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10,000 BCE
Neolithic Revolution
was the first agricultural revolution. It was a gradual change from nomadic hunting and gathering communities and bands to agriculture and settlement. This period is described as a "revolution" because it changed the way of life of communities which made the change -
9000 BCE
Natufians
The Natufian culture is the name given to the sedentary Late Epi-Paleolithic hunter-gatherers living in the Levant region of the near east between about 12,500 and 10,200 years ago. The Natufians foraged for food such as emmer wheat, barley, and almonds, and hunted gazelle, deer, cattle, horse, and wild boar -
9000 BCE
Jericho
town located in the West Bank. Jericho is one of the earliest continuous settlements in the world. Jericho is thus one of the places providing evidence of very early agriculture. -
8000 BCE
The Fertile Crescent
This refers to areas of fertile soil near important rivers in the area. It stretches from the Nile River in Egypt to the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in modern Iraq. It also encompasses several other countries, including Israel, Lebanon, Jordan and Syria. -
7200 BCE
Faiyum
In modern day Egypt and one of the earliest civilizations along the Nile Valley. This is known for domesticating barley, wheat, sheep and goat. -
6200 BCE
Catalhoyuk
was a very large Neolithic and Chalcolithic proto-city settlement in southern Anatolia, which existed from approximately 7500 BC to 5700 BC, and flourished around 7000 BC. -
2900 BCE
Babylon
ruled by man named Hammurabi
he created the code of Hammurabi which means 'an eye for an eye'
Hanging Gardens of Babylon - one of the wonders of the ancient world -
2686 BCE
Old Kingdom
The Old Kingdom was a period of prosperity and disunity, also known as the "Age of Pyramids". King Djoser created a new era of building. -
2500 BCE
Mohenjo Daro and Harappa
“the mound of the dead.”Subsequent excavations revealed that the mounds contain the remains of what was once the largest city of the Indus civilization. These cities are located in modern day Pakistan and West India and also located in the Indus River Valley -
1975 BCE
Middle Kingdom
During this time Egypt fell into a dark period with weak kings and the loss of unification between upper and lower Egypt. The popular Religion during this time was the cult of Osiris. -
1600 BCE
The Shang Dynasty in China
based on agriculture, millet, wheat, and barley
was an aristocratic society
Began a highly developed a calendar system -
1550 BCE
The Phoenicians
people who occupied the eastern coast of the Mediterranean
Skilled in wood, ivory, and metalworking
major contribution of creating an alphabetic writing system that became the root of the Western alphabets and the English alphabet (where the word phonics comes from) -
1325 BCE
The Aztec Empire
Built a temple there and named the capital city Tenocitilian (Mexico City)
The first emperor was Itzcoatl, followed by Moctezuma I and Moctezuma II -
1100 BCE
The Greek Dark Age
Interval between the collapse of the Mycenaean civilization and the Greek Archaic period -
1100 BCE
The Greek Dark Age
Interval between the collapse of the Mycenaean civilization and the Greek Archaic period -
753 BCE
Roman Empire
The last Roman soldiers left Britain and new people came in ships. -
750 BCE
The Archaic Period
Foundation of the Olympic Games and the Second Persian invasion of Greece -
550 BCE
Persian Empire
om 539 BC to 331 BC, the Persian Empire was the most powerful state in the world. Ruled from Persia (now Iran), it stretched from Egypt to India. It had rich resources of water, fertile farmland, and gold. The Persians followed the Zoroastrian religion. -
356 BCE
Alexander the Great
Philip, a King of Macedonia conquered the rest of the Greek peninsula and gave it to his son Alexander.
Became King at Age 20. -
200 BCE
Mayan Empire
Located in Central America where Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras are today. Civilization with the only fully developed written language of the pre-Columbian Americas. Noted for their art, architecture, calendar development, and mathematical/ astronomical systems.
During “The Mayan Golden Age”, the population numbered in the millions. -
732
Battle of Tours
France defeated the Muslims -
732
Battle of Tours
France defeated the Muslims -
793
Vikings from Scandinavia
Norse settlers migrated across the North Atlantic because they had a shortage of good farmland in Scandinavia -
800
Charlemagne
Charles Martel's grandson, Charlemagne, became the king of all of present-day France and Germany. -
874
Icelandic Age of Settlement
Most of the island was claimed and "Althingi", the ruling assembly of the Icelandic Commonwealth, was founded
Created historical records in skin manuscripts called The Sagas -
1066
Battle of Hastings
Fought between Norman-French ary of William, the Duke of Normandy, and an English army under the Anglo-Saxon KIng Harold Godwinson, beginning the Norman conquest of England. -
1096
The Crusades
The crusades were a series of religious wars in western Asia and Europe initiated, supported and sometimes directed by the Roman Catholic Church between the 11th and the 17th century. The crusades differed from other religious conflicts. They were a penance by the participants and brought forgiveness for confessed sin. -
1254
Marco Polo
Venetian merchant family
Raised by an extended family (mother died at a young age and father was in Asia working as jewel merchant)
Went to Asia to meet with Ghengis Khan and learn his ways of his elaborate communication structure
Polo mastered 4 languages and gained great knowledge about the Mongol Empire, use of paper money that he returned to Europe with. (also silk, jade, coal, spices, compass, porcelain, and pasta)
The route taken to trade these items is still referred to as the Silk Road. -
1300
The Inca Empire
Located on the Western Coast of South America (now Chile and Peru)
Skilled politicians and governed 12 million people. Instead of money tribute, they demanded labor and military services. They built roads from the Inca capital Machu Picchu.
Collapsed when Emperor Capac died from an epidemic -
1300
The Rebirth
Knows as the Godfathers of the Renaissance. Created a beginning and gave guidance, also a Mafia Family that used intimidation, violence, and murder to expand power. -
1346
The Black Plague
Famously attacked Constantinople and Bryzantine Emperor Justanian.
Crusades brought it along the Silk Road when 12 Italian trading ships docked at the port of Messina on the island of Sicily after a journey through the Black Sea. Side effects were black boils that ooze blood and puss and started the phrase Black Death -
1400
The Tainos
A diverse mix of different tribes which spanned the islands of the Caribbean. They were the first people Columbus encountered when he landed. -
1400
Renaissance
A time of rebirth after the Dark Ages. -
1478
The Inquisition
King Ferdinand II and Queen Isabella began the Spanish Inquisition. The two governed the country motivated by money. Jews were subjected to violent attacks (pogroms) and were isolated into ghettos. Often they were killed. -
1491
King Henry VIII
started The Church of England and forced English people to become members. -
1492
Christopher Columbus
He didn’t want to prove that the world is round or discover new lands. The Silk Road was a long and hard journey. He wanted to find an all water route to Asia, he traveled west and came to China. He wanted to become wealthy. He didn’t make it to the Americas until his 4th voyage. He enslaved, tortured, and murdered the native people of the Caribbean Islands. -
1497
Age of Discovery
John Cabot crossed the Atlantic from England to the “West Indies” to make landgally somewhere in northern North America, possibly Newfoundland. -
1500
The Columbian Exchange
Spain, Portugal, France, and England sent explorers to the New World. They brought animals and plants. When in the New World of America, they bought back different plants and animals to make the royals happy. This also brought illnesses to the Native people because they had not built up immunities -
1517
Martin Luther
Used the printing press to create and distribute a list of 95 complaints (95 Theses) about the activities of the catholic church and nailed a copy on the door of the Wittenberg Chapel.
He believed that everyone should read the Bible, and people needed to be educated to do so. -
1533
Queen Elizabeth
When Mary died, her half sister Elizabeth took reign and brought peace to England. -
1564
Shakespeare
Poet. He wrote plays about Julius Caesar -
1565
St. Augustine, Florida
Pedro Menendez de Aviles in St. Augustine Florida. Location was intended to be a base for further colonial ventures across the Southeastern United States but were halted by Natives -
Roanoke (the Lost Colony)
Sir Walter Raleigh of England was charged by Queen Elizabeth. It was England's first colony in the New World. 108 men settled on the north side of the island and built a defensible fort. -
Jamestown
America’s first permanent English colony. -
New Amsterdam
Location that is now known as New York. As settlers came, the population grew and spread north up the Hudson River. -
The First African Slaves
First documented in Virginia from the kingdom of Ndongo in Angola (West Central Africa). They were captured during a war with the Portuguese. Brought here as indentured servants with an end-date (7-14 years) when they would be freed. -
House of Burgesses
First representative government met at a church in Jamestown. Its first order of business was to set a minimum price for the sale of tobacco. -
The Mayflower Compact
First document of Democracy in the New World, written and signed on board the ship before they went ashore to make peace between the pilgrims and non-pilgrims. When the Pilgrims landed in December, they met Native people including Somoset and Squanto. -
Plymouth Colony
In Massachusetts Bay, Separatist Pilgrims established their own colony. They came on the Mayflower and landed in Plymouth, Massachusetts (on accident) in route to work in the tobacco plantations in Virginia. -
The Story of Squanto
Squanto, along with other men in the Patuxet tribe were kidnapped by Spanish explorers and taken to Spain to be sold into slavery. He was taught to speak Spanish in 2 years. -
New York- Battle of Saratoga
Washington gained victory when France and Holland aided and supported. France gave gifts to America including Jean La Fayette, who rose in the ranks to major general. -
Pennsylvania- Valley Forge
Very cold winter, and soldiers also suffered from starvation and illness. -
Bill of Rights
Protected British subjects from being taxed without the consent of a truly representative Parliament. Many colonists viewed Parliament's attempt to tax them as a violation of this English Bill of Rights. -
Friedrich Von Steuben
German officer who came to Valley Forge to train the American Army. He is credited with being one of the fathers of the Continental Army in teaching them with essentials of military drills, tactics, and disciplines. Wrote the Revolutionary War Drill Manual, and served as Washington’s chief of staff. -
Sugar Act
In an effort to raise revenue and simultaneously interfere with the French in the Caribbean, a 6 pence tax on each gallon of molasses was imposed -
French and Indian War
Began in 1754 and ended with the Treaty of Paris in 1763. The war provided Great Britain enormous territorial gains in North America, but disputes over subsequent frontier policy and paying the war's expenses led to colonial discontent, and ultimately to the American Revolution. -
Stamp Act
Proved to be wildly unpopular in the colonies, contributing to its repeal the following year. -
The Townshend Acts
Series of acts passed by the Parliament of Great Britain relating to the British colonies in North America. Proposed to raise revenue in the colonies to pay the salaries of governors and judges so they would be independent of colonial rule. -
Boston Massacre
The Boston Massacre was a street fight that occurred on March 5, 1770, between a "patriot" mob, throwing snowballs, stones, and sticks, and a squad of British soldiers. Several colonists were killed and this led to a campaign by speech-writers to rouse the ire of the citizenry. -
Boston Tea Party
The Sons of Liberty boarded tea ships anchored in the harbor and dumped the tea overboard. -
The Sons of Liberty
Organization of American patriots who formed to protect the rights of the colonists and to take to the streets against the abuses of the British government.
Best known for undertaking the Boston Tea Party in reaction to the Tea Act, which led to the Intolerable Acts and a mobilization of the colonial militia. -
The Tea Act
Act of the Parliament of Great Britain. Its purpose was to reduce the massive surplus of tea held by the financially troubled British East India Company. -
Lexington and Concord
British Generals set out to Boston to seize weapons and gunpowder. Before they arrived, spies of the Americans leaked word of the plans. Israel brought news to the American colonists of the British attacks. -
Ethan Allen and the Green Mountain Boys
A message was sent to Allen and the Green Mountain Boys stating that the Connecticut militia were planning to capture Fort Ticonderoga. They overcame a small British garrison at the fort and looted the personal belongings of the garrison. Cannons and other armament from the fort were used in battle of the Revolution and the Siege of Boston. -
Second Continental Congress
Argument continued between those who wanted peace and those who thought war was inevitable. George Washington was selected as Commander in the Colonial Army. -
The Battle of Bunker Hill
Battle is commonly misnamed because it actually took place on Breed’s Hull. Americans repelled the first two attacks by the British, but retreated from the 3rd attack after running out of ammo. The British lost 40% of their force. -
Surrender
Tired of a costly war and after a series of battles, a major British force was surrounded in Yorktown by the Americans on land and the french on the seacoast. With nowhere to run, the British General Cornwallis surrendered. -
Articles of Confederation
Similar to the constitution but gave far less power to the central government and more to the individual states. Chaos followed. Each state had their own laws and currency. Central government had little authority and states only respected their own government. -
US Constitution
Signed in addition to the 10 amendments and became law in 1788 when the last state ratified it. It describes how the government would look. -
Jim Crow Laws
State and local laws that enforced racial segregation in Southern United States -
Louisiana Territory
Bought from France and sent the Lewis and Clark Expedition (1804-1806) to explore the new west. -
Lewis and Clark
Goal was to explore and map the new territory and find a practical route across the Western half of the continent. -
Indian tribal removal
President Thomas Jefferson initiated the process of Indian tribal removal and relocation to the Louisiana Territory west of the Mississippi River in order to open lands for American settlers.
He drafted and signed into law a bill banning the importation of slaves in the United States -
The War of 1812
When the war came to an end it was largely because the British public had grown tired of the sacrifice and expense of their twenty-year war against France and the war against the United States lost support. -
Trail of Tears
Andrew Jackson promoted the “Indian Removal” and spent years leading campaigns that transferred hundreds of thousands of acres of land from Indian nations to white farmers. -
Treaty of Traverse de Sioux
Stated that the Dakota would cede their Minnesota and Dakota lands to the U.S. Government and would be paid by them in yearly annuities. -
Fort Sumter
Event that triggered war. The Confederate Army opened fire on the federal garrison and forced it to lower the American flag in surrender. -
Civil War
Determined what kind of nation it would be Sovereign national Government or slave holding country -
Big Battles
The real fighting began. Famous battles: Shiloh (TN), Bull Run (VA), Fredericksburg (VA), Antietam (ML), Gettysburg (PA), Vicksburg (MS), Chickamauga (GA, Atlanta (GA) -
Big Battles
The real fighting began. Famous battles: Shiloh (TN), Bull Run (VA), Fredericksburg (VA), Antietam (ML), Gettysburg (PA), Vicksburg (MS), Chickamauga (GA, Atlanta (GA) -
Little Crow
4 Dakota men killed people living in the farms of Acton Township. When word got out war sparked to regain their ancestral land.
Little Crow attacked the Lower Sioux Agency, killing many civilians in the white farms and communities throughout the Minnesota River Valley. -
Battle of Wood Lake
The last major battle of the war in MN, many Dakota left the state. -
Union Victory
Gave 4 million slaves freedom, but the process of rebuilding the South during the Reconstruction period brought another set of challenges. -
Black Codes
Put into law by President Andrew Johnson to control the labor and behavior of former slaves and other African Americans. -
Radical Reconstruction
Former slaves were given full rights as voters and gained a voice in government for the first time in America. A pushback came in the form of the Ku Klux Klan. -
World War I
US remained neutral until participation in the war. The US made huge contributions such as supplies raw materials and money -
Great Depression
Severe wold wide economic depression that took place after the stock market crashed. -
The Sumerian Empire (Akkadian Dynasty)
First to introduce imperialism
The first dynasty -
Yangzte River Valley
the longest river of Asia; flows eastward from Tibet into the East China Sea near Shanghai. -
Clovis People
The Paleo Indians were named after a spear point from this group of people that was found near Clovis, New Mexico.