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Period: 1800 BCE to 800
The Maya
The Maya were one of the great Mesoamerican civilizations and were located in Central America, between the Honduras and Mexico. They used slash-and-burn agriculture and valued religion. Because they lived in a tropical and rainforest climate, the Maya had access to resources like limestone, obsidian, quetzal feathers, and jade. -
Period: 1200 BCE to 600 BCE
The Olmecs
The Olmec were located in the forests of Veracruz and Tabasco. The Olmec built city centers known as La Venta, San Lorenzo, and Laguna de Los Cerros and created art as well as large stone heads. It is believed that their disappearance was caused by overpopulation, warfare, and deterioration of their environment. -
1095
Pope Urban calls for Crusades in the Holy Land
Pope Urban II decreed a crusade against the Muslims in the Holy Land. European kings sent their knights to the Holy Land to fight in the crusade. Europe eventually lost. -
1200
Europe is a farming economy
Before the Crusades, Europe was once a farming economy. However, in around 1200 CE, due to the Crusades, Europe switched its focus to trade and cities developed. Along busy trading routes, trade fairs were set up. -
Period: 1200 to 1521
The Aztec
The Aztec were located in Lake Texacoco, in which they built a city, Tenochtitlan. The Aztec invented chinampas (rafts which have been covered in dirt) to help with cultivation of crops. The Aztec were good architects and built many structures. They were later conquered by the Spanish. -
1271
Marco Polo travels to the East
Marco Polo travels with his father and uncle to the East, meeting the Kublai Khan, traveling across the Gobi Desert, and learning about the way of life in Asia. -
1289
Crusades end
The Crusades allowed for new opportunities for the Europeans. People began to travel to new locations, meet new people, encountering new goods and items, and seeing different ways of life. It also encouraged Europe to trade. -
1293
Polos journey home
With jewels, silk, and other luxuries, Marco Polo, his uncle, and his father start their journey home to Venice, Italy. -
1298
Marco Polo imprisoned and writes his book
During a battle, Marco Polo was captaining a ship and gets captured. In prison, he meets a writer who encourages him to write a book about his adventures, and he does, the book becoming a bestseller. -
Period: 1300 to
The Renaissance
The Renaissance was a time of rebirth in Europe where there was an upsurge of new art, science, math, technology, and ways of thinking from ancient Greece and Rome. -
Period: 1400 to 1532
The Inca
The Inca were located along South America's west coast in Peru, Bolivia, and Ecuador. Cuzco was the Inca capital. The Inca spoke with each other in a dialect that was a form of Quechua. They invented a network of roads and used knotted cords to keep records. The Inca were later conquered by the Spanish. -
1415
Portuguese capture Fortress of Ceuta
In Africa, the Portuguese capture the Fortress of Ceuta. They collected gold and silver from Africa and set up trading posts. -
1419
Portugal discovers the Madeira Islands
Prince Henry funded the work of European scientists, which led to the finding of the Madeira Islands. -
1427
Portugal discovers the Azores Islands
The Azores Islands were found because of Prince Henry funding European scientists. -
1434
Ship of Prince Henry returns from Cape Bojador
Before Prince Henry, no ship had made it beyond Cape Bojador. In 1494, one of Prince Henry's ships returns from Cape Bojador. -
1440
The printing press is invented
Johann Gutenburg invents the printing press with moveable type, inspired by the Chinese technique Marco Polo brought back from his journeys. -
1469
Ferdinand of Aragon and Isabella of Castile marry
Catholic Spain was brought together by the marriage of Ferdinand and Isabella. This allowed for Spain to eventually become a leading nation in global power. -
1488
Bartolomeu Dias reaches the eastern coast of South Africa
After the death of Prince Henry, Bartolomeu Dias took control to find an ocean route to India. In 1488, he reaches the eastern coast of South Africa, having traveled farther than anyone before him. Though he never made it to India because his crew was against it. -
Oct 12, 1492
Muslims are removed from Spain
Spain had been under mostly islamic rule until he King and Queen removed the Muslims from Spain on October 12, 1492. -
1519
Cortes invades the Aztec
The Spanish travel to South America and make allies with tribes under the Aztec. Together, the Spanish and their newfound allies take the Aztec leader, Montezuma, hostage and invade the Aztec Empire. -
1529
Pizarro invades the Inca
The Spanish show the Inca Leader, Atahualpa, the Bible. Not being able to read it, Atahualpa throws it, and the Inca take Atahualpa prisoner and conquer the Inca Empire. -
Thomas Hobbes writes The Leviathan
Hobbes wrote a book that explained the world through a non-religious view and through reason. -
John Locke writes The Second Treatise on Government
Locke explained the world and beliefs of man through logical thinking and without using the Bible. His words and new ways of thinking were very different from that of religion. -
The United States declares Independence
On this day, the United States declared its independence from Britain. The colonists were tired of the excessive taxes placed by the British and decided it was time to separate themselves from Britain. -
France writes the Declaration of the Rights of Man
The French were tired of having to pay France's debts and put forth a National Assembly made up of the people and started the French Revolution. They created the Declaration of the Rights of Man which offered better treatment to the French. -
Haiti gains independence
Led by Mean-Jacque Dessalines, the slaves brought in by the French to work in Saint Domingue were able to remove French control and slavery from Saint Domingue and get independence for their country, naming it Haiti. -
Bolivar and his soldiers begin Venezuela’s fight for independence
Marking the advent of the Admirable Campaign, Simón Bolívar and his men enter Venezuela. Eventually, the campaign was successful, and Venezuela gained its independence, -
Bolivar’s Gran Columbia gains its independence
In 1821, Bolívar instates Gran Columbia, a combination of Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela, and Panamá. -
Jose de San Martin frees Peru from Spain
After gathering a fleet of ships for transportation for two years, on July 28, 1821, San Martín succeeded in taking Peru's capital and earned Peru's independence from Spain. -
Mexico gains independence
11 years after Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla's Grito de Dolores, Mexico gained its independence. The movement sparked by Hidalgo led the natives to overthrow the Spanish ll years after.
