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Jan 1, 1453
French victory at Castillion ends Hundred Years’ War
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Jan 1, 1453
Ottoman conquest of Constantinople ends Byzantine Empire
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Jan 1, 1492
Ferdinand V and Isabella defeat Moors, unite Spain
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Jan 1, 1492
Christopher Columbus reaches North America
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Jan 1, 1501
French conquer Naples, begins expansion in northern Italy
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Jan 1, 1517
Luther’s 95 Theses begin the Reformation
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Jan 1, 1529
Protestant rebellions in Germany, Switzerland
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Jan 1, 1534
Society of Jesus (Jesuits) founded
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Jan 1, 1535
Sir Thomas More executed in England
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Jan 1, 1545
Council of Trent reforms Catholicism
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Jan 1, 1555
Germany: Peace of Augsburg establishes religious freedom
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Jan 1, 1558
Elizabeth I becomes queen of England
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Jan 1, 1582
Gregorian calendar introduced under Pope Gregory XIII
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England: Queen Elizabeth I dies; James I begins Stuart dynasty
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English form colony at Jamestown, Virginia
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France: Henry IV assassinated, Louis XIII made king
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France enters Thirty Years’ War with Sweden, against Spain
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Thirty Years’ War ends with Treaty of Westphalia
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Charles II reestablishes English monarchy
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English take New Amsterdam, renamed it New York
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French claim Louisiana territory
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Charles II dies, ending Habsburg rule of Spain; Bourbon dynasty begins
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England and Scotland united as Great Britain
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French establish New Orleans; Spain takes Texas
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America: British and French fight King George’s War
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Beginning of the Industrial Revolution