to the French throne. It lasted from 1337 to 1453, so it might more accurately be called the "116 Years' War." -
1347
Black death begins in Europe
The first recorded appearance of the plague in Europe was at Messina, Sicily in October of 1347. It arrived on trading ships that very likely came from the Black Sea, past Constantinople and through the Mediterranean. -
1350
Renaissance begins
The Renaissance is generally considered to have started in Florence, Italy around the years 1350 to 1400. The start of the Renaissance also was the end of the Middle Ages. -
Period: 1405 to 1433
Zheng hes voyages
was a Chinese mariner, explorer, diplomat, fleet admiral, and court eunuch during China's early Ming dynasty. ... Zheng commanded expeditionary voyages to Southeast Asia, South Asia, Western Asia, and East Africa from 1405 to 1433. -
1431
Joan of Arc burned at stake
According to historians, Joan of Arc was 19 when she was burnt at the stake in Rouen by the English on 30 May, 1431. She died of smoke inhalation. The Cardinal of Winchester is recorded as having ordered her to be burnt a second time. -
1453
Fall of Constantinople
The Fall of Constantinople was the capture of the capital of the Byzantine Empire by an invading Ottoman army -
1468
Johannes Gutenburg printing press
Johannes Gutenberg. Johannes Gensfleisch zur Laden zum Gutenberg (/ˈɡuːtənbɜːrɡ/; c. 1400 – February 3, 1468) was a German blacksmith, goldsmith, printer, and publisher who introduced printing to Europe with the printing press. -
1478
Start of the Spanish Inquisition
The Tribunal of the Holy Office of the Inquisition, commonly known as the Spanish Inquisition, was established in 1478 by Catholic Monarchs Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I of Castile -
Period: 1485 to 1509
King Henry Vii Reign
Henry VII (Welsh: Harri Tudur; 28 January 1457 – 21 April 1509) was the King of England and Lord of Ireland from his seizure of the crown on 22 August 1485 to his death on 21 April 1509. He was the first monarch of the House of Tudor. -
1492
Christopher Columbus Lands in the New World
Columbus left Spain in August 1492 with three ships, and after a stopover in the Canary Islands made landfall in the Americas on 12 October (now celebrated as Columbus Day). His landing place was an island in the Bahamas, known by its native inhabitants as Guanahani; its exact location is uncertain. -
Period: 1492 to
Columbian Exchange
The Columbian exchange, also known as the Columbian interchange, was the widespread transfer of plants, animals, culture, human populations, technology, and ideas between the Americas and the Old World in the 15th and 16th centuries -
1503
Mona Lisa completed
Leonardo da Vinci is thought by some to have begun painting the Mona Lisa in 1503 or 1504 in Florence, Italy. Although the Louvre states that it was "doubtless painted between 1503 and 1506", the art historian Martin Kemp says there are some difficulties in confirming the actual dates with certainty. -
1508
Michelangelo begins painting the Sistine Chapel
The Sistine Chapel ceiling, painted by Michelangelo between 1508 and 1512, is a cornerstone work of High Renaissance art. The ceiling is that of the Sistine Chapel, the large papal chapel built within the Vatican between 1477 and 1480 by Pope Sixtus IV, for whom the chapel is named -
1514
Battle of Chaldiran
The Battle of Chaldiran took place on 23 August 1514 and ended with a decisive victory for the Ottoman Empire over the Safavid Empire. As a result, the Ottomans annexed eastern Anatolia and northern Iraq from Safavid Iran. -
Period: 1520 to 1566
Sultan Suleyman Reign
He became sultan when he was 26 years old. He reigned for 46 years, from 1520 to 1566, which was longer than any other Ottoman sultan. -
1521
Cortez defeats aztecs
The Spanish campaign against the Aztec Empire had its final victory on August 13, 1521, when a coalition army of Spanish forces and native Tlaxcalan warriors led by Cortés and Xicotencatl the Younger captured the emperor Cuauhtemoc and Tenochtitlan, the capital of the Aztec Empire. -
1532
The prince
The Prince is a 16th-century political treatise by the Italian diplomat and political theorist Niccolò Machiavelli. It was how to be a dictar -
1532
Pizzarro defeats the Incas
He led his army up the Andes Mountains and on November 15, 1532, reached the Inca town of Cajamarca, -
Period: 1533 to
Queen Elizabeths Reign
Elizabeth was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death on 24 March 1603. Sometimes called The Virgin Queen, Gloriana or Good Queen Bess, Elizabeth was the last of the five monarchs of the House of Tudor. -
Period: 1545 to 1563
counter reformation
The Counter-Reformation also called the Catholic Reformation or the Catholic Revival, was the period of Catholic resurgence initiated in response to the Protestant Reformation, -
1571
Martin Luther post 95 theses
Acting on this belief, he wrote the “Disputation on the Power and Efficacy of Indulgences,” also known as “The 95 Theses,” a list of questions and propositions for debate. Popular legend has it that on October 31, 1517 Luther defiantly nailed a copy of his 95 Theses to the door of the Wittenberg Castle church. -
Period: to
Era of Samurai
The samurai were the warriors of premodern Japan. They later made up the ruling military class that eventually became the highest-ranking social caste of the Edo Period -
William Shakespeare's death
Tradition has it that William Shakespeare died on his 52nd birthday, April 23, 1616, though many scholars believe this is a myth. Church records show he was interred at Trinity Church on April 25, 1616. In his will, he left the bulk of his possessions to his eldest daughter, Susanna. -
Taj Mahal Completed
It was built by Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his wife Mumtaz Mahal with construction starting in 1632 AD and completed in 1648 AD, with the mosque, the guest house and the main gateway on the south, -
Lord George McCartney expelled
British statesman, colonial administrator and diplomat. -
Period: to
Slave Trade
British government passed an Act of Parliament abolishing the slave trade throughout the British Empire. Slavery itself would persist in the British colonies until its final abolition in 1838. However, abolitionists would continue campaigning against the international trade of slaves after this date. -
Period: to
Opium war
The Opium Wars were two wars in the mid-19th century involving China and the British Empire over the British trade of opium and China's sovereignty. The clashes included the First Opium War and the Second Opium War