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Jun 2, 1300
Renaissance
Sometime during the 1300's, the Renaissance, or “rebirth”, in Italy began. It was a renewed interest in ancient Greek and Roman literature and life. -
Jun 2, 1440
Printing Press
In 1440, Johannes Gutenberg, a German inventor, invented the printing press. -
Jun 2, 1451
Triangular Trade Begins
In the triangular trade system, merchants shipped cotton goods, weapons, and liquor to Africa in exchange for slaves or gold. They then had the Middle Passage, which was the shipment of slaves across the Atlantic to the Americas. Slaves were then sold for goods that were produced on the plantations. Merchants then sent the plantations' products to Europe to complete the "triangle". -
Aug 2, 1492
Christopher Columbus Sets Sail
Christopher Columbus sailed the ocean blue in August of 1492. He set sail from Palos, Spain with 3 small ships (La Nina, La Pinta, and La Santa Maria) and headed westward across the Atlantic. -
Oct 2, 1492
Christopher Columbus Lands
In October of 1492, Columbus landed on a tiny island that he named San Salvador. He planted a Spanish flag, claiming the land they had found as Spain's. He believed the islands he had found was off the east coast of India. In reality however, he had discovered islands in the Americas. -
May 2, 1543
Heliocentric Concept Begins with Copernicus
In May of 1543, Nicholas Copernicus published his book "On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Shperes". He believed that the geocentric system was too complicated and that the heliocentric system was more accurate. The heliocentric system meant that the Sun, not the Earth, was at the center of the universe. -
Galileo Galilei
Galilei was a mathematician that made regular observations of the heavens using a telescope. Galilei believed in the heliocentric model. He published his book "The Starry Messenger" and found himself under suspicion by the authorities of the Catholic Church. The Church did not agree with the Copernican system because it threatened the Church's entire concept of the universe and it contradicted the Bible. -
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Thirty Years War
Religious disputes in Germany continued in Germany even after the Peace of Augsburg in 1555. This was mainly because Calvinism had not been recognized by the peace treaty. The Thirty Years War was a religious war which ended the unity of the Holy Roman Empire. Germany was plundered and destroyed. The Peace of Westphalia ended the war in Germany in 1648. -
Agricultural Revolution (Jethro Tull)
Jethro Tull invented a seed drill that made it possible to plant seeds in straight rows. He also made a horse-drawn hoe to dig up weeds between the rows and break up soil before planting. -
Crop Rotation
English farmers usually left some fields unplanted for a year to let the soil rebuild its nutrients. Charles Townshend found that planting different crops in the fields each year had the same result. This system, called crop rotation, helped farmers to produce more crops using the same amount of land. -
Industrial Revolution Begins
The Industrial Revolution started in Great Britain in the 1780s. It began in Great Britain because of improved farming methods, improved transportation, more food production which supported the growing population, and a ready supply of capital. -
First Steam-Powered Locomotive
In 1804, the first steam-powered locomotive ran on an industrial rail-line in Britain. It was able to pull 10 tons of ore and 70 people and 5 mph. -
Opium War Begins
When the British tried to negotiate with the Chinese to imporve the trade imbalance and failed, they began to trade Opium. The Chinese blockaded the only trading outlet available to the Brtitish and they reacted with force, starting the Opium War. -
Opium War Ends
The Qing Dynasty made peace with the British and agreed to open 5 coastal ports , limit taxes on British goods, and pay for the costs of war. -
Suez Canal
The Egyptian government let a French company start building a canal. Building the canal cost a lot of money and Egypt soon went bankrupt.Egypt sold its stock to the Suez Canal, Great Britain bought the Egyptian stock, and then gained control of the canal. -
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Height of Imperialism
The years between 1870 and 1914 were the height of the age of Imperialism. Imperialism is when one country takes control of another country. By 1914, Europe, Japan, and the United States controlled almost the entire world. -
Triple Alliance
In 1881, Bismark convinced Italy to join Austria-Hungary and Germany in the Triple Alliance. He wanted to keep France isolated and without allies because he feared that France would seek revenge for its defeat in the Franco-Prussian War. -
Triple Entete
The Triple Entete was the alliance between France, Russia, and Great Britain. France & Great Britain became allies after settling their conflicting claims in Africa. Russia & Great Britain also became allies later on, forming the Triple Entete. -
Decline of the Qing Dynasty
The Qing Dynasty collapsed in 1911 due to many reasons such as corruption, peasant unrest, incompetence, population growth, and applied pressure by the modern west. -
Treaty of Versailles
The Treaty of Versailles was the peace settlement signed after World War One had ended in 1918. The treaty was signed at Versailles, near Paris, between Germany and the Allies.
