History Overview (600AD - 1600AD)

The Khmer Empire

Jan 1, 770

Cause: The founder of the empire, Jayavaram 2, expanded the empire and became King. He first started uniting smaller states together in 770AD.
Effect: The Empire built temples and palaces with intricate designs. They were, at that time, constructing an irrigation network to improve rice production. With the next king, they built artificial lakes and irrigations canals thus improving the water distribution.

Battle of Hastings

Oct 14, 1066

Cause: Edward the Confessor, King of England, died without an heir and in his will, the Earl of Wessex, son of England's most powerful nobleman, was appointed. William, Duke of Normandy, was enraged by this proposition as he considered himself rightfully to be the next King. Effect: William assembled an army of adventurers and noblemen from Northern France to invade England. William's army won thus making him King of England. He was crowned in Westminster Abbey on Christmas day, 1066.

The First Crusade

Jan 1, 1099

Cause: Christians were not allowed to travel on a pilgramage to Jerusalem because of the Turkish Muslim. They wanted to have the right to see where Jesus was preached and crucified, so they decided to have a crusade to regain back the land. Effect: People travelled on the land to reach their destination. Their plan was to take down powerful fortresses and cities so that they can take control. They succeeded but they wanted to get rid of muslims altogether and this led to more crusades.

The Rise of Feudalism

Jan 1, 1185

Cause: It is believed that feudalism started from the spread of shoen, the rise of samurai and the establishment of the Kamakura bakufu. Also another reason why is that after they won against the Mongols with the feudal tactic, they decided to use it. Effect: In order to obtain money, samurai stole from peasants. The Muromachi shoguns couldn't maintain control making provincial officials become warlords. The pyramid was created by having people who contribute the most at the top.

The Mongol Empire

Jan 1, 1206

Cause: Genghis Khan united and ruled the nomadic tribes in Central Asia.
Effect: The Mongols introduced strict laws of behaviour and from this economy improved and trading was encouraged. They were masters of warfare and their strageties surpassed the people they conquered. It is so well planned that they had captured all of China by 1276. Genghis Khan established the Yuan dynasty which ruled over China until 1368.

Signing of the Magna Carta

Jun 15, 1215

Cause: John I imposed fines and taxes on the barons, the Church and the merchants. He would imprison anyone who didn't pay. Effect: The three classes rebelled and confronted John at Runnymede. He consented and signed the Magna Carta even though it didn't settle the conflict between the King and his barons. This was the first step towards freedom and democracy.

Buddhism Grows in Importance

Jan 1, 1243

Cause: A man, named Siddhartha Gautama, found enlightenment and he was able to understand why nature existed. He was considered to be the 'Buddha.' Effect: This religion didn't offend kings and were practised by many. It spreaded to other countries around Asia and it is now currently a very common religion.

First Parliamentary System

Jan 1, 1273

Cause: King Edward 1st allowed first parliamentary sitting in 1273AD in the Great Hall at Westminster. Two houses were formed, the upper House of Lords and the lower House of Commoners.
Effect: The power of the King was greatly reduced. Peasants rebelled against the orders of the King. It caused the English Civil War fighting between those who believed the King should have the power and those who wants the parliament to take over and reduce the King’s power.

The Mongols' Invasion on Japan

Nov 1, 1274

Cause: Kublai Khan already had most of the eastern countries under his control and the only country left to conquer was Japan. Effect: 900 vessels and over 40, 000 troops landed on Japan. The Japanese were no match for the cavalry tactics and weoponry of the Mongols. When the Mongols retreated back to their ships to rest, a powerful storm hit Japan's coast and destroyed 200 ships and killed over 13, 000 soldiers ending in, a mission fail.

Outbreak of Plague in Europe

Jan 1, 1346

Cause: Fleas containing the disease infected the black rats and then these rats came to the humans and infected them. The people living in that period were ignorant of the consequences of living in crowded and unhygenic areas causing them to infect the other people who haven't yet caught it. Affect: Trade was booming between Europe and the East. The unknowingly infected people travelled in boats to trade and when they reached their destination, they transmitted the plague to other people.

The Flagellants during the Black Death

Jan 1, 1349

Cause: People believed that confessing their sins to God was not enough as the plague had not ceased. They believed that giving themselves physical pain would stop it. Effect: These people would form a circle on the ground and the 'master' would whip the ones who confessed their sins with a heavy leather thong tipped with metal studs. These whippings were so bad that they drew blood.

Persecution of the Jews

Jan 1, 1349

Cause: Christians believed that letting the Jews live with them, God is angry and that's why he brought down the plague to punish them. Jews were also dying at a slower rate from the plague. The reason why is because of their better hygiene routines. Effect: After the Jews were accused of contaminating the wells, they were burnt at the stake. Christians wiped towns and cities of almost all the Jews and at the end, these communities could never recover from the losses.

Changes in Beliefs and Values

Jan 1, 1349

Cause: Christians gave all their faith to the church to help cure them from the plague. After the death of many people, they started to question what the church was saying to everyone was helpful. Effect: The church had lost its respect from the people and many priests, nuns and monks had died from the consequences of going to dying people and listening to their confessions. From the lack of inmates of the churches, they had allowed the laity to listen to the dying's confessions.

Peasant's Revolt

Jun 1, 1381

Cause:The peasants might be stripped of the privileges that they were given after the Black Death. They were forced to work on church land which meant that they couldn't work on their own land resulting in less food for families. Money was taken from the taxes the peasant's paid and it was used for wars. Effect: An army of peasants from Kent and Essex went to London and captured the Tower of London whilst, in capturing, killing the Archbishop of Canterbury and the King's Treasurer.

Columbus 'discovers' the Americas

Jan 1, 1492

Cause: After the Crusades, many exotic goods and stories were brought back and this interested many people. They decided to travel around the world and search the unknown and Christopher was one of them. Effect: He set sail and when he landed on an island, a group of natives came up to him and traded some of their goods. He noticed the gold the natives were adorned with and he thought he could be rich by it. His efforts for attempting to take the gold was wasted and he was hated by everyone.

Battle of Nagashino

Jun 28, 1575

Cause: The forces of Takeda Katsuyori went to war with the allied forces of Oda Nobunaga and Tokugawa Ieyasu. The reason why Takeda Katsuyori declared war was because he wanted to finish what his deceased father started. Effect: The Takeda Clan had first fought with the Tokugawa clan but after someone sent a message for back up, the Oda clan formed an alliance with the Tokugawas. After the battle, the Takeda clan surrended and were chased away with Nobunaga taking the seat of the Shogun.

Battle of Sekigahara

Oct 21, 1600

Cause: Tokugawa Ieyasu and Mitsunari Ishida fought for the title of Shogun and the power to rule all of Japan. Effect:Two armies of about 80, 000 samurai fought against each other. Mitsunari Ishida had an alliance with the Kobayakawa clan before the battle started. Kobayakawa Hideaki had planned to betray Ishida when the battle started and help the Tokugawa clan. At the end, Ieyasu won the title of the shogun and having control of Japan.

Great Plague of London

Jan 1, 1665

Cause: London's population was growing and with the filthy, cramped and unhygenic conditions, it was a perfect place for rats to live in. The infected rats carrying fleas, transported them around to the humans and infected them. Affect: The poor people showed symptoms whilst the richer people moved away to the countryside. The infected were quarantined in their homes and the dead were buried in mass burial pits. The Great Fire of London ended the plague and destroyed the rats and the city.

Commodore Matthew Perry Arrives in Japan

Jul 8, 1853

Cause: On behalf of the U.S goverment, Matthew Perry forced Japan to enter trade with them. Perry threatened the country by showing off their steamed power ships of war with the Japanese having nothing to compete with. Effect: This contributed to the fall of the Tokugawa bakufu and the Meiji emporer being brought back. The european nations stopped the Tokugawa bakufu from collecting tax on imports and exports.

Erik the Red Leads Settlers to Greenland

Mar 2, 2022

Cause: Eric was accused for killing people so he was sentenced to leave Iceland. He heard rumours of unpopulated land to the west and he decided to explore. Afterwards, he later encouraged people to come and settle there. Effect: The settlement thrived even with the lack of trees. They started trading polar bear skins,walrus skins and ivory with the Inuit people. It had also helped with the survival of the settlement.