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The Maya were one of the most powerful of the Mesoamerican societies and were centered in one geographical block in the Yucatán Peninsula, Guatemala, Northern Brazil, and Southern Mexico.
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Located in ancient Mexico, the Olmecs were the first Mesoamerican civilization including the Mayas and the Aztec.
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European kings supported the Pope and sent knights to the Holy Land to fight the Muslims. The Crusades lasted 200 years.
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The people live in a manor under a Lord of the Manor and grow their own food
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Europe changed its focus from a farming economy to a focus on trade.
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The Aztec a Mesoamerican culture that thrived in central Mexico.
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Polo was born to a family of merchants in Venice, Italy.
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Marco Polo journeyed to China and traveled along the Silk Road and brought products from the East back to Europe.
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The crusades ended and the Pope failed to conquer the Muslims but there was increased knowledge and demand for goods in the East.
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The Polo's returned to Europe by ship and brought back ivory, jade, jewels, porcelain, and silk.
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Polo was captured and became a prisoner of war. He wrote a book about his adventures Asia which became a bestseller.
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The 1300's was the beginning of the time known as the Renaissance or "rebirth" and continued until the 17th century.
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The legendary Mesoamerican Inca Empire extended along the Pacific Coast and Andean Highlands.
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In 1415 the Portuguese captured the Fortress of Ceuta in Africa. They set up trading posts to trade gold and silver.
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In 1419 the Portuguese had made advancements in shipbuilding and navigation which led to the discovery of the Madeira Islands.
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The discoveries of these islands encouraged Prince Henry to navigate farther south along the coast of Africa.
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In 1434 Prince Henry's ships were the first to successfully sail around Cape Bojador and return home.
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The most important invention during the Renaissance. Invented by Johann Gutenberg.
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The marriage of Ferdinand of Aragon and Isabella of Castille in 1469 unified Catholic Spain and helped to make the nation a global power.
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In 1488 Dias traveled further down the coast of Africa than any explorer before him and made it around the Cape of Good Hope to the east coast of South Africa.
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Columbus traveled west, funded by Spain, to try to find a faster route to Asia but discovered Hispañola in 1492 instead.
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Hernán Cortés, a Spanish conquistador, conquered the Aztec claiming Mexico for Spain.
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In 1529, Francisco Pizarro, a Spanish explorer and conquistador invaded the Incan empire.
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In 1532, the Inca Empire fell to Pizarro. His timing was perfect, because the Inca Empire was involved in a civil war that had wiped out the population and divided the people.
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Thomas Hobbes was an enlightened thinker who wrote the book The Leviathan which used reason and not religious thinking to explain his beliefs about man, government and kings.
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John Lock was an enlightened thinker who wrote the book The Second Treatise on Government which explained his belief that people are equal and have natural rights and should be governed by reason.
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On July 4, 1776, the United States declared independence from England.
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In 1789 France wrote the Declaration of the Rights of Man at the time of the French Revolution. It was modeled after The Declaration of Independence.
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The Haitian Revolution was a slave rebellion that led to the independence of Haiti. The revolution ended slavery and the control of the French over the island.
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Bolivar's homeland was Venezuela, and he wanted to see it freed from Spanish rule. The campaign was known as the Campaña Admirable and was successful, but a civil war broke out and Bolivar had to flee to Jamaica.
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Bolivar received support from Haiti and was finally able to establish independence from Spain. The new government, Gran Columbia, was created which included Venezuela, Colombia, Panamá and Ecuador.
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José de San Martín, a Argentine soldier helped lead the revolutions against Spain in South America. After two years assembling a fleet of ships, he arrived in Peru and took the capital on July 28, 1821 and declared Peru independent from Spain.
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After many years of fighting the Spanish for their independence and losing their leader, Miguel Hidalgo, the Mexican rebel forces did not give up. They eventually won their independence in 1821.
