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1440
The Invention of the Gutenberg Printing Press (Reformation)
The Gutenberg printing press was an outstanding advancement of the time. Not only did it make writing easier, but it also tremendously helped the spreading of ideas. Without the printing press, Luther's 95 theses would have meant nothing to the people. -
Nov 1, 1478
The Spanish Inquisition Begins (Reformation)
The Spanish Inquisition was part of the Counter-Reformation to get more people to join the catholic church. It lasted for almost 400 years. The Inquisitions used methods such as torture of non-Catholics to make catholicism look like the better option. -
Period: 1485 to
The Reign of the Tudor Monarchs (Reformation)
The reign of the Tudor monarchs lasted over 100 years and was a time very prosperous time for England and at others a very difficult time due to Mary Tudor. The reign of this line of monarchs began with King Henry VIII and ended with Queen Elizabeth I. -
1488
Portugal Rounds the Cape of Good Hope (Global Exploration)
Portugal was a country well known for its voyaging skills. Over time as they traveled down the coast of Africa they built many ports that helped them on their journies. Eventually, they made it around the tip of Africa. With this new advancement, they were able to reach India and make huge profits. -
1492
Columbus Sails and Discovers the Caribbean (Global Exploration)
Christopher Columbus was a Spanish explorer who went on a voyage to find the Spice Islands. Instead, he landed in the Caribbean and Central America area. Even though he did not get any spices, he was able to get lots of gold and silver which drastically added to Spanish wealth. -
Jun 7, 1494
Treaty of Tordesillas is Issued (Global Exploration)
The Treaty of Tordesillas was an agreement that the Pope made that drew a line down the middle of the earth called the line of demarcation. To stop the conflict between Spain and Portugal and Spain he said that everything to the east of the line could be conquered by Portugal and everything to the left of the line could be conquered by Spain. This set in motion the dynamic for how global exploration would occur. -
May 20, 1498
Vasco Da Gama Makes it to India (Global Exploration)
Vasco Da gamma was a Portuguese explorer who was the first to make it to India the buying spices. Though he did not make it to the spice islands Da Gama was still able to buy spices for very cheap and make a 60 million dollar profit. This money helped make Portugal one of the most powerful countries of its time. -
1500
Pedro Cabral Discovers Brazil (Global Exploration)
Pedro Cabral was a Portuguese voyager who was sailing around South America in hopes of finding an easier way around the Cape of Good Hope. Instead, Cabral landed in Brazil which he then claimed as Portuguese territory. All of this had lasting effects on the modern-day country of Brazil, for example, Brazil speaks Portuguese. -
1513
Vasco Nunez De Balboa Discovers the Pacific Ocean (Global Exploration)
Vasco Nunez De Balboa was a Spanish explorer who was exploring Panama when he stumbled upon the pacific ocean. Balboa and his crew were walking from one side of Panama to the other when they noticed that there was a whole other ocean on the other side! This new information really helped future explorations find new routes. -
Oct 31, 1517
Luther posts his 95 Theses (Reformation)
Martin Luther wrote the 95 theses with the purpose of painting the 95 ways the Catholic Church was corrupt. He posted his work on the doors of the church os the eve of all hallows day knowing that everyone would see it the next morning. With the help of the printing press, Luther was able to get word to spread and for people to join his cause. -
Sep 20, 1519
Ferdinand Magellan Starts to Circumnavigates the Globe (Global Exploration)
Ferdinand Magellan was a Portuguese explorer who sailed around the world for Spain. He hoped to prove the line of Demarcation wrong which if successful says that Spain owned the whole world. He died before the voyage ended, but his voyage's legacy lived on with the confirmation that the earth was round and with new ways to reach other continents. -
1521
The Edict of Worms is Issued (Reformation)
After Luther's 95 theses were published lots of people were not very happy about it, so King Charles V created the Diet of Worms to put Luther and his ideas on trial. At the end of the diet, the Edict of Worms was issued. This document said that Luther was a heretic and that his teachings were to be burned. -
1521
Hernan Cortes Conquered the Aztecs (Global Exploration)
Hernan Cortes was a Spanish conquistador on a mission to find new land and take over the native culture. He wanted everyone to be catholic like in Spain. Over three years, Cortes and his army took down the Aztecs. This was also because many of the Aztecs died of European diseases. Overall his voyage added to the extensive amount of money Spain already had, and it gave Spain new land. -
1534
King Henry VIII Breaks Away From the Catholic Church (Reformation)
Since the Catholic Church would not let Henry VIII annul his wife he decided to take matters into his own hands. With this, he decided to break away from the Catholic Church and he formed the Church of England. With this one selfish act, he singlehandedly changed the religion of England and the course of religious conflict in the future. -
1536
Geneva Becomes the Capital of Calvinism (Reformation)
John Calvin was a French man who taught the teachings of Calvanism in Geneva and was able to turn Geneva into the capital of calvanism. Due to the berg system of Germany Geneva, a german city-state was able to practice calvanism without much conflict. -
Dec 15, 1545
The Council of Trent Forms (Reformation)
The Council of Trent was part of the counter-reformation, but instead of making others look bad to get the church more followers, they made the church look good. They did this by reflecting on the papacy. From this, they found what was corrupt and fixed that so that more people would join the church. -
1553
Mary Tudor Ascends to the Crown (Reformation)
Mary Tudor, commonly known as bloody mary was the third Tudor monarch. She is most known for her act of bringing England back to Catholicism and with that prosecuting those who refused to be catholic. One example of this was Thomas Cranmer who ended up being burned alive at the stake. -
1556
Charles V Steps Down from the Throne (Age of Absolutism)
King Charles V was one of the most powerful rulers of the world. He was in charge of the Holy Roman Empire and Spain which took up 40% of Europe. Eventually, he became overwhelmed and in ill health, so he stepped down from his position. This meant his crown was passed on to his son Phillip II. -
1558
Queen Elizabeth I Ascends to the Throne (Reformation)
Queen Elizabeth is well known for being a very valuable ruler who helped England after Mary left it in pieces. She brought England back to Anglicanism and with that also practiced religious tolerance towards Catholics. -
Aug 23, 1572
Bartholomew's Day Massacre Begins (Age of Absolutism)
Bartholomew's Day Massacre was a two-week-long period throughout France when citizens were killing protestants. This horrific event started when two Calvinist leaders were thrown out of a window. Everyone then thought that they were allowed to kill Calvinists. -
1577
Francis Drake Sets Sail for England (Global Exploration)
Francis Drake was a privateer, which means that he was a hired pirate. Queen Elizabeth, hired him to go around and steal from Spanish fleets. Over time these acts that England was playing on Spain added up and made Spains make. One could say that Francis Drake directly added to the motive of the creation of the Spanish Armada. -
Phillip II Sends Out the Armada (Age of Absolutism)
Phillip II was the King of Spain and he wanted to invade England. So he made a fleet of warships called the Spanish Armada. The Armada's job was to get to s stopping point between the Netherlands and England to let Spanish troops from the Netherlands cross the channel. When the Armada arrived the troops were not ready and the ships were destroyed by England. This led to society believing God preferred Protestantism because England was protestant. -
Period: to
Time Under the Edict of Nantes (Age of Absolutism)
The Edict of Nantes was a religious agreement written by Henry of Navarre which stated that Frances's national religion was Catholic but Calvanism was tolerated. During the time that the Edict of Nantes was in place, France was very peaceful and there was very little conflict. Eventually, this agreement was revoked by Louis XIV. -
Period: to
The Reign of the Dutch East India Company (Global Exploration)
The Dutch East India Company was a trading company owned by the Dutch that took in enormous profits. They had money on an unimaginable scale. As well as this, the Dutch East India Company was also very powerful and had an army. This company made the framework for structures and ideals of large companies today as well as the stock market. -
Period: to
The Thirty Years War (Age of Absolutism)
The Thirty Years' War was a religious war between all of Europe. They were fighting over what religion the country of Bohemia should be. This was one of the bloodiest wars with about 8 million casualties. This war left Germany devastated and took them out of the spotlight for a while leaving room for countries such as England and Spain to grow. -
English Civil War Begins (Age of Absolutsim)
The English Civil War was a religious and political war that was fought between the parliament and the monarchy. Parliament was mostly Calvinist and they wanted to be in charge to have religious tolerance, and the monarchy was Anglican. In the end, Parliament won bringing England into a period known as the Commonwealth. -
Period: to
The Reign of the Commonwealth (Age of Absolutism)
Oliver Cromwell ruled England under a period known as the Commonwealth. During this time England was a Calvinist country with religious tolerance shown towards Anglicanism. In the end, the commonwealth failed after twelve years because the people thought it was too strict. -
Charles I is Beheaded (Age of Absolutism)
Charles I was the King of England during the English Civil War. He was Catholic and because of this, he believed in the divine right of kings. Eventually, the Roundheads won the war, but Charles would not give up because he thought God had chosen him to lead England. In the end, Oliver Cromwell decided that Charles I must be beheaded so that the war could finally end and there could be peace in England. -
England Restores the Monarchy (Age of Absolutism)
After Oliver Cromwell, the leader of the Commonwealth died the people of England came to a consensus that things needed to change. Many citizens felt that the Commonwealth rules were too strict so they did not like it. With this in mind, England decided to return to the monarchy. So, they invited back Charles II and the royal family continued. -
The English Bill of Rights is Created (Age of Absolutism)
After the Glorious Revolution, England was now under the rule of Willam and Mary. They were two protestant rulers and after they took control of the country they worked with parliament to right the Bill of Rights. This document said that parliament can pass laws, pass taxes, and is in charge of courts. The king is allowed to veto laws and overall power is a 50/50 split between Parliament and the king. This brought England into a Constitutional Monarchy.